It’s not a confidence and supply deal, and it’s certainly not a coalition. So what are the implications of today’s agreement for each party, and for their constituents? Labour and the Greens have struck a cooperation agreement that provides Jacinda Ardern with stability in parliament over the next three years, while giving Marama Davidson and … Read more
With the Greens or without them, Labour is expected to form a new government next week. As negotiations between the two parties reach their conclusion, Justin Giovannetti walks us through how the next government will be formed. Labour and the Greens have held their final meeting negotiating the shape of New Zealand’s next government. Nearly … Read more
The election is over and three of parliament’s parties have retreated behind closed doors, reports Justin Giovannetti. Parliament has entered, on the surface at least, a post-election hibernation. The government is in caretaker mode, barred from making major decisions, while party leaders eager for attention just days ago now have nothing to say. The coming … Read more
With the government set to take shape in the next few weeks, Labour and the Greens will have to decide on the nature of their relationship for the next three years. Andrew Geddis takes us through the options at hand. Without even knowing the final election result (there are about 500,000 special votes still to … Read more
The Green Party last night represented a new era: the kids aren’t just all right, they’re in charge. Josie Adams and Sherry Zhang were there. A very small child met us at the doors to GridAKL. “Are you here for the Green party?” she asked. Her name was Melanie and she followed protocol to a … Read more
Each week in the lead-up to the election, The Side Eye cartoonist Toby Morris is going to teach us how to draw a different New Zealand politician. This week, it’s the co-leaders of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Click here for the rest of the How to draw series. The Side Eye is a … Read more
The Greens aren’t shying away from their role in a future government. Jacinda Ardern will be the leader, but they’ll be the conscience for Labour, Marama Davidson and James Shaw tell Justin Giovannetti. The promises from Green Party co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson this election can be boiled down to something simple: they’ll give … Read more
We asked the people vying for our votes how they’re keeping their minds sharp and bodies fuelled for the final stretch of the campaign marathon. What New Zealand’s political party leaders eat isn’t usually something many of us give much thought to, but come election time, when they’re out and about winning votes, politicians’ kai … Read more
Politicians have pivoted to online video like lions in heat. José Barbosa has trawled through the top five parties’ social media feeds to learn their secrets of going viral. The online video space is changing all the time. If you work in this sector, as I do, you better bloody well keep up and prime … Read more
The 2020 election has risen, bleary eyed, from its slumber, and so have Annabelle, Ben and Toby in a brand new Gone By Lunchtime. The campaign trail is alive once again, with Labour promising a Matariki holiday and National a health-driven response to meth addiction. The Greens are trying to put the train back on … Read more
The Green School balls-up is another brutal political lesson for a party leader who already knows just how ruthless this coalition government can get, writes Ben Thomas. Students at the Taranaki Green School are going to have to plant a lot more crystals to absorb all the bad vibes coming off Greens co-leader James Shaw’s … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Green school controversy drags on for James Shaw, head of volunteer firefighters association being investigated, and wharfies speak out after worker death. I’ll be honest, I really thought this story would be basically wrapped up by the weekend. And yet somehow it’s Wednesday, and it’s still … Read more
The problem with the Taranaki Green School isn’t just that’s an expensive private institution, says Laura Rapira O’Connell. It’s that funding it does little to address the environmental challenges faced by ordinary New Zealanders and their children. James Shaw came under fire last week for approving an $11.7m government grant to a private ‘Green School’ … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Christchurch mosque shooter sentenced to life without parole, hundreds of millions set aside for Covid-19 vaccine, and the diverging inequalities of the economic recovery. The Christchurch mosque shooter will never leave prison for the rest of his natural life. Yesterday afternoon, a sentence of life without … Read more
A multi-million dollar funding boost will help to build ‘phase two’ of the private Taranaki Green School, which costs up to $43,000 a year to attend. But not everyone’s happy with the news. Green co-leader James Shaw’s announcement of an injection of funds into a private Taranaki school as part of the Covid-19 Response and … Read more
All around the country, people are asking ‘what’s going to happen in the 2020 general election campaign?’ That’s because they haven’t read this guide, which reveals exactly what will happen in the 2020 general election campaign. Someone has finally put this term of parliament out of its misery. We’ve had three years of scandals, sex … Read more
A major new report has outlined the biggest and most pressing risks New Zealand faces from climate change, and they go well beyond the science of changing weather patterns. What’s all this then? One of the most dangerous and concerning aspects of climate change is the unpredictability of it all. Some activists even joke about … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Questions over stability of the government, health minister throws top official under the bus, and concerns raised over dolphin protection plan. After several days of frantically knifing each other at parliament, you’d be forgiven for thinking the coalition government is on the verge of collapse. The … Read more
Will the door be open to a new National leadership, and does the party need to flex its muscle to get noticed in the coming months? Suddenly it’s election year again. The National Party has jettisoned Simon Bridges in favour of Todd Muller, a sensible man with a firm handshake. Over the weekend Jacinda Ardern … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Global context for NZ’s climate change review, new media support package announced, and Wellington’s council looking increasingly dysfunctional. New Zealand’s carbon emissions cutting pledge will be reviewed by the new Climate Change Commission. As Eloise Gibson at Stuff reports, it may result in the target for 2030 – … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Questions over how environmentally friendly Covid-19 recovery will be, consistent daily updates of new cases, and repatriation flights from India organised. There has been an increasing amount of commentary about the state of the environment during and after the pandemic. Air quality in cities has improved dramatically, … Read more
Last year environmental campaigner Neil Miller wrote a comprehensive conservation policy setting out in detail a ‘billion-dollar boost’. Yet however many might agree that it is common sense, no mainstream political party has picked up the idea and run with it, he writes. My mistake was writing the policy for the wrong party. I was … Read more
Fossil fuels and illegal weapons get the boot as the government announces changes to default funds. What’s the news? KiwiSaver default funds are set for a major overhaul as the government rules out investments in fossil fuels and illegal weapons for future funds. It also announced it would be switching default fund settings from ‘conservative’ … Read more
Cindy Baxter is at COP25 – her 17th climate change conference – and for the first time, New Zealand is one of the good guys. But are we? As we head into the second week of the climate talks in Madrid, I’ve been reflecting over the first week, and the strange position many of us … Read more
The Zero Carbon Bill is bland and ineffective. Don’t fall for the spin, argues Steve Abel of Greenpeace. It was hard to not be buoyed by our House of Representatives, seemingly aligned in their commitment to climate action, at last week’s passing of the Zero Carbon Act. Bold expositions of pride and parliament united across … Read more
Vernon Tava’s Sustainable NZ Party launched over the weekend, to media fanfare. But has their pitch for centrist environmentalist voters lost touch with the changes in political reality? For a party that he criticises constantly, Vernon Tava will have a tough time escaping the shadow of the Greens. It’s a curious position for the leader … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government passes flagship climate change legislation, former minister Anne Tolley admits Peters disclosure, and changes coming at Oranga Tamariki. The Zero Carbon bill, one of the most difficult pieces of legislation of this government’s term, has finally passed a third reading. It came in more than … Read more
This afternoon the House of Representatives voted all but unanimously to enact the bill designed to make New Zealand net carbon zero by 2050. Some think the bill imperfectly soft. Others – including the largest party in parliament, the opposition National Party – think it imperfectly harsh. But its cross-party passing is, whichever way you … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Housing market starts to get moving again, government reverses partnership visa decision, and man who assaulted James Shaw sentenced to prison. By a few key metrics, the housing market is starting to lift again. First of all, new listings in Auckland are way up, reports the NZ Herald. … Read more