The Spinoff

Election 2026! The last-gasp hot-take shootout

Toby Manhire is joined by the Spinoff’s best and brightest for a special pre-election roundtable to recap the good, the bad and the ugly of the campaign so far.

At Large with Toby Manhire

04 Nov 2026

Collage of photos showing Mr Morris restaurant, Helen Emett and Tracy Grant Lord

Kai

Every electorate race in Election 2026, ranked from least interesting to most interesting

Joel MacManus

02 Nov 2026

An overhang election could be terrible for our democracy

Hayden Donnell

03 Nov 2026

All the angry dads drowning out National's 2026 campaign

Toby Manhire

03 Nov 2026

Three new polls, side by side – and the election story they foretell

Toby Manhire

04 Nov 2026

Political leader profiles

Politics

Christopher Luxon: The Nat with nine lives, or a man on borrowed time?

Chlöe Swarbrick and the weight of expectations

Winston Peters still wants to be the prime minister

Qiulae Wong, the radical moderate

Is David Seymour steadying the ship or stirring the pot?

Rawiri Waititi: The hesitant leader

The lifelong campaign of Chris Hipkins

What David Seymour gets wrong about tikanga – and why it matters

New poll: National and Labour are neck and neck with Opportunity decisive

What are ‘space vapes’ and are they on the rise?

Can we really trust the polls?

A Greens-Labour voter who worries about her student loan

Characters of the Campaign Trail

03 Nov 2026

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Culture

The life and times of a 19th century Wellington bug collector

The cost of being: A mental health worker who's started tracking their spending in a spreadsheet

Election update: A quarter have voted, National targets Swarbrick, and Labour’s last-minute policy

Henry Oliver

03 Nov 2026

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Latest podcasts

Can we really trust the polls?

Toby Manhire speaks to Murray Campbell of Research Association NZ about the methods behind political polls in Aotearoa, how fairly the media represents those polls and why Curia withdrew from the pollsters’ association.

At Large with Toby Manhire03 Nov 2026

The blockbuster seat and the Māori vote, with Te Aniwa Hurihanganui

Toby Manhire speaks to Te Aniwa Hurihanganui, TVNZ’s Māori affairs correspondent, about which Māori electorates are the ones to watch as the votes are counted this weekend.

At Large with Toby Manhire02 Nov 2026

Gone By Lunchtime: Panic stations with a week to go?

A horrific Halloween poll for the National Party has seen Luxon break with the habit of a lifetime and comment on a poll. What to make of it all? And will this be remembered as the 'Opp-erhang' election?

Gone By Lunchtime30 Oct 2026

Chris Hipkins: in defence of incrementalism

Toby Manhire speaks to the Labour Party leader about bold political statements, education reform and the philosophical teachings of the stoics.

At Large with Toby Manhire29 Oct 2026

Chlöe Swarbrick on being cast as ‘bogeyman’ of 2026 election

Toby Manhire speaks to the Green Party co-leader about being the bête noire of the right, the possibilities of an overhang and whether they can really work alongside Labour.

At Large with Toby Manhire28 Oct 2026