After a one-week hiatus, Inside Parliament is back with a bumper episode.
This week: Labour's torrid two weeks, arguments over costings for transport projects and policy 'leaks'. Will Labour move to take GST off fresh fruit and vege? Meanwhile, the minors and the minnows are gearing up.
Read on and listen below:
Last week started with a bang with then-Justice Minister Kiri Allan crashing her car and getting arrested. She swiftly resigned from her ministerial portfolios, and not long after announced she would not run in the East Coast electorate at the election. Former Waiariki MP and current Rotorua-based list MP Tāmati Coffey has moved to take her place as Labour's new candidate for the East Coast, despite having announced he would retire from politics at the election.
Then followed claims a Labour backbencher had leaked confidential caucus discussions about Allan — a break from Labour's usual caucus watertightness.
Adding to that pressure was the announcement of Labour's 2023 list on Monday, which will likely seal the political fortunes of some MPs who've found themselves further down the list, since Labour's historic 2020 majority appears incredibly unlikely on current polling numbers.
National's deputy leader Nicola Willis had a leaker of her own this week, claiming a source had advised her of Labour's plans to announce a policy to remove GST from fresh fruit and vegetables. Labour hasn't confirmed it, but it also hasn't denied it — with MPs repeatedly saying Labour's tax policy would not be announced ahead of time. If implemented, it could mean cheaper cherry tomatoes, among other things.
In an analysis today, 1News political editor Jessica Mutch McKay said while some economic experts aren't fans of the policy, which has been criticised as difficult to implement and not targeted enough, it's a potential political winner for Labour.
Away from Labour and National, NZ First has performed well in a new Newshub poll released last night, while ACT's David Seymour says he's still not keen to go into coalition with National if it's with NZ First — but did not rule out a confidence and supply arrangement.
Nonetheless, it could be an inconvenient situation for National's Christopher Luxon, but that all depends on how the chips fall on October 14 — now just 72 days away.
Inside Parliament is the 1News politics podcast — you can find it on all good podcasting apps.
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