Gone By Lunchtime

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