[For background I've been out of the country for 5 months now.]

From what I have gleaned while being away I am probably glad that I don't have to put up with all the misery that is occurring in New Zealand at the moment.  I'm tempted to put it down to the election campaign period, even though I understood that it was going to be played with a straight bat(?)

It seems like there might actually be a lot of good things going on in New Zealand across a wide range of aspects, but the news I've seen seems to paint quite a glum picture.  I've actually decreased the amount of news I read about home because I'm left a little saddened by the tone of it.

What is everyone's opinion about the situation?