Tonight’s Newshub-Reid Research poll has Labour on 60.9%, with National tumbling to a new low of 25.5%. But a giant Labour Party, governing alone, could be a nightmare of its own, argues Ben Thomas A poll is not an ironclad predictor of the future, but a snapshot in time. Newshub’s Reid Research snapshot was taken … Read more
Can the conspiracy theories of social media be coalesced into a party that makes parliament under MMP? We’re about to find out. Alex Braae attends the conscious conspiracy-theory-replete coupling ceremony. A covers band was smashing out a blistering version of ‘Higher and Higher’, on a stage packed with candidates. The flags were waving proudly over … Read more
The election is in 56 days, so expect party leaders to pop up in your neighbourhood any day now. Political editor Justin Giovannetti followed National’s Judith Collins as voters asked about cheaper cheese, pine trees and everything, really, but the scandals rocking parliament. “Hi Judith.” The National Party’s leader is on a first-name basis with … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fallout continues from Falloon scandal, significant damage to Tairāwhiti from storm, and Labour MP Raymond Huo announces retirement. Much more emerged on the scandal around outgoing National MP Andrew Falloon yesterday. The police will now be reopening their inquiries into the matter, after previously finding that … Read more
Judith is the youngest of six. Gerry is the oldest of five. Jacinda and Grant? Youngest of two and three, respectively. But where are the misunderstood middle children in our parliament? Linda Burgess investigates. If my younger sister – the cute-as-a-button baby of the family – smoked, which she doesn’t, she’d have inhaled, nostrils tightening, … Read more
With less than 50 days until the election, attempts are well underway to pit us against each other in the name of winning power, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira. No matter our differences, most of us want pretty similar things: to live well with good kai, good health, a warm whare, and time to spend with … Read more
With the National Party caucus looking more conservative than it’s been in a long time, Liam Hehir warns of the dangers of ideological factionalism, and why being a conservative party isn’t the same as being a party with conservatives. Liberals seem to be something of an endangered species in the National Party these days. First … Read more
In the third in the Spinoff’s Last on the list series, Gerrie Ligtenberg explains what inspired her to stand for the Green Party in Rangitata. At the 24th spot on the list, if the Greens can win around 20% of the party vote, Ligtenberg is parliament bound. Ngā mihi ki a koutou. Ko Tatimana te … Read more
Things with Todd Muller made sense. He was cautious and bland. National would fight the election over who had the best ideas. Jacinda Ardern would avoid getting dirty and debate those ideas. Then Muller left. And a firecracker was lobbed into the campaign. The dawn of a Judith Collins led National Party has upset election … Read more
For the next 10 weeks, the Vote Climate 2020 campaign will be looking to build momentum behind climate change as a key election issue. With the campaign launching today, organiser Sophie Handford explains why a vote for the climate is a vote for saving the future. Right now it’s 2020 and we have until just … Read more
The leader of the National Party, Judith Collins, doesn’t know how much cheese costs. Yesterday, the nation stopped when one of the hosts of The Project, Josh Thomson, asked Judith Collins how much a 1kg block of cheese cost. “I think it’s about $4 or $5 – something like that, depending on the cheese,” she … Read more
The new National Party leader enjoyed a very short political honeymoon, with two MP resignations landing this morning. Her challenge now is to pull off a superhuman repair job on the party’s core reputational strength, writes Toby Manhire. It wasn’t quite a team of five million, but when Judith Collins took the stage in the … Read more
The new National leader has only a few weeks to turn the party’s fortunes around. But that’s what Labour’s new leader did in 2017. While there are obvious differences, there’s plenty Collins can draw from, writes Clint Smith, who was senior communications strategist under Andrew Little and Jacinda Ardern. It was 56 days from the … Read more
A party in crisis has chosen a leader with experience and profile. The challenge is daunting, writes Justin Giovannetti from parliament. The National Party has turned in its moment of crisis towards a battle-hardened and pugnacious leader in Judith Collins to guide it towards an election that is only 66 days away. Todd Muller’s unexpected … Read more
Do not mistake tough for malevolent. The new National leader can take on whatever role is required of her politically and play it to perfection, writes Ben Thomas. The National Party faces the fight of its life. And so it has chosen as its new leader the toughest fighter in New Zealand politics. Collins’ rise … Read more
In every discussion about who could lead the National Party since John Key resigned in 2016, one name has always figured high in speculation: Judith Collins. The controversial yet popular MP for Papakura has put her name forward twice – losing to Bill English and Simon Bridges. Since then, Collins has pledged loyalty to the … Read more
After Todd Muller’s shock resignation, a crushing electoral defeat for National looks all but assured. But is a historically weak opposition really something for the left to celebrate, asks Danyl Mclauchlan. It probably doesn’t matter who takes over as leader of the National Party. Todd Muller’s sudden resignation after weeks of internal leaks, infighting, scandals, … Read more
Just over seven weeks after he rolled Simon Bridges to become leader of the opposition, and with under 10 weeks to go to the election, Todd Muller has quit. Here’s a reminder of how it unfurled – and unravelled. May 21 A Colmar Brunton poll for TVNZ puts National at 29%. It’s just the latest … Read more
Todd Muller made the choice of health over politics two months before a general election. National is now scrambling to find a new leader, politics editor Justin Giovannetti reports from parliament. Former National leader Todd Muller’s resignation shook Wellington this morning, ending one of the shortest leaderships in New Zealand’s modern history. Only 53 days … Read more
If there’s any time for ambitious, agenda-setting policy ideas, it’s now, write Max Harris and Laura O’Connell Rapira. Here are seven suggestions that might just transform New Zealand for the better. In a pre-budget speech, finance minister Grant Robertson said it was time to “address long-term issues”, but then when the budget was released, it … Read more
With an election now less than 10 weeks away, the National Party is confronting the very real prospect of a crushing defeat, writes Pattrick Smellie for BusinessDesk. Only two things can now save Todd Muller and the National Party from the growing likelihood of a crushing defeat at the September 19 election. Only one of … Read more
In the second in the Spinoff’s Last on the list series, Dave King explains what inspired him to stand for the Act Party in Manurewa. At 20th spot on the list, if David Seymour’s party can win around 16% of the party vote, King is parliament bound. It wasn’t that long ago that a move … Read more
The race relations commissioner, Meng Foon, has just sent the following letter to leaders of New Zealand political parties. Tēnā koe, Talofa, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Kia orana, 你好, Namaste. My role as Race Relations Commissioner is to promote and enhance harmonious communities in our diverse nation. As the leader of a political party who manages … Read more
Almost 170 years ago, Māori political processes were interrupted and displaced by a new, enforced electoral system. Researcher Jo Waitoa dispels the myth that voter turnout and political participation are the same thing. Read more of the The Spinoff’s Election 2020 coverage here. Māori political participation has a long and enduring tradition that cannot be … Read more
Political editor Justin Giovannatti reports from Te Papa, where the prime minister today addressed Labour’s 2020 Congress. Jacinda Ardern looked to slap a Labour sticker on the team of five million with the launch today of the party’s Covid-19 recovery plan, at an event which serves as the unofficial kickoff to the election campaign. In … Read more
Call it last, call it the foundation: Georgie Dansey is 84th on the Labour Party list for the 2020 election. Here she explains how she got there. What does it take to come last on the Labour list? It’s a bit of a story, so if you’re feeling tl;dr then just know that I’m queer, … Read more
The Opportunities Party is going into the election enthusiastic about its prospects of getting a Universal Basic Income on the table. But internal division once again threatens to overshadow the campaign. Alex Braae reports. Sometimes it’s tough at the TOP. Just as the party was starting to gain momentum on its policy platform built around … Read more
One of National’s most prominent MPs has pulled the pin on her career just months before the 2020 election. Alex Braae was there to see Paula Bennett say farewell. In the end, it was a somewhat muted departure for an MP who spent 15 years demanding to be heard. Paula Bennett, former deputy PM, former … Read more
After being rolled as deputy leader and losing the spot running the campaign, the National MP and former deputy prime minister is quitting parliament after 15 years. In August 2019, when it was announced that Paula Bennett would be going list-only and taking on the role of chairing the National Party campaign, it was a … Read more