ALEX HICKEY | Politics
WE KNOW.
Media outlets around New Zealand are sticking to their guns after a poll showed New Zealanders don’t need regular reminders that government negotiations are ongoing.
A Roy Morgan poll found 99% of Kiwis know that a government hasn’t been formed yet. The 1% that doesn’t know is thought to be infant children that cannot speak and do not understand elections.
At the same time, reporters have continued to find new ways of saying nothing has happened, often focusing updates on regular daily occurrences like someone having lunch or walking out of a building.
Stuff reporter Adam Reynolds has been staking out the Pullman Hotel for a week already, and is adamant his live tracker reports are interesting.
“We had one update from Winston Peters today saying that they still had some negotiating to do. People need to know this because we thought they might be getting close.
“I guess our opinion on how long it was going to take was wrong so we have to keep people in the loop.”
Prime Minister-elect Christopher Luxon is thought to be enjoying the game of cat and mouse with the media, instructing his MPs to conduct various stunts to distract media coverage and earn valuable column inches.
Insiders say this is why MP Chris Bishop allegedly turned up to negotiations yesterday wearing his underwear over top of his pants.
More to come.
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