Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Wellington’s future being thrashed out, second community case in Christchurch, and the US election is finally here. An issue that hasn’t been covered heavily in The Bulletin recently is the various issues coming to a boil in the capital city. The decisions made now have the … Read more
The tenure of Geoff Simmons as leader of The Opportunities Party has come to an end. Alex Braae reports from TOP’s annual general meeting. The first party leader resignation following the 2020 election has taken place, with Geoff Simmons stepping down from the leadership of The Opportunities Party. He made the announcement at the party’s … Read more
They may be poles apart ideologically, but for TOP and the New Conservatives, the election campaign featured some remarkably similar successes and failures for both. On an ideological level, it doesn’t make sense to put The Opportunities Party (TOP) and the New Conservatives in the same category. But their electoral vote share around 1.5% isn’t … Read more
We’ve heard at length from the five major parties. But what policies do the minor parties have to support businesses and rebuild the economy from the Covid-19 rubble? Geoff Simmons of TOP, Vernon Tava of Sustainable NZ, Billy Te Kahika Jnr of Advance NZ and John Tamihere of the Māori Party today addressed New Zealand’s … Read more
Looking to wear your political affiliations on your sleeve? Eli Matthewson takes you through your options. As the news of the controversial “Green School” funding broke, I could think of only one thing: how almost everyone I follow on Instagram had already bought the Green Party jumper. At the start of the worst week for … Read more
The first Auckland Central debate took place last night, despite the lack of a National candidate. Josie Adams went along to watch Helen White, Chlöe Swarbrick and the rest. The Auckland Central electorate stretches from the depths of Grafton across the Hauraki Gulf to Aotea (Great Barrier). Its residents are Waiheke’s hippies and vintners, the … Read more
Given the escalating climate crisis and other looming environmental issues, has capitalism proven antithetical to the survival of the planet? Opportunities Party leader Geoff Simmons says no. There is no doubt: we need to change the way we live to save the environment. And we need to save the environment to have a chance of … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Another unexpected OCR move, NZ First Foundation donations under scrutiny, and End of Life Choice bill passes pending referendum. Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr seems intent on giving as many surprises as possible with the OCR. After slashing it in August when it was expected to be lowered … Read more
The Opportunities Party’s new leaders have firmed up control of the party after a weekend of sweeping organisational reforms. But are the chances of this TOP any better than the last one? Alex Braae heads to the party conference to find out. When the reborn Opportunities Party gathered for a conference on Saturday at the … Read more
The Opportunities Party’s top echelons are at war, with the board’s membership representative accusing leader Geoff Simmons of misleading the party, having a conflict of interest over roles, and warning of a dire financial situation. Alex Braae reports. It’s tough at the top for Opportunities Party leader Geoff Simmons. Just a few days ago, he … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Submissions show euthanasia campaigners have tough fight ahead, flooded dump causes environmental disaster, and Gareth Morgan cuts all ties with TOP. Heavy opposition has come in against changes to the laws on euthanasia, which signals the tough fight ahead for both sides. The NZ Herald reports submissions to the … 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
The parties founded by Tariana Turia and Gareth Morgan both failed to make parliament at the last election, and now there’s talk of a collaboration to turn that around. Māui Street editor Morgan Godfery asks whether it might bear fruit. Big news via TVNZ: TOP and the Māori Party could be allies in the next … Read more
The Greens’ donation cap proposal would simply pull the small party ladder up behind them, argues TOP leader Geoff Simmons. The Jami-Lee Ross saga has highlighted some of the problems with donations in politics. Greater transparency is certainly needed. However, the Green Party idea of banning donations over $35,000 would be the third strike against … Read more
TOP’s leader writes about the party’s rebirth, and what the furious reaction to it says about the state of New Zealand politics. The reaction to the relaunch of TOP was overwhelmingly positive, and I am immensely grateful for that. What surprised me is how quickly people can leap onto any reason to demonise people or … Read more
National knows it’s short of mates as it looks ahead to 2020, but the real appeal for the biggest party of the Opportunities Party’s revival is that it could hurt the Greens, writes Toby Manhire It is tempting to remember the Opportunities Party’s contribution to the New Zealand general election of 2017 as a car … Read more
One of TOP’s former candidates, Dr Jenny Condie, is speaking out about why she thinks the Gareth Morgan-dominated party failed, and what should have been done better. “At the heart of this is my concern that you are simply unable to relinquish the control and direction of this party to anyone other than yourself and … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Where to now for striking nurses? 1080 dumped in a National Park, and former National MP brought in to justice reform group. The nurses strike has come and gone without any serious reported incidents, but it is unclear what will happen from here. Nurses who spoke to Newstalk … Read more
With the demise of The Opportunities Party, the protest vote they garnered will need a new home. But where? Alex Braae assesses the candidates. Even as the fond memories of TOP’s brief existence fade away, a few defining pictures remain. There’s Gareth Morgan on a billboard, talking about lipstick. There’s Geoff Simmons, chatting away amiably … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: British politics loses the plot completely, Gareth Morgan winds up The Opportunities Party, and defence minister Ron Mark gets some new planes. The wheels have completely fallen off British politics, over what the government wants out of Brexit negotiations. Yesterday, Brexit secretary David Davis resigned, just a … Read more
The Spinoff has obtained the email which prompted TOP leader Gareth Morgan to tell one of his candidates to resign for being a ‘pain in the arse’. Don Rowe looks back on another chaotic week for TOP. Illustration by Toby Morris. Gareth Morgan, currently holidaying in Cuba, has still managed to live in the news … Read more
A statement from The Opportunities Party, supplied by its communications director Sean Plunket, responding to Mike Joy’s assertion that he did not endorse TOP. Mike Joy has since accepted this version of events, and we have updated his story to reflect this. Let us start by saying we have enormous respect for Dr Mike Joy and … Read more
Scientist Dr Mike Joy writes about his experience of watching a private Facebook status become a very public endorsement. Editors update: after publishing the below piece The Spinoff received a phone call hotly disputing it from TOP’s Sean Plunket. He claimed to possess and has since provided an email from Mike Joy dated 11.17am on … Read more
We present the five most interesting takeaways from analysis of the vast trove of data thrown up by our Policy tool in the lead-up to this election. Since its debut on August 14, more than 120,000 people have viewed over 1.3 million pages of Policy, our tool for comparing parties’ different positions across various areas. … Read more
More than 13,000 abortions were performed in New Zealand last year. Despite this, abortion in this country is enshrined in the Crimes Act. Jessica Hammond Doube doesn’t think it should be, and she’s doing her best to do something about it. The kaupapa of The Spinoff Parents is to uplift, love, and support parents – … Read more
The Opportunities Party wants to bring German-style renter protection laws to New Zealand – and that’s great, says Berlin-based New Zealander Maddie Holden. But how exactly does that policy fit with Gareth Morgan’s devotion to neoliberal economics? Gareth Morgan’s The Opportunities Party (TOP) unveiled an interesting new policy about rental housing this week, proposing to … Read more