Newsflash: ACT overshadowed by the Herald

Note: this post originally appeared on ‘Douglas to Dancing’, a blog I maintained from 2007-9 on the ACT New Zealand political party. The blog was an extension of the thesis I wrote about the Act Party in 2007, From Douglas to Dancing: explaining the lack of success of ACT New Zealand and evaluating its future prospects (PDF).

It’s interesting that ACT and Rodney Hide were overshadowed in the New Zealand Herald‘s coverage of the opposition to the Electoral Finance Bill by other small parties, most notably the Maori Party. In the report space was given only for a comment by Hide in a collection of quotes from MPs opposing the bill. It wasn’t a particularly exciting comment – perhaps that’s why it came last, even after the Progressives (the 1 MP party).

Indeed, it was Hone Harawira who was allocated much attention by the Herald and it’s not hard to see why – he gave an impressive speech in the House stating the reasons why the Maori Party was opposing the EFB. I heard Leighton Smith praising this speech on Newstalk ZB this morning – and when you hear Smith praising something from the Maori Party, you know it must be of exceptional quality!