The crowd’s cheering, the lights are flashing. Two figures walk into the ring. It’s … the deputy prime minister and the leader of Act? If it weren’t for Andrew Falloon and Iain Lees-Galloway, this week would’ve belonged to Winston Peters and David Seymour. The leaders of the two lowest polling parties currently in parliament have … Read more
Today marks one year since police evicted mana whenua and members of the Protect Ihumātao campaign from land at Ihumātao, South Auckland. Justin Latif looks back at the standoff, the eviction, and what’s happened since. Has it really been a year?! Yes it really has. On July 23 2019, police descended on Ihumātao in South … Read more
From a ministerial sacking to a ‘bombshell’ allegation in the house, yesterday was a rollercoaster even by recent standards, writes Spinoff political editor Justin Giovannetti It was deflection day at parliament. Dawn broke over a country where questions were still swirling around the misconduct of former National MP Andrew Falloon. But in keeping with the … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 22. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 6.00pm: The day in sum Judith Collins disclosed she’d revealed a tip-off alleging “inappropriate behaviour” about a Labour minister. That minister was later revealed to be Iain … Read more
Justin Giovannetti on an ugly day in New Zealand politics, which saw a National backbencher resign in disgrace. In the space of two weeks National has lost a leader, a half dozen MPs and any semblance of unity in the ranks of an outfit that is hoping to present itself as a government-in-waiting. Andrew Falloon … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 21. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.30pm: The day in sum Andrew Falloon resigned, after pressure from leader Judith Collins to do so immediately. Two more women came forward with allegations that Falloon … Read more
Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas on the Andrew Falloon scandal and its implications for a beleaguered National Party, a big weekend for Winston Peters and NZ First, and the chorus calling to charge arriving New Zealanders for their hotel isolation. Less than two months out from the election, the National Party remains bedevilled … Read more
National MP Andrew Falloon has resigned from parliament following allegations he sent unsolicited pornographic material to young women. Here’s what we know happened and when. Tuesday July 14 9.45pm Judith Collins addresses the media after being elected the new leader of the National Party, replacing Todd Muller, whose shock resignation at breakfast time came after … Read more
Judith is the youngest of six. Gerry is the oldest of five. Jacinda and Grant? Youngest of two and three, respectively. But where are the misunderstood middle children in our parliament? Linda Burgess investigates. If my younger sister – the cute-as-a-button baby of the family – smoked, which she doesn’t, she’d have inhaled, nostrils tightening, … Read more
Both major parties now want people returning to the country to pay for mandatory managed isolation. Our fellow New Zealanders don’t deserve such cruelty, argues Alex Braae. Sarah has been trying to get home to New Zealand for months now. The eastern European country she is in locked their borders before MFAT started sending out … Read more
Good afternoon, and welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 20. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.10pm: The day in sum National MP Andrew Falloon announced he would not be standing in this year’s election after reportedly sending a … Read more
Winston Peters took the stage to launch an unlikely bid to stay in parliament on Sunday. Hayden Donnell went along for a close encounter with the New Zealand First faithful. Talk to a political insider about Winston Peters, and they’ll often start with their complaints. He’s been offensive on immigration. Questionably ethical on campaign finance. … Read more
A few election cycles ago Judith Collins would have been a formidable political contender, writes the Dirty Politics author. Now she’s the wrong person, at the wrong time. Judith Collins, who starred in the book Dirty Politics two elections ago, is an intelligent and politically capable person. However, as many of her National Party colleagues … Read more
With less than 50 days until the election, attempts are well underway to pit us against each other in the name of winning power, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira. No matter our differences, most of us want pretty similar things: to live well with good kai, good health, a warm whare, and time to spend with … Read more
With the National Party caucus looking more conservative than it’s been in a long time, Liam Hehir warns of the dangers of ideological factionalism, and why being a conservative party isn’t the same as being a party with conservatives. Liberals seem to be something of an endangered species in the National Party these days. First … Read more
In the third in the Spinoff’s Last on the list series, Gerrie Ligtenberg explains what inspired her to stand for the Green Party in Rangitata. At the 24th spot on the list, if the Greens can win around 20% of the party vote, Ligtenberg is parliament bound. Ngā mihi ki a koutou. Ko Tatimana te … Read more
The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. 5pm: The day in sum Auckland transport received a $182m boost from the government for four transport projects to help the region’s economic recovery. Torrential weather battered the upper North Island with roads closed and residents evacuated due to flooding. … Read more
Things with Todd Muller made sense. He was cautious and bland. National would fight the election over who had the best ideas. Jacinda Ardern would avoid getting dirty and debate those ideas. Then Muller left. And a firecracker was lobbed into the campaign. The dawn of a Judith Collins led National Party has upset election … Read more
Hello, and welcome to The Spinoff’s Live Updates for July 17. If you want to get in touch about anything, flick me an email at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 5.30pm: The day in sum Simon Bridges revealed he wanted Mark Mitchell to lead National. Judith Collins unveiled a $31 billion transport plan, including rail to Auckland Airport. The blogger … Read more
National’s new leader made her first big appearance in front of a crowd today, announcing her party’s $31 billion infrastructure policy. What got the biggest applause? It was standing room only (due to a lack of seats) at Judith Collins’ big policy address in central Auckland this morning. After a week of turbulence within the … Read more
For the next 10 weeks, the Vote Climate 2020 campaign will be looking to build momentum behind climate change as a key election issue. With the campaign launching today, organiser Sophie Handford explains why a vote for the climate is a vote for saving the future. Right now it’s 2020 and we have until just … Read more
Hello, and welcome to The Spinoff’s Live Updates for July 16. If you want to get in touch about anything, flick me an email at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.15pm: The day in sum National MPs Nikki Kaye and Amy Adams both announced they were quitting politics. Simon Bridges and Todd Muller are back on the National front bench, … Read more
The high-powered group behind a Bluetooth-enabled, credit card-sized alternative to Covid Tracer warned Ardern a month ago that a voluntary app was doomed to fail, reports BusinessDesk editor Pattrick Smellie. The Ministry of Health’s Covid Tracer smartphone app is “almost certain to achieve nothing with regard to slowing the virus,” says a report received in … Read more
The new National Party leader enjoyed a very short political honeymoon, with two MP resignations landing this morning. Her challenge now is to pull off a superhuman repair job on the party’s core reputational strength, writes Toby Manhire. It wasn’t quite a team of five million, but when Judith Collins took the stage in the … Read more
Prepare to go much harder and much earlier if coronavirus appears in the community. Justin Giovannetti reports from parliament where plans have been released for swift regional lockdowns and managed-isolation for domestic cases if Covid-19 ever breaks out of border facilities. New Zealand hasn’t detected any community transmission of the Covid-19 virus in 75 days, … Read more
Hello, my name is Stewart Sowman-Lund and I’m the new editor of The Spinoff’s Live Updates. Thank you for having a read. If you have any feedback, please get in touch with me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz. 7.30pm: The day in sum New National leader Judith Collins gave more than a dozen media interviews across her first … Read more
The new National leader has only a few weeks to turn the party’s fortunes around. But that’s what Labour’s new leader did in 2017. While there are obvious differences, there’s plenty Collins can draw from, writes Clint Smith, who was senior communications strategist under Andrew Little and Jacinda Ardern. It was 56 days from the … Read more
A party in crisis has chosen a leader with experience and profile. The challenge is daunting, writes Justin Giovannetti from parliament. The National Party has turned in its moment of crisis towards a battle-hardened and pugnacious leader in Judith Collins to guide it towards an election that is only 66 days away. Todd Muller’s unexpected … Read more
Do not mistake tough for malevolent. The new National leader can take on whatever role is required of her politically and play it to perfection, writes Ben Thomas. The National Party faces the fight of its life. And so it has chosen as its new leader the toughest fighter in New Zealand politics. Collins’ rise … Read more