Election Campaign Seminars hosted by the University of Auckland Political Studies Department

The University of Auckland Political Studies Department is hosting a series of public seminars during the 2008 General Election Campaign. You are cordially invited to join us for these free events and please feel welcome to bring along friends and family who might also take an interest in the Election.

2008 Robert Chapman Memorial Lecture: Polls versus Expectations - An Australian Perspective on the New Zealand Election

Antony Green, Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Leading Election Commentator

Throughout 2007 Australian opinion polls indicated that John Howard’s government was heading for massive defeat. Yet Howard’s two previous victories had come after some low polls, leading many to believe that he could yet again grasp victory from the jaws of defeat.

In the end the polls were right. Howard was defeated, but the contest narrowed as polling day approached, and the victory of Kevin Rudd’s Labor Party was narrower than expected. Parallels can be drawn in the experiences of the two countries. John Howard and Helen Clark may be from opposite ends of the political spectrum, but both have been political survivors. Both span several decades of turbulent political history.

The idea that either could lead their party to government was often doubted, but once in power, both built a dominance no one would have predicted in earlier times. Now New Zealand faces an election. After nine years in power, the Clark government faces a new Opposition Leader who wasn’t part of past political battles, and the government is dogged by bad opinion polls. Is the government doomed, or are the opinion polls likely to narrow as the election approaches? Antony Green is the face of ABC elections, having covered around 40 elections on camera for the ABC.

In recent years he has also developed the ABC’s internet election site into the preeminent source of election related material. He has also travelled overseas to cover and observe elections in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. He also produces regular publications on electoral matters for Australian parliamentary libraries. He contributes regularly to parliamentary reviews of electoral laws.

As part of the 150th anniversary of selfgovernment in NSW, he co-edited The Electoral Atlas of New South Wales, a book that maps the history of the state’s politics. He is currently working on an historical project to properly document the state’s elections in the period before Federation. Antony is a graduate of the University of Sydney. He completed a Bachelor of Science, with majors in Pure Mathematics and Computer Science, and a Bachelor of Economics with honours in the Department of Government.

Antony Green is the face of ABC elections, having covered around 40 elections on camera for the ABC. In recent years he has also developed the ABC’s internet election site into the preeminent source of election related material. He has also travelled overseas to cover and observe elections in Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. He also produces regular publications on electoral matters for Australian parliamentary libraries.

He contributes regularly to parliamentary reviews of electoral laws. As part of the 150th anniversary of selfgovernment in NSW, he co-edited The Electoral Atlas of New South Wales, a book that maps the history of the state’s politics. He is currently working on an historical project to properly document the state’s elections in the period before Federation. Antony is a graduate of the University of Sydney. He completed a Bachelor of Science, with majors in Pure Mathematics and Computer Science, and a Bachelor of Economics with honours in the Department of Government.

Monday 22 September
6.30pm (bar open from 5.30pm)
Maidment Theatre, Alfred St

Ask the Politicans 2: Has the universal student allowance ambushed the tertiary policy debate?

A panel discussion with speakers Paul Hutchinson (NAT), Metiria Turei (GRN), Lynne Pillay (LAB) and Dail Jones (NZF).

Hear what our Representatives have to say and ask them your questions as we approach the 2008 General Election.

Thursday 25 September
3-5pm
Conference Centre Lecture Theatre, 22 Symonds St

Election 2008: What are the key policy issues?

Assoc Prof Raymond Miller and Dr Jennifer Curtin

In this seminar, Assoc Prof Raymond Miller will outline some of the key policy issues that have emerged in the run up to the New Zealand General Election in 2008 and what this might mean for the election result. Dr Jennifer Curtin will then contextualise this discussion by comparing the New Zealand situation with the recent Australian election.

Tuesday 30 September 2008
1 - 2.30pm
Upstairs Dining Room, Old Government House

Ask the Politicians 3: Should high-profile crimes drive policies on law and order?

A panel discussion with speakers Phil Goff (LAB), Ron Mark (NZF), Simon Power (NAT) and Keith Locke (GRN).

Hear what our Representatives have to say and ask them your questions as we approach the 2008 General Election.

Thursday 2 October
3-5pm
Clocktower 039, 22 Princes St

2008 Bruce Jesson Memorial Lecture: Strangers in the 21st Century - A survey the New Zealand political landscape in the light of Bruce Jesson's political legacy

Mike Lee, Chairman of ARC

New Zealanders have left behind the secure landmarks of the 20th century and are now into unknown territory. Have New Zealanders lost their way? Is a lack of national direction and awareness part of our social/political malaise? Mike Lee will discuss these issues and the question of NZ nationhood and examine again the case for constitutional change for New Zealand.

Monday 6 October
6.30pm (bar open from 5.30pm)
Maidment Theatre, Alfred St

ENDS

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