Lyric Waiwiri-Smith | The Spinoff

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

Politics

Ātea

Culture

Lyric is an award-nominated politics reporter at The Spinoff. She covers parliament from the press gallery, pens the weekly column One MP, One Pint and is endlessly curious about what makes our decision-makers tick. Off the clock, Lyric loves a live gig, a cold brew, and being a Wellingtonian (on a good day).

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

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One MP, One Pint? (2250 x 1350 px) - One Candidate_Paul

One Candidate, One Pint: Vicky Hau on trying to get Pasifika to jump on the NZ First wave

Labour has a gang problem. But not in the way you might think

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Paul Henry hits the strategic-vote speed bump

One MP, One Pint? (2250 x 1350 px) - One Candidate_Paul

One Candidate, One Pint: Kayla Kingdon-Bebb on Opportunity as a 'lightning rod' for conspiracies

When gangs are in the picture, all you get are pot shots

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Election 2026: How the second leaders' debate unfolded

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Five people stand at podiums in front of brightly coloured screens in a debate format.

The minor party leaders proved they're not just along for the ride, they're in the driver's seat

An outline of the Hutt South electorate, with Election 2026 badges.

Can Ginny Andersen regain Hutt South – and maybe even knock Chris Bishop out of parliament?

‘So let down’: Complaints of children’s commissioner whose term was cut short revealed

One MP, One Pint? (2250 x 1350 px) - One Candidate_Paul

One Candidate, One Pint: Labour's Te Pūoho Katene wants the mandate to carry the mana of the people

Gerry Brownlee appears next to an arrow pointing downwards, while Michael Laws' face is next to an upwards arrow.

The winners and losers across every party list