Of all the would-bes stuck in minor party hell, the New Conservatives may be the horse that bolts on the back of opportunistic campaigning and culture wars. Alex Braae heads to the Bay of Plenty to watch their leader, Leighton Baker, in action. Leighton Baker strode purposely up to the front of the room when … Read more
With everything in politics moving so fast these days, it can be hard to remember characters from earlier seasons who get brought back for yet another run. So with John Banks considering another Auckland mayoralty run, what are some things you might have forgotten? Once upon a time, he was utterly ubiquitous. John Banks was … Read more
Over a year after the office was vacated, a new race relations commissioner has been appointed. What do we know about the new guy, Meng Foon? A little over a year ago Susan Devoy stood down as race relations commissioner, declaring herself devastated but vindicated over scandals within the Human Rights Commission. Since then the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Two polls released showing bizarrely different scenarios, Murupara runs out of cash, and report finds racism embedded in the justice system. In the space of a single evening, two wildly different poll results came out. Each tells an entirely different story of the voting preferences of the … Read more
The authorised biography of New Zealand’s longest-serving female MP was co-written by her former press secretary. Unsurprising, then, that it focuses on her triumphs, says longtime Labour activist Shane Te Pou. If you’re like me, and admire Dame Annette King the person and politician, you’ll enjoy this authorised biography. It offers an entertaining guided tour … Read more
Traditional local council structures are shutting out indigenous voices. Māori wards were supposed to be the answer – so why are so few being created? Local government elections occur every three years, and are a chance to decide who we want to represent us in our local councils. But year after year, proposals to establish … Read more
The Opportunities Party is in the midst of a sweeping transformation, with founder Gareth Morgan stepping away and a new group around Geoff Simmons taking over the leadership. When The Opportunities Party launched ahead of the 2017 election, it was all but synonymous with Gareth Morgan. After years of high-profile ventures and acerbic interventions into … Read more
It may be a noble ambition, but this is a misguided, misdirected effort, and has the potential to block the path to a healthier planet, writes New Plymouth secondary school student James Macey On Friday, 15 March, school students around the globe will be going on “strike”. In New Zealand, the “School Strike 4 Climate” … Read more
How high is too high for the line that separates the political contenders and pretenders? Jake Metzger has a look at the issues around the heavily disputed MMP threshold. This piece was originally published on Radio NZ. Ever scratched your head, dumbfounded as to how a political party that garnered a mere 13,075 votes in … Read more
The Hanoi Summit – the second of its kind between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un – has disappointingly ended with no agreement being reached. Rebekah Jaung writes about the ramifications. T-shirts with caricatures of the two heads of state, King Jong Ale, and, images of crowds lining the streets of … Read more
Joining dancing dildos, flags, Eminem and ponytails, getting-left-off-maps can now be added to our rolling collection of the Last Week Tonight show’s coverage of its most favoured/lampooned nation. Update, February 19, 2019: Topical comedy programme Last Week Tonight has returned to HBO for 2019, and its dedicated New Zealand Monitoring Unit has delivered already. It may have been … Read more
We love to hate the media but it’s social media we should be concerned about, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. About halfway through Before Sunrise – a 1990s romantic comedy that has the same significance for Gen-Xers as the Vietnam war did to the Boomers and Harry Potter does for Millennials – Jessie and Celine, who are adrift … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fallout begins immediately from review into parliamentary bullying, a phenomenal piece of mental health journalism featured, and National’s polling bounces back. Has Trevor Mallard opened the door on something that will get out of control? We talked a bit about this last week, but things have moved … Read more
Tonight the NZ prime minister dines with the US vice president – a man who holds numerous views on the world that are, well, pretty much the opposite of everything she stands for. Don Rowe previews the worst working dinner imaginable. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is in Singapore today for the East Asia summit. United … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National party orders internal culture review, international students claim they’re being treated like slaves, and CHCH faces water restrictions or more chlorine. The National Party has ordered a review into its internal culture, focused on ensuring women feel safe within the party, reports the NZ Herald. It follows allegations that … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National party knife-fight gets extremely bloody, Naura detainee refugees may be allowed to come to NZ, and a shake-up coming for Māori media. The developments at Parliament yesterday are almost without precedent, as renegade National MP Jami-Lee Ross threw astonishing accusations at his party leader Simon … 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
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
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Anger rises along with petrol prices, abortion rights group claims law discriminates against women, and fury at govt’s encouragement of water bottling company. There’s a significant amount of anger out there at high petrol prices, as shown by the planned buying boycott for October 26. A facebook event around … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Waka jumping bill could become law tonight, internal report into Meka Whaitiri’s conduct leaked, and sports doping testing system under scrutiny. The Electoral Integrity amendment bill is making its way through Parliament, and could well become law tonight. Commonly known as the waka-jumping bill, it would mean … Read more
Media bias, collective guilt for Nazi atrocities and being on the wrong side of history: It was a pretty heavy Sunday night on Radio Sport. “Look, a lot of us want to say that we would’ve been definitely anti-Nazi during Nazi Germany, but statistics will tell you that 90% of us would’ve gone along with … Read more
A year and two days ago New Zealanders went to the polls, returning a record 29 Māori MPs. But who’s up and who’s down? Who are the top performers and who are the up-and-comers? Māui street editor Morgan Godfery picks his faves and rates them out of 10 for performance. Ministers Willie Jackson, Labour (Ngāti … Read more
It’s being called the most pure MMP government in history. Does that just mean Winston Peters’ party gets to pull swifties on Jacinda Ardern whenever they feel like it? Coalition governments, by their very nature, require compromises and negotiations. But over 2018, it has seemed like NZ First have been doing a lot more negotiation, … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM starts new week after three on the back foot, Herald launches economic inequality series, and huge house building programme announced for Mt Roskill. The Prime Minister starts the week after a few that she’d probably rather forget. Three weeks in a row now have finished with … Read more
Helen Clark is back, with a new book collecting her speeches from four decades in public life. She sat down with Alex Braae to discuss her extraordinary career, and where she’s headed next. In the many years Helen Clark has been involved in politics, firstly in New Zealand, and later at the United Nations, she … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government loses another minister within a week, plans to override the Auckland Unitary Plan, and methane in focus for new climate change report. Another minister has stood down from PM Jacinda Ardern’s government, just a week after she had to sack a minister from Cabinet. Customs minister Meka … Read more
With business confidence having plunged, the prime minister’s goal this morning was to get the big beasts back onside. Did her speech, and her announcement of a new advisory council, do the trick? Toby Manhire went along to the breakfast to find out. Jacinda Ardern has talked a lot about elephants and rooms lately. In … Read more
The Bridges expense leak inquiry will have to balance the wellbeing of someone who might have mental health issues with the integrity of the parliamentary system. One way or another, it’s all rather sad, writes Tim Watkin for RNZ. Well, that’s as clear as mud. And, one way or another, rather sad. We now know … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Something major is going down in Australia today, two stories of troubling inaction on sexual assault, and m. bovis fears at massive feedlot. In Australian politics today, something will happen. Sorry, I can’t really be any more specific than that, because the events of yesterday were so … Read more