All the weird and wonderful things from election night coverage

We relive some of the weirdest moments from last night's election TV coverage.

Everyone was talking about Shane Jones’ fish

In an interview with Three, New Zealand First MP Shane Jones shared that he’d spent the day out on the water near Russell catching some really big fish. “That was a whopper of a snapper,” Paddy Gower admired from the safety of Three's Auckland studio, but he was dubious about Jones’ fishing skills. “He got that out of the freezer,” Gower reckoned. The fish declined to comment. 

The election night graphics were nice but far too sensible

In 2023, we had kiwi pushing politicians out of their cloacas. This year, we got were some giant bar graphs, some dots magically growing out of Three's floor and a little Beehive that made Whakaata Māori's Tāmati Rimene-Sproat look like a giant. Bring back Linda the Laser Kiwi! 

The snack situation was way more exciting than it should have been

The most anticipated appearance of last night was Amanda Luxon’s party platter. The National leader’s wife emerged from the Luxon family home just before 8.30pm, accompanied by her children Olivia and William and several platters of party food for famished journalists. “It’s healthy food,” Amanda quickly announced, explaining that she felt bad after 2023 election night pizzas, and was determined to offer something more healthy this time (FYI: party pies “for the faithful”, plus fruit and “chocolatey things”). No pineapple Frujus though?

Meanwhile, Labour candidate Kieran McAnulty’s interview with TVNZ was interrupted by live footage of Chris Hipkins’ fiancee Toni emerging from their home with two trays of snacks – sausage rolls and pikelets – made from her nana June’s recipe. “You can take the recipe if you want,” Toni offered to the gathered reporters. 

The experts were everywhere

It was a big night for Gower, who was hosting Three’s coverage alongside Sam Hayes. “What I’ve wanted to do is use my laptop for the first time in my career,” he said, as he read out the latest results after 10pm. “Usually the laptop’s off and it’s just for show.” Three's panel of six experts was beaten by the eight over on TVNZ, which included Act candidate Paul Henry, who was commenting on the same election he was standing in. Weird? Only if you don’t like arriving at a party in a speedboat. “On these numbers, we’ll be in government, thank god,” Henry said at 10.30pm, “and I’ll be a cabinet minister.” He then disappeared to attend the Act party celebrations and be interviewed live by Gower and Hayes over on Three. 

Three's coverage bought the laughs

Three's election night coverage included a live studio audience sitting behind "the Burr Bunker", who appeared to be having the time of their lives. In fact, they laughed loudly through an end-of-night interview with National's Simeon Brown, cracking up when he repeatedly failed to give a straight answer to questions about the National Party working with Opportunity. Should we consider using a laugh track on all political news stories? Something to campaign on in 2029.

We were obsessed with car windows

As the end of the night neared and no clear winner emerged, we became obsessed with watching two men leave their homes. TVNZ showed footage of a people-mover leaving the Luxon home, but Three's on-the-spot reporter confirmed it was just a regular people mover and not a prime minister mover. Who doesn't love a close-up shot of a blackened car window that revealed absolutely nothing? Come on Chris and Chris, put the window down at least!

Also, hat tip to TVNZ's Chris Chang for his dedication to peeking over Luxon's front gate in the hope of getting the first glimpse of Luxon leaving his house. "My calves are really getting a workout," Chang told the nation.

Nothing stops the Lotto draw

Not even the general election can stop the 8pm Saturday night Lotto draw. After TVNZ's coverage paused to let the Lotto balls drop, TVNZ Lucas de Jong checked in from the world's southernmost election polling station, as he crossed live from Scott Base in Antarctica. "This is technically New Zealand, but not New Zealand," de Jong said, explaining that around 100 voters in Antarctica made special votes this week. Congratulations to all winners tonight, either in the polls or the Lotto.