Southern Say

Southern MP's luck runs hot when draws are involved

The biscuit tin used to draw members' bills. PHOTO: NEW ZEALAND PARLIAMENT

Southern MP's luck runs hot when draws are involved

One of the more charming aspects of New Zealand's Parliamentary system is how proposed member's Bills get chosen - a random ballot, conducted by drawing numbers out of an old biscuit tin.

Is the South getting its fair PGF share?

Arts and heritage curator Jim Geddes, Minister for Regional Economic Development Shane Jones and...

Is the South getting its fair PGF share?

Self-proclaimed chief of the provinces Shane Jones went just about as provincial as is possible last week, taking in the sights of Gore.

PM's pragmatism perhaps most dispiriting for Clark

David Clark campaigning in his first election, in 2011.PHOTO: ODT FILES

PM's pragmatism perhaps most dispiriting for Clark

Dunedin, with its collection of rental properties snapped up annually by students, has long been favoured by investors.

Drug debate promises high drama

Drug debate promises high drama

One day there will be a sensible, substantive discussion about drug laws in the New Zealand Parliament.

Law reform tightrope for NZ First

Lawrence-based New Zealand First MP Mark Patterson. Photo: Supplied

Law reform tightrope for NZ First

For New Zealand First, the ongoing rapid rehabilitation of the country's gun laws ought to be easy politics.

Fine line for Govt on mental health report

Health Minister David Clark says the Government will delay its response to the report of the ...

Fine line for Govt on mental health report

One of the hardest things to judge when it comes to national calamities is when it time to return to "normal".

Bridges fails to grasp chance (or better mug)

National Party leader Simon Bridges and his Leaning Tower of Pisa coffee cup at Otago Polytechnic...

Bridges fails to grasp chance (or better mug)

When you are a politician, even something as mundane as choosing a coffee mug can become accidentally significant.

More open government welcome move

Fifteen submitters didn't get a chance to speak at Parliament today. Photo: Getty Images

More open government welcome move

For most people, Parliament is the 10-second snippets they see on television of Jacinda Ardern and Simon Bridges shouting at each other across the debating chamber at Question Time.

Labour vulnerable in health field

Aristotle claimed nature abhorred a vacuum. But in politics, it's the reverse. A vacuum is terrific, as the absence of information allows a politician free rein to fill the void themselves, writes Mike Houlahan.

Hipkins sits on political dynamite

Hipkins sits on political dynamite

For an experienced politician, Education Minister Chris Hipkins seems to have given very little thought to the political implications of his proposals to reform the polytechnic sector.

Will 2019 be the year of Curran's comeback?

The decline and fall of Dunedin South MP Clare Curran was the southern political story of 2018 - but might her return to grace be a story for 2019?

Squaring off over medical cannabis

Michael Woodhouse and David Clark have squared off against each other for years, writes ODT's political reporter Mike Houlahan.

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Southern Say