On Wednesday night, Young Act’s vice president announced her resignation, citing ongoing harassment. The executive is now promising a cultural overhaul, reports Josie Adams. Young Act, the youth branch of right-wing political party Act, has been accused of fostering a culture of sexual harassment and slut-shaming, leading to the resignation of its vice president in … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level three – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
With Ardern and New Zealand in headlines for what promises to be a successful elimination strategy, we have an opportunity to use that influence in international relations, write Nina Hall, Max Harris, Evelyn Marsters, Thomas Nash and Arama Rata of New Zealand Alternative. The international praise of Jacinda Ardern’s response to Covid-19 means that New … Read more
The legality of the actions taken in response to Covid-19 are coming under question. And some are very reasonable questions to ask, writes law professor Andrew Geddis. Questions over the legality of the various notices issued by the director general of health to enforce New Zealand’s Covid-19 “lockdown” have reached something of a critical mass … Read more
We’ve known for a long time that there are significant issues with public-private partnerships, but the pandemic has highlighted just how risky they are, writes Matt Lowrie. This is an edited version of a story originally published on Greater Auckland. Covid-19 has dealt the massive Transmission Gully project another blow with announcement that the lockdown … Read more
The new fast-track process for major projects will need careful drafting to balance the short-term gains with the long-term effects on climate change, writes planning expert Hamish Rennie. David Parker has announced that some large, “shovel-ready” projects will begin sooner than planned, bypassing public consultation processes under the Resource Management Act. The aim is to … Read more
The Christchurch rebuild should act as a cautionary lesson as we contemplate the upcoming post-Covid recovery, writes James Dann. In uncertain times, it can be reassuring to look back at history as a guide. As the Christchurch earthquakes – the first just shy of a decade ago – were our last major disaster, and one … Read more
Policy responses around the world are massive in scale and constantly changing. Covid-19 Policy Watch captures it in simple, easy-to-compare form. Click here to visit Policy Watch Yesterday New Zealand recorded zero new cases of Covid-19 for the second consecutive day. As almost everyone agrees, that is a tremendous achievement – albeit one that has … Read more
A global survey of the public relations industry puts the Ardern government top of the pile. As New Zealand records its second consecutive day of zero new cases of Covid-19, moving cautiously closer towards the goal of “elimination”, the government has received another international plaudit for the response – this time from public relations practitioners. … Read more
Jenée Tibshraeny can forgive a genuine, if rather extraordinary, mistake, but the government’s lack of transparency around decision-making creates confusion at a time when we need confidence, she writes in a piece originally published on interest.co.nz. The creator of Veep, The Death of Stalin and In the Loop, Armando Iannucci, could’ve filmed a political satire … Read more
Even in the wake of Covid-19 an outwards focus remains the only sustainable path – especially for a small country – to a much greater of material prosperity, writes Michael Reddell, in the first of a series of new papers for the SSANSE Commission for a Post-Covid Future at the University of Canterbury. Covid-19, and … Read more
The government has announced the shape of the cannabis legalisation bill that we’ll vote on in September’s referendum. So if the country decides to vote yes, what will the new rules be? What’s all this then? When New Zealand goes to the polls in September, we won’t just be voting on local MPs and who … Read more
First aid training could be a crucial step in our fight for better mental health in New Zealand. Emily Writes looks into what it means to be a “mental health first aider” in the workplace. Mental health gym, wellness spectrum, personal transformation, and theatre-making to support people through life transitions – it sounds like horseshit, … Read more
Over the past month, we became deeply aware that we were all only as safe as our most marginalised and at-risk. Nobody was immune. We need to channel that knowledge to the core of how we do politics, writes Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick. Yesterday, Aotearoa New Zealand cautiously toned down the world-leading, robust safeguards designed … Read more
In the first of a series of now-virtual events, Danyl is joined by a journalist and a former political staffer to discuss politics and the media. Two months ago today, Spinoff Members and Verb Wellington cheerfully unveiled a new collaboration: a series of live events at the tremendous Meow bar. And, well, everyone knows what … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level three – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support … Read more
Just like the rest of us, it turns out our elected representatives have a lot of weird stuff in their homes and offices. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning for the past four weeks, members of the parliamentary Epidemic Response Committee and invited guests have met online for a series of Zoom meetings. Like many … Read more
A survey by Stickybeak for The Spinoff shows a strong majority in support of the timing of the shift to alert level three. Stickybeak’s David Brain breaks down the data from our third poll. See previous polls here and here. At midnight, New Zealand moves out of the strictest lockdown settings and into alert level … Read more
In the world’s first ever podcast undertaken by people in remote locations, it’s New Zealand’s leading epidemiologists and economists, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas. An exclusive reading by the velvet voiced Jacinda Ardern biographer Madeleine Chapman kicks off the return of Gone By Lunchtime, who will not be muzzled by alert level four. … Read more
The government decision to extend alert level four by five days has widespread public endorsement, according to a new survey. Overwhelming support for the measures taken by the Ardern-led government in response to the Covid-19 pandemic has remained intact despite the extension of lockdown, rising from 84% to 87%, according to those surveyed by Colmar … Read more
Some criticisms of the National Party leader have been way over the top, but there’s no doubt he badly misjudged the nation’s mood on Monday, writes Ben Thomas. Among the many distant memories of life before lockdown is the belief that the National Party’s superior social media game would sink the government in 2020. Designed … Read more
This afternoon the prime minister announced plans for the country to move out of alert level four at midnight next Monday. This is what she said. Tēnā koutou katoa. Over the past few weeks I have often used my time at this podium to acknowledge the people on the frontline. Today I want to remember … Read more
The prime minister has announced the lockdown status will come to an end in a week, with alert level three to remain in force for at least two weeks. Read Jacinda Ardern’s speech in full here New Zealand will exit alert level four in a week, at 11.59pm on Monday April 27, Jacinda Ardern has … Read more
The decision, to be announced late afternoon, will be based on public health advice. But it is and should be a call made by elected representatives. Toby Manhire assesses the stakes. Cabinet meets at 10.30 this morning: an early start. They will log on, most of them from their homes around the country, to make … Read more
Cabinet meets at 10.30am tomorrow to determine if and when New Zealand will move out of alert level four. This afternoon Jacinda Ardern outlined the criteria for that decision. This is what she said. Read more about announcements at today’s media briefing here As I have no doubt everybody in New Zealand is acutely aware, … Read more
The final verdict is in on how electorates will change for the 2020 election. So what’s different? And will the changes affect the place where you live? What’s all this then? Because the population of New Zealand isn’t normally forced to stay in exactly one place for extended periods of time, the Representation Commission changes … Read more
The public health response to Covid-19 showed New Zealand at its best. What will the economic response reveal? Iain White, a professor of environmental planning, on the risks ahead. Crises reveal. They bring the nature of societies to light. From the differing attitude to experts between countries, to who really are the essential workers, to the … Read more
‘New Zealand leads world in public perception of Covid-19 response,’ says pollster Colmar Brunton. Public support for the official New Zealand response to the Covid-19 outbreak remains high, and well ahead of the world’s richest coutries, new polling suggests. The numbers show New Zealanders’ backing for measures “far outstrips the response in any of the … Read more
On Friday night, the government quietly laid down some lockdown rules via a legal order under the Health Act. Law professor Andrew Geddis explains what it means for all of us (including David Clark). As the first week of level four lockdown unfolded, mounting questions grew as to just what was (and was not) allowed … Read more