‘Ridiculous' Cabinet paper: Why Firearms Minister Nicole McKee compared guns to ovens and toasters
Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee compared firearms to toasters and ovens in her criticism of the gun registry review, which she said fails to fulfil the Act-National coalition agreement.
Her view is not supported by the Justice Ministry, which said the review met the terms of reference she had set,
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ACT Launches Petition To Dump Te Mana o te Wai
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Scoop
an hour ago
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New Poll: Labour Becomes Largest Party, Economy Top Concern
Bad news for National in the latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll as Labour would now be the largest party in Parliament, gaining three seats to 44. The Coalition would still just about cling on to power on these numbers. The poll, conducted between 07 and 09 June shows National drop 1.1 points on last month to 33.5 percent, while Labour are up 1.6 points to 34.8 percent. ACT is down 0.4 points to 9.1 percent, whilst the Greens are down 0.9 points to 8.2 percent. New Zealand First also drops 1.3 points to 6.1 percent, while Te Pāti Māori is down 0.6 points to 3.3 percent. Headline results and more information about the methodology can be found on the Taxpayers' Union's website at For the minor parties, TOP is on 1.8 percent (+1.3 point), Outdoors and Freedom is on 1.1 percent (+0.7 points), New Conservatives are on 0.7 percent (+0.7 points) and Vision NZ on 0.6 percent (+0.2 points). This month's results are compared to the last Taxpayers' Union-Curia Poll conducted in May 2025, available here at The combined projected seats for the Centre-Right of 62 is down 1 seat from last month. The combined seats for the Centre-Left is up 2 seats to 60. On these numbers, the Centre-Right bloc could still form a Government. National remains on 42 seats again this month, whilst Labour is up 3 seats to 44. ACT is unchanged on 12 seats, whilst the Greens are down 1 seat to 10. New Zealand First drops 1 seat to 8 seats, while Te Pāti Māori remains on 6. For the first time since October 2024, Cost of Living has been replaced as voters' top issue. The Economy more generally is the most important issue to voters at 20.2 percent (+3.7 points), followed by the Cost of Living at 18.1 percent (-8.3 points), Health at 11.9 percent (-5.0 points) and Employment at 5.8 percent. Commenting on the results, Taxpayers' Union Spokesman James Ross said: "Labour taking the lead and growing concern over the economy should be a worrying sign for the Government in the first Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll since the Budget. Voters are losing faith in the managed decline on offer." "With inflation finally under heel, cost of living has slipped off the top spot for the first time in over three years. But lower interest rates don't make a sound economy on their own." "The so-called Growth Budget's only pro-growth policy offered a 1 percent boost to GDP over 20 years, spiralling debt and no credible pathway back to surplus." "Growth wins votes, stagnation doesn't."
Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Poll shows Labour ahead of National, but coalition keeping power
Labour would be the largest party in Parliament - but the coalition would still cling on to power, according to a new poll. The latest Taxpayers' Union-Curia poll - the first the firm has conducted since the budget - sees Labour leapfrog National in popularity and parties outside parliament making slight gains. Party vote: Labour: 34.8 percent, up 1.6 percentage points (44 seats) National: 33.5 percent, down 1.1 (42 seats) ACT: 9.1 percent, down 0.4 (12 seats) Greens: 8.2 percent, down 0.9 (10 seats) NZ First: 6.1 percent, down 1.3 (8 seats) Te Pāti Māori: 3.3 percent, down 0.6 (6 seats) The centre-right would have a combined 62 seats, down one seat from the previous poll. The centre-left is up two seats to 60. For the minor parties, TOP is on 1.8 percent (up 1.3 percentage point), Outdoors and Freedom is on 1.1 percent (up 0.7 points), New Conservatives are on 0.7 percent (up 0.7 points) and Vision NZ on 0.6 percent (up 0.2 points). Preferred prime minister: In the preferred prime minister stakes, both Christopher Luxon and Chris Hipkins have taken hits, with Luxon staying slightly ahead of Hipkins. Christopher Luxon: 20.3 percent, down 4.2 percentage points Chris Hipkins: 18.5 percent, down 1.5 points Winston Peters: 8.0 percent, down 0.1 points David Seymour: 6.0 percent, down 0.7 points Chlöe Swarbrick: 5.6 percent, up 0.6 points Luxon is down 4.2 points from last month to 20.3 percent, while Hipkins is down 1.5 points to 18.5 percent. The poll was conducted by Curia Market Research Ltd for the NZ Taxpayers' Union. It is a random poll of 1000 adult New Zealanders, weighted to the overall adult population. It was conducted by phone (landlines and mobile) and online between Saturday, June 7 and Monday, June 9 2025. It has a maximum margin of error of +/- 3.1%. Curia is a long-running and established pollster in New Zealand, which has resigned its membership from the Research Association New Zealand (RANZ) industry body. Polls compare to the most recent poll by the same polling company, as different polls can use different methodologies. They are intended to track trends in voting preferences, showing a snapshot in time, rather than be a completely accurate predictor of the final election result.
