The RNZ columnist reviews the year, and lays out the challenges for the parties in 2019 This assessment may surprise you coming from someone who spends his professional life criticising and critiquing politicians: Over the past 20 years we have been among the best governed countries in the world. No, it’s not just the festive … Read more
The justice minister says he’s cautiously satisfied by assurances from the internet giant after they sent representatives to his parliamentary office yesterday in the wake of Spinoff revelations When the Spinoff broke the news last week that Google had sent out an email naming the man accused of killing backpacker Grace Millane, in breach of … Read more
In this edited version of her speech at the Hamilton Press Club last Friday, Green MP Golriz Ghahraman recounts her journey from a childhood in Iran to becoming the first refugee elected to the NZ parliament, and why identity is at the heart of democracy Being a Middle Eastern woman is a strangely over-burdened birth … Read more
The PM has attracted attention because she talks – and does – politics differently. Yet there has been little debate domestically about what exactly New Zealand should prioritise on the international stage, write Nina Hall and Max Harris of the New Zealand Alternative Jacinda Ardern stands out on the international stage. In an era of poisonous xenophobia … Read more
We punched above our weight at the just-completed talks. But we must walk the talk at home, writes environmental lawyer Natalie Jones After a fortnight of meetings and a one-day extension, a deal was finalised yesterday at the UN climate talks in Katowice, Poland. The accord was hailed as delivering a set of strong, robust rules … Read more
When Lianne Dalziel first ran for Christchurch mayor, she said it would be one time only. Then she said she hadn’t finished the job, and would serve a second term. And now she’s announced she wants a third. But has she achieved enough to warrant it, asks James Dann. This week, Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel … Read more
Today one of the true veterans of NZ radio hangs up the headphones to complete three decades as the morning host at Newstalk ZB. To mark the occasion we asked a number of Leighton Smiths if they had a message for him. Leighton Smith on Leighton Smith Very grateful for this opportunity to provide my … Read more
That one of the world’s biggest companies rides roughshod over a New Zealand court name suppression tells you all you need to know about the giants of Silicon Valley, argues Toby Manhire. Imagine if a media company told you the name of the man accused of killing Grace Millane. Imagine if, in defiance of a … Read more
The Misuse of Drugs (Medicinal Cannabis) Amendment Bill passed its third reading in Parliament, ushering in the partial decriminalisation of medicinal cannabis use. Longtime user and activist Rebecca Reider was there. A few years ago, deep in the throes of medicinal cannabis activism under an intransigent National government, I started trying to visualise our eventual … Read more
It is absurd to cast the National Party as appealing to an anti-immigration sentiment – the UN compact is riddled with problems that are ill-suited to New Zealand shaping sensible policy, writes foreign affairs spokesperson Todd McClay. Yesterday from New York Sam Bookman wrote for the Spinoff defending the United Nations Global Compact on Migration. … Read more
National MPs have been railing against the ‘Global Compact’. Sam Bookman sets the record straight on the United Nations agreement and what it really means for immigration. As Kiwis, we consider ourselves pretty good global citizens. We like to believe that from our corner of the South Pacific we can play an outsized role in world … Read more
In the last politics podcast of the year, Annabelle Lee, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire rub their weary eyes and stick out their stockings. Trevor Mallard has hogged headlines in recent days: first after his commissioning of an inquiry into bullying and harassment at parliament and then over allegations of bias from Simon Bridges. We … Read more
Accusing parliament’s Speaker of behaving in a biased fashion undermines the necessary authority of the office, and even the comments by the Herald political editor likely could be punished as a contempt, if parliament wished to, writes Andrew Geddis for RNZ Wednesday’s flare-up in parliament, which saw the Speaker ordering both National’s leader and leader … Read more
South Korean President Moon Jae-In this week completed a successful visit to New Zealand. Rebekah Jaung explains where New Zealand-Korean relations are today and what we can do to help restore lasting peace on the peninsula. If you took a walk through Auckland Domain on Monday morning, you may have noticed some commotion outside the museum. … Read more
In an attempt to understand the appeal of polarising Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson, Madeleine Chapman spent a week in Peterson’s beef-filled shoes. First published on 6 December 2018. I took three shits during my week living as Jordan Peterson. That’s three fewer than is healthy and three more than I expected. I ate seven bowls … Read more
Thousands of views were taken in, meetings were held up and down the country, experts were questioned, and it all fed into a massive report on the state of our mental health system. So what does the report say we need to do? Read more about the mental health inquiry with our edited extract from … Read more
A hugely important report seeks to effect a ‘paradigm change’ in NZ mental health services. Here are the essential findings and recommendations. The Minister of Health today released He Ara Oranga (Pathways to Wellness): the Report of the Government Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction, a publication which followed a series of meetings nationwide by … Read more
The man who must not be named dominates all discussion, but there is cause for some optimism springing from the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, writes Beatrice Fihn of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Will we survive? That’s really the big question, right? Day-to-day, month-to-month, year-to-year. Will we make it? Will our … Read more
New Zealanders could be getting votes on cannabis reform, MMP and assisted dying – but politicians have a bunch of questions to answer first, writes Andrew Geddis New Zealand’s recent experience with using referendums to make decisions has all been a bit odd, really. We had a rather pointless one in 2011 on whether to … Read more
The immigration minister has revealed that Czech convicted drug smuggler Karel Sroubek is liable for deportation after all. Does it all mean Lees-Galloway should resign, as some have demanded? Toby Manhire battles it out with Toby Manhire A review of evidence in the case of Karel Sroubek, the Czech drug smuggler who Iain Lees-Galloway decided … Read more
On the 125th anniversary of women exercising suffrage for the first time in NZ, the support party has called for a change in the law that sees incarcerated people ‘unjustifiably denied the right to vote’. The Green Party has added its voice to a growing call for a change in the law that denies people in … Read more
When it comes to tension between the US and China, National and Labour are on the same side – the fence. Guyon Espiner examines a foreign policy that tries to have it both ways. We have the Five Eyes alliance with the US but have no free trade agreement with them. We have the FTA … Read more
The justice minister tells the Spinoff he’s keenly watching the UK-led inquiry into fake news, disinformation and Facebook and backs calls for the company to be held accountable. As global pressure to hold Facebook accountable for its impact on democracy mounts, New Zealand’s justice minister has told the Spinoff he is actively monitoring events and … Read more
Hamilton Press Club life president Steve Braunias reveals the next guest speaker at the most glamorous social event in New Zealand journalism held in Hamilton. The Hamilton Press Club stands with Golriz Ghahraman. Not unquestioningly. Certainly not politically. The Greens! Lol! But the rage she inspires is bizarre at best, ugly at worst. Haters, trolls, … Read more
Parliaments in the UK, Australia, Canada and Brazil are waking up to the role of the social media giant in their democracies and is demanding Mark Zuckerberg answer questions. Toby Manhire attempts to learn where New Zealand sits on the issue – and is deeply unimpressed with what he finds. An annus horribilis for Mark … Read more
Washington and Beijing won’t be fooled by the bridge and broker rhetoric. They know that should push come to shove New Zealand will have to make a choice writes security consultant Paul Buchanan The Labour-led government in New Zealand has settled on a new mantra when it comes to addressing the US-China rivalry. It claims … Read more
‘Nine long years’ is a jazz standard in political debate. Using opinions and mathematics Toby Manhire has settled on the moment from which it is no longer acceptable to use this rhetorical device. No correspondence will be entered into. The rule is simple: everything good is down to the current government, and everything that isn’t … Read more
For a long time, it seemed that strikes were a thing of the past – and then, under an ostensibly more worker-friendly government, they came roaring back. So why now? Trade unionist Alastair Reith provides a view from the left. This year has seen the welcome, long overdue return of strike action to New Zealand. … Read more
It’s one thing to commit to ‘treat drugs as a health issue’, and another to put that pledge into concrete action, writes Ross Bell of the NZ Drug Foundation Jacinda Ardern refused to sign up to President Trump’s War on Drugs statement at the United Nations General Assembly last month. We applaud her for that … Read more