Gone By Lunchtime

Today marks the first anniversary of the National-led coalition's swearing in. Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire parse the prime minister's sit-down interviews to mark the occasion, from the lessons to the communications to the big rocks and boiling of the ocean. How has he performed, is David Seymour right about the "disproportionate" impact Act has achieved and why is Winston Peter talking about being married to the Act leader? Plus: last week witnessed a huge turnout as the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti arrived at parliament. What did that say about the state of Crown-Māori relations? And how about those haka that reverberated around the world, from Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi Clarke and TJ Perenera? All that, a word on the introduction of the gang patch ban, and we pay tribute to former minister and MP for Auckland Central Nikki Kaye, who has died aged 44. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti streams through Auckland, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Toby Manhire and Ben Thomas assess its impact, and the state of the Treaty Principles Bill. Plus: the day of apology for abuse in state care: what it did and didn't achieve. And at last the GBL decision desk is ready to make a call on who has won the US presidency (and speculate on what it means for New Zealand). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annabelle Lee-Mather reveals why she doesn't care who wins next week in the US, while she, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire all pick who they think will win. Then it's back to Aotearoa and a whistlestop tour of recent headlines: Darleen Tana is bounced out of parliament by peg-nosed Greens, Richard Prebble is appointed to the Waitangi Tribunal, Andrew Bayly's chilled out entertainer routine backfires dramatically, and Mike King says some puzzling stuff about mental health and booze as a "lifejacket". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The once leader of the National Party these days pays minimum attention to NZ politics and spends as much time as possible watching the American election campaign. Here he talks to Toby Manhire about the state of the race, why Kamala Harris's momentum has ebbed, whether Donald Trump's former chief aide saying he's a fascist will impact things, and what it all means for New Zealand. Oh, and where he'd put his money if forced to bet on a winner. Todd Muller is host of the podcast What's the Story, Old Glory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twelve months after an election that delivered New Zealand its first three-party coalition, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire cast their minds and hearts back, recall those heady early days and seek to assess the opening stanza of the Christopher Luxon government. How has he fared with two noisy partners? How are the opposition doing? Which politicians have impressed and surprised? And what are the tripwires and opportunities in the year ahead? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The capital gains tax debate has lurched back on to the agenda thanks to the boss of our biggest bank and the housing issues faced by Christopher Luxon. Is it a good idea, and can Labour ever avoid getting electorally squashed by trying to push the rock up the slope again? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas chew it over. Plus: did the government underestimate the strength of feeling in Dunedin over its long promised new hospital? Is the swap of a teacher te reo programme for more maths resource a good idea? And a journey through the crust of the Earth in pursuit of the source of Casey Chatbot Costello's "independent advice" on tobacco taxes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The treaty principles bill continues to attract criticisms - from the leaders of churches, from the leaders of political parties including National. In revising it, is David Seymour stumbling, or is it all playing out as he'd wish? Annabelle Lee-Mather, Toby Manhire and Ben Thomas chew it over. Plus: the crime statistic puzzle and the power-blasted mill closures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tens of thousands have gathered at Tūrangawaewae Marae over recent days for the tangi of Kīngi Tuheitia, who died on Friday morning after 18 years on the throne. Fresh from a visit to Ngāruawāhia, Annabelle Lee-Mather joins Toby Manhire and Ben Thomas to describe the mood on the ground, Tuheitia's legacy, and the role of the Kīngitanga in New Zealand politics. Plus: infrastructure, meta-infrastructure and a rethink on the fast-track bill, and Shane Jones' remarks about the judiciary, which have earned him a slapdown from Judith Collins, and from Winston Peters, but why not from the boss, Christopher Luxon? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The prime minister travelled to the Māori King's Koroneihana this week, where he was assailed for government policies that had, according to Tuku Morgan of Tainui, hit tangata whenua with a wrecking ball and thrown them under the bus. Christopher Luxon seized the moment to declare unequivocally that National would not support the Treaty Principles Bill beyond first reading, while Act leader David Seymour was a centre of attention despite being absent. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire chew over events at Tūrangawaewae, and whether Act's controversial bill is a divisive waste of time or a blunt reality of MMP politics. Plus: Luxon leaps in PM polling despite malapropisms, stats about mathematics, and the traffic lights flare up for beneficiary sanctions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A walkout at the Iwi Leaders' Forum, a call from John Key to turn down the temperature, and protests at parliament. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire test the air on the coalition government relationship with iwi Māori as former minister Tracey Martin urges National to back down on its coalition commitment with Act to repeal Section 7aa of the Oranga Tamariki Act. Plus: is Karen Chhour right that the pressure she's facing in parliament crosses the line? Should MPs in the house wear more or less party insignia? And how did Christopher Luxon go at the weekend's party conference? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With few pundits and certainly no podcasts willing to discuss the American presidential race, Toby, Annabelle and Ben come to the rescue, exchanging some long-distance reckons on the Biden-Trump-Harris melodrama, and whether Christopher Luxon and Winston Peters are right to be pivoting towards the US amid the prospect of a fresh Trump administration with so little love for the rules-based order. Back home, after more than six years, the final report of the Royal Commission on abuse in state care has been published. What does it say, why is it this such a big milestone, and what happens next? Plus: a word on the appointment of a commissioner as Health NZ Te Whatu Ora faces a financial crisis, and a troubling trajectory on emissions reduction targets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special crossover edition of Gone By Lunchtime meets Juggernaut, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas take the stage at a packed Hannah Playhouse in Wellington, joined by NZ broadcasting legend Kim Hill. Exactly 40 years after the 1984 election that saw David Lange and Labour derail the Muldoon train and sweep to power, unleashing a head-spinning period of economic, social and foreign policy reform, we reflect on those giddy times and the ways the Lange-Douglas legacy remains very much alive in 2024. This event sold out in 48 hours; to get advance access to Spinoff events, join our members programme. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darleen Tana has quit the Green Party following a long-awaited report into her role in allegations of migrant exploitation at her husband’s e-bike business. She disputes the findings and, so far, has ignored pleas by co-leader Chloe Swarbrick to resign from parliament. Which leaves the Greens in a pickle: do they invoke the waka-jumping legislation they so publicly abhor? And what is the broader damage to the Greens? Plus: Chris Bishop’s promise to “flood” the housing market with a new density policy, and can Christopher Luxon have an important pull-aside chat with Joe Biden at the Nato gathering in Washington DC? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special Euro-vote edition of GBL, Henry Cooke joins Toby Manhire to chew over two fascinating results. Exit polls from France suggest the far-right National Rally’s ambitions have been repelled at the onzième hour. What happened, and is Emmanuel Macron vindicated? In the UK, Keir Starmer leads the Labour Party to a landslide victory, and yet it’s a shallow sweep, and he faces tests from the left. What next for British politics? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this GBL special from Manila, Toby Manhire sits down with John Nery of Rappler at the East-West media conference to discuss heightened disputes in the South China Sea and risks of the Philippines getting caught up in a great powers battle, the dynastic nature of politics in the country, and the state of media freedom. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A ferry grounded, a power pylon upended thanks to missing bolts, the prime minister's plane borked again. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire assess sticky-taped, short-term New Zealand and what to do about it. Plus: a bright solution to a messy situation on cancer drug funding and the first ever scrutiny week at parliament. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We thought you might like a wee taster of our brand new #1 series, Juggernaut: The Story of the Fourth Labour Government, hosted by Toby Manhire. Click here to follow Juggernaut so you get every episode as soon as it's released! 1. I love you, Mr Lange Fuelled by brandy and fury, Sir Rob Muldoon calls a snap election, sparking a 1984 campaign of contrasts – the menacing, protectionist National PM against the fresh, upbeat Labour leader, David Lange. The pretext for the election is the decision by Marilyn Waring, a young, gay MP, to back an anti-nuclear bill and quit the National caucus, prompting an earful from Muldoon. Lange, meanwhile, is joined at the hip by a hungry would-be finance minister, Roger Douglas. They are about to confront a profound crisis, and launch a revolution. Includes previously unheard interviews with David Lange from the 84 campaign trail, and new and exclusive interviews with Marilyn Waring, Roger Douglas, Geoffrey Palmer, Richard Prebble, Peter Harris, Margaret Wilson, Bob Harvey and Gary McCormick. Click here for full details of archive material used in this series Juggernaut was made with the support of NZ On Air. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Eleven agencies were summoned for a meeting on Friday to discuss “action” to address a series of allegations involving Manurewa marae and Te Pāti Māori, the most serious of which is misuse of census data ahead of the last election, at which TPM’s Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp – then CEO of the marae – defeated Labour’s Peeni Henare by just 42 votes. Kemp and John Tamihere, president of TPM, strenuously reject the allegations and “baseless innuendo”. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire convene their own summit in an attempt to get their heads around the claims and counter-claims, and why they’re so serious. Plus: The enduring newsline for Nicola Willis’s debut budget was meant to be tax cuts and a tightening of belts. Instead it’s something else: a failure to deliver promised funding to 13 cancer drugs. We assess the severity of the backlash, the response, and the reception to the 2024 budget more broadly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nicola Willis has delivered tax cuts in her first budget, largely as promised. But has the coalition government managed to square the circle of relieving cost of living pressures while avoiding the quicksand of encouraging inflation? In a special crossover episode of Gone By Lunchtime meets When the Facts Change, Toby Manhire quizzes Bernard Hickey on all that, plus: Is Willis right to say the tax cuts are not paid for by borrowing, and can she reasonably blame Labour for the bleak fiscal outlook? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special episode of GBL, recorded before a sell-out audience at the Auckland Writers Festival on May 18, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire haul the KPIs out of the cabinet and assess the first six months of the National-led government, the performances of Prime Minister Chris Luxon, Winston Peters and David Seymour, along with the efforts from the parties of opposition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Spinoff has just launched a brand new series called Behind the Story, where site editor Madeleine Chapman sits down with a staff writer or contributor to gain more insight about a big story on The Spinoff from the week. We thought you might like to check out the first episode, and if you enjoy it please follow it wherever you get your podcasts! On Friday, Bulletin editor Anna Rawhiti-Connell sent her final newsletter, and took the opportunity to share what she’s learned about the news over two years of curating it for thousands of New Zealanders. Earlier in the week, she’d seen reports of Auckland dog owners discarding their pets’ turds on the ground after Auckland Council removed bins across the city. And so, the column “If you love a dog, you must also love disposing of its shit” was born. Anna joins Madeleine Chapman to talk about the power journalists have when framing a story and how to find the middle ground between boring and sensational. For The Spinoff editor’s thoughts on the week that was, as well as a handpicked collection of the week’s best reads, subscribe to The Weekend with Madeleine Chapman newsletter at thespinoff.co.nz/newsletters  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Six months in, and it's hardly been a honeymoon. A new poll would put National out of power and sees its leader, Chris Luxon, sliding in popularity. How much is it about policy, how much coalition management, and a how much just the persistent grey economic clouds. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas gather to stick their fingers in the wind. Also on the agenda: the two Winstons entwine as the foreign minister takes aim at former Australian foreign minister Bob Carr, who responds with a threat to sue. Did Melissa Lee and Penny Simmonds deserve to be demoted? Plus, what the Waitangi Tribunal said about the decision to scrap Oranga Tamariki's section 7AA, and what the High Court said about children's minister Karen Chhour's refusal to turn up to talk about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Winston Peters and Helen Clark are at loggerheads over New Zealand inching towards "pillar two" status in a pact geared against China. Is cross-party unity on our foreign policy status splintering, and what does "pillar two" really mean? Plus: public sector cuts are suddenly becoming very real. What are the implications for the public services and what is the political risk? How is Melissa Lee navigating the media inferno in a coalition cabinet? And a stirring defence of the history curriculum. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special edition of GBL, the former finance minister and soon-to-be vice-chancellor at the University of Otago chats with Toby Manhire from the nosebleeds at the Basin Reserve. On the agenda: tax reforms lost, the Covid legacy, the lure of Dunedin, and which White Fern Robertson most identifies with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite a deteriorating economic outlook and inconvenient calculations, Nicola Willis and Chris Luxon insist that they can deliver promised tax cuts without new taxes or higher borrowing. Or that’s the intention, at least. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas chew over the fiscal predicament. Plus: is the new fast-track consenting law, which concentrates immense power in the hands of Chris Bishop, Simeon Brown and Shane Jones, a necessary circuit breaker or a lurch towards Muldoonism? What to make of Winston Peters’ ramblings about Nazism, DNA and co-governance? And while Chumbawamba have urged New Zealand's veteran tub-thumper to cease and desist, is a better template for his contribution one of the Gallagher brothers? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Luxon can’t catch a break. His prime ministerial house is shabby. His prime ministerial plane is borked. But, ask Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas, how foreseeable was the blowback to his decision to take the $52k accommodation allowance to stay in his own mortgage-free Wellington apartment, how tin-eared was it to declare, repeatedly, that he was entitled to his entitlements, thank you very much, and the swift talkback-driven U-turn? It came hot on the heels of a whiplash week in parliament, with legislation to bin the Māori Health Authority, roll back smokefree legislation and unban pseudoephedrine. Is the government stretching the use of urgency to its legitimate limit? Elsewhere in a new edition of the Spinoff politics podcast Gone By Lunchtime: Warner Brothers Discovery has issued a death warrant for Newshub, all of Three’s news operations and a bunch of other local content. What does it mean for democracy, and how was the response from Melissa Lee and the rest? Plus: A word on Grant Robertson, who is leaving politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fa'anānā Efeso Collins, Green MP and former Auckland councillor, has died after collapsing while taking part in a charity run in central Auckland. He was 49 years old and is survived by his wife, Fia, and two daughters. The news reached Toby, Ben and Annabelle while a podcast recording was under way. At that point the planned recording halted and we shared reflections on his life and legacy. We have chosen to include the early part of the podcast; to skip past discussions that in the circumstances feel trivial, listen from approximately 22 mins. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annabelle Lee-Mather returns from the cauldron of Waitangi to discuss with Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire the rhetorical flames and gently roasted marshmallows at the hugely attended commemorations. Did Christopher Luxon navigate a copy-paste path between his coalition partners and how many tails does it take to wag a dog? Also on the podcast this week, Ben explains why new minister Casey Costello's explanation for seeking advice on freezing tax on tobacco is consistent with the enigmatic NZ First school of biblical interpretation. Plus: James Shaw is quitting the Green co-leadership. What legacy does he leave and what difference might Chlöe Swarbrick, the favourite to replace him, make for the party? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The political year has begun with a sharp focus on the new coalition government and te ao Māori. In the first pod back for 2024, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire discuss the messages from the packed Kiingitanga hosted hui ā motu and an unusually politically barbed Rātana. How is Christopher Luxon dealing with questions – and fury – over the Treaty Principles Bill agreed to as part of the deal with Act? Should David Seymour have shown up? And what is NZ First – the third bonce of what was called a “three-headed taniwha” – looking to gain? Also on GBL: Is New Zealand’s deployment of NZDF to the Red Sea as part of the retaliatory action against Yemen’s Houthis a smart move, and is it plausible to say there is no link to the Israeli action in Gaza? And the resignation of Green MP Golriz Ghahraman returns questions around mental health, abuse and responsibility to the foreground. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At the end of a long year and a hectic few weeks for the new government, Toby Manhire, Ben Thomas and Annabelle Lee-Mather ask: What is the story of the three-headed coalition so far? Plus: how do we rate the various parties' performance across 2023? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SUPERPOD is back! Hosted by Gone By Lunchtime's Toby Manhire and featuring Jane Yee and Alex Casey from The Real Pod, Duncan Greive from The Fold, Gone By Lunchtime's Annabelle Lee-Mather, Simon Pound from Business Is Boring, Bernard Hickey from When The Facts Change and The Spinoff Podcast Network's Te Aihe Butler and Samuel Robinson, SUPERPOD 2023 is the crossover to end all crossovers. From intense discussion of government policy to figuring out what the heck a skibidi toilet is, we celebrate the best and worst of what has been a rollercoaster year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first fortnight of the three-part coalition government has been anything but dull. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas review Christopher Luxon's performance as his deputy PM Winston Peters steals thunder, a 100-day plan lays out an ambitious programme of undoing, and Te Pāti Māori command attention in the house and on the streets as parliament gets back into business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Luxon has scaled his Big Rock candy mountain and today the new National, Act and NZ First coalition has its ministers sworn in at Government House. Toby Manhire, Ben Thomas and Annabelle Lee-Mather rattle through the two coalition deals and ask: Who scored the big wins? Will there be further changes when the books are opened and a mini-budget published? What is the message to Māori? And what can we learn from the dynamics at play between Luxon, Winston Peters and David Seymour? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The special votes have confirmed a "worst case scenario" mélange à trois comprising National, Act and NZ First. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas assess the state of coalition talks. What are the, as Christopher Luxon's puts it, "big rocks", "additive things" and "things we've got variance in"? Plus: Te Pāti Māori triples its caucus, Chris Hipkins faces a leadership vote, and our predictions on when the new government will be announced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National has won the election, but what kind of victory is it? Will a coalition with Act be enough, or is Winston Peters’ phone about to ring? Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire sift through the results the morning after, sizing up Christopher Luxon’s achievement, the Labour plunge and the future for the Greens, NZ First and Te Pāti Māori. It was a night that produced some big surprises, in Auckland seats and across the Māori seats. Plus: what next for a wounded Labour, what kind of government would a National-Act coalition mean, and the task ahead for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After months of living and breathing this year’s election campaign Gone By Lunchtime’s Toby Manhire, The Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman and The Bulletin editor Anna Rawhiti-Connell join together to discuss the events of election day. Toby arrives fresh from a whirlwind tour of various party events while Mad and Anna emerge from an evening spent devouring election coverage and reporting on results. Go here to watch this episode on YouTube, where it broadcast as a livestream on election night. Keep an eye on this feed later today (Sunday 15th October) for a morning-after-the-night-before deep dive with Toby, Annabelle and Ben. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the last pre-election pod, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire comb through the final polls and take stock after a hectic final few days in which panicked-looking National has gone really negative - on a government led by them. Meanwhile, Labour might have inched back up, but is it enough to give them even a distant hope? Plus: Thoughts on Act, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, and a not entirely fond farewell to the campaign of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Labour leader has Covid-19, which means a campaign rejig and a protracted squabble with Christopher Luxon about who is quitting the Press debate and who isn’t. Meanwhile, Winston Peters has gone into bombastic overdrive, parts of the campaign have gotten ugly, and a clutch of new polls indicate tight races in Auckland Central, Tāmaki, and Hauraki Waikato. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas take the pulse. Plus: Christopher Luxon has declined to be interviewed by The Spinoff or on the pod. We extend again a warm invitation to the man who could be prime minister in a few weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the second leader debate, Chris Hipkins went full-mojo against Christopher Luxon. Did it work for him, or did he overdo it? The NZ First leader wasn't there and yet he really was, after Luxon ruled him in at the start of the week. "I don't know him," professed Luxon of Peters, but will that wash? And what was the thinking behind the ruling-in, and why now. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire tackle all of that, and pick the stars and the flops across other debates of the last week, including the powerbrokers clash on Newshub Nation, and the young voter and kaupapa Māori debates on TVNZ. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the 12th and final hour of the Election 2023 Megapod, the Mount Rushmore of political podcasting returns and makes a desperate dash for the finish line. There is some discussion of polling and the campaign trail as it hits mid-point, but mostly it’s Annabelle pounding her chest and shouting, “there’s nothing left in here for you.”  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s getting late and unruly on the Election 2023 Megapod, and that means it’s time for The Real Pod’s Jane Yee and Duncan Greive to join Toby Manhire and Ben Thomas – as well as Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman – to remember The Worm, the strange and transformative graphic that once crawled across debate screens. The quintet then look back on key appearances by politicians on reality television.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an extended interview, Toby Manhire talks to Bernard Hickey about his life in media, politics and the economy. We also discover why Bernard has totally changed his approach to journalism.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ollie Neas of Policy.nz joins Toby Manhire to reflect on the history and purpose of New Zealand’s best policy comparison tool, how it works, and what it can tell us already about the parties’ priorities in this year’s election.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the second season of The Spinoff video series Youth Wings is released, two of the participants from the previous season join Toby Manhire to give their impressions of the new crop, reflect on responses to their own appearances three years ago, and reveal what they’re up to now.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Despite a poll that put him in third place, Raf Manji insists that he can win the seat of Ilam and bring the Opportunities Party into parliament for the first time.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How does Labour’s economic record stack up after six years? Toby Manhire talks to Grant Robertson about his approach to politics, memories of 2005, and whether he feels he’s achieved what he hoped for.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just how much power does the governor general wield, is David Seymour’s thought experiment of “confidence but no supply” plausible, and what would happen in a 60-seats-all tie? Constitutional expert Andrew Geddis joins Toby Manhire to chew through the scenarios.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Act leader David Seymour explains why he thinks political dramas on television are a dangerous drug for politicians. Plus: does he want Act to “own” policy areas in a coalition, or to feed in across the board? This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Australians will vote on October 14, too: on creating a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. What would the creation of this body mean and how is the debate shaping up? Plus: how interested are Australians in New Zealand politics now Jacinda Ardern has left the scene?  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Act deputy leader has launched an audacious challenge in the east Auckland seat of Tāmaki. She joins Toby Manhire to discuss her philosophical differences with Simon O’Connor, whether Act could live with an anti-abortion MP in its caucus, and the policy issues that fire her up. She also reveals that Act has written a letter of complaint to Newshub about coverage of its campaign launch.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Which electorates have pulses racing in this campaign? Toby Manhire is joined by Spinoff colleagues Charlotte Muru-Lanning, Stewart Sowman-Lund, Shanti Mathias and Joel MacManus to pick the seats they’re most excited about, including Tāmaki Makaurau, Tāmaki, Wellington Central and Ilam. This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first debate, Labour leader Chris Hipkins appeared to suggest he had not read a book. On our epic 12-hour megapod, he confirmed that in fact he has, and what his favourite books are. Plus, Hipkins’ self-assessment of his mojo, the mood in Gisborne, his prediction for turnout and political TV comfort food. This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

International issues have so far had stuff-all airtime in the campaign. University of Otago professor Robert Patman talks Ukraine and Russia, Aukus, and the geopolitical questions the leaders should be facing.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

High-flying National MP Erica Stanford joins Toby Manhire to explain why she wants to be education minister and why the National Party wants to mandate structured literacy. Plus: the pressure politicians face and a response to the suggestion a two-woman party leadership wouldn’t fly. This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Victoria University of Wellington political scientist, Lara Greaves, talks about changes to how the Māori roll works, online harassment and the pros and cons of polling. This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Green Party co-leader James Shaw joins Toby Manhire to explain how he’s striving to get climate change on the agenda in a cost-of-living campaign, the “ultimate threat multiplier” and the agony of rewatching The West Wing. This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fresh from a poll that puts her second in Te Tai Hauāuru, Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer talks with Toby Manhire about her prospects, the party’s priorities, and how the party has changed from the days of Tariana Turia. This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Toby Manhire is joined by the three leading candidates in the race for Auckland Central: sitting MP Chlöe Swarbrick of the Greens, National’s Mahesh Muralidhar and Labour’s Oscar Sims. What do they have to say about transport in the city? Housing? Crime? And will Toby storm out of the studio and leave them to debate without him?  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Labour MP Michael Wood talks to Toby about the impact of his resignation as a minister three months ago (“It was really awful to be honest”), the campaign to date, and what he hopes to do next. Plus: we enquire about his redemption animal (clue: it’s not a yak). This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Toby Manhire is joined by Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman, Bulletin editor Anna Rawhiti-Connell and founder Duncan Greive to critique the performances of Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon in the 1News debate, and critique the critiques. This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas size up the big first clash of Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon under the hot studio lights at 1News. What were the flashpoints, would have emerged the happiest, and is this going to change people's votes? Plus: the angry fence man disrupts Act's campaign launch and the latest from the campaign trail with 24 days to go. Plus: the latest Ipsos Issues Monitor and a new poll on Te Tai Hauāuru. This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Seymour has led the Act Party from the edge of extinction to a major force in the NZ parliament and stands today on the brink of bringing multiple MPs to the cabinet table. In a wide-raning conversation with Toby Manhire, he talks about why he doesn't want to talk about Winston Peters, the reasons behind the party seeing five candidates withdraw within two months, and defends his assertion that Nelson Mandela would back his party. Plus: Is Act's housing policy a Nimby's charter, why he's not interested in the baubles of office, and would Mary Poppins vote for Act? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the first leaders' debate less than a week away, Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire ask if the National leader is staging an epic hustle. Does mounting pressure on National over purported numbers for a foreign buyer property tax offer hope that Chris Hipkins and Labour can reclaim some of the lost ground, or do a succession of polls that put them in the 20s mean they're in furniture-saving mode? Plus: how is the energy on the campaign trail, do the numbers of the Prefu change things, and why Winston Peters' claim that Māori are not indigenous to New Zealand amounts to much more than a quirky academic exercise. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A big day in the 2023 campaign as Treasury opens up the books and sets out the pre-election fiscal update. Toby Manhire is joined by When the Facts Change host, Kākā pilot and sage of the political economy Bernard Hickey to explain what the Prefu reveals, how New Zealand's numbers compare internationally and what it means for the financial scrap playing out between National and Labour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Toby Manhire sits down with the co-leaders of the Green Party to discuss the successes and failures of the last six years, how they're approaching a crowded, antagonistic campaign, the electorate seats they're taking seriously and the great dance of rulings out and bottom lines. Plus: what was going through their heads as they stood a few metres away from Elizabeth Kerekere when she denounced an "epic failure of leadership" and the latest on the incident in which Davidson was struck by a motorcycle during the Posie Parker counter-protest. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the campaign kicks into full ice-cream-and-robotic-hands mode, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire size up the state of play. On the agenda: National's tax plan and the complaints of "heroic" assumptions; Labour's dental pledge and the promised land of 2026 (and memories of the old days when kids were bussed off to the "murder house"); the Labour and National campaign launches, their slickness and protester interruptions; and which other historical figures would have voted Act? Plus: an important update on Annabelle's pigeon situation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The state of the campaign, the struggling Chrises and the electorate battles to watch are all on the agenda as Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas take the stage at the Word Christchurch festival. Joining the trio is Lianne Dalziel, former cabinet minister and Christchurch mayor, to share her thoughts on the Labour campaign, the Christchurch electorates to watch and the local-central balance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new poll lays bare National's ascendancy and the scale of Chris Hipkins' challenge. Is it about Labour's strategy, the state of the economy, or Christopher Luxon polishing his act? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas assess the state of play with just over 50 days to the election. Plus: David Seymour's Guy Fawkes fantasy and Te Pāti Māori candidate Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who is on course to become the youngest MP since James Frederick Stuart-Wortley in 1853. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will all the good polling in the world make up for the lampooning of Labour's big policy on GST and fruit and vegetables? Will Ben Thomas's coconut with a straw be exempt? Ben, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire discuss Chris Hipkins' launch into campaign mode, Grant Robertson's Damascene moment, and whether the initiative was seized back with a kindergarten launch of paid partner parental leave. Plus: Are we on the cusp of something special (in 2026)? Has Act revealed its worry about NZ First with a weird Winston Peters attack ad? Does the Robertson-Willis "liar" stuff point to a relentlessly belligerent campaign? How about those Greens? How about National's pledge to ban cellphones in schools? And should Sam Uffindell be appointed groceries commissioner? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The man who managed five National election campaigns joins Toby Manhire to talk about his new book, about going from Mr Fix It to Phone-a-friend, the National meltdown, the secrets to campaigning and working with the public service, and his encounters with fiscal holes, Eminem, a phallic squeaky pecker, and an MP who made headlines for talking about his testicles.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Hipkins sits down with Toby Manhire for a wide-ranging interview spanning his political foundations, the record of the Labour government after two terms, coping with a string of ministerial scandals, and what to expect in the campaign to come. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire in a deep dive into the holes of the emerging campaign. Is it time for a costings unit to stop the fiscal squabbles? Is Labour on the brink of reviving its GST-free fruit and vegetable policy, what does that mean for boondoggles and beetroot? What sticks out in the freshly announced Labour list, and how can Chris Hipkins halt the party's bad momentum. And why is Christopher Luxon refusing to state clearly whether National would work with NZ First to form a government? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New Zealand woke to news this morning that cabinet minister Kiri Allan had resigned and will face charges for careless driving and resisting arrest after crashing her car last night. Toby Manhire recounts what we know so far, and reflects on Allan's extraordinary political story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chris Hipkins has dashed the hopes of some of his most senior colleagues and Labour progressives by burying the prospect of a wealth tax or new capital gains tax under his leadership. Is that a surprise, and what does it say about the state of the party and the campaign, wonder Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire. Also on the list in a busy patch of pre-campaign activity: Labour launch a slogan and a week of law and order policy; National growls at potholes and offers KiwiSaver solutions to rental bonds; the Greens pledge to return stolen Māori land; the Dawn Raids report that made the apology ring hollow; and the major parties on course for their worst combined result since 2002. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kiri Allan is under pressure over her relationships with staff – what exactly is she accused of and does it add up to a serious controversy? Toby Manhire, Ben Thomas and Annabelle Lee-Mather size up the pressure on the minister, and the poly-distractions confronting Chris Hipkins. Also this week: the National Party doubles down on law and order as it targets 45%; the prime minister walks the tightrope in China before setting off for a Nato summit in Lithuania; and what is the mood on the ground in one of the most exciting electorate battles, Ikaroa-Rāwhiti? Plus: your plucky political podcasters debate who has correctly counted the number of days to the election – Toby Manhire or Mike Hosking? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman has just returned on the NZDF workhorse from covering Chris Hipkins' big week in China. She sits down with Toby Manhire to describe the scene in the Great Hall of the People, how Hipkins managed the tricky political challenges from Xi Jinping to Kiri Allan, and the prime minister's suboptimal approach to snacking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As PM Hipkins leads a big delegation for a big week in China, Toby Manhire is joined by Newsroom's national affairs editor Sam Sachdeva (author of The China Tightrope: Navigating New Zealand's relationship with a world superpower) to discuss the state of the relationship, the shifting fault lines and the tripwires Chris Hipkins needs to avoid as he prepares to meet President Xi Jinping. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nothing says election year quite like writ day, rosettes and pledges to crack down on gangs. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire look at the debate around the influx of gang members and police to Ōpōtiki. Also on the agenda: it's officially a recession - what kind of political weight does that carry? National embraces GMO and abandons He Waka Eke Noa as it attempts to wrench the rural vote back from Act - does it risk alienating voters in the middle? Plus: the Green Party's tax policy, the resignation or not of Meng Foon and the question that goes to the zeitgeist: have we, as Christopher Luxon says, really become a "very negative, wet, whiny, inward-looking" country? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The review of electoral laws calls for wide-ranging changes, across the voting age, thresholds and donations. It also prompted derision from the likes of Mike Hosking, David Seymour and Winston Peters. Panel chair Deborah Hart joins Toby Manhire to explain the thinking behind the recommendations, and responds to the critics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Teenager Michael Wood's purchase of Auckland airport shares, and his failure to get rid of them as transport minister, have left Chris Hipkins with another big headache. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas assess the mess and its implications. Plus: Simeon Brown and the many intersections of the National Party position on te reo and road signs; a Voyager media award for the Birkenhead Bowling Club interrogators; Christopher Luxon snookered on contraception fees while Labour goes full panto with Handmaid's Tale allusions; and all the big calls from the electoral review panel – are they right, and to they stand a chance of coming to pass? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Toby Manhire crosses live to our correspondents in Wairoa and Ponsonby, Ben Thomas and Annabelle Lee-Mather, for an assessment of Grant Robertson’s attempt to thread the needle in the so-called no-frills budget and a National Party response that had a hint of artificial intelligence about it. Plus: is the $140 million being handed to foreign-owned NZ Steel for an electric furnace money well spent? Was Chris Hipkins’ whistlestop visit to Papua New Guinea time well expended? And is there anything more absorbing than the moody upheavals of Mayor Ben Bell and the Gore District Council? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the political and economic gravities pulling in various directions, the finance minister was tasked with providing support for the hardest hit by the cost-of-living crisis without heaping sugar in an already high-inflation sauce. And on top of that, it's an election year. To assess whether Grant Robertson managed to thread that needle, Gone By Lunchtime’s Toby Manhire sits down with When the Facts Change’s Bernard Hickey to discuss their Budget 2023 reactions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Luxon has ruled out working with te Pāti Māori, lambasted the “coalition of chaos” and invoked “separatism”. Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire assess the strategy, the timing and the rhetoric. Plus: the latest on Meka Whaitiri and the reasons for her defection, the resignation of Elizabeth Kerekere and what it means for the Greens, and important discourse on the oiling of Charles III, king of New Zealand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Big news: The MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti and government minister, Meka Whaitiri, has jumped from the Labour Party to the Māori Party. Were Toby Manhire, Ben Thomas, and Annabelle Lee-Mather as blindsided as Chris Hipkins, as he lived it large in London ahead of the Coronation? What exactly were her reasons for defecting? How damaging is it to the government? And, if she has really notified the Speaker that she has quit Labour, doesn't the waka jumping law dictate that she should no longer be an MP at all? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the report on tax paid by the wealthiest New Zealanders valuable data or political stunt, and does David Parker's campaign for a wealth tax stand a chance against Chris Hipkins' no-frills crusade? Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire discuss potential future Labour tax policy, relocating the podcast to Australia to take advantage of the new citizenship pathway; Kiri Allan, Meng Foon and donations; candidate selection, deep scrolls and the dangers of poetry to politicians. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Chris Hipkins rebrands water reforms, making four entities into 10, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire ask whether the changes will be enough to mollify the critics. Plus: Jacinda Ardern's valedictory speech, reviewed; the Covid-19 settings decision, assessed; crybabygate; and the confiscation of lobbyists' swipe cards. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stuart Nash is goneburger and Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas are here to file through his laundry list of infractions to decide whether or not Chris Hipkins should take further action. Could Nash end up in NZ First? Will he be snapped up by Ben and his lobbyist comrades? Plus: Marama Davidson calls out cis white men and Erica Stanford delivers the National Party's education policy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fresh from round two of Chris Hipkins’ “reprioritisation” (but pre-Stuart Nash’s resignation as police minister), Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas wade through the long list of culled policies to discuss the hottest topics in New Zealand politics. What is the meaning of the ever-shrinking government programme? Have the Greens been shafted? Is Christopher Luxon's role as leader of the National Party in trouble? We break it all down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After an online excoriation of National's Three Waters policy, Rob Campbell has insisted he will not be "politically neutered" and has been sacked as Te Whatu Ora chair. Was that fair, ask Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire. And was he right about National's policy? Plus: Grant Robertson says it's too early to decide how to pay for the Cyclone Gabrielle rebuild. Is a flood tax on the cards? How did the first clash of the Chrises at parliament go? A word on Maureen Pugh. Vale Chester Borrows. And the politics inside and outside Te Matatini. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A week after the cyclone ravaged swathes of the North Island, the northern Hawke's Bay community of Wairoa is still assessing the damage and slowly, piece by piece, reconnecting to the world from which it was isolated. Ben Thomas, who has been in Wairoa since before the storm hit, calls in to talk with Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire about the experience, the response and the political ramifications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How has Chris Hipkins performed in his first big tests as prime minister? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas debate the deluge aftermath, as well as assessing Wayne Brown's emergency response, and a pair of polls that show an election year in the balance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the blink of an eye we'll have a new NZ prime minister. Annabelle, Ben and Toby assess the coronation, the reset and what it all means for election 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An out-of-gas Jacinda Ardern is standing down as prime minister. What prompted the decision, what legacy will she leave, who is in the running to succeed her, and what does it all mean for election year? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas race from their own caucus retreat into the studio for this emergency episode. Get tickets for Morningside Block Party here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's election year! In the coming weeks Jacinda Ardern will reveal the date of the upcoming general election. Toby Manhire uses his superior deduction skills in an attempt to predict the date before its announcement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From the occupation at parliament to disruption within the National party, Toby Manhire flips through the calendar, circling key dates as he waves goodbye to a year that felt like it would never end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SUPERPOD is back! And for 2022, we're bigger than ever! Hosted by Gone By Lunchtime's Toby Manhire and featuring Jane Yee and Alex Casey from The Real Pod, Duncan Greive from The Fold, Leonie Hayden from Nē?, Simon Pound from Business Is Boring, The Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman and The Spinoff Podcast Network's Te Aihe Butler, SUPERPOD 2022 is our multiverse of madness. From the Black Ferns' historic win to Mike King's villainous turn on Celebrity Treasure Island, we cover the incredible highs and lows of what has been a terribly special year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the current state of our political parties as 2022 grinds to a spluttering halt? On the eve of election year we ask; can Labour rejuvenate? Will National survive the spotlight? How did Act and the Greens keep their polling so strong, and how do they play 2023? Plus: Te Pāti Māori, NZ First and even TOP. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr paints a gruesome picture for the year ahead, Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire ask what it means for the election ahead. Plus: National kills its tax cut darling, Christopher Luxon stumbles on super numbers, the boot camp brouhaha, Winston Peters’ break from tradition, and an extended constitutional corner in which the GBL team impersonate public law intellectuals and assess the entrenchment malarkey and the supreme court ruling on the voting age. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five years ago, three would-be MPs accepted invitations from The Spinoff to write diaries chronicling their efforts. Five years on, in a special live event made possible by Spinoff Members, Kiritapu Allan, Erica Stanford and Chlöe Swarbrick talk candidly with Toby Manhire about that incredible 2017 campaign, and their extraordinary first five years in parliament. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices