CoveragePost
June 10, 2019
Two opinion polls have come out at once saying dramatically different things about the current fortunes of New Zealand’s political parties. One poll, promoted by Newshub as “epic”, puts Labour 13-points ahead of National. The other poll from 1News showed a shock reversal of party fortunes, with Labour now 2-points behind. And once you add ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Epic New Zealand political opinion poll mystery" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/06/10/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-epic-new-zealand-political-opinion-poll-mystery/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Epic New Zealand political opinion poll mystery">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 6, 2019
Should we really care about the “Budget hack” that has been consuming a lot of politicians and political commentators over the last week? Is this really, as John Key used to say about scandals involving his own Government, one of “the things that matter”? I made the case yesterday in my column, The Budget ‘hack’ scandal ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Who cares about the “Budget hack”?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/06/06/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-who-cares-about-the-budget-hack/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Who cares about the “Budget hack”?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 6, 2019
Can we trust government departments? Can we trust Treasury not to lie to us? What about the Minister of Finance? Have they lied for political advantage? These are some of the questions that naturally come out of last week’s abysmal Government handling of National’s early release of budget details, in which senior officials and politicians ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Budget “hack” scandal reveals some big accountability problems" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/06/06/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-the-budget-hack-scandal-reveals-some-big-accountability-problems/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Budget “hack” scandal reveals some big accountability problems">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 31, 2019
For each Budget, the government of the day spends huge amounts of resources getting its message and branding across about its spending decisions. Careful attempts at framing their Budget are made, and all of this largely gets reported. This year is no different, and so you can read, watch and listen to hundreds of media ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The other side of the Budget story" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/05/31/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-the-other-side-of-the-budget-story/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The other side of the Budget story">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 29, 2019
The problem with scandals involving so much mystery is they naturally lead to plenty of speculation, some of which might be useful and some which might be completely wrong, or even highly-damaging. And while we are still in the midst of it all, it’s extremely difficult to sort out the useful from the damaging. For ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Intense speculation on Budget leaking and hacking" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/05/29/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-intense-speculation-on-budget-leaking-and-hacking/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Intense speculation on Budget leaking and hacking">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 28, 2019
In many other parts of the world, the close relationship between our Prime Minister and a leading business lobbyist would be considered corrupt, but in New Zealand it’s seen as “business as usual”. Does that make it right? Is it in the public interest to have the politicians and lobbyists in each other’s pockets? The ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Should we worry about lobbyists’ influence on the Government?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/05/28/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-should-we-worry-about-lobbyists-influence-on-the-government/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Should we worry about lobbyists’ influence on the Government?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 22, 2019
Should Trevor Mallard remain as Speaker of Parliament? It’s a legitimate question, given the current accumulation of concerns about his bullying and bias, and the heightened public concern about the health of this important democratic institution. Certainly some of his past conduct and allegations against him make for sobering reading – including physical assault, attempts ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Trevor Mallard – the bullying, biased boss of Parliament" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/05/22/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-trevor-mallard-the-bullying-biased-boss-of-parliament/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Trevor Mallard – the bullying, biased boss of Parliament">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 21, 2019
There are just so many damning statements and statistics that need to be highlighted from today’s parliamentary bullying report. These all show that Parliamentary staff work in a dangerous and toxic place. But one of the most revealing facts in the report is actually found in the introduction and does not arise directly out of ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Toxic politicians under scrutiny" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/05/21/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-toxic-politicians-under-scrutiny/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Toxic politicians under scrutiny">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 20, 2019
The stars seem to be aligning in favour of the establishment of a socially conservative Christian-based political party, making it more than just a vague possibility. However, some big hurdles remain in place before the National Party can be hopeful that it has a new coalition-friendly party to help it into office at the next ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Stars aligning for a Christian Party" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/05/20/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-stars-aligning-for-a-christian-party/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Stars aligning for a Christian Party">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 16, 2019
The world is changing fast, with digital technological innovation that is both liberating and disturbing. The threats and opportunities this presents requires a massive debate, and intervention, to ensure such changes are as healthy as possible for humanity. The online dimension of the Christchurch terrorist attacks is now provoking a sea change in attitudes towards ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Christchurch Calling: the clampdown on social media" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/05/16/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-christchurch-calling-the-clampdown-on-social-media/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Christchurch Calling: the clampdown on social media">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 15, 2019
When politicians win votes on the basis of heroic promises to fix intractable problems, but then break those promises, the public quite rightly feel they’ve been ripped off. That’s exactly what has happened with KiwiBuild. Labour politicians largely won office in 2017 on the basis of their scathing critique of how badly the National Government ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The KiwiBuild betrayal" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/05/15/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-the-kiwibuild-betrayal/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The KiwiBuild betrayal">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
May 13, 2019
James Shaw rates his Zero Carbon Bill as seven or eight out of ten. And former Green Party co-leader, Russel Norman – now with Greenpeace – rates it zero out of ten. Either way, it’s clear that the new legislation isn’t really the crucial planet-saving bill that many were hoping for. And it certainly doesn’t ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Watered-down Zero Carbon Bill" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/05/13/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-the-watered-down-zero-carbon-bill/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Watered-down Zero Carbon Bill">Read more</a>