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13 SEPTEMBER 2018 
Stardust and Substance captures some of the magic of Jacinda Ardern’s extraordinary seven-and-a-half weeks’ campaign, defeating a National government in power for nine years.
The story of her sensational achievement – with ‘relentless positivity’ and a ‘Let’s do this’ attitude – is told in this book by multiple authors, including Jacinda Ardern herself; her coalition partners, Winston Peters and James Shaw; and, looking back at the 2017 race, by her adversary in the campaign, former prime minister Bill English.
The book portrays how a remarkable election looked:
• to overseas observers in the U.S., Australia, Europe, Britain and Japan, attempting to understand ‘Jacindamania’.
• to 14 of New Zealand’s top cartoonists.
• to academic commentators, journalists and a TV news programme’s producer.
Stardust and Substance tells the story of how the election was won, and a government formed, its chapters highlighting:
• the televised debates and Jacinda Ardern’s inspirational example for New Zealand’s young women.
• UMR’s survey findings about leadership, issues and ‘word clouds’.
• the post-election negotiations with Winston Peters.
• the role of political scandals.
• the campaign and election in the Maori seats.
• the 2017 election and New Zealand’s Pacific communities.
• four campaigns, four candidates – Julie Anne Genter (Greens); Chris Hipkins (Labour); Mark Mitchell (National); Fletcher Tabuteau (New Zealand First).
Stardust and Substance also farewells the Key-English government, examining its legacy with regard to some key issues:
New Zealand’s flag; the economy, housing, the environment, immigration, foreign policy and security.
Stardust and Substance is the latest title in a VUP series of New Zealand election studies allowing New Zealanders today and ‘in 20, 50 and 100 years’ time’ the opportunity to ‘think about what happened and why’ (John Key) at the country’s general elections.
Cover design by Todd Atticus.
Contents
Foreword
Trevor Mallard
Preface
Stephen Levine
Overview of the Election
Stardust and Substance: New Zealand’s 2017 election
Stephen Levine
Party Leaders’ Perspectives
Labour 2017: The Prime Minister’s perspective
Jacinda Ardern
Change versus a modified status quo: The New Zealand First perspective
Winston Peters
The Green Party’s campaign: A leader’s perspective
James Shaw
National: The leader’s perspective
Bill English
The ACT Party: The leader’s perspective
David Seymour
The Māori Party: A valedictory address
Te Ururoa Flavell
United Future: A valedictory address
Peter Dunne
The 2017 New Zealand election: Views from overseas
An American view
Alan Tidwell
An Australian view
Nicholas Economou and Zareh Ghazarian
The view from the UK
Tim Bale
Jacinda Ardern’s rise and the generational politics of party leadership
Paul ’t Hart and Willem van Toor
A Japanese view
Kuniaki Nemoto
Media Perspectives
‘Boom, Shake the Room’: Producing a political TV show in one of New Zealand’s most explosive election campaigns
Nicola Kean
Māori media and the campaign
Yvonne Tahana
Cartoonists and the 2017 election
Ian F. Grant and Hannah Benbow
Satire and citizen craft in 2017
Sarah Austen-Smith
Campaign Perspectives
A Labour MP’s electorate race
Rebekka Evans
A New Zealand First MP’s campaign
Angus Stallmann
A Green MP’s campaign
Karishma Patel
A National MP’s electorate race
Stephanie Taylor
Public policy and the legacy of the Key-English government
Flagging fortunes: Early intimations of National’s vulnerability
Therese Arseneau and Nigel S. Roberts
Foreign and defence policy
Robert Ayson
It is not just the economy, stupid ...
Girol Karacaoglu and Joey Au
New Zealand environmental policy in the Key era: Escalating crises in a time of neo-liberal economic dominance
Priya Kurian and Megan Smith
Immigration and the Key-English government
Fiona Barker
Crisis? What crisis? An overview of the fifth National government’s housing policies
Ben Schrader
The government and the media: Nine laissez-faire years
Gavin Ellis
The state sector: Emergent concerns
Bob Gregory and Masashi Yui
The Campaign, the Results and the Formation of the Coalition
The first post-baby-boomer election
Colin James
Jacinda Ardern: A political presence
Claire Timperley
Performing politics: Leaders’ debates in the 2017 election
Geoffrey Craig
Survey findings and the 2017 election
Stephen Mills
Scandals, transgressions and embarrassments in the 2017 election
Ellie Argyle
Did the Māori electorates decide the election?
Morgan Godfery
Pacific peoples and the 2017 election
Salote Talagi
Round two: Forming a government
Stephen Church
Epilogue
Looking ahead …
Stephen Levine
