Podcasts about Colmar Brunton

Well, the 1News Verian poll released last night shows that support for the coalition government, after seeing an operation for a few months, has dropped since election night. Hardly surprising. Well, to my mind. Anyway, clearly there were others who were simply gob smacked and amazed, but on to them in a moment.    National, ACT, and New Zealand First have collectively dropped 5 percentage points. According to the numbers from that poll, and based on that poll, the left block would be able to form a government and New Zealand First would be out of Parliament. How many times have New Zealand first voters heard that? So many times, you'll be out of government dead and buried.    The poll had National at 36%, down two points from the last poll in February, Labour jumped to 30%, up two. And the Green Party also increased by two to 14%. Te Pati Māori was on 4%, the same as the last poll. This is pretty much par for the political course. Labour showed a dip after it formed a coalition government in 2017 after three years of heading their coalition government. The first Colmar Brunton poll of 2020 saw National scraping into power and again New Zealand First out of Parliament in their polls.  These snapshots are an indication of how people are feeling, both in themselves and around politics. Christopher Luxon was questioned about it this morning when he was on with Mike Hosking. He said, he didn't say it in so many words, but this is me. He said, it was hardly surprising that people were feeling grumpy. These are his words, he told Mike Hosking, we've got high inflation and high interest rates. People are sick of it. We're making some pretty tough decisions. We need to do that in order to fix the mess. We've been left New Zealand, as he said, would make a call into and a half years' time. And he went on with the usual spiel. Everyone in the coalition government is very focused on fixing the mess that they inherited, which is quite true. They've got a big job. They knew that going in. But people are going to need to see some results and they're going to need to see them soon.   The shocking daylight robbery of a jewellery store over the weekend, all very 2020. The price of everything is still rising, uncertainty in the job market, there's a lot going on and not a lot of it is good for most people. It is not the government's fault, but it is their responsibility. And they are going to need to see some wins within the next three months and they are also going to have to watch their messaging. The accommodation entitlement, the snide tweets from ACT on Twitter over job losses in the public service, the weeks of fumbling and obfuscation from Melissa Lee handling the broadcasting portfolio, none of that has been helpful at all. Sacking Melissa Lee? Very helpful.   I noticed that, I thought that was a really good move. I was up in Hokianga trying to avoid the news and I saw this and thought, damn it, what a great talk back day that would have been because I think that is really decisive, really good. She's clearly not up for the job. She can't handle it. Get. Go.   Brutal, but a good sign to Ministers, perform, or you're out. A good sign to backbenchers that if you perform, you're in. I thought I thought that was a really good move, so the poll was taken over a week and ended on the day of Melissa Lee's sacking, so I'd be interested to know whether that will have an impact the next time around.   But it's polls. You know, as every they're great to have a bit of a yarn about, great to give different media outlets their lead for the day or the night. People can have a yarn about them. Take the pulse, see where everybody's at, they count for nothing until Election Day. You can take some learnings out of them. You can think. OK, well, yes. No, we need to be careful here. We need to be more positive here.   It will give Labour a bit of heart because they have been in the doldrums, and they need to reinvigorate themselves to bring themselves up to a decent opposition. But it's a poll. There's two and a half years to go. A lot can happen in that time.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A senior barrister and former crown prosecutor says unless this month's budget contains new funding for the legal aid system, it is is danger of collapse. Hourly rates for legal aid work haven't changed since 2008 and are around half what a Crown Prosecutor or independent counsel receives. As a result there has been an exodus of lawyers willing and able to offer legal aid. The Law Society commissioned an independent report by Colmar Brunton last year, which surveyed nearly 3000 lawyers on access to justice. Three quarters of the legal aid lawyers who participated said they had to turn away people seeking legal assistance because they didn't have the time to take on the client, or because their firm had reached the maximum amount of legal aid clients it could afford. A quarter of legal aid lawyers said they intend to stop in the coming year. Tiana Epati is a barrister, former crown prosecutor and as immediate past president of the Law Society, commissioned the Colmar Brunton research. She holds grave fears for the legal system if the budget later this month doesn't include a funding boost for legal aid.

Newstalk ZB political editor, Barry Soper, joined Heather du Plessis-Allan to discuss the decisions made at Cabinet with booster vaccines and Waikato confirmed to be moving to Level 2 on Tuesday, and also discussed the latest Colmar Brunton poll, which saw Labour's popularity dropping.LISTEN ABOVE

Party support has dropped slightly for Labour in One News' latest Colmar Brunton poll. It's down two points to 41 percent, while National has gained two points to 28 percent. Jacinda Ardern has lost five points in the preferred Prime Minister stakes, sitting on 39 percent while Judith Collins is at 5 percent, The ACT Party has held steady on 14 percent, with support for its leader David Seymour as prime minister also steady on 11 percent. Political editor Jane Patterson spoke to Corin Dann.

So, as I said last week with the other two polls, what you look for is a trend. And multiple polls showing the same thing is a trend. And the trend's not good.  Not surprisingly, with the shambolic vaccine rollout, the cluster that is MIQ, divisive policies and controversial mandates. Three waters, He Pua Pua, a never-ending lockdown for Auckland, businesses going belly up, a token insulting ultra-curated stopover in Auckland and inauthentically calling that “a visit”.  And zooming in and out by way of private jet when climate change was going to be her ‘nuclear moment'. Hard to fathom that one from the inside of the Airforce jet whizzing back and forward, that's a lot of carbon miles. I said last week this was a ‘let them eat cake' approach and the clanger here is how disingenuous that is, when this is the Government that promised to govern for everybody.  Poverty, gang problems, gun violence, inadequate leadership, lack of accountability, flip flopping, protests, these things are all becoming part of this regime's calling card. And that's a bad look. So bad that now the polls reflect it.  Hero to zero is happening at a faster rate than most popular governments, they're falling out of favour Term 2, most successful governments at least wait to do that until Term 3.  So, they're down 2 as a party to 41 percent, Jacinda Ardern's popularity has dropped 5 to 39 percent. That's her lowest preferred PM score for two years. Labour's decline has been consistent across the last five Colmar Brunton polls, each poll since the 2020 election has seen them drop. Ardern claims Labour's holding up well however, she thinks it's a strong majority to govern. And she's not wrong, it is a majority. 53 seats for Labour and 12 for the Greens would still be a comfortable majority to govern. But the downward spiral is on. Ardern chalks up the downward trend to ‘having to make tough decisions'. I notice Grant Robertson said it was our fault. "People are feeling anxious." he said, so it's not them it's us? I think we call that gaslighting. But where the Government's dipping, the opposition's not making the gains. National is only up 2 to 28 percent, but as Act's David Seymour points out, the gap between left and right is steadily closing. With Act steady on 14 and National on 28 percent, it's still not enough to govern, but the trend is working in their favour.  Judith Collins, whose approval rating by the way is at a new low, summed the Government's fortunes up well when she said it would “take a while for people to accept the Government sold them a pup.” The trend unfolding now indicates voters are waking up to that fact. 

Party support has dropped slightly for Labour in One News' latest Colmar Brunton poll. It's down two points to 41 percent, while National has gained two points to 28 percent. Jacinda Ardern has lost five points in the preferred Prime Minister stakes, sitting on 39 percent while Judith Collins is at 5 percent, The ACT Party has held steady on 14 percent, with support for its leader David Seymour as prime minister also steady on 11 percent. Political editor Jane Patterson spoke to Corin Dann.

The Block NZ could have a bit to say about Auckland house prices.However, the issue of rising house prices is not just restricted to Auckland.The Block NZ winners Tim and Arthur made a take-home profit of $660,000 with their winnings of $100,000, which is 75 per cent more in their auction than 2016's winners made, which could be a reflection on the current market nationwide.Waikato will be moved down to Level 2 from tomorrow evening.As the country edges closer to the new traffic light system, the move may come as a bit of a surprise to Aucklanders heading into their thirteenth week of lockdown, despite having higher vaccine rates than Waikato. However, the Government considered having hard borders for DHBs with the lowest vaccination rates to replace Auckland's border.The government have taken a hit in the latest Colmar Brunton poll.Labour dropped two points to 41 per cent, with National gaining two points themselves to go up to 28.Jacinda Ardern also dropped five points to 39 per cent as preferred Prime Minister, with Judith Collins and David Seymour on five and 11 points respectively.  Listen above as Josie Pagani and Ben Thomas discuss the day's news with Heather du Plessis-Allan on The Huddle.

The Prime Minister has her sights set on the pandemic, not the polls.That's the message from Jacinda Ardern's deputy, following Labour's slide in the latest 1 News Colmar Brunton poll.Our ruling party's popularity has dropped two points to 41 per cent - while National is at 28 per cent, up two points.Ardern has fallen five points to 39 per cent as preferred Prime Minister, while National's Judith Collins is on five per cent.Deputy PM Grant Robertson told Heather du Plessis-Allan Ardern has taken it well.“Obviously, we're in a very tricky bit of the Covid pandemic and our transition to the new framework and that's our focus rather than any day to day polls.”LISTEN ABOVE

A new Colmar Brunton survey has found Kiwis have little faith they can access medicine.Forty percent of respondents weren't confident they could get the best medicine available ... if diagnosed with a disease or illness.Patient advocate Fiona Tolich says 70 percent also believe Pharmac needs more funding.She says there new drugs are becoming available every day so they need about a billion dollar boost.Tolich told Nick Mills she knows families who have moved overseas just to access medication not funded here and families who have stayed in New Zealand and lost children. 

The Awesome Power of BlessingRichard Brunton pt 2 https://amzn.to/3l1vhDr ()Richard Brunton was a pioneer of the market research industry in New Zealand. He co-founded Colmar Brunton in 1981 and built the business into the country's best known and most trusted research company. He started a “Better Business, Better World” campaign, which was a personal crusade of sorts, teaching others how to create profit by creating purpose, or making money by making meaning. He believes (with the research to back it up) that organizations that are driven by the big ideal of making their customers' lives better, will create more shareholder value in the long run, than those who focus on other aims. His articles, speeches and unique perspectives have been published in various magazines and newspapers all over the world. Richard was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame in 2005, and became a life member of the Marketing Research Society of New Zealand in 2010. Since retiring as the Executive Chairman of Colmor Brunton in 2014, he has devoted his time to ministry work and writing. He has written a couple of books, one of which is titled, https://amzn.to/3l1vhDr (“The Awesome Power of the Blessing”) which we will be discussing today in the conclusion of our great, two part interview! What is the difference between praying a blessing over someone and interceding for them in prayer? You share we are not to “judge” when praying a blessing over someone. What do you mean by that? One thing you shared in your book is how you bless others that cut you off in traffic. I've been doing that for years and thought I was the only one doing it! Praise God! Tell us about the revelation you received about speaking a blessing for your own skin… You also teach us to say a blessing over our own minds. Is that because we are harboring bad thoughts or listening to the devil as he plants these thoughts in our minds? How does that work? How can we bless our communities and nations? I know I pray up the “hedges of protection around the borders of our land, etc.” But how should you go about praying the BLESSING over our land and nations? You close your book out with the idea that we should “Bless God” in our prayers as well. Explain that section for us? This is all so interesting. How can someone order a copy of your book, https://amzn.to/3l1vhDr (“The Awesome Power of the Blessing”)? Is it on Amazon? How can someone get in touch with you, if they have a question or possibly to do an interview such as this? How can they get in touch with you? Will you pray us out with the "Father's Blessing?" Folks, you definitely need to learn all you can about walking in the Blessing! Richard Brunton's book, https://amzn.to/3l1vhDr (“The Awesome Power of the Blessing”) , will do just that! Go down into the show notes below and order your copy today! CONTACT INFORMATION:Email:   Richard.brunton134@gmail.com Website:   http://www.richardbruntonministries.org (www.richardbruntonministries.org) Book: https://amzn.to/3l1vhDr (“The Awesome Power of the Blessing”) – on Amazon Support this podcast

The Awesome Power of the BlessingRichard Brunton pt 1https://amzn.to/3l1vhDr ()Richard Brunton was a pioneer of the market research industry in New Zealand. He co-founded Colmar Brunton in 1981 and built the business into the country's best known and most trusted research company. He started a “Better Business, Better World” campaign, which was a personal crusade of sorts, teaching others how to create profit by creating purpose, or making money by making meaning. He believes (with the research to back it up) that organizations that are driven by the big ideal of making their customers' lives better, will create more shareholder value in the long run, than those who focus on other aims. His articles, speeches and unique perspectives have been published in various magazines and newspapers all over the world. Richard was inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame in 2005, and became a life member of the Marketing Research Society of New Zealand in 2010. Since retiring as the Executive Chairman of Colmor Brunton in 2014, he has devoted his time to ministry work and writing. He has written a couple of books, one of which is titled, https://amzn.to/3l1vhDr (“The Awesome Power of the Blessing”) which we will be discussing today. First question I always start with is this. Other than that brief information I just shared, can you tell us in your own words, “Who is Richard Brunton?” You start your book with how inspiring the message of “The Blessing” was received. So, the first question is, why did you put your thoughts and teachings on the Blessing into the book, https://amzn.to/3l1vhDr (“The Awesome Power of the Blessing”) Tell us about what you discovered in the “power of the tongue” as you outline in your book… In your book, you describe how we are called to be a blessing.  We are called to be God's “blesser's” on this this earth. You recommend we do not just ask someone if we can pray for them. You ask, “Can I bless you?”  Explain that for us. I found that one phrase quite moving. In your book, you share that the words we use, especially in speaking to others, should be God's Words. His words should be our words. But we can only know His Words if we are familiar with His Word – the Bible, correct? Explain how all of this relates to our Spiritual Authority in and through Christ Jesus… And this can be applied to physical objects like chairs and desks as you pray for workers who are facing certain things as well, correct?  Can you share a couple of examples like that? So, we are to bless others by declaring God's Will, which is His Word, over a person and their life. We do this simply declaring God's intentions over this other person? In the Bible, Jacob deceived Isaac to receive the Blessings. His brother was distraught because the blessing was supposed to be his. In this day and time, it is rare that a father will bless his children. Share the importance of this as you outlined in your book and how we can break the curse of NOT being blessed from off our life and family… Folks, you definitely need to add https://amzn.to/3l1vhDr (“The Awesome Power of the Blessing”) to your reading list! Use the link down below in the show notes to order your copy today! CONTACT INFORMATION:https://amzn.to/3l1vhDr ()   Email:    Richard.brunton134@gmail.com Website:    http://www.richardbruntonministries.org/ (www.richardbruntonministries.org) Book: https://amzn.to/3l1vhDr (“The Awesome Power of the Blessing”) - on Amazon   Support this podcast

The ACT leader David Seymour says the latest Colmar Brunton poll is a great result for the centre right. Support for the Act Party has increased by five percentage points to 14 percent in the 1News Colmar Brunton Poll. Seymour has also overtaken National Leader Judith Collins in the preferred Prime Minister stakes. He is sitting on 11 percent while Ms Collins is on five. Seymour told our political reporter Katie Scotcher that Act is doing a good job finding solutions to the country's problems.

The ACT leader David Seymour says the latest Colmar Brunton poll is a great result for the centre right. Support for the Act Party has increased by five percentage points to 14 percent in the 1News Colmar Brunton Poll. Seymour has also overtaken National Leader Judith Collins in the preferred Prime Minister stakes. He is sitting on 11 percent while Ms Collins is on five. Seymour told our political reporter Katie Scotcher that Act is doing a good job finding solutions to the country's problems.

I am just wondering how many parents are , like me, watching a generation of kids who don't or won't cook.And how much of this has been exacerbated by Covid?What I mean by that is, yes during lockdown people cooked from home more, but they also ditched the supermarkets a bit and got into meal kits and takeaways. We know this from a recent Herald survey which looked at life ‘post-Covid' for Kiwis.Feels weird saying ‘post-Covid' given we didn't really have Covid here like other countries did, but also are we ever really ‘post-Covid?' I think it's something we're going to have to live with forever. But this Lifestyle Survey by Colmar Brunton and the Herald found that how we eat has changed.I know for our family, a couple of our kids became hooked on Uber Eats. Easy, convenient, you can get what you feel like, you don't have to leave the house, you don't have to waste time cooking. There are no dishes.Our kids got dependent on it for their flat, it was the easiest solution to the ‘what to have for dinner' question and they now seem unable to shake the habit. This is despite their mother banging on to them endlessly about what an expensive waste of money that is, and how they really should cook for themselves.Thing is, they tried the supermarket shopping and cooking thing, and decided they didn't like it.Too time consuming, too hard. I'm sure blowing up their microwave didn't help, but that's another story.So I wasn't surprised to see in this survey that actually this is typical for this age group.This is their new normal. Those “aged 18 to 24 said in the survey that would order Uber Eats on a weekly basis.“And it's not just the convenience of Uber Eats, the meal kit business also took off post Covid.Meal kit businesses ‘soared in popularity' apparently. “Around a fifth of under 50's are using meal kits more now than a year ago.”I would have thought all that time during lockdowns baking sourdough and making endless pasta, that we would have enjoyed provisioning and making our own food, but apparently not.There are large chunks of us who want the convenient and easy way out, and I know at least two of our kids fit that bill.It's a time poor thing I guess, but it's also a variety thing. You may not know how to cook a good Indian curry or a yummy Thai dish, but you sure can order it in from an expert in about 20 minutes. So it's not hard to see why that's appealing.I'm old school though, and admittedly I'm not in that age demographic of die-hard weekly Uber Eats orderers, so it's hardly surprising I'm not a huge fan of takeaways.But to try and convince my kids about the merits of making your own food from scratch? Disappointingly, it's a battle I‘m losing, and Uber Eats is winning.  

The government's budget spend up has failed to get them a boost and Judith Collins has taken a further hit, according to the latest 1 NEWS Colmar Brunton poll. Tonight's poll is the first since last week's Budget - and while Labour is still out in front, they've taken a slight hit. RNZ political reporter Katie Scotcher joins us from our Parliament office.

TVNZ and its pollsters will only call you on your mobile from now on - and the first poll under the new rules delivered a telling result in response to one of its key questions.

TVNZ and its pollsters will only call you on your mobile from now on - and the first poll under the new rules delivered a telling result in response to one of its key questions.

The Government's talking much more positively about a trans-Tasman bubble.There's speculation an arrangement could kick off as soon as midway through next month.Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins is now talking about beds being freed up in isolation facilities.Forty percent are currently occupied by arrivals from Australia.Hipkins says a bubble would obviously increase the number of rooms available for people from elsewhere - but it won't necessarily be a one for one swap.The sudden change in attitude about the bubble comes after Jacinda Ardern's rating as preferred Prime Minister was revealed to have dropped 15 points in the latest Colmar Brunton poll.Speaking on The Huddle with Heather du Plessis-Allan, Maori Council chair Matthew Tukaki says "something had to be engineered" after the poll results were shown to be trending in the wrong direction. "Irrespective of how it came about, it's going to be a win for small business." Commentator Josie Pagani agrees that the polls are starting to turn, and that will have had an impact on getting the Government moving on this. "There's been a lot of pressure for a long time to think about how we're going to live with Covid long term, and we've got to start rethinking what the plan is around reopening the border." LISTEN ABOVE 

Dumping landline surveys won't stop Colmar Brunton's poll capturing all of New Zealand.The company's latest poll has ditched house phone calls, and now makes contact through mobile phones and online polling.Concerns have been raised about whether older generations are able to be contacted.But Kantar head of analytics Jason Shoebridge told Kerre McIvor they have a harder time getting young people to respond."Older generations are a little bit easier, but in terms of doing this poll, we make sure we quota so we are getting a representative sample of New Zealanders which we tie back to the Census." He says they are ensuring that young and older people can take part."We have maintained calling in respect of the political poll, and we are even now calling mobiles, because it does give us a robust methodology."LISTEN ABOVE

Sarah is the CEO of Colmar Brunton. In this podcast she discusses a companies brand reputation and the impact on consumers.

Today's Parliamentary vote on a climate change emergency is likely to go down party lines.Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will introduce a motion to Parliament to declare a emergency, similar to those passed by many councils around New Zealand and governments around the world.MPs will debate the issue from about three o'clock this afternoon.National leader Judith Collins told Kate Hawkesby her MPs will oppose the motion."It’s pretty easy to declare a climate emergency, but if there’s no plan in place, it just ends up being a virtue signal from the government."Judith Collins also doesn't support on site pill testing at festivals - even though she knows her opinion is unpopular.A 2019 Colmar Brunton poll shows 75 per cent of people support some form of legal pill testing. National's youth wing also supports the move.Collins says we need to look further than polls before bringing in new laws.“If politicians only take a stance on things based on a public poll, maybe they shouldn't be in politics. “LISTEN ABOVE 

Three weeks out from the election and the latest political poll suggests the Green Party will play a key role in forming a new government. Last night's Colmar Brunton poll put the Green Party at 7percent, giving them eight seats in Parliament. With Labour polling at just 47 percent, it will turn to the Greens to form a majority. Green Party co-leader James Shaw told Morning Report any decisions abut what roles Green Party MPs could take in a future government depend on a number of factors. "It depends on the numbers, it depends on the shape of the agreement that we've got, it depends on the extent to which we think it can help us to advance the programme of work that we have," he said. [audio_play]

Election debate season is finally upon us, and the Gone By Lunchtime trio are here to talk Tuesday night’s two big debates. The Hui’s livestreamed Waiariki candidate debate between Hannah Tamaki, Rawiri Waititi and Tamati Coffey, and TVNZ’s leaders’ debate between Judith Collins and Jacinda Ardern. One was raucous, robust, interesting and entertaining. The other was the leaders’ debate.There’s also, after weeks in the polling darkness, a new set of Colmar Brunton numbers to crunch, and a new multi-billion dollar fiscal hole has opened up. Join Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee Mather and Ben Thomas as they don their hard hats with the light on top and go exploring for political insights.– Sign up to The Spinoff's newsletter Rec Room for weekly recommendations along with all our latest videos and podcasts. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Can we count a poll of 500 people as valid?NZ First certainly won’t given the result, but that’s how many people were canvassed by Colmar Brunton in Northland.Northland is a critical seat for NZ First because they’re floundering at two per cent in the polls thus far. And the weekend’s poll result showed Shane Jones likelihood of winning that seat, extremely slim.He came in third at just 15 per cent support behind National and Labour candidates, which makes NZ First look highly unlikely to get back into parliament at this stage.Everybody always says don’t write them off, but I feel like we can write them off now.Others won’t, but I’m going to make a bold call and you can come back to me on it in September if I’m wrong.I just don’t see Shane Jones taking that seat, despite all his promises, all his efforts, all his electioneering and bribes. Northlanders appear to be averse to bribery and sweet talk. But without winning this seat, the chances of seeing wily old Winston back at the Beehive are looking very slim.Former MP Peter Dunne said on this station yesterday that it’s looking more likely the trend is going against NZ First and that six weeks is not much time to make up a lot of ground.Northlanders appear loyal to their National candidate, even the Labour candidate is doing better than Shane. And that’s the rub, he should be sitting at second place – but third – that’s a stretch. So the cards are not stacking well for the party.Add to that Jacinda Ardern reiterating yesterday that Labour is not interested in doing deals.So can Shane race up from third to first place in just six weeks? I’d say it’s not possible.The big question then is, what happens to NZ First? Is this the end of them once and for all? And if Winston decides to pack up and go fishing, is the party able to survive without him?After all, much like Jacinda is Labour, Winston is NZ First. And if NZ First goes, then where do their votes go? Do they trend back towards the right? Or do they move to the left?But the concern right now for the party is perception. Perception equals reality, and if people think the party is tanking, how do they respond? Do they jump on board to try to save it? Or do they abandon what they perceive to be a sinking ship?Because if bad polling and low numbers now cause more NZ First voters to abandon the party, then the news is only going to get worse for them. They’ll be hoping the opposite, of course, that they can consolidate and rally the troops in quickfire time and see a boost in support. In fact, they’ll be banking on it.But despite most pundits not prepared to rule them out, I think at this point, we can.

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has a warning for anyone writing his party off because of low polling just weeks out from an election – "stand back and watch".Peters has been a long time sceptic of public polls, calling them "rubbish" and "crap," often advising his supporters to not take them seriously.His reaction was no different this week when two mainstream political polls – Reid Research and Colmar Brunton – both had NZ First at 2 per cent.If that result was achieved on election day, NZ First would be out of Parliament.But, speaking to the Nation this morning, Peters was adamant that would not happen.He pointed out that when then Prime Minister Helen Clark called a snap election in 2002, his party was also polling at 2 or 3 per cent.But on election day, NZ First won just shy of 11 per cent of the total vote.Asked if that would happen again this election, Peters said: "Well you stand back and watch"."I love you guys, the way you try and write me off," he said, of the media.The poll results are very positive for Labour - both polls showed that the party has over 50 per cent, which means that they could potentially govern alone without a support party.Listen above as Chris Lynch and Morgan Godfrey discuss these issues with Francesca Rudkin

Stephen Mills and Trish Sherson talk to Lynn about the latest Colmar Brunton poll and which small parties should be worried. There's an apology from the Defence force over Operation Burnham and also a look at the divisive issue of paying for managed isolation and quarantine. Stephen Mills is the executive director of UMR Research , which is the polling firm used by Labour. He is former political adviser to two Labour governments. Trish Sherson is from corporate affairs firm Sherson Willis, and a former ACT press secretary.

Stephen Mills and Trish Sherson talk to Lynn about the latest Colmar Brunton poll and which small parties should be worried. There's an apology from the Defence force over Operation Burnham and also a look at the divisive issue of paying for managed isolation and quarantine. Stephen Mills is the executive director of UMR Research , which is the polling firm used by Labour. He is former political adviser to two Labour governments. Trish Sherson is from corporate affairs firm Sherson Willis, and a former ACT press secretary.

Two polls have shown that Labour will be in a good position to govern alone.A Colmar Brunton poll this week painted a better picture for National than an earlier Read Research poll - with the opposition party sitting on 32% in the latest poll.However, a higher poll result means little when Labour is averaging over 50%, meaning the party could form a Government without support partners.The other victor from the latest polls is Act, with rising numbers suggesting David Seymour could return to Parliament in September with at least four friends.Listen above as political reporter Jason Walls breaks down the numbers

A new political poll has done little to boost National's confidence seven weeks out from an election. The Opposition has dropped six points to 32 in the 1 News Colmar/Brunton poll, while Labour's star continues to rise - up three points to 53, meaning the party could govern alone. National's new leader Judith Collins says it's a positive start for the party. Here's political reporter Jo Moir.

The ACT Party was the big winner in last night's Colmar Brunton poll, with 5 percent support - its highest polling in 17 years. David Seymour is the party's leader.  

The Labour Party could govern alone on the results of a new political poll out yesterday. In the latest One News Colmar Brunton poll, Labour scored 53 percent support, compared with 32 for the National Party. The Green Party dropped a percentage point to 5 percent, which would see them only just making it into Parliament. The ACT Party, however, has had a boost in support, almost matching the Greens at 4.8 percent. New Zealand First is on 2 percent. Auckland University political studies professor Jennifer Curtin and politics lecturer Lara Greaves from AUT speak to Corin Dann.

COMMENT:It was good to see a comparison last night in terms of political polls.There was a good serve from 1 News in their intro when they said "from rogue to reality" - basically confirming the Newshub-Reid Research poll was indeed rogue.According to the 1 News Colmar Brunton poll, Labour is not on 60, it's at 53. National is not on 25, in fact it is up to 32.That's still not the high 30's the party claims its internal polling shows, but it sure beats 25.So a tighter gap this poll, but still with Labour ahead – and far enough ahead to govern alone.The big story though is the minor parties. The Greens are sitting on the cusp at 5 per cent. They've dropped slightly and will be desperately hoping they don't drop any further between now and election day. They will also be keeping their fingers and toes crossed for Chlöe Swarbrick in Auckland Central.But Act is the big winner from last night's poll. It has romped all the way up to 5 per cent, it's highest polling in 17 years. This time last year, Act was at 1 per cent.So the surge there is full credit to David Seymour – a scrapper whose worked his butt off and produced a phenomenal result for his party.And no one will be wincing at that more than Winston Peters and NZ First, who've been completely eclipsed and are right down at 2 per cent support.On those numbers, that's them out of Parliament. It might be time for Winston to think long and hard about some more fishing up north.So with seven weeks to go until election day – what else are we seeing here?Well a trend for Labour certainly, but credit where credit is due – Judith Collins has had an impact as National Party leader.She's been in the job all of about five minutes and surrounded by scandal, resignations and chaos. Yet she's shot up to 20 per cent in the preferred prime minister stakes. That's a jump of 18 per cent. Along with her good approval rating, these are good numbers by any stretch of the imagination and she should feel rightfully emboldened by them.The key question now is, can National tighten the gap, can it get enough momentum to halt the Labour train? Collins said last night that's her goal – that she is in fact the train coming head on at Labour's momentum.It remains to be seen whether that's do-able. She'll be hoping no more scandal, leaks or resignations will haunt her in the next seven weeks.Because although the Newshub-Reid Research poll was clearly way out, Labour's still tough to beat at this point.

Stephen Mills and Trish Sherson talk to Lynn about the latest Colmar Brunton poll, Judith Collins' memoir and the scrapping of Kiwibuild.

Stephen Mills and Trish Sherson talk to Lynn about the latest Colmar Brunton poll, Judith Collins' memoir and the scrapping of Kiwibuild.

Following a swiftly executed coup on Friday, Todd Muller toppled Simon Bridges for the National Party leadership. This followed two polls last week that saw National trailing Labour by around 25 percentage points, and in the second, the Colmar Brunton poll last Thursday, National was dipping into the twenties. Kathryn talks to Todd Muller, about his political path. From student politican turned staffer in the office of the-then Prime Minister Jim Bolger while in his twenties, he went on to hold management positions at Zespri and in Fonterra. He won the Bay of Plenty seat and entered Parliament in 2014, and has no ministerial experience.

The return of TV channels' political opinion polls piled the pressure on the National Party's leader and kickstarted Friday's move to replace him. Covid-19 has changed many things in politics and public life, but the media's intense focus on the party leaders is not one of them.

The return of TV channels’ political opinion polls piled the pressure on the National Party’s leader and kickstarted Friday’s move to replace him. Covid-19 has changed many things in politics and public life, but the media's intense focus on the party leaders is not one of them.

Simon Bridges and Todd Muller will face off at midday after Muller made clear he intends to challenge Bridges for the leadership of the National Party. MPs were called back to Wellington for the vote after Simon Bridges revealed he knew it was coming during media interviews on Wednesday. Political commentator Ben Thomas speaks to Corin Dann.

In this episode, we discuss a report released a few years back by the Financial Markets Authority, with research conducted by Colmar Brunton. The report looking into what regular Kiwis wanted out of their retirement. The report found that: 86% of people surveyed wanted to have enough money to meet their every day to day financial needs and fund lifestyle aspects such as travel or a new car And only 38% of those surveyed wanted to leave an inheritance. This suggests that most Kiwis want to have a "well-off" lifestyle in retirement and therefore will need about $100,000 of passive income every year. We also talk through the other findings of the report. The final report we mentioned was the Epic Guide to Property Investment, which is our 16,000-word guide to investing in the New Zealand property market.

Winston Peters this week maintained his party's done nothing wrong.The New Zealand First leader has taken to Facebook Live to answer questions about the New Zealand First Foundation.Donations given to the New Zealand First Foundation are being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office, after the Electoral Commission referred its findings to police.It was later revealed later that the foundation received tens of thousands of dollars in donations from the horse racing industry.Peters dismissed the question about him stepping down at deputy prime minister if he's found to have mislead the public and received money he shouldn't have.He says he did not receive any money nor is he part of the foundation and therefore has nothing to offer the police.In amongst the rising scandal, a new Colmar Brunton poll suggested that the party has a difficult shot of getting back into Parliament, with NZ First picking up just three per cent. Political commentator David Farrar joined the Weekend Collective to discuss what impact the scandal will have on NZ First and coalition partner Labour leading into the election. LISTEN ABOVE 

Winston Peters this week maintained his party's done nothing wrong.The New Zealand First leader has taken to Facebook Live to answer questions about the New Zealand First Foundation.Donations given to the New Zealand First Foundation are being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office, after the Electoral Commission referred its findings to police.It was later revealed later that the foundation received tens of thousands of dollars in donations from the horse racing industry.Peters dismissed the question about him stepping down at deputy prime minister if he's found to have mislead the public and received money he shouldn't have.He says he did not receive any money nor is he part of the foundation and therefore has nothing to offer the police.In amongst the rising scandal, a new Colmar Brunton poll suggested that the party has a difficult shot of getting back into Parliament, with NZ First picking up just three per cent. Political commentator David Farrar joined the Weekend Collective to discuss what impact the scandal will have on NZ First and coalition partner Labour leading into the election. LISTEN ABOVE 

Winston Peters this week maintained his party's done nothing wrong.The New Zealand First leader has taken to Facebook Live to answer questions about the New Zealand First Foundation.Donations given to the New Zealand First Foundation are being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office, after the Electoral Commission referred its findings to police.It was later revealed later that the foundation received tens of thousands of dollars in donations from the horse racing industry.Peters dismissed the question about him stepping down at deputy prime minister if he's found to have mislead the public and received money he shouldn't have.He says he did not receive any money nor is he part of the foundation and therefore has nothing to offer the police.In amongst the rising scandal, a new Colmar Brunton poll suggested that the party has a difficult shot of getting back into Parliament, with NZ First picking up just three per cent. Political commentator David Farrar joined the Weekend Collective to discuss what impact the scandal will have on NZ First and coalition partner Labour leading into the election. LISTEN ABOVE 

QualWorld expands to 12 countries including China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Taiwan, the U.S., and the UK.  Keep Left launches Impact Score, a media evaluation and reporting tool. Impact Score will allow clients to better understand the quality and impact of their media coverage. In today’s mergers and acquisitions, Colmar Brunton is to merge with Kantar Australia. With the merge, Colmar Brunton’s CEO, Joan Young, will become the Global Head of Syndicated Products for Kantar’s Public division.   In human capital news, Ipsos’ Global Lead for Behavioural Science, Colin Strong, is appointed as the Chair of the MRS Delphi Group. BMG Research, a UK full-service agency, appoints Neil Samson as Qualitative Research Director. Find links to these stories in our show notes. For more detailed commentary, be sure to signup for our weekly newsletter at www.happymr.com.  This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback is the leading software that enables researchers to interact with users, in real-time, and in contexts. Built from the ground up by some of the original Spotify engineers, Lookback is the best in class video screen share platform for User Experience and Market Researchers. Check them out at lookback.io.  And that’s your daily briefing of marketing research news. Find Jamin Online: Email: jamin@happymr.com LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jaminbrazil Twitter: www.twitter.com/jaminbrazil Find Us Online: Twitter: www.twitter.com/happymrxp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/happymarketresearch Facebook: www.facebook.com/happymrxp Website: www.happymr.com Sources:  QualWorld: www.qual-world.com  Keep Left: https://keepleft.com.au/keep-lefts-impact-score-quantifies-value-earned-media/ Kantar: https://www.kantar.com/company-news  MRS: https://www.mrs.org.uk/article/mrs/mrs-delphi-group-announces-new-chair BMG Research: www.bmgresearch.com   This Episode’s Sponsor:This episode is brought to you by Lookback. Lookback provides the tools to help UX teams to interact with real users, in real time, and in real contexts. It's Lookback's mission to humanize technology by bridging the gap between end users and product teams. Lookback's customers range from one man teams building web and app experiences to the world's largest research organizations, collectively ensuring that humanity is at the core of every product decision. For more info, including demos of Lookback's offering, please visit www.lookback.io.

James joined Faster Horses Consulting in 2019 as head of its Social & Government Division after previous social & government research roles with Colmar Brunton, Ipsos & Eureka Strategic Research. He has over 20 years' experience in the Australian Federal Government sector as both a buyer and a supplier to Government across nearly every portfolio at the Federal level. He is MBA qualified and has been granted Qualified Practicing Researcher (QPR) status. James has been at the forefront of the evolution of market & social research over his 21-year research career, including pioneering the use of online research communities in government with the Australian Taxation Office, the Murray Darling Basin Authority and the Royal Australian Mint. Just as we've moved from paper to phone to online data collection, he sees advancements in artificial intelligence and the effective leveraging of ‘big data' as rapidly reshaping the industry – not sometime into the future, but right now. He believes the key challenge for researchers lies in retaining their ability to connect with people in order to tell clients the true, evidence-based human story. Discussed in this episode: The skills required to be a great researcher A new model for data acquisition – UBDI How technology has effected research, and where it's going next The disruption of artificial intelligence Why the future of data will always require a human touch The importance of linking research to objectives James's advice for government communicators working with researchers Developing a ‘no surprises' mantra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

James joined Faster Horses Consulting in 2019 as head of its Social & Government Division after previous social & government research roles with Colmar Brunton, Ipsos & Eureka Strategic Research. He has over 20 years’ experience in the Australian Federal Government sector as both a buyer and a supplier to Government across nearly every portfolio at the Federal level. He is MBA qualified and has been granted Qualified Practicing Researcher (QPR) status. James has been at the forefront of the evolution of market & social research over his 21-year research career, including pioneering the use of online research communities in government with the Australian Taxation Office, the Murray Darling Basin Authority and the Royal Australian Mint. Just as we’ve moved from paper to phone to online data collection, he sees advancements in artificial intelligence and the effective leveraging of ‘big data’ as rapidly reshaping the industry – not sometime into the future, but right now. He believes the key challenge for researchers lies in retaining their ability to connect with people in order to tell clients the true, evidence-based human story. Discussed in this episode: The skills required to be a great researcher A new model for data acquisition – UBDI How technology has effected research, and where it’s going next The disruption of artificial intelligence Why the future of data will always require a human touch The importance of linking research to objectives James’s advice for government communicators working with researchers Developing a ‘no surprises’ mantra

In today’s episode I got to hang out with Denise and Sara from Colmar Brunton. Colmar Brunton is one of Australia’s largest customised market research companies. They help clients deliver better products, services and communications. The insights and knowledge Denise and Sara have is crazy which I why I wanted them on this podcast. In this episode we touch on a load of different topics but we focus on the Millennium monitor https://www.millenniummonitor.com which has its own website. I was fascinated when I first came across this platform. The Millennium Monitor is a unique social trends monitor that explores the patterns and implications of change in social values, Denise explains it fantastically in this episode and definitely worth a listen.

Political polling will intensify as the next election draws nearer, but when media draw conclusions look out for the crucial cohort who say they don't know, don't care or won't tell the pollsters what they reckon.

Political polling will intensify as the next election draws nearer, but when media draw conclusions look out for the crucial cohort who say they don't know, don't care or won't tell the pollsters what they reckon.

Prisoners have won some voting rights, but the Opposition isn't happy about it. Justice Minister Andrew Little has announced those sentenced to less than three years behind bars will be able to vote before next year's General Election.But National leader Simon Bridges says he'll reverse the move if he ends up in government.He says the move shows the Government's soft on crime."You look at these parties. Labour is out of touch, and NZ First if they do this, it will be their death knell."A Colmar Brunton poll last month showed 53 per cent of the population supported the move, but Bridges disputes those figures."I think the overwhelming majority of New Zealanders actually know that if you've gone to jail, you've gone for something serious. While your there it's proportionate and a right that you don't get to vote."Former jailhouse lawyer Arthur Taylor, who has campaigned against the ban, says Bridges' judgement is off."Simon's a bit behind. Being a lawyer, you should know the law a bit better than this. Things have moved on since that ban was passed in 2010."Human rights lawyer Richard Francois says it might not be that simple for the ban to be overturned.He told The Weekend Collective he has a case before the UN at the moment which he believes will go in prisoners' favour."In which case there would be quite a damning statement to any other political party that's got an idea of reverting back." Bridges says that it is a question of values for Parliament to decide, and they are not required to do what the Waitangi Tribunal rules on. 

Prisoners have won some voting rights, but the Opposition isn't happy about it. Justice Minister Andrew Little has announced those sentenced to less than three years behind bars will be able to vote before next year's General Election.But National leader Simon Bridges says he'll reverse the move if he ends up in government.He says the move shows the Government's soft on crime."You look at these parties. Labour is out of touch, and NZ First if they do this, it will be their death knell."A Colmar Brunton poll last month showed 53 per cent of the population supported the move, but Bridges disputes those figures."I think the overwhelming majority of New Zealanders actually know that if you've gone to jail, you've gone for something serious. While your there it's proportionate and a right that you don't get to vote."Former jailhouse lawyer Arthur Taylor, who has campaigned against the ban, says Bridges' judgement is off."Simon's a bit behind. Being a lawyer, you should know the law a bit better than this. Things have moved on since that ban was passed in 2010."Human rights lawyer Richard Francois says it might not be that simple for the ban to be overturned.He told The Weekend Collective he has a case before the UN at the moment which he believes will go in prisoners' favour."In which case there would be quite a damning statement to any other political party that's got an idea of reverting back." Bridges says that it is a question of values for Parliament to decide, and they are not required to do what the Waitangi Tribunal rules on. 

Prisoners have won some voting rights, but the Opposition isn't happy about it. Justice Minister Andrew Little has announced those sentenced to less than three years behind bars will be able to vote before next year's General Election.But National leader Simon Bridges says he'll reverse the move if he ends up in government.He says the move shows the Government's soft on crime."You look at these parties. Labour is out of touch, and NZ First if they do this, it will be their death knell."A Colmar Brunton poll last month showed 53 per cent of the population supported the move, but Bridges disputes those figures."I think the overwhelming majority of New Zealanders actually know that if you've gone to jail, you've gone for something serious. While your there it's proportionate and a right that you don't get to vote."Former jailhouse lawyer Arthur Taylor, who has campaigned against the ban, says Bridges' judgement is off."Simon's a bit behind. Being a lawyer, you should know the law a bit better than this. Things have moved on since that ban was passed in 2010."Human rights lawyer Richard Francois says it might not be that simple for the ban to be overturned.He told The Weekend Collective he has a case before the UN at the moment which he believes will go in prisoners' favour."In which case there would be quite a damning statement to any other political party that's got an idea of reverting back." Bridges says that it is a question of values for Parliament to decide, and they are not required to do what the Waitangi Tribunal rules on. 

So, two political polls out this week and what do we know?Well we know next year’s election will be a nail biter.If we were in a first past the post system, National may have reason to feel smug.But we’re not.In an MMP environment the one thing you need is friends, and yes, based on TV1’s Colmar Brunton, National could govern alone with just Act, but that was just one poll. TV’s Reid Research one didn’t have them at those numbers.Still, if Labour and the Greens can’t do it either, we have to weigh into the mix NZ First. We cannot rule them out (more’s the pity).At this stage NZ First is not polling above the five percent threshold in either poll.They’re a hard party to read because their support wavers so much and many NZ First voters are in the closet.But what I have noticed the past few weeks in the feedback to this show, is a consistent message from NZ First voters. Disillusionment. A lot of people messaging me saying they’ll never vote NZ First again.That they feel let down, that Winston sold out, that he backed stuff they’d never support, like the UN Migration Pact and the gun buyback.Many are still reeling from the fact he went with Labour, when they’d believed he’d go with National.And NZ First still have that minority party vibe about them, despite being in government.They play fast and loose with the rules.They seemingly don’t care, from Winston’s constant baiting and aggressive approach to the media, his vanishing acts, his constant defence of wildcard Shane Jones..Jones' own outlandish comments and behaviour.And recently even some in-fighting issues for the party with recent leaks.So can this scrapper of a party which languish’s below the five percent threshold make it back next year to be kingmaker once more? Or have they done their chips?I’d like to think that by now, NZ First supporters have worked out that a vote for them, is a vote for a Labour-Green coalition government.Winston sold out.Hopefully that’s been made abundantly clear, and hopefully this time round, we’ll be able to bid them goodbye once and for all.

This episode is sponsored by Ecotricity - New Zealand’s only carboNZero certified electricity retailer. Join Ecotricity now! Waveney and Tim have decided it's time to celebrate some environmental successes. We discuss Colmar Brunton's recent polling that shows pretty much all groups in New Zealand (except white middle class men) are prioritising Climate Change as a TOP issue. The tide of public consciousness is changing - rapidly!We also dig into the success of defeating Acid Rain, a terrible coal-caused phenomenon that dominated news cycles and the public imagination through the 1970s, 80s and 90s before scientific research and good old diplomacy actually got on top of it!Lastly, we celebrate Happen Films - a kiwi film production house that exclusively make environmental documentaries that are solutions-focused, inspiring and hopeful. Their latest title, Fools & Dreamers: Regenerating a Native Forest is the amazing story of botanist Hugh Wilson who regenerates forests in the south island using the much hated 'weed', gorse! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Broadcasters say their political polls aren't perfect but they do reveal significant swings of support. In that case, they ought to notice more and more people don't like being asked to pick a 'preferred prime minister'. 

Broadcasters say their political polls aren't perfect but they do reveal significant swings of support. In that case, they ought to notice more and more people don't like being asked to pick a 'preferred prime minister'. 

COMMENT:Grant Robertson called Simon Bridges sexist yesterday.Did you hear that?National's leader called Jacinda Ardern a part-time PM, referring to her absence for three out of the last four weeks. One week for that trip to Australia to give a speech, another week for a holiday in Rarotonga, and this week in Tokelau.Bridges said given everything going on at home at the moment, she should be here, especially during a parliamentary sitting week.Robertson's response to this was that the comment had a "sexist overtone".Pardon? How?Calling out sexism on the Prime Minister's behalf only serves to make her look weak. It's poor form on Labour's part.Jacinda would surely be the first to point to not making a bigger deal than necessary of her being a woman.You just can't cry sexism every time the PM gets criticised.We throw these words around so cheaply these days.Bully, sexist, racist - we seem to be reducing ourselves to a name-calling nation of finger pointers looking to label everyone.How is this helpful?I doubt Simon Bridges is sexist.He's surrounded by strong women and married to one. I think he's probably got the memo and understands the equality of women.The PM though, must be feeling more than just the tropical heat in Tokelau, as this all unfolds back home..Protests firing up over Oranga Tamariki, and a land occupation burning on with fervour.She would of course have been able to front all this herself had she been here.But she seems to prefer the international spotlight, which is inclined to be a bit softer than the local one.And this is something to watch as time marches on.Because if you look at the number on Monday night's Colmar Brunton poll, her preferred PM rating has slipped 10 points since April.So are we scratching below the surface of Jacinda-mania and finding her coming up wanting?Is all that smiling and emoting starting to wear thin?I don't know, but what I do know, is that the men around her have got to stop demeaning her by yelling "sexist!" every time she gets criticised.

Two contrary political opinion polls this week raised big questions about the quality and the purpose of them. Politicians disputing the outcomes were dismissed as “in denial.” But are the media the ones who need to confront the contradictions in their reporting?

Two contrary political opinion polls this week raised big questions about the quality and the purpose of them. Politicians disputing the outcomes were dismissed as “in denial.” But are the media the ones who need to confront the contradictions in their reporting?

The latest TV political poll was heavily hyped in-house as a “game changer” that could be "game over" for National's leader. Did other media follow Newshub's lead?

The latest TV political poll was heavily hyped in-house as a “game changer” that could be "game over" for National's leader. Did other media follow Newshub's lead?

Chris Lynch caught up with Newstalk ZB political editor Barry Soper on the latest Colmar Brunton political poll, the Prime Minister returning to work and the Celia Lashlie documentary. 

Each week the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking The Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's what puts people off the sharemarket, and why it's worth a rethink. Hosted by Frances Cook.New Zealanders have a love affair with housing.It's true, owning your own home gives you security, and if you pay it off before retirement your golden years should be a lot easier.In comparison, many Kiwis are nervous of the share market. We were particularly badly burned by the 1987 crash, and that memory still haunts many people.Investment platforms Sharesies and the NZX's Smartshares have commissioned research from Colmar Brunton, that shows yes, we're a cautious bunch with the sharemarket.Only 20 percent of New Zealanders own shares, compared to 31 percent of Aussies, and over 50 percent of Americans.The biggest barriers were a belief that shares are for people with lots of money, the idea shares are particularly risky, a lack of spare cash, and not knowing where to start. But the times do change, and so it's worth re-evaluating these old truisms.Housing is now getting further and further out of reach for many people.It's also not the solid, risk-free investment that many believe. It ties you to one place, and if you get into financial difficulty, you have to sell the whole thing or risk the bank taking it off you.Meanwhile, the sharemarket has had an overhaul since 1987, with tougher rules.It's arguably a better investment for young people as you need far less cash than a house deposit, and it won't tie you to one location early in life.I talked to Sharesies co-founder Sonya Williams for the latest episode of the Cooking the Books podcast.We discussed why people are holding back, and what she makes of the shares versus housing mentality.For the episode, listen to the podcast.If you have a question about this podcast, or an idea for the next one, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/franklysnapping/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook 

The next election is a long way off and new party leaders are still bedding in. But already TV news networks and their political pundits are predicting what will happen next based on the opinion polls they pay for.  

The next election is a long way off and new party leaders are still bedding in. But already TV news networks and their political pundits are predicting what will happen next based on the opinion polls they pay for.  

The two big TV broadcasters aggressively promoted and reported the opinion polls they paid for during the election campaign, which returned some very different results. How did they compare with the result the mattered last weekend? Do we need more of them - or none at all?  

The two big TV broadcasters aggressively promoted and reported the opinion polls they paid for during the election campaign, which returned some very different results. How did they compare with the result the mattered last weekend? Do we need more of them - or none at all?  

Rebuilding the decimated democracy - values as compass points. Countering TPP and ugly sisters RCEP and TiSA - secret pacts to undermine the democracy. TPP hangs in the balance. The public opposition has been ignored by the government as it rushed to cement the TPP into the New Zealand Rulebook. We await the attitude of the US President and Congress to cast the die. Will Trump allow congress to trump his campaign promise to stop TPP? We cannot wait passively as our government is negotiating more of these corporate rights treaties; RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) and TiSA (Trade in Services Agreement). RCEP is between the Asian economies led by China and India including Australia and ourselves. It has similar content as TPP and is negotiated in anti-democratic secrecy. Civil society is not informed until a final agreement is reached between the governments. TiSA is between the advanced economies and encompasses services. See Wikileaks for leaked TiSA chapters which are about deregulating financial rules - it was deregulation that gave us the GFC (Great Financial Crisis). We can work during the NZ general election campaign by seeking commitments from alternative government parties that they will withdraw from the TPP. What do New Zealanders really want? Greg has been consolidating the material he's been ​studying​ over the past couple of years. He has been considering values as signposts to where the public mood rests.​ It wasn't long ago that the NZ Government asked the people about their values. It was a component of the Flag Referendum process of 2015/6. New Zealanders were asked what they stand for. The people offered 10,292 flag designs. They offered 43,000 individual contributions of what they stood for. View the word cloud below of most frequent values expressed by the New Zealand public. Here is the image from the website. Place Picture IN here of: many words  Like EQUALITY HISTORY FREEDOM that is in documents   - Thank you - Tim None of the above suggest the TPP. Forty three thousand (43,000) people is a large sample of the 4.6 million New Zealand population. The Flag Referendum process was advanced as a constitutional matter. Surely the Stand For values are an important contribution to the values underpinning our NZ Constitution. Is New Zealand a democracy? Are the people's values reflected in the Government's policy settings? Greg says the obvious finding is that the New Zealand Government does not reflect the deep values of the people of this State. It appears the values theme runs deep in the Kiwi psyche. Colmar Brunton finds ethical values run deep Recently Colmar Brunton published their latest Better Futures Report (November 2016) highlighting that values matter to New Zealanders. Scoop reported that Kiwis are hot on global sustainability goals. “Most Kiwis rate global sustainability goals as very important – especially those relating to social issues – according to a report released today. The Colmar Brunton 2016 Better Futures Report incorporated the results of New Zealand’s first ever survey into the public’s attitude to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to which the Government signed up in 2015. The 17 SDGs include a mix of social, environmental, cultural and economic goals such as no poverty, climate action, reduced inequalities, clean water and sanitation, decent work and economic growth and quality education. Colmar Brunton Chief Client Officer Sarah Bolger says. "Between 60% and 80% of Kiwis rate each goal as very important. When those people were asked to name the single most important goal the top six in order of priority were: no poverty, good health and well-being, quality education, sustainable cities and communities, clean water and sanitation, and zero hunger. It’s clear from this that New Zealanders care most about improving the day-to-day lives of others and there is a strong skew towards social issues in the top six goals. In particular Kiwis think we need to do more towards achieving zero hunger, sustainable cities and communities and no poverty, as they believe our performance in these areas fails to measure up to the importance we place on them.” Considering both the Stand For values and the Better Futures Report leads generally to what people might consider of import in the coming year. My purpose is to use these values to highlight a potential 2017 general election agenda:  TPP -  (plus TISA and RCEP) grow the campaign. TPP if ratified by the US locks NZ in as our parliament has ratified, subject to an alternative government withdrawing.. Professor Jane Kelsey and It's Our Future propose ramping up the campaign against TiSA from 3 February. The campaign is to gain commitments from parties to withdraw from TPP and to ensure that RCEP and TiSA do not undermine our domestic arrangements.  Questions for 2017 General Election;  How do we place TPP and trade and investment treaties into the election campaign? What is the long-term solution to democratise international treaties?  Is a Manifesto/Charter/Blueprint approach (2017 election and beyond) to these ideas a way of advancing our agenda?  The NZ constitution. Can we advance a constitutional policy that international treaties are negotiated openly and agreed in the parliament before signature? There's a few initiatives to place the constitution and our status as a Constitutional Monarchy vs a move to republic. This won't be resolved in 2017 however there is a strong move to get the discussion going in a serious manner. I know there are a variety of perspectives on this, however it is critical we inform ourselves about possibilities and implications. To this effect the following might be of interest. The following blog highlights some thoughts about the need to remedy some of our dilemmas: http://values-compasspointsinaposttruthworld.blogspot.co.nz/2016/12/working-on-open-egalitarian-and.html  http://values-compasspointsinaposttruthworld.blogspot.co.nz/  Professor Jane Kelsey and It's Our Future propose ramping up the campaign against TiSA from 3 February, see https://itsourfuture.org.nz   ​Stand For Values are hosted here: http://www.standfor.co.nz/   Scoop published media release from Colmar Brunton 24 Nov 2016: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1611/S00349/report-kiwis-hot-on-global-sustainability-goals.htm References for Constitutional reading: The constitution book by Geoff Palmer and Andrew Butler, “A Constitution for Aoteoroa,” is of interest and leads to the whole question of what is possible with a discussion about constitutions. (They propose to accept public suggestions on their proposal till 30 September 2017, so it might occur in the midst of the general election.) http://vup.victoria.ac.nz/a-constitution-for-aotearoa-new-zealand/  Their website:  http://constitutionaotearoa.org.nz/the-conversation/speeches/book-launch-speech-geoffrey-palmer/   The draft constitution that Palmer and Butler propose: http://constitutionaotearoa.org.nz/proposed-constitution-full-text/  Our current NZ constitutional documents are here: https://gg.govt.nz/role/constofnz/intro  And the Maori report on the constitution is referred to here: http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/sunday/audio/201821049/moana-jackson-a-new-constitution-for-aotearoa  and linked here:  http://www.converge.org.nz/pma/MatikeMaiAotearoaReport.pdf  The Awareness Party Constitution:  http://www.theawarenessparty.com/constitution/  And the Icelandic Constitution story here:  https://medium.com/equal-citizens/on-icelands-crowdsourced-constitution-ad99aae75fce#.9hn79xmzw  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_constitutional_reform,_2010%E2%80%9313 This interview was sponsored by The Awareness Party -  http://www.theawarenessparty.com/   Greg’s only income is from public donations. 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