In politics the worst ideas and most deceitful statements are often the most amplified, and therefore the most successful, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. Back in early 2016, as the UK hurtled towards the Brexit referendum, Dominic Cummings, the director of the Vote Leave campaign – now special adviser to Boris Johnson and one of the architects … Read more
Government ministers will have to start turning their attention to what could have prevented the tragedy, and what official inquiries may be necessary, writes Jo Moir for RNZ. With a myriad of government agencies and regulators involved, who is responsible for what? Health and safety regulator WorkSafe has general oversight of tourism on Whakaari – … Read more
UK-based New Zealand journalist Nicola Kean on Boris Johnson’s big victory, and the conundrum of voting under a FPP system. Politics is a brutal business. My clearest memory in the sleep-deprived aftermath of New Zealand’s 2017 campaign was Te Ururoa Flavell weeping in the Mediaworks carpark after stepping down as Māori Party leader live on … Read more
It is hard to remember a year in which New Zealand was so repeatedly in global headlines, writes Kamahl Santamaria, a Kiwi journalist based in Doha. Time zones are a strange thing. You go to sleep, and then for eight hours or so, you miss out on everything happening on the other side of the … Read more
The second and final report of Te Uepū Hāpai i te Ora, the Safe and Effective Justice Advisory Group, contains nothing we didn’t know 30 years ago. Yet generations of politicians have ignored the same advice, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira. Between the 1950s and 1990s, New Zealand experienced seismic social, economic and political shifts. Māori … Read more
For the third time in five years, the United Kingdom has gone to the polls today. From the summer islands of New Zealand, join The Spinoff as we follow the results rolling in. 5.10pm: Right, that is probably about where we can wrap up this live blog of the UK elections. It is very clear that … Read more
The National Party leader sits down with Alex Braae to talk political rhetoric, misinformation, and whether he’ll have any dance partners after next year’s election. How cynical is Simon Bridges? It’s a question that has dogged National’s leader over the past year. Being an opposition leader is, of course, a difficult job at the best … Read more
OPINION: In the fifth part of the series with our partners at Flick Electric Co to help you make better energy choices, Flick’s Nikki Cockburn breaks down the sources of our electricity. So we know that regardless of which power company we’re with, the electricity we use is at the mercy of the National Grid. … Read more
Liam Hehir makes a plea to education minister Chris Hipkins not to discriminate against integrated schools when it comes to school funding. The government’s announcement of a big maintenance funding boost for schools was greeted warmly by many principals, teachers and parents. Excluded from the assistance, however, are about 300 schools and the more than … Read more
Hell’s bells it’s Gone By Lunchtime, with Annabelle Lee, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire shooting the breeze on Kris Faafoi, Jason Kerrison, Winston Peters, NZ First donations, a cannabis referendum, and the year to come. Just when you thought politics was tucking under the duvet for Christmas, along comes the guy from bloody Opshop bringing … Read more
A historic referendum on independence has been completed in Bougainville. Johnny Blades of RNZ was there. People in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville have voted in an historic independence referendum. The long-anticipated referendum is the ultimate provision of 2001’s Bougainville Peace Agreement, which followed a brutal, protracted civil war. As the start of … Read more
One of the most highly rated members of Jacinda Ardern’s Cabinet is under pressure over assurances given in relation to an immigration case. How bad could it get, asks Toby Manhire. There has never been a New Zealand prime minister more engaged with contemporary homegrown musicians than Jacinda Ardern. She’s forever bigging them up, giving … Read more
There have been concerns raised about the limit of cannabis that would be purchasable daily under a legalised regime. But what about the other drugs? Yesterday in the House of Representatives, Paula Bennett took to her feet and held aloft a bag (aka “baggie”) of herbs. It was oregano, reportedly, but the impeccable stagecraft had … Read more
In introducing a swift ‘effective ban’ on foreign donations to political parties, the justice minister basically said that he’d had enough of the select committee’s shit. Understandable, but not good enough, writes Andrew Geddis. Back in August, I wrote a piece on this site titled “so you want to hack New Zealand’s democracy?”, in which … Read more
The essential details on the plan to put the legalisation of cannabis to the public at the next election. Let’s cut to the chase. What will the referendum question be? A straight yes/no: “Do you support the proposed Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill?” What will be in the bill? You can read it here. TLDR, … Read more
A government announcement of more borrowing to fund infrastructure projects got us thinking – where should Grant Robertson splash the cash first? Cautious incrementalism on infrastructure has gone on long enough – it’s time to go shopping for some brand new toys. That was the message finance minister Grant Robertson gave the Labour Party conference … Read more
An alliance of groups is calling for an end to the law that can see people’s income support curbed if Work and Income NZ staff deem them to be in a relationship. Ricardo Menendez March of Auckland Action Against Poverty introduces the letter, which is published below in full. Last week ActionStation, Child Poverty Action … Read more
The latest idiotic tweet by a politician comes courtesy of the National Party’s Jo Hayes, who launched an unprovoked attack on a Labour supporter, calling him ‘ugly’. You know how it is. It’s just before 11pm on a Friday night. It’s been a long week. All there is left to do is log on to … Read more
Critics call it a rightwing conspiracy, or attempt to attack the messenger, but they overlook what a new Sustainable NZ Party can offer, writes its leader. Politics is a contest of ideas and the promise of MMP was that we’d have a greater diversity of ideas leading to increased quality of solutions and decision making. … Read more
The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has issued a ‘whole-hearted and wide reaching’ apology for the decisions taken by Air New Zealand and the government in the aftermath of the tragedy on the slopes of Mt Erebus. Her apology was echoed by Dame Therese Walsh, the current chair of Air New Zealand. Below we publish edited … Read more
The Opposition’s newly released law and order policy makes some claims that aren’t based in fact, argues Dr Nessa Lynch, an associate professor at the Faculty of Law at Victoria University of Wellington. New Zealand’s youth justice system works well for the majority of our young people who come to notice for offending. Like in … Read more
And how did William Wood, who is still at school, with the National Party candidacy in the first place? Liam Hehir, a Manawatu resident and former National Party electorate chair for the constituency, takes the temperature. William Wood may not be elected for Palmerston North next year, but he has already made history in a … Read more
In a column for The Spinoff yesterday, former National MP Chester Borrows lamented the cheap political rhetoric on crime and justice, including that of the current National Party leader. Here Simon Bridges responds. We’re not as far away from your prescription as you might think, he writes. Usually when I write a column in reply … Read more
Confused about the various details and characters involved in the NZ First Foundation saga? So were we, so we put together a glossary to keep track of them all. Like a high-budget prestige drama, it can be hard to keep track of all the characters involved when political scandals break. The last few weeks, that … Read more
Last week on The Spinoff, Tim Maurice of the Asylum Seekers Support Trust warned Behrouz Boochani, the Iranian who spent six years in an Australian detention centre on Manus Island, that New Zealand may not be the right place to seek asylum. Here Donna Miles-Mojab, Christchurch author and supporter of Boochani, offers a different view. … Read more
Why do we keep falling for politicians who promise that the latest crackdown on crime will work? Former National MP and justice reform advocate Chester Borrows weighs in. Removing the right of prisoners to vote is back on the agenda. The High Court found that the removal of the right of a prisoner, whose sentence … Read more
If Labour MPs are serious about the Treaty and its promise of power-sharing – and if the members and delegates are keen to honour their party’s special history with Māori – the answer is clear, writes Morgan Godfery. “Parliamentary party leader” is probably the only decent demographic where Māori make up a majority. I mean, … Read more
Many prisoners who had the vote taken away from them will now see their rights restored. Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis outlines how we got here, and why he’s so pleased to see the change. Today, the Labour-NZ First (with support from the Greens) government announced it will repeal the complete ban on prisoner … Read more
Farmers on social media and National MP Amy Adams have responded with fury to an NCEA English exam question that included discussion of water quality. But what was the question actually asking? In 2017, NZ Geographic published a long feature about the impact of agriculture on the Taieri River in Otago. ‘Troubled Waters’, by vastly … Read more