Christopher Luxon and the National Party are on course to form a new government with the ACT Party in Aotearoa New Zealand, with National winning almost 40 percent of the party vote in yesterday’s general election.

National romped far ahead in the party vote in the election and were above 40 percent much of the night, but were falling just below at about 39 percent of the vote with 95 percent of results in the preliminary count as of nearly midnight.

That may mean the party needs New Zealand First to hit the numbers, but with special votes yet to be counted and a number of close electorate races, the final picture is not quite clear.

Labour was sitting at about 26.5 percent of the party vote, and Prime Minister Chris Hipkins conceded there was no chance he could form a government and that Labour was heading out after six years and two terms in office.

The Green Party was at about 10 percent, ACT at 9 percent, New Zealand First at 6.4 percent and Te Pāti Māori at 2.5 percent with 94 percent of results counted.

Te Pāti Māori was poised to win most of the seven Māori seats with new candidate Hana-Rawhiti Maipi Clarke defeating Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta in the Hauraki-Waikato electorate, ousting the longest serving female MP and at just age 21 becoming the youngest MP in Aotearoa in 170 years.

It is a stunning reversal from 2020’s election, when Labour hit 50 percent of the vote as Jacinda Ardern’s government won a second term and National cratered with 25.6 percent.

One Labour supporter told RNZ that “Labour expected a slap on the wrist. This is a punch in the face.”

‘A new government and a new direction’ – Luxon
Greeting cheering supporters in Auckland, Luxon said the results were a mandate for change.

“You have reached for hope and you have voted for change,” Luxon told supporters. “On the numbers tonight, National will be in a position to lead the next government.”

“My pledge to you is that our government will deliver for every New Zealander, because we will rebuild the economy and deliver tax relief.

“We will bring down the cost of living, we will restore law and order, we will deliver better health care and we will educate our children so that they can grow up to live the lives that they dreamed of.

“That’s what you voted for and that’s what we will deliver.”

A joyous crowd chanted “back on track” as Luxon spoke.

‘I gave it my all, but that was not enough’ – Hipkins
Earlier last night, Labour leader Chris Hipkins conceded that the party had no path to return to power, saying that “the result tonight is not one that any of us wanted”.

Hipkins replaced Jacinda Ardern in January, but he joined other prime ministers like Mike Moore, Jenny Shipley and Bill English in failing to win election in their own right after taking over from another leader mid-term.

“I gave it my all to turn the tide of history, but alas, that was not enough.”

Hipkins struck a defiant note in his speech and promised Labour would remain strong in opposition.

“When the tide comes in big it almost invariably goes out big as well . . . but Labour is still here, it is not going anywhere, and we will get up again as we have done many times before.

“We put people first, we refused to leave people behind, because that is what we do, that is what the Labour Party does.”

Many electorate seats were still too close to call, with only a few hundred votes separating candidates.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

New Zealand police are investigating after the home of Te Pāti Māori election candidate Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke was invaded, vandalised, and a threatening letter left behind.

They said the burglary of a Huntly home was reported to police on Monday.

On Friday, Te Pāti Māori issued a statement saying it was the third incident to take place at Maipi-Clarke’s home this week.

The candidate for Hauraki-Waikato said the attack was premeditated and targeted, and politically motivated.

Danger on the campaign trail had increased because of race baiting and fearmongering from right-wing parties, Maipi-Clarke said.

Despite the attack, she was not scared, she told The Hui’s Hauraki-Waikato debate.

However, New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has dismissed claims his party was race baiting, and increasing danger for candidates on the campaign trail.

‘Not responsible’
Peters told Newshub Nation that notion was wrong, adding that he was not responsible for the actions of other people.

He said he would never work with Te Pāti Māori.

Te Pāti Māori said it was working with police to find a person who broke into their youngest candidate’s home.

Co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said the party was outraged and it was seeing more abusive behaviour in this election than ever before.

“You go at one of our mokopuna, you go at all of us. And it doesn’t matter how different we think, when we see our mokopuna being abused, we will unite and it will have the absolute contrary affect of what I think perpetrators are trying to do when they’re individually picking off on our youngest, on one of our babies … it’s disgusting,” she said.

The party was looking into improving security for candidates to prevent future attacks, she said.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz

Labour has officially kicked off its Aotearoa New Zealand election 2023 campaign with a promise to extend free dental care to all those under 30.

The party is pitching the dental policy as beginning “the journey” towards universal free dental, while making provision for training more dentists over coming years.

Free dental care would cover annual check-ups, teeth cleaning, basic fillings and extractions; the government would prioritise 18 to 23-year-olds from July 2025, and then to those under 30 the following year.

At the moment free dental is available to those under 18.

Labour has recently rejected calls for universal free dental as being far too expensive. This policy is costed at $390 million over four years, reflecting the delay in implementing it fully until 2026, and limiting it to those under 30.

Once in place it would cover about 800,000 New Zealanders.

The cap on places for dental training would be increased by 50 percent.

High recorded costs
“New Zealand has some of the highest recorded rates of unmet need for adult dental care — overwhelmingly because of cost.

“In 2022 alone, 1.5 million Kiwis didn’t visit a dentist because it was just too expensive,” said Hipkins.

Today’s media conference.  Video: RNZ News

“Children and young people currently have access to free basic dental services but as soon as they turn 18, they face big bills and often drop out of the system.”

Hipkins said the age targets were because tooth decay tended to start in the 20s, and acting on them will help prevent health issues down the line.

By the end of next term, if Labour was re-elected, “nearly 40 percent of all Kiwis will have access to free dental care,” he said.

Hipkins said “successive Labour governments will expand the commitment based on workforce, healthcare capacity and fiscal settings”.

Health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said poor oral health had “a lasting impact on both mental and physical health and can lead to avoidable hospitalisations”.

‘Substantial step’
“The policy we’re announcing today is a substantial step towards Labour’s ultimate goal of universal dental care. It prioritises those most likely to put off dental care for financial reasons — young people.

“Labour knows such a fundamental change in our public health settings needs to be carefully designed,” she said.

“Choosing a start date of July 1 2025 means we have time to enable the sector to prepare, which is why we’re rolling out the policy in stages.”

Labour would “work collaboratively with health agencies, regulatory and professional bodies to make sure we have the oral health therapists, dental hygienists and dentists” the country needs, and increase the number of places in Bachelor of Dental Surgery course by 50 percent.

Hipkins said he had now announced eight parts of the Labour Party’s 10-point plan to tackle the cost of living crisis.

This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

Article by AsiaPacificReport.nz