Join Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee Mather and Ben Thomas as Gone By Lunchtime discusses the latest lockdown, trans-Tasman relations, business attire and more. New Zealand’s leading political podcast pivots to true crime this week to investigate the disappearance of political commentator Ben Thomas from Twitter. Where did he go – and what’s he been doing … Read more
Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee Mather and Toby Manhire kick off the year in political podcast punditry, taking on the major parties, Waitangi plans, councils, and the whopping great climate report. As news reaches Gone By Lunchtime that it’s already the second month of the year, The Spinoff’s political podcast triumvirate sits down to study the … Read more
Summer reissue: Greens MP Chlöe Swarbrick joins Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire to pick over the remains of election night in a special Sunday edition of Gone By Lunchtime. First published October 18, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members … Read more
Three years after its debut, Chris McDowall releases an updated version of his epic graph view of our national political history. Prior to the 2017 general election, I worked with Tim Denee to create a graphical history of New Zealand’s parliaments. It was an attempt to map parliamentary representation back to the first election in … Read more
In today’s edition: The government’s followed through on a major election promise, charges have been laid over the 2019 Whakaari eruption, and a Covid-19 vaccine could be ready by March. There has been a lot of major politics news over the past 24 hours, so bear with me as I run through some of the biggest developments. … Read more
On the eve of the opening of the 53rd parliament of New Zealand, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas dress up as Black Rod. As 120 familiar and fresh faces swarm upon the tropical paradise of Wellington for a brand new parliament, the Gone By Lunchtime trio ruminate on the politics to come. What … Read more
As we reach the welcome conclusion of Trump’s 2020 campaign, one of the most bizarre in recent history, Stewart Sowman-Lund takes a peek behind the curtain of three of New Zealand’s own chaotic campaigns. ‘Mike… fuck,” says Jeremy Greenbrook-Held, drawing out the “fuck” like someone with a story to tell. The “Mike” he’s referring to … Read more
A special poem by Labour’s deputy leader Kelvin Davis, following in the tradition of political verse started by David Cunliffe. A year ago I started a tale A story with a chapter yet to unveil Of a world of light and some pretty ugly taniwha Of a guy called Kevin Davies And a joke that’s … Read more
Misinformation superspreader Jami-Lee Ross strolled in to the Newshub Nation studio on Sunday where he was eviscerated by a political editor at the top of her game. Here are the highlights from an exchange that has gone globally viral overnight. Newshub’s political editor Tova O’Brien has gone global overnight, following a fiery face off with … Read more
Greens MP Chlöe Swarbrick joins Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire to pick over the remains of election night in a special Sunday edition of Gone By Lunchtime. It’s the morning after a very successful election night for Labour, and a pretty good one for the Greens too – especially in Auckland Central, where … 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
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
The page was deleted this afternoon in the midst of a live stream by co-leader Billy Te Kahika. Stewart Sowman-Lund reports. Facebook has confirmed it removed the page for Advance New Zealand for “repeatedly” spreading misinformation about Covid-19. The Facebook page for the party disappeared from Facebook about 3pm this afternoon, cutting off a live … Read more
The Bulletin’s Alex Braae, fresh from his tour of Aotearoa, joins Toby Manhire to reveal what he witnessed on the road in this special pre-election bonus episode of Gone By Lunchtime. For 40 days and 40 nights (roughly, who’s counting) Alex Braae packed up his Bulletin in his old kit bag, threw it in the … Read more
Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire gather around the giant orb of truth for the last time before polls close to assess the parties’ campaigns, select the seats they’ll be drooling over, and put their pundit reputations on the line by predicting the final election outcome. We’re leaving together. But still it’s … Read more
The Act Party’s number four candidate is being criticised for promoting climate change denial at a Nelson high school. Stewart Sowman-Lund reports. A Nelson-based candidate for the Act Party, who’s all but certain to be in parliament after the election, rallied against the local council for its position on “so-called ‘climate change’”, convened “Climate Hysteria … Read more
Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire assess the Press debate in Christchurch, National’s leaky redux, the advance voting surge and the rest of the big stories with a week and a half to go. In 10 short days the skies will clear and for a few blessed hours the only hint of politics will … Read more
A poll commissioned by pro-legalisation campaigners suggests that the referendum could yet go their way. For many observers, the chances of cannabis being legalised after the election were already being written off. But a new poll has gone against the trend of recent surveying, showing the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill remains on track to … Read more
David Seymour’s meteoric rise over the past six months is well documented. But what caused it? Stewart Sowman-Lund sat down with the Act Party leader. Back in February, the Act Party was polling below 2%. Last year, below 1%. Now, it’s sitting at around 8%, with David Seymour on track to bring eight or nine … Read more
A very special guest joins Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee Mather and Ben Thomas to go over what we learned from last night’s Newshub leaders’ debate between Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins. It’s a four-person episode of Gone By Lunchtime this week as special guest Mihingarangi Forbes (The Hui, RNZ’s political podcast Party People) joins Toby … Read more
Yesterday’s Colmar Brunton poll for TVNZ had Act inching toward its best-ever election result, on 7%. With that, the one-man Act band would become a Seymour-led club of nine. So who the hell are they? By now, David Seymour must be among our most recognisable political figures. Entering parliament fresh-faced in 2014 as the MP … Read more
Annabelle Lee Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire debate the renaming of the nation as the campaign races to the middle. Ben Thomas never attends a party without a whakataukī in his pocket, and he does not disappoint in this week’s edition of Gone By Lunchtime. Along with Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire, Ben sprinkles … 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
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
The 2020 election has risen, bleary eyed, from its slumber, and so have Annabelle, Ben and Toby in a brand new Gone By Lunchtime. The campaign trail is alive once again, with Labour promising a Matariki holiday and National a health-driven response to meth addiction. The Greens are trying to put the train back on … Read more
Will I get fined? Can I use a scarf? And what about on the school bus? All your questions about face masks on public transport, answered here. When and where do I have to wear a mask exactly? From Monday, all New Zealanders will be required to wear a face mask on public transport for … Read more
Join the the country’s most mellifluous political pod trio, the Alert Level Three, for another late-night lockdown edition of Gone By Lunchtime. Covid-19 continues to dominate the political agenda, with Jacinda Ardern and cabinet having extended level three for the Auckland region until the end of the weekend. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire … Read more
Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas forget how to record a podcast over Zoom. Most elements of life under lockdown feel a little bit easier the second time around, but not recording an episode of Gone By Lunchtime. After being held up for over an hour by a confusing tech issue (Ben’s new phone … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 15, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and Covid-19 as it returns to the community. Auckland is now in alert level three and the rest of NZ level two. More details here. Official information here. Contact us at info@thespinoff.co.nz. 7pm: The day in sum Seven new … Read more