meka whaitiri

In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about coverage putting the Loafers Lodge disaster in context - even in the midst of chaos and confusion, some impressive political fact-checking, whether the media needs to change tack reporting economists' forecasts - and an exclusive interview with a party-swapping MP which wasn't hard to get.

Newstalk ZB Chief Political Reporter Aaron Dahmen joins Nick Mills to discuss the latest Taxpayers’ Union-Curia poll, the ongoing effects of Meka Whaitiri defecting from Labour, and what Kiwis can expect from Budget Day next week.

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Te Pāti Māori livestreams from local marae don’t usually attract much mainstream media interest. But the defection of government minister Meka Whaitiri on Wednesday was carried by every major outlet after Whakaata Māori's late-night scoop sparked a media scramble. It also created a “constitutional cluster” that needed clarity.

Newstalk ZB Political Editor Jason Walls joins Nick Mills to explain how Meka Whaitiri's defection from Labour unfolded, and also discusses current vaping laws in New Zealand and changes to the clean car rebate scheme.

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In this week's Midweek Mediawatch, Hayden Donnell talks to Mark Leishman about Meka Whaitiri's defection to Te Pāti Māori taking the media by surprise, a media organisation and a politician censured for inaccuracy on important health matters - and media coverage of an airline PR stunt.

A constitutional law expert has explained why Meka Whaitiri remains a sitting MP, despite legislation stopping party waka-jumping.

She's crossing the floor to run as Te Pāti Māori's candidate in her Ikaroa-Rawhiti seat this October, quitting Labour.

Speaker Adrian Rurawhe has ruled she'll now be an independent MP, for Parliamentary purposes.

Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis says how the law's interpreted sits with the Speaker.

"What the Speaker of the House appears to have decided is that because she didn't specifically use the words: 'I want to be an independent' or 'I want to sit for another party' in her correspondence with him, those laws haven't been triggered."

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