Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: I'm not surprised about Russell Brand

I'm sure, like many people of my generation who grew up through their 20s and 30s with Russell Brand as a big part of pop culture, the news that he is behind bars will have come as a shock. I'm not surprised, though. If you've been following the rape trial like I have, it would have dawned on you…

The Debrief: former National leader Simon Bridges on whether the coalition can secure a second term

One former National Party head is confident the coalition will secure a second term, despite the race being tight. Preliminary results give National, ACT and New Zealand First 67 seats, while Labour, the Greens and Te Pati Māori won 57 seats. Simon Bridges says the most likely outcome from all th…

The Debrief: ACT's Paul Henry on whether the right bloc has the numbers to form a Government

Former broadcaster and now ACT MP Paul Henry believes there's no regrets, as a move to Wellington looks likely. ACT is currently sitting on 10.92 percent, giving it 13 seats based on provisional results - with Henry 4th on the party list. He says he'll be doing a great disservice if he changes hi…

The Debrief: political commentator Peter Dunne on whether the right bloc needs Opportunity to make a Government

Former United Future leader Peter Dunne believes the National, ACT and New Zealand First partners will tolerate Opportunity if needed. Dunne expects parties will hold informal talks in coming weeks - while special votes are counted, for a final result. But he recommends the newcomers avoid formal…

The Debrief: ZB's Panel discusses preliminary election results

In the morning after the election, Trish Sherson from Sherson Willis PR and Child Fund CEO Josie Pagani recapped what we know so far, given the narrow election race. Do we consider this a win for the right bloc, or is it too early to tell?  Does National need to reach out to Opportunity to form a…

The Debrief: Labour's Michael Wood on whether he'll win Auckland's Mt Roskill seat

Labour's Michael Wood is quietly confident he'll get back Auckland's Mount Roskill seat - from National's Carlos Cheung. Wood is narrowly leading on preliminary results. He says special votes could see his margin increase. "There's actually the possibility that that number moves out a little bit…

The Debrief: National's Mark Mitchell on the 'big losses' from the party following preliminary election results

Senior National MP Mark Mitchell admits the campaign to engineer an overhang distracted from the party's campaign.  Preliminary results give National, ACT and New Zealand First 67 seats, Labour, the Greens and Te Pati Māori 57 and Opportunity 7 seats.  The Electoral Commission estimates almost 40…

The Debrief: former Labour Party leader Phil Goff on the state of the preliminary election results

Former Labour leader Phil Goff hasn't given up on the prospect of a left-wing Government, despite last night's preliminary results. The data shows that the right bloc currently has a clearer path to getting into Government, but there's still 400,000 special votes to be counted. Goff says New Zeal…

The Debrief: ACT Party Leader on the party scoring a 'record-high' preliminary election result

David Seymour says he's stoked ACT secured a record-high party vote for the third election in a row. The provisional results have the party on 10.9 percent, giving them 13 seats so far. But the ACT leader says the only thing that's certain now is that nothing will be clear for another three weeks…

The Debrief: NZ First's deputy leader Shane Jones on the party's preliminary election results

New Zealand First is celebrating the party's 12 seats on last night's preliminary tally.   Deputy leader Shane Jones says anything could happen at this stage, but he doesn't think it's likely they'll have to talk to Opportunity.  "Let's face it, the Opportunity Party has done a fantastic job at s…