The countless working groups are a kind of stalking horse for a big change, and voters will get to decide come 2020, writes former National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp One of the things that is notable about this government is how so many of the ministers, from the prime minister down, signal their intent … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: No resolution to teacher pay dispute despite strike, Fonterra gets a new boss for now, and some interesting bits from the NBR Rich List. Tens of thousands of teachers went on strike yesterday, and it doesn’t appear to be the end of the matter. Rallies were … Read more
Business is saying move over, you’re on the wrong side of the road. The government is refusing to budge. Who is going to capitulate first in the ultimate confidence game, asks Guyon Espiner in his fortnightly column for RNZ. This has been rumbling along for a few months but has only just got serious. Until now … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: The PM returns to work, collapsed construction firm contractors can get tools, and better access for NZers to America announced. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is officially back in action, and has a rather full agenda to be getting on with. Top of the list, reports Stuff, will be … Read more
Likability was the catalyst that made new government possible, and it’s hard to sympathise with National’s recently discovered attachment to the importance of substance, writes Danyl Mclauchlan A year ago this week, Andrew Little resigned as leader of the Labour Party. “He’d have been a good prime minister,” one Labour operative said to me at … Read more
It was always in his interests to keep things stable, and Peters proved to be at his pin-striped best, reckons RNZ political editor Jane Patterson As I arrived at work today I saw a senior New Zealand First staffer with a grin from ear to ear, elated the six weeks with Winston Peters in charge had … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Winston Peters wraps up acting-PM tenure, Gloriavale wants millions of taxpayer dollars, and teachers vote for a full day strike. In the end, the sky did not fall. Winston Peters is having his final day as the acting PM today, before going back to being merely the … Read more
An Australian journalist launched an attack on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for not parenting her weeks-old baby properly – and Spinoff Parents readers were not happy. Tash Barneveld sums up why Natalie Ritchie’s take was such a bad one. We all knew Jacinda Ardern’s performance as a parent would be endlessly scrutinised, opined upon, and criticised … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: With the PM away, the government’s support partners have been making waves, former Jehovah’s Witnesses speak out about chronic sexual abuse within the church, and some surprising data on Auckland rentals. To start the week, we’re going to take a look at the recent fortunes of … Read more
In an interview to launch the new podcast series Venus Envy, the prime minister calls for more ‘conversations around consent and healthy relationships’ in the wake of the global outrage sparked by the Harvey Weinstein revelations. The New Zealand prime minister has called for the energy of the #MeToo movement to be translated into action. … Read more
How does one report on something that’s happening behind closed doors? New Zealand media did their best last week as Jacinda Ardern gave birth, but was it enough? Or too much? We all waited in the rain for the baby to arrive. Not to arrive in the world – Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford was … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Attempt to get foreign buyers ban exemption ruled out, Auckland Council needs volunteers for homeless census, and PM Jacinda Ardern becomes a mother. Speaker Trevor Mallard has intervened on procedural grounds to prevent an exemption to the foreign buyers ban for a single luxury property development, … Read more
What will they name the New Zealand Royal Baby? It’s one of the hardest decisions parents make, so we at The Spinoff Parents thought we would help. Here are some earnest suggestions for Jacinda and Clarke to help them on their way to choosing the perfect name for their bundle. We have carefully considered personalities, … Read more
The prime minister Jacinda Ardern and her partner Clarke Gayford have just announced the safe arrival of their baby girl. She arrived at 4.45pm, weighing 3.31kg (7.3lb). Our parents editor sends her congratulations to the new parents. Dear Jacinda and Clarke, I know open letters are naff but here we are. As we are a … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Winston Peters is now officially acting PM, minister signals big policy shift for kids in state care, and David Seymour wants to abolish some public holidays. In breaking news, PM Jacinda Ardern has gone to hospital to deliver her first child. Deputy PM Winston Peters is … Read more
Some ministers are already displaying the election-losing arrogance that it took National’s Cabinet three terms to achieve. The PM’s parental leave is a risk – but also an opportunity, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. For nigh on three decades there’s been a soothing, tide-like regularity to New Zealand politics. Every nine years we elect a new government with … Read more
Wayne Mapp, a government MP the first time Winston Peters was deputy prime minister, says we should expect the NZ First leader to use every opportunity to ensure his party’s survival. The Right Honorable Winston Peters has spent the lead up to his time as acting prime minister by reminding Labour of the limits of … Read more
Welcome to Oceania, where the Party’s state-mandated groupthink and doublespeak has the populace cowering in fear. Thoughtcriminal Joseph Nunweek smuggled out this dispatch. It was a bright if Orwellian day in June, and the clocks were striking seven. I awoke, as ever, to the steady hiss of a hot water cylinder. I rose from my … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Winston Peters makes moves ahead of top job tenure, Afghanistan deployment extended, and Christchurch mulls AirBnb rates. It could be days, it could be weeks, but regardless, NZ First leader Winston Peters is about to take on the role of acting Prime Minister. And he appears to … Read more
From day one, Clark’s government was confronted by a revolt from the NZ business world that came to be known as the ‘winter of discontent’. There is a similar chill in the air now, writes Branko Marcetic No matter what Jacinda Ardern does, she can’t quite seem to win over the business world. Since last … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Eradication, not containment chosen for m. bovis outbreak, National eyes up new allies, and welfare working group disappoints activists. The government has decided to press ahead with eradication of cattle disease mycoplasma bovis. Radio NZ reports the eradication plan will cost close to a billion dollars, with the … Read more
The National leader will not be happy with just 9% picking him as preferred by PM in a new poll, especially with Judith Collins storming into the scene. But the bigger story is the mire in which Winston Peters finds his party. A funny old morning for Simon Bridges. The party you lead has just … Read more
Every little advantage counts in Parliament. Madeleine Chapman and Ra Pomare critically analyse the power sits of Question Time. No one has the time or energy to watch Parliament TV. It’s boring as hell. Except when it’s not. Question Time can be entertaining in the same way it’s sometimes entertaining to listen to kids argue: … Read more
Teenage New Zealanders without a home in Australia are left in limbo, ineligible for a living allowance. Governments on both sides of the Tasman need to make the plight of these blameless people a priority, writes Joseph Nunweek. Late last week, the Melbourne community legal centre I work for (WEstjustice) joined 40 other Australian NGOs … Read more
The visibility of hologram technology was given a major boost in New Zealand when the prime minister used it to make a Techweek speech. So how might the technology be used in the future? If holograms are the future, what exactly are they the future of? Anyone who saw Jacinda Ardern striding out onto the … Read more
Elleana Dumper asks the PM about all-ages shows, the problems facing the music industry and whether she ever considered a career in music. This New Zealand Music Month, I’ve really been enjoying the social media chit-chat – it’s that time of the year when everyone’s Kiwi musical sentiments are high, and we get to celebrate … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. Rate of inflation higher for those with less, Winston Peters is going to China, and the government backtracks on much–needed Official Information Act reforms. The rate of inflation, typically assumed to be low recently in New Zealand, has been found to be higher for those who can least … Read more
Back once again with the renegade bluster, the Gone By Lunchtime team climb many flights of stairs in the cause of NZ political discourse. Just when we thought Annabelle Lee was never going to respond to another message, the Spinoff’s most acclaimed politics podcast returns. The garlanded producer of television’s The Hui is joined by PR … Read more
The country is changing. And in contrasting herself from her predecessor and advocating for this change, the PM is wielding her awesome and terrible powers of virtue-signalling. It’d be odd if she wasn’t, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. As The Spinoff recently documented, virtue-signalling is the opposition’s favourite attack line against the Labour-led government. Why “virtue-signalling”? It’s … Read more