As the Labour caucus gathers for its annual retreat in the Wairarapa, Toby Manhire asks what might be on the agenda. Labour MPs are meeting today in Martinborough for their now traditional January dress-down gear-up for the political year. The Brackenridge resort, just off the road to Lake Ferry, has in recent years seen the … Read more
It’s a huge call for the National leader: should he rule out working with NZ First after the 2020 election? Alex Braae speculates on the options. Updated February 2: Simon Bridges has made the call, ruling out working with not just Winston Peters, but NZ First as a party. He says he doesn’t trust them, or … Read more
New research encourages ‘interventions’ – things like programmes aimed at helping poorer families to ‘be better parents’ – without addressing substantially issues of poverty, and it’s a bit like trying to prop up a crumbling brick wall with a piece of four-by-two, writes Max Rashbrooke. Imagine a team of explorers who, searching for the source … Read more
We’re recruiting a political journalist to join the press gallery in Wellington – a brand new position, made possible by our members programme. Politics has been a bedrock of The Spinoff’s coverage for a number of years, and we’re excited to announce its expansion through our recruitment of a new staff journalist to work from … Read more
Inspired by Winston Peters’ dog and muse, Beau, a range of other dogs have urged their politician owners to get them in the Spinoff gallery. Drool away. For the second time in a week, The Spinoff is bringing together New Zealand’s politician and dog communities in celebration. On Tuesday we published the epochal, soft-hitting, smash … Read more
We’re half a month into the year, and the political wheels are just beginning to turn. To celebrate, Brigitte Morton proffers some resolutions for the leaders of the two big parties. Like most people, for me the reality of the New Year and those shiny resolutions are starting to wear off. Sure, I brought a … Read more
Efforts to urge the monarch to repeat a trick from the 70s and dismiss the Australian prime minister over his handling of the bushfire crisis may not be as destructive as the disinformation machine, but it does offer a revealing and worrying snapshot of what good intent looks like in 2020, writes Joe Nunweek. When … Read more
Jacinda Ardern has been in Australia at a time when the country is being rocked by devastating bushfires. So what did the Aussies have to say about her visit? It couldn’t have been timed any better. Jacinda Ardern announced she was going on holiday to Australia last year, but when she touched down, the situation … Read more
If you are a politician and you have a dog, please send us your pictures for consideration. It’s January, there’s an election year stretching ahead, and coverage of politicians’ social media activity will focus very heavily on attack-memes, misinformation and flame wars, and not nearly so much on dogs. So if it’s hard hitting political … Read more
A fringe political party is hoping for better returns in 2020 after adding a high profile independent lawyer as co-leader. Alex Braae reports. A courtroom champion of stopping 1080 drops and promoting medicinal cannabis rights is turning her attention to parliament. Independent lawyer Sue Grey gained national profile through cases like the Brook Valley brodifacoum … Read more
I thought that by being super-informed about the US political process and arguing about it online I could influence the outcome, somehow. Which, obviously, I couldn’t, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. I’ve been addicted to US politics for most of my life. It’s an easy drug for political nerds to get hooked on: American elections are very … Read more
Authenticity matters more than anything, writes Rosemary Williamson of the University of New England, an expert on leaders’ differing responses to catastrophic events. Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been harshly criticised for being on holiday in Hawaii as the catastrophic bushfires were burning Australia. Since his return, he has visited stricken communities – most recently, … Read more
In a developing situation, Iran has fired ballistic missiles at two US military bases in Iraq. Here’s what we know so far about the attacks, the response, and the impact for NZ forces currently in the country. Last updated 4.14pm. What has happened? Iranian state TV has confirmed that missiles have been fired at US … Read more
Winston Peters’ weak statement on the US assassination of a Iranian military commander is a craven display of fealty to Donald Trump, argues former Green MP Keith Locke. How can New Zealand claim to have an independent foreign policy when it won’t even criticise America’s assassination of Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian leader? The furthest … Read more
Toby Manhire undertakes a very possibly foolish attempt to whittle down the dates to the likeliest polling day, based on All Blacks, Trump, school holidays and the vibe. I feared I might have missed something when on Sunday a newspaper preview of the year noted “the general election in November”. That same day, in another … Read more
Tensions between the US and Iran, and across the wider Middle East, are reaching boiling point after the assassination of a senior Iranian military leader by an American airstrike in Iraq. What does it mean for the NZ personnel currently in Iraq? What’s all this then? One of the most tense parts of the world … Read more
To complete our series looking back at 2019 and peering into 2020, we asked our political sleuths to nominate the three issues that could make the difference in this year’s election. Alex Braae Many polls indicate that if Labour is to keep leading the government, it will be in charge of a coalition. There could … Read more
On Friday 15 March, a terrorist attack in Christchurch took the lives of 50 people at prayer. Eighteen months into her first term as prime minister, Jacinda Ardern faced a formidable task: communicate what happened, embrace a ruptured community, and force through real reform. Madeleine Chapman reports. This was first published 22 March, 2019. The … Read more
Summer reissue: I’ve worked at parliament for three different MPs over five years. For the first time, I’m now working for a woman MP, and the kind of messages sent to her online are shocking. This post was first published 14 January, 2019. “Hey, what are you up to tonight?” “Is that your boyfriend?” It’s … Read more
2019 is history. Shifting effortlessly into prophesy mode, our gallant politics-watchers plunge headlong into the crystal ball. National and NZ First will shit-talk each other all year and then form a government after the election. Alex Braae Judith Collins will defect from the National Party to lead ACT and take that party to 3% at … Read more
Summer reissue: Are we missing the rise of the far right? Marc Daalder speaks to the angry middle-aged men who want to see nationalism rise in New Zealand. This post was first published 2 February 2019. Hundreds of Kiwis have pledged to march today against an obscure UN migration pact today under the guise of … Read more
Summer reissue: The government’s environmental policy is creating major tensions in farming communities. Alex Braae went to a meeting in Taumarunui to see it play out. This post was first published 15 June 2019. “We’ve got to get the government’s attention somehow. Okay, we’re not all going to jump on our tractors and drive to … Read more
Summer reissue: The candidates to tackle Donald Trump are very keen on the New Zealand prime minister. This post was first published 12 November, 2019. It could be because Vogue called her “the anti-Trump”. It could be the desperate shortage of tolerable left-leaning leaders in the Anglosphere. Or it could be because everyone knows it’s … Read more
Summer reissueHe’s a lot of things: a commentator, political PR guy, Twitter scrapper, dad, recovering alcoholic – even Mongolian ambassador. But Matthew Hooton’s main focus at the moment is chalking up a philosophy Master’s in London. Toby Manhire meets one of the most fascinating – and polarising – characters in NZ politics This post was … Read more
OPINION: Flick Electric CEO Steve O’Connor explains why the independent power retailers are calling out the major gentailers. When we started Flick Electric Co. back in 2014, we had a dream in mind: an Aotearoa backed by a reliable electricity industry, where our most vulnerable communities can afford the cost of power, and where our … Read more
In part two of the year in politics 2019 (see Champs and Flops, yesterday), we asked our punditry pantheon: Give us the year in a sentence. Gosh it’s warm today. Alex Braae Pitchfork politics, big improbable lies, bad hair and a 16-year-old climate change warrior whose mere presence sent a certain sub-group into an irrational … Read more
Former Labour volunteers say they’re left feeling ‘shattered’ following the report, which substantially finds the allegations, including sexual assault, are ‘not established’, and finds that evidence presented by a key complainant was unreliable. Note: Representatives of the respondent have contacted The Spinoff reiterating that he adamantly rejects any allegations of sexual assault, and noting that … Read more
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s report is very clear – our tourism industry is contributing to serious environmental degradation in its current form. So what does that mean? What’s all this then? Tourism in this country has a huge problem. It is heavily dependent on the image of New Zealand as clean and green. … Read more
As the sun sets on 2019, The Spinoff bounds into the political ocean for one final dip, in our traditional survey of the year (and nervous peer at the year to come). First up, our experts name and acclaim the champs and flops of 2019. Alex Braae Champs David Seymour In pure horse-race terms, his … Read more