The Greens now have a warmer relationship with the NZ First leader, and are ready to work together whatever their disagreements, says co-leader Metiria Turei. She also reveals, in an interview with the Spinoff, how close she came to quitting, and what Greens in government would do if Donald Trump were to visit. With less than six … Read more
The NZ Green Party has been in parliament in its own right since 1999, yet never in government. They hope a pact with Labour and a pledge of financial prudence will change that at last. But there are detractors, some of the most critical among their own membership. Co-leaders Metiria Turei and James Shaw tell … Read more
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
From the Māori-Mana deal to the Labour no-list gambit, short-sighted strategies risk excluding Māori voters from the conversation about Māori aspirations, writes Graham Cameron The popular analogy for the Māori seats in the last year has been Game of Thrones. However, outside the number of kingdoms and the genuine dislike people seem to have for … Read more
As New Zealanders’ drift to the city continues, the rural-urban divide grows ever deeper. Instead of writing off the complaints of ‘townies’, those of us in the agricultural industries can’t afford to ignore the increasing calls for action, writes John Hart, farmer and Green candidate. When I was kid in the 1970s, almost everyone I … Read more
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
As obesity and diabetes rates continue their sharp upward rise, calls for a tax on sugary drinks are also on the increase. Today, in the first of a two-part series giving both sides of the debate, the Green Party’s Julie Anne Genter explains why she’s pushing hard for the tax. Let’s start with what we … Read more
Watch an abridged version of The War for Mt Albert By-election Candidates Debate and read why the candidates think you should vote for them. Last night at Satya Chai Lounge, the most whispered-about bar in Sandringham, The Spinoff held a debate between the three leading candidates in the Mt Albert by-election – Jacinda Ardern of … Read more
Most parents have to balance the needs of their family with the demands of their job, but working as an MP comes with special challenges, as Green MP Gareth Hughes explains. Since the start, my political career has run almost in tandem with my parenting career. In fact, the week I entered Parliament in early … Read more
Being a parent means a never-ending series of problems, big and small, and often it can feel like a struggle just to make it through the day without collapsing in an exhausted heap. Until one day, it doesn’t. Holly Walker writes about the small joys, and the days that make it all worthwhile. On the … Read more
The Green Party recently announced a new immigration policy with a net migration target of 1 percent of the population, including returning New Zealanders. In an essay published earlier this week, writer Thomas Coughlan criticised the policy, drawing a line between it and the rise of anti-immigrant rhetoric in the USA, UK and Europe. Here, … Read more
During last week’s election madness, many of us comforted ourselves with the belief that it couldn’t happen here. But how true is that? Thomas Coughlan sees ominous signs in the New Zealand left’s embrace of anti-immigrant rhetoric. The youngest voters to participate in last week’s US election would have been only ten years old when … Read more
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
Trains! Expressways! Parking! The Greens’ transport spokesperson Julie Anne Genter and Transport Blog super-genius Matt Lowrie join us in the pod. Plus: we get David Farrier on the phone to apologise for last week’s debacle Unless they stay in their new-build medium density housing and never venture out, the rapidly growing Auckland population is going … Read more
Green MP and planning geek Julie Anne Genter reacts to the Unitary Plan – and announces a four-step programme to radically evolve our urban environment into the future. I love city planning – I’m a planning geek. So it’s pretty cool seeing people get excited about the Auckland Unitary Plan. The actual document might be … Read more
At Greenpeace we’re not so big into war. We like peace, hence the name. But the US government’s decision to send a ship here marks something distinctly positive – a victory for the people of nuclear-free New Zealand, writes Russel Norman. If a US ship arrives in our waters later this year as part of … Read more
Opinion: Changes at Māori TV give great cause for concern. The chief executive should be encouraging coverage critical of the establishment, not shutting it down, writes Green Party MP Marama Davidson I don’t know about you, but I’m sick of hearing bad news about Māori TV. Whenever Māori TV is mentioned in the media, it’s … Read more
A pantheon of New Zealand politics watchers were asked to cast their minds over 2015, select their champs and their flops, their ups and their downs, and the issue or story to look out for in 2016. Today, Part Four: The Big Issue for 2016. We asked our glittering academy to gaze into their crystal … Read more
The month is up, and the Spinoff Politics power rankings are in. Organised arbitrarily into five gaining power and five going the other way, the completely scientific cookie crumbles like this… UPWARD 1. James Shaw / Gareth Hughes After a positive and non-partisan campaign for the Red Peak flag to be added to the plainly … Read more