It’s the political event the country has been waiting for. You’ve met the young leaders from Aotearoa’s five main political parties in Youth Wings, released on The Spinoff last week. Now, watch them go head-to-head on all the big issues in Youth Wings: The Debate. Filmed in front of a vocal audience at the concert … Read more
Too much news? Welcome to the only round-up you need. Auckland is still in level three, the rest of the country is in level two, and I am still using my last brain cell. Welcome. New Zealand being chill about a world leader criticising us – YES Donald Trump said that New Zealand was seeing … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 24, 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. Get me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.30pm: The day in sum … Read more
Stewart Sowman-Lund talks to the anonymous, ideologically opposed creators of two Facebook meme pages about the role the Gen Z mainstay plays in our political landscape. In total, almost 70,000 people “like” the two biggest New Zealand political meme pages on Facebook. Out of the entire “team of five million”, that’s not a lot. However, … Read more
The chair of the Northern Young Nats says her party feels like a family, and they’re sticking together despite the political turmoil of 2020. Watch the previous episodes of Youth Wings here. Aryana Nafissi’s favourite show is Question Time on Parliament TV. The Young Nats’ Northern chairperson watches the repeats at night with her sister … Read more
It is a scandal in plain sight: our education system is racist and the outcomes people get vary substantially depending on ethnicity, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira. Avondale rapper Tom Scott recently took to Instagram to point out that the real conspiracy in this country is that education is for the rich. “Rich kids get private … Read more
The court will be asked to rule that the current voting age, while legally valid, is a form of unjustified age discrimination, explains Andrew Geddis. Is there any good reason to let 18-year-old people vote, but not those who are 16 or 17 years old? That’s the question the High Court starts grappling with today, … Read more
Their livelihoods are at risk, their children’s schooling halted, and their entire futures thrown into doubt, writes Gaurav Sharma. For several weeks now, an increasing number of Indian New Zealanders who are currently overseas have been sharing with me their experiences. In all our conversations, a common theme has emerged. While all of these people … 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
The prime minister spoke to South Auckland and Pasifika media this afternoon. Justin Latif reports. Jacinda Ardern has paid tribute to the South Auckland family at the centre of the recent Covid-19 outbreak in Auckland, as well as the Pacific community for the way it has responded to the call to get tested. The prime … Read more
The people behind a widely shared quiz on the End of Life Choice referendum say they’re presenting the facts, but the leading advocate of law reform says it’s misinformation. An online quiz related to the assisted dying referendum has been described as a “very clever piece of misinformation” by the End of Life Choice Act’s … Read more
OPINION: In June, the Electricity Authority found that Meridian Energy unnecessarily spilled water from its hydro stations. Flick Electric Co’s chief executive, Steve O’Connor, explains why the EA’s findings don’t go far enough. At the end of last year, we were one of a group of independent retailers to support a complaint (also known as … Read more
Covid-19 lockdown and alert level settings are being assessed today by cabinet. What decisions are they making, and when will those decisions be announced? This piece was first published on RNZ. Cabinet ministers will meet this morning to review the Covid-19 lockdown settings, but are not expected to make a definitive decision on whether to … Read more
While New Zealand’s Covid response has been the envy of the world, its strict border policy is exacting a heavy emotional and financial toll on the many couples and families it has split apart, reports Branko Marcetic. On March 15, Paola and Tim (not their real names) were in a beach house in Peru with … Read more
The Covid-19 resurgence has pushed border policy to the heart of the election campaign. Justin Giovannetti writes from parliament on the rival visions. In an uncertain future with Covid-19 still present and the next pandemic lurking around the corner, a new border agency, more testing and faster contact tracing will keep the country safe, insists … Read more
The fourth episode of Youth Wings discusses sexual harassment. Here, Young Act’s former vice president describes her experience – which includes an account of misogynist and sexual messages – and why she quit the group. It’s only August, but Young Act has had a big year. There was its O-week drug legalisation policy announcement, its … Read more
The president of Young Act loves the freedom his party’s youth wing has to speak out and advocate for radical policy ideas. But are there certain lines that need to be drawn within the youth wing itself? Watch the previous episodes of Youth Wings here. Felix Poole was a Green Party supporter in high school. … Read more
Three years. Two leaders. And a whole lot of diplomatic shade. This week, our country was name-dropped by a celebrity (twice), except that celebrity was sitting US president Donald Trump and the name-drop was a bizarre claim that the relatively small cluster of Covid-19 cases in Auckland right now was a “big surge”. The prime … Read more
In choosing to lead with the threat that Covid-19 poses the High Court makes it abundantly clear that it is going to cut the government a lot of slack when reviewing the overall legality of its actions in response, writes Andrew Geddis. Probably the most famous opening to a court judgment is to be found … Read more
With the shine starting to come off the government’s Covid response, the opposition must abandon baseless speculation for a laser focus on failure and accountability, argues Ben Thomas. The fresh outbreak of Covid-19 in Auckland last week was a shock to the public. But it should have been manna from heaven for political parties campaigning … Read more
Right from day one, the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand has been a party led by co-leaders. That philosophy extends to the party’s youth wing, where co-convenors Danielle Marks (Te Arawa) and Matariki Roche (Ngāti Raukawa) represent the party’s next generation. Watch the previous episodes of Youth Wings here. Matariki Roche has a tattoo … Read more
A worker at a managed isolation facility has tested positive for Covid-19 after working for days despite showing symptoms. His case showcases another weakness in the border testing regime that has come under fire over the past week, writes Justin Giovannetti. The prime minister said people with symptoms should stay home. The director-general of health … Read more
A new Christian party is touring the country, vowing to reshape politics in the image of their interpretation of Christianity. Alex Braae went to Marton to find out what the One Party had to say. “Maranga mai!” called One Party leader Stephanie Harawira to the congregation in front of her. “It’s time.” There is always … Read more
He was born into a family of die-hard Labour supporters and raised on tales of the party’s greatest achievements. Now the chair of Princes Street Young Labour wants to help write the next chapter. Watch the other episodes of Youth Wings here. Adam Brand was practically born with a Labour Party rosette pinned to his … Read more
The election delay means 17-year-old Gina Dao-McLay will have the right to vote this year. She’s excited – but says thousands more people like her deserve the same chance to have their voices heard. I turn 18 on September 27 – a grand total of eight days after the original election date of September 19. … Read more
Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas forget how to record a podcast over Zoom. Most elements of life under lockdown feel a little bit easier the second time around, but not recording an episode of Gone By Lunchtime. After being held up for over an hour by a confusing tech issue (Ben’s new phone … Read more
Too much news? Welcome to the only political round-up you need. How foolish we were to believe that we could just go ahead and have our little election without disruption. Remember there was chat about Pacific travel bubbles? Hahaha hahaha ha ha. Covid-19 – YES It’s Covid, bitch. Guess who’s back in the limelight, ruining … Read more
With parties commanding a majority insisting on a delay, the pressure was mounting, but the prime minister insists she wasn’t cornered into making the call to postpone by four weeks to October 17. Justin Giovannetti reports from parliament. By postponing the general election by four weeks until October 17, the prime minister has forestalled a … Read more
When does advance voting open, when do the results get announced, and when are the TV debates? The essential election calendar. This post has been updated to reflect the decision to delay the election, which now be on October 17, and its knock-on impacts. It will continue to be updated through the course of the … Read more