It’s time to abandon the culturally bound and frankly lazy concept of ‘business attire’, which is simply code for Pākehā visual symbols of authority, writes former Green Party leader Metiria Turei. At least they are not talking about how women MPs dress for a change. From that awful Makeover an MP segment to the awarding … Read more
Will the door be open to a new National leadership, and does the party need to flex its muscle to get noticed in the coming months? Suddenly it’s election year again. The National Party has jettisoned Simon Bridges in favour of Todd Muller, a sensible man with a firm handshake. Over the weekend Jacinda Ardern … Read more
Catch up on Two Sketches, featuring Spinoff cartoonist Toby Morris chatting and drawing with a selection of New Zealand illustrators, artists, comic artists, cartoonists, sketchers and doodlers. Michel Mulipola: WWE, Marvel, Tekken and drawing The Rock Toby draws and chats with Sāmoan artist Michel Mulipola. Apart from being a pro wrestler, Michel is also a comic … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Storming economic figures defy gloomy predictions, govt considering volunteer rural cops, and Auckland to spread around Drury and Pukekohe. It was wholly, entirely unexpected. In fact, some are saying not a single economist predicted it. But data from Stats NZ out yesterday has showed something remarkable … Read more
At the last election, Metiria Turei stood down as Greens co-leader amid the controversy that followed a personal and polarising speech, the reverberations of which are felt to this day in the party. She has since stayed out of the public spotlight and immersed herself in art and performance. In a rare interview, she sits … Read more
Massey University’s Sean Phelan and Leon Salter look at the role media played in of one the biggest controversies of the last election. Two months before New Zealand’s 2017 elections, which eventually installed the Ardern coalition government, then Green party co-leader Metiria Turei gave a speech on welfare reform. Many political commentators had predicted an easy victory … Read more
In one of her first interviews since she walked away from politics, Metiria Turei talks to Waveney Russ about her new life as an artist studying at the Dunedin School of Art. Metiria Turei and I sit across the table from one another in front of her most recent piece of art at Blue … Read more
How will history remember Donna Awatere Huata? Saraid Cameron hopes it’s for her feminism. Donna Awatere Huata will be speaking on a panel discussing the #MeToo movement at LATE at Auckland Museum on Wednesday 15 August. I spent much of last summer (for theatre-geek reasons) in the New Zealand Women’s Archives, an almost forgotten collection at … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Wild weather from the weekend isn’t over yet, government abandons police mental health funding plan, and a culture war at DOC is revealed. Heavy flooding around the Upper North island has caused a significant amount of disruption over the weekend, and it’s not over yet. The NZTA’s Journey planner … Read more
Good morning, and welcome the The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major welfare changes coming, more funding for soldiers with PTSD, and Eric Murray won’t have a beer after all. A major overhaul of the welfare system is coming, in line with Labour and Green election campaign promises, reports Newshub. PM Jacinda Ardern indicated that could include the scrapping … Read more
Novelist Danyl Mclauchlan describes his experiences and processes his thoughts after working on the Greens campaign in election 2017. I had a bit to do with the Green Party campaign this election, which was a hell of a thing to experience close-up. (And my views here are mine not those of the Greens, and possibly … Read more
Max Harris reports on the mood of the country during his nationwide book tour of his best-seller The New Zealand Project – and sees the start of ‘a new movement’. In the lead-up to the election, there’s been a lot of talk of a shift in the political mood – and a generational change in … Read more
The election has thus far been dominated by Metiria Turei’s admission of historic benefit fraud, and its impact on both Labour and the Greens. But Dr Lance O’Sullivan argues that the conversation about welfare Turei wanted to start never really happened. I’m a product of a beneficiary, of a welfare dependant family. My mum was … Read more
In the wake of Metiria Turei’s resignation as Greens co-leader there has been much discussion about a perceived tension between the emphasis on social justice or environmental issues. Don Rowe tracked down Greens icon Nándor Tánczos to get his thoughts. Nándor Tánczos is undeniably one of the grooviest cats to ever make their way into the … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens making the news. Today: Green Party leader James Shaw is hopping mad about losing co-leader Metiria Turei. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos. This content is entirely funded by Simplicity, New Zealand’s only nonprofit fund … Read more
Following Metiria Turei’s resignation as leader of the Greens, The Spinoff TV writers report back on how our news outlets and commentators reacted to the political bombshell/earthquake/catastrophe. “A catastrophic, disastrous result… an absolute political nightmare,” said a typically chilled-out Paddy Gower last night as he thundered out the news of his Newshub poll, and Metiria … Read more
Just over three weeks after making an emotional admission at the Greens conference, Metiria Turei has resigned as her party’s co-leader. Young Greens co-convener Meg Williams pays tribute. I’ve had messages from friends this evening who are sitting in lectures, driving in cars, sitting at their desks at work, walking on the street, trying to … Read more
An attempted mutiny against Metiria Turei has ended with two MPs resigning and the Greens thrown into turmoil. The Ardern euphoria now faces a brutal hangover, writes Toby Manhire #IstandwithMetiria, went one of the rallying cries that echoed among Green supporters in response to the backlash against the co-leader’s revelations of historic law-breaking. This evening two … Read more
The Green co-leader today ruled herself out of a future cabinet role after admissions about lying to Winz and in her voter registration details. But how bad, really, was the breach of electoral law, asks Andrew Geddis While I can’t go so far as to claim Metiria Turei as a full friend, she certainly is … Read more
The Green co-leader’s confessions were snowballing, her position becoming untenable. But ultimately the decision seems to have come down to Jacinda Ardern. ’Tis the season for resigning, and there was plenty of speculation Metiria Turei was about to do that when she called a press conference for noon today. Her first words upon addressing the … Read more
For the last fortnight the Green Party has found itself in the unfamiliar position of dominating campaign headlines. Chlöe Swarbrick takes a (brief) pause for breath to reflect on it all in her third candidate diary for the Spinoff. I’ve kind of lost all semblance of time. It turns out that crossing the threshold from … Read more
Patrick Gower has slammed Metiria Turei for trying to ‘get attention’ and ‘win votes’ just ‘eight weeks out from an election’. Hayden Donnell lifts the lid on just how deep this rabbit hole goes. Most of the people criticising Metiria Turei for committing benefit fraud have been white, middle-aged men angry at the idea of … Read more
Our answer to the ‘Black Hands’ podcast is ‘Rainbow Hands’, in which the Gone By Lunchtime team scoff so many M&Ms that their fingers get covered in artificial colouring. Also they discuss politics. With less than two months to polling day, Annabelle Lee, executive producer of The Hui, returns to the GBLT pod salon, joining Ben Thomas … Read more
Following the Green co-leader’s admission about misleading WINZ, Nicola Gaston recalls her own upbringing on a benefit, and confesses to a fraud of her own. Metiria Turei’s recent announcement of Green Party policy on welfare in New Zealand has caught people’s attention, all right. But instead of focusing on the co-leader’s commitment to lift families … 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
The Greens had their annual conference this weekend: the perfect opportunity to provide the bold leadership and arresting policy they’ve been missing. Simon Wilson was there to find out if they took it. It’s about leadership. Political parties can have the best policies in the world but if we don’t believe their leaders are trustworthy, likeable … Read more
Yesterday the Green Party announced a major policy platform aimed at parents and children in New Zealand. In her own words, Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei explains the Budget for All Mothers. All Kiwi kids deserve the best great start in life, right? And what better country to raise kids: we are blessed with a … Read more
The ‘initial’ Greens list for the election is a bit light on Auckland, strong on women and insufficiently regenerative, argues Simon Wilson. Update, May 30: The Greens have published their final list; these are the top 20, with any change from initial list. 1 Metiria Turei 2 James Shaw 3 Marama Davidson +1 4 Julie … Read more
The Greens now have a warmer relationship with the NZ First leader, and are ready to work together whatever their disagreements, says co-leader Metiria Turei. She also reveals, in an interview with the Spinoff, how close she came to quitting, and what Greens in government would do if Donald Trump were to visit. With less than six … Read more