OpinionJohn Armstrong: Leadership election rules full of pitfallsTo 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.24 Sep 08:00 PM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: It's time for Labour to call a halt to all this madnessDavid 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.23 Sep 05:00 PM
OpinionFran O'SullivanFran O'Sullivan: Key wins - now let's focus on real issuesJohn Key goes into the home straight of the election campaign with his integrity publicly intact after the Kim Dotcom fiasco.16 Sep 05:00 PM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: Moment of 'struth' sees Dotcom bubble burstHell hath no fury like a voter who feels he or she has been treated like a fool.16 Sep 05:00 PM
OpinionClaire Trevett: Schoolyard one-upmanship at expense of detailFor 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.10 Sep 05:00 PM
OpinionBrian FallowBrian Fallow: Housing costs back under spotlightThe Productivity Commission has been sent back into the minefield of housing costs.10 Sep 05:00 PM
New ZealandIn Epsom, always time for a cuppaConservatives Colin Craig and Christine Rankin headed out on the campaign trail in Newmarket yesterday - so what reaction did they get?10 Sep 05:00 PM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: Key soothes voters with status quoNational 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.10 Sep 05:00 PM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: Greens need to compromise to get aheadThe Greens face an old dilemma: remain pure but powerless. Or go centrist and compromise and get things done, writes John Armstrong.09 Sep 05:00 PM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: Conservatives can expect hard timeIf 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.07 Sep 05:00 PM
OpinionClaire Trevett: Winston woos with one-linersWinston 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."03 Sep 05:00 PM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: The trouble with showing too much of your bottom lineConfused? 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.02 Sep 05:00 PM
OpinionBrian RudmanBrian Rudman: Dotcom's been pipped ... but it's politics as usualSpare a thought for German money-bags Kim Dotcom. He's spending more than $3 million to buy himself into the general election.02 Sep 05:00 PM
OpinionClaire TrevettClaire Trevett: Nothing as good as a baddy in an election duelLike any decent Western there are goodies and baddies running through the set of this election campaign.06 Aug 05:00 PM
OpinionClaire TrevettClaire Trevett: Parting shots in the HouseMPs have headed off on the campaign trail with one last blast at their rivals.31 Jul 09:30 PM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: Even the enemies are votersIt 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.29 Jul 05:30 PM
OpinionAudrey YoungAudrey Young: Policies and people all part of campaignAnything could happen between now and the election in eight weeks. That's what makes election campaigns so exciting.27 Jul 05:00 PM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: The 'gotcha politics' disease is afflicting allIt 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.27 Jul 05:00 PM
OpinionClaire TrevettClaire Trevett: MPs come and go but rare few earn high regardPoliticians come and politicians go. Some are loved, some are ridiculed, some are despised. Claire Trevett looks at two who will leave this week, respected.23 Jul 05:00 PM
OpinionDeborah Hill ConeDeborah Hill Cone: Cunliffe's problem is that he just isn't sexyDeborah Hill Cone believes sex appeal amounts to political capital. 'But sadly for the Labour Party's polling, Cunliffe is simply not hot.'20 Jul 05:00 PM
OpinionClaire TrevettClaire Trevett: Perfect storm of contradictions blows from NorthCome the rains, come the politicians. When the winds and rains wrought havoc over Northland, it was Labour MP Kelvin Davis who got stuck in.16 Jul 05:00 PM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: Centrist economic policy a lesson in clever tacticsGoodbye 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.16 Jul 05:00 PM
OpinionBrian RudmanBrian Rudman: We need a tunnel vision to help pay for rail linkThe Government shouldn't suddenly decide that ratepayers be forced to beggar themselves to maintain and upgrade a public transport system, writes Brian Rudman.15 Jul 05:00 PM
OpinionBrian RudmanBrian Rudman: Press pause before throwing away the keyThose 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.08 Jul 10:51 PM
OpinionClaire TrevettClaire Trevett: Faithful lap up 'we can win' spiritIt was at the same venue as the National Party's conference the week before, but the Labour Party "congress" came in a different colour.06 Jul 05:00 PM
OpinionAudrey YoungAudrey Young: Malaysia has done the right thingMalaysia 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.02 Jul 05:00 PM
OpinionClaire TrevettMallard adds a bit of silly to our livesMallard 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....02 Jul 05:00 PM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: Strategy creates a clever route to block Labour-GreensThe 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.29 Jun 05:00 PM
OpinionBrian RudmanBrian Rudman: Wealthy buffoons hold our democracy hostageNational'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.24 Jun 05:00 PM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: Cunliffe and Key shadow boxing on dodgy election dealsYesterday 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.24 Jun 05:00 PM
OpinionJohn Armstrong: Cunliffe's resignation may be in orderDavid 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.18 Jun 01:00 AM
OpinionMartyn Bradbury: Unmentionable issues need championThere are three rules of New Zealand politics. Never criticise farmers. Never ask why cannabis is illegal and never, ever mention abortion.14 Jun 05:00 PM
OpinionClaire TrevettClaire 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.11 Jun 05:00 PM
