Right Here, Right Now.

Whitewashing a coup, flying gondolas, and TOP are kingmakers again.

Cleaning up from the spill.

What a week in politics; it’s not often a Party Leader survives a coup, let alone two. Helen Clark famously stared down a challenge from Annette King, Michael Cullen, Jim Sutton and Koro Wētere, but once a spill is on, it usually leaves an ex-leader with knives sticking out of them, a tripping hazard under the rug.

Now, Mr Luxon would like to pretend that the repeated challenges to his leadership were no big deal, that it was all Chris Penk’s doing, and that it’s only of interest to the ‘beltway’ crowd; good luck with that, fella.

In response to a question from a doubting journalist yesterday, he said, “So, Thomas, it’s great you’re out of the bubble today, mate. I’m just saying to you, we have discussed that ad nauseam over the last 48 hours. I get that it was a frustrating period for everybody, but we came out of that caucus united, focused, and I am very proud of my team that are there to take New Zealand forward on November 7th.”

Nothing to see here; it’s all clean-cut. The traitorous Penk was a lone wolf who had to go, and Bishop and Stanford had nothing to do with it. Further discussion may make Luxon nauseous, but that doesn’t mean he’s discussed it ad nauseam for 48 hours if all he's done is avoid questions and peddle a story of team unity that nobody believes.

But look, over there, it’s a monorail. Shiny.

You get a gondola.

Chris Bishop, who definitely wasn’t involved in any attempted coup this week, said, “The simple reality is we simply can't just add road space in Queenstown. If there's anywhere in the world where a gondola can work for decongesting, it's Queenstown.”

Seriously, a gondola? Why not just use buses? I don’t have an issue if the good folks of Queenstown want to build a new tourist attraction, but I'm concerned about using the meagre public transport budget for it.

Image: META.

“We're up for using that money to fund gondolas,” said Bishop.

Public transport across this country needs massive investment if we’re to get people out of cars, yet we’re always told to look for cheaper, cut-price solutions, so we can’t have nice things like a train to the airport in a city the size of Auckland. But we’re going to build a gondola in Queenstown? Great.

Bishop said gondolas would be a “cooler” option for public transport in Queenstown than buses. So it seems more about the “vibe” than what is actually needed.

The infrastructure minister says “gondola solutions” for Queenstown can access public funding through NZTA. Image: The Wānaka App.

Bishop posted yesterday, “National has announced today that congestion-reducing gondola solutions in Queenstown will be able to access public transport funding through NZTA. In plain English, what this means is that the proposals are viable (and there’s a long way to go on that), and once they get up and running, gondolas will be treated like buses and trains and ferries. But let’s be honest. Cooler!”

I’m glad Bishop considers public transport cool, but a gondola seems like a gimmick, and his announcement feels like a distraction. Besides, if he’s going to change the rules for Queenstown, how will he respond when the rest of the country clamours, “Where’s ours?”

Places that might not be retreats for the rich and famous, but that make significant contributions and have their own infrastructure needs. Southland Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive, Sheree Carey, said, “If they look at all the stats, we are the ones that are leading in every statistic that you can see, in growth and exports and everything, and where is the love? Southland wants some love as well.”

I don’t imagine Mr Bishop considers Southland particularly “cool”, but he should be very interested, as the local Chamber of Commerce says the “region is grappling with how to fill about 4000 skilled jobs.”

Let’s just put it this way: if Labour were promising to fund a gondola while ignoring infrastructure in a region that could deliver all those jobs, National would be running around like headless chooks, telling everyone that the red team were anti-business.

Another day, another poll.

As we get closer to the election, it feels like there is a new poll every other day, and yesterday it was the Talbot Mills poll.

This poll told a different story from the last couple and was more in line with other results we’ve seen over recent months.

Labour was on 34%, up 1 percentage point; National were on 29%, down 2 points; NZ First rose 1 point to 13%; the Green Party was down a point at 8%; ACT was unchanged on 7%; and Te Pāti Māori was steady on 3%.

National, ACT, and NZ First would have 59 seats, just short of a majority, whereas Labour, the Greens, and Te Pāti Māori would have 55 - neither bloc reaching the required 61 for a majority.

As with other recent polls, TOP, at 5.2% (up from 4.7%), would hold the balance of power, and their six seats could allow either bloc to form a government. Alternatively, they could sit on the crossbenches and support legislation on a case-by-case basis, either pushing the right to consider the environment or the left to restrain its socialist plans to help people.

Who knows what the TOP board will decide? I still can’t figure out what the party really stands for, but any coalition arrangement requires a 75% majority of the five-member board. The board can also overrule caucus decisions that clearly prejudice the party's charter, which sets out its principles.

TOP has a Land Tax that would see many people pay more in taxes than under the Greens’ tax package, centred on a Wealth Tax, which would result in 96% of the population paying less tax. It would mean more tax than under Labour, and I can’t see any other party supporting that policy, sensible as it may be to restructure, as it would be one hell of a sell to a population that can’t even seem to get their heads around a CGT that excludes the family home.

Large cuts to the public service are also part of TOP’s offering, which would fit in nicely with National and ACT should they decide to go that way.

I know one of these TOP board members: a man known as AJ Bertenshaw, whom I worked for a decade ago at his company, Serato, which makes DJ software.

AJ now goes by the name Alan Wilderland, and in addition to being a board member, he is the Opportunity Party’s largest financial donor. With his marketing ability, technical background, and financial resources, I’m not surprised that TOP have probably run the best social media game in town.

Alan Wilderland aka AJ Bertenshaw. Photo: https://www.opportunity.org.nz/opportunity-board

AJ and I used to have political chats, and I recall his frustration that there wasn’t a Blue Green option for people who cared about the environment but weren’t necessarily screaming socialists. Responding with my Green hat on, I told him I thought most people who cared about the environment also cared about people, but he wasn’t convinced.

AJ is quite eccentric, absolutely loaded, and one of the most entitled people I have ever met. I once spent days organising specialist movers to take a large 3D printer from the office to his house under strict instructions that no damage should occur; it had absolutely nothing to do with the business or my job.

AJ Bertenshaw with his fiancée, Kristy Weaver. Photo / Doug Sherring.

Don’t get me wrong, I liked AJ. In my experience, it’s pretty rare to be able to speak freely about politics in a management role. He’s highly intelligent, but I sure as hell wouldn’t want him to choose which government we get.

And that’s probably enough for this week. Have a great weekend, folks. There won’t be a newsletter from me tomorrow as we’re having a bit of a family gathering.

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Ngā mihi,
Nick.

To end today, here is Fatboy Slim, a Serato user, with a surprising guest vocalist building until the point you can’t stand it anymore: