It’s one of the most remarkable political documentaries ever made, and it was produced with a single camera and next to no budget. More than two decades on, it was a key reference point for the Spinoff series Youth Wings. The Spinoff speaks to director Tony Sutorius about the legacy and message of Campaign, and … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 2, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and the Covid-19 pandemic. The whole country is now in alert level two, with extra restrictions in Auckland. Official information here. Contact me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 6.15pm: The day in sum There are another five cases of Covid-19 today, … Read more
Former Auckland mayoral candidate John Palino has joined a fledgling party in a bid to make it into parliament, 13,000 km away from his current home, reports Alex Braae. Former Auckland restaurateur and mayoral candidate John Palino is mounting a bid for parliament this year, from the unlikely campaign base of the US state of … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 1, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and the Covid-19 pandemic. The whole country is now in alert level two, with extra restrictions in Auckland. Official information here. Contact me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.10pm: The day in sum There were 14 new cases of Covid-19, with … Read more
Some people seem like they’ll never be persuaded, but don’t give up. Here are some effective strategies for convincing the sceptics in your life. The cannabis referendum is likely to be a nail-biter, with polls and campaigners predicting a very close vote. With the election approaching, cannabis campaigners are working to get the word out … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 31, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and the Covid-19 pandemic. The whole country is now in alert level two, with extra restrictions in Auckland. Official information here. Contact me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7pm: The day in sum Auckland has moved to join the rest of … Read more
With the past few weeks yielding some serious government botch-ups, the lead up to the election is going to be fraught with blame, frustration and needless cries of conspiracy, writes Pattrick Smellie of BusinessDesk. As of this morning, Monday August 31, there are just under seven weeks to go to polling day, assuming the election … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 30, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and Covid-19 as it returns to the community. Auckland is now in alert level three and the rest of NZ is in level two. More details here. Official information here. Contact me at catherine@thespinoff.co.nz 7.15pm: The day in sum … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 21, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and Covid-19 as it returns to the community. Auckland is now in alert level three and the rest of NZ is in level two. More details here. Official information here. Contact me at jihee@thespinoff.co.nz 7pm: The day in sum There are … Read more
Politics is a contest of ideas, and ahead of the 2020 election, we want to hear yours. Question Time at parliament sometimes resembles an unruly classroom – and on a bad day, the comparison is unfair to classrooms. While creating the Policy tool, we wondered: could classrooms set an example for Question Time? Policy makes … Read more
Our series Youth Wings goes behind the O Week stalls to get to know some of the youngest and most passionate members of New Zealand’s main political parties. Episode One – Jay McLaren-Harris, Young NZ First Jay McLaren-Harris had always wanted to meet Winston Peters. Then one day on the main street of Dargaville, he did. … Read more
Join the the country’s most mellifluous political pod trio, the Alert Level Three, for another late-night lockdown edition of Gone By Lunchtime. Covid-19 continues to dominate the political agenda, with Jacinda Ardern and cabinet having extended level three for the Auckland region until the end of the weekend. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire … Read more
The Spinoff’s Youth Wings series culminated last night in a half-hour debate episode. Today we hand out the awards. Over the past week, our Youth Wings series has showcased the keen young folk who dedicate their prime years to phone banking and hoarding hammering. Young Act’s Felix Poole, Young Labour’s Adam Brand, Young National’s Aryana … Read more
Level one might not be back for some time amid warnings the current Auckland outbreak will linger. But the election campaign must go on – one way or another, writes political editor Justin Giovannetti. There’s an election campaign going on out there if you know where to look for it. With the move to extend … Read more
The stars of Youth Wings brought the banter, and the party slogans, to the Auckland Town Hall earlier this month for a very special election year debate. Watch all the episodes of Youth Wings here. If the six youth wing leaders were feeling nervous about taking part in a debate filmed in front of a … Read more
A new Instagram account holds our representatives to account on one issue: the manner in which they spread their Marmite on toast. The Spinoff talks to its anonymous founder. Move over oil, there’s a new black gold this election. Party policy is one thing, but your local electorate MP is someone who represents you on … Read more
It’s the political event the country has been waiting for. You’ve met the young leaders from Aotearoa’s five main political parties in Youth Wings, released on The Spinoff last week. Now, watch them go head-to-head on all the big issues in Youth Wings: The Debate. Filmed in front of a vocal audience at the concert … Read more
Stewart Sowman-Lund talks to the anonymous, ideologically opposed creators of two Facebook meme pages about the role the Gen Z mainstay plays in our political landscape. In total, almost 70,000 people “like” the two biggest New Zealand political meme pages on Facebook. Out of the entire “team of five million”, that’s not a lot. However, … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A big decision on what comes next, an important ruling on the lockdown legality, a power pair installed to troubleshoot the testing regime, and how concerned should we be about air crew? Six days ago, when the prime minister announced that Auckland would remain in alert … Read more
With the shine starting to come off the government’s Covid response, the opposition must abandon baseless speculation for a laser focus on failure and accountability, argues Ben Thomas. The fresh outbreak of Covid-19 in Auckland last week was a shock to the public. But it should have been manna from heaven for political parties campaigning … Read more
A new Christian party is touring the country, vowing to reshape politics in the image of their interpretation of Christianity. Alex Braae went to Marton to find out what the One Party had to say. “Maranga mai!” called One Party leader Stephanie Harawira to the congregation in front of her. “It’s time.” There is always … Read more
Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas forget how to record a podcast over Zoom. Most elements of life under lockdown feel a little bit easier the second time around, but not recording an episode of Gone By Lunchtime. After being held up for over an hour by a confusing tech issue (Ben’s new phone … Read more
With parties commanding a majority insisting on a delay, the pressure was mounting, but the prime minister insists she wasn’t cornered into making the call to postpone by four weeks to October 17. Justin Giovannetti reports from parliament. By postponing the general election by four weeks until October 17, the prime minister has forestalled a … Read more
When does advance voting open, when do the results get announced, and when are the TV debates? The essential election calendar. This post has been updated to reflect the decision to delay the election, which now be on October 17, and its knock-on impacts. It will continue to be updated through the course of the … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Questions over testing of border workers, decision on delaying election to be made today, and concerns for educational progress with new lockdown. The first point to note about managed isolation facilities – we don’t necessarily know that was where this latest outbreak came from. Alternative theories … Read more
Despite Judith Collins’ claim, the caretaker convention – the understanding that in certain circumstances significant governing decisions should have a parliamentary majority, or be consulted on by the opposition – does not apply in the pre-election period. And for some perfectly good reasons, writes law professor Claudia Geiringer. In July 1984, the Muldoon government was … Read more
Jacinda Ardern is preparing to make a major announcement on election timing as a majority of MPs appear determined to see it delayed. Public law expert Graeme Edgeler explores how it might all play out. Auckland is currently in lockdown with people required to stay at home except for “essential personal movements”, and will remain … Read more
Winston Peters has demanded it be bumped back from September 19. Is that likely, and when might the new day be? Plus: Peters’ letter to Jacinda Ardern in full On the eighth day of 2020 the Spinoff Election Prediction Lab Committee (“Sepulchre”) predicted correctly that the election would be held on September 19. Recent events … Read more
When the National Party talks about renewal, their East Coast candidate Tania Tapsell (Te Arawa) is a potent symbol. Alex Braae went to Whakatāne to find out what drives her to push so hard for political success. She was the youngest person in the room by far. Admittedly, that room was the Whakatāne Bridge Club … Read more