Is Simon Bridges working out as National leader? Probably not, says Danyl Mclauchlan, but where is the alternative to catch the caucus eye? “I’m at the ‘intriguing stranger’ stage of the breakup,” a friend once said to me, while contemplating the terminal phase of an unsatisfactory relationship, explaining, “I have no immediate plans to end … Read more
As the Labour-led government approaches its first birthday, Max Rashbrooke attempts to divine whether there is a coherent ideological direction In a speech delivered in January this year, Jacinda Ardern promised to explain the “why” that motivates her government. This sounded exciting: a chance to understand her core reasons for entering politics and the basis … Read more
We won’t stop fearlessly holding the government to account, but on this we decided that together we could put forward legislation that would improve the lives of children, writes opposition leader Simon Bridges There’s a fine balance to strike when you’re in opposition. Your number one job is to hold the government to account. It’s difficult … Read more
Editor Toby Manhire returns for his regular round-up of the week in New Zealand news. This week: embarrassing NZ values, underwhelming #sponcon, Judith Collins on ‘going lez’, Hosko and Leighton salute The Spinoff, and more.
Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee and Ben Thomas ruminate on the New Zealand political cud. Simon Bridges has come under fresh pressure after botching a press conference around the resignation of MP Jami-Lee Ross, which both insist is unrelated to the inquiry into a leak of the National leader’s expenses details. The Gone By Lunchtime trio … Read more
The embattled social network now offers tools that let you see all the ads being served up by any given user of the platform, writes Leroy Beckett Facebook has had a hell of a year. After facing scandal after scandal and the United Nations’ exposure of dangerous issues with the platform, they have rolled out … Read more
A new radical left group has formed with the goal of making socialism a reality in New Zealand. But what would that even look like? And will they have any chance of success by rejecting parliamentary politics? You’ve probably seen them on the news. If there’s an event on that has a militant looking protest … Read more
Jesse Mulligan walks us through some of the spittle-flecked feedback he received for making the case that a capital gains tax is obviously a good and necessary idea. What is it like to be a woman? I don’t know, but they tell me it involves a lot of being corrected, patronised and explained to by … Read more
A year on from the last election, and barely a breath before the next, we’re rebooting our politics coverage. Toby Manhire explains. A wave of recent-past nostalgia has washed over New Zealand in recent weeks. The anniversary of the elevation of Jacinda Ardern to the leadership of the Labour Party amid a helter-skelter campaign. The … Read more
It is useful for NZ First to race-bait by grandstanding about immigration but never useful to ever do anything about the issue, reckons Danyl Mclauchlan New Zealand First used to have this guy called Peter Brown as their deputy leader. Brown was (a) fiercely anti-immigration and (b) a migrant, having been born in the UK. It … Read more
The latest international takes on the New Zealand prime minister, in the New Yorker and on the ABC, underscore the scale of her achievement at the UN in New York last week, writes Toby Manhire. On Sunday morning RNZ’s Mediawatch programme struck a sceptical pose and stared down the New Zealand coverage of the prime … Read more
At its 25th birthday convention on the weekend, The NZ First Party passed a remit calling for a test for new arrivals, requiring that they understood NZ values. The Respecting New Zealand Values Bill would require refugees and migrants to sit a test showing they understood what it means to be a Kiwi. One delegate, … Read more
Auckland has erupted into furious debate over a proposal to adopt a 30km/h speed limit in the city centre. Hayden Donnell comes up with a solution sure to please everyone. A few days ago news broke that Auckland Transport may lower the speed limit in Auckland’s CBD to 30km/h, in an effort to make fewer … Read more
In 2018 the New Zealand First Party reached its quarter century. Today at the party convention in Tauranga, its first and only leader, Winston Peters, delivered this address, titled Defying History: The Past as Prologue Today marks a celebration of the New Zealand First Party’s first 25 years. And what a time it has been. From … Read more
For the time poor but geopolitical address hungry, we have mercilessly crunched down the NZ prime minister’s speech I’m struck as a leader attending my first United Nations General Assembly by the power and potential that resides here, or did until everyone scarpered to watch Brett Kavanaugh lost his shit on C-Span. Anyway, let’s do … Read more
Jacinda Ardern’s full address to the United Nations General Assembly. Jacinda Ardern has delivered a speech to the UN General Assembly this morning, calling for kindness over fear, accountability, and collectivism in fights and inequality and climate change. E ngā mana nui o ngā whenua o te ao Tēnā koutou katoa Nei rā te reo … Read more
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s been in the US this week and her arrival with baby Neve has caused quite the stir. If only they could get her name right…
A challenge for the Auckland mayoralty is looming next year, with John Tamihere today turning up at Auckland Council to rattle some cages. But what is he actually standing on? And will he really run? Alex Braae went along to the JT show. John Tamihere came in early, to stake out a claim on a … Read more
The leak of a report into allegations of an assault by the Labour MP on a staffer has sparked another probe. Who might have leaked it, and what does it mean for Jacinda Ardern, asks RNZ’s Jane Patterson There are now two investigations under way into leaks that have targeted the leader of the opposition … Read more
Any substantial difference in tackling climate change from banning oil and gas exploration will be tiny, and there will be serious economic costs. If it’s all for symbolic reasons, that’s fine, but let’s be clear that’s what it is, write Liam Hehir Ever since MBIE released its official advice on the oil and gas ban, … Read more
The NZ prime minister set foot in the US and immediately became a media sensation. Hayden Donnell looks at Ardern’s transformation into a beacon for our troubled world. At home, Jacinda Ardern’s life is filled with stress, trouble, and Winston Peters. She’s somehow involved in a multi-week scandal involving a person that willingly donated a … Read more
As a minister in a National-led government I was proud to speak at the UN against pursuing an outdated and overly punitive approach on drugs. Now the bipartisan focus on drugs as a health issue seems to have been tossed aside by Simon Bridges’ party as a political inconvenience, writes Peter Dunne Just two years ago … Read more
Stay tuned for updates as top Kiwi broadcaster lashes back at Donald Trump with word play after being victimised by brutal new rules and/or not filling out a form he needed to fill out. Sunday April 15, 6am It’s there above the masthead of this morning’s Herald on Sunday. Top Kiwi broadcaster Barry Soper has … Read more
The aborted appointment of Derek Handley to the government’s CTO role continues to drag on – the latest installment is a folder of communications between himself, Clare Curran and Jacinda Ardern. Derek Handley has released a cache of communications relating to his botched appointment as the government’s CTO which detail the nature of the process, … Read more
The National position on compensation over the meth contamination scare is incompatible with the party’s values, and reeks of weak and desperate leadership, writes Danyl Mclauchlan Let’s take a stroll over to the National Party website and cast our eyes over their core values. They’re the kind of thing you’d expect a conservative, centre-right party to … Read more
The government call for a ‘revenue neutral’ package of reform from the Tax Working Group, combined with refusal to relax the Budget Responsibility Rules, reveals a failure to pursue a fairer system that properly funds public services, writes the PSA’s Erin Polaczuk There’s a lot of good stuff in the Tax Working Group’s interim report: … Read more
It’s been 125 years since women got the vote, but did you know men had it really bad too? Madeleine Chapman is here with all the news you need to know in this very special segment.
An unexpectedly high growth number might herald the end of a harsh winter for the government, writes Duncan Greive. A toxic combination of the oozing Curran-Handley wound, fear-mongering business confidence surveys and Winston Peters stumbling around like the last guest at a wedding have made this a bad week, worse month and generally infuriating winter … Read more
The Tax Working Group’s first report cautiously backs a capital gains tax, but has been stymied from the start in addressing a massive and inequitable loophole, writes Danyl Mclauchlan The government’s Tax Working Group, led by former deputy prime minister and finance minister Michael Cullen, released its interim report today. What does it say? Depends … Read more