CoveragePost
April 24, 2020
Analysis by Bryce Edwards The line between “political point-scoring” and “speaking truth to power” can be a fine one. No one likes to see people opportunistically using a time of great tragedy and danger for their own political advantage. That doesn’t mean we should become intolerant to questions about the actions of those in power, ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Challenge of speaking “truth to power” in a time of crisis" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/04/24/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-the-challenge-of-speaking-truth-to-power-in-a-time-of-crisis/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Challenge of speaking “truth to power” in a time of crisis">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
April 7, 2020
Analysis by Bryce Edwards. Is David Clark the best possible Minister of Health to be leading New Zealand through the Coronavirus crisis? Confidence in Clark has plummeted with today’s revelation that the Health minister made another recreational trip during the lockdown that appears to breach the Government’s own rules. The Prime Minister has decided not ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Can David Clark really continue as Minister of Health?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/04/07/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-can-david-clark-really-continue-as-minister-of-health/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Can David Clark really continue as Minister of Health?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 27, 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern won power in 2017 on the basis of statements such as “My goal is to eradicate child poverty in New Zealand”. The Government’s progress on child poverty will be under scrutiny at this year’s general election, but progress is slow, and many are claiming not enough is being done to address this ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Is enough being done about child poverty?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/02/27/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-is-enough-being-done-about-child-poverty/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Is enough being done about child poverty?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 20, 2020
Is the National Party off the hook over the Serious Fraud Office donations prosecution? That’s what the party is claiming, pointing out that no National official or MP has been charged. But of course, there was a National MP involved – albeit one no longer with the party – and he is being prosecuted. In ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: National’s embarrassing donation scandal" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/02/20/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-nationals-embarrassing-donation-scandal/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: National’s embarrassing donation scandal">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 19, 2020
A very concerning element of the current NZ First donations scandal is the role of lobbying and lobbyists close to the Government. The most recent story from RNZ’s Guyon Espiner and Kate Newton, revealed that lobbyist Doug Woolerton, who is also a trustee of the NZ First Foundation, had been advocating for law changes on ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: NZ’s latest political lobbying problems" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/02/19/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-nzs-latest-political-lobbying-problems/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: NZ’s latest political lobbying problems">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 15, 2020
Does money buy policy in New Zealand politics and government? Based on the ongoing political finance scandal involving New Zealand First, which comes hot on the heels of the Serious Fraud Office charging four people in relation to donations to the National Party, New Zealanders have every reason to doubt the integrity of the electoral ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Is Government policy for sale in New Zealand?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/02/15/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-is-government-policy-for-sale-in-new-zealand/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Is Government policy for sale in New Zealand?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 10, 2020
It is very telling that the biggest conflict around Waitangi Day this year was over whether National Party leader Simon Bridges should have given an overtly political speech on the Treaty Grounds on Tuesday. Regardless of the rights or wrongs of this, it illustrated how little conflict there was, but also just how depoliticised the ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The new depoliticised mood of Waitangi Day" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/02/10/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-the-new-depoliticised-mood-of-waitangi-day/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The new depoliticised mood of Waitangi Day">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
February 3, 2020
The National Party’s chance of taking power this year now hinges on Winston Peters’ downfall. Conversely, Peters’ options for staying in government mean sticking with a Labour coalition. This situation was clarified yesterday when National leader Simon Bridges announced he was ruling out forming any sort of government with New Zealand First. Bridges stated that ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The big implications of National ruling out NZ First" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/02/03/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-the-big-implications-of-national-ruling-out-nz-first/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The big implications of National ruling out NZ First">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 14, 2020
Jacinda Ardern and her colleagues know if they want to “stay in the club” of Western allies – as John Key once put it – they need to tow the line over escalating tensions in the Middle East. To criticise Donald Trump for his provocations in Iran and Iraq, would be to risk our country’s ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: What should NZ do in the escalating crisis in the Middle East?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/01/14/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-what-should-nz-do-in-the-escalating-crisis-in-the-middle-east/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: What should NZ do in the escalating crisis in the Middle East?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 7, 2020
Are our politicians doing a good job? Are they on top of the urgent problems that need fixing? These are some of the big questions that have arisen from reflecting on the last year in politics, especially as we shift into an election year. Yesterday’s Political Roundup looked at the politicians who performed strongly in ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Are politicians delivering for New Zealanders?" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/01/07/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-are-politicians-delivering-for-new-zealanders/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Are politicians delivering for New Zealanders?">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
January 6, 2020
The verdicts are in on how New Zealand’s politicians performed last year. The end-of-year columns evaluating the MPs have been almost unanimous in their praise for Jacinda Ardern, who is seen to have navigated a difficult year superbly. But there are also some surprising verdicts. The Spinoff website has compiled their pundits’ picks for the ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Evaluating NZ’s politicians" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2020/01/06/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-evaluating-nzs-politicians/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: Evaluating NZ’s politicians">Read more</a>
CoveragePost
December 12, 2019
In his big-spending infrastructure announcement yesterday, Grant Robertson reinforced what many political commentators say about him – he’s electorally smart, but way too conservative to be a genuine leftwing minister of finance. Robertson does what is right for winning votes, but not necessarily what is in the interests of the country or even Labour’s own ... <a title="Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Govt’s smart but conservative spending announcement" class="read-more" href="https://eveningreport.nz/2019/12/12/bryce-edwards-political-roundup-the-govts-smart-but-conservative-spending-announcement/" aria-label="Read more about Bryce Edwards’ Political Roundup: The Govt’s smart but conservative spending announcement">Read more</a>
