Hope and rhetoric are a great tonic but it’s time to act, writes columnist Graham Cameron. At the United Nations in late September, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau gave an impassioned speech about the historical abuses of Canada’s First Nations, stating that “for Indigenous peoples in Canada, the experience was mostly one of humiliation, neglect … Read more
Jacinda Ardern’s programme offers real hope for the issues Mum fought so passionately for, from labour law and cannabis reform to forestry and Pike River, writes Dylan Kelly A little over a year ago, my mother Helen Kelly passed away, aged 52. She’d been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer 18 months earlier, and had resigned … Read more
Jacinda Ardern has signalled her focus by adopting a portfolio tackling child poverty. But will the coalition government have the mettle to make the differences needed, asks Jess Berentson-Shaw. Prime minister Jacinda Arden has shrugged on her swannie, pulled on her red bands, and is wading into the mud to pull out a struggling lamb. … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today, a peak behind the screens of real internet commenters with strong opinions about the new PM. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos
New Zealand’s top broadcaster has been on a journey since Winston Peters went left. Madeleine Chapman charts the Hosk’s passage through Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief. The takes have been coming in hot since Winston Peters rose ceremony’d the entire country and chose to marry Labour (and adopt their large adult son called the Greens). But … Read more
Another gold medal for the green-and-gold in the contest for the worst media opinions on New Zealand’s electoral outcome. Toby Manhire reads them so you don’t have to. The latest addition to the pantheon of Bad Takes In The International Media On The New Zealand Election comes from USA Today. In a post explaining how … Read more
There are plenty of reasons why the Wallabies scored an upset, none of them involving random sexist slurs, writes Jamie Wall. This morning, for some reason, the New Zealand Herald decided to float the idea that the new, still to be sworn in prime minister Jacinda Ardern “cursed” the All Blacks, leading to their defeat … Read more
The team from On the Rag weren’t able to get in the same room following Jacinda’s win, so here they are with their feelings. Leonie Hayden I write this from a room filled with Ngāpuhi Māori at the end of the final week of hearings in a Waitangi Tribunal inquiry that has taken seven years – … Read more
On the evening of the 19th of October 2017 a new government was anointed. Change might have been in the air, but a whole lot of men were still talking over women.
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today: The stars of Election 2017 react to new PM Jacinda Ardern – in rhyme. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos
Andrew Geddis assesses the shape and viability of the new Jacinda Ardern led government. And sings the praises of two individuals, one from the Greens, the other National. So, very late yesterday afternoon (let’s be charitable) Winston Peters lifted the box’s lid and out wandered a cat with a black head, red body and green tail. Whereupon … Read more
With Jacinda Ardern as prime minister, New Zealand has a chance to rebrand itself as a dynamic country where interesting things happen, says Wayne Mapp, the former National government minister of defence. Well, we now have a new government with Jacinda Ardern, as New Zealand’s youngest prime minister in 160 years. People, both those who … Read more
As we await the puffs of white smoke from the Beehive, Simon Wilson offers the compelling arguments that National is unfit for office – and those that suggest they could still be a better option. Why National is unfit for office, reason #1: They lied to us It went like this. Policy analyst: Guys guys. … Read more
Two extra seats felt like a win to many on the left. But Massey University’s Claire Robinson says that historical analysis of prior MMP results suggests this was far from a change election. Saturday’s final election results were, contrary to how they were received by some, a real blow for Labour. They didn’t pick up … Read more
Labour has the policies and it’s closer now to having the numbers – but close enough? What will Winston do, and what will National do? The addition of two more seat to the centre-left bloc of Labour and the Greens – at the expense of National – definitely changes the dynamic of the talks to … Read more
Novelist Danyl Mclauchlan describes his experiences and processes his thoughts after working on the Greens campaign in election 2017. I had a bit to do with the Green Party campaign this election, which was a hell of a thing to experience close-up. (And my views here are mine not those of the Greens, and possibly … Read more
Did Labour’s anti-immigration stance prevent it winning the 2017 election? Branko Marcetic crunches the numbers. Immigration was perhaps the issue of 2017. Apparently inspired by the renewed popularity of New Zealand First and by events overseas – if you’re unsure what I’m referring to, quickly Google either “Brexit,” “Trump” or Le “Pen,” and then make … Read more
‘There is something slightly unnerving about being this close to the possibility of a real political shift’, writes Laila Harré of the opportunity presented by this election result for NZ First, Labour and the Greens. A majority of us voted for parties who struggle with neo-liberal “certainty and stability”. I can’t think of a single … Read more
To find out which side Winston might swing toward, Branko Marcetic takes a hard look at what he did before – specifically the campaign and aftermath of the 1996 election. For the third time now in his career, Winston Peters is going to decide which party will govern New Zealand for the next three years. … Read more
How hard is Labour trying to form a government? Who made it into the new parliament, and who’s waiting on the edge for those specials? Let’s do the bad news first. Jacinda Ardern’s speech on election night was a surprise. It sounded like she believed there wasn’t much she could do to form a government. … Read more
Simon Wilson went round the party election parties last night, and lived and breathed the campaign. These are the 10 things he learned. 1. Time is not of the essence. Bill English said in his speech last night that it was important to move as quickly as possible to form a new “strong and stable … Read more
Last night’s poll suggests the election might be slipping away from Labour. Former National cabinet minister Wayne Mapp gives his perspective on the slide. Wednesday’s TV1 poll confirmed a trend of the last two weeks. That voters are shifting back to National. Of course a poll is only a poll – it might be wrong. … Read more
Calum Henderson watches Face the Classroom, TVNZ’s two-night special that forced our politicians to confront their harshest critics yet – the children of NZ. Move over Mike Hosking, Paddy Gower, Lisa Owen – it turns out the best political interviewers of this election campaign might just be a classroom of 8-12 year old kids from Ellerslie … Read more
Five days out from the election, is the Jacinda effect still alive? As farmers protest in Morrinsville amid talk of a rural-urban divide, Toby Manhire joins the Labour leader on the trail in Whanganui. Jacinda Ardern is up the front, in 1C. On a big plane, it’s a posh seat – but there are no … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today: Bill English and Jacinda Ardern ruminate on their campaigns so far.
Farmers rallied against Labour and the Greens in Jacinda Ardern’s hometown Morrinsville yesterday. Simon Wilson went along to see what they had to say for themselves. The farmers stood around like cows outside the milking shed, pressed together, mostly all facing the same way, and the journalists moved among them like jackals, notebooks open, mics … Read more
Duncan Greive spends an extraordinary two days with Gareth Morgan – and his comms sidekick Sean Plunket – as he tries to will TOP back into relevance amid the chaos of the 2017 election. Gareth Morgan is not happy. He’s in a converted garage deep within the bowels of the Mediaworks organism, sandwiched between two … Read more
New Zealand’s top talkback host has been listening to the new leader of the Labour Party. She calls herself a progressive. There is evidence of her having said ‘comrade’. And she speaks very quickly. Leighton Smith has been dispatching stone cold common sense to ZB listeners between breakfast and noon for three decades. Following this … Read more
Early voting for New Zealanders living overseas opens today. Rebekah Holt talks to some expat voters to discover whether the Jacinda effect has taken hold in Australia. In early July this year the then co-leader of the New Zealand Green Party James Shaw visited Melbourne to recruit NZ voters living here, and visit his dad. … Read more