Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 17, bringing you nothing but dogs at polling booths until 7pm, after which we’ll bring you all the news from the election. Send your dogs at polling booths snaps (no humans please) to info@thespinoff.co.nz 5.50pm: Monty Don in Howick A very good name for a dog. 5.40pm: … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 16, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other NZ news. The essential campaign dates are here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Explore the parties’ pledges at Policy. I’m on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.00pm: The day in sum … Read more
The 2020 election campaign is coming to a close. The Spinoff followed National’s Judith Collins and Labour’s Jacinda Ardern as they travelled Auckland during the final hours of campaigning. Labour’s slogan this election is “Let’s keep moving”, but the party’s campaign got bogged down in Onehunga today as Jacinda Ardern was swamped during a walkabout. … Read more
Hosting an election night party but still stressing over what to serve? Don’t worry, we’ve got you. Election night parties are mostly shambolic. Between the people who want to sit in front of the TV and watch numbers roll across the screen for hours and those who just came to delete some beverages, sometimes the … Read more
The Spinoff’s new(ish) political editor Justin Giovannetti joins Duncan Greive to share his impressions from a hectic first six months on the job – and in New Zealand. When Justin Giovannetti interviewed for the job of political editor at The Spinoff, from Canada, the world was quite a different place. In the time it took … Read more
Jacinda Ardern is on course to become prime minister again, but what sort of government would she lead into the 53rd New Zealand parliament? The first thing to say is that it’s not over yet. The parties are still out there campaigning, the undecided voters could all suddenly decide in one direction, the pollsters could … Read more
Well, that was a grind, wasn’t it? José Barbosa scrapes himself off the floor. Over the campaign I’ve made some videos boiling down those televised debates between Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins. (All of them can be viewed here, by the way.) It’s been an extended campaign and I can safely say I’ve been ground … Read more
Chinese influence in New Zealand politics has been the subject of regular debate over the last term. What does it mean to represent the Chinese community in 2020? Sherry Zhang meets Labour’s rising star Naisi Chen. Among the new faces on course to ride Jacinda Ardern’s wave of popularity into parliament tomorrow is Naisi Chen. … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pre-election poll shows massive lead for Labour, Advance NZ kicked off Facebook, and new developments in NZ First Foundation saga. A poll released just days before the election shows Labour is still in a clear position to form the next government. While the One News Colmar Brunton showed … Read more
Data from Policy.nz can tell us which were the ‘favourite’ policies for each of the main parties, and some surprising information about second party preferences. Chris McIntyre and Stella Blake-Kelly of Policy.nz explain Policy.nz summarises every single policy released by the major parties, making it easy for voters to compare. More than 410,000 people have now … Read more
Everything you need to know about the timings for Saturday and beyond. When will the election result be known? Polls close at 7pm on Saturday October 17. And we’ll get a pretty good idea of how the parties have done very soon after that. How soon? For the first time, the majority of New Zealand … Read more
Two days out from the election, what did we learn from tonight’s final leaders debate? Here’s what our debate watchers thought. Justin Giovannetti: The tank is empty Judith Collins is done. The feeling that will stick with me from that debate came afterwards when the leaders faced the media in the atrium of TVNZ. Collins, … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 15, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other NZ news. The essential campaign dates are here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Explore the parties’ pledges at Policy. I’m on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.05pm: The day in sum … Read more
From 7pm Saturday, the election results will ooze from the pores of democracy. Toast the franchise with our exclusive election night drinking game. It works with Raro, kombucha or something stronger. Repurpose as bingo if that’s what you’re into. Illustrations by Toby Morris. Take a sip when you hear/see “Neck and neck” “Knife edge” “Volatile” … Read more
The Bulletin’s Alex Braae, fresh from his tour of Aotearoa, joins Toby Manhire to reveal what he witnessed on the road in this special pre-election bonus episode of Gone By Lunchtime. For 40 days and 40 nights (roughly, who’s counting) Alex Braae packed up his Bulletin in his old kit bag, threw it in the … Read more
Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz; in the meantime here’s a whistlestop tour of what’s on offer when it comes to the Covid-19 response and the border. Read more two-minute policy wraps here This is the “Covid election” according to Labour leader Jacinda Ardern. Most … Read more
Like hundreds of thousands of others, Nadine Anne Hura’s brother couldn’t see the point in participating in a system that didn’t make space for him, much less represent him. Content warning: This piece includes discussion of suicide I used to think that the most important things we say to the people we love are wordless. I … Read more
With just days to go before voting closes, political discourse has taken a bizarre turn, writes Ben Thomas. If this year’s election campaign trail could be likened to a breezy summer getaway with your best friends (and in my judgment as a political expert, I believe it can be) then this week we reached the … Read more
As a small country, New Zealand relies heavily on a well-functioning international rules-based system. But as the system weakens, where are our political leaders on the issue? International relations expert Robert Patman writes. It’s extraordinary that New Zealand’s political leaders haven’t been asked a single question during the 2020 election about the near breakdown of … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Campaign grinds to the finish line, claims about overseas donations to NZ Public Party account, and scandal uncovered over single use plastic dumping. It’s almost over. The extended cut of the 2020 general election is winding down, with a massive advance vote already cast, and the … Read more
The marginals, the bellwethers and the other places we’ll be gawking at come the close of polling in election 2020. By Alex Braae and Toby Manhire. Northland Currently held by Matt King for National, who won by a slim 1,389 votes over NZ First leader Winston Peters in 2017. Labour’s Willow-Jean Prime was a further … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 14, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other NZ news. The essential campaign dates are here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Explore the parties’ pledges at Policy. I’m on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.00pm: The day in sum … Read more
Does it sounds like a Key-English slogan, or something from Ardern-Robertson? Labour is ahead in the polls with a few days to go until decision day, and as incumbents you’d expect some of their messages to echo those from governing parties of days gone by. Grant Robertson and Jacinda Ardern have both, repeatedly, admiringly invoked … Read more
The judges have spoken: These are the best ideas for changing Aotearoa for the better, courtesy of some of our brightest young minds. Policy.nz’s Chris McIntyre introduces the winners. Since Policy.nz launched in August, barely a day has passed without the parties announcing new policies. By our count, the parties have announced nearly 2,000 policies … Read more
Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire gather around the giant orb of truth for the last time before polls close to assess the parties’ campaigns, select the seats they’ll be drooling over, and put their pundit reputations on the line by predicting the final election outcome. We’re leaving together. But still it’s … Read more
We’ve heard a lot about the social benefits a law change would bring, but precious little on the mental health risks it could also pose, writes Sophie Vreeburg. Read a response to this column by psychopharmacologist Suresh Muthukumaraswamy here. Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article made the claim that cannabis can cause schizophrenia. … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: NZ government adds voice in global encryption fight, a whole bunch of election stuff happens, and more than half the country believes house prices must fall. Should governments be able to access the encrypted data held by technology companies? That is being debated after New Zealand … Read more
National leader Judith Collins’ newly prominent display of faith is a risky strategy, but, as Marion Maddox writes, that hasn’t stopped her overseas counterparts from giving it a go. “As a Christian, I do believe in miracles.” Looking at Labour’s recent polling, some might take Judith Collins’ leaders’ debate comment as referring to her own … Read more
We all know who’s going to come in 1st and 2nd place in the election. But what about 11th or 12th? Minor party correspondent Alex Braae predicts where every party will finish. Elections are fought on close margins, and sometimes the difference between winning and losing can be just a few hundred votes. That’s true … Read more