Coverage of the Election 2011 campaign for November
17.
6.26pm: Thanks for following our live election
updates. See you again tomorrow for more rolling coverage of the
Election and Referendum build up.
6.16pm: Opinion piece by Guyon Espiner: 'Policies
shunted to background by teapot tape'.
"In my view the two men with the most to gain from the tape being published or broadcast by the media are John Key and Phil Goff.
"Key, because it seems that what he said was of little consequence and Goff, because he has just eight days to move the campaign on and talk about something which will deliver a respectable result for Labour on November 26."
-
Related
6.12pm: More from the poll results, Espiner saying John Key's personal support hasn't been hurt much by the tape recording. He's dropped back two points in the preferred Prime Minister stakes to 53% while Goff sits on 13%.
6.09pm: Political editor Guyon Espiner brings the latest ONE News Colmar Brunton Poll results.
National has dropped just one point to 53% and Labour is at 26%, which Espiner says is "at least a ten year low ".
The Green Pary is "hoovering up Labour's support" and they're at a record high of 13%.
5.54pm: A question emailed in for Phil Goff's live chat on TVNZ tomorrow:
"If you are elected to parliament will you curb the wasting of time in the chamber? I would like to see a more efficient government looking at real issues such as to reduce the current debt situation. Stuart Leenstra Drury."
5.33pm: Labour leader Phil Goff answers your questions live between 12pm and 1pm tomorrow.
You can email questions in advance to
onlinenews@tvnz.co.nz or take part in the debate
live below on Friday lunchtime.
5.28pm: The answer to rising unemployment is "a
combined effort between government, local authorities, business and
labour groups", says Winston Peters.
A NZ First Press release says "tackling employment issues is a top priority" for the party and "development and jobs creation must be export-led".
See the full release here.
5.30pm: A tweet from Trevor Mallard.
"Ten cents per cubic metres of water may sound like a drop in the bucket but for my arable and lamb finishing farm, it wipes out any surplus I'd make from farming," says David Clark, Mid-Canterbury Grain & Seed chairperson.
"Dairying would be the only way for arable farmers to keep up with the astronomical cost of resource rentals. As a country, we'd also have to import more grains too."
5.08pm: "Cannot believe the events of today," tweets Dunedin South Labour candidate Clare Curran.
"Ghastly. Gagging media should not happen in this country. This is New Zealand people. We are a democracy."
5.05pm: New Zealand needs to be a world leader in innovation, Labour says.
It wants to bring in Research and Development tax credits, establish an Innovation Council, reinstate post-doctoral scholarships and encourage an interest in science among young people.
"We are an inventive people but we have relied on a number 8 wire mentality to see us through," says Labour's Science and Innovation spokesperson David Shearer.
4.51pm: "Sat in a cafe in Helensville this
afternoon and had a conversation with myself,"
tweets Labour's Jeremy
Greenbrook-Held.
"Pretty sure no one recorded it, but if they did, it might be a
game changer."
4.43pm: The next policy announcement from Labour today - Justice.
It includes a moratorium on National's legal aid changes and a restriction on the use of urgency.
"Tying in with our other proposals, that put children at the centre of policy, we will also modernise the law relating to the care of children to ensure the widest possible pool of suitable adults is lawfully available to provide care for children in need," says Labour's Charles Chauvel.
4.24pm: 'Tea tape: Peters reveals more, police demand news material' - read here.
4.20pm: John Key posts on Facebook that he's "determined to ensure all Kiwi families get the health services they deserve - better, sooner and more convenient".
Replies include this one from Mandy: "That would be good Mr Prime Minister, I'm currently being told I will get an appointment with the Pain Clinic within 20 weeks...I'm sure you will agree this is not acceptable."
4.11pm: Auckland has had its red tape and bureaucracy cut under a National government, says Local Government spokesman Craig Foss.
And while he says amalgamating Auckland was the right thing to do, National believes "any further changes to local authorities need to be community-led."
Foss says National is committed to reforming the RMA, amending the Building Act and working closely with Canterbury's local councils to rebuild.
3:56pm: "John Key needs to publicly state the price below which he will not sell our state assets," says Green Party co-leader Russel Norman.
Norman says SOEs could sell for a steal given the international financial uncertainty but the Greens have another plan.
"Through partnership with clean technology entrepreneurs in the private sector, our state-owned energy companies will become the engines of job and revenue growth in clean energy."
3.39pm: Labour says its
Social Development policy is about getting people
back to work, not "gimmicks and political grandstanding".
Deputy Leader Annette King says "make-work schemes and punitive
sanctions" don't fix unemployment problems but that Labour will
work intensively with people to help them back into work.
3.30pm: Phil Goff
tweets a photo of himself at the
Salvation Army Foodbank.
3.11pm: About three million
EasyVote cards and information
packs will be in the post over the next few days.
EasyVote packs make it easy to vote and include information about where to vote, the candidates for your electorate, political party lists, and how to vote in advance if you can't get to a polling place on election day.
3.01pm: Phil Goff is at the Salvation Army Food Bank in Manukau, Auckland and will speak to media afterwards.
2.54pm: New Zealand's justice system would swing back in favour of criminals under Labour, says National's Law and Order spokeswoman Judith Collins.
"The only people who will support Labour's soft approach to law and order are interest groups who believe the best way to stop crime is to pander to criminals, and the criminals themselves," Collins says.
2.41pm: United Future leader Peter Dunne tweets a request: "Let's move on from tea-time recordings and talk about some real issues, shall we? Superannuation, fiscal policy, jobs - election coming up.."
2.30pm: The Maori Party shares a wall photo of
Te Ururoa Flavell's supporters on its Facebook page.
2.28pm:
Winston Peters disappoints listeners and reveals
nothing.
However,
Peters announces on Facebook to:
"Start spreading the word to your family, friends and colleagues
that New Zealand First is back - and better than ever."
2.18pm: Labour's proposed Capital Gains Tax would kill the Kiwi entrepreneurial spirit, says business broker Switch Business.
Director David Newport reckons anyone considering selling up or retiring should do it immediately if Labour wins the election.
He says the Capital Gains Tax would devalue future growth in New Zealand businesses by at least 15%.
2.09pm: Mana has led a protest against Housing New Zealand plans to relocate a number of tenants from state houses in Glen Innes. Read the full story...
2.02pm: Twitter user David Slack says: "A reminder to listeners: Peters recited most of War and Peace before his Nats coalition announcement. Make yourselves comfortable."
1.54pm: Newstalk ZB reports on its website that Winston Peters will reveal the contents of the cup of tea tape at today 2pm.
1.10pm: John Key updates his Facebook status:
"National will roll out a $12 million nationwide rheumatic fever
programme. Check out our
preventive healthcare
policy."
1.08pm: Jacinda Ardern posts a photo on Facebook
of herself at the K Mart/Sallies wishing tree opposite
Britomart
They say this is normal process and the next step will be to prepare and serve a warrant for the information and material.
1.03pm: Labour "has no clue" on responsible
economic management, says National Party campaign chair Steven
Joyce in a
media statement.
"With Labour's latest set of half-truths and denials of economic
reality, they are now stepping up on a daily basis to confirm they
have learnt nothing in Opposition and are completely unready to
govern, says Joyce.
Joyce says Labour has gone further into economic and political
denial as the campaign has progressed.
12.49pm: The Maori Party's Rahui Katene will be
interviewed tomorrow by Dr Bryce Edwards in an Otago University
event called
'Vote Chat'.
The poster says "Bring along your questions and
feel free to heckle".
12.42pm: The ACT Party has released its Education Policy at Corelli School in Auckland.
Leader Don Brash says parents should be able to send their
children to "the school of their choice, be it independent,
integrated, or state - not state only".
12.36pm:
Guyon Espiner tweets: "The One News Colmar
Brunton poll out at 6pm on TV1. How will the teapot tape saga
affect voting intentions?"
12.32pm: Meanwhile, John Key carries on the campaign, tweeting: "Under National, by the end of 2014, 95% of 8-month-olds will have had their first lot of vaccinations."
Read the
full article, which follows Keys'
speech in Whangarei at the Plunket Family Centre.
12.16pm:
A 5% pay rise for MPs announced this morning is
an outrage,
says Mana candidate John
Minto.
"While working New Zealanders are struggling to get any increase in pay this year our MPs are set to receive an extra $7,000pa."
12.13pm: United Future leader Peter Dunne seems bemused that he is trending on Twitter....
12.12pm: Key says the police search for the tea tapes is a police matter, nothing to do with him.
12.08pm: Police have advised several news media organisations to expect search warrants regarding unpublished material from the tea pot tapes, political editor Guyon Espiner has just told ONE News at Midday.
Espiner says police have spoken to TVNZ about handing over raw filmed footage of the tea party but it has not handed over any material yet.
Phil Goff says it is becoming ridiculous that police should be spending their valuable time on this. "Why doesn't John Key just come clean?"
11.55am:
'
Police demand unpublished 'cup of tea' material'
- police are seeking copies of the tea tapes.
11.50am: Green Party co-leader
Russel Norman is calling on John
Key to "give an assurance before the election that he won't
sacrifice ZESPRI in the negotiations for the Trans-Pacific trade
agreement".
"Single seller entities like ZESPRI are one of the best ways for a small exporting nation to sell our products to the world. However, single seller entities are also a natural target in the current trade negotiations."
11.45am: National's campaign video No.6 - Health. Watch it here.
11.36am: Listen to Winston Peters' interview with Marcus Lush this morning on Radio Live.
11.20am: Gareth Hughes tweets about his scuba dive at the Greens oil plan announcement this morning.
11.13am: National has announced a new youth forensic mental health service .
With a $33 million boost in funding, it will provide mental health, alcohol and drug assessment services for young offenders.
"The new services will help improve youth mental health and
break the cycle of offending by ensuring early intervention, and
where necessary, treatment in a secure environment," says incumbent
Associate Health Minister Jonathan Coleman.
11.12am: Labour's Annette King Facebooks a
poster telling people to get out
and vote.
10.52am: Mana's John Minto tells us the local MP for Manukau East, Ross Robertson, is the 'Invisible man'.
Robertson apparently failed to show up last night at the first candidate forum in the electorate.
Ross Robertson is an epic fail as an MP, says John Minto.
10.39am: The John Key walkout yesterday was staged and handled well, political analyst Raymond Miller tells ONE's Breakfast this morning.
"I think one of the things you learn as a currency trader, and that's what he was, is to assess risk. Is it going to be better to withhold or is it going to be better to release the tape?"
Miller says Key decided he was not going to lose any points with voters by choosing not to participate.
10.23am: Winston Peters tweets that he'll
be speaking at the Invercargill Working Mens club at 2pm
today.
10.21am: John Key now wants to talk about serious
things - like trade and the economy - but those are the very issues
"Key has systematically avoided discussing in prime time for the
last three years", says Gordon Campbell.
In
Campbell's blog today he says Key
usually "prefers fluffy morning television outings and blokey radio
chats" but has changed his tune with the barrage of tea tape
questions.
10.08am: More tweets from Labour pushing their 'Facts about National's record' video.
10.04am: Mana has organised a protest march this morning in support of the Glen Innes community and Housing NZ Tenants "being mistreated".
9.58am: The Green Party has launched its oil spill protection plan.
It includes a moratorium on deep sea oil drilling and exploration, plus an independent inquiry into the speed of the Government response to the Rena grounding.
"If the five day delay in getting oil off the Rena was the best response Maritime New Zealand could mount given the resources at hand, then we need greater resources," says Green co-leader Metiria Turei.
9.45am: Another top ten list, this time from the Mana Party
"Labour top tenned National and National fired back but MANA reckons they're both equally guilty. Here's our Top 10 Crimes of the Millennium."
9.35am: National leader John Key says on Twitter that he will be announcing the second part of National's health policy today. "It's about getting better results from public services for Kiwis."
9.26am: United Future leader Peter Dunne is speaking to Kathryn Ryan on National Radio from 9:25-9:45am.
9.22am: Labour leader Phil Goff has just delivered a speech to the Police Association in Wellington.
He told the association that children are at the heart of
Labour's agenda and that "the earlier we tackle the problems, the
more effective we will be".
Goff also said Labour will bring in another 145 officers, with an
investment of about $24m a year over four years.
9.13am: Don Brash assesses himself "about middle of the pack" in last night's leaders' debate, he tells Corin Dann on ONE's Breakfast this morning.
On the Epsom electorate, Brash says voters there "are pretty smart and know that a National Party is unlikely to govern alone and needs an ally".
ACT launches its education policy today, which Brash says will include plans allowing for popular schools to expand and for a clearer ranking of schools.
9.00am: The Greens' Gareth Hughes tweets to say
he's in Tauranga this morning to launch the Green Party's
five-point plan to protect New Zealands marine environment from oil
spills.
8.55am: According to text-in voters,
Winston Peters was the winner of last night's
debate .
A post debate viewers poll had Peters as the clear winner on 36%, followed by Mana's Hone Harawira on 27%.
TV ONE's Breakfast, political commentator Raymond Miller said of
Peters: "The old populist Winston was very much more restrained
last night, he's speaking to a fairly conservative audience."
8.46am:
The results of the third ONE News Colmar Brunton
Poll will be out today, with analysis of the results by political
editor Guyon Espiner at 6 tonight.
8.27am:
'Policies, pledges and the teapot tape as leaders
clash' - a rundown of last night's multi-part debate.
And click here to see the debate as it happened.
8.25am: Good morning and welcome to our live updates of the Election 2011 campaign. The election is now just over one week away.