On Saturday night we should know who will form the next government. There is unlikely to be a ‘kingmaker’ party this time around to hold the country to ransom.
The polls are indicating the government is more likely to be Labour and the Greens, and less likely to be National and ACT.
Even if Labour defies the odds and for the first time in our MMP history succeeds in gaining an outright majority of votes, Jacinda Ardern has confirmed that she would bring the Green Party into government.
The Labour leader is clearly looking three years ahead and would not want to shun a party that she may need in 2023.
This also confirms the futility of tactically voting for Labour “to keep the radical Greens out of government”. The only way to ensure the Greens are kept out of government is to elect National and ACT.
Under our MMP electoral system, all of the votes cast for parties that fail to win an electorate seat and do not reach the 5 percent party vote threshold, will be wasted.
According to last week’s Colmar Brunton poll, the combined party votes of the 11 registered parties that scored under the threshold added up to around seven percent.
So, what happens to those hundreds of thousands of wasted votes? In effect, they are discarded, and the votes of the successful parties are scaled up to 100 percent. Or, looking at it another way, the wasted votes are re-allocated proportionately to the parties that successfully reach the MMP threshold, with the highest polling parties gaining the greatest benefit.
The exact way seats are allocated to each party in New Zealand elections is determined by what’s known as the Sainte-Laguë formula.
The Electoral Commission has an on-line calculator HERE, which demonstrates how the system works – anyone can plug in different party vote percentages and calculate an election outcome then track how the parliamentary seats are allocated.
The fact that wasted minor party votes are effectively re-allocated by the Electoral Commission is the main reason why their final results are often lower than expected. At the eleventh-hour, supporters, realising their vote is likely to be wasted, decide to make it count.
Faced with voting for a party that is not their first choice, many voters will opt to support the party that they believe will do the least harm.
This is similar to the advice being offered by this week’s NZCPR Guest Commentator Bruce Sheppard, a chartered accountant and founder of the New Zealand Shareholders Association:
“Look at the political parties and ask yourself which one gives you hope for your children? If the answer is none, likely, then which is the least of the evils?…
“Arden would have you believe this is the Covid election. Collins would agree and say it is the Covid mismanagement election. But like all elections, it’s about the future you want.
“Here’s the rub… neither party is portraying any clear strategy for what future they want to deliver tangibly. Build more schools, roads, turn us into a silicone island, stop cows burping, stop using plastic, euthanise the old, further Covid lockdowns or not… the minutiae of crap. Populist pork barrelling, no vision. What’s new? And why am I still surprised and disappointed by this?”
Bruce believes that more than any other, this election is about philosophy: “Do you want an aspirational society? To have such a society you must acknowledge property rights and protect them. Or, do you want a society that aims to have everyone do or receive average, achieving this through redistribution by means of taxes, printing money and shoving forward the consequences of this to our children and unborn children, who conveniently don’t get to vote on the debt we are pushing onto them?”
The debt Bruce refers to has exploded from 19 percent of GDP in 2019, to an expected peak of over 56 percent of GDP in 2026, creating a massive burden on our children and grandchildren for decades to come.
In fact, one of the most bizarre aspects of this election is that the mountain of debt that we are facing has been created by the very party that is asking us to trust them to manage the economic recovery.
Indeed, it was Labour’s handling of the pandemic that is largely responsible for the economic challenges that now confront us. By imposing lockdowns that were unnecessarily harsh Labour has played a central role in creating the country’s worst economic outlook in nearly a century.
Ironically, some within the World Health Organisation are now calling on countries to stop “using lockdowns as your primary control method” for the coronavirus. Dr David Nabarro from the WHO claims that lockdowns create widespread poverty, and that governments need to use alternative methods to fight the virus.
In a briefing to the incoming government, the New Zealand Initiative has developed a comprehensive plan for growth that does not rely on tax increases: “Raising or introducing new taxes would hurt growth and is not necessary for getting the public debt back under control. Instead, there is ample scope to reduce public spending through greater efficiency and scrutiny and ending wasteful spending on costly programmes which do not deliver on their objectives.”
The Initiative also identified the need to address the decline in New Zealand’s educational performance, saying that a well-educated workforce is critical for economic success.
The current approach to learning was, of course, introduced in 2007 by then Prime Minister Helen Clark. Strongly ideological, it replaced the traditional centralised syllabus-based system with a child centred approach that passed the responsibility of what to teach onto schools and their Boards.
It was an experimental approach. Many countries that adopted it later rejected it and returned to a standards-based system that’s focussed on subject discipline, academic rigour, and more formal teaching methods.
New Zealand’s continued slide in performance in international tests indicates change is needed in this country too if education is to adequately support our economic recovery.
While the Prime Minister is urging voters to trust her party to lead us out of the economic crisis, it is important not to lose sight of Labour’s record of delivery over the last three years, as a measure of whether they are up to the job.
In reality, until Covid came along, theirs was a record of failure. Kiwibuild had proven to be a disaster, State house waiting lists had gone through the roof, poverty had increased, welfare dependency was on the rise, hospital waiting lists had blown out, light rail had been abandoned – almost every promise of substance had not been delivered. As a result, National was consistently ahead in the polls.
Although Labour is now claiming they have the capability to pull the country back from the economic crisis they created, their track record indicates these new promises will also fail.
Surprisingly, however, these critical concerns do not appear to matter to many voters.
No doubt to the delight of the Labour Party’s campaign strategists, the election has largely focussed on Covid and Jacinda.
The effect has been to obliterate New Zealand First, and starve the Green Party of oxygen.
National has not helped itself by flip-flopping on the leadership before finally finding stability in Judith Collins – albeit too late in the day to significantly change their election strategy and policy suite to better suit their new leader.
Unfortunately, National’s party machinery appears mired in an institutional culture that falls well short of the dynamic and aspirational approach needed to take to take the leadership mantle away from Jacinda Ardern.
Not only that, but National’s lacklustre performance has opened the door for ACT to gain a number of new MPs who would otherwise be sitting in the National Party caucus.
The “rise” of a plethora of smaller conservative parties is also costing National votes that might otherwise have gone their way.
The reality is that Labour has outflanked its opponents at every turn, including by engineering the election for October 17 – in spite of the Electoral Commission recommending November 21.
As a result, not only has the regulated period for election campaigning been truncated – by over a third from 91 days to 60 days – but the Alert Level restrictions that were imposed on the country have hampered the ability of parties to campaign.
In fact, by polling day, there will have only been a total of 9 days out of the whole campaign period where Aucklanders could gather without restrictions. Thanks to the PM, for almost a quarter of the campaign period, no meetings were allowed at all, and for a further 40 percent of the time, gatherings were restricted to ten people.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has been able to capitalise on the situation by fronting Covid-19 announcements and using the opportunity to criticise other parties.
In what also appears to be a highly questionable development, government parties have been using the regulated period to dispense millions of dollars in taxpayer funded handouts.
With election rules in place to ensure that candidates do not engage in ‘treating’ voters in an attempt to win their support, politicians are usually extremely careful to refrain from any activities that give the appearance of trying to buy votes.
But not so in 2020, with the Prime Minister as one of the worst offenders. There was even an announcement just a week out from polling day that $100 million will be given to Maori around the country to upgrade their marae.
For other parties, it’s not just the rushed election, the restrictions on campaigning, and the lavish vote buying that they have had to contend with, but many have also had to battle what is perceived to be bias in the media.
Whether this has anything to do with the fact that most media companies became dependent on the Government’s goodwill in April – when they received $50 million in funding to help them through the coronavirus crisis – is anyone’s guess. But the reality is that Jacinda Ardern receives fawning coverage from most media outlets, while Judith Collins receives criticism.
Freelance journalist and former newspaper editor Karl du Fresne believes there has been huge media bias against the National Party – especially by Newshub and TV3:
“In recent weeks I’ve watched with mounting disbelief as the network formerly known as TV3 has conducted what appears to be a sustained offensive against the National Party.
“Initially I gave Newshub and its political reporters the benefit of the doubt, thinking perhaps the run of events was against National and over time the playing field would be levelled. But that hasn’t happened, leaving me convinced that Newshub is functioning as Labour’s unofficial propaganda arm.
“No one who believes in the importance of fair and impartial news media can accept this is right. Fair, accurate and impartial journalism is never more important than during an election campaign.”
On election night, the fate of the Green Party will be of particular interest. If their vote dips below the MMP threshold, they could well be out of Parliament altogether. Otherwise, they are likely to become part of a new government.
While most electorate races will not influence the final shape of Parliament, there are some where minor parties have an outside chance of winning an electorate seat, that may. The ones to watch include Auckland Central where the Greens are likely to poll strongly, Northland which is critical to New Zealand First’s survival, and the Maori seats which are the only lifelines available to the Maori Party.
Finally, no matter what the outcome, this election has been a wakeup call for National. If they are to regain the confidence of New Zealanders who believe in free markets, personal responsibility, and the right of individuals to pursue a better life, they need to promote an aspirational vision for the future and a clear path for getting there.
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THIS WEEK’S POLL ASKS:
*Do you think the media coverage of the election campaign has been biased?
*Poll comments are posted below.
*All NZCPR poll results can be seen in the Archive.
THIS WEEK’S POLL COMMENTS
| Media loves Labour and the Greens | Scott |
| If anybody ever thought the media wasn’t biased, I’d suggest they read Mark Levin’s excellent book, “Unfreedom of the Press” about bias in the MSM in the USA. Much the same as here if current trends are a judge. Yould have’ta be blind, deaf or dumb not to know it’s happening here. | Barry |
| Newsmedia should be unbiased | David |
| I’m absolutely fed up with the arrogance of the young reporters in TV media. They are rude and opinionated. There is no such thing as journalism anymore. Just telling us what to believe and how to behave. | Jane Michelle |
| In my view this is common in most aspects of the media %u2013 especially the NZ Herald, a most biased, untrustworthy and frivolous newspaper, and TV One. | John |
| i could not possibly comment, words fail me! | john |
| I bet the result of this poll does not get reported in the media | Lynette |
| Without a doubt and as for the hope that TV3 as a ‘free enterprise’ would at least parade as neutral that was dashed as well. Maybe they were/are hoping to be ‘nationalised’ to get over their sale / financial issues. | RIchard |
| Worse than a one eyed Cantabrian when Crusaders are playing | sheryl |
| Especially Tova O’Brien, a labour activist posing as a journalist | Martin |
| not surprising really given all the money that’s been handed out and the amount of a so called language being forced upon us by the same media | Richard |
| No more apparent than the smiles of orgiastic delight on the faces of the Election Night coverage presenters! | Kevin |
| The media has been overtaken on a biased campaign. | Brian |
| It has been for the last five years, starting with Climate Change and Global Warming and continuing with COVID-19 and Election Policies. A change could hardly be expected when the media, printed and electronic, have been subject to government largess. Where are the critical questions of precisely how the various parties intended to repay the enormous debt New Zealand has committed itself. All because of a “Captain” going “hard” to control the population and “save it” from itself. (after having waited 7 weeks before attempting to control the borders, the only way the virus could enter NZ) One can only say from the Labour/Green Party the $12M spent on advertising slogans together with the daily dose of “how well”” we are doing in keeping you safe proved to be effective, as the media , Apart for a handful of individual columnists/commentators, the media did not question the claim that our Government acted “early” in the containment of the virus. Neither did the media critically question the basis on which the decision to create a police state and lockdown the entire country. Instead it blindly accepted Miss Ardern’s contention that thousands of lives were being saved despite the fact the “science” she was using proved to be completely inaccurate and an exaggeration. If it was reported it was was done so that it was nearly invisible to the reader. The Fourth Estate currently does not exist in New Zealand, but we certainly have a wonderful socialist supporting PR organ! | Michael |
| Is the pope catholic | Elaine |
| not all were biased, but some radio and TV journalists were very biased, to be expected. | Wayne |
| It seems all the media are unashamedly pro-Jacinta, which means Labour/Green | Dennis |
| the media was always showing Jacinda | Ross |
| Towards Labour and anti National | Brian |
| Trivial issues were blown out of proportion when it came to National | Zach |
| The worst example of media censorship is against AdvanceNZ. Banned by social media, ridiculed as conspiracy theorists, and even in the TV3 minor parties debate given miniscule opportunity. This is not a free speech democracy anymore!!! | Robert |
| Quite clearly YES. | Furry |
| Yes obviously, but ignored by most | Graeme |
| Outrageously BIASED, M’s Ardern gagged the press with a $50M handout, probably suggested to her by Bill Gates who has taken similar action with International media, that nasty piece of EVIL that he is if he gets his own way buying his way into all sorts of future evils for this planet. | Bruza |
| Commentary by Bruce Sheppard is spot on. TV3 and Newshub is a perfect example of bias, prejudice, negativism, misinformation and propaganda. President Trump cops the same approach with every report of US politics. TV3 aim to humiliate, misreport and criticise at every opportunity. It may well be that the new owners see the same as we do – in which case Bear Grylls may fill the 7PM slot and TV3 will be replaced with PRIME News!!! Fitting! | Frederick |
| news hubs chief political reporter was so biased and negative towards the national party I am astounded that nobody outside that organisation said anything. Too scared maybe?? | Peter |
| very obvious they are pro-labour | Jan |
| One sided in the “Comrade Princess’s” favour for sure | Tom |
| I have seen a lot of elections.Today’s journalist, since their names are published, are out to garner personal publicity rather than calm presentation of the facts. All we get is opinion and that is biased. Journalistic integrity is a thing of the past | Cliff |
| Absolutely, and quite blatantly. Very hard not to believe that this was an underhand way of campaigning right down to the big RED tick on the floor during the leaders debates. | Barry |
| It is a national disgrace and will have had a significant effect on the final distribution of voting. In my opinion the bias has created an unacceptable influence on the voting public by distorting the truth, and gives us reason to fear for the future of this countries political morality. | Roy |
| Blatantly biased is fair comment in my opinion. The fourth estate in New Zealand has been biased towards the political left ever since I can remember during my entire working life. | Peter |
| If Labor said the media wasn’t biased then they would have no objection in closing TV1, 2, 3 and Prime TV – all tax payer funded and government controlled media. There are no reasons why NZ has government controlled media other than to spread disinformation and propaganda.. | Rex |
| It’s not Russian influence in these NZ elections it’s the Media, so much so that these 2020 elections should be declared null and void. | Beryl |
| NZ University journalism courses have always been controlled by the left wing as well as the later influences of communist China’s Confucius hubs set up in most NZ universities. Coupled with this are the left wing influences to control anti left criticisms by Twitter and Facebook whose major source of income comes from China. Labor Party support for this scenario and weak National Party response is unlikely to change the situation | Rex |
| I would classify the coverage as corrupt, not biased. If it pans out the way the polls are predicting, then we are screwed! | Neil |
| I agree with all your comments. There certainly needs an investigation into it. | meg |
| Absolutely | helen |
| Historically so | Anthony |
| Very very Biased. No longer watch any NZ TV news, much of which is in a pigeon English why would one subject oneself to that nonsense and left bias. | Sam |
| the Wellington post has consistently printed 95% left wing propaganda for the past three years prior to using stuff they had a requirement for all of there reporters to print only left wing articles | Stan |
| The job of the media is to present facts and to let people form their own views. By contrast, so much presented to us both in print and on TV is opinion and very left wing at that. I would have less of an objection to that if it were accompanied by an appropriate disclosure . Beware of what you read, watch and listen to! | Peter |
| Definitely so has the Herald | Pauline |
| Both TV 3 and TV 1 have ben biased against National. | Ken |
| Media needs to be taken apart and questioned why one sided (sometimes half truths) were allowed to be aired without critical balance | Robert |
| What’s election terminology for a mistrial? Advance NZ have been treated unfairly particularly the state funded $200,000 doco that came out last week. | Toni |
| Biased towards Labour and the part Maoris . | Bruce |
| Unless voters had the courage to turn off their televisions due to the heavy bias in favour of the incumbents then we are in for more of the same but at an accelerated pace. Frightening | Judy |
| I totally agree that there has been blatant media bias in regard to this election, especially by TV3 and as a result have decided to boycott that channel. | Janet |
| Yes it has and this is not unique to NZ. The MSM is just about all left leaning and in some cases very left leaning. The polls reflect that as well All the polls in the US are predicting a very close race or a Biden win Personally I can not see that or am just looking through my own bias I would predict a Trump landslide and possibly close to 350 Electoral College votes In NZ I see a much closer contest than what is being predicted in the press It really depends on the Green Communists if they get in then we will have Cindy ruining our economy for three more years If the Greens fail then Act/Nat has a chance I don’t worry about left or right leaning media PROVIDED THEIR LEANINGS ARE MADE CLEAR | Robin |
| Media is biased on many subjects | Gareth |
| Just more of the same | aubrey |
| Damn right, I just don’t trust them anymore. I am getting to the stage of not reading anymore because it is so biased. It is a sad time for New Zealand. | Fraser |
| No different, like other media around the world, slanted to the left. | Ted |
| Yes it was biased. The media will always zero in on cracks and national had plenty. | Chris |
| Just shocking! | Malc |
| This is a worldwide phenomenon. Strong left wing bias in all media and shut down debate. | Naomi |
| The polling needs to stop. People like to back a winner.. follow the crowd! | Brian |
| Absolutely biased towards Labour it’s been apalling | Sharon |
| The media has been unbelievably biased and I don’t mean just NZ media. Most of the rest of the world also thinks the sun sets when JA sits down. I have told people in South Africa, the UK and America that what they hear about her is biased and not realistic countless times and have actually at times made the comparison between the two governments. Imo, Judith should have been PM in i017 already and should have had more time to campaign. I really do believe that she is NZ’;z Margaret Thatcher. | Elsie |
| ? | Ann |
| It is realistic to expect that people, including those who claim to be independent, are biased towards their core values. There is no doubt those working on wages, including those within mainstream media, are more likely to vote left and those reliant on the free market are more likely to vote right. Within the media this is most evident in those with Maori heritage when reporting on Maori issues, but one of the worst cases is Rod Oram being touted for many years as “independent” when he has had a green bias which became overt this year when the Greens were polling around the 5% threshold. | jd |
| Looking at Sky News OZ highlights the difference in our coverage. Hoskings & Smith need more TV time to balance arguments | Neville |
| To be expected when the news media has been recently handed $50 million by the government. | Alan |
| News media want Labour/Green coalition to win because they know that will further wreck the economy and that is bad for NZ and bad news sells news and that will enable more advertising revenue. | Ron |
| Absolutely. corrupt media is the most serious problem of this era. The NZ Herald, tv1 & tv3 — the editors all need to be named & shamed. Withdraw all and any funding. | Bruce |
| Disgraceful the worst it has ever been | Ralph |
| Without a doubt! Quite blatantly so! | Elizabeth |
| Not just this election. It has been totally biased for many years. | Graeme |
| With Govt [via taxpayer] control of MSM, NZ Public have been sold such a load left-wing ‘hogwash’ we haven’t a clue of what we should believe and why? Social media is the equivalent of modern brainwashing or worse, it selectively ‘cherry-picks the popular items of left-wing and calls interest from social media and Mainstream news…when in fact it is just part of the story we’re all suppose to believe. | Ced |
| It is impossible to not see, that beyond all doubt, the media coverage over this Election campaign, has been patently distorted and partial. It has performed, as the yapping lap-dog, of the red sector. If Labour gain governing precedence of NZ, we may well march blindly to the dark valley, of Financial collapse! | Alan |
| Tova | Anon |
| Absolutely. And Jacinda has relished the attention on her. In addition she’s ‘used’ the Covid announcements for her own political ends, and the media have blindly allowed it. So much for the ‘Fourth Estate’ which is meant to give a balanced perspective, as well as holding politicians to account. | Laurence |
| Cinderella has had a lot of advertising during the lockdown. Being allowed to read the pre-chewed re-gurgitated crap to read in front of the cameras. | Peter |
| Absolutely it has and it’s sickening A real indictment on the fourth estate but who is going to do anything about it. Watch it get progressively worse under a Labour govt. and with free speech soon to be gone our society will be totally stuffed | Carolyn |
| The left wing media appear to favour Labour and those damned greens | Alan |
| And I also think that it is correct to call the prime minister a liar. She has manipulated this election. For Auckland there has been very little opportunity for opportunities to hear the candidates. Except, of course, in South Auckland. | Paloma |
| I look forward to the resignation of Comrade Ardern (she’s resigning if she loses), Her superficiality is breathtaking, as soon as the adoration of the cover girl wears off, she’ll be gone. We need the Fox News Org. here. | Monica |
| Media dictate who is going to be elected to the treasury benches. I have noticed it in the fifty something years I have been voting. | Dennis |
| TV3 has been extremely biased!! | David |
| Well, hell yes. And again, HELL YES! Ya think? And it’s not just the election. It’s as though they’re actually part of this govt. The left get a free pass. | Robin |
| Of course it has been biased in favour of the Left. Jacinda chucked $50-million their way to ensure their loyalty. Investigative journalism disappeared years ago. National under John Key, endorsed all of Helen Clarks UN Agenda policies, & gained the label, Labour Lyte. So partly because of the Jacinda exposure during Covid, but partly because only the Parties in government are allowed any TV time, But mainly because the majority of the voting public do not bother to research policies of any ‘Party’, is the reason that undesirable governments are elected. The old expression is true; The Nation Gets The Government It Deserves. | A.G.R. |
| Biased towards Labour. | Heather |
| Just look at the relative sizes of the photos of the 2 party leaders in the Herald. | Laurie |
| Most definitely | Barbaara |
| And its not just TV3 but also Stuff and the Dominion Post | George |
| Jacinda has had such a large audience this time thanks to her being” so kind” during Covid & Media are biased in her favour and I note Judith portrayed negative in Newspaper cartoons also | Colleen |
| bribed by the 50 million. Corruption at its worst. | chris |
| The media has taken every opportunity to extol Jacinda Ardern whilst belittling anything/everything involving Judith Collins. This is so blatent as to be almost criminal as all media should be neutral or at least fair in the coverage they give to both major parties. | Roger |
| Absolutely YES. I am appalled by what has been taking place. | Pamela |
| Absolutely! A total and utter disgrace. | James |
| Absolutely. | Lionel |
| Too many young, inexperienced journalists. Not dealing with the facts. | Carol |
| Most of our press are left leaning so unbiased journalism apart from a few like Karl Du Fresne and the N.Z.C.P.R. are few and far between | Tony |
| We have hardly heard anything about act | Mike |
| I have noticed.. | David |
| Most definitely. it is not a little worrying that so many important facets involved in the education of New Zealanders are run /spearheaded by “children”. | Heather |
| Sadly the public media have become a socialist propaganda machine. True investigative journalism and unbiased reporting has been consigned to history. | Kris |
| It has been outrageously and blatantly biased toward Adern and the labour party! | Ron |
| All print media are Left leaning. TV & Radio except Hosking & Magiv | Bill |
| Dr Goebbles would be proud | Robbie |
| Anti National bias is prevalent not only on TV1 & TV 3 but ZB & the NZ at Herald continues its Left wing socialism. The standard of reporters in this country today is a by product of the Helen Clarke indoctrination of our education system under her reign & manipulation of the entire Education system & those whom are now doing the reporting for all our media. | Warren |
| Very much so, considering Jacinda gave Media 50 Million, there is a debt they had to repay Tova O’Brian was the most obvious in RED Camp and made sensation comments out of Trivia and way out of context to the benefit of Labour and detriment of National almost every night during the lead up to the election. | Richard |
| Labour/National carousel is a fake choice. I voted Advance NZ and I won’t recognize a government that excludes them as lawful. | Melahi |
| Especially in the NZ Herald | Arthur |
| Clearly. The NZ media is one of the most biased in the world. If fairness and professionalism are hallmarks of their profession, many ought be ashamed of themselves. | Grahame |
| There is no honest reporting in NZ anymore, just paid lackeys of the left, and the UN etc., hopefully the press looses enough advertising for the so called papers to fold, let the so called reporters go out into the real world and try their hand at a bit of hard labor, you know, real work, not just interviewing their keyboards and CNN, while sitting on their backsides in a heated office. | Merryl |
| I cannot believe just how pro-Labour, and particularly Ardern, the media has been this election. The bias is incredible. It’s as if the journalists have lost all sense of perspective, if they ever had any in the first place. Labour have failed in policy after policy over the last 3 years and yet there is next to no comment about this by the mainstream media. As the “fourth estate” the media are meant to hold the Government to account but they have failed miserably to do so over the last 3 years. God Defend New Zealand because the media certainly won’t. | Gary |
| blatantly | john |
| I no longer watch TV News nor do I read NZ Papers I get better more indepth reporting from The Australian & Quadrant Online or NZCPR Fox News etc. | Evelyn |
| VERY | Don |
| It’s been so blatant that even a blind parrot could see it. Not what we like but reporters follow the herd and wouldn’t recognise a balanced view if Einstein explained it to them | Mike |
| Very definitely. The media is very left leaning, and has some have confessed to that. Adhern has had coverage like no other person because of Coevid. | Sandra |
| Unbelievably so. | Dick |
| Absobloodyllutley.With Toerag Nobrain fronting,it was so obvious.If she lent any further left she would have fallen over.No more TV3 for me. | Ross |
| You only have to switch your TV on and any “News Item” has the PM front and centre. Not only that but voting has been in process for some time, but the electoral hoardings are still very much in your face. What ever happened to the situation where they were supposed to be removed before voting took place? | Maurice |
| Media can’t hide the failure of Labour’s key policies of 2017 nor their shallow pool of ministerial talent. And media can’t hide disarray in National’s leadership nor the resignations of ministerial talent. Those are the key issues. | bruce |
| DEFINATLY YES-newshubtv3 has been the worse.We in NZ are getting what the American newspapers are doing NO GOOD NEWS about Trump but LOTS of good news about Biden & BOTH twitter & facebook its VERY CLEAR they are NOT neutral as they delete anything bad about Biden.I think BOTH media & tv3 NEED action taken to them even a court case as N.Zealanders NEEDED a neutral version from BOTH parties & they did,nt get one. They were a DISCRASE & the shouting debates where was the moderator,it was,nt learning & the moderator was USELESS & should have stopped the shouting so kiwi,s could hear plainly from both parties. | Cindy |
| Yes it is, it is the majority coverage on NZ TV. Jacinda said that we will not have Capital Gains Tax AS LONG AS SHE IS PRIME MINISTER. Now she is hiding behind the Greens and deceiving the voters. | Pierre |
| ABSOLUTELY!! Don’t journalists train anymore?? Tabloid crap!!! | Ron |
| NZME, Talk Back and the NZ Herald are strongly Pro National. TVNZ probably show Labour with more favour. Talk Back is loaded by party hacks from all sides trying to act as “concerned voters/citizens with imaginary stories of gloom and doom. If you can’t sort the wheat from the chaff without being influenced by the media and propaganda you deserve what you get. As an aside I think it is sad to see politicians promising the undeliverable and grovelling for a return to or and entry to the 3 year gravey train/ circus. I am a cynic BUT I did exercise my democratic right. | Bruce |
| By about 90%. | cyril |
| Helen Clark when she lost said we must get our people in the right places | Brian |
| Definitely YES! They are rarely objective and it’s the same the world over with the mainstream media. They are politicised. It’s not an accident. There is a cause; we are suffering the effect and that’s another issue. | Don |
| The media has failed the people of New Zealand . They are biased towards the government and no longer report the news and ask the questions that needed to be asked | David |
| Absolutely. I can’t remember a previous election with so much bias to one party by the media. | June |
| GENERALLY speaking the media is ridiculously woke, biased and left. | Geoff |
| Absolutely! In the media I follow (NZ Herald and RNZ) the commentators / interviewers give an excellent impression of being paid publicity arms of the Labour party. | Bob |
| It’s so biased, and I hope the general public realise that. Unfortunately, I am not confidant that they have spotted the elephant in the room! | J J |
| I think it has been trivial and truncated re time, and questions for all Political Parties concerned. Not good. at all. But not biased for or against National or Labour. | Rochelle |
| The media is always biased. Internationally they weild the greatest power because ‘we are not on the spot’ and so only know what the media tells us , unless we take trouble to be better informed | Harvey |
| Yes, definitely biased against the National Party – especially Newshub and TV3 | Trevor |
| The Marxist masks are now off. Some of us know what future we are heading into, most do not. It wont be long before the four legged sheep will have more brains than NZ two legged sheep. Quality education in schools is paramount particularly History. After the election result is known there will be thousands of one way tickets to Aus and abroad if the Marxist Coalition wins. My country has left me, I did not leave my country. | Mike |
| Oh for old Granny Herald. Entertainment seems to have trumped information. Act with a raft of policies were ignored in favour of the Greens & NZ First. | Doug |
| It no longer seems to be true that New Zealanders believe in free markets and personal responsibility, and those who still believe in the right of individuals to pursue a better life appear to want the publicly-funded version. The extravagant levels of bribery offered by so-called ‘serious’ politicians during this campaign defy belief, and leave me wondering where NZ would score on an updated list of corrupt governments. This is not really surprising, but the fact that none of the mainstream media outlets see fit to condemn it, or even comment on it, is both surprising and very worrying. This is not the start of the slippery slope, we are halfway down it and gathering speed quickly. | TOBY |
| Yes particularly TVNZONE. They need to be investigated. In my view they do not keep to the charter they are assigned to carry out. Many a time we see a smirk on the person interviewing or reading the news, prominent when the subject is about a National Party issue. Should a news reader ever say on a political issue I agree with that? | Owen |
| not only by newshub also by a lot of newspapers | Des |
| The Herald’s coverage of Arden has been like a long running commercial! | Alan |
| Can only think of 1ZB as remotely favourable towards National – the rest fawn over Jacinda who seems capable of doing little other than to lock us down! | Tony |
| Tv3 in particular Tova O’Brien I’ll be hard pushed to watch 3 news again | Derek |
| Definitely! We have heard very little of most of the minor parties and virtually nothing of arguments against the two referenda. | Brian |
| Too many young “reporters” who obviously think its OK to make up “stories ” to discredit one and embelish the other to “star” status , instead of presenting believable facts. | Carol |
| This fact was highlighted during a public meeting in Hamilton where Judith Collins spoke extremely well and received a standing ovation. During Q& A a gentleman seated near the back of the room starting speaking in a foreign language. At the completion of his question an interpreter explained this gentleman was the Governor of the largest state in Afghanistan where Judith Collins had visited as a Minister and provided great assistance to the locals fighting the Taliban. Following the withdrawal of NZ troops Judith facilitated these people who were threatened by the Taliban to live as New Zealanders. The gratitude expressed was heartfelt and a testament to Judith’s abilities and compassion. All media were present with 8 microphones attached to the rostrum. TV3 played an extremely negative cut that night in 6pm news but not a mention of this wonderful speech from a refugee. If this had been directed at the PM the item would have been first up in the news that evening. This confirmed to me just how biased our reporters have become in last three years. | Chris |
| Yes, Stuff is biased to-wards anything green & Maori, no reader comments allowed! They are also supportive of anything left-wing, while underreporting the nats. | john |
| The red queen appears to own the news media. | Igor |
| Completely biased towards the left on mainstream tv and radio. | Prue |
| Absolutely!! And with so much maori rammed down our throats every time we turn on the television, Labour is clearly in control of all the channels and are totally trying to brainwash everyone including children who know no different. Its disgusting. | Des |
| Labour and Jacinda have been given an unfair advantage with the Covid-19 reports that have been politicalized to be Labour centered. | Carl |
| Don’t watch TV1 news anymore,it’s so left leaning | malcolm |
| I agree with Karl du Fresne that TV3 has been consistently anti–National. | Robert |
| It is a scandal…and most people don’t see it because they don’t look past the COVID 19 panic presenter at 1pm each day and look at the reality of lack of real government delivery in almost every area. National has been treated unfairly by the media for years. NZ needs to start a boycott the media campaign. We deserve to have balance, informative reporting…not a load of trivia. We are not stupid. | judith |
| Second rate journalism appears to dominate the news media. Long gone is responsible balanced reporting which once was a hall mark in this country. | chris |
| Especially TV who focus on Aderns big gatherings in malls Etc. They then cut back to Judiths focussed ones which show a much smaller crowd.. This paints the popularity picture. TV3 this morning had Adern in the studio then the camera flashes over to her partner Clark sitting in the studio. By her admission this was only the second time he had been on the campaign trail. This supposedly demonstrates a united front for those who have not voted yet. | Salve |
| ONE New, NewsHub, RNZ and most NZ Herald reporters are in love with the idea of NZ being a woke, socialist state | Graham |
| Cindy has the media on her side. She is prepared to use them to further her own ambitions and is trading with them. Fortunately now the world press is seeing her for the phoney she is, and particularly in Australia and Britain, where there is a bit more intellectual capital. She is a rank amateur in international terms. Dog tucker. | Luke |
| Covid 19 did it | Iain |
| Hugely so, by the media, together with the PM economical with the truth. Worst government in my 17 elections, regrettably likely to be compounded by another 3 years. If only I was younger – off to Australia. | Graeme |
| TV 3 is worse than TV1 BUT BOTH ARE ONE EYED . Ayn Rand got it right when she wrote “Atlas Shrugged” in 1945 – all those years ago. Watch the money leave the country. | Garry |
| There has been a sustained blocking of Advance NZ party for over a month now, including being banned from social media because they have critisiced the govt policies | Brian |
| Both ways when they should not be truthful and independent. | David |
| As commented, Newshub bias (especially from Tovahs O’Brien) has been so diabolically Left, why isn’t it challenged by the Media Council? | Stewart |
| Jacinda is a PR queen and our mainstream media willingly allow them to be used as her PR department. You have to be asleep not to see how slanted all msm is towards the leftist agendas and their proponents | Jenny |
| VERY BIASED | Maurice |
| Without the slightest doubt | Peter |
| The journalists are all young idealistic people who automatically lean to the left, they are also bewitched with the young Face and long locks of the PM. And let’s not forget she had a baby too! It’s very sad for NZ that there hasn’t been a balanced coverage of the campaign of all parties and A full and complete picture of the last three years. | Diana |
| The media have failed to look to the future, concentrating only on the here and now | Tom |
| It always is very left. | Wayne |
| New Conservative Party rated higher thsn NZ First but was prevented from appearing on TVNZ. | Caren |
| Hugely in Jacinda and Labours favour. | Furry |
| Absolutely – I also have cancelled subscription to the NZ Herald because of the number of cartoons and articles clearly biased. | judy |
| At 79 and always interested in politics – I would say that this election has seen by far the most biased coverage and commentary that I can ever recall. From all MSM it has been just dreadful. | Roger |
| The Dom Post has been biased too | Penny |
| Definitely a lack of professionalism, it is an election by media in favour of Jacinda Ardern. It shows lack of intelligence, bias and laziness when you don’t look at what has been delivered or in this case what hasn’t but in the meantime make news headlines out of trivial snipes at opposition …reporting on the election should be focused on policies and they impact on the voter society now and in the future | Cecilia |
| This bias has been in our face all year and like it or not, places this election campaign close to being corrupted by the Government. | Mike |
| Disgraceful conduct from an institution founded on the principles of journalistic integrity and non-partisanship. | Pippa |
| And they should be ashamed of themselves. | Deanne |
| I stopped watching tv, could not stand it any more. And so-called journalists, who are just so opinionated writing drivel……. can’t wait until this is all over | Erin |
| The journalists and most of the printed news do not report or publicise what most of New Zealanders are saying | William |
| Much of today’s media reporting and coverage is politically motivated and biased rather than professional impartial investigative journalism. I see media’s biased coverage being increasingly ‘encouraged’ through left wing United Nation’s socialist agenda endeavoring (or determined) to control society – control through fear, control through socialist education i.e. ‘do it my way’ philosophies. And if you don’t comply, you could be deemed a bad person – even castigated. | Stuart |
| A labour -greens coalition is great news for Jacinda. She will be able to bring out more of her ” Wealth Redistrubution” socialist policies and say that she had to, as the price of being able to for a coalition. Her star will continue to shine brightly as people with money run for cover aboard and take their investments/jobs with them. | Geoff. |
| Sickeningly so. | Allan |
| Definitely toward Labour | John |
| Too much personal opinion and not enough facts from journalists | Peter |
| Absolutely biased and definitely a Propaganda Machine for the Left. I do not watch TV One News anymore because I do not want to destroy my favourite TV Set when I get angry with the Crap they put in the news. It’s all Loony left stuff like Climate Alarmism, Trump Bashing or Trivia. | Geoff |
| There has indefinably been a left wing bias by most media. | Maurice |
| Corruption in high places …. | Chris |
| Hell yeah! | Carol |
| Not even an attempt at being fair and unbiased ! Shocking! | Alastair |
| NZ press corp is a bunch of lightweight lefties | Russ |
| To the point I no longer bother watching the news. | sonia |
| The press by in large have the same socialist ideology as Labour/Greens and have ably been supporting their comrades first in the Covid-19 scam to scare the populous into voting labour and not holding jacinda to account over the numerous failures of this government | John |
| Totally | Neil |
| I always said this election will be won by the media.TV3 have become unreal | Allan |
| Towards the left, Labor & Greens. | Warwick |
| Soft question really. The media outlets in NZ are all afraid to say anything conservative as they know they will lose readership/viewing from the greater electorate. The people have been taught via the education system to love “free stuff.” Someone has to pay of course, and it is our heritage that loses its power. We will all pay and this is already showing signs of its future permanence via poverty of ideas, soulless attitudes, lack of imagination and gross selfishness. But we can bring it back if we do not give up and speak truthfully and love what makes practical change for the better. | Ray |
| Without doubt! | Vic |
| TVNZ appears to be the worst touting Comrade every chance possible. Damn shame they can’t get past the rhetoric and into the facts of failure | Rick |
| very/very/biased | murray |
| lefty wefty media in love with Nanny Ardern | Mike |
| The coverage in favour of the political left has been grotesque. | Graham |
| The media was bought by the Labour government. The news is hardly worth watching these days for the totally biased reporting that exists. Judith Collins has gone up even more in my estimation with the rudeness and appallingly biased and self opinionated behaviour which passes for journalism these days that she has had to contend with and don’t get me started on Stuff asking for donations! | Heather |
| very biased , and a lean toward , Taxcinda. | Roy |
| Without a doubt it surprised me that they weren’t taken to task over it This election is the worst ever | Peter |
| Extremely dissapinted in our media and particularly TV3 and Duncan Garner | tony |
| Like the USA the media has been used as a biased misinformation tool promoting their leftist agenda. Judith Collins has been a concentrated target of their focus. Adern’s government despite their incompetence has been let off the hook. My concern is for our children and grandchildren that will have their futures compromised to pay for the reckless spending of Adern and her government. | Lee |
| Without doubt. | Robyn |
| Biased in Labour’s favour – absolutely. This election will go down in history as one of the most unfair elections ever | Cecilie |
| The princess simply bought the MSM and they – packed with leftist opinion piece artists- do her bidding. In other words the media have turned into a state propaganda machine which relentlessly defames , slanders, lies and negatively indoctrinates people. Another three years of this and we will end up in chaos. | Michael |
| Even during the ad breaks after the first leaders debate, the ads were all Labour? Taking words out and putting them in the wrong context in other coverage | Diane |
| They have been bowing to the pay master | Colin |
| Absolutely. Certainly no doubt the media coverage has been totally biased especially Newshub & T V 3. I’m appalled by the whole debacle. | Sue |
| Absolutely, most definitely! | Joe |
| Totally in all media formats | Kevin |
| From TV to print and the immaturity of the political journos has shown thru. | Graeme |
| Not only has the media been bias Labour has used vote buying to get additional publicity. | john |
| You mean the Labour Party’s indoctrination allies? Of course it’s biased. All news media worldwide is controlled and manipulated fully by the socialists / democrats. | Simon |
| Yes the media took a $50 million bribe and enthusiastically delivered for Ardern. | Trevor |
| The AM Show on TV3 has been unashamedly biased towards National by Duncan Garner & Mark Richardson | Kevin |
| Criminally so. | Chris |
| NZ media is TOTALLY Leftist. | Coral |
| Absolutely. There has been little balanced reporting in the media for some time now. | David |
| Absolutely. Tova a disgrace | Jeff |
| Their bias is a disgrace. | Jackie |
| Extremely biased towards the left. So many things taken out of context to discredit National. | Gloria |
| Just like the ABC ! | John |
| The NZ MSM is a bloody disgrace. There is not one ounce of unbiased investigative journalism amongst the lot of them. They’re so left leaning they are all moving in ever decreasing circles I am sure they will eventually fly up their own arseholes | Terry |
| Don’t need to think this is so the evidence is patently obvious | Phil |
| Na | Louise |
| It’s been woeful | SB |
| Painfully biased. Jessica Much takes out my award for the most Labour centric reporter who appears to idolise Jacinda. | Bruno |
| Journalistic integrity is shown to be non-existent. | Jim |
| The counter to the media being biased is that many of us don’t use the media to try and find out what is going on. Unfortunately, there is the voter that just reads the byline or that 10s soundbite from the media, often without context or challenge to the MP or party. Journalists tend to be quite young and the few times I’ve watched TV, they seem to not really know what they are talking about. Of course, that could be me not taking them seriously however I work with many different age groups and I don’t have that issue (personal bias) at work. Journalisim isn’t that higher paying profession so most older jounos get out as they want what their peers have got, a family, house, car, financial stability. Those that hang in there are not in it for the money and unlikely to have a capitalistic point of view. | Bill |
| No dought news media have been a all for labour quiet a few have a labour win firmly in place so that has been to nationals disadvantage | Russell |
| Leaning to much towards anaconda. | John |
| Very definitely | Terry |
| This is nothing new. I believe mainstream media has been an obvious mouthpiece for the Left since Helen Clarks first campaign for the role of PM. It was they (NZ Herald and TV and 3 in particular) who really ramped up leftist propaganda to put her in power. Clark, and her right-hand ‘man’ Simpson, are still highly influential in what we have today. Cindy is merely a fluffy figure-head for the Marxist machine driving social change. This election will go down in history as one of the most fraudulent. Labour has used the Chinese flu as their sole electioneering platform, highlighting just how gullable the majority of NZers really are. | Sharen |
| Tv radio and newspapers soft on labour | Joanne |
| Blatant | Moyra |
| Something is NOT right – but its more false idealolegy | Maurice |
| In general the local Media always favour the ;left leaning parties. | Dave |
| The media are disgraceful and nothing more then government mouthpieces. | Bryce |
| Oust Labour. | Ian |
| As far as the media is concerned, this election has been nothing short of a pre-determined popularity contest with Queen Jacinda the inevitable winner. | Lee |
| $50 million in bias….. | Mark |
| At times extremely | Laurel |
| TV3 is a joke | merv |
| Most definitely. Even the TV1 microphones have been changed to red. TV3 have changed their political reporter who is so obviously Labour biased. All news media are without doubt left wing and anti-National. | Denis |
| Shocking. Jacinda is always shown as in front when she is on posters relating to tv matchups. Just not good enough for media to show her as all nice while Judith as aggressive and not so nice. | Tim |
| The bias has been quite obvious, the headlines in the Herald often being an example, eg comforting positive words for Labour, such as dreams, while National has negative words such as nightmares. The fixation on Nationals apparent rent-a-crowd when they all do it, but using different methods. Labour often uses Malls, or that is what the media generally shows us. | John |
| Hell yes. Totally appalling. | Martin |
| Some of it has been sickening. | Mo |
| always is, liberal – left lock step, look for truth 180o from the lame stream…. | wayne |
| Absolutely blatant, particularly Newhub but in some media circles its starting to turn to focus on the total lack of delivery. Pity we didn’t have that extra month things could have been quite different. Thank goodness the PM didn’t win that Noble Piece prize. It would still be in the headlines. Let’s keep moving is right but currently in the wrong direction. Sadly to win an election in this country all you have to be is popular with the public & pushed by the media. Policies & vision don’t matter a cats whisker to 50% of the population. | Geordie |
| Biased and very poor. Two much coverage of only two main party leaders and even then nothing of substance emerging apart from the final leaders’ debate which was very well chaired by Jessica MM. | Graeme |
| …and how! | Ed |
| Absolutely ..appalling comments from young reporters like dumb dumb dumb regarding the Ponsonby walkabout | Shirley |
| The media ,apart from a few exceptions, are pathetic at their job and have a distinct lean to the left. Unbelievable how they let comrade cindy get away with what she’s done. I’m fearful for our country’s future. | Peter |
| Do fish have water tight bottoms??? TOTALLY BIASED media .. it is disgusting. Something needs to change in this country. Actually a lot of things need to change, but the media outlets need to be the first. | Maddi |
| You are right about this | Geoff |
| Absolutely biased especially the television media. | Wendy |
| Just normal MSM bias | Michael |
| They don’t want to lose their financial support | Bev |
| Blatent | Anon |
| So obvious | Andrew |
| Unfairly so | Liz |
| There is an attack ideologically on Western Democracies all over the world. Epitomised by what is happening in America and here. started with Helen Clarke and now continued by her disciple Jacinder Adern. Add Andrew little to the mix in the powerful position, as Minister of Justice,. You have a recipe for disaster As a retired 37 year front line Police Officer. I have great fears of what will happen to the foundational laws in this Nation in the next three years, under this Government. Plus Nations they will link us to around the world through EU and UN. | Dene |
| Totally – for Labour. It is so blatant for all to see. They don’t even seem to care. I would have thought responsible journalism would deliberately lack any bias whastsoever – that they would have bent over backwards to be fair. They are an utter disgrace and I don’t listen to what they have to say these days. | Helen |
| Extremely biased towards Labour. The Leaders’ debates have been a farce. | Hewitt |
| Totally | Willy |
| Very pro left, no balanced coverage | Peter |
| Was just talking about this today and it definitely is.This is an unfair, biased election especially as all we have seen on TV is Jacinda because of Covid. | Chris |
| Yes, very pro Labour. Not good. | Kate |
| So bias that I turn the TV off the moment I see Cinders face or the COVID trill. I refuse to allow myself to be exposed to the brainwashing that has got incrementally worse the closer tot the election. Since the media bail out it has been blatantly obvious however even the salary supplements produced strange indoctrinating behaviour with the introduction of new work policies at work. | Bruce C |
| A left wing media doing its job | Warren |
| The NZ mass media is totally biased towards retaining the status quo. It suppresses fresh approaches, facts and challenges to the established & arrogant parties. By so doing they made MMP into a total joke. | Fiona |
| The media is Labour party’s propoganda machine. Shameful. | Richard |
| Yes, Tova O’Brien one of the worst offenders – hideously bias against Judith Collins, who cleverly and with humour did not react or take the bait. Awful gutter gotcha journalism and relentless pursuit to kick National for any errors, then keep kicking the same spot over and over, whilst keeping Labour’s errors out of the news altogether. Wow – never watching Newshub again post election. | Claire |
| Totally. Blatantly. Disgustingly, | bill |
| Any time Jacinda sneezes they report on it. | Andrew |
| It%u2019s been so blatant, it%u2019s almost laughable. | Graeme |
| Newshub is a rank offender in this regard but TVNZ is fast catching up | Catherine |
| totally left biased – and no attempt to hide their distorted reportage. | John |
| Frustrating and infuriating. | Neil |
| How can you not see it as biased. Only a blinkered leftie could think it otherwise | Trevor |
| Definitely left wing bias. | Eileen |
| The media has been shockingly biased against National – they make a mockery of their commitment to balanced reporting. Like Karl du Fresne says, they are acting as Labour’s propaganda arm. | Larry |
| The media is so bad nowadays that I no longer believe anything they say! | Thomas |
| The media influence is massive – they like David Seymour and look how that’s lifted him from virtual oblivion into quite a force. Imagine what a difference it would make if they had done something similar for Judith Collins. | Murray |
| Apart from Newstalk ZB, New Zealand’s media is appallingly biased and nasty. | John |
| Labour knew exactly what they were doing when they gave the media $50 million – they were buying the election. | Dianna |