Political donations are back in the news in a big way, and many feel that the system needs a complete overhaul. So how might that work? Here’s a collection of perspectives. When news broke this morning on Radio NZ that the racing industry had donated heavily (and anonymously) to NZ First, the response fell into … Read more
Every year the Salvation Army releases a report assessing areas like child poverty and housing. Here’s how we’re doing in 2020. When Jacinda Ardern announced Labour’s first Wellbeing Budget in 2019, she emphasised the importance of placing people at the heart of economic decisions. She acknowledged “New Zealand has had strong growth for a number … Read more
The Serious Fraud Office will investigate donations relating to NZ First and the NZ First Foundation. It sets a tone for election year, and the spotlight on her deputy prime minister is the stuff of nightmares for Jacinda Ardern. The course of election year in Aotearoa never did run smooth. And so it is in … Read more
Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis explains why authorities are so interested in what the NZ First Party did with donations to the ‘NZ First Foundation’. Political donation scandals, it would seem, are like Wellington buses. You can spend years impatiently waiting on one, then along come a couple in quick succession. Because, hot on … Read more
Labour’s rising star has decided that he won’t run again in his electorate, and will instead go list-only at the next election. So what will it mean for Kris Faafoi’s burgeoning role in government? And who might step up in the Mana electorate? Only a select few get the privilege of going list-only. When one … Read more
A recent suggestion that capitalism was the only system capable of fighting climate change and environmental degradation sparked a lot of controversy. Here, long-time activist Karen Davis offers a rebuttal. There’s a tendency among beneficiaries of free market capitalism to repeat the mantra of Margaret Thatcher: There Is No Alternative. That’s especially the case when … Read more
The New Zealand arts community is reported to be furious with the government about its treatment. Isn’t it always, writes Ben Thomas. In his story on the mooted changes to RNZ’s music delivery, Toby Manhire yesterday noted that “it’s fair to say that the arts and culture community in New Zealand is on the whole … Read more
Given the escalating climate crisis and other looming environmental issues, has capitalism proven antithetical to the survival of the planet? Opportunities Party leader Geoff Simmons says no. There is no doubt: we need to change the way we live to save the environment. And we need to save the environment to have a chance of … Read more
In an MMP election that could come down to a few percentage points of wasted vote, two parties on National’s right flank are going toe to toe. Alex Braae reports. In throwing one right wing party a lifeline, National might have just sounded the death knell for another. When Simon Bridges announced that he would … Read more
New developments have emerged this morning around donations to the New Zealand First Foundation. So, what do they show, and will it matter? What’s all this then? It was revealed by Radio NZ this morning that donations made to the NZ First Foundation came from some of New Zealand’s wealthiest and most powerful people. That … Read more
The decision to rule out working with NZ First was a demonstration of more than just cold hard electoral calculus from Simon Bridges, writes former National party activist and commentator Liam Hehir. As we all know, Simon Bridges has vowed not to work with Winston Peters after the 2020 election. This means that New Zealanders … Read more
Why are we still looking to America first when it comes to our decisions on which countries to engage with, asks former MP Keith Locke. Britain’s decision to resist American pressure and let Huawei into its 5G network is embarrassing for New Zealand. Earlier our government had fallen into line with Washington and Canberra and … Read more
With the impeachment process essentially shut down by the Senate, attention turns today to the state of Iowa, where it’s finally time for voting in the race to challenge Donald Trump for the presidency. So what are the Iowa Caucuses, why do they get such attention, and which Democrats are best placed to make it … Read more
In 1994, New Zealand sent a cross-party delegation of five MPs to Timor-Leste on a fact-finding mission. It made a real difference, and could do again for West Papuans, writes Cat McLennan. When France refused to halt nuclear testing in the South Pacific and continued to detonate bombs at Moruroa Atoll, New Zealand sent a … Read more
The 33rd prime minister of New Zealand pays tribute to the 34th, Mike Moore, who passed today. Mike Moore was a force of nature in New Zealand politics for many years. He was first elected to parliament in 1972 at an extraordinarily young age and was a backbencher in the 3rd Labour government. Although defeated … Read more
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Mike Moore died this morning, a few days after his 71st birthday. Moore, New Zealand’s 34th prime minister, suffered a stroke in 2015 when he was New Zealand’s ambassador in Washington DC and had been in declining health in recent years. Jacinda Ardern paid tribute, saying, “The world lost a … Read more
Former prime minister Mike Moore died this morning, a few days after his 71st birthday. His widow, Yvonne, issued the following tribute. Mike was born in Whakatane but grew up in Kawakawa and Moerewa in the Far North and wanted to spend his final months in the place that gave him his drive, spirit and … Read more
The political pilgrimage north is under way ahead of the commemoration of the signing of te tiriti. RNZ’s Jo Moir surveys the calm before the storm. Thousands of people from around the country will begin the annual pilgrimage to Waitangi on Sunday, and the sleepy snippet of the Bay of Islands will transform once again. … Read more
In a pointed op-ed for The Spinoff this morning, the Green Party’s transport spokesperson, Julie Anne Genter, voices dissatisfaction with the ‘NZ Upgrade’, calling the motorway focus ‘nowhere near what we need’. The first details of the huge $12 billion infrastructure spend-up came on Wednesday morning, ahead of the all-star announcement in Auckland. Some $200 … Read more
The Green Party transport spokesperson writes on the good, the bad and the ugly of the big infrastructure announcement. It is election year and it is time to decide where we are heading. The Green Party will be laying out bold plans this year for reducing our climate pollution, ensuring people have enough to thrive, … Read more
Can the Spinoff politics podcast’s tense coalition of Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas survive an election year in which each will be striving to carve out their own identity? And can Madeleine Chapman stay awake while they’re doing it? The political year has got off to a hiss and a roar and the … Read more
This week’s big infrastructure announcement included a grand total of zero dollars for rail for New Zealand’s second largest city, writes James Dann. The government opened the campaign season in earnest this week when they opened up a big sack of money and threw it at a series of infrastructure projects around the country. While … Read more
Emily Writes visits Flick Electric Co’s HQ to learn why they think having dogs in the office hasn’t just made their workplace happier, it’s made them more productive too. Nobody is quite sure how Flick HQ in Wellington became a dog office. Apparently, someone brought their pup in. Then another person did. Then another. Georgina … Read more
After the Zero Carbon Bill was passed into law last year, the climate change minister acclaimed Generation Zero for its critical role in the historic legislation. Today, two representatives of the young people’s organisation say the infrastructure spend announced yesterday gravely compromises those values. Following the passage of the Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment … Read more
A flurry of questions attend the Serious Fraud Office’s announcement it is charging four people in relation to donations, and the answers could have huge implications in election year, writes Andrew Geddis. The announcement by the Serious Fraud Office that it has filed criminal charges against four people “in relation to donations paid into a … Read more
A massive, whopping, ridiculous amount of money has been announced by the government today for infrastructure upgrades. So, what’s in the package? What’s all this then? $12 billion bucks, that’s what this is. Or at least, $7 billion in today’s announcements, out of a wider $12 billion package. The government has taken a giant swing … Read more
Today the government unveiled the essentials of its massive $12 billion infrastructure spend. Alex Braae went along to the announcement. Here he assesses what’s being targeted, and what’s at stake. With a supergroup of eight ministers in the room, the leading figures in the government presented the image that they hope will be a defining … Read more
How does MMP work – and how can you make the most of your two ticks? Danyl Mclauchlan has your crucial election year primer. It’s an election year in New Zealand. Again. Our political calendar always starts with a sequence of set pieces, and these intensify going into a campaign year, starting with Ratana. After … Read more
Some New Zealand parties have signed up. Others are still deciding. But if they don’t, should you trust them at all, asks Cate Owen. You shouldn’t just care that political parties are buying digital ads, you should treat any party that won’t sign up to Facebook’s political ad transparency measures with suspicion. Why? Because digital … Read more