Grant Robertson has delivered his 2023 annual budget. 

This years budget was more about words, than figures. 

It was an election-year budget. 

The Labour Party speeches were about success, and sound economic management. 

That’s despite its failure in virtually every area of governance. 

The Prime Minister said it was a great Budget for Kiwi families.  But kiwi families gained very little from the budget.  They are facing a tsunami of serious problems that the government says only it can fix.

But is the government creating the problems? Is the biggest problem facing ordinary kiwis the Labour government itself?

The Coronation of King Charles III was a grand affair. It was watched by over 400 million people worldwide. Millions of royal fans crowded into London to be part of the celebration, with over a hundred thousand lining the procession route. 

But back home here in New Zealand, some used the Coronation to condemn the Monarchy and promote their own sovereignty over our democracy. Their goal is clear for all to see - a constitution with the "principles" of the Treaty of Waitangi as supreme law. 

The shock defection of the Labour Cabinet Minister Meka Whaitiri to the Maori Party caught the Prime Minister and her former colleagues by surprise. They were blind-sided, admitting they had no idea she was thinking of leaving the Party.

Labour appears so desperate to avoid upsetting a party they may need to rely on to form the next government, that they have decided not to expel their rogue MP from Parliament. But in doing so they look to be turning a blind eye to the Maori Party’s aggressive strategy of targeting three or four of their Maori seats as the next step towards winning all seven.

If the Maori Party succeeds, they are likely to create an overhang of seats in the next Parliament and be in a position to rule Parliament.

How do we protect our democracy against the radical views of a Party that only secured 1.2% of the vote at the last general election? Should the Maori seats be abolished? Should New Zealand do what other countries have done and remove all references to race from our statute books?

Tuku Morgan and John Tamihere have made it very clear that if the Maori Party is the kingmaker after the election, they will not settle for anything less than full ownership of New Zealand’s freshwater.

Labour has changed the name of its Three Waters policy and increased the number of water entities from four to 10. It's now called the "Affordable Water Reform", despite it being less affordable than Three Waters!

Has anything really changed, or is Labour's water reform a trojan horse to deliver control of fresh water to Maori? 

This is a podcast of the latest NZCPR feature article. To read the article click here >>>

The New Zealand Centre for Political Research podcast, presented by Dr Muriel Newman. 

Jacinda Ardern has gone from New Zealand politics after five years as Prime Minister. What did she achieve? How will she be remembered? 

A kind interpretation of Jacinda Ardern’s tenure is that she was naive and impressionable, and those weaknesses were manipulated, especially by the Maori caucus to advance their agenda for Maori rule.  Other interpretations are much less kind.