CoveragePost
August 1, 2019
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards – Will New Zealand have its first Māori prime minister next year? That’s what Simon Bridges is suggesting, and despite scepticism from critics and commentators, there’s good reason to take him seriously. The National Party annual conference in the weekend went well for the party, and there are other signs ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: What are the chances of “Prime Minister Simon Bridges” in 2020?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/08/01/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-what-are-the-chances-of-prime-minister-simon-bridges-in-2020/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: What are the chances of “Prime Minister Simon Bridges” in 2020?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 30, 2019
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards The extraordinary Māori land protest at Ihumātao in Auckland is symbolic of our time. It is unlikely to have occurred, say, five years ago. It perfectly reflects heightened concerns and increased radicalism over racism, economic inequality, and the history of colonialism in New Zealand. This meant that when the police ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Ihumātao reflects the Zeitgeist of 2019" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/07/30/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-ihumatao-reflects-the-zeitgeist-of-2019/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Ihumātao reflects the Zeitgeist of 2019">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 27, 2019
Democracy and inequality are two of the most contentious political issues of our era. Across the globe there is growing discontent about political systems not working well, while the rich are getting richer and the poor get poorer. Declining democracy and increasing economic inequality are usually seen as linked, with the popular notion taking hold ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Capitalism under scrutiny in a new NZ documentary" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/07/27/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-capitalism-under-scrutiny-in-a-new-nz-documentary/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Capitalism under scrutiny in a new NZ documentary">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 25, 2019
The National Party heads into its annual conference in Christchurch this weekend amidst continued speculation about its leadership, whether the party can win in 2020, and questions about the ideological direction of the party. This week’s leaked opinion polling results won’t help the mood, and it won’t help Bridges’ hold on the leadership. Last month ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: What’s going on inside the National Party?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/07/25/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-whats-going-on-inside-the-national-party/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: What’s going on inside the National Party?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 12, 2019
Is this part of the Labour-led Government’s long-promised “nuclear-free moment”, alluded to by Jacinda Ardern when she promised radical action on climate change? The announcement this week of a proposed “feebate” which will make more environmentally-friendly cars cheaper while making the gas-guzzlers more expensive is one of the long-awaited plans for how New Zealand will ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Will the Government’s nudge make our cars greener?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/07/12/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-will-the-governments-nudge-make-our-cars-greener/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Will the Government’s nudge make our cars greener?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 10, 2019
The plight of welfare beneficiaries came into focus last week with a photo taken outside an Auckland Work and Income office, of clients who had been queuing from 2am in order to apply for emergency hardship payments. This has sparked a debate about whether the Labour-led Government is doing enough to provide for this group ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: What’s changed for welfare beneficiaries?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/07/10/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-whats-changed-for-welfare-beneficiaries/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: What’s changed for welfare beneficiaries?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 9, 2019
There’s increasing doubt about how transformational the Labour-led Government is turning out to be. In all sorts of public policy areas the new administration is struggling to make the changes and produce the outcomes it promised. Perhaps expectations are too high? Maybe voters and commentators are too impatient? Or, could it be that the political ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: How to achieve transformational change in politics" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/07/09/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-how-to-achieve-transformational-change-in-politics/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: How to achieve transformational change in politics">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 5, 2019
Call it “state housing”, “social housing” or this Government’s preference, “public housing” – it’s the accommodation solution that continues to be overlooked and neglected by both Labour and National governments. Sure, the current government might talk a lot about “public housing” and they might be building more state houses than the previous government, but it’s ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Is it time for a programme of mass state house building?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/07/05/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-is-it-time-for-a-programme-of-mass-state-house-building/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Is it time for a programme of mass state house building?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
July 2, 2019
The public’s trust in the competency and integrity of the public service is an essential element of any democracy. If citizens think that those running government departments are foolish, dishonest, or dodgy, then the whole system can start to fall apart. We see the results of such distrust in plenty of other countries. Here in ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Lack of accountability over Treasury’s bogus hacking claim" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/07/02/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-lack-of-accountability-over-treasurys-bogus-hacking-claim/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Lack of accountability over Treasury’s bogus hacking claim">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 28, 2019
Yesterday the Prime Minister sent a clear message to voters: the Government has not given up on fixing the housing crisis. It was communicated via the sacking of the Housing Minister, and a serious re-organisation of the housing portfolio so that a team of five ministers now share responsibility for fixing what is becoming an ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Government suggests it hasn’t given up on the housing crisis (yet)" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/06/28/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-the-government-suggests-it-hasnt-given-up-on-the-housing-crisis-yet/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Government suggests it hasn’t given up on the housing crisis (yet)">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 26, 2019
Will KiwiBuild minister Phil Twyford lose his portfolio in tomorrow’s Cabinet reshuffle? That’s the big question, given that the Government’s flagship housing programme has been so heavily discredited, and the accompanying debate about Twyford’s role in the debacle and whether he’s to blame. It seems unlikely that Twyford will get the sack. Although Prime Minister ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Who’s accountable for the KiwiBuild debacle?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/06/26/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-whos-accountable-for-the-kiwibuild-debacle/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Who’s accountable for the KiwiBuild debacle?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 26, 2019
I was in Ontario for a week in May. The premier of Ontario is Doug Ford, leader of the ‘Progressive Conservative’ party; brother of the late (and somewhat notorious) Mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford. Ford is indeed the leading right wing personality in Canadian politics. The chart shows what we in New Zealand would call the ... <a title="Keith Rankin’s Chart of the Month – First-Past-the-Post in Action: Ontario 2018" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/06/26/keith-rankins-chart-of-the-month-first-past-the-post-in-action-ontario-2018/" aria-label="Read more about Keith Rankin’s Chart of the Month – First-Past-the-Post in Action: Ontario 2018">Read more</a>
