19 OTT 2020 · Labour's number two Kelvin Davis is getting strong backing for the job of Deputy Prime Minister, even from those in other political parties. The Māori Party's Rawiri Waititi, who has very likely secured the party's comeback seat in Parliament, says he would expect "nothing less" than for Davis to be appointed Deputy Prime Minister. Speaking of the wider Labour caucus, he says Māoridom will be expecting nothing less than for those MPs to get senior ministerial roles inside Cabinet. "As te iwi Māori, they brought a huge contribution to the whole make-up of Labour and I commend them for that," he said. "It is testament to the hard work they put in." Davis wouldn't be drawn to an answer when asked about whether he's pushing for the deputy PM role. "Those decisions are yet to be made," he told the Herald today. "Ultimately, the Prime Minister will make the call. Her and I will have a discussion, but I'm not going to make a call or announcement right now." Davis said the party was feeling "pretty upbeat" and proud after its landslide win. Davis has his eyes on retaining the Corrections portfolio. "I'd love to, if the Prime Minister allows it, to be the Minister of Corrections. We've got work to do still to improve outcomes in the justice sector for Māori. Māori education is still my big passion and the reason I entered politics." Another win for Labour is the high number of Māori MPs - 15. Davis says to have won so many Māori seats is "absolutely fantastic". "It just shows that Māori have a voice in the Labour Party, with 15 Māori MPs representing the interests and needs of Māoridom," he says. "It's wonderful to see the likes of Shanan Halbert win a general seat, as well as Jo Luxton, Kiritapu Allan, and Arena Williams. We're very proud of our efforts." Davis says Labour's landslide win shows that people are "sick of the negative and nasty politics"."They like what the Labour party are offering; kindness, compassion, seeing those attributes as strength. I think the country is just looking for something different to what we've experienced over the previous decades." Davis says he'd like to see the Government "up the number of partnerships" with Māori groups. "With hapū, with iwi, to hear what their aspirations are, and to pull the lever as a Government and make those aspirations a reality." He also has plans lined up to support kohanga reo, kura kaupapa and the wānanga. Oranga Tamariki, housing and meth are also key issues. "The cost of living, putting bread and butter on people's tables. We do have a recovery plan. We've already started rolling it out. People saw that we are a strong and stable Government and that we have a plan, and that's really a big part of the reason why we had such an emphatic victory on Saturday." On his election night speech to introduce Jacinda Ardern - which turned out to be a rhyming speech attacking the National Party - Davis said he was "playing to the audience". "As I've said, all the material was provided by the National Party. I was simply just holding a mirror up to everything that they had said, and their words and actions of the last six months." Davis won the Te Tai Tokerau seat from Hone Harawira in 2014 and kept the seat this election in a battle against Māori Party candidate Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. Former Labour Māori Affairs Minister Dover Samuels says he expected Kelvin Davis to become deputy Prime Minister, making the current Te Tai Tokerau MP the first Māori electorate representative to hold the role. "I think this is an unprecedented mandate for Māori. I've never seen anything like it and I would expect Kelvin to be appointed the role." Samuels, who was a Labour MP from 1996 to 2008 and held the Te Tai Tokerau seat for two terms, said with 15 Māori MPs he had never seen so much political representation in a single party for Māori. He said the election had provided an "unprecedented opportunity to really deliver for Māori". "Clearly Māoridom will be expecting a lot from them." With W...

19 OTT 2020 · In this Spotlight on Wellington special, Georgina Campbell and Katrina Bennett dissect some of the more interesting results from the Wellington electorates, and discuss what they mean for the likes of Let's Get Wellington Moving, housing - and even the Johnsonville Mall. Wellington has voted overwhelmingly in support of Labour - the whole lower North Island has turned red. Stand-outs include Otaki where Labour newcomer Terisa in-go-be ousted National's Tim Costley - Wairarapa where Labour's Kieran McAnulty was victorious - and of course, Hutt South, one of the closest battles in the country, with Labour's Ginny Andersen wresting it from National's Chris Bishop. Anderson and Bishop join them to discuss the results, alongside Ōhāriu’s MP Greg O’Connor. LISTEN ABOVE

18 OTT 2020 · The pressure is on Jacinda Ardern to make use of her new mandate to affect real change. Labour has secured 49.1 percent of the vote in last night's election - with National on 26.8 percent, Act on eight percent and the Greens on 7.6 percent. Political commentator Shane te Pou told Kerre McIvor there will be huge expectations on Ardern, now that she isn't reliant on New Zealand First. "If a party is given a mandate like this, it needs to use it, otherwise there is no point to it." Political commentator Clare de Lore told Kerre McIvor Judith Collins will need to step down, and National will need to reshuffle from the top down. She says Collins has been handed an almost inevitable defeat, and the party needs to start again. LISTEN ABOVE  

18 OTT 2020 · NZ First leader Winston Peters has thanked voters, volunteers and NZ First staff around New Zealand at the Duke of Marlborough in Russell. "Ladies and Gentleman elections are bout democracy and what the people wish and we should never stop trusting the people," he said. "We committed ourselves three year ago to be a constructive partner with government. "To provide certainty and stability in a fast-changing world. "To those who have been successful tonight - our congratulations," he said. "For 27 years, there has been one party which has been prepared to challenge the establishment. "As for the next challenge, we'll all have to wait and see," he said. NZ First MP Shane Jones said the results of tonight would be the "fruits of democracy" however the night ended for the party. But he added that it should be said he and NZ First has stuck to its promise to the regions of the country, pumping investment into areas long neglected. "No one will ever say of the last three years that NZ First and Shane Jones, for the North and the provinces, did not deliver. "Northland, sadly, had been neglected for a long period of time."

18 OTT 2020 · The country's "unapologetic Māori voice" is returning to Parliament with Rawiri Waititi wresting the Waiariki seat off Labour's Tāmati Coffey. "The people have spoken and I am absolutely overwhelmed that they have put their trust in me to represent them for the next parliamentary term," Waititi said. "I cannot thank them enough for having the belief in us as te iwi Māori to champion our own mana motuhake and to return our authentically and proud Māori voice to Parliament, ka nui te mihi aroha e te Waiariki." Speaking at his election night party in Tāmaki Makaurau co-leader John Tamihere called the return of the party, eliminated at the 2017 election, an "incredible outcome". "This is rewriting the political history of our country," Tamihere said, as the roughly 200 supporters gathered at Et Tu Bistro in Te Atatu erupted into chants of "Māori Party". But it was a bittersweet moment for Tamihere, losing Tāmaki Makaurau to incumbent Peeni Henare of Labour. "I want to mihi Peeni and his whānau, for the way he conducted his campaign," Tamihere said. He thanked Māori Party supporters in the Waiariki electorate, and for voters listening to their calls to split the Māori vote, giving the Māori Party the electorate vote and their party vote to Labour, whose Māori MPs, including Coffey, would all get in on the list anyway. There was also a chance of the party getting another MP with their party vote hovering around 1 per cent and potentially rising, meaning number one on the list Debbie Ngarewa-Packer could enter Parliament for the first time. "I think there is a very strong possibility Debbie will get in too," Tamihere said. Asked how he felt about the fact, sitting at seven on the list, he wouldn't be joining them, Tamihere said he wasn't disappointed, and it was his duty as a co-leader to stand behind them. It wasn't over though for Tamihere, signalling another run in 2023. "Next time around it will be all seven [seats]," he said, again to a huge reception. The fate of the Māori Party sat on a knife's edge all election night. The closest seats, as predicted, were in Tāmaki Makaurau, Waiariki and Te Tai Hauāuru, with Labour's leads over Māori Party in the mere hundreds in each for much of the night. In Te Tai Hauāuru co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer lost to Labour's Adrian Rurawhe. Labour won the four other Māori electorates. The 2020 election saw the Māori Party launch a fighting campaign. The 2017 election resulted in a tumultuous shift in Māori politics, with all seven Māori seats going to Labour candidates. It eliminated the Māori Party after nine years in Government alongside National, ending the careers of stalwarts Marama Fox and Te Ururoa Flavell, defeated by the very party they were established in protest against, following the Foreshore and Seabed debacle. But despite being outside the Beehive, the party remained active and vocal in its criticism of Government actions and outcomes for Māori. Jacinda Ardern's Labour-led Government ushered in a record number of Māori MPs, making up about 23 per cent of representatives, despite making up only 16 per cent of the population. Yet despite this, Māori remained at the bottom rung for most outcomes, including health, education, and housing, much of it fuelled by persistent inequality and racism, and leaving the door open for an independent Māori voice. The party had a refresh, appointing new leaders in former Labour MP and Cabinet member Tamihere, and Ngarewa-Packer, a Ngāti Ruanui iwi leader. The pair brought their own unique flair to their roles, with Manurewa Marae chairman and party member Rangi McLean once referring to Ngarewa-Packer as providing "balance" to Tamihere, whom he called a "taniwha", who is infamously not shy of political controversy and/or outright offence. Its wider membership were also proactive over the past few years in raising issues at Oranga Tamariki and the disproportionate uplifting of Māori babies from their young mothers. For his own part Waititi w...

18 OTT 2020 · Sir Cullen Michael says Labour's historic victory is a green light for much needed changes in climate action and transport infrastructure. But it is not a mandate for a lurch to the left in terms of tax or welfare reform, and any attempt to do so quickly could risk "middle-ground voters jumping off a cliff", the former Finance Minister told the Herald. Last night Labour secured a parliamentary majority with 64 seats, the party's best result under MMP and its strongest showing since 1946, when Labour won 51 per cent of the party vote. National plunged to 26.8 per cent, its second-worst result ever, with 2002 being its only worse result. He said Labour played a "very safe" campaign, including its tax policy that would only affect 2 per cent of income earners. "I can understand their nervousness ... but without additional revenue, and given the Covid-19 flow-on, they are somewhat restricted. "We're locked into programme for three years in terms of tax generally. Its more immediate problem is that any feasible tax programme is going to have a very minor bearing on the size of deficits in the next three years. "I do have to admit that one or two points I was worried they were being too safe. But in the end, that paid off and allowed Jacinda to project that image of competence, combined with kindness, and an occasional spark of severity when dealing with Judith Collins." He said Labour had a strong mandate on climate change action, transport infrastructure and tackling poverty, though on the latter he agreed with Ardern that lasting change came in increments rather than in leaps and bounds. "Jacinda has a mandate for some quite significant change, but in areas like the welfare system and poverty, it is a matter of progressive change over a period of years." Cullen said National voters had shifted to Labour over the Government's successful Covid response and, to a much lesser degree, to strengthen Labour's hand against Green influence. "And there were definitely Labour people who were worried the Greens might not make the 5 per cent threshold and who switched their party vote to ensure that happened." He noted National's issues with leadership changes and campaign bungles including caucus leaks and signs of disunity. "People were disillusioned with National. It was a bit like 2002, when National got a lot less than in the polls as people gave up on them. Clearly a lot of National people voted Act this time." NZ First leader Winston Peters also played the wrong hand in criticising "wokeness" and "pixie dust", he said. "Winston spent two or three weeks attacking Labour, and attacking Jacinda in code-language. "He should have been making more of what NZ First had done positively, sort of hugging Jacinda close to him in the same way James Shaw did. Shaw seemed to be getting as close to Jacinda under the umbrella as he could." His advice to Peters? "Retire. Imagine him coming back at 78 next time around. What as? The grumpy old vote is almost by definition declining, despite the fact the population is getting older, and his time has passed." He said the Greens should be careful about getting into a coalition arrangement, nothing how poorly minor parties have fared in the past, including the fate of NZ First in 2008 and in 2020. "Think very carefully before getting too closely locked in to the web of government. The history of minor parties who do that, if and when the Government starts to get a little unpopular, is not encouraging. "The minor parties have a real struggle coping with the stresses and responsibility for decisions that aren't popular with everybody. We've had a variety of loose arrangements under MMP, and the looser the better. "They can still have an influence, but that will be limited anyway because ultimately they don't have the votes to stop Labour from doing anything."  

17 OTT 2020 · A former National Finance Minister believes many of those who voted for Labour - will have been holding their noses as they did so. Steven Joyce told Kerre McIvor he believes a lot of people voted strategically. "With the discussions around the wealth taxes the past few weeks, I knew some people who are normally National voters saying they will vote for Labour, just to keep the Greens out." Joyce congratulated Labour on a historic win and said Ardern could be proud of her campaign. On Winston Peters losing and leaving Parliament, Joyce says politics is a cruel business. "I feel for everybody losing their seats," he said, adding it was always better to go on your own choosing. LISTEN ABOVE

17 OTT 2020 · Chloe Swarbrick says it's phenomenal to have won Auckland Central. Special votes haven't been counted but she's leading by 500 votes. Swarbrick told Kerre McIvor she doesn't want to count her chickens before they hatch, but says it was a very good night. "When you give every fibre of your being to something, we built up a massive campaign and did things everyone ruled out." Swarbrick says everyone thought it was impossible but she made it across the line. LISTEN ABOVE

17 OTT 2020 · Act expects to have power in Parliament - even on the opposition benches. The party is set to go from one MP to ten, after winning Epsom and soaking up eight percent of the party vote. Leader David Seymour says the defeat of the right overall is disappointing. But he told Kerre McIvor Act have proven they can still influence government policy from the opposition. "Labour said they were going to introduce hate speech laws, Act really led a campaign against that. "We played an honourably role of protecting freedom of speech." LISTEN ABOVE

17 OTT 2020 · National's Gerry Brownlee has revealed he's considering his position in the party, after last night's devastating election result. It's ended up with just 26.8 percent of the party vote, meaning 19 MPs are out of a job. Brownlee told Kerre McIvor he'll be taking a couple of days to think about his future with the party. "I'll be speaking to colleagues before making a decision. The party will hold discussions, to assess what went wrong." Brownlee believes National ran a very good on-the-ground campaign, but the Covid 19 pandemic created a "herding" instinct behind the incumbent government. Brownlee took over as campaign chair in July and has been a National MP for almost 25 years. He entered Parliament in 1996, winning the Christchurch seat of Ilam and has held it ever since. But last night, he lost it by more than 2000 votes. LISTEN ABOVE