Toby Manhire 
A brisk tour of the 2020 campaign via the time-honoured caboose of the alphabet. A is for Aotearoa, the name by which this country would formally be known under Māori Party policy, providing a timely stimulus to the economy by putting us much higher on the drop-down menu for online shopping, just beneath Angola. A … Read more
The path might be steep and unsteady, but there is a path to victory that could see Judith Collins sworn in as prime minister after October 17. Toby Manhire crunches the numbers. To be clear: with 12 days to go the National Party remains very much the underdog. Several polls in recent months have put … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 4, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other NZ news. The essential campaign dates are here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Explore the parties’ pledges at Policy. 7.00pm: The day in sum Judith … Read more
Leaders of the Greens, Act, Māori Party and NZ First joined in a rambunctious exchange in Auckland last night. Toby Manhire was there. Had I disappeared off-grid to live in a cave 10 weeks ago – and don’t think I wasn’t tempted – then returned last night to the Newshub “powerbrokers” debate, I’d have confidently … Read more
Toby Manhire watched the second leaders’ debate among a crowd of undecided voters at Q Theatre. Maybe the afternoon meal of pulled teeth and gravel soup in the presidential debate emphasised it but, shit, that was a good debate. Whether it was a motivational speech or a few Red Bulls, Jacinda Ardern had a different … Read more
Two individuals have been charged by the Serious Fraud Office, but neither is an MP. What’s the skinny? The Serious Fraud Office announced in a 5pm statement that two people have been charged with “obtaining by deception” following its inquiry into the New Zealand First Foundation and donations and loans provided to the New Zealand … Read more
John Campbell hosts Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins on a crunch evening in the campaign. Here are 11 things Toby Manhire reckons you might see. Tonight at 7pm the 2020 election campaign will – with a bit of luck – spring into life. A triangle of Js will take the stage at TVNZ’s central Auckland … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for September 20, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other NZ news. The essential campaign dates are here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Explore the parties’ pledges at Policy. 6.00pm: The day in sum There … Read more
Locations include Les Mills gym in Takapuna, Countdown Milford and The Warehouse Milford. A person who subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 took part in classes at Les Mills in Takapuna as well as visiting various North Shore retailers. Attention is focused particularly on the gym sessions, with Auckland Regional Public Health Service saying anyone who … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. Today: Jacinda Ardern promises a new holiday, Winston Peters’ uphill challenge, and New Zealand’s biggest privately owned broadcaster has been snapped up by the Discovery Channel. The discombobulating 2020 campaign lurched back into action yesterday, with leaders scattered about the country. Judith Collins is in Hawkes Bay, where … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 6, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and the Covid-19 pandemic. The whole country is now in alert level two, with extra restrictions in Auckland. Official information here. 5.30pm: The day in sum There were five new cases of Covid-19 reported, four of them in … Read more
The global trophy cabinet swells for the NZ prime minister with a silver in the UK magazine Prospect’s ranking. While you might not guess it by listening to, say, Mike Hosking, the star of Jacinda Ardern continues to shine bright in the international firmament. Not only has the Nobel winning economist Joe Stiglitz judged the … Read more
As Auckland faced the resurgence of coronavirus, misinformation proliferated, and a lot of people encountered it, according to the latest Stickybeak poll for The Spinoff. Plus: What is Facebook’s impact on NZ society? With a third of New Zealand under alert level three lockdown, recent weeks have seen false claims around the source of the … Read more
Compliance has dropped compared with the last time New Zealand was in a lockdown, a new Stickybeak poll for The Spinoff shows. Plus: how many people have taken a financial hit? Around the world, regions or nations that have exited then returned to lockdown have faced what has been called “lockdown fatigue”. It was certainly … Read more
What are the criteria and the scenarios, and when will the alert level decision be announced? On day 13 of Auckland’s alert level three lockdown and the rest of New Zealand’s level two restrictions, Jacinda Ardern and her cabinet meet today to make important decisions about when those statuses will change – and to what. … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 23, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and Covid-19 as it returns to the community. Auckland is now in alert level three and the rest of NZ is in level two. More details here. Official information here. 6.00pm: The day in sum There was only one … Read more
The seventh in a series of polls by Stickybeak for The Spinoff reveals how support for government measures have changed – and views on the National response. Twelve days ago New Zealand’s post-Covid honeymoon came to a sudden halt. The detection of Covid-19 in several members of an Auckland family, and cases in a number … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A big decision on what comes next, an important ruling on the lockdown legality, a power pair installed to troubleshoot the testing regime, and how concerned should we be about air crew? Six days ago, when the prime minister announced that Auckland would remain in alert … Read more
Winston Peters has demanded it be bumped back from September 19. Is that likely, and when might the new day be? Plus: Peters’ letter to Jacinda Ardern in full On the eighth day of 2020 the Spinoff Election Prediction Lab Committee (“Sepulchre”) predicted correctly that the election would be held on September 19. Recent events … Read more
The peerless Policy tool returns for its third edition, and it’s better than ever – fully geared to easily compare both parties and candidates across all the important issues. Campaigning might have been suspended for the rest of the week, along with much of normal life, but don’t let that stop you: it just provides … Read more
And is he about to launch a coup against Judith Collins? Just asking questions here. Jacindamania was meek by comparison. Just as Ardern captured a nation from the role of deputy leader of the opposition in 2017, so it is with Gerry Brownlee in 2020. Relentlessly grouchy, Gerrymania is in full flow, as most recently … Read more
Celebrity agent Ryan Serhant is promoting the sale, a snip at $24 million. It looks so good, why let pesky details like closed borders and foreign buyer bans stop you? Along with panoramic views, adventure sports and fine wines, the New Zealand pitch for super-wealthy Americans now includes the lure of zero Covid in the … Read more
Welcome to Election Live for August 9, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other breaking news. For key dates in the election season click here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. 6.15pm: The day in sum New Zealand hit a … Read more
The Labour leader returned yesterday to the Auckland Town Hall, where she was last seen riding the Jacindamania wave towards government. Toby Manhire went along to see how this campaign launch compared to the 2017 edition. A lot was the same. The wash of red light bouncing off the Town Hall walls. The rapturous party … Read more
Here’s what we have planned for the weeks to come. A month from today, on Saturday September 5, voting begins in the general election of 2020. Election day itself isn’t for another fortnight, on September 19, but if the trends of recent times is a guide, more than half of all votes will be cast … Read more
Just over two months ago, Simon Bridges was rolled as the leader of the opposition. This week he opened up about his tenure, the state of politics in New Zealand and, of course, the baby yaks. Simon Bridges did not hide his disappointment when the National Party caucus turfed him from the leadership. He was … Read more
This is easy and you will get them all right. The billboards are up and the campaigns are under way. The party slogans are right there, up in your face. There are some you could name off the bat. But can you get them all? Here are the slogans for the top eight most popular … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 26. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. 7.30pm: The day in sum National recorded a terrible result in a new Reid poll for Newshub, with Labour passing 60%. Judith Collins rejected it as a rogue poll. A new, … Read more
The number of active cases remains astronomical. Hopes of curbing community transmission of political disgrace in New Zealand are fading, with a succession of new reported cases raising fears that the so-called “Bowen cluster” is out of control. At a press briefing this morning the director general of parliamentary misconduct announced there was one new … Read more