Yesterday saw yet another story of young home owner success splashed across the news. But this time both sides of the political divide kicked off, sledging the government and the new mortgagees alike. Don Rowe explains. Monday morning dawned like many others. It was raining in Auckland. Denise L’Estrange-Corbet was being weird on the telly. Stuff … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Brutal day looms for National amid Jami-Lee Ross saga, serious allegations made by Nicky Hager against NZDF, and damning indictment of MSD culture. The National Party has found itself plunged into a crisis over MP Jami-Lee Ross. He was named in a report as the most likely … Read more
To have a leadership challenge, you need a challenger. And there’s no evidence whatsoever that is happening in the National Party right now, writes editor of The Bulletin Alex Braae. It dominated political conversations last week, and has stretched into the news this morning. Is Simon Bridges losing his grip on the leadership of the … Read more
Is Simon Bridges working out as National leader? Probably not, says Danyl Mclauchlan, but where is the alternative to catch the caucus eye? “I’m at the ‘intriguing stranger’ stage of the breakup,” a friend once said to me, while contemplating the terminal phase of an unsatisfactory relationship, explaining, “I have no immediate plans to end … Read more
No platform has caused as much career havoc as twitter.com. Madeleine Chapman looks back (but not that far back) on New Zealand politics’ best worst tweets. This story was published in September 2018. There’s no greater marketing tool than the words “This tweet has been deleted”. The thrill of imagining what once was and is … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government moves to address construction concerns, NZ First links to Wally Haumaha keep getting revealed, and push to bring back health targets. The government has agreed to stop low-balling construction companies who bid on contracts, in an effort to save the sector from collapse. Stuff reports that the … Read more
Judith Collins called on Jacinda Ardern to condemn France over a story she sourced from yournewswire.com. Hayden Donnell scans the site for more shocking stories about people the prime minister should condemn. Judith Collins was trawling the internet this morning when she came across a shocking story. Her news source, Yournewswire.com, accused France of becoming … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Gang violence decreasing across the country, government ends public servant cap, and the country’s largest private education provider could be about to sell up. Gang violence is decreasing across the country, in some areas dramatically, according to new figures released to Newshub. Incidents of gang related violence are … Read more
The National leader will not be happy with just 9% picking him as preferred by PM in a new poll, especially with Judith Collins storming into the scene. But the bigger story is the mire in which Winston Peters finds his party. A funny old morning for Simon Bridges. The party you lead has just … Read more
If there’s one thing that the National opposition appears keen to signal, it’s that they think a lot of things are virtue signalling In an interview with the Spinoff a little over a year ago, then prime minister and National Party leader Bill English was asked whether he considered himself a feminist. Though he believed in … Read more
National MP Judith Collins has known Joseph Parker since his birth. As this good man from a good Kiwi-Samoan family prepares to fight for four world championship belts, let’s get in his corner, she writes. This article was published in May 2018. We like our heroes modest. We like them unassuming, courageous and just like … Read more
Another one bites the dust, with Northcote MP Jonathan Coleman deciding to retire from politics. He follows Bill English and Steven Joyce out the door, as the party’s cleanout continues. So, who’s next? The trickle is fast becoming a flood. In the space of about six weeks, the National Party has lost three of their … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. Simon Bridges has put former rivals at the top of his reshuffled caucus, Finance Minister Grant Robertson hints at pay boosts for teachers and nurses, and the tourism industry is struggling to keep track of visitor numbers. New National leader Simon Bridges has reshuffled his caucus. The NZ Herald has a … Read more
A UMR Research survey puts the polarising MP in the lead – but only slightly, and her favourability numbers are dismal, an area in which Amy Adams holds bragging rights. The tussle to lead the biggest party in New Zealand’s parliament will be a tight one, if polling conducted largely prior to Bill English’s resignation … Read more
Alex Casey recaps the first political speed date on Seven Sharp, wherein Jeremy Wells wooed Judith Collins in the TVNZ foyer. Last night’s episode of Seven Sharp came with one very big tease: an “intimate liaison” (please lean in hard to French accent there) between Jezza Wells and Judith “Crusher” Collins. With the fifth candidate … Read more
Mark Mitchell and Steven Joyce have added their names to the ballot for the contest to succeed Bill English as party leader. With a week till MPs make their decision, here are five observations on the race. 1 The newbies What looked like a three-horse race featuring Amy Adams, Simon Bridges and Judith Collins has … Read more
As the contest unfolds, expect deals, departures and a determination to keep ructions away from public sight, writes former National government adviser Zach Castles. National’s leadership race has seen an endless stream of topline biographies on three heavy-hitting National MPs who want to lead the National Party and ultimately our country – Amy Adams, Simon … Read more
What are Amy Adams, Simon Bridges and Judith Collins trying to tell us? Manhire and Morris condense the National Party rivals’ messages In a fortnight, the New Zealand National Party will have a new leader, following Bill English’s very sensible decision not to get up again, again. The task for his successor, in combating a … Read more
Once ’twere inevitable, ’twere best done quickly, and so it has passed. Bill English is leaving the National leadership and leaving parliament. That departure triggers a period of intense electioneering within the National caucus – unlike the expansive processes in Labour and the Greens, for example, only National MPs get to vote on their leader. Who … Read more
If you’re anything like the Herald’s readers, you’ve spent most of the last week weeping about Labour’s fuel tax. Hayden Donnell provides some good reasons to rein in your grief. Labour has announced it will raise taxes on fuel in Auckland by roughly 10c a litre, and everyone is freaking out. People are screaming that … Read more
This time next week John Key will be jetting to Hawaii, while a replacement measures the drapes on the Beehive ninth floor. But who are the likely contenders to succeed him? A thumbnail introduction, by Toby Manhire Amy Adams: Selwyn, 45 Pros: Unblemished by scandal, First on the alphabetical roll. New generation, signalling renewal. Cons: … Read more
Three American prison experts were in NZ when Judith Collins announced a $1bn boost to the corrections department and 1,800 more jail beds. Expansion of an approach that even Bill English calls a ‘moral and fiscal failure’ is a huge mistake, write Erica Meiners, Isaac Ontiveros and Rachel Herzing. And, below, a statement from the … Read more
Geoffrey Palmer, Winston Peters, Judith Collins, Andrew Little, Richard Prebble, Metiria Turei, Willie Jackson and more on two decades of a proportional system, how they’ve changed their view of MMP, and what still needs fixing. On Saturday October 12, 1996, New Zealanders voted under the Mixed Member Proportional system for the first time. After 143 … Read more
Who better to critique the controversial new post-Clarkson series of Top Gear than a renowned New Zealand car lover and car crusher? The Spinoff asked me, as a bit of a petrolhead, to write about the new Top Gear. So I watched it. I sort of love cars. To me, they are the ultimate in … Read more
Opinion: the minister’s tough-on-crime agenda is at odds with much of the wider direction on justice and corrections, writes Di White. “Explaining” is not a mode politicians tend to enjoy. Following the release of new figures that show the prison population at a record high, the recently reappointed Minister of Corrections, Judith Collins, went into … Read more
Say what you like about Judith Collins but she lacks nothing for confidence. Given the ranking of “politician” and “car salesman” in the lists of least loved professions, it takes some chutzpah for an MP to accept the role of brand ambassador for a car yard. What next? Moonlighting as a journalist? (Actually come to … Read more
Leftwing outsider Jeremy Corbyn has stormed to an emphatic victory in the British Labour leadership race. An all-star cast of politicians and commentators assess the impact for the Spinoff. Britain’s Labour Party has swung dramatically away from Blairism and elected veteran backbench leftwing MP Jeremy Corbyn its new leader, with an astonishing 59.5% of support in … Read more