John Armstrong: Leadership election rules full of pitfalls
To point out the potential pitfalls in Labour's new method of changing and choosing its leader was to incur the usual wrath from the usual quarters, writes John Armstrong.
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John Armstrong: It's time for Labour to call a halt to all this madness
David Cunliffe may still be Labour's leader by name. But for all intents and purposes his tenure at the party's helm is as good as over, writes John Armstrong.
Fran O'Sullivan: Key wins - now let's focus on real issues
John Key goes into the home straight of the election campaign with his integrity publicly intact after the Kim Dotcom fiasco.
John Armstrong: Moment of 'struth' sees Dotcom bubble burst
Hell hath no fury like a voter who feels he or she has been treated like a fool.
In Epsom, always time for a cuppa
Conservatives Colin Craig and Christine Rankin headed out on the campaign trail in Newmarket yesterday - so what reaction did they get?
John Armstrong: Key soothes voters with status quo
National is not short of policy. Just look at the party's website, writes John Armstrong. But there is little that leaps out and grabs your attention.
Claire Trevett: Schoolyard one-upmanship at expense of detail
For the past month, National leader John Key and Labour leader David Cunliffe have bemoaned the focus on Dirty Politics and the lack of attention to their policies.
Brian Fallow: Housing costs back under spotlight
The Productivity Commission has been sent back into the minefield of housing costs.
John Armstrong: Greens need to compromise to get ahead
The Greens face an old dilemma: remain pure but powerless. Or go centrist and compromise and get things done, writes John Armstrong.
John Armstrong: Conservatives can expect hard time
If Colin Craig thinks it's been a struggle getting his Conservative Party close enough in the polls to clear the 5 per cent threshold on election day then he hasn't seen anything yet.
Claire Trevett: Winston woos with one-liners
Winston Peters harks back to a New Zealand of the 1950s and 1960s when everybody had a job and immigrants didn't take them. "We're not anti-immigration up here," he says. "Crikey! I'm half Scots."
Brian Rudman: Dotcom's been pipped ... but it's politics as usual
Spare a thought for German money-bags Kim Dotcom. He's spending more than $3 million to buy himself into the general election.
John Armstrong: The trouble with showing too much of your bottom line
Confused? Who wouldn't be? It is difficult enough getting to grips with the new forms of inquiry laid out in last year's Inquiries Act without the politicians complicating things even more.
Claire Trevett: Nothing as good as a baddy in an election duel
Like any decent Western there are goodies and baddies running through the set of this election campaign.
Claire Trevett: Parting shots in the House
MPs have headed off on the campaign trail with one last blast at their rivals.
John Armstrong: Even the enemies are voters
It seemed just a slip of the tongue. Or was it, asks John Armstrong. Nick Smith surely meant to talk of "co-operation", not "collaboration", in Parliament yesterday.
Audrey Young: Policies and people all part of campaign
Anything could happen between now and the election in eight weeks. That's what makes election campaigns so exciting.
John Armstrong: The 'gotcha politics' disease is afflicting all
It sure ain't pretty. It sure ain't enlightening. It is most definitely insidious. It is a creeping cancer of the New Zealand body politic, writes John Armstrong.
Claire Trevett: MPs come and go but rare few earn high regard
Politicians come and politicians go. Some are loved, some are ridiculed, some are despised. Claire Trevett looks at two who will leave this week, respected.
Deborah Hill Cone: Cunliffe's problem is that he just isn't sexy
Deborah Hill Cone believes sex appeal amounts to political capital. 'But sadly for the Labour Party's polling, Cunliffe is simply not hot.'
John Armstrong: Centrist economic policy a lesson in clever tactics
Goodbye whacky Greens; hello orthodox Greens. So moderate and non-threatening is the Greens' policy on "economic innovation" it could almost have been written by Bill English.
Claire Trevett: Perfect storm of contradictions blows from North
Come the rains, come the politicians. When the winds and rains wrought havoc over Northland, it was Labour MP Kelvin Davis who got stuck in.
Brian Rudman: We need a tunnel vision to help pay for rail link
The Government shouldn't suddenly decide that ratepayers be forced to beggar themselves to maintain and upgrade a public transport system, writes Brian Rudman.
Brian Rudman: Press pause before throwing away the key
Those baying for the blood of the Maori King's second son after his drunken night out with some mates should take a deep breath and consider what they're demanding.
Claire Trevett: Faithful lap up 'we can win' spirit
It was at the same venue as the National Party's conference the week before, but the Labour Party "congress" came in a different colour.
Mallard adds a bit of silly to our lives
Mallard had done his homework and believed resurrecting the moa was like Rachel Hunter's hair condition, writes Claire Trevett. It won't happen overnight, but....
Audrey Young: Malaysia has done the right thing
Malaysia has done the right thing in its surprise announcement tonight that it will send a diplomat and warrant officer back to New Zealand to face sex charges.
John Armstrong: Strategy creates a clever route to block Labour-Greens
The roading announcement was also part of a wider strategy to convince voters that the Greens will be the driving force of any post-election coalition, writes John Armstrong.
Brian Rudman: Wealthy buffoons hold our democracy hostage
National's little Act Party poodle seems to be running scared of the attention-seeking yapping of wannabe Conservative Party lapdog Colin Craig, writes Brian Rudman.
John Armstrong: Cunliffe and Key shadow boxing on dodgy election deals
Yesterday the Labour leader had to pick himself up off the floor, writes John Armstrong. David Cunliffe succeeded - just. He had John Key near the ropes if not on them, albeit very briefly.
John Armstrong: Cunliffe's resignation may be in order
David Cunliffe is in deep political trouble. So deep that his resignation as Labour's leader may now be very much in order, writes John Armstrong.
Martyn Bradbury: Unmentionable issues need champion
There are three rules of New Zealand politics. Never criticise farmers. Never ask why cannabis is illegal and never, ever mention abortion.
Claire Trevett: NZ game of thrones - does Cunliffe dare to play?
David Cunliffe may well be proud that red is the colour of socialism, writes Claire Trevett, but he can't afford a re-enactment of Thrones' Red Wedding.