Politics Archive
The Winstonmageddon-o-meter™: Does this mean war?
New Zealand's leading data visionaries Hayden Donnell and Toby Morris read the nation's thermometer as it undergoes the six-week Jacinderregnum
NZ’s public sector needs to get on board with AI, or the future is bleak
Trusting machines to predict citizens' need for targeted resources can be damaging and increase bias. New Zealand has no choice but to get onboard.
Simon Bridges’ big conference speech: did he drum up a new National vision?
In presenting himself with a new, softer image, the National leader's conference speech sought to move beyond relitigating the fights of the past, writes Ben Thomas
Why Question Time is more than just squabbling and mud-slinging
From the outside, parliamentary Question Time looks like a juvenile farce. But it matters far more than many give it credit.
Simon Bridges: Our medicinal cannabis bill is no stunt, but it is miles better
National's leader justifies the decision to put forward a rival bill on medicinal marijuana
Politics podcast: Breaking news, the prime minister had a baby
Gone By Lunchtime is not dead, it's just been sleeping. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee and Ben Thomas reunite in an emotional podcast .
‘Waka jumping’ is the wrong name for this junk law. Here’s five better options
The decision to support Winston Peters' beloved caucus-cementing bill is bad karma for the Green Party
Kiwis of Snapchat: Simon Bridges on his medicinal cannabis bill
National party leader Simon Bridges is excited about launching an opposition bill to make medical marijuana legal in New Zealand.
Andrew Little: Sometimes calling out your best mate is the right thing to do
Every country has the sovereign right to make their own laws. But when those laws threaten human rights, then we should call it out, especially when it's our friend and neighbour
National’s medicinal cannabis bill is far better than Labour’s
The medicinal cannabis bill filed today in the name of National's Whangarei MP Shane Reti is vastly better-conceived than the government bill it seeks to supplant. But it's not perfect.
Confirmed: Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux will NOT be speaking in New Zealand. Update: Wait, turns out actually they will be speaking now, at an unspecified ‘private venue’
After political wrangling, court action and protests, it can now be confirmed that Stefan Molyneux and Lauren Southern will not be speaking in New Zealand.
The Greens are trailing in NZ First’s shadow, and crunch time is coming
The difference between the New Zealand First vote and the Green vote at the election? Less than one percentage point. The leverage value for New Zealand First in those 25,000 extra votes? Priceless
An interview with NZ’s No 1 hamburger activist MP
Meat on aeroplanes has unexpectedly emerged as a critical political fault line. Madeleine Chapman speaks to Mark Patterson, the politician with the chops
The political parties NZ is missing
With the folding of TOP and the Māori Party's struggle to re-enter Parliament, one thing's become obvious; there just aren't enough parties. Anna Bracewell-Worrall suggests a few potentials.
Why public sector target setting is such a minefield
In resetting targets for health, the challenge is to identify and articulate the underlying map
Growing up in the climate action movement
Submissions to the Zero Carbon Bill close on Wednesday July 19. Laura Somerset, a Wellington-based convener of Generation Zero, looks back on the early days of the climate action movement.
We know electric cars make sense – but we need a financial push to buy one
From tax incentives to cash grants, 'price signals' are the key to increasing the uptake of electric vehicles in New Zealand, writes Victoria University's Lisa Marriott.
The Spinoff reviews New Zealand #64: New Zealand roads
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Hayden Donnell reviews all New Zealand roads after driving 2500km in four days.
What did the Free Speech protestors actually have to say?
Many of the attendees at a protest against Auckland Council banning Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux feel they get a raw deal from media. So, here's exactly what they said.
Splashing $2.3bn on aircraft erodes NZ’s independent foreign policy
The surveillance aircraft purchase signals an even closer military alignment with the United States, and the reflects badly on our non-aligned status, writes Keith Locke.
TOP could’ve been so much more than Gareth being Gareth
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.
What I learned from Gareth Morgan and the TOP adventure
Geoff Simmons was the deputy leader and policy power behind Gareth Morgan's fledgling, ill-fated party
All the times our new Free Speech Coalition really hated free speech
Just a few times some of the newly formed Free Speech Coalition members have been less than fervent in their defence of free speech.
The mystery of the disappearing ‘bitch’ at the heart of NZ’s democracy
Did a National MP really call a Labour MP a “bitch” in parliament? And if so why did it vanish from the official Hansard record?
