Gone By Lunchtime

Three weeks to go and Chris Hipkins has put his finger on it: this campaign does have some of the post-apocalyptic survival energy of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas gather for some group therapy, to assess the performances in the TVNZ multi-party debate and the NZME leaders' debate, the controversy over pics of Green and Te Pati Māori MPs hanging out with the Mongrel Mob, and the re-emergence of the bitter fight between Winston Peters and Christopher Luxon over the New Zealand position on the war in Iran. Cast your vote for Gone By Lunchtime in the Listeners' Choice category in this year's NZ Podcast Awards:https://www.nzpodcastawards.com/nominate Watch Toby's interview with Winston Peters here:https://youtu.be/gseBfePQzMM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Round one of the Chris v Chris debate season played out last night on TVNZ. Ben Thomas was in the pundit capsule. Toby Manhire was in the studio. Annabelle Lee-Mather was in bed. The morning after, they assemble in the Spinoff pod studio to share their assessments, and at times they seem to have been watching very different events.Did Hipkins out-debate Luxon on the cost of living and the economy? Where were they on the morality of the billionaire? Who fared better on education, on health, on te tiriti? Were the real winners the parties that weren't in the room? And how about Jack Tame's wall?Plus: the scene was set for the encounter by two polls that tell a striking story: Labour and National are both going to struggle to hit 30%. Is that locked in, or can they claw their way back? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Kingmakers’ Debate is the highest-profile of a burst of events in the first full-throttle week of the 2026 campaign. How did the party leaders do in the Press-Post thing, and what happened to the worm? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas gather at the roundtable to exchange their piping  takes. Plus: What does new polling tell us about the way Māori are planning to vote? Now that John Key has knocked it down, is Harry Mowbray’s overhang campaign a serious thing? Who are the breakout stars of the election to date? And a word on Adrian Rurawhe.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here’s a taste of our new podcast, At Large with Toby Manhire: this week Jack Tame came in to talk about how he’s preparing to host the first leaders’ debate in 2026, how the campaign is taking form, and the struggle to get the prime minister (and others) to talk to him on Q+A. Watch the Mt Albert debate in full here: https://youtu.be/LZO7gu6rhQg Watch the debate debrief with Lyric Waiwiri-Smith and Hayden Donnell here: https://youtu.be/1KewN5ilXtc Watch the full interview with Jack Tame here: https://youtu.be/RYOI7d16ApQ Follow At Large with Toby Manhire now on ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠Apple Podcasts,⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠, or wherever you get your pods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parliament has disgorged its politicians ahead of a Super Sunday of campaign launches, with just a month and a day until advance voting begins. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas leaf through the brand new Ipsos Issues Monitor, which reveals which issues matter most to New Zealanders in election season, which parties they consider best equipped to tackle those concerns, and where people rank out of 10 the government’s performance. Have the competing parties successfully shaped their campaigns to meet a mood in which voters are very exercised about cost of living and increasingly worried about the health system?Plus: Nicky Hager has published Dirty Work, the third in a trilogy – what does the book tell us? And how alarmed should we be about a flagrant subversion of the Official Information Act in the curriculum overhaul project at the Ministry of Education? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just when you thought the two main parties were fixed on a do-little election, the National Party bursts out the triangulator and gazumps its Labour rivals with a pledge to pursue a breakup of the Foodstuffs group of Pak’nSave, New World and Four Square. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire race their trolleys to the studio to ask: will Nicola Willis’s bold call cut through the blancmange like a Smeg blade through an Ooshie? Will the popular appeal outweigh the pushback from local businesses? Are the KiwiMart Greens, NZ First and their "copycat" pals National now natural partners? Where does it all leave Labour? And does Annabelle deserve more respect for her "menage-opoly" bit?Plus: The report on the four-year ordeal for the Phillips children has been released and it's a horror show. What are the lessons for agencies including Oranga Tamariki and the Police, and is New Zealand suffering from an “accountability sink”?And what to make of the moves to wind down the Waitangi Tribunal? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This just in: we have nine more weeks of this. Can National's indefatigable campaign manager Simeon Brown sustain the unremitting tax focus all the way to election day, can Labour move the discussion to somewhere that suits it better, and with politicians across the board shrugging off requests for factual corrections and apologies have we waded into a post-truth, alternative-fact mire? Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire convene to tackle these question. Plus: Is Chris Hipkins hugging National close or spooning them? Is Te Pāti Māori's policy to entrench te tiriti as radical as some have suggested and how did Willie Jackson do in outling his own party's Māori campaign? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Luxon sailed into NZ politics six years ago as a champion of localism. Since becoming prime minister, his government has fallen deeply out of love with devolution. Changes including a rates cap and National’s ruling out of a bed tax have especially irked Wayne Brown, mayor of Auckland and the most powerful local politician in New Zealand. He’s gone from denial to anger to … what exactly? Joel MacManus and Hayden Donnell – fresh from interviewing Brown – join Toby to tell the story. Follow At Large with Toby Manhire now on ⁠Spotify⁠, ⁠Apple Podcasts,⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠, or wherever you get your pods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the nine days since he stared down his second caucus uprising within just a few months, Christopher Luxon has really bounced back. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas assess that rebound and the rapidfire tax attack lines against Labour. Plus: thoughts on Te Pāti Māori's overhang strategy and the Opportunity Party has its feet held to the fire.But wait: here's a special guest. It's only Chris Penk, the MP for Kaipara ki Mahurangi. He joins the pod to discuss what he's been up to since Christopher Luxon sacked him for caucus insurrection, as he enters the baby-yak phase of his career. And he addresses, of course, the "elephant in the room". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Luxon has survived a showdown vote in caucus, a lot like he survived a showdown vote in caucus in April. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas convene in the cause of making some sense of the failed coup (if that's what it was), where it fell apart, whether Luxon outsmarted the plotters, and where it leaves his leadership and the state of the election. (Note: this podcast was recorded before Chris Penk was sacked from cabinet by Christopher Luxon.) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It should have been a good day for the National Party. Instead, it was derailed by the latest bit of riffing by Christopher Luxon, in declaring, prompted by a listener's text on Newstalk ZB, that he'd like a referendum next term on MMP. A big day for the CRL, for education and for decrying Labour saying it would nix Investment Boost, got lost in the debris. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire discuss the latest unforced error from the prime minister, which follows hot on the heels of a regrettable appearance before the Rotorua Business Chamber, questions around use of NZDF transport for excursions including National Party fundraisers, and yet another public display of coalition dysfunction, following Winston Peters' attack in parliament on Green MP Lawrence Xu-Nan. Those comments, described by almost everyone as racist, prompted a diplomatic incident and international headlines, yet the PM felt he couldn't take any action beyond condemnation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The resurrection of former Labour minister Stuart Nash has come to an end, much like Icarus, with Winston Peters accepting his resignation as a NZ First candidate. Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire examine Nash's political ashes to assess how this will impact intra-coalition relations as salvos fly back and forth and Shane Jones accuses the prime minister of using "kneepads" to greet the Indian prime minister. And does it burst the bubble of nostalgia that has defined so much of the election year?Plus: Is the exhumed celebrity of Paul Henry, now an Act candidate, different to the rest? And why is the removal of Mana Whakahono ā Rohe agreements from the replacement bills for the RMA important? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Opportunity Party has shot up to the threshold fun zone, with Qiulae Wong at the helm and running a line as an alternative to NZ First. Will the distaste for the establishment parties and the salvos from across the board mean an unprecedented fully new arrival in parliament soon? Will it be Q, anon? Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire discuss the fourth attempt by Opportunity (nee TOP) to cross the line. Christopher Luxon is about to welcome Narendra Modi in Auckland, to celebrate the signing of the free-trade deal. The Indian prime minister's visit will mark the biggest political leader on our soils for more than a decade and Luxon has seized on the moment to pledge as National leader a catalogue of new bilateral deals. But does the FTA stance of his foreign minister (Winston Peters, curiously, is overseas during Modi's visit) risk pissing in the PM's punch? Headlines around homelessness, rough sleeping and emergency housing have surged into the foreground with revelations around MSD KPIs, move-on orders and the prime minister's admission he didn't know Auckland city has no night shelter. Plus: the New Zealand First redemption train continues, with Michael Laws added to an increasingly bulging carriage of survivors from decades past. Is it like Cocoon? Is it like the Thriller video? Or more like a scene from the Book of Revelations? We answer (or at least address) all these questions and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fresh from the bright lights and bitter recriminations of the National, Labour and Act party bashes, Lyric Waiwiri-Smith and Joel MacManus join Toby to reveal all, in this excerpt from the Spinoff’s new podcast, At Large with Toby Manhire. Follow At Large with Toby Manhire now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your pods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The gun for election 2026 was fired with great fury and much shrapnel on Sunday, with National campaign manager Simeon Brown sparing almost no one. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire huddle together to revisit those dramatic scenes and seek to understand why Brown thought it was a good idea to say that Winston Peters and David Seymour are his squabbling children and to declare NZ First irredeemably untrustworthy. A KiwiSaver policy staked out territory for the months to come, while the Greens were also in bold policy mode, laying out their plans on tax. And the dam has burst on the policy front for Labour, too. Did the public transport cap hit the mark?Plus: Erica Stanford turns the scrutiny spotlight squarely on MBIE officials over their questionable persistence on a multimillion-dollar biometric tech project. And is Tama Potaka just tweaking Conservation policy for the sale of "bits and bobs" or does the new act entail something more troubling? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Keir Starmer has walked out from Downing Street and said it’s all over, meaning Andy Burnham is almost certain to be the next UK PM, the seventh since 2016. Why did Starmer fail, who is Burnham, and is this all really about Nigel Farage and Reform? Toby talks to UK-based NZ journalist Richard Adams about the latest drama, and asks whether Christopher Luxon could learn anything. Plus: In How Good, Lyric Waiwiri-Smith reveals what she has learned about British romance from two powerful texts: Jane Austen’s Persuasion and Love Island UK. Follow At Large with Toby Manhire now on ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Apple Podcasts⁠⁠, ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story of Mike Smith's climate court action, the parliamentary response, and hard-copy briefings from lobbyists that went mysteriously missing has officially reached "saga" mode. Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire dive into the mire and debate whether there are dots to join. Elsewhere in this GBL buffet episode, they offer their budget verdicts, assess the latest bout of entitleditis besieging our MPs, search valiantly for Labour Party policy, revisit a busy weekend for Chris Penk in Singapore navigating "freerider" chat and radioactive conversations. Plus: a celebration of the new king of Twitter, MP Joseph Mooney. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bernard dashes out of the lockup to patch in to the studio and talk through with Toby the top lines from today's budget, the rosy economic forecasts on which it is built, and the battle lines it draws for the campaign ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special six-months-to-the-election edition, Toby, Annabelle and Ben, joined by a special surprise guest who may or may not be the brilliant Tova O'Brien of TVNZ Breakfast, size up the State of Things across the parties and putative combinations.Recorded live at the Kiri Te Kanawa theatre for the Auckland Writers Festival on Friday May 15, 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special edition of Gone By Lunchtime, Toby talks to Jane Wrightson, who is retiring after two terms as retirement commissioner. She shares her thoughts on the political football around Superannuation and KiwiSaver, the reforms to retirement-village legislation. Reflecting on a career that includes senior roles as chief censor, at the BSA and NZ on Air, and as an RNZ board member, Wrightson responds to recent remarks by David Seymour, the plan to dismantle the broadcasting regulator, and the debate over merging NZ on Air and the NZ Film Commission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a bonus episode of Gone By Lunchtime, Toby Manhire talks to Asher Emanuel, author of The Valley: Crime and Punishment in a New Zealand City. A gripping, true story of a group of people whose lives keep winding back to the Hutt Valley District Court, it offers an eye-opening insight into the human impacts and systemic fractures at the heart of the New Zealand criminal justice system. https://www.unitybooks.co.nz/products/valley-1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Messages suggesting the prime minister sought to support the US-Israel attacks on Iran landed with more than one explosion. Not only did it undermine Luxon’s position on the war and its impact, it delivered the deepest fissure yet in the coalition, with the PM saying his foreign minister had put politics ahead of the national interest. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire peer into that chasm to assess the severity of the wound and work out just what Winston Peters is playing at as the election draws closer. Plus: Is a new, rebooted, freshly assertive National Party strategy becoming clear? How wrong were we about Luxon’s pledges to secure a free trade deal with India? And a new, grumpy-parent style ultimatum has been issued to local councils: sort out your amalgamation or we’ll do it for you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Friday morning a bombshell report revealed a group of unnamed National MPs questioning Christopher Luxon's leadership, with the chief whip, Stuart Smith, said to have been "ghosted" by the PM. One hundred hours later, Luxon called their bluff and put a motion of confidence in himself. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire step through that extraordinary period, taking on a string of questions. Including: Who are the moany five MPs and what do they actually want? How bad was the Sunday night poll for him and his party? How did the prime minister manage in response? What was Stuart Smith up to and where did he disappear to? Did Luxon show tactical nous by calling the vote? How about that broadside against the media? Do Labour want him in or out? Does this draw a line under the speculation? And if you aren't yet shattered by this endless procession of question marks, is it possible to have a political soap opera without the matinee idol and grandmaster of the great New Zealand political story, Winston Peters, stepping in and stealing the scene? Oh, and also: was it ever really a coup? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Donald Trump has gone within hours from genocidal threats against Iran to talking about a joint venture with Tehran tolling the Strait of Hormuz. A fragile ceasefire is very good news, but the havoc is set to continue to flow down into the New Zealand economy. Now with the perilous Cyclone Vaianu bearing down on New Zealand, perhaps the government should just declare it a force majeure election. Toby, Annabelle and Ben gather to discuss the swirling crises, Winston Peters' encounter with Marco Rubio at the State Department in Washington, and whether the government is getting its response right. Plus: is it "overthinking" to detect some retribution in Christopher Luxon's decision to strip the roles of leader of the house and campaign chair from Chris Bishop, how might Simeon Brown adjust the campaign rudder, and did the PM really just forget about Tama Potaka? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NZ foreign minister was in DC to meet Marco Rubio just as Donald Trump raged about destroying Iran's civilisation. Mercifully, within hours the US president had announced a two-week ceasefire in the conflict. To help us get our heads around it all, Anna Fifield talks through the latest developments, assesses whether Winston Peters sent the right messages at the State Department, and shares her expertise on Iran, Lebanon and North Korea. Anna, who writes the members-only World Bulletin Weekly for the Spinoff and the Between Giants newsletter, has reported for the Financial Times and Washington Post from the Middle East, Asia, Europe and America. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Covidesque in crisis-mode, but anti-Covid in substance, the government response to the economic shockwaves released from the war on Iran is playing out in New Zealand this week. Have Nicola Willis and Christopher Luxon got it right with a $50 weekly payment that will help many, but miss out many more? Has a small-target-fixated Labour Party missed an opportunity? Are we all Hormuzologists now?Winston Peters, meanwhile, is pulling the crowds and playing the hits with a big speech in Tauranga that emphasised gentailer breakup and social conservatism, and unveiled, a little awkwardly, a new party candidate in former minister Alfred Ngaro. Has he nailed the in-power and in-opposition challenge, or is it just the populist-nationalist global winds blowing his way? And just what, by the way, is going on with the U-turn on commercial fishing size limits that everyone seems to be claiming credit for?Plus: how the claims about Chris Hipkins, made on Facebook by his ex-wife, made its way to the tiles of parliament. And Brooke van Velden is resigning from politics to spend more time with the public sector. What legacy does she leave, and what does it mean for the yellow-blue paradise of Tāmaki? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It was Christopher Luxon's worst week as prime minister, beginning with flubbed attempts to explain New Zealand's position on the war on Iran and ending with a nightmare poll that put National at 28.4% and sparked headlines suggesting he was considering his position. We step through those painful days, assessing the official response to the strikes launched by the US and Israel, the criticisms levelled at Luxon, and whether he has put the matter to bed by rubbishing those suggestions he was thinking of quitting and a delivering a markedly improved performance this week. Plus: as the shockwaves of the Middle East conflict are felt as far away as the New Zealand consumer economy and an election creeps closer, is National best to lean into crisis mode? In this episode, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire also take a look at the High Court that Mariameno Kapa-Kingi’s expulsion from Te Pāti Māori was unlawful: what next after her "repatriation"? And the second Royal Commission on the Covid response has been issued, and swiftly subject to some high-velocity spin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The mayors of Wellington and Auckland join Toby, Annabelle and Ben for two very special live events in recent days at the Embassy and Q Theatres. Discussion ranges from the state of the two cities to dealing with the Luxon government, from the last decade of politics to the stakes in the 2026 election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A catastrophic failure at the Moa Point wastewater plant in Wellington has laid bare a short-term crisis and a crisis of short-termism. Fortified by nothing but the balm of poo jokes, Ben Thomas relates the mood in the city and the measures under way in response. But does it say something deeper about the country and the state of its piping? Plus: a review of events of Waitangi, where the spotlight fell more directly on the parties of opposition than those of government. Just days after its divisions played out in the High Court, Te Pāti Māori's internal struggles manifested on the paepae, while a show of unity from Labour and the Greens was overshadowed by the announcement of Peeni Henare's exit from politics, and the sense of a story not being fully told. We discuss Henare's legacy, and where it leaves Labour's Māori caucus, as well as another big political departure, Judith Collins. What were the highs and lows of her remarkable parliamentary career, and is the step into the Law Commission presidency entirely legit? And finally: Energy minister Simon "Mega" Watts has announced the government will commission a billion-dollar import facility for liquefied natural gas to plug the gap in New Zealand's energy mix. But is the levy to fund it really a tax, and is this even the right question to be fixating on? Get your tickets to the Gone By Lunchtime 10th Birthday Party now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Christopher Luxon announced an election date of November 7, a strip of the North Island was under siege from another bout of brutal weather. As the clean-up and recovery continues, and families and communities grieve the loss of nine lives, questions swirl around the response. In the first Gone By Lunchtime for 2026, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire assess that response, and ask whether the bigger picture around climate adaptation and mitigation will filter through the forthcoming campaign. The year begins, meanwhile, with incessant geopolitical disorder emanating from the White House. As Mark Carney sets out his stall in compelling fashion at Davos, what does the Canadian prime minister's "new world order" approach have in common with Christopher Luxon's, where do they differ, and is New Zealand's prime minister on an election-year collision course with a foreign minister set upon below-parapet foreign relations and flirting with the thought of quitting the World Health Organisation? Speaking of Winston Peters, his New Zealand First Party has enjoyed a bump in recent polling. Could they emulate the populist-nationalist trends in Australia and the UK and climb even further? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a break over summer. We’ll be back soon with new episodes but, until then, here’s one of our favourites from 2025: Hot on the heels of the publication of A Different Kind of Power comes Prime Minister, an enthralling new film that applies a genuinely gobsmacking lens on Jacinda Ardern's time in power. In this special edition of Gone By Lunchtime, Madeleine Chapman, editor of the Spinoff (and author of Jacinda Ardern: A New Kind of Leader), joins Toby Manhire to talk about the film, which has just had its New Zealand premiere at the NZ International Film Festival, and the autobiography, what they tell us about Ardern and what they don't. This episode was originally published on August 9 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a break over summer. We’ll be back soon with new episodes but, until then, here’s one of our favourites from 2025: After the breakneck reforms of the 80s, Jim Bolger’s promise of a calmer, more inclusive New Zealand hits the spot. Emerging from the shadow of Muldoon and shaking off the nuclear baggage, Bolger leads the National Party to a landslide victory under the “decent society” banner. But even before the celebrations are done, the hangover hits: the state-owned BNZ is on the brink, and the government books are in a parlous state. Ruth Richardson wastes no time as finance minister in making the most of crisis mode, and within weeks is driving through some of the most dramatic social, economic and labour reforms New Zealand has ever seen.  Picking up where the award-winning first season of Juggernaut left off, this first episode includes new and exclusive interviews with Jim Bolger, Ruth Richardson, Jenny Shipley, Don McKinnon, Bill Birch, Michael Wall, Rob Eaddy, Michael Laws and more.  Juggernaut 2 was made with the support of NZ On Air. This episode was originally published on November 11 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire take a quick break from partying atop the Sky Tower to discuss the highlights from the political year that was, before sharing their predictions for 2026. Happy new year! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a break over summer. We’ll be back soon with new episodes but, until then, here’s one of our favourites from the vault: At 7.30am, just 53 days after he replaced Simon Bridges as leader of the National Party, Todd Muller announced his immediate resignation from the job. How did it come to this, and who is likely to emerge as the new leader, with less than 10 weeks to an election? Will deputy Nikki Kaye be promoted by caucus tonight? Is it Judith Collins' time? Can Simon Bridges complete the great arc of redemption? What about Gerry Brownlee or Mark Mitchell? Or maybe just chuck a baby yak in charge. This episode was originally published on July 14 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

His summer break may only be 20 minutes long, but Christopher Luxon goes into it grinning, on the back of a poll that saw a swing to the right, boosted economic confidence data, maybe staring down a maybe-coup, and most crucially, snipping the ribbon on the big green, yellow and blue shoot: Ikea. Just how confident must he feel going into Christmas? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas chew it over, plus: poor poll numbers for the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, as TPM limp through an AGM with their future in the balance. Another big reforming swing from Chris Bishop with two new bumper bills to replace the Resource Management Act; how will this look and what does it mean for iwi Māori? And how did former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster fare in his feature-length interview for Q+A? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There’s a lot of talk about challenges to Christopher Luxon’s leadership. Toby, Ben and Annabelle do as they must and talk about the talk and whether there’s more to it. First on the agenda, however, is a reform trailed as the biggest overhaul of local government since 1989 – just how will this new Galactic Senate setup work, and can it fix the resource management mess? Plus: all the reasons, mostly involving Winston Peters, that it is very clear we’re in election season, and a revelatory new interview from Tākuta Ferris on the immolation in Te Pāti Māori. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A shocking report by the Independent Police Conduct Authority has revealed a litany of serious failings in the handling of complaints relating to the disgraced former deputy commissioner Jevon McSkimming. Not only were the complaints from a former lover diverted from the appropriate channels by senior leaders including former police boss Andrew Coster, the woman involved was arrested and prosecuted for harmful digital communications. The new commissioner and the police minister insist that it is a failure of a small group of senior leaders – “bad apples”, as Mark Mitchell put it – rather than something systemic or cultural. But, ask Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire, almost 20 years after the damning Margaret Bazley report that followed the Louise Nicholas case, is that explanation good enough? Plus: Parliament has two newly independent MPs, following the Te Pāti Māori National Council expelling Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Takuta Ferris “for breaches of Kawa (the Party’s constitution)”. As the implosion in the party deepens, a number of questions remain unanswered. Christopher Luxon and Winston Peters are exchanging blows over asset sales – is this a fracture in the coalition, an exercise in nostalgia, or two bald men (apologies Mr Peters, this is very much a metaphor) fighting over a comb? And changes to the Zero Carbon Act were announced with zero fanfare – what does it mean for New Zealand climate action and Paris commitments? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In his first face-to-face encounter with Donald Trump, Christopher Luxon has exchanged hair jokes and golf banter. Does that confirm that back on track level has been achieved? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas deliver their verdicts on the latest from the PM, Winston Peters getting angsty about pronouns and Labour solving the challenges of how to define the capital gains tax it will take to the next election by defining it as: three free GP visits for all. Plus: is Te Pāti Māori on the brink of a schism as a vote is taken to suspend Mariameno Kapa-Kingi? And Vale Jim Bolger, who has died at the age of 90. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A 10pm email to members blew apart the reset mood in Te Pāti Māori on Monday night with a litany of allegations and appendices dating back years, as part of a “transparency” effort in response to claims of bullying and a “dictatorial” leadership by Eru Kapa-Kingi of the Toitū Te Tiriti movement. Just what, ask Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire, is going on? And what are the implications from here?Plus: a trio of new polls paints a consistent picture, and it’s not great for Chris or for Chris, but Don’t Know is showing real potential. And what’s up with the crackdown on 18 and 19 year olds’ access to the Jobseeker benefit? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a protracted process and plenty of speculation, Winston Peters has announced the cabinet decision on acknowledgement of Palestinian statehood in his address to the general assembly at the United Nations. Not now, he said. “We are not ready to make that gesture.” Variously received as a laudable assertion of independence in avoiding “performative” politics and a “day of shame” for New Zealand, what does the announcement tell us about New Zealand’s foreign policy, our position on Israeli activity in Gaza and government decision-making processes? Annabelle, Ben and Toby gather to discuss the latest developments. Plus: the fallout from an unexpectedly large GDP contraction continues, with Nicola Willis enduring a “battering” that included a scolding from the Mood of the Boardroom. And what to make of the results just released from the review of New Zealand’s struggling electricity market? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Celebrations for a big and bodacious Oriini Kaipara byelection victory were shortlived for Te Pāti Māori thanks to Tākuta Ferris's decision to double down on a social media post aghast at a multicultural group of Labour supporters for Peeni Henare on the campaign trail. That was compounded by party president John Tamihere entering the breach, and a mysterious reollaction of the role of party whip. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire talk through the fallout and ask what it means for TPM and their relationship with Labour. Plus: a bigger-than-expected contraction in the economy has seen GDP shrink by 0.9%: is the government running out of time for the weather to change? In other defeat from the jaws of victory news, New Zealand First's new champion Stuart Nash enjoyed about 10 minutes of acclaim before putting his foot in it. And as Winston Peters gives David Seymour yet another dressing down, what explains the government's refusal to simply announce its position on a Palestinian state? Oh, and we issue a formal apology for propagating disinformation in last week's audiocast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special live edition of GBL in Ōtautahi, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas complete a stocktake of the governing and alternative coalitions with a little over a year to election time. There is heckling, there are pub questions from politicians, and there are piping hot takes. Recorded at the Piano on August 30. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hot on the heels of the publication of A Different Kind of Power comes Prime Minister, an enthralling new film that applies a genuinely gobsmacking lens on Jacinda Ardern's time in power. In this special edition of Gone By Lunchtime, Madeleine Chapman, editor of the Spinoff (and author of Jacinda Ardern: A New Kind of Leader), joins Toby Manhire to talk about the film, which has just had its New Zealand premiere at the NZ International Film Festival, and the autobiography, what they tell us about Ardern and what they don't. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christopher Luxon took a short and sharp mindset into the National Party conference on the weekend and with good reason: there is much getting back on track still to be done. He arrived in Christchurch amid a blur of bleak headlines, focused mostly on an economic mood epitomised by butter, netball crowds, abrupt Trump tariffs, unemployment numbers, and so on. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire assess the state of play. But first: a trio who did school cert in fifth form look at the overhaul of NCEA and electoral reforms that would deny the vote to “deadbeats”, aka those who seek to enrol within a dozen days of the election. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We rattle through the regulatory standards bill, its advocates, its dissenters, and the tension it has created within the coalition. How serious is the fissure it has prodded between Act and New Zealand First Party (amplified by a cameo appearance by a United Nations special rapporteur)? Also on the agenda for Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire: the state of play in the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection, and the state of yuck in Wellington local body politics. You’ll never guess what we heard from the friend of a neighbour of a colleague about Ray Chung. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With an election about 15 months away, there are few better ways to get a sense of the political terrain than the Ipsos Issues Monitor, a survey that tracks the issues of greatest concern to New Zealanders, the parties they consider best equipped to deal with those issues, and how all of that has changed over time. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas assess the latest edition of the study, and the messages it sends on cost of living, health and more. Plus: Shane Jones is promoting a bill that would oblige Ngāpuhi to undertake a single commercial treaty settlement; does he have a point? And we reflect on the formidable legacy of Takutai Tarsh Kemp, Te Pati Māori MP for Tāmaki Makaurau since 2023, who died suddenly last week at the age of 50. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Around the world, the flames of aggression and instability are burning. As Christopher Luxon arrives in China his immediate challenge is to douse the alarm from several former politicians and ensure that the relationship with leaders in New Zealand’s biggest export market are sweet. From there, the New Zealand prime minister is off to Europe and another guest spot at Nato, who are meeting in the Hague. In a new episode of Gone By Lunchtime, Toby Manhire, Ben Thomas and Annabelle Lee-Mather chew over the shifting global dynamic he’ll encounter, with escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, Trump quitting G7 early and ongoing devastation in Ukraine and Gaza. More prosaically, will Luxon welcome a chance to stride the international stage after a bit of a media flub on sick pay just before he left? Plus: a word on a sweary scrutiny week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're officially in the second half of the term, a milestone marked by the historic handover of the hallowed deputy prime minister amulet from Winston Peters to David Seymour.  The moment comes with pageantry, a flurry of interviews and a pair of new polls, which deliver intriguing, and sometimes divergent results. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas pore over the results and what they mean for the parties and the politicians in the post-budget, post-pay-equity-reshape wash-up. Plus: Jim Bolger and Jacinda Ardern have boh been in the headlines in recent days. What do these returns tell us about the performance of their Chris-themed successors? And Chris Bishop found himself in a media moshpit after the Aotearoa Music Awards for calling the Stan Walker parade "crap" and earning the most painful denunciation imaginable: being called a dickhead by New Zealand treasure Don McGlashan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the year of growth, Nicola Willis has presented a growth budget. But does the Investment Boost initiative, which speeds up depreciation for businesses, promise the kind of growth that the economy needs? In this special Spinoff pod for budget day, Toby Manhire asks Bernard Hickey for his take on the headline changes, and whether or not David Seymour’s earlier commentary that his colleague Brooke van Velden had “saved the budget” through its controversial and hurried changes to the pay equiry scheme, has been proven true. Plus: what are the cumulative impacts of the changes to KiwiSaver and Best Start, as compared to the SuperGold cohort? And how much did the global political and economic volatility influence the documents published today? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Unprecedented punishments imposed on Te Pāti Māori MPs, and the scramble to avoid banning them from the budget debate, is top of the agenda this week. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire assess the fallout, before rewinding to last week’s theatrical parliamentary controversy, all of which stemmed from a C-word in a newspaper column, and led Winston Peters, doyen of parliamentary decorum, to deplore a “House of Chaos” (by which he did not mean the popular monthly techno night at Firecrackers nightclub in Ashburton). All of that, plus: we exclusively read the full text of tomorrow’s 2025 budget. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An overhaul of the pay equity process has been whisked through parliament under urgency. The changes, which tighten the criteria for making a claim for workers in female-dominated sectors and summarily halt 33 existing claims in the pipeline, have prompted a major backlash, in part for their substance and in part for the decision to push the reform through without the usual consultation under a select committee process or regulatory impact statement. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire discuss the unexpected announcement, the rationale for urgency, whether it’s plausible to claim it’s not primarily motivated by the billions that will be saved ahead of a tight budget, and what impact, if any, it might have on the women’s vote. The trio also discuss Christopher Luxon’s enthusiastic backing of a bill that would follow Australia in banning social media for under-16s. What is with the surge in member’s bill as mechanisms for party campaigning, what is the polling telling politicians about young people and social media, and does Luxon know he’s the prime minister? Plus: Australians have returned Labor and Albanese to power in what is being called a “bloodbath”, hot on the heels of Mark Carney’s big comeback in Canada. How big is the Trump effect, is it good news for the left or good news for incumbents, and how might New Zealand politicians look to seize upon the Trumpy moment? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This Saturday Aussies will (compulsorily) head to the polls. At the start of the year, Labor under Anthony Albanese was staring down the barrel of defeat and the first one-term government for almost 100 years. But with a few days to go, the pollsters are all picking that he'll return to power. What changed? Where did Peter Dutton's makeover go wrong? What happened to the Coalition campaign? Did Donald Trump play a role? To tackle these questions, complete with yarns about salmon and wallabies and paddling pool anomalies, is Ben McKay, Pacific editor for AAP and an illustrious former inhabitant of the New Zealand press gallery. In a special edition of the podcast temporarily renamed Gone By Brunchtime in recognition of the time difference, he talks to Toby Manhire about all that, the New Zealand influence across the Tasman, and what parties here might learn from there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The PM’s speech and free-trade phone tree with like-minded leaders in response to Trump’s tarrif binge impressed many commentators, but not all of them: leading pundit and deputy prime minister Winston Peters was indignant and he said so. Christopher Luxon said it was media beatup, but was he right? Should he have consulted more thoroughly with his foreign minister? Should his foreign minister have slapped him down in public? Was Peters right that it was too early to be assembling pro-free-trade coalitions? Was he right that there was too much bellicose language being used? And how much of all this is about domestic, rather than global, politics? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas assemble to tackle these questions and more such as: is there more than idle speculation and scuttlebutt to snap election chat? And what is up with the indefatigable Mr Peters’ (happy 80th birthday, by the way!) latest salvo in the anti-woke culture wars, seeking to “define ‘woman’ and ‘man’ in law”? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At a sold out Q Theatre on Wednesday night, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire grapple with the new Trump world order, preview the Peters-Seymour handover and assess the state of play ahead of the term halfway mark. With special guest Rebecca Wright. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a drum beat of conjecture about his job security, the prime minister enjoyed something of an elixir in the investment summit and a trip to India that began with a breakthrough announcement: the launch of talks on a comprehensive free trade agreement. A big moment in itself felt bigger given the emergence of a US-led trade war, but also a confidence boost for Luxon. Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire discuss the import of those developments, and whether Luxon's good time abroad can travel back to New Zealand with him. Plus: Winston Peters meets Marco Rubio, an extended chew over the latest in the school lunch saga, and David Seymour's suggestion that it highlighted "two New Zealands", and the Act Party announcement it will stand candidates in local elections. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Labour spokesperson for foreign affairs joins Toby Manhire for a special podcast casting a view across a turbulent world. New Zealand, like pretty much every country in the world, is suffering from geopolitical whiplash in processing the torrent of activity emanating from the Trump White House. A postwar order cemented across eight decades is crumbling as a newly expansionist, protectionist United States emerges under Trump’s second presidency. In a discussion spanning everything from Ukraine and Gaza to China and the Pacific, security guarantees and defence spending, Aukus, Five Eyes, Trump’s tariff bender and the impact of inequality and social media, Parker offers his assessment of where it all leaves New Zealand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ambiguity surrounding the precise nature of the "animated" behaviour by Andrew Bayly towards a staffer, which led to his resignation as commerce minister, seeped into the prime minister's media response. Speaking to Mike Hosking, Christopher Luxon danced around the question of whether he would have sacked Bayly had he not quit, then danced around it again, and again, to the audible displeasure of the ZB superstar. Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire try to get their heads around this double bill of The Thick of It and Clarke & Dawe. First, however, it's to the Tasman Sea, and the unexpected appearance of a trio of Chinese warships and live-fire exercises that left commercial airlines re-routing. What message was being sent, should it spur New Zealand to boosted defence spending, and how, in the naval wake, would Winston Peters have approached his visit to Beijing? Plus: the proposed reforms to citizen's arrest laws and a step towards a referendum on a four-year term, with one big condition attached. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The leader of the Act Party has been in plenty of headlines in the last two weeks, ranging from a controversial (and historic) letter written on behalf of constituent Philip Polkinghorne to an attempt to drive a Land Rover up the steps of parliament. Remarkably, he had a pop at an "ill-advised" Christopher Luxon. And that's just scraping the surface; there are the questions around the response to Tim Jago, the teacher-only days, the school lunches. Across the board, he is steadfast in insisting he's erred not even a skerrick. Is it an obduracy born of being a one-man band for so long, or is he going through a Prince Hal phase, getting some stuff out of his system before he becomes the king (or deputy prime minister, at least)? Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire thrash all that out. Plus: how much alarm are the latest cluster of opinion polls causing for National and Luxon? Does a cavalcade of health issues represent a serious political headache for the government? What should we make of the findings in the much-delayed Manurewa Marae data inquiry? And a word on the Cook Islands, Mark Brown and China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cook Islands prime minister, Mark Brown, has provoked the wrath of NZ's foreign minister with his decision to head to China to sign a new strategic deal. By failing to consult on the pact, says Winston Peters, the Cook Islands was in breach of commitments made as a member of the New Zealand realm. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas put on their geopolitical goggles to assess the strain in relations, which comes as the tussle between China and the United States for influence in the Pacific enters a new phase, marked by Donald Trump pursuing an isolationist approach. Plus: How did Tama Potaka and co perform at Waitangi last week, and did Christopher Luxon come up with some new material for Ngāi Tahu in Akaroa? Join NZ’s favourite political podcast live in Auckland on 9th April at Q Theatre. Host Toby Manhire will be joined by Annabelle Lee-Mather (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Māmoe) (executive producer of The Hui) and Ben Thomas (former press secretary in the Key government) as they boldly step out of the studio and in front of an audience to cast a curious and caustic eye on New Zealand politics. Tickets on sale now at thespinoff.co.nz/events Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A passive protest at the pōwhiri. A prime minister avoiding the Treaty Grounds. A “very interesting” idea about a possible te Tiriti Commissioner. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been a pretty full on Waitangi week, and The Spinoff’s unofficial Māori unit has been there to witness it all. Recorded on the sandy shores of the mighty North, guest hosts Liam Ratana and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith (along with regular producer Te Aihe Butler) discuss the problem of David Seymour, Tama Potaka’s messy kūpapa-kaupapa wordplay, the (seemingly undercooked) te Tiriti Commission proposal, and what we’d like to see at Waitangi in 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The political year kicked off with a dramatic reshuffle that sees Shane Reti removed from health in favour of Simeon Brown, James Meager made minister for the South Island and Nicola Willis in the renamed role of minister for economic growth. Alongside a caucus retreat and a state of the nation speech from prime minister Christopher Luxon, it's all part of an effort to reset the agenda. Fresh from their own exhausting retreat, Toby Manhire, Ben Thomas and Annabelle Lee-Mather regather to assess that effort, and the background against which it plays: a poll that puts Labour ahead of National and points to pessimism within the electorate, a volatile global context as Trump returns to the White House, a record response to the Treaty Principles Bill as Luxon declines his invitation to Waitangi. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a break over summer. We’ll be back soon with new episodes but, until then, here’s one of our favourites from 2024: 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

In this bonus, snackable festive pod, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire point their goggles at 2025. Which issues will dominate, who will we be keeping an eye on, and just how unhinged are the predictions we're willing to make? Happy new year! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Twelve months after the coalition government torpedoed the new ferry plan it had inherited, along with a wild cost blowout, from the previous government, a much heralded announcement finally arrived, and it was not the decision were hoping for. What does the latest instalment in the great ferry saga tell us about the state of the coalition, with David Seymour getting tutted by the new minister for rail Winston Peters? What kind of ferries will we end up with? And will they ro-ro or won't they ro-ro? Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire grab the wheel. Plus: what does a glut of new polls tells us about the state of the government as we approach Christmas, and did Christopher Luxon fail to adhere to his own big rock philosophy in coalition negotiations? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After an acclaimed maiden speech, the new National MP for Rangitata faces his biggest test in politics yet: chairing the committee hearing Act’s controversial bill. He sits down with Toby Manhire to discuss the hearings ahead, and his own path to politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Normally on The Fold, we discuss events in the wider media, but today, the subject is us and the future of The Spinoff. Published on site today is an open letter from Duncan, The Spinoff’s editor Madeleine Chapman, and its CEO Amber Easby. It toplines where The Spinoff is right now as a platform – this paradoxical place where our audience is the strongest it has ever been, outside of events like Covid or elections – but that the stagnant ad market, and a hard drop in public funding for our work, has left us in a really tricky situation needing to make a very real call for help. First, Duncan speaks to our editor, Madeleine Chapman, and our head of audience, Anna Rawhiti-Connell about what we’re asking for and why we’re asking for it. Duncan is then joined by Spinoff CEO Amber Easby to dig into some numbers that show just how radically our revenue picture has changed and explain why our audience is now our last, best shot at retaining the ability to carry on doing what we do. Please take the time to read the open letter at https://thespinoff.co.nz/sos. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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