Donald Trump loses

Former US President - Donald Trump

What on Earth was America thinking? Four years of a Trump administration has brought the country to its knees. Civil unrest, particularly during the bungled COVID-19 response that cost hundreds of thousands of lives, looked set to escalate into full-blown anarchy.

A legacy of increased environmental degradation and economic conflicts are also major ticking time bombs. But perhaps the most damaging aspect of Trump’s failed presidency is the United States’ international credibility, which is now in tatters.

Not only did the 2016 Trump presidential campaign collude with Russian Intelligence Officers in order to damage their political opponents, over the last four long years they've also undermined their own democratic system from within, which in my opinion is tantamount to treason!

Of course the Don hasn’t admitted to playing any part in the underhanded affair. That’s because Trump cannot admit to ever doing anything wrong!

Trump mocks disabled reporter Serge Kovaleski

Even now, with Pennsylvania flipping and nearly every news agency calling it, Trump is on Twitter claiming that he’s won the 2020 election. There is of course no doubt that he’s lost. Over 4 million voters are now in favour of Biden with Georgia and Arizona on the cusp of adding to the incoming Presidents considerable electoral vote tally.

Today, New York Daily News reported:

Adios, Donald: Trump loses, Biden wins, and America has a precious opportunity to rebuild

Finally, our long, national nightmare appears to be ending.

Though tight margins in some swing states may trigger some automatic recounts, and we all know that the president may try to cry foul, for now it seems as though Joe Biden has done it. He’s ousted Donald Trump from the White House to become the next president of the United States — and he’s brought with him the first Black woman vice president.

Man, it feels good to write that. After the four years of corruption, incompetence, division, racism, sexism, nepotism, cronyism, nihilism and nationalism that Trump foisted on the American people, often against even the will of his own supporters, we can hopefully go about the business of restoring some semblance of normalcy, decency and calm to American life.

 

The final result will likely be Biden on 305 to Trump on 229, which should be considered a decisive victory for Joe and the Democrats. In fact we should consider it a victory for the entire World as well.

However the fact that millions of Americans did vote for an evil lunatic is terribly concerning. I mean if a President can openly encourage people to inject chlorine as some sort of treatment for COVID-19 and there still be no widespread questioning of his legitimacy, you know that things aren’t at all well in the US of A. 

Utter devastation for National

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer - Maori Party co-leader

If the preliminary 2020 election results were bad for the blue team, the final results are entirely devastating! The National Party, with the unlikable Judith Collins in charge, has lost another three electorates after special votes were counted.

Labour has picked up Northland with Willow-Jean Prime winning a slim majority, which is significant because Labour hasn’t won there since 1938, and list MP Debbie Ngarewa-Packer joins Rawiri Waititi in Parliament to issue in a resurgent Maori Party.

The news gets even worse for National in another two blue seats that used to be considered safe. Maungakiekie and Whangarei have also flipped, meaning National has had a comprehensive defeat in terms of overall electorate losses.

Today, RNZ reported:

Special votes: National loses two MPs, one each to Labour, Māori Party 

The National Party has lost another two MPs on the final election result - with Labour and the Māori Party picking up an extra seat each.

Results on election night had Labour at 64 seats, National at 35, ACT at 10, the Greens 10 and the Māori Party with a sole electorate seat, but the counting of what was estimated to be nearly 500,000 special votes has delayed final results until today.

Labour's Priyanca Radhakrishnan has won Maungakiekie off National's Denise Lee by 635 votes.

Northland Labour candidate Willow-Jean Prime has beaten National's incumbent Matt King with a majority of 163 votes.

In Whangārei, Labour candidate Emily Henderson has beaten National's Shane Reti by 431 votes, but Reti stays on in Parliament making it in on the list.

All other electorate candidates leading on election night have been confirmed as winning their seats.

Overall seats in Parliament have changed with Labour picking up one - the seat filled by Henderson. National loses two with both Lee and King being tipped out of Parliament.

The Māori Party picks up one more seat, which goes to co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer who comes in on the list.

There really is no question that Judith Collins must now step aside. Even her deputy leader Gerry Brownlee is calling it a day which is a clear sign that he, like many other National Party MPs, have no confidence in their current leader.

The problem for National however is that there’s nobody likeable or competent enough to take Crusher’s place. How exactly are they meant to rebuild when the few MPs who remain are largely unknown or entirely incompetent?

It’s not as if the significant divisions within the party have miraculously been fixed either. Clearly things have now become even harder for the National Party to rebuild. In fact it's patently obvious that they're incapable of mounting any semblance of an opposition to a formidable Labour led Government who look set to win in 2023 as well.

National’s electoral slaughter

Judith (Crusher) Collins

We all agree that the 2020 general election was a complete disaster for the National Party. Not only did the blue “team” receive only 26.8 per cent support, the results also left those who did unwisely back the National Party with a lingering bad taste in their mouths.

In fact the more time National takes faffing about with reviews into why they polled so terribly, the more voters will perceive that National is in complete disarray. Despite this fact, National doesn’t seem to realise that time is of the essence and wasting more of it naval gazing isn’t going to fix things. As well as creating even more resentment within the party towards the current leadership, this will ensure National’s voter base continues to dwindle.

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what some National Party MPs have been saying about the causes of their defeat and their current divisive and disingenuous leader, Judith Collins.

Today, Stuff reported:

Election 2020: The 'complete disarray' of National's campaign that led to electoral 'slaughter'

Throughout September and October, Judith Collins and Jacinda Ardern flew into at least one region on each day, visiting local businesses, shaking hands and capturing selfies.

But as Collins criss-crossed the country, chasing ever dwindling poll numbers, she too fell victim to the Cunliffe curse.

“If I had her in my electorate, it was actually a net negative for me,” one National MP confided.

“I’m capable of locking in our National supporters myself. But I need to appeal to the centre voters to get our party vote up, and Judith doesn’t appeal to the centre. She’s our Cunliffe.”

…

Her colleagues found it hard to stomach pleas for loyalty. “She’s destabilised three leaders. She did John Key in 2014, she completely destabilised Simon Bridges, and she was behind the coup with Todd Muller,” one MP fumed.

Another raged: “It is pretty hard when two months earlier she put out a book bagging John Key. That woman held a grudge for six years! She needed to lead by example.”

…

A few days later, Collins was hobbled by a catastrophic own goal: Goldsmith was forced to admit multi-billion-dollar errors in his budget. The first overshadowed Collins’ campaign launch and National lost its best weapon – economic credibility.

There were few people to blame. The leadership team gave candidates little notice of the economic plan, which included a controversial pitch to cut taxes, despite Collins previously ruling that out.

“Policy was a disaster zone,” one incredulous MP said. “All we saw at the start was big spending – whether it was Bishop [on infrastructure], Willis on education, or Reti on health.

“They were coming up with big numbers and that was a massive mistake because it made us indistinguishable from Labour.”

The tax cuts confused voters, the MP believes. “[Finance Minister] Grant Robertson made the best point of the entire campaign: we’d fallen into some sort of economic Bermuda triangle. We were going to spend everything, but we were also going to be better on debt, and provide tax relief.”

…

“It evolved from the low energy into the Crusher,” an MP explained. “But ... because it hadn’t started that way, it was confusing and inauthentic.”

Another MP disliked the straight-from-the-heart, unscripted style. “The second [Newshub] debate really put a line under it. The one where she just went a bit crazy … she went very shouty, talking to herself and giggling to herself.

“The whole thing fell apart. Gerry and her fundamentally started disagreeing on issues and she apparently had a huge blow-up at the campaign team because she felt they were trying to make her too soft.

“She started to harden up, and become the Crusher again. They were trying to keep her on message, with a softer face to try and appeal to the middle voter ... And middle New Zealand switched off her completely.”

…

From the inside, the campaign careered off the rails. Two weeks out from the election, one MP complained to Stuff: “If you think it looks bad, it’s even worse.”

…

“The central campaign was a disaster,” a National MP sighed. “Candidates were getting collateral [advertising material] very late, we saw collateral go out there with wrong spelling, graphics had our numbers wrong.”

…

There was frustration that the new team entirely shut out Paula Bennett, who’d amassed and absorbed a treasure trove of data over months.

“For a good year, [Gerry] was critical of Paula,” one seasoned MP said. “They didn’t get on personality-wise, he was clear in his head that he could do much better. Then he got there and didn’t know what to do.

“He has certain skills but an organisational brain to run a campaign just isn’t one of those areas.

…

The cracks become obvious. On October 5, an email emerged in which first-term MP and Auckland Council spokesperson Denise Lee criticised Collins for not consulting her about a new local body policy.

“All of the experienced MPs from the John Key and Bill English governments, we know what discipline is,” a departing MP said. “[Judith] made that decision and that is the leader’s prerogative.

“Let’s be honest about the class of 2017: they have been the bane in National’s life. There has been nothing but leaks, a sense of self-entitlement and real arrogance … Is it any wonder this email was sent and leaked, was it written to be leaked?

“That was our demise. I believe Judith when she said it probably took about five points off us.”

…

She digressed into fat-shaming, accused Jacinda Ardern of lying, goaded the Labour leader to sue her, and then accused her rival of name-calling. There were attacks on the media, and an incautious explanation of how, as a tax lawyer, she used to help people avoid inheritance tax.

“What typified the whole campaign for me was we had [Brownlee], our deputy leader and campaign manager in the media, explaining that he is responsible for his own obesity,’’ one MP said. ‘’How mad is that? How off-topic is that?”

Another explained: “None of them were talking to each other. Judith would say what she wanted at the media standups because there wasn’t anyone else giving her clear direction, certainly in the last two weeks.”

…

Others don’t accept that analysis. “Gerry and Judith both share fault in this. It’s galling to see them portraying themselves as reluctant heroes, who it was thrust upon.

“Judith crawled over broken glass for a decade to get this job, she isn’t some Joan of Arc figure. Sadly, when she got there, there was nothing. She didn’t even have an A4 of a plan.”

Another said: “She has had her day. She is from a bygone era. She’s brittle, I don’t believe she is the face of National and she definitely won’t be the leader going into ‘23.”

So at what point does Judith Collins stop making excuses and put the party ahead of her own self-interest? In my opinion she must take responsibility for National’s resounding defeat by stepping down to let a more capable and credible leader take her place.

Let’s also not forget Crusher’s previously held belief that anywhere below 35 per cent in a general election should trigger a change in National's leadership. But now that she’s assumed command Collins has reneged on her own stipulated cutoff mark.

Crusher has also said that she won’t go willingly. So it’s up to the National Party to oust her. This must happen if New Zealand is to have an opposition that actually works, which is required in order for our democracy to properly function. Because if Crusher is allowed to stay on we will simply see a continuance of the same disorganisation exhibited over National's disastrous 2020 election campaign.

Labour Party landslide - 2020 Election in review

Jacinda Ardern - Prime Minister of New Zealand

The 2020 General Election has been one of the most interesting in New Zealand’s political history. Not only did we have voters provide the Labour Party with a stratospheric 49.1% mandate to govern, the results also delivered National with a crushing 26.8% defeat that they will have a great deal of difficulty rebuilding from.

There are a number of reasons for the Labour Party's victory, including the careful political approach and star like qualities of their leader, Jacinda Ardern. But there are also numerous reasons for National's defeat, a monumental 17.6% downfall in support that the current leader, Judith Collins, must ultimately take responsibility for.

Collins may have worked hard during the campaign to attain the medias attention, but the topics she often chose to run on weren’t usually relevant to a majority of undecided voters. Instead of promoting any properly budgeted and targeted policy initiatives, Collins spent much of her time insulting people's intelligence, directly attacking the Prime Minister or reacting badly to the latest National Party controversy. Crusher's mask often slipped during interviews and debates, which is never a good look when you want voters to forget about Dirty Politics.

However the biggest difference between the two political parties was their divergent strategies on COVID-19. While the Labour led Government was busy keeping New Zealand safe with effective restrictions and lockdowns, National was arguing for an opening up of our borders, which has been proven disastrous for other countries. This stark contrast, which concerned whether people lived or died, was perhaps the most influential difference for voters at the ballot box.

Instead of understanding that their criticism of the Government’s successful COVID strategy was detrimental to their campaign, a fact that was highlighted by various pundits and underscored by pre-election polling, the National Party is continuing to blame the Prime Minister’s COVID updates for their resounding loss. However most Kiwis weren’t seeing things from such a prejudiced position. The consensus is that the general public was simply being kept properly informed about a deadly virus that is still claiming numerous lives overseas.

Judith Collins - National Party leader

Likewise, instead of realising that promoting policy on the fly isn’t a good strategy, Collins is doubling down and claiming that disloyalty within the party is the problem. The truth of the matter is that Crusher is simply too arrogant to accept that she's responsible for National's drubbing, a resounding defeat that should make her resignation a fait accompli.

So not only did we have most Labour MPs being diligent and disciplined, particularly when it really mattered in the closing weeks of the campaign, we also had National being washed along in a tide they themselves largely created. We shouldn’t however lament the decline of the National Party, because this could result in the most progressive Government New Zealand has ever seen.

Many commentators have expressed the opinion that Labour no longer has the handbrake of NZ First restricting its transformative policy ideas. What will restrict large-scale social and economic progress however is the worldwide financial crisis that has only just started to bite. Grant Robertson, who ran rings around his National Party counterpart Paul Goldsmith, will perhaps have the toughest job in Government if he becomes Finance Minister again. Balancing people's expectations with what can be achieved is never an easy thing.

As for NZ First, they only have themselves to blame. Attacking a Government they’re a part of is one thing, but having a perceived slush fund and being embroiled in a donations scandal has ultimately resulted in their early retirement from politics. NZ First voters don’t tend to like corruption, even if it’s only alleged and not yet proven. By claiming that the NZ First Foundation was only following in National's footsteps, Peters hasn’t done himself any favours in allaying people’s concerns about his honesty. This truly was a rare misstep by one of the great political leaders of our time.

Not only does Labour have to wind up the bad investments within the provincial growth fund without providing ammunition to the opposition, they also need to show significant advancement on their 2017 promises and closure for things like the Pike River mine over the coming three years. Housing still remains a major dilemma for New Zealand that undoubtedly requires more Government intervention. Their problem here is that most of the centre-right voters they've attained from NZ First and National won’t want any significant change to the status quo. Many are property investors and have provided Labour with support precisely because of the Prime Minister’s promises regarding a Capital Gains Tax.

Jacinda Ardern’s ability to progress change in a way that appeases the Greens while not spooking those centre-right voters will be a significant factor in Labour's chances for re-election in 2023. The issue here for Labour is that the Green Party, whether in Government or opposition, is clearly a force to be reckoned with. Although their social media campaign slowed towards the end, mainly because they went a bit possum in the headlights over polling concerns, Chlöe Swarbrick’s Auckland Central win will be remembered as one of the most significant victories during 129 years of political history in New Zealand.

Chlöe Swarbrick - Green Party MP for Auckland Central

The Green Party has obviously been rewarded (in your face Bomber) for their achievements in Government. Not only are they the most diverse and disciplined party within Parliament, the Greens, like the Labour Party, now have a strong mandate and substantial support that will ensure social and environmental progress is achieved in New Zealand for the foreseeable future.

Their political nemesis of course is the Act Party. David Seymour ran a strong social media campaign, which was in no small way helped along by a compliant mainstream media. Attaining support from both disgruntled gun enthusiasts and right-wing extremists, the Act Party will find it difficult to retain these voters or keep a lid on their nine new largely unknown MPs during the next three years of progress.

This brings us to Advance NZ and the New Conservative Party, both of which failed to get over the 5% threshold. Despite considerable and questionable funding sources, it’s good to see these cults collapse at the last hurdle. Not only are many of their policy ideas dangerous, both of these parties promoted some terrible disinformation during the campaign, which was in most instances designed to undermine the left-wing of the Coalition Government. It’s a testament to some of our fourth estate and a working political system that their and the National Party’s dishonest electioneering entirely backfired.

Crusher fails to resonate

Judith Collins - National Party leader

You can tell the National Party is in damage control mode most of the time these days. Instead of being able to provide any valid alternative to a Labour led Government, Judith Collins is going out of her way to be controversial just to get media attention. It’s a tactic that works well in the US, but is destined to ultimately fail here in New Zealand.

One of Crusher’s more recent PR disasters was when she claimed those suffering from obesity are personally responsible, which not only exhibited an astounding amount of ignorance on the subject by somebody who should know better, but also showed that Crusher favours vested interests over a very large body of scientific evidence.

On Tuesday, 1 News reported:

Judith Collins says obesity is ‘generally’ a weakness, urges personal responsibility over blaming the 'system'

Massey University researcher Cat Pause, who describes herself as a fat studies scholar, labelled Collins’ attitudes to obesity “heartless” on Newstalk ZB yesterday.

"It fits in line with a larger neoliberal project, which is about positioning individuals as being solely responsible for their own health and well-being, and suggesting neither the larger society nor the state has any role to play,” Pause said.

What on earth was Crusher thinking? Not only has she directly insulted around 40% of the population with her fat shaming remarks, the current leader of the opposition is also coming across as a spiteful politician that most people will want to avoid.

Combine this nastiness with Crusher flailing about at Jacinda Ardern because she’s obviously jealous of the Prime Minister’s popularity, and it’s pretty clear that National won’t gain any traction or resonance with undecided voters in the final days of the election.

But if all that wasn’t enough of a hint that National is panicking because they're going to get a trouncing, a recent poll has also shown that Crusher’s photo op at a church didn’t strike the right chord with voters either.

Today, the NZ Herald (pay walled) reported:

Exclusive election poll: Judith Collins' displays of Christian religiousness - will it woo voters?

Collins has brought up her Christian faith during the campaign, and was photographed praying in a church. Poll participants were asked how her public statements about being a religious person would influence their vote.

…

Twenty-seven per cent said it would make them less likely to vote for National, compared to 8 per cent, who said they'd be more likely to support her party.

 

Crusher’s blatant publicity stunt could have therefore turned a further 19% of voters off from supporting National, which combined with their other campaigning errors (including Crusher insulting Aussies today) has ensured National MPs will continue to occupy the opposition benches for the foreseeable future.

But what I find most remarkable about National's shambolic electioneering is that many commentators and journalists who would normally lean towards supporting the right wing are now speaking out against Crusher's divineness. They can clearly see the writing on the wall for the beleaguered National Party, and Judith Collins’ controversial and likely very short tenure as leader.

It’s patently obvious that Crusher will be out on her ear not soon after the 2020 General Election results are in. What else can one conclude when National MPs are actively criticising and undermining their leader while voters are still going to the polls?

Hamish Price loses Auckland Central

Hamish Price - right wing propagandist

We all know that Hamish Price is a complete fool who spends most of his time tweeting easily refuted rubbish on twitter. He is perhaps the right wings biggest clown, which is really saying something considering there’s such stiff competition at the moment.

So it’s incredibly surprising to see the idiot being employed as a campaign manager by National Party candidate, Emma Mellow. Perhaps the political newcomer wasn’t aware of Price’s extensive murky history. But there can be no such excuses for National’s current leader, Judith Collins, who obviously isn’t some sort of ignorant newbie.

That’s what makes Crusher’s Ponsonby walkabout disaster so astounding. Trying to trick the media into believing that Price and his accomplices were just bystanders is stupid enough, but check out Crusher's face and listen to Price and Mellow trying to explain away their daft and badly executed ruse.

Hamish Price pretended to be a random member of the public in Ponsonby. You could pay 100 comedy writers 100 dollars an hour and they couldn’t write this kind of perfect comedy.... https://t.co/mpAIWSErgt

— ᴀɴᴅʀᴇᴡ ʙɪɢɢs (@biggsintweets) October 7, 2020

Many on the right also dislike Hamish Price, with dirty politics practitioner Simon Lusk saying he was a "nasty, offensive and divisive self-important fool of a man that should be avoided at all costs by any candidate".

It’s a pity Emma Mellow didn’t listen to this advice, because there’s really no coming back from such a monumental blunder. That’s why I’m picking National will lose the Auckland central electorate, thanks to Hamish Price. Let’s hope they employ him again next election.

Couple this campaigning gaffe with Crusher being turned away from Ponsonby shops and the jellybean poll showing hardly anybody liking National and it's not looking good for the blue "teams" hopes for reelection. In fact on current polling many of National's MPs and employees will be looking for new jobs. But given this latest performance, not even the circus would want a copy of Price's resume.

National Party imploding

Judith Collins - National Party leader

You could almost guarantee that the National Party was going to become even more fractured under the leadership of Judith Collins. She is perhaps the most divisive and toxic politician currently in Parliament, and has been involved in some of the nastiest political hit jobs New Zealand has ever seen.

So it’s little wonder the wheels are coming off. What is surprising however is that National are disintegrating this close to the election. One can only assume that the resentment felt towards Crusher is overriding any sense of duty National MPs feel towards their own party.

The current leader certainly isn’t doing herself any favours by failing to quell dissent. In fact Crusher’s arrogance and grating style, along with the realisation that they’re going to badly lose the election, has likely stoked the fires of rebellion, which couldn’t have come at a worse time for the beleaguered blue “team”.

Today, Newshub reported:

Leak: Some in National say the writing is on the wall - they'll lose the election

ANALYSIS: Newshub has been told by some in the National Party there’s a sense the writing is on the wall; that National is going to lose this election. 

Newshub was told if that happens, Judith Collins being rolled is a case of when, not if. So although she says she wants to stay on, some in National feel very differently.

There’s growing frustration in the caucus. There’s a degree of pre-positioning for the next leadership contest, but the fact it’s happening now - so close to an election rather than afterwards - is about as bad as it gets.

Contrast Collins’ shambles of a campaign with the Labour Party leader's excellent electioneering. On the back of some well executed policy announcements and the lifting of Auckland’s COVID lockdown to alert level one, Jacinda Ardern has made a comprehensive argument for reelection at the Press Leaders’ Debate. By my count this makes it two debate draws and a win to Ardern, who is clearly now taking things in her stride.

In my opinion, there’s simply no contest to decide who should lead New Zealand for the next three years. The National Party under the jackboot of Judith Collins is anything but a team, while the cohesive Labour Party is continuing to build on their previous successes through competent leadership.

Crusher loses control

Judith Collins - National Party leader

Over the past year or so, it's been somewhat surprising to see the numerous leaks that plagued Simon Bridges and Todd Muller while they were leaders of the National Party, leaks that immediately stopped after Judith Collins assumed command. It was almost as if there was a concerted effort to undermine the National Party from within so that Crusher could take control.

However, the disunity of the blue “team” hasn’t entirely ended with another change in leader. For instance, when Paul Goldsmith admitted last week that he’d got their alternative budget horribly wrong, Crusher was still trying to say that the mistakes were inconsequential, clearly showing that National MPs are failing to communicate properly with each other about how they should spin things.

But just in case you needed anymore convincing that the National Party isn’t fit to govern, they’re once again leaking to undermine their own faltering leader right before the election.

Yesterday, Newshub reported:

Leaked email: National MP criticises Judith Collins' 'highly problematic idea' of reviewing Auckland Council

Newshub has been leaked an email showing National MP Denise Lee criticising leader Judith Collins' plan to review Auckland Council as a "highly problematic idea".

Collins announced on Monday a review of Auckland Council to the surprise of her Auckland Council spokesperson Lee.

 

Actually, Collins initially announced an inquiry, not a review, into the Auckland Council.

Lee described it as a "highly problematic idea" in an email to her caucus colleagues. She also panned it as "another working group" and said it would be "a nightmare".

In the email, Lee says bypassing her altogether was "incredibly poor form and displays a shockingly bad example of poor culture".

Collins sighed when asked if the policy had been made on the hoof, and said it had been planned for weeks, despite Lee knowing nothing about it.

Lee is a former Auckland Councillor and the National Party spokesperson for Local Government, so really should have been informed.

Lee is not the only MP upset by it - another National MP contacted Newshub saying it is consistent behaviour from Collins that she is "making up policy on the hoof" and "creating division".

 

Collins’ silly idea to have an inquiry into the Auckland Council was obviously made up on the spur of the moment. In fact that’s Crusher’s game plan, to make as many controversial statements as she can in order to stay in the media spotlight.

Unfortunately for the blue “team” the execution of their lacklustre campaign with Crusher in charge isn’t going very well. She is coming across as arrogant and a bit neurotic, which are both traits that will turn many voters away from her shambles of a political party during this election.

Maori better off with Labour

Jacinda Ardern - Labour Party leader

We’ve all heard the claims by the right wing that poverty and homelessness have increased under the Labour led Government. And yes! On face value a few statistics look to have worsened over the past three years. However it’s not until you dig a bit deeper into the data that the truth is revealed.

By way of an argument, WINZ hardship grants are often held up as evidence that struggling Kiwis are now in greater need. However, the only thing this really shows is that more beneficiaries are getting what they’re entitled to. Despite the title, the number of grants being provided isn’t a proper indicator of increased hardship for those on low incomes.

The same can be said about the increasing number of clients on the Housing New Zealand waiting list. What the right wing wilfully ignores is that when the National Party was last in power they removed half of those requiring affordable or emergency housing from the waiting list, saying they no longer met the revised criteria. This decision was largely reversed under the Coalition Government, which has of course led to an increase of people on the waiting list. The current increase merely better reflects the depth of need in New Zealand for state housing, a need that didn’t suddenly change in 2017 with the incoming Government.

The right wing also likes to endlessly criticise Kiwibuild as some sort of monumental failure. However what they intentionally ignore here is that the scheme has helped over 700 Kiwi families into new homes. Overall, the Coalition Government’s house building programmes have built more than 6,000 homes, with another 4,000 currently being construction.

These achievements are in stark contrast to the 40,000 Kiwis who became homeless while the National, Act and Maori Party’s were last in power. The main contributor to this social degradation was John Key deciding to sell 6,000 state houses (many under dubious circumstances), which clearly contributed to the worsening housing crisis and dramatically increased the difficulty for those seeking safe and affordable accommodation through official channels.

Then there’s the Coalition Government's child poverty reduction and wellbeing legislation to consider. This policy has helped to ensure that less New Zealand families and their children are or will be subjected to long-term impoverishment. Because of this kind of policy, we've seen an improvement to seven out of nine child poverty indicators during Labour’s first term in power.

Jacinda Ardern has also invested in healthy lunches for school children, increased paid parental leave and implemented and then doubled the winter energy payment during the COVID pandemic...just to mention a few more worthwhile left wing policies that have been achieved to date. Such socially beneficial initiatives will likely also help tackle New Zealand's stubborn and unacceptable material deprivation statistics in the not too distant future.

But wait, there's more. Healthy Homes Standards are also going to pay even more health and wellbeing dividends with Labour announcing an extra $39 million investment into the already successful scheme.

Yesterday, RNZ reported:

Labour targets rheumatic fever with new Healthy Homes pledge 

The Labour Party is promising to kit out more homes with insulation, heaters and bedding if re-elected, saying the prevalence of rheumatic fever in New Zealand is a "national shame".

The party has pledged to pump an extra $39 million over four years into the Healthy Homes initiative, which has been running since late 2013.

The scheme assesses homes in at-risk areas and co-ordinates support to make them warmer and drier.

The funding would expand the initiative from 11 DHBs to all 20. Labour would also roll out 40 more rental inspectors to ensure landlords are meeting required standards - at a cost of $16 million.

There is of course a lot more to be done, but a big difference between the two main political rivals is that Labour, unlike the National Party, will ensure that incomes for those living on the breadline will increase over the next term of their governance.

In the likely event of Labour's re-elected to the front benches, the incoming left wing government will also look into the high price of food and building materials, which was initially promised but not implemented by Winston Peters.

But what cannot be overstated is that the achievements of the Coalition Government has already caused long lasting improvements, particularly for Maori families, measurable progress which should in my opinion be allowed to continue indefinitely.

National fact-checked as mostly false

As politics in New Zealand becomes more of a blood sport and less about policy initiatives, it’s easy for the public to lose sight of what really matters. Elections are now often run around a cult of personality where scoring cheap political points with catchy soundbites is the name of the game.

However the 2020 election in New Zealand seems to be slightly different. The mainstream media appears to finally be concerned that our political system is becoming too much like the train wreck we’re currently witnessing in the US, and they’ve begun to push back slightly against politicians who make unsubstantiated and/or entirely false claims.

Here are just a few recent examples of the mainstream media fact-checking the National Party’s misleading statements:

On Sept 21, AAP reported:

Has NSW weathered the impacts of COVID-19 better than NZ?

AAP FactCheck Investigation: Does NSW have fewer COVID-19 deaths than New Zealand, as well as a booming economy and fans attending rugby matches?  

…

THE VERDICT

AAP FactCheck found the statement that every Australian state bar Victoria has had fewer COVID-19 deaths than New Zealand to be false.

NZ Ministry of Health figures at the time of publication showed the NZ death toll from COVID-19 to be 25, while 53 people had died in NSW over the same period.

Ms Collins also misrepresented the state’s economic situation, with NSW in a technical recession along with the rest of Australia.

Mostly False – The claim is mostly false with a minor element of truth.

Last week, Newshub reported:

 

Judith Collins' claim 100 percent renewable electricity would increase power prices fact-checked as 'mostly false'

Will transitioning to 100 percent renewable electricity generation increase power prices in New Zealand?  

...

The verdict

AAP FactCheck found the statement that the Government's plan to make New Zealand's electricity generation 100 percent renewable by 2030 would significantly increase prices to be mostly false.

While a report did find electricity prices could increase significantly under certain scenarios, the Government is investigating using a pumped hydro storage scheme which experts predict will reduce electricity prices.

However, there is a level of uncertainty about how the pumped hydro storage will affect prices and how it will be paid for as investigations into the scheme are still in the early stages.

Mostly false - the claim is mostly false with one minor element of truth.

Also last week, Newshub reported:

National MP's claim ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration increased power prices fact-checked as 'mostly false'

Has the New Zealand government’s ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration resulted in an increase in energy prices and a rise in the consumption of imported coal? 

...

The Verdict

AAP FactCheck found the statement that the government’s ban on new offshore oil and gas exploration resulted in an increase in energy prices and a rise in the consumption of imported coal to be mostly false.

Some electricity prices have risen while others have fallen, and fuel and gas prices have also experienced a mixture of increases and decreases. Coal imports have increased significantly but coal consumption has dropped slightly.

Energy industry experts and government reports indicate the oil and gas exploration ban was unlikely to have had a short-term impact on prices or coal consumption in the past two years. Other factors such as drought, gas field outages and global markets are likely to have been the main influences on price.

Mostly False – The claim is mostly false with one minor element of truth.

Last Wednesday, 1 News reported:

AAP election fact check: National overstates benefit of NZ tax cut plan

AAP FactCheck Investigation: Would New Zealanders earning between $50,000 and $70,000 be $3000 better off under National’s proposed tax cuts? 

…

THE VERDICT

AAP FactCheck found the statement that people earning between $50,000 and $70,000 would be $3000 better off under National’s tax policy to be mostly false.

Those earning $50,000 and $60,000 a year would get less than $3000 in tax savings under the policy. A person would need to earn more than $62,640 to get a $3000 benefit.

Mostly False – The claim is mostly false with one minor element of truth.

Yesterday, Newshub reported:

National Party's claim it increased renewable energy 'misleading', AAP factcheck finds

Did the proportion of renewable electricity generation increase faster under the previous National government than the current Labour leadership - and was National responsible for this? 

…

The verdict

AAP FactCheck found that Mr Brown's statement was misleading. While he quoted correct figures showing renewable electricity generation increased from 65.4 percent to 81.9 percent under the previous National government, and by only 0.5 percent under the Labour-led administration, experts say these changes have largely been independent of government policy.

An MBIE report said renewable generation was down recently due to drought, while historic figures show New Zealand has at times received more than 90 percent of its electricity from renewable sources before either the most recent National or Labour governments took power.

Misleading - The claim is accurate in parts but information has also been presented incorrectly, out of context or omitted.

Today, RNZ reported:

Fact check: Are tourists and international students still contributing to the NZ economy?

Has the New Zealand economy lost a combined $21 billion in exports from tourism and international students? AAP fact checks National leader Judith Collins' statement. 

…

The verdict

Based on the latest available data, AAP FactCheck found the New Zealand economy has not lost $21 billion from tourism and international students.

The border closure has severely impacted the two industries, but figures for the June quarter show spending by international students and tourists was only down 50 percent and had not evaporated in its entirety.

False - The checkable claim is false.

If these articles are anything to go by, the National Party is again trying to rely on disinformation to attract ill-informed voters to their banner. Whether this is through intentional dishonesty or sheer ignorance, whatever the blue "team" says obviously should NOT be taken at face value.

In fact everything the National Party claims these days should be taken with a very small grain of salt. This is especially the case when considering their current leader, Judith Collins, who seems intent on misleading voters whenever possible.  But I guess when you’ve got a track record as bad as hers, lying to the public is really your only option.

Cannabis should be legalised

The cannabis referendum, where Kiwis will get to vote on whether they want to legalise what is essentially a medicinal herb, has been well contested with both sides of the debate having pretty equal time in the media spotlight to express their various opinions.

However there has unfortunately been some comment from the vote no campaigners that could mislead voters into making an ill-informed decision.

So just to clear a few things up:

Legalising cannabis will not cause more work place impairment.

There will also be no significant, if any, increase in consumption rates.

In some countries where cannabis has been legalised, youth consumption has declined.

Of course cannabis already causes less harm than alcohol, which is legal.

Legalisation means people will be more likely to seek help for any drug dependence.

It would mean less young Maori being disproportionately targeted by Police.

Legalising cannabis will also mean there’s quality controls in place to reduce harm.

It would mean less people being put into danger when trying to purchase cannabis.

A regulated cannabis market could also generate $490 million in tax revenue per year.

Given these facts, there are no prizes for guessing how I will be voting in the Cannabis referendum. But for even more factual information, please visit:

The Jackal: Legalising/Decriminalising Marijuana

Drug Foundation: Vote Yes: Cannabis Control Bill

Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor: Legalising cannabis in Aotearoa New Zealand: What does the evidence say?

The Spinoff: Everything you need to know about the 2020 cannabis referendum

Crusher threatens Nicky Hager

Crusher Collins - National Party Leader

Everybody should know by now that Judith (Crusher) Collins is a very malicious person. She is perhaps the most vindictive MP ever to disgrace our halls of power.

Some of her unprecedented nastiness over the decades has been well documented in the book Dirty Politics: How attack politics is poisoning New Zealand's political environment, which is a great expose on how the National Party generally operates to undermine its opponents. It's worth getting yourself a copy if you haven’t already.

But just in case you needed anymore evidence that Crusher is a terribly spiteful person, today she openly threatened the author of that entirely accurate book, Nicky Hager, saying he needs “to meet his maker” because of the truthful things he's written about her.

Today, the NZ Herald reported:

Collins crushes any idea of her going soft

"Disgraceful." "Stupid behaviour." Nicky Hager has to "meet his maker".

Judith Collins quashed any notion of a softer image on the campaign trail in Nelson yesterday following a poll that showed National with a steep hill to climb.

 

This article is really the once over lightly. A more complete picture evolves of the threat against Nicky Hager when you see Crusher’s quote in context:

Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer political leaders who don't wish death on people who displease them. pic.twitter.com/J27XieyGUo

— Clint Smith (@ClintVSmith) September 28, 2020

If not to endanger his life, why else would Crusher come out and openly say Nicky Hager needs to die? Because that’s essentially what the current National Party leader has done by saying Hager has to meet his maker. She has indirectly threatened him and by doing so endangered his life.

Of course the Police won’t do anything about Collins' death threat, because they’re obviously biased against the investigative journalist as well. The way Police mistreated Hager and his family after Dirty Politics was published is testament to that.

National behind the times

When Todd Muller resigned as leader of the National Party and allowed for Judith Collins to assume command, you could tell the blue “team” was desperate and in search of past glories. After all, Crusher is towards the end of her political career and from a bygone era where dirty politics once reigned supreme.

Judith (Crusher) Collins - National Party leader

In the new age of the Internet however, where the sharing of information is instantaneous and fact checking widespread, Crusher’s outdated brand of campaigning on disinformation is failing to gain traction. In fact National is showing that they’re entirely out of step with the vast majority of Kiwis, including organisations that would normally align with National's questionable set of values.

Today, the NZ Herald reported:

Election 2020: Group letter calls on National to back Healthy Homes standards

Auckland's largest real estate company has called on National to halt plans to scrap new Healthy Homes standards if elected.

Barfoot & Thompson said cold and damp rental homes had been linked to the gruelling battle with respiratory disease that affected 700,000 New Zealanders and cost billions of dollars each year.

It has co-signed a letter with the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation, doctors and other non-profit groups urging National leader Judith Collins to change course and back the new standards.

Crusher won’t do this of course. She believes that appealing to landlords who continue to profit from other people’s misery with cold and damp rentals is a vote winner. It’s another sign that National, who've stagnated in the polls, is desperate to retain their core supporters at any cost.

Instead of doing the right thing, Crusher is trying to appeal to a few voters who’re also wilfully ignorant of the benefits Healthy Homes Standards will provide. 

It’s now patently obvious that National’s decision to repeal the policy in the unlikely event that they’re the elected Government is going to back fire. Labour has made a good fist of why the standards should be implemented and many from within the real estate industry also agree that they’re a good idea.

Combine this with the fact that most Kiwis have to rent and will therefore also support the improvements, and it’s crystal clear that National under Crusher Collins has made another misstep while limping along their beleaguered and shambolic campaign trail.

When will Goldsmith resign?

The National Party’s campaign has gone from bad to worse with a further two large miscalculations being uncovered in their alternative fiscal plan. Firstly, National’s economic spokesperson and list MP, Paul Goldsmith, used May's Budget figures instead of last week's PREFU numbers, and came up with a whopping $4.3 billion miscalculation.

Then a further $88 million error was uncovered because Goldsmith made the same mistake with capital allowances. But if all that wasn’t bad enough, National bungled for a third time when Goldsmith tried to use $3.9 billion of infrastructure funding that had already been reallocated.

Paul Goldsmith - National Party MP

Yesterday, Stuff reported:

Election 2020: Grant Robertson tells Paul Goldsmith to 'rip up' National's economic plan and start again

Labour’s Grant Robertson says National’s economic plan is so riddled with errors the party needs to rip it up and start again.

The claim comes as the economist who vetted National’s numbers was forced to issue a statement asserting they added up, although he wouldn’t tell Stuff precisely how, referring those questions to National’s Paul Goldsmith.

“National’s economic costings are in tatters. Each day new mistakes are revealed, leading to $8 billion in errors,” Robertson said.

“It’s time for Judith Collins to tell Paul Goldsmith to rip up the plan and start again.”

I would go further than that. These very large mistakes clearly show that Goldsmith isn’t fit to be National’s economic spokesperson, let alone any part of a future Government.

On Tuesday, Stuff revealed the party appeared to have made another mistake, by effectively raiding a fund that no longer existed.

National’s budget from last Friday hit up the NZ Upgrade Programme – a $12b infrastructure scheme set up by the Government in January – for $3.9b.

But that fund no longer exists. The Government rolled the $4b left over from what it spent in January into another funding pool, the multi-year capital allowance, in the May budget.

The problem for National is that it’s spent the multi-year capital allowance as well, meaning the money appears to have been double counted.

 

Today, The Spinoff reported:

‘National is a shambles, and their economic plan is a joke’

The Labour Party’s attacks on National’s economic plan are continuing to come thick and fast, with a press release from Grant Robertson this morning titled: “National’s shambolic economic plan going from bad to worse”.

Labour has been quick to attack National’s economic plan, after a $4 billion fiscal hole was discovered – and later doubled.

“Paul Goldsmith is floundering. He’s trying to change his plan quietly in the background so he doesn’t have to own up to his leader for another mistake. He has double counted $4 billion worth of funding, meaning there are now at least $8 billion worth of mistakes in his economic plan,” Robertson said in the release.

“In order to cover over this he is now claiming that he would take that money out of the National Land Transport Fund (NLTF) to make up the difference.”

If National forms the next government, the party couldn’t be trusted to run the economy, Robertson said.

“If they were in Government, mistakes like this would have real-life consequences on jobs and infrastructure investment.”

We’re all very lucky that National aren’t in Government at the moment. The Labour Party may not have been able to deliver on all its election promises, but at least they’ve put New Zealand on the right track. National on the other hand is continuing with its outdated and divisive policy ideas. Goldsmith's serious errors in his alternative economic plan clearly show that National must not be allowed anywhere near the books, which would surely result in a prolonged downturn.

Far from being able to rally the troops, Collins has ensured her party is limping along towards what could well be National’s largest election defeat ever. Crusher has been unable to provide any real alternative to what has already been tried and failed under previous National led Governments. But perhaps the worst part of Crusher’s unprofessionalism as party leader is her inability to hold National Party MPs to account.

If a Labour Party politician had made the same mistakes as Paul Goldsmith, National, their media propagandists and right-wing trolls would be demanding a resignation until they got it. But instead we have National attempting to minimise and downplay over $8 billion in financial errors. If Crusher’s arrogance and Goldsmith’s bungling don’t make voters think twice about supporting such a shambles of a party, nothing will.

Crusher’s fiscal malfunction

Crusher Collins - National Party leader

We all know that the National Party is desperate to gain some traction during this election campaign and have been throwing pretty much everything at the Labour Party in order to try and undermine Jacinda Ardern and what the Coalition Government has achieved. But unfortunately for the right wing, very little of Crusher’s criticism is finding its mark, mainly because of National’s inability to get the basics right.

For instance, it was only a month ago that the inept Judith Collins said there would be no tax cuts promised by the National Party. But in the biggest flip-flop during this election campaign so far, National is now promising a lolly scramble of tax cuts predominantly targeted at high-income earners.

It’s a blatant attempt to try and keep the wealthy on board National’s sinking ship, because under Crusher the blue "team" is continuing to poll terribly, which is a clear reflection of National's lack of any clear policy direction and extensive leadership woes over the last few months.

It’s almost as if National don’t actually want to win the Government benches back. Take for instance yesterdays arrogant attempt by Crusher to blame the Prime Minister for National’s $4.3 billion miscalculation in their so-called alternative fiscal and economic plan. Crusher also claimed that four billion dollars is an inconsequential amount and therefore the mistake doesn’t matter. Yeah right!

Yesterday, Newshub reported:

Judith Collins dismisses '$4 billion gap' as 'entirely inconsequential', says Jacinda Ardern should apologise

Judith Collins is dismissing the '$4 billion hole' found in its fiscal and economic plan as "entirely inconsequential" - and says Jacinda Ardern should be the one who apologises.

Earlier on Sunday Labour's finance spokesperson Grant Robertson revealed National had used May's Budget figures instead of last week's Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Update (PREFU) numbers - a difference of $4.3 billion.

So much for National being better economic managers and getting their alternative budget independently costed.

Robertson said the error begs the question of whether there are more mistakes in National's plan.

"Not only is National's proposal irresponsible when New Zealand needs stability and certainty, they are showing they lack the experience to run the economy. There is no John Key or Bill English there anymore. No one who knows how to run a Budget would have made a basic mistake like this."

But speaking after National's campaign launch on Sunday, Collins says the mistake "means very little".

This is such a preposterous argument by Crusher that even some die-hard National supporters will be questioning their unwarranted allegiance to the party.

Of course a few deluded fools have labelled Paul Goldsmith’s napkin scribbles as the mother of all alternative budgets. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Goldsmith is simply proposing a form of austerity that will negatively impact on the economy and the majority of hard working Kiwis, especially those who live in lower socio economic areas. It does however make already rich people even wealthier by borrowing money at the exact time the financial impact from COVID-19 will really start to bite.

Under Collins, there is no sound economic recovery plan or a National led Government in waiting. They have become fractured, indecisive and forgetful, which are all traits that should rule National out of power for the foreseeable future.

Take for instance their previous policy to let foreign students back into the country. Prior to the second COVID lockdown, the National Party claimed that it would even be safe for students to quarantine at universities. Then Crusher comes along and throws months of her fellow MPs campaigning in the bin without any real explanation. Likewise, National’s position on COVID border restrictions seems to be based on how Crusher feels on any given day.

Voters should therefore rule the National Party out this coming election. Because if the largest opposition party has no policy foundation and cannot even do basic maths, they’re obviously incapable of governing New Zealand with any level of competency that will be required over the next three years. 

Brownlee is a conspiracy theorist

Conspiracy theorist - Gerry Brownlee

What on earth is going on with the National Party? Now that Crusher Collins is in charge, it seems like it’s their policy to say really dumb things just to get attention. Unfortunately it’s working, with most of the mainstream media bending over backwards to provide Collins and her subordinates with the attention they clearly don’t deserve, right when we should be focusing instead on COVID-19.

Yesterday, the National Party’s deputy leader Gerry Brownlee insinuated that a conspiracy had occurred because the Government was asking people to prepare for a potential spread of COVID-19 in the community again. The public was encouraged to purchase masks prior to four new cases being discovered in Auckland, and Brownlee thought this was suspicious.

It’s the dumbest kind of campaigning, particularly because most people aren’t going to believe conspiracy theories when there’s absolutely no factual basis to support them. Coincidences occur all the time, and we should be grateful that the Government had the foresight to plan ahead for the potential of COVID-19 once again raising its ugly head in New Zealand.

Here’s the video where Brownlee attempts to besmirch the good character of the Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern and Director-General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield.

jfc at the "it's just an interesting series of facts" line pic.twitter.com/vl15YyjVZX

— Justin Hu (@justin_hu_) August 12, 2020

This actually says more about Brownlee than anyone else. Invariably one of our flaws as human beings is that we often judge others by our own standards. Gerry Brownlee must therefore have very low standards to accuse the Government of using COVID-19 cases for political gain. In fact what Brownlee is accusing other people of is likely what the National Party would be doing if we were unfortunate enough to still have them in Government.

But Brownlee isn’t the only problem here. By failing to censure her running mate, and in fact attempting to defend his remarkable stupidity, Judith Collins also appears to be relying on conspiracy theories and not facts in the campaign proper.

There is no question that the National Party should leave unfounded beliefs to the likes of the New Zealand Public Party, Vision NZ or the Conservative Party. Because there simply aren’t enough gullible Kiwis out there who will believe such far-fetched claims to make it worthwhile at the ballot box.

In fact the type of brain fart we just witnessed from Brownlee is likely to lose National support. And when you’re staring down the barrel of what is potentially your worst election defeat ever, painting a big target on your back as a conspiracy theorist definitely isn’t advised.

SFO muzzles Jami-Lee Ross

Accused - Jami-Lee Ross

Nobody would think poorly of you if you wrote former National Party MP Jami-Lee Ross off as just another crackpot! After all, now that he’s hitched his Advance NZ wagon to conspiracy theorist Billy Te Kahika’s Public Party, there’s little chance of him ever redeeming himself or recovering any of his previously held credibility as a politician. But what people shouldn’t so easily dismiss is the case currently before the High Court in which the former National Party Chief Whip is one of the accused.

Ross, who along with then party leader Simon Bridges, was directly involved in the organising of secret donations to the National Party from prominent Chinese businessmen. Clearly he has insider knowledge about just how the substantive funds were arranged to try and keep them secret.

But despite this insider knowledge, Ross obviously didn’t know all the ins and outs of the case. He was recently provided further sensitive information by the Serious Fraud Office, reported to be a list of all undisclosed donations made to the National Party while he was still one of their Members of Parliament.


Today, the Times Online reported:

SFO welcomes court decision in Jami-Lee Ross case 

“The material was disclosed recently during the course of the agency’s compliance with its normal disclosure obligations,” the SFO statement said. 

“The SFO acted with an abundance of care in seeking the court order as one of the parties had reportedly expressed an interest in publishing the material. 

“The agency believes that any publication of the material would have breached the SFO’s secrecy provisions and been contrary to requirements of confidentiality applying to the use of material obtained through court proceedings.

The counter-argument here is that the public has a right to know exactly who has been donating large amounts of money, and in what sums, to the National Party. Whether this information is provided through the release of documents obtained during discovery or proper administrative procedures is largely beside the point.

In cases of party political donations, where foreign interests may have attempted or did indeed corrupt elected officials, the public clearly has a right to know every single little detail.

By keeping this information secret, the Serious Fraud Office and Courts of New Zealand are essentially shielding the National Party from public scrutiny. There’s no question that accountability is the bedrock of a functional political system. But by limiting the rightful release and examination of this kind of evidence the court is essentially not allowing the public to be the judge on issues the public has, I would argue, the ultimate right to adjudicate on.

Collins’ husband threatens legal action

We should all know by now that Judith Collins, who has openly said she simply doesn’t care if wetlands are destroyed in the pursuit of swamp Kauri, isn’t exactly an environmentalist.

In fact she has promised to roll back most of the small gains made by the Green Party in Government, including reversing the ban on new oil and gas exploration.

But what many Kiwis aren’t aware of is that her husband, David Wong-Tung, is also into destroying New Zealand's once pristine environment for profit.


Today, Newsroom reported:

Wong-Tung threatens to sue Newsroom 

A mining company director demands Newsroom take down a story on rehabilitation conditions agreed with DoC for a former site on conservation land 

National leader Judith Collins' husband is threatening defamation action against Newsroom over a story about a West Coast mine site that the conservation department allowed to be left in a state likened to a "moonscape" by a conservationist. 

David Wong-Tung, a director of the mining company involved, claims the story outlining criticisms of DoC's amendment of site restoration conditions for the Mikonui site, defames him and wants it pulled from Newsroom.co.nz and to be given an apology.

The rest of the report generally outlines why the threat of legal action, by a QC no less, isn’t warranted. In fact it’s patently obvious that Wong-Tung is using the threat of legal action in an attempt to shut the press up about the environmental damage his company has been allowed to cause.

The problem here for Collins, and to a lessor extent her husband, is that the environment (prior to COVID-19) was listed as the number one issue for New Zealanders. Obviously a clear majority of voters don’t want to see pictures of destroyed conservation estate native forests, which places the current leader of the opposition in a bit of a predicament.

Judith Collins could attempt to try and mislead Kiwis about her true intentions towards the environment, but unfortunately for the National Party most people will see right through the charade. I mean Crusher and her husband's clear conflict of interest is pretty hard to miss.

National leader Judith Collins' husband is threatening defamation action against Newsroom over a story about a West Coast mine sitehttps://t.co/H3F0y2rhn6

— Newsroom (@NewsroomNZ) August 10, 2020

Right wing delusions

National Party leader - Judith Collins

Elections often bring out the best and worst in politicians. Some rise to the occasion and provide us with a clear vision for the future. While others wallow in resentment and controversy, over-relying on attack politics to try to attain the interest of voters.

That’s been the case with the right so far this election campaign. They’ve gone completely negative and done the one thing I advised them not to do, attack the Prime Minister personally.

Clearly being caught up in numerous scandals and having no prospect of actually winning the September election isn’t good for their campaigning mindset. In fact instead of accepting reality, the right wing appear to be entirely delusional!

Take for instance the new leader of the opposition, Judith Collins. She has failed to stop the bleed of support away from the National Party, who fell to only 26.5% in the latest Roy Morgan poll. According to her, anything below 35% for National should mean the leader steps down. Clearly Crusher isn’t going to change that polling trend by campaigning with dirty political tactics and simply announcing more roads either.

Despite the research, which the right wing has continuously dismissed as being inaccurate or rogue polling, the leader of the Act Party, David Seymour, also believes that a centre-right coalition can win the next election.


Earlier this week, the NZ Herald reported:

David Seymour confident a centre-right government can win election 

National may be falling behind in the polls, but Act leader David Seymour is confident that the country will see a centre-right government return to power in September. 

The latest Colmar Brunton poll placed National at 32 per cent, slightly higher than the 25 per cent the Reid Research poll had them on. 

Both polls have shown that Labour could govern alone - with Colmar Brunton putting the government on 53 per cent.

How deluded do you have to be to think that the right wing, which is largely bereft of any new ideas, can somehow regain the support they’ve lost since the last election? I mean even their cheerleaders can see the writing on the wall.


On Wednesday, One News reported:

John Armstrong's opinion: To win, Judith Collins needs to pull off NZ's biggest upset since politics began 

It is quite simple. To win next month’s general election requires Judith Collins do one thing. She has to pull off what arguably would be the biggest election-related upset since the advent of party politics in New Zealand in the 1890s. 

To defeat Jacinda Ardern, Collins effectively has to defeat history. The odds on her doing so range between the minute and the miniscule. 

When it comes to shock results of general elections, upsets are few and far between.

As well as the dire polling, we also have National Party MP's not knowing their arses from their elbows. Former party leader Simon Bridges claimed yesterday that National could do a deal with NZ First, a statement that had to be clawed back by an obviously worn out Crusher Collins. It was a decidedly stupid thing to say, especially being that NZ First isn’t likely to get back into Parliament anyway.

Winston Peters doesn’t believe the scientific polling either, which puts his party in the very boggy swamp with only 1.5% support. Nobody except the most deluded believe that Peters has a chance, especially when you consider the recent wasting of taxpayers money on their mates pet projects. Then there’s the Serious Fraud Office case that will ensure right wing voters with a conscience will look elsewhere for a party to support.

The Labour Party however, despite a few small controversies, has kept their heads above water. This is largely due to the efforts of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who has managed to get New Zealand through the COVID-19 economic crisis as well as achieve some significant improvements despite NZ First being a major handbrake on progress.

Labour is sitting pretty on 53.5% in the latest Roy Morgan poll, and only the most deluded right-wingers believe that the largest centre-left party won't be forming the next Government of New Zealand.