"Labour is a big time election loser, but is not the only one. ..."

"Labour is a big time election loser, but is not the only one. ... The other group to lose was the Parliamentary Press Gallery, which is broadly left of centre and operates within the Wellington bubble. Given the Greens hold two of the three Wellington electorates and Labour maybe the third seat, it’s perhaps hardly surprising they have shown themselves to be so out of touch with wider public opinion.
    "It’s time for them to do some serious soul searching. One area that has particularly irritated me over the past three years, is their reaction to those who have questioned the modern radical interpretation of the Treaty of Waitangi. ...
    "I know of no country where power is allocated on the basis of tribe or race, in which I would care to live in the event I was forced to find another country. What the history of the human race has shown us is that the market economy and a quality democracy has produced better results than all the alternatives.
    "You might think political journalists would be interested in preserving a quality democracy and in finding out why some people ... don’t support the concept of equal partnership. ...
    "Instead of genuine inquiry we have had [those who question  the concept of a treaty partnership] labelled as 'racists' or 'dog whistling.' There has been a determined attempt at shutting down any serious questioning of the partnership concept, or even why Maori is often used instead of English with government agencies. I have seen no serious attempt at analysing the issues in depth.
    "While they reflect on the election results the Press Gallery might like to think about engaging with people outside the Parliamentary precincts and then venture further afield outside Wellington ..."

~ Barrie Saunders, from his post 'Labour one of two election losers'