‘This mad political experiment would test any relationship’: Chlöe Swarbrick dives into campaign mode

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

‘How to compute these ridiculously humbling and incredible things?’ – Chlöe Swarbrick begins a tilt at parliament

In her first candidate diary for the Spinoff, Chlöe Swarbrick recounts a mad few weeks, getting 13th on the Greens’ initial list, and the thorny question of what our country stands for. Read candidate diaries for the Spinoff by Erica Stanford (National, East Coast Bays) and Kiri Allan (East Coast) here. In 2017, what does Aotearoa New … Read more

The Green Party’s listing ranking is out. Here’s what they got right. And what they got wrong

The ‘initial’ Greens list for the election is a bit light on Auckland, strong on women and insufficiently regenerative, argues Simon Wilson. Update, May 30: The Greens have published their final list; these are the top 20, with any change from initial list. 1 Metiria Turei  2 James Shaw 3 Marama Davidson +1 4 Julie … Read more

Snowflake, cuck, virtue signalling: the new dictionary of slurs feeds division where we need dialogue

In an interview with The Spinoff, Bill English said that he didn’t claim to be a feminist, because to do so amounted to ‘virtue signalling’. Former mayoral contender and current Greens candidate Chlöe Swarbrick says it is part of a wider problem Doom and gloom. The world’s getting hotter, relative inequality is rising, housing is … Read more

The nailbiter in Mt Albert! Or, why the by-election on Saturday is more important than you think

The run up to the Mt Albert by-election might seem quiet but the results are likely to have a huge impact on the NZ political year. Meanwhile, over in Maungakiekie, Green wunderkind Chlöe Swarbrick has been demoted to humble foot soldier. Strange days in Auckland politics, writes Simon Wilson. Did you know there’s a candidate … Read more

Summer reissue: Winners, losers, big losers, and gigantic losers from the Auckland election

Hayden Donnell identified the people who did well, and the ones who got massively owned, in the Auckland local elections. Originally published October 8, 2016 Winners Chlöe “22” Swarbrick Chlöe Swarbrick, whose campaign cost roughly the same as the Goff campaign’s cheese budget, came third with nearly 27,000 votes. Despite being a complete political novice, Swarbrick … Read more

Chlöe Swarbrick explains herself

Chlöe Swarbrick’s entry into the Auckland mayoral race captured the imagination of tens of thousands of voters – including, but not limited to, scores of politically disillusioned millennials. Now she wants to channel that passion into a run for the Green Party at next year’s general election. What is the right age to enter politics? … Read more

The War for Auckland is over! Here’s who won what…

You won’t believe who’s won the Auckland mayoralty race (you will), and all the other outcomes of interest. And the new Mayor of Auckland is … They tried, oh how they tried, to sex up the contest. Guyon Espiner called the leadup to Phil Goff’s candidacy announcement “the longest striptease in history”; Hayden Donnell made … Read more

Warcast #8: Chlöe Swarbrick and Richard Hills tell all about our shitty voting system

Two of the best young election candidates in Auckland join Hayden Donnell to talk cycle helmets, our terrible voting system, and election intrigue on the North Shore. Argh! Crap! Oh no! The election voting deadline is nearly upon us and pretty much no-one in Auckland has voted. Chlöe Swarbrick and Richard Hills join Hayden Donnell … Read more

On the Rag – September edition on Trump and why we don’t need a Minister for Men

Every month host Alex Casey is joined by comedian/writer Michele A’Court and Mana magazine editor Leonie Hayden to discuss what happened in the world of women over the preceding four weeks.  The three raggers reflect on what Trump says about gender politics, how baking soda can solve almost anything and why New Zealand definitely doesn’t need a Minister for … Read more

The South Auckland Mayoral Debate Quiz: can you do better than our mayoral candidates?

Yesterday morning five leading mayoral candidates headed to Mangere’s Ngā Whare Waatea to debate the issues facing South Auckland. Mana magazine editor Leonie Hayden was there. Throughout the debate, a pop quiz was held to test the candidates’ general knowledge of South Auckland. The only rules were: No referring the matter back to central government. No … Read more

The Spinoff announces its mayoral endorsement

Who’s getting the blue tick – Goff? Swarbrick? Crone? Bright? Let us show you the way. The Spinoff’s War for Auckland psy-ops division has emerged from their underground bunker with their picks for Auckland mayor. – Click here – to discover on whom The Spinoff has bestowed its coveted mayoral seal of approval.

New mayoral poll: Goff maintains big lead but here comes the Chloenator

Phil Goff remains well out in front in the contest for the big job in Auckland but young pretender Chloe Swarbrick has built support against the odds. A new poll published today by the Spinoff shows Phil Goff on course to succeed Len Brown as mayor of Auckland, maintaining a comfortable lead over his closest … Read more