Wait, Jeremy Corbyn could actually become the prime minister? How might the Labour Party in New Zealand copy its British counterpart and lessen the electoral despair, asks Hayden Donnell in a dispatch from somewhere or other in the UK Read more: Grant Robertson, Judith Collins, Jacinda Ardern, Metiria Turei, Jim Anderton and more on what … Read more
With secretary of state Rex Tillerson in New Zealand on Tuesday, Bill English and Paula Bennett have a chance to strongly condemn the dereliction of international leadership in quitting the Paris deal – and to use the occasion to galvanise action here, writes climate scientist James Renwick This morning we heard President Donald Trump formally state … Read more
Money may not be important in the big scheme of things, but where money gets put, and how much, tells us volumes about what the government thinks it is doing right. And our government thinks things are going pretty well, writes the Morgan Foundation’s Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw. As peculiar as it is in the context … Read more
The 36 Questions Project is a new series in which Meg Williams takes a politician on a date and asks them the 36 Questions, a series of conversation-starters designed to make two people fall in love. In this inaugural installment, Young Greens co-convenor Williams dates Act leader David Seymour. Will opposites attract? This is an … Read more
The author of the acclaimed book Things That Matter talks to Gareth Shute about health policy in the lead-up to the election – about the obesity crisis, the social investment approach and the kind of place New Zealand wants to be. Dr David Galler has worked at the intensive care unit of Middlemore Hospital for 25 … Read more
The government’s budget announcement trumpeted a new $224 million spend on mental health – but is the plan really as impressive as it sounds? Kyle MacDonald digs into the numbers. If you’ve ever shopped around trying to compare mobile phone plans or power company rates, you know how hard it can be to figure out … Read more
Democracy around the world is under threat, and New Zealand is not immune. Here, government attitudes to official information are hampering democratic debate and accountability, writes Sir Geoffrey Palmer. Throughout the western world, democracy is facing challenging times. People are trusting politicians and political processes less than they used to. Brexit and Donald Trump are … Read more
These days ambitious NZ politicians are more likely to be crafting a Facebook post than a memoir. Danyl Mclauchlan gets absorbed in the towering 1974 book by the man who would become the most powerful PM in modern NZ history. “When I was five I tore a cheek muscle in a fall and acquired a facial … Read more
Budget 2017: After a year of taking heavy shots from the opposition, National responded with a 1-2 of their own with today’s budget announcements, writes Ben Thomas. Read all our Budget 2017 coverage here. Steven Joyce, bomaye. Translated from Lingala to internet English, that basically means “Steve Joyce, slay!”. The catchcry was popularised by fans … Read more
Tax cuts, more money for infrastructure, and catch-up spending on a raft of areas where it had previously been frozen. All well and good, says economist Shamubeel Eaqub, but what about housing? Read all our Budget 2017 coverage here. Steven Joyce delivered his first Budget and it was carefully calculated to maximise impact in an … Read more
Budget 2017: We invited Eric Crampton to make the argument for a tax cut. Here he offers the case for a modest cut to reflect inflation, the case for a more substantial cut, and, for good measure, a dumb case Read all our Budget 2017 coverage here. There are a lot of dumb cases for … Read more
Budget 2017: What does it all mean and why should we care? Over to you, Morgan Godfery Read all our Budget 2017 coverage here. The only thing duller than accounting is government accounting. What’s an “OBEGAL”? Why are politicians debating “appropriations”? What kind of terrible person would volunteer for the “budget lock-up”? For “ordinary New … Read more
Auditor General Martin Matthews has come under extra pressure to resign today as the State Services Commission launches a full, independent investigation into the treatment of whistle-blowers who tried to warn Matthews about fraudster Joanne Harrison. Peter Newport reports. 5pm update: It has just been announced that Matthews is to step down while “his suitability … Read more
Budget 2017: I had a dream of an evidence-based budget for a thriving New Zealand, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw, head of research at policy think tank The Morgan Foundation. Read all out Budget 2017 coverage here. In my dream it was budget day. Pre-empting the finance minister, joint prime ministers Chlöe Swarbrick and Nikki Kaye leapt … Read more
Budget 2017: Bill English has been trumpeting the “social investment approach” as a core part of his thinking, and it underpins much of this week’s budget. For economist Simon Chapple, however, it amounts to a rhetorical banner that obscures standard centre-right political goals Dr Simon Chapple has held senior economist and public policy roles in New Zealand … Read more
Labour candidate Rohan Lord announced yesterday that he was withdrawing from the East Coast Bays race, blaming his low placing on the party list and the barrier to progress which is being a white middle-class man. So much for party loyalty, writes Ben Thomas. Rohan has pulled out of East Coast Bays. That’s bad news … Read more
It seemed Donald Trump had killed the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but it has sprung back to life with Bill English’s visit to Japan. His confidence that the NZ parliament has already approved a TPP11 is misplaced, however, writes Andrew Geddis. As everybody should very well understand, the primary rule for surviving a horror movie is: “When it appears … Read more
In 1987, an election was held, petrol was cheaper, and people were fewer. But how much has really changed in New Zealand in 30 years? Take the quiz to test your knowledge of 1987. Having trouble viewing the quiz? Take it here.
Emails between the New Zealand branch of the US Chamber of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade offer a fascinating window into the way trade lobbying happens in NZ, writes Branko Marcetic. If you have a passing familiarity with US politics, you’ve probably heard of the US Chamber of Commerce. Alyssa Katz, … Read more
In her second candidate diary for the Spinoff, the Greens’ Chlöe Swarbrick recounts a moving visit to Christchurch and pays tribute to partner of five years Alex, a rock in a turbulent political tide. Christchurch is very flat. That makes it an incredible city to cycle or walk around. It also means that when you’re standing … Read more
Alfred Ngaro’s appearance at the National party’s northern conference has already become a political headache. But as Simon Wilson reports, there were more surprising elements in his appearances than have been publicised to date. Alfred Ngaro was the best dressed man in the National Party over the weekend. Make that the best-dressed person. At the … Read more
While we await the verdict in the Eight Mile Style action, revisit the glories from some of the greatest days the New Zealand justice system has ever seen. Somewhere in Wellington, Justice Helen Cull is deep in thought, idly tapping a foot, perhaps, composing early passages for her judgment in anapestic tetrameter, maybe, as she decides whether … Read more
Sure, Alfred Ngaro screwed up royally – but there was a lot more to the National party conference this weekend. Steven Joyce let a budget secret slip, Paula Bennett stole the show, and the party revealed its 10 point plan to shut down Labour, writes Simon Wilson. “I can’t tell you how proud I am,” … Read more
Lawyer Andrew Geddis looks into what should happen if associate housing minister Alfred Ngaro were ever to actually do what he threatened over the weekend. Given the speeches at the National Party’s Auckland regional conference, New Zealand’s housing situation/challenge/imbroglio/anything-but-a-crisis appears to be the number one problem on the Government’s radar this election year. That’s probably not so surprising. Stories … Read more
The associate housing minister has issued a statement of regret after Newsroom caught him spraying threats at non-government service providers including Willie Jackson and the Salvation Army. Here we speculate on how it might read after a good dousing in truth serum. What Ngaro said: “My comments about the Government’s work in social housing and some … Read more
A new work by our leading political poet. When Bill English grasped the reins of power last year, he plunged a concrete post of literature into the tender soils of New Zealand by reading aloud a bit of poetry. This week, courageously, to staunch the bleeding of the national auditory canal brought on by Colin … Read more
The minister of health has dismissed a report on mental health claiming the authors are ‘left-wing anti-government protesters’. ActionStation’s Marianne Elliott responds. You know the saying: ‘Don’t shoot the messenger’? Well, the message is that New Zealanders are deeply concerned about the state of our mental health system, and heartbroken about the family and friends … Read more
Gone By Lunchtime stumbles on a new theme tune to accompany Annabelle Lee, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire’s sleepy reflections on weird court rumbles, Māori places on the Labour Party list, Gerry Brownlee’s clumsy start as foreign minister, and Winston Peters bursting out of the electoral traps. Wait. That’s not it. Try this. To listen either download (right click … Read more
In her second candidate diary for the Spinoff, Labour’s candidate for East Coast describes door-knocking in the electorate, meeting fellow diarist Chlöe Swarbrick, fronting a press stand-up after that controversial list announcement, and a big TV appearance. I knocked on the door. It was one of the last ones for the day on my sheet of over … Read more