I have a natural-and-episcopal interest in the forthcoming NZ general election (7 November 2026). The "natural" bit is that I have always been interested in politics, the "episcopal" bit is because our Cathedral ReOpen Project is looking for $15m of further funding commitment in order for us to re-open our cathedral's nave, tower and west porch. With such commitment, we begin construction again, without it, well, we have some difficult conversations ahead of us.
One possibility for a further commitment of required funds lies with Winston Peters and the New Zealand First party who have pledged to bring support for $15m of central government funding for the project to the coalition negotiating table if they are invited to that table. Pretty much every political set of tea leaves points to that invitation only occurring if the "centre right" gets to form the table of negotiation. If the "centre left" gets to form the table, they will not need to invite NZ First to discussions about the formation of a new government.
To date, the polls undertaken by different polling entities seem united in their refusal to offer a clear prediction of the winning left or right combo, so it looks like the only thing to do is to be patient, wait quietly (both Christians virtues!) and turn on the television and/or radio on the night of 7 November. Of course it is possible that by the end of that evening, the results might be still too close to call - special votes to be counted over the next couple of weeks etc. More patient waiting required! If NZ First does get to the table of negotiation it could be weeks (or weeks and weeks) until clarity emerges about what, from each party's policy wish list, has crossed the line into common policy for the new government. More patient waiting required.
For clarity, this post is not intended to persuade you to vote for any party in the election, not even for NZ First. But please vote. I do think not voting at all hands decision-making to others. In a democracy every citizen should weigh matters up and vote so the end result represents the influence of all citizens. I understand that there is no perfect party for everyone, and often that lack of perfection is keenly felt by Christians (How can I vote for the party with the best economic credentials when it also supports, say, a more liberal abortion law?). But politics is the art of compromise and just sometimes Christians ought to compromise - voting in a general election or a local body election is one of those "sometimes."
What is at stake in our coming election? Quite a lot, as it happens, though perhaps we would say that about every election. Here is a not-comprehensive list:
- the economy (what can we afford by way of priorities in health, welfare, education, defence, social services (including police, corrections)? We currently borrow money to pay for things and tax ourselves to pay for things: could we borrow more? Should we borrow less? Ditto, tax more, tax less?);
- the economy (how do we lift productivity, something many economic pundits (from all sides) observe is that NZ has scarcely lifted productivity in recent decades, and one explanation for our sliding descent down various rankings of OECD nations is due to this lack of decent productivity lift?);
- the economy (what is the right level of commitment to the things government (assisted by the tax payer and borrowings) pays for? To take an extreme, presumably we could pay for the most advanced level of healthcare in the world, including the most expensive treatments for cancers if we canned all superannuation payments ... but no one is going to vote for that, but we (rightly) argue what level of healthcare should be provided and whether superannuation at current settings is affordable as we look ahead with precise predictions re population of seniors increasing etc!);
- the economy (what does the Treaty of Waitangi mean in respect of how we live in partnership, Maori and Pakeha, with observable economic disparities between Maori and Pakeha, one example of which is that if the age of superannuation was lifted, even fewer Maori would get to enjoy superannuated older age).
OK - a bit of bias here - I think politics is heavily inter-connected with economics! We look to the government to do things for us (as individuals, as communities, as Maori/Pakeha, men/women, seniors/youth/children, school leavers and graduates looking for work, city dwellers/rural dwellers, etc/etc) but nearly everything we seek costs $$$. More schools, $$$. More teachers in existing schools, $$$. School lunches, $$$. You get my drift.
In this election, each party (I notice) is offering to do things, things that cost $$$, and more (or less) giving some kind of plausible account of how the $$$ will be found to do these things. What is arguably fascinating about this election is the strong sensitivity by all parties as to the economic situation we are in: parlous (there are not many spare $$$) and perilous (uncertainty about the global economic situation is high, very high as fuel prices surge, wars are fought and peace is avoided by certain leaders of nations not called Aotearoa New Zealand). No party is promising the earth, yet no party is promising an austerity pathway to new economic prosperity.
Of course other things are interesting about the election: neither Labour nor National seems able to command support consistently above 30%, and their combined totals on recent polls is the lowest ever for our two major parties. Does this betoken an interest in minor parties seemingly in common with what is happening in (say) Australia, UK, France, Germany? Or are the minor parties here (none of which, thankfully, is extreme as the extreme minor parties of afore-mentioned countries) showing policy boldness the two main parties ought to be showing?
All will be revealed ... on, or after, 7 November 2026!
