History has repeatedly exposed the dangers of blind conformity, to which former attorney-general and Archibald Baxter Memorial trustee Chris Finlayson asks: where are the dissenters of today? There are many things I admire about Archibald Baxter but what I admire most of all was that he had the courage to dissent. Dissent is what I … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 11, 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. I’m on catherine@thespinoff.co.nz. 1.00pm: One new case at … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 10, 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. I’m on jihee@thespinoff.co.nz 5pm: The day in sum … Read more
Labour’s winning strategy is built on rhetoric that seems to promise real change but never quite delivers, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. Perhaps soon it can give itself permission to do something truly transformational. There is a pit of doom major parties in New Zealand can fall into, when their soft centre supporters abandon them for their … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 9, 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. Stewart is off today so Leonie … Read more
Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz, but here’s a whistlestop tour of what parties on climate change and the environment. Read more two-minute policy wraps here Everyone wants to live in a country with a healthy environment, but how exactly do the parties plan on getting there? … Read more
Significantly reducing poverty in New Zealand needs serious commitment and investment, something which Child Poverty Action Group’s Janet McAllister says she’s yet to see from the party of Jacinda Ardern. “We can’t just tinker with the so-called social welfare system … it’s just not going to cut the mustard.” – Professor Cindy Kiro, chair of … Read more
The loss of international tourism has hit the West Coast hard, amid population decline and a wider battle to keep jobs in the area. Alex Braae spent several days driving down the coast to cover the election. The Owen River Tavern just north of Murchison has bilingual signs alongside the usual trapping of a bustling … Read more
Policy.nz now comes with added referendum information – the simple, elucidating, bullshit-free way to get the essential information you need. Our expectations for Policy.nz in 2020 were high, and they’ve already been exceeded. As of lunchtime yesterday the site had recorded more than 305,000 unique users and 460,000 sessions, serving up more than two and … Read more
Each week in the lead-up to the election, The Side Eye cartoonist Toby Morris is going to teach us how to draw a different New Zealand politician. This week, it’s the co-leaders of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Click here for the rest of the How to draw series. The Side Eye is a … Read more
Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz, but here’s a whistlestop tour of what parties are promising on issues that affect Māori. Read more two-minute policy wraps here Te ao Māori is a fairly uneven policy area – the Māori Party lists more than 80 separate policies, … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 8, 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. Stewart is off today. Toby, Josie … Read more
A handful of polling stations throughout New Zealand have an uncanny ability with picking general election winners. RNZ’s Kate Newton visits Birkdale on Auckland’s North Shore to meet the voters at one such bellwether. For the inside running on who might win the 2020 election, forget the polls. Instead, consider Birkenhead Baptist Church. Not for … Read more
Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz, but here’s a whistlestop tour of what’s on offer for small businesses. Read more two-minute policy wraps here Small businesses have long been considered the bread and butter of New Zealand’s economy, accounting for 28% of all employment … Read more
A humiliating hour in Ponsonby doesn’t mean National is imploding, just that it’s losing. National voters turned off by the show of disunity might want to consider the alternative, writes Ben Thomas. There’s a persistent myth that the “ordinary people” travellers to North Korea meet during tightly controlled trips into Pyongyang’s underground commuter train or … Read more
After a hard fought debate last night, Judith Collins returned to Auckland for a Ponsonby walkabout with local candidate Emma Mellow. Things didn’t quite go to plan, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund. Since her performance in the first leader debate of election 2020, Judith Collins has been an energised figure, visibly relishing the final campaign stretch. But … Read more
With Judith Collins foregrounding her religious faith in recent days, Justin Latif talks to candidates of faith in the most Christian electorate in the country, attends an event for first-time Christian voters and hears from experts on the intersection of religion and New Zealand politics. On a bright Sunday morning in central Auckland, before casting … Read more
Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire assess the Press debate in Christchurch, National’s leaky redux, the advance voting surge and the rest of the big stories with a week and a half to go. In 10 short days the skies will clear and for a few blessed hours the only hint of politics will … Read more
More people are coming forward to say they found referendum campaign pamphlets in their EasyVote packs, but mystery continues to surround how they got there. Alex Braae reports. Stacey Hone’s routine with the mail is very simple. She goes to the mailbox, sorts it then and there, and only takes addressed mail inside the front … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 7, 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. I’m on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.45pm: The day … Read more
Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz; in the meantime here’s a whistlestop tour of what’s on offer when it comes to welfare and equity. Read more two-minute policy wraps here Welfare is always an election issue, but mass job losses brought about by the … Read more
In a chaotic 90-minute contest, the crowd made itself heard, writes Justin Giovannetti from Christchurch. At several points I had no idea what the leaders were saying. Hundreds in the Christchuch crowd were cheering on Labour leader Jacinda Ardern while a row of National supporters seated in front of me grumbled. Ardern was making her … Read more
Who came out on top in the online Press Leaders’ Debate tonight? Here are our debate watchers’ verdicts. Duncan Greive: Ardern is the superior communicator. Tonight, she finally showed it The hoary boxing cliché says that styles make fights – that different yet complementary techniques will produce a better spectacle. Through the first two debates … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 6, 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. I’m on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz Live: Ardern and … Read more
You know who probably takes photos? Green voters. On Newstalk ZB’s Leader’s Breakfast yesterday, famous Christian Judith Collins was asked about NCEA and secondary education. She said, “There are too many photography classes, too much media studies, too much woke stuff”. Obviously this got all the Leftie liberal woke leftists worked up but was it … Read more
It’s unacceptable to shrug off greenhouse gases as someone else’s problem, writes Dr David Galler. In the pressure of the moment people say things they often come to regret. For some it’s the result of a slip of the tongue, a simple mistake; sometimes it’s an attempt to be bullish and occasionally it’s the result … Read more
In an amazing turn of events, the veteran UK puppet-satire TV series has added New Zealand’s prime minister to their cast of characters. José Barbosa is surprised to find the sock puppet wags appear to know their Kiwi culture. Like many of you out there, I’ve been enjoying the Spitting Image sketch featuring Jacinda Ardern … Read more
Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz, but here’s a whistlestop tour of what’s on offer in the world of tertiary education. Read more two-minute policy wraps here Tertiary fees and student support Labour’s biggest education pitch in the previous election was the fees-free tertiary … Read more
Too much news? Welcome to the only round-up you need. Have you voted yet? Voting opened nationwide on Saturday. Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins both voted early with Ardern posting very casually on Instagram about her voting experience and Collins voting at a church complete with prayer beforehand. That about sums up both of their … Read more