CoveragePost
June 20, 2019
When politicians are in bed with vested interests it shapes the world in a particular way. It means that the most powerful and rich in society get their way, and the will of ordinary people is sidelined in a democracy. It means that Governments do the bidding of corporate interests, and political agendas that don’t ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Have corporate lobbyists been running this government?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/06/20/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-have-corporate-lobbyists-been-running-this-government/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Have corporate lobbyists been running this government?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 17, 2019
In the weekend, Act leader David Seymour relaunched his party in a way that will polarise the electorate, triggering both hate and respect. At the centre of this latest attempt to reinvent the party is a firm concentration on political freedoms and “freedom of speech” – which aligns Seymour’s party with a variant of rightwing ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Seymour’s anti-woke Act Party" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/06/17/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-seymours-anti-woke-act-party/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Seymour’s anti-woke Act Party">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 13, 2019
How much trust do you have in politics and public institutions? It’s one of the most important political questions of our time. All over the world there has been a decline in trust, which is leading to a sea change in our politics – from Trump and Brexit through to the emergence of radical progressive ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Who does the public trust in 2019?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/06/13/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-who-does-the-public-trust-in-2019/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Who does the public trust in 2019?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
June 11, 2019
Political commentators are divided over whether the Government’s terrible handling of the so-called “Budget hack” is a “cockup” or a “conspiracy”. It’s still not clear which, and nor is it clear who is responsible. But there is growing agreement that the Government’s handling of the issue was in error, as it was a bizarre mistake ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Budget hack “cockup or conspiracy” debate continues" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/06/11/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-the-budget-hack-cockup-or-conspiracy-debate-continues/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Budget hack “cockup or conspiracy” debate continues">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>
