The Opportunities Party wants to bring German-style renter protection laws to New Zealand – and that’s great, says Berlin-based New Zealander Maddie Holden. But how exactly does that policy fit with Gareth Morgan’s devotion to neoliberal economics? Gareth Morgan’s The Opportunities Party (TOP) unveiled an interesting new policy about rental housing this week, proposing to … Read more
The transgressions of Metiria Turei are similar to the transgressions of Bill English and John Key. Or are they? The Herald has fact checked; now Simon Wilson has sense-checked the facts. As we know, Metiria Turei lied to Work and Income about her flatmates to prevent her benefit being cut, because, she says, she needed … Read more
Stop the election bus for just one second, please. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee and Ben Thomas have recorded a new Gone By Lunchtime podcast and it will probably be overtaken by events by teatime. Two third-term Green MPs have in effect jumped ship, saying Metiria Turei is not fit to lead the party. Will that torpedo … Read more
New Zealand’s prison population is ballooning, and no politician seems to have any good plan to stop it – except Labour deputy leader Kelvin Davis, writes Di White. For almost two decades there has been a ring fence around prison policy in New Zealand. It’s a high fence – you can’t climb over it by … Read more
An attempted mutiny against Metiria Turei has ended with two MPs resigning and the Greens thrown into turmoil. The Ardern euphoria now faces a brutal hangover, writes Toby Manhire #IstandwithMetiria, went one of the rallying cries that echoed among Green supporters in response to the backlash against the co-leader’s revelations of historic law-breaking. This evening two … Read more
The spotlight has been on a Labour Party replacing both its leader and its slogan, but National’s campaign message could do with a rewrite, too, argues tech entrepreneur Derek Handley. There’s no hope for New Zealand in National’s first campaign ad. Who needs it when everything is perfect? The government’s first clip for the upcoming election, ‘Get … Read more
Jacinda Ardern’s first week as Labour leader has brought a flood of admiring comparisons to Helen Clark. But Miriama Aoake argues that the comparison is false, largely because Ardern has proven more engaged with the concerns of Māori than the far more cynical Clark. Jacinda Ardern last week became the Labour Party’s fifth leader since Helen … Read more
Two hours after Labour launched its flagship transport policy in the central city, National launched its own 30 kilometres south. Duncan Greive was there to watch. National unveiled its rail transport policy under a slate grey sky at a train station in Papakura, doing their best impression of obliviousness to the nation’s incipient Jacinda-mania. Bill English … Read more
Labour has jettisoned its leader and overhauled its campaign – but National, too, is having to rethink its approach, writes Toby Manhire Look, it’s not as though it was Obama 2008. Labour’s new mantra, “Let’s do this”, sounded less stadium and more working bee. But there was no mistaking the buoyant mood at the launch … Read more
The Green co-leader today ruled herself out of a future cabinet role after admissions about lying to Winz and in her voter registration details. But how bad, really, was the breach of electoral law, asks Andrew Geddis While I can’t go so far as to claim Metiria Turei as a full friend, she certainly is … Read more
Martin Matthews has resigned as auditor general on the back of a report into his actions – and inaction – during the three years that Joanne Harrison was committing fraud at the MOT. But if the report was so damning, why can’t the public read it, asks Peter Newport, in an opinion piece following his … Read more
The Green co-leader’s confessions were snowballing, her position becoming untenable. But ultimately the decision seems to have come down to Jacinda Ardern. ’Tis the season for resigning, and there was plenty of speculation Metiria Turei was about to do that when she called a press conference for noon today. Her first words upon addressing the … Read more
Jacinda Ardern’s elevation to Labour leader has created a wave of unfamiliar enthusiasm on the political left. Now, writes Morgan Godfery, it’s time for policies that are just as game-changing. John Key, remember him? The bloke people reckoned they’d like to have a beer with, even though he minced down catwalks and might tug your … Read more
Against a new challenger, Bill English will need to lift his game, while Winston Peters as PM becomes a real proposition, writes former National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp. The dramatic elevation of Jacinda Ardern to the leadership of the Labour Party instantly raises the question of whether she is ready to be prime minister in just … Read more
Getting young voters engaged in political discourse is a challenge no NZ party has yet cracked. Could memes save the day? Madeleine Chapman leads a guided tour. At age five, most children are able to detect sarcasm and identify it as humour. By age ten, they’re able to differentiate between sarcastic and ironic humour. And somewhere … Read more
‘On Monday night I was scratching my head about how to inspire Labour supporters. And then along came Jacinda. I’ve known her since I was a teenager, and we’re claiming her as an East Coaster’, writes Kiri Allan in the latest instalment of her candidate diary. Read more candidate diaries for the Spinoff here They say a … Read more
It’s 24 hours since Jacinda Ardern assumed leadership of the Labour Party. Maddie Holden looks back at the waves of sexism that elicited from opposition MPs, media and others. If you have so much as a passing interest in the movements of New Zealand politics, you’ll be aware by now that Andrew Little has stepped … Read more
Has the Labour Party finally found the leader it’s been longing for? Simon Wilson thinks the answer just might be yes. I wanted to like Andrew Little. I thought most of the policies he presided over were pretty good. I admired that he united a fractious caucus and never faltered in his desire to take … Read more
The Spinoff’s Gone By Lunchtime trio frantically gather their thoughts following the exit of Labour leader Andrew Little, who has been replaced by Jacinda Ardern, with Kelvin Davis as her deputy, with just over 50 days to an election. Within seconds of watching Jacinda Ardern conduct her first press conference as Labour leader, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee … Read more
Following Andrew Little’s resignation, Jacinda Ardern has been unanimously elected as Labour leader, with Kelvin Davis as her deputy. Here’s a quick survey of the pros and cons. At her first press conference as leader of the Labour Party, Jacinda Ardern has promised to run “the campaign of our lives”. She and new deputy Kelvin … Read more
After a tumultuous 36 hours of terrible polls and admissions from Andrew Little that he’s considered resigning as leader, the Labour caucus meets today. What to expect? This, definitely this … Let there be no doubt about it. Andrew Little is about to resign as leader (Mike Williams), and Andrew Little is safe in his … Read more
Jacinda Ardern? Kelvin Davis? Why stop there? Simon Wilson plays fantasy politics and surveys a world of people who could lead the Labour Party. Labour desperately needs a leader to excite our passions and lead the people to the promised land. So who’s the best person to do that? Not sure if they’ve got anyone … Read more
Pollwatch: the latest numbers, and Andrew Little’s response, have led to a welter of commentary on Labour’s predicament – including, on the Spinoff, here and here and here – but if only for a quick change of scenery, here are a few other observations worth noting. It is just possible you’ve noticed that the New Zealand Labour Party is not … Read more
Andrew Little poured petrol all over himself yesterday and now he’s standing there with the lighter in his hands, screaming at us, ‘Is this what you want?’ If he burns, though, who will replace him? Well, maybe he’s not screaming it at all of us, but when he said he and his senior team had … Read more
The centre-left bloc just went up in the polls, but the conversation is all about the viability of Andrew Little as Labour leader – and it’s a conversation he started, writes Toby Manhire Andrew Little’s decision to tell New Zealand he has been contemplating resigning the Labour leadership has proved a success by one metric … Read more
Pollwatch: Andrew Little admits he’s thought about standing down, after the latest from One News and Colmar Brunton shows a leap in support for the Greens. And how about that undecided number … During the 2014 election campaign, the Green Party gained a piffling 1% of media coverage, the party’s co-leader James Shaw told the … Read more
For the last fortnight the Green Party has found itself in the unfamiliar position of dominating campaign headlines. Chlöe Swarbrick takes a (brief) pause for breath to reflect on it all in her third candidate diary for the Spinoff. I’ve kind of lost all semblance of time. It turns out that crossing the threshold from … Read more
Will the appeal to regional New Zealand and a pitch centred on reviving the economically interventionist state bear fruit for NZ First, asks former National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp. Is this going to be the year of Winston Peters, just as it was in 1996? The New Zealand First leader increasingly looks as though … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens making the news. Today: Bill English and Paula Bennett have a plan to target the youth vote. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos. Want more politics? Check out the Spinoff’s Gone By Lunchtime political podcast, … Read more