First the Francis Review revealed the scale of harassment and bullying within parliament. Then the Speaker, Trevor Mallard, said he believed a repeat rapist remained working there. If there’s to be culture change, writes former MP Catherine Delahunty, perhaps it should be driven by those with meaningful experience After reading about the bullying and harassment … Read more
On March 15, New Zealand school students led a global day of strike action on climate change. Grace Wilkie and Libby Morrison explained then why they were taking the day off school. They’re doing it again today, and this is why. Today students all around New Zealand will be striking for the climate again. As … Read more
The launch of a party fronted by Destiny Church leaders was a media event to remember. Alex Braae was there. Somewhere along their journey through the public eye, Hannah and Brian Tamaki got the idea that the media hates them and their church. They have never been more wrong about anything. From the moment Destiny … Read more
The Green MP has been given extra security following threats of violence. She tells the Spinoff about the ‘barrage of hate’ she confronts. Green MP Golriz Ghahraman has described the “barrage of hate” she has received since becoming a member of parliament, and its impact on her life and employment. In an interview with Leonie … Read more
On Saturday night, Australia defied the pollsters and re-elected its widely despised right wing government. Is it any wonder that Sydney resident Nick Snelling is feeling pretty devvo right now? Dear New Zealand, We’re really sorry. It wasn’t meant to go down like this, promise. Thanks for your ongoing patience, particularly when it comes to … Read more
Rather than stacking up policy wins, an overtly conservative Christian party seems more likely to lead to the complete political marginalisation of conservative Christianity within New Zealand politics, writes Liam Hehir There is talk about National MP Alfred Ngaro breaking away to form some kind of Christian political party. A new party along these lines … Read more
What happened with the polls, and what does the shock Coalition victory tell us about attitudes to climate change and the power of vested interests? Political analyst and pollster Stephen Mills writes The re-election of the Australian Coalition government was a shock to pundits, pollsters and the parties themselves. A triumphant returning prime minister, Scott Morrison, … Read more
A report into bullying and harassment has exposed allegations of sexual assault and huge problems with parliament’s culture and reporting systems. The Francis Report, presented by Speaker Trevor Mallard and independent external reviewer Debbie Francis this morning, established that bullying and harassment are “systemic in the parliamentary workplace”. It took into account individual anonymous stories … Read more
The Australian left will need to do a far better job of connecting with voters – and what they really care about – if they’re ever going to regain power, writes Australian political historian Geoffrey Robinson. The Australian election result was a triumph for the Coalition and a defeat for pundits. The result is even … Read more
The Coalition win in Australia has dealt a blow to the hopes of more than 800 refugees stuck on Pacific Islands, writes RNZ Pacific’s Johnny Blades. Refugees in Australia’s offshore processing centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island had their hopes pinned on a Labor victory yesterday. Labor’s leader Bill Shorten had promised … Read more
If David Seymour’s assisted dying bill gets knocked out in Parliament, hopes of a referendum at the 2020 election die with it, writes Graham Adams. We will soon find out — probably in the next six weeks — which of our MPs believe in participatory democracy and which don’t. The vote on the second reading … Read more
All the polls pointed to a Labor win in Australia yesterday. That’s not what happened at all, writes Michelle Grattan. The Coalition has been re-elected in a shock result in which Labor lost seats in Queensland, Tasmania and NSW and failed to make more than minimal gains nationally. But former prime minister Tony Abbott has … Read more
For the National opposition, a breakaway Christian party is a Hail Mary of the highest order, writes Craig McCulloch for RNZ. While to Roman Catholic faithful the Hail Mary is an essential prayer and path to redemption, most often nowadays the phrase invokes a last-ditch desperate play with little chance of success. National Party leader … Read more
It’s Scomo versus Shorten as Australians go the polls today, ending an all-pervading campaign. New Zealander Paul Davies has been watching it from his sofa Billboards have been defaced, eggs thrown and vile old Facebook posts dug up. It’s difficult to ignore the plethora of election coverage that has bombarded us over recent weeks – … Read more
The Royal Commission investigating the March 15 attacks will look to determine if the event could (and should) have been prevented. AUT law professor Kris Gledhill explains what the Commission needs to do to stay on the right track. The Christchurch mosque attacks raise both narrow and wider issue. The narrow issue, in the hands of … Read more
Our old mates the Australians are going to the polls on Saturday. What should we watch out for over here? Alex Braae has a cheat sheet for all the Trans-Tasman political nerds out there. What’s all this then? New Zealanders, all let us rejoice, because one of the weirdest democracies in the world is about … Read more
As speaker, Trevor Mallard took the exception of ‘naming’ the National MP Nick Smith. It’s just the latest salvo exchanged by the veteran pair. The more important question, however, is whether the accusations of bias hold up On Wednesday last week Judith Collins made good on her word and produced a delicious looking plate of … Read more
A report into the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) revealed that the means of investigating benefit fraud, in particular, the relationship statuses of beneficiaries, infringed on their right to privacy. The Spinoff explains what the investigation is all about, and why it matters. Why was there an investigation? In 2018 the Privacy Commissioner heard concerns … Read more
As the referendum approaches and the road toll rises, the government is under pressure to deal with drug testing, but it’s more complicated than it first appears, writes Don Rowe. The government has announced a public consultation on drugged driver testing following rising road tolls, an impending referendum, and intense pressure from an opposition desperate … Read more
If we want to reduce the harm done by social media in any meaningful and sustainable way, we have to address the root causes, writes Marianne Elliott Read the full text of the Christchurch Call here In Paris this morning Jacinda Ardern announced the successful agreement of the Christchurch Call, a voluntary pledge by governments … Read more
Seventeen countries and eight tech companies have in Paris agreed on a text designed to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content online, in the wake of the terrorist attacks at two Christchurch mosques, an atrocity which was both planned online and livestreamed on Facebook. Below, the full text. A free, open and secure internet is a … Read more
Who are the victims of crime in New Zealand? Former National MP and justice system reform advocate Chester Borrows casts his eye over a major survey which paints a complex picture of the cycle of offending, incarceration and victimisation. Crime feeds on the young, vulnerable and the very communities that have the least capacity to … Read more
The government’s refusal to take up recommendations by the Welfare Advisory Group that would have incentivised people on a benefit in seeking part-time work is bizarre and mean-spirited, writes Moira Lawler of Lifewise Who would work for $2 an hour? That’s what vulnerable people returning to work after long periods living on the margins are … Read more
Paula Bennett’s refusal to go head-to-head with Chloe Swarbrick on the cannabis referendum suggests that the National Party is yet to come to terms with what it means to be in opposition, writes Ben Thomas Schitt’s Creek is a Canadian comedy series about the wealthy Rose family, who lose their privilege, and are forced to … Read more
Votes taken across the two big teachers’ unions, which represent almost 50,000 members, will bring a mass classroom closure across the country on May 29. When is the teachers’ strike and who is affected? Pretty much every school in the state sector will be closed on Wednesday May 29, after primary and secondary school teachers … Read more
Aotearoa finally heard the announcement about the Zero Carbon Bill earlier this week. Maulik Thakkar of climate action organisation Generation Zero explains how the time to begin reducing our emissions is now, rather than settling for a slow reduction in emissions over the coming decades. We have repeated it again and again, like a mantra: “The … Read more
OPINION: In the first part of a series by our partners at Flick Electric Co to help you make better electricity choices, Flick’s Nikki Cockburn explains what spot pricing is and how it impacts your power bill. For years, electricity has been a boring but necessary bill, a way to keep your water warm and … Read more
Hold on to your seats, it’s time. The annual Register of Pecuniary and Other Specified Interests of Members of Parliament is out. We break it down in 10 easy numbers. 5 The number of National MPs that got free tickets to the Foo Fighters – Simon Bridges, Hamish Walker, Erica Stanford, Tim Macindoe and Chris … Read more
Jai Breitnauer wrote that she was at her ‘wit’s end’ over a lack of funding for her child with autism spectrum disorder. Then the Ministry of Education stepped in. Is it a happy ending? Only sort of, she writes. In March I wrote a deeply personal, and quite sweary, essay about how shit the education … Read more