The party’s conference this year went off without any controversy ahead of 1 News Kantar poll results out today, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in The Bulletin.
A dull conference that delivered
The headline for last year’s Bulletin about the National Party conference read “National’s divisions revealed at conference”. Three storylines played out last year that inspired it: concerns about Todd Muller, the young Nats and their stand on conversion therapy and Sir David Carter resigning form the board. No such headlines this year, even after a ropey couple of days of tax policy confusion last week. The Herald’s Thomas Coughlan (paywalled) has some good reporting from the breakout sessions where discussion sounded robust, particularly from the environment wing of the party. But that’s about as lively as it got. Writing for The Spinoff this morning, Liam Hehir says “An exciting or even interesting conference is not something a political party should generally wish for” and on that level, the conference was a success.
Sticks and carrots for under 25s on jobseeker benefit
Luxon’s speech on Sunday was also accompanied by a welfare policy announcement. As RNZ’s Jane Patterson reports, National would take funds from the Ministry of Social Development and contract community providers as job coaches for those under the age of 25 who have been on the jobseeker benefit for more than three months. There would also be sanctions for those that don’t stick to an agreed plan and a bonus payment of $1000 to those who’ve been on the benefit for 12 months or longer, then stay in work and off a benefit for 12 months. Luxon said he was willing to make MSD staff redundant, if required, to fund the community providers.
A new leaf after years of instability
Wrapping the conference up, Thomas Coughlan writes (paywalled) that members would “be relieved” to find the headlines that appeared yesterday morning about the All Blacks being in disarray weren’t about the party. Newsroom’s Sam Sachdeva said that Luxon’s speech, and many others, “were heavily laden with the sort of red-meat remarks which help gee up a party’s base”. Stuff’s Luke Malpass writes that the conference was a “new leaf for National after the years of instability”. Malpass described the welfare policy as similar to the brand of “compassionate conservatism” we saw in the 2000s from other western democracies. “It is clearly something Luxon is genuinely, and personally, concerned about. It may not be the best politics, but it is important to him and the story he is trying to tell.”
New poll result out this morning
The results of the latest 1News Kantar poll are being released throughout the day today, with the first headline out already. 49% of New Zealanders believe the economy will worsen in the next 12 months, a figure that has been relatively stable over the past four months. Full results, including party and preferred prime minister polling, will land at 6pm. The most recent poll we’ve had is from Roy Morgan, which pundits usually advise taking with a grain of salt. It revealed a fall in support for National from 39% to 35% and a half point increase to 34% for Labour, with Te Pāti Māori holding the balance of power.