Fresh from the Press Gallery Christmas Party, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Toby Manhire and Ben Thomas convene for the final time in 2020 to recap the year in New Zealand politics. What do Jacinda Ardern, Chlöe Swarbrick, David Seymour, Labour’s Covid-19 response, the Māori Party’s return to parliament, National’s Todd Muller era, that disastrous campaign day on … 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
From 7pm Saturday, the election results will ooze from the pores of democracy. Toast the franchise with our exclusive election night drinking game. It works with Raro, kombucha or something stronger. Repurpose as bingo if that’s what you’re into. Illustrations by Toby Morris. Take a sip when you hear/see “Neck and neck” “Knife edge” “Volatile” … Read more
Labour has committed to 100% renewable energy in a decade. But is that the right goal? The path to real sustainability and for New Zealand to live up to its clean, green brand has received renewed attention during the 2020 election campaign. There is a key divergence in the main political parties ideas for the … 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
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
Since political parties have existed, so too have their enthusiastic young leaders. In exclusive interviews with The Spinoff, eight MPs take us down memory lane on how they got their start in politics. Watch Youth Wings, The Spinoff’s new six-part documentary series that goes behind the O Week stalls to get to know some of … 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
Three years. Two leaders. And a whole lot of diplomatic shade. This week, our country was name-dropped by a celebrity (twice), except that celebrity was sitting US president Donald Trump and the name-drop was a bizarre claim that the relatively small cluster of Covid-19 cases in Auckland right now was a “big surge”. The prime … 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 Election Live for August 5, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other breaking news. For key dates in the election season click here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Policy launching soon. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 6.45pm: … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 4, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.00pm: The day in sum New rental regulations are set to pass under urgency today, as parliament enters its final sitting week. Owlcatraz shut … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 3, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.00pm: The day in sum National won’t have selected its new Auckland central candidate in time for the electorate’s first debate. Hopeful candidate Nuwanthie … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 2 where we bring you the latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. 6.10pm: The day in sum Melbourne entered a strict NZ-style level four lockdown, including a curfew, while regional Victoria will begin level three restrictions from midnight Wednesday. … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 1 where we bring you the latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. 7pm: The day in sum A second traveller to Australia from New Zealand has tested positive for Covid-19. There are now three cases from New Zealand that … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 31. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 5.45pm: The day in sum An inquiry found serious failings by the NZ Defence Force in the wake of 2010’s Operation Burnham raid which killed a … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 30. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.15pm: The day in sum A new 1 News poll offered slightly better news for National than Sunday night’s bleak Newshub numbers. The leaking of private … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 29. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.20pm: The day in sum The government revealed its plans to charge some returning Kiwis for isolation. NZ First will support the law change, but Winston Peters … Read more
A new Newshub poll has put Judith Collins’ National Party on 25.1%, Jacinda Ardern’s Labour on 60.9%, and many jaws on the floor. Gerry Brownlee has dismissed it as a “rogue poll”. In this week’s Gone By Lunchtime, Annabelle, Ben and Toby impersonate Nate Silver to assess the veracity of the thing, and ask: is … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 28. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.45pm: The day in sum New Zealand’s extradition treaty with Hong Kong was suspended due to China’s controversial national security law. China responded by calling the … Read more
Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire on Simon Bridges’ fight to hang on to the top job in National. On Friday National MPs gather in Wellington to vote on the future of Simon Bridges and Paula Bennett. After miserable poll results a challenge has been launched, with Todd Muller and probably Nikki Kaye angling … Read more
Just like the rest of us, it turns out our elected representatives have a lot of weird stuff in their homes and offices. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning for the past four weeks, members of the parliamentary Epidemic Response Committee and invited guests have met online for a series of Zoom meetings. Like many … Read more
Robbie Nicol, aka White Man Behind a Desk, has just launched The Citizen’s Handbook, a webseries dedicated to teaching New Zealanders how their country actually works. Here’s five things he learned while making it. It’s probably a failing of our education system that I left high school without knowing how New Zealand’s political system works. … Read more
The government’s reform of 1989’s Tomorrow’s Schools legislation has been announced today, and it’s promising changes for students, teachers, principals and boards. What is “Tomorrow’s Schools”? In 1989, the government introduced the Tomorrow’s Schools reforms, which meant all schools became much more independent, giving Boards power over almost all school decisions, including those to hire … Read more
The three governing parties are turning their attention to next year’s general election. RNZ‘s Jo Moir surveys the field. The night New Zealand First formed a government with Labour and the Greens, its leader Winston Peters quoted the song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”. Almost two years later all three parties still have … Read more
In this new edition of Gone By Lunchtime, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas weigh reshuffles in senior ranks of both the big parties, as well as Oranga Tamariki and David Seymour’s End of Life Choice Bill. Plus: a desperate plea to listeners. Podding against the clock, aka Annabelle’s stopwatch, the Gone By Lunchtime … Read more
Government policies affect us all, so surely children should get a say? Alice Burton reports on how providing children with both information and a listening ear is important for encouraging their participation in politics. Too young to care. Too young to understand. Too young, surely, to have an informed opinion. So runs a common assumption … Read more
Former leader Gareth Morgan says The Opportunities Party’s remaining members are ‘grovelling, compromising political aspirants’ and that’s the least of new leader Geoff Simmons’ problems. Max Towle for RNZ In Depth asks: can Simmons rescue the party from itself – and does the party really hold any appeal to voters now its colourful founder is gone? … Read more
New Zealand’s insistence on changing its clocks twice a year doesn’t make sense, and it needs to stop, argues Hayden Donnell. This Sunday morning, New Zealanders will dutifully carry out a great collective act of self-destruction. As is tradition, we will ensure every clock in the country goes back an hour at 2am, from our … Read more