Election 2026: National has broken some promises. It wants Labour to start doing the same – Thomas Coughlan
The announcement was a bit strange. The idea of Budget Responsibility Rules was a contrivance of Labour’s Grant…
Labour candidates make it to Wellington conference by taking a leaf from Jami-Lee Ross – Thomas Coughlan
List candidate Ibrahim Omer, who, like Chen, was an MP in the last Parliament, made the same trek,…
Thomas Coughlan: Labour and National squabble over list in shambolic week
Labour probably expected the odd raised eyebrow at Council of Trade Unions (CTU) economist Craig Renney’s low ranking…
The $6 billion problem with Labour’s transport promise, and why the coalition can’t tell you what it is – Thomas Coughlan
Whether Labour’s policy, capping public transport fares in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch at $20 a week, is the…
The road to good intentions is paved with hell – Thomas Coughlan
The $2.4 billion in estimated savings is particularly devious; we’re at the point in the political cycle in…
Thomas Coughlan: Why Christopher Luxon’s Iran war stance will make his campaign even more difficult
The Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (DPMC) was also asked to clarify whether correspondence from its staff…
Winston Peters isn’t about to walk away from the Government, but sometimes it feels that way – Thomas Coughlan
There’s no rule to stop Peters, NZ First, or any MP in the coalition parties from no longer…
Thomas Coughlan: Christopher Luxon fires his shot – can he save his leadership?
By Tuesday morning, however, he had not arrived on any of the flights into Wellington. It appears he…
What happens next in Christopher Luxon leadership saga – Thomas Coughlan
There’s no formal doing of the numbers. Detractors desire that Luxon, faced with the fact that he’s lost…
Christopher Luxon’s limited options as he stares down toughest fortnight of his leadership – Thomas Coughlan
As whip, it’s Smith’s job to keep in touch with the party back bench and act as a…
National’s reshuffle: After week of instability, Christopher Luxon makes his move – Thomas Coughlan
The reshuffle distracted from two quite good news stories for the Government: an increase to the mileage rates…
Christopher Luxon to reshuffle Cabinet – can he turn it around? – Thomas Coughlan
Luxon isn’t having much luck at that moment, but one area in which he’s fortunate is in the…