Good morning and welcome to the Bulletin. In today’s edition: Collins outlines the plan forward for National, no spread of Covid spotted yet in Northland, and students return for climate protest. In front of a Rotary Club at the Ellerslie Racecourse in Auckland, National leader Judith Collins yesterday set out her party’s priorities for the … Read more
Telling a Rotary Club audience that housing is a serious problem and they should care deeply about it landed flat but took some daring from the National leader, writes Justin Giovannetti. Judith Collins’ level of control over the National Party is still a question best answered by a shrug. Elevated to her party’s leadership in … Read more
Summer reissue: Merv Lee-Mather, Merv Thomas and Merv Manhire gather to discuss the most pressing issues of election 2020. First published August 11, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more about how you can support us from as … Read more
Summer reissue: In the last year, Benee has taken the world – or at least TikTok – by storm with her viral hit singles ‘Glitter’ and ‘Supalonely’. Ahead of her debut album release, the young star spoke to Elle Hunt about going international from her Auckland home. First published November 13, 2020. This time last … Read more
Summer reissue: After a hard fought debate last night, Judith Collins returned to Auckland for a Ponsonby walkabout with local candidate Emma Mellow. Things didn’t quite go to plan, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund. First published on October 07 2020. Since her performance in the first leaders debate of election 2020, Judith Collins has been an energised … Read more
Despite the numerous setbacks and unexpected hurdles this tumultuous year brought with it, four pupils at South Auckland’s Māngere College say they’ve developed a resilience they didn’t realise they had. They sat down with Justin Latif. “A year of blessings.” That’s how Liona Vailea, 17, describes 2020. The Māngere College student isn’t deluded or ensconced … Read more
New Zealand will see some last-minute governing as Labour plans to rush through a legislative agenda before the summer break. Jacinda Ardern’s government is about to undertake a parliamentary sprint before Christmas, with plans to legislate a number of campaign promises and declare a climate emergency in only a few sitting days. The list of … Read more
In the last year, Benee has taken the world – or at least TikTok – by storm with her viral hit singles ‘Glitter’ and ‘Supalonely’. Ahead of her debut album release, the young star spoke to Elle Hunt about going international from her Auckland home. This time last year, Benee won not one, not two, … Read more
The opposition leader appointed her shadow cabinet yesterday, and in doing so made some unexpected choices. Here are 10 Justin Giovannetti is pondering. Judith Collins has put her stamp on the National Party with a new shadow cabinet that breaks with her predecessors. With a small caucus of only 33, Collins has given each of … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tough week looms for National, PM congratulates president-elect Joe Biden, and community case acts as another reminder to use the Covid app. Not an awful lot of attention has been paid to them since the election defeat, but National is about to be back in … Read more
Where to next for the National Party? Ben Thomas reviews the post-election wreckage. The National Party is undertaking a review of its campaign. Presumably this will not be to determine the cause of its historic defeat. The cause is well known. The cause screams out from the pages of The New York Times, The Economist, … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New report shows climate change already affecting New Zealand, new crop of managed isolation Covid cases, and National leader and ousted electorate MPs all staying on. As promised, today’s Bulletin will cover the government’s new climate change report, called Our Atmosphere and Climate. It was released … 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
How can National scrape itself off the canvas after a big defeat? Justin Latif talks to MPs and members. Following National’s crushing defeat on election night, the carcass of the party’s unsuccessful campaign is already being picked over by members and MPs. Departing MP and former cabinet minister Alfred Ngaro placed the blame squarely at … Read more
We know Jacinda Ardern will be the PM, but what else needs to get sorted out in the coming weeks? Alex Braae runs down the questions we’ll get answers to soon, along with a few that you might be wondering about. The voters deliver the mandate, but then it’s up to the politicians to figure … Read more
All around the country, New Zealanders are screaming: ‘Election 2020: Who are the winners, losers, big losers, and gigantic losers?’ Hayden Donnell is here to respond to their cries. The election is over. We probably know the makeup of the next government. We know we won’t see a capital gains tax for the rest of … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Wildly different caucus meetings loom for National and Labour, new case of community transmission announced, and anger mounts over wage subsidy piss-taking. The mood in the room will be very different when the Labour and National caucuses meet this week. For Labour, it’ll be a crowded … Read more
National had prepared for the worst. But it hadn’t prepared for that. Stewart Sowman-Lund watched the ship crash and burn. The invitation sent out ahead of National’s election night event said to arrive at 7pm. Of course, only media would arrive on time – the guests would be fashionably late. But as time ticked on, … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to a special election edition of The Bulletin, by Alex Braae for The Spinoff. You’ll probably have heard by now, but the country is waking up this morning to a crushing Labour victory in the 2020 election. Labour has the numbers to govern alone, with a provisional count of 49% of the … Read more
The 2020 election campaign is coming to a close. The Spinoff followed National’s Judith Collins and Labour’s Jacinda Ardern as they travelled Auckland during the final hours of campaigning. Labour’s slogan this election is “Let’s keep moving”, but the party’s campaign got bogged down in Onehunga today as Jacinda Ardern was swamped during a walkabout. … Read more
Well, that was a grind, wasn’t it? José Barbosa scrapes himself off the floor. Over the campaign I’ve made some videos boiling down those televised debates between Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins. (All of them can be viewed here, by the way.) It’s been an extended campaign and I can safely say I’ve been ground … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pre-election poll shows massive lead for Labour, Advance NZ kicked off Facebook, and new developments in NZ First Foundation saga. A poll released just days before the election shows Labour is still in a clear position to form the next government. While the One News Colmar Brunton showed … Read more
Two days out from the election, what did we learn from tonight’s final leaders debate? Here’s what our debate watchers thought. Justin Giovannetti: The tank is empty Judith Collins is done. The feeling that will stick with me from that debate came afterwards when the leaders faced the media in the atrium of TVNZ. Collins, … Read more
With just days to go before voting closes, political discourse has taken a bizarre turn, writes Ben Thomas. If this year’s election campaign trail could be likened to a breezy summer getaway with your best friends (and in my judgment as a political expert, I believe it can be) then this week we reached the … Read more
The National leader’s comments were rooted in political ideology rather than real-life experience, writes South Auckland nutritionist Mason Ngawhika, who believes the health of the community is a collective responsibility. I know virtually no one who is satisfied with their current weight or body composition. Meaning everyone I know is unable to take the personal … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: NZ government adds voice in global encryption fight, a whole bunch of election stuff happens, and more than half the country believes house prices must fall. Should governments be able to access the encrypted data held by technology companies? That is being debated after New Zealand … Read more
National leader Judith Collins’ newly prominent display of faith is a risky strategy, but, as Marion Maddox writes, that hasn’t stopped her overseas counterparts from giving it a go. “As a Christian, I do believe in miracles.” Looking at Labour’s recent polling, some might take Judith Collins’ leaders’ debate comment as referring to her own … Read more
The parties are diverging as the campaign grinds into its final days. Labour hosted a massive rally in Wellington today while National told a small room about a big new road and blamed the obese for being obese, Justin Giovannetti reports. Hundreds of students packed Victoria University’s hub today and cheered on Jacinda Ardern as … Read more
She is rebuilding National’s support and is determined her political career as leader will not end on October 18, writes Jennifer Curtin I first met Judith Collins in a media green room somewhere in Auckland midway through 2015. She is renowned for her ambition and dogged determination. But meeting her in person, I found her … Read more