Politics

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The Spinoff Members

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The soon-to-be deputy PM has already had a crucial win behind the scenes.

David Seymour’s subtle power play

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Could the current coalition's first term also be its last? Here's what history tells us about this rare phenomenon.

A complete history of New Zealand’s one-term governments

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The reasons people commit crime are often the same, whether they're rich or poor.

Golriz, I think I get it — I shoplifted too

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With the local body elections in October, a long-awaited upgrade of Courtenay Place, and big changes for water, housing, and the economy, it's set to be another dramatic year for the capital city.

Bucket fountains of news: The big issues for Wellington in 2025

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With select committees increasingly swamped with submissions, it's clear this once niche act has gone mainstream. But does it make any difference?

The submission surge: How having a say on new laws went from nerdy to normal

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A hospital in limbo, a local body election and a deputy prime minister in waiting: welcome to politics, 2025 edition.

Stayin’ alive at the Beehive in 2025: Your handy guide to the year ahead in politics

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Local elections will decide the future of Māori seats on councils, with referendums testing New Zealand's commitment to equitable representation and Te Tiriti principles.

The fate of Māori seats on councils lies with those who vote

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It's been overshadowed by another piece of Act Party legislation, but the Regulatory Standards Bill has some critics equally concerned.

What’s all the fuss about the bill to regulate regulations?

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A parent shares their experience and fears as public submissions are sought on the use of puberty blockers for gender-affirming care.

‘She knew before she could read’: The reality of raising a trans child

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With the considerable benefit of hindsight and creative licence, we present July 16, 1984, as it happened.

Live updates: 16/7/84, one of the wildest days in New Zealand politics

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What will dominate the headlines this year? Our pundits take a punt.

NZ politics in 2025: The big issues on which the year will hinge

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The Kim Dotcom challenge to John Key culminated in an extravaganza joining dots from the US, the UK and Russia – even North Korea. It got messy.

The Moment of Truth: Revisiting a wild night in NZ politics

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A special live edition of The Spinoff's politics podcast, revisiting the turbulent Lange years with special guest Kim Hill.

Gone By Lunchtime Live: A trip to 1980s New Zealand with Kim Hill

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Submissions to the Justice Committee on the controversial legislation are currently tracking at three times the previous record number.

Submissions reopened for treaty principles bill after record response and ‘technical issues’

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Forget that bullshit biscuit tin. The parliament petitions page is the real receptacle for the nation’s political identity.

Celebrating the lynchpin of our democracy, parliament’s online petitions page

Lange and Douglas

The meltdown in the relationship between the key players can be charted in an extraordinary exchange of correspondence.

‘Grossly misleading to me and to the country’: the Lange-Douglas letters, unearthed

Maori Party Leaders Portrait Session

A tribute to the co-founder of Te Pāti Māori, who has died aged 80. 

A politician for the people: Dame Tariana Turia, 1944-2025

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Coups, councils, canines and constitutional crises: our pundits roll out their most outlandish prophecies for another year. 

Ten wild political predictions for 2025

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Making a splash: Is this the most impressive select committee submission ever?

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I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here's exactly how it played out.

What it’s like to be made redundant by the Ministry of Education

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Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was.

The Weekend: Is 2025 the year we all slow down?

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'We found a home in each other and realised the huge need for many more brown people living in Ōtautahi to have something like this.'

Pacific profiles: Meet the three friends behind Ōtautahi collective Brown Town

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'Shortland Street fans still come up and are like ‘Desi! Where's Damo?’ and I’m like ‘I don't know… Christchurch?’'

‘You belong to the people’: Kura Forrester on becoming Ferndale famous

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They're filling Facebook feeds, sucking people in and ripping them off. So why won't Meta do anything about it?

A soul-destroying attempt to report scam Facebook ads

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The Friday Poem: ‘Field-notes: Midsummer, 9pm, walking barefoot in the reserve after a storm, the sky still light, the city strung out across backs of the hills’ by Niamh Hollis-Locke

The Friday Poem: 'Field-notes: Midsummer, 9pm...' by Niamh Hollis-Locke

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'Like a clearing in the woods, it had shown me, in the oddest of ways, that there was life out there and one day I would get to join it.'

What Twin Peaks meant to 10-year-old me

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A selection of the best shows, movies, podcasts and playlists that kept us entertained over the holidays.

The best things we watched (and listened to) over summer

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'My childhood and adolescent years were strict, sensible, and often sad... I decided to give our son a better, happier childhood.'

The cost of being: A ‘conscious and curious’ mum who works in insurance

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The outgoing and incoming presidents have both claimed credit for the historic deal.

Biden prepares to leave the White House. Will Gaza ceasefire seal his legacy?

 good week to feel quietly smug about living on this side of the ditch, says editor Toby Manhire.

Good Week, Bad Week: 24 August 2018 | The Spinoff TV

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It was a *very* good week to feel quietly smug about living on this side of the ditch, says editor Toby Manhire.

The Spinoff

PoliticsAugust 24, 2018

Good Week, Bad Week: 24 August

The Spinoff TV, 10.45pm Fridays on THREE

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PoliticsAugust 24, 2018

Good Week, Bad Week: 24 August

The Spinoff TV, 10.45pm Fridays on THREE

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