In the last public debate of the Auckland mayoral campaign, the three leading contenders fronted up to a crowd of rates-averse elderly people – and an unlikely hero emerged. Hayden Donnell reports. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Challenges ahead for End of Life Choice bill, councillors question if Invercargill mayor is still up to it, and principals vow to fight on. The End of Life Choice bill has passed a second reading, meaning a limited form of euthanasia is now closer to … Read more
The tale of the judge that went sailing with a QC that had just appeared before him, and the way it was handled, is almost enough to make you feel sorry for Jordan Williams, writes legal academic Marcelo Rodriguez Ferrere. There is a scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl … Read more
The long-running, expensive legal spat between the head of the Taxpayers’ Union lobby group and the former leader of the Conservative Party arrived at NZ’s highest court this week. Asher Emanuel went along to watch “This must be an ethically difficult case for you,” Jordan Williams, Taxpayers’ Union boss, taunted when I asked him for … Read more
A newly formed Free Speech Coalition has raised $50,000 in one day to support the rights of two racists to speak at the Bruce Mason Centre. Hayden Donnell catalogues a few times some of the coalition members have been less fervent in their defence of free speech. David Farrar has written about his inclusion in … Read more
Turns out you can randomly issue demands for payment, and we’re totally into it. Please pay promptly. New Zealand woke this July morning to news that the Taxpayers’ Union will be issuing Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei with a “very large invoice on behalf of all the taxpayers and beneficiaries who follow the law”, following … Read more
When Morgan Godfery saw the advertisement for a communications and engagement assistant vacancy at the Taxpayers’ Union he immediately started scrawling an application in his own union-clotted blood. Here we exclusively publish Godfery’s emotional plea. To whom it may concern, As an aspiring middle-aged white man, I’m the perfect candidate for the job. As communications and engagement assistant, I’ll “fight the good fight”. … Read more
Hayden Donnell pays tribute to the brave men and women who sat through four awful weeks of the Colin Craig defamation trial. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing” – Edmund Burke “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – Jesus “Welcome to the black parade” … Read more
It’s a struggle to like either of the creeps who locked horns in the High Court, but the measure of the winner’s character will be in how he spends the damages, writes Toby Manhire The Hollow Men was turned into a stage play. Secret Power was adapted into a visual art spectacular. And now another … Read more