Labour says this will be the Covid election. National says it’s about the economy. There’s something big being missed in the middle, writes Justin Giovannetti. It was the week the economy took centre stage. The scene was set in the pre-election fiscal update, which on Wednesday offered a sobering snapshot of what’s happening under the … 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 leader of the opposition. Click here for the rest of the How to draw series. Click here for the rest of the How to … Read more
Despite the cartoonish ‘Crusher’ label, the National leader has always been a policy wonk. Right now, she’s doing her best to present a palatable idea of a government in waiting, writes Ben Thomas. It may be hard to fathom but, approximately 17,000 months into 2020, National has not yet officially launched its election campaign. After … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Alert levels given another short extension, National candidate under fire over business record, and possible evidence of alien life discovered on Venus. In a week, the country outside of Auckland will move out of level two and into level one. As our live updates reported, that will be contingent … Read more
Three surveys show the prime minister still has the public’s support, ahead of today’s announcement about whether the country will shift alert levels. As health experts cast doubt on the chances of a move to alert level one this week, New Zealanders remain confident in our political leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. Cabinet is meeting this … Read more
Political leaders from the main parties gathered in Auckland today to address the business community and answer the question: ‘What is your party’s plan for economic growth?’ Here’s what they had to say. As the leaders of five main parties gathered today, the results of a Deloitte and Chapman Tripp election survey revealed some telling … 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
Google has launched a new election trends hub, deciphering how New Zealanders are searching for parties, leaders and major topics ahead of October 17. It’s been a long, hard six weeks since the “rogue” Newshub poll that gave Labour hope of governing alone after the October election. Since then, we’ve had a second wave of … Read more
Property Investors Federation spokesman Andrew King has suggested landlords hold off installing a heat pump for tenants, saying a change in government could see the law reversed, and that some tenants don’t actually want new heat pumps. He has Hayden Donnell’s attention. New Zealand has long led the world in two shameful categories: Hobbit movies, … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Mixed messages on freshwater regulations, Christchurch gunman won’t address court, and an important story about what happens after a positive Covid-19 test. National leader Judith Collins has told a Facebook live chat that the government’s freshwater regulations will be “gone by lunchtime” if National wins. As Stuff’s Henry … Read more
As Auckland faced the resurgence of coronavirus, misinformation proliferated, and a lot of people encountered it, according to the latest Stickybeak poll for The Spinoff. Plus: What is Facebook’s impact on NZ society? With a third of New Zealand under alert level three lockdown, recent weeks have seen false claims around the source of the … Read more
Level one might not be back for some time amid warnings the current Auckland outbreak will linger. But the election campaign must go on – one way or another, writes political editor Justin Giovannetti. There’s an election campaign going on out there if you know where to look for it. With the move to extend … Read more
Compliance has dropped compared with the last time New Zealand was in a lockdown, a new Stickybeak poll for The Spinoff shows. Plus: how many people have taken a financial hit? Around the world, regions or nations that have exited then returned to lockdown have faced what has been called “lockdown fatigue”. It was certainly … Read more
The seventh in a series of polls by Stickybeak for The Spinoff reveals how support for government measures have changed – and views on the National response. Twelve days ago New Zealand’s post-Covid honeymoon came to a sudden halt. The detection of Covid-19 in several members of an Auckland family, and cases in a number … Read more
The Covid-19 resurgence has pushed border policy to the heart of the election campaign. Justin Giovannetti writes from parliament on the rival visions. In an uncertain future with Covid-19 still present and the next pandemic lurking around the corner, a new border agency, more testing and faster contact tracing will keep the country safe, insists … Read more
With the shine starting to come off the government’s Covid response, the opposition must abandon baseless speculation for a laser focus on failure and accountability, argues Ben Thomas. The fresh outbreak of Covid-19 in Auckland last week was a shock to the public. But it should have been manna from heaven for political parties campaigning … Read more
Despite Judith Collins’ claim, the caretaker convention – the understanding that in certain circumstances significant governing decisions should have a parliamentary majority, or be consulted on by the opposition – does not apply in the pre-election period. And for some perfectly good reasons, writes law professor Claudia Geiringer. In July 1984, the Muldoon government was … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Collins calls for a delay in the election, an update on community transmission and testing, and businesses fearing the fallout of another lockdown. At this stage, the election is still scheduled to take place on September 19. But with the country’s largest city currently in level … Read more
And is he about to launch a coup against Judith Collins? Just asking questions here. Jacindamania was meek by comparison. Just as Ardern captured a nation from the role of deputy leader of the opposition in 2017, so it is with Gerry Brownlee in 2020. Relentlessly grouchy, Gerrymania is in full flow, as most recently … Read more
At lunchtime yesterday, Jacinda Ardern was easing into full campaign mode on the main street of Whanganui. Just a few hours later, news from Auckland turned her plans, and an election campaign, on their heads. Justin Giovannetti reports from Whanganui and Wellington. Jacinda Ardern’s first day on the campaign trail outside the friendly confines of … Read more
Merv Lee-Mather, Merv Thomas and Merv Manhire gather to discuss the most pressing issues of election 2020. With 39 days to go until New Zealand goes to the polls, talkback caller “Merv” has lit up the election campaign, delivering a deeply unmellow curtain-raiser to the National Party’s Auckland Central candidate selection. That’s top of the … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Concern from the Cook Islands over travel bubble, inquiry clears Iain Lees-Galloway of any spending impropriety, and Oranga Tamariki facing further damaging report findings. A draft agreement on a travel bubble with the Cook Islands is close to being finalised, the PM revealed yesterday. Stuff reports it … 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
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Many stories told by latest unemployment figures, Bloomfield says return of community transmission almost inevitable, and major tenancy reform package passes. First of all, it’s pretty clear that the top-line unemployment figure going down is a misleading picture of the state of the economy. Yesterday new … Read more
Gone By Lunchtime’s Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas denounce new poll results that very slightly contradict their opinions. The height of the summit for the National Party? A poll came out last week with Labour at 53%, and that was considered good news for Judith Collins and the Strong Team. Annabelle, Ben and … Read more
In the wake of National’s leadership woes, The Spinoff sat down with the party’s most popular face in recent history to talk Covid-19, Judith Collins – and why he thinks our border should be more ‘flexible’. John Key is confident about our country’s future. In part, that’s because he tunes in each morning to Newstalk … Read more
The latest round of economic data won’t carry Judith Collins and the National Party into the promised land, and she’ll need to come up with something else to save her chances, writes political commentator Ben Thomas. The government has delivered an economic miracle! How else to describe today’s labour market statistics for the June quarter … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Collins wins and loses in new poll, investigations into managed isolation guards napping on the job, and Heron report damns Walker and Boag. The latest poll for National is much better than how they started the week, but they’re still down in a couple of … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: China furious at NZ over Hong Kong extradition suspension, woman says police haven’t started investigation into sexual assault almost a year later, and patients reportedly refusing Covid-19 tests. A significant update in New Zealand’s relationship with China: Yesterday foreign minister Winston Peters announced that this country … Read more