For the seventh year in a row, The Spinoff asked a hand-selected group of experts for their wildest political prophecy. And for the seventh year in a row, they did not disappoint.
Madeleine Chapman
Barbara Edmonds reluctantly takes the position of Labour leader or deputy.
Mihingarangi Forbes
Snap election on April 27, 2024.
Ben McKay
Overburdened with self-confidence, the seemingly permanently head-banded Helen White has a crack at the Labour leadership but loses by roughly 21,000 votes. She tells Newshub she is proud of the outcome.
Lara Greaves
The leader of a parliamentary political party gets rolled.
Anna Rawhiti-Connell
Nicola Willis will lead the National Party… (I am committing to the bit forever now).
Chris Hipkins will not be leader of Labour by June next year, and Grant Robertson and Willie Jackson will retire from politics shortly after the summer break. Chlöe Swarbrick will be co-leader of the Greens.
Andrew Geddis
The International Linguistic Reserves Fund announces that global stocks of the word “actually” have been completely depleted, rendering Christopher Luxon unable to speak.
Toby Manhire
There are heaps of national elections around the world next year, with more people voting than ever before. One of those elections will bizarrely but inexorably draw New Zealand into its orbit.
Alice Neville
Stewart Sowman-Lund
Labour will cycle through three leaders in 2024 (not including Chris Hipkins) before Kieran McAnulty finally gives in and triggers a new phenomenon known as Kieran Delirium.
Shanti Mathias
At least two MPs (one government and one opposition) will drink straight from a river to make a point about freshwater quality.
Haimona Gray
Let’s get spicy… a political party currently in parliament will face at least one, but likely multiple, court cases around campaign finances and related financial improprieties. This will lead to the party losing both a significant financial asset and credibility among newly-acquired voters. It all could take a very Trumpian “the deep state are after me” turn with the most minor of prodding.
Amber Easby
Jacinda Ardern decides writing is not for her, returns to (local) politics.
Shane Te Pou
Watch Mata Reports, a story on The Māori Carbon Collective. More outstanding work by Mihingarangi Forbes and Annabelle Lee-Mather. Next year, everyone will be talking about this show. The story is HUGE!
Joel MacManus
At least one council will secede and form a self-governing city-state.