In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Josie Adams looks at those who would dare oppose Tim Shadbolt’s record reign. 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 here. Where? At the bottom of … Read more
In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Hayden Donnell dips his toe into the extraordinary battle for the Tron. 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 here. Where? Hamilton! You know the one: … Read more
You may think you’re not interested in the local elections. But did you know the candidate pool is a smorgasbord of celebs, oddballs, and otherwise interesting people? Hayden Donnell reports. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. There’s so much at … Read more
More than 75 candidates across the country have already succeeded in their local election races, taking office unopposed. Thankfully The Spinoff is committed to saving our democracy. We challenged high-profile default winner, Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall, to fight for his job in a political debate against local elections editor Hayden Donnell. The Spinoff local election … Read more
Turnout in our local elections has long been in decline, particularly among the young. Alex Braae looks at what’s being done to improve those stats, and find a lack of centralised funding and strategy. Our local elections coverage is fully funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. This … Read more
Over the course of the local elections period, The Spinoff will be publishing primers on some of the most interesting races around the country. Today, Alice Webb-Liddall looks at the Gisborne District Council election. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. … Read more
After the success of the Policy tool in the 2017 general election, this time we’re going local – making it easy to compare the rival candidates in your area. In May 2017, a small group of young people from Wellington approached The Spinoff with an idea. “Proposal: interactive election content,” read the subject header. Their … Read more
Some people say it’s confusing. Others think it’s boring. But running all its elections under an STV system could be the single most effective way for local government to fix its lack of diversity and woeful voting turnout, argues Hayden Donnell. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about … Read more
John Tamihere’s rates freeze proposal was criticised from all sides yesterday, but does it have any political support? We contacted Auckland’s councillors to find out. On the bright side for John Tamihere, his latest announcement wasn’t boring. The mayoral contender’s promise to freeze rates for three years drew dozens of headlines, as journalists and commentators … Read more
Among the hundreds of local government races under way, just over a dozen could have an outsize impact on environmental issues. Alex Braae explains why Regional Council elections matter. At the start of this month, aerial surveys showed more than 100 farms around the Waikato were a long way away from complying with environmental rules. … Read more
Phil Goff’s rival has already pledged an 0800-Jacinda homeless hotline and an 18-lane harbour bridge. What’s next? The two most important people in the 2019 campaign for the Auckland mayoralty faced each other down on Wednesday night across the desk in the NZME debate: Bernard Orsman and Simon Wilson. Correction: it was of course mayor … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Concern about slow progress for major transport projects, smoking researcher under pressure over funding, and hikoi marches from Ihumātao to Ardern’s office. NZTA is struggling to get spending out the door, so the money isn’t flowing through the economy, reports Thomas Coughlan for Stuff. It’s because of … Read more
Over the course of the local elections period, The Spinoff will be publishing primers on some of the most interesting races around the country. Today, Alex Braae casts his eyes over the Otago Regional Council contest. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s … Read more
The Spinoff is covering local elections across the country with a new pop-up section. To kick things off, Hayden Donnell went to a mayoral debate at Grey Power on the North Shore of Auckland. This feature was made possible thanks to 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: Census problems will linger a long time, big tobacco tries to get into NZ Fashion Week, and farmer survey shows big concerns about climate change policy. The government’s top statistician fell on her sword yesterday, to take responsibility for the botched 2018 census. Toby Manhire has … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tax break for oil rigs raises subsidy questions, crackdown by police against Ihumātao occupation, and Boris Johnson set to become UK PM. A story about tax breaks for oil rigs has shown how difficult disentangling from the fossil fuels industry will be. Writing on Stuff, Henry Cooke … Read more
Six things councils can do right now to make the ’emergency’ worth more than the paper it’s written on. Councils are declaring climate emergencies across the country, but with only a decade to cut carbon emissions in half, it’s time for them to act like this is an emergency. So, what can our cities be … Read more
Spoiler: it’s New Zealand. Julienne Molineaux explains the strange relic in the local body electoral system. The principle of one person, one vote doesn’t apply for local elections. In fact, you don’t even need to be a person to have voting rights. Welcome to the ratepayer roll. While the ratepayer roll accounts for less than … 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
Good morning, and welcome to the last edition of The Bulletin for 2018. Well, crikey. It’s the end of the year. I’ve got some thoughts on that down the other end of the page, but you’re here for the news and there’s still heaps to get through here. I thought what might help people out the … Read more