10 questions with Dunedin’s new Green Party mayor, Aaron Hawkins

Dunedin’s new mayor Aaron Hawkins is the first official Green Party mayor in NZ and, arguably, the first to represent the city’s student population as much as its older residents. Josie Adams, who guessed he would win, asked him some questions about it. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff … Read more

Dunedin’s venomous election fight, assessed via the Spinoff Snake Rating

Dunedin’s local election race has broken out into a symphony of front-stabbing, back-stabbing, and general mud-slinging. But then, doesn’t a good politician need a bit of bite? Josie Adams consults The Spinoff’s Snake Rating Machine. The Dunedin local politics scene has long been a mudslinger’s paradise, but this year’s election has been filthier than a … Read more

Race briefing: Dunedin, the left-wing utopia/drunken hellhole of the south

In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Josie Adams assesses the bastion of progressive virtue that is Dunedin/Ōtepoti. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. Where? Dunedin, or Ōtepoti, is also known as “the Edinburgh of … Read more

The one, stupidly obvious change that would vastly improve our local elections

Some people say it’s confusing. Others think it’s boring. But running all its elections under an STV system could be the single most effective way for local government to fix its lack of diversity and woeful voting turnout, argues Hayden Donnell. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about … Read more

Race briefing: The Otago Regional Council

Over the course of the local elections period, The Spinoff will be publishing primers on some of the most interesting races around the country. Today, Alex Braae casts his eyes over the Otago Regional Council contest. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s … Read more