Wayne Mapp was a National Party MP from 1996 to 2011, and minister of defence from 2008 to 2011
Jacinda Ardern's personality, relative youth and air of doing things differently are winning over the centre, but she needs to get moving on climate change.
In campaigning, Ardern’s party proffered a range of bold railway intentions. Now we’re waiting for the bold coalition blueprint.
The countless working groups are a kind of stalking horse for a big change, and voters will get to decide come 2020
Former National cabinet minister Wayne Mapp asks what the party’s green policy might look like
Wayne Mapp, a government MP the first time Winston Peters was deputy PM, says we should expect him to use every opportunity to ensure his party’s survival
Are trams really the answer to the city's transport challenges, asks former National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp
On Transport and housing, Labour is moving into the dangerous territory of telling people how they should live, writes Wayne Mapp
When he was in his early 20s, I used to joke with him about the Bridges administration, circa 2020, writes former National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp.
A former cabinet colleague on the departing National leader's legacy, and what to look for in his replacement
Enemies of neo-liberalism looking for a socialist savior will be disappointed – Ardern’s government essentially promises a continuation with existing policy, argues Wayne Mapp.
How serious is talk of a new conservative party springing up, asks former cabinet minister Wayne Mapp.
Jacinda Ardern has described herself as a 'pragmatic idealist'. In her early forays abroad, the new PM has started to indicate what form that might take – and those hoping to see a new radicalism in NZ politics are likely to be disappointed.
Will Bill English’s new caucus adopt a scorched earth, US-style approach, or a more traditional style of opposition, asks former National Party minister Wayne Mapp
With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, New Zealand has a chance to rebrand itself as a dynamic country where interesting things happen, says Wayne Mapp, the former National government minister of defence.
Wayne Mapp was there at the first MMP coalition negotiations in 1996, and watched from both government and opposition as subsequent deals were assembled. The former National cabinet minister writes about those years, and what the key dynamics will be in the coming days.
The speculation about a Greens-National coalition is futile given the tribalism of New Zealand politics, writes former National cabinet minister Wayne Mapp. Instead, he wonders if a revitalised TOP can become a second, centrist Greens.
Their supporters may not like it, but the smart choice for Labour might be to bow out of coalition negotiations and resign themselves to three more years in opposition. Former National cabinet minister Wayne Mapp explains why.
Last night's poll suggests the election might be slipping away from Labour. Former National cabinet minister Wayne Mapp gives his perspective on the slide.
Labour’s surge makes a change of government a very serious possibility. History offers some interesting lessons, writes former National cabinet minister Wayne Mapp
I've never seen such tumult in NZ politics, writes National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp, but what matters most remains policy - how are the alternative governments likely to proceed in five key areas?
Against a new challenger, Bill English will need to lift his game, while Winston Peters as PM becomes a real proposition, writes former National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp.
Will the appeal to regional New Zealand and a pitch centred on reviving the economically interventionist state bear fruit for NZ First, asks former National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp.
If they want to move the dial and mobilise young people, Labour and the Greens could yet jettison the budget rules they signed up to, writes former National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp.
