Gone By Lunchtime

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

As Labour lurches from upbeat conference to buzzkill poll, Ben, Annabelle and Toby look at how they’re changing their tactical approach to National. Plus: Jacinda Ardern’s verbal salvo at the banks, the Adrian Orr war of independence and David Parker launches a ream raid on the RMA. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the Labour Party gathers in Auckland for its annual conference, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire assess the impact of the just-passed fair pay agreement legislation, the likely fate of three waters, and the great National repeal agenda, as well as whether National's own tax cut plans will survive to the election. With a byelection in Hamilton West less than a month away, what do the lineups tell us, and who has most to lose? Plus: All the juiciest gossip about precisely when, where and why Jacinda Ardern maybe definitely will resign. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Earlier this year, former Christchurch councillor Raf Manji became the third leader of the Opportunities Party. In this GBL special, fresh from the unveiling of a tax overhaul policy, Manji tells Toby Manhire why he took on the new job, how he hopes to win the seat of Ilam, why he doesn’t want to be part of government, and just how he feels about cats. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

To cap off a tremendous Escape Festival in Tauranga, Minister Jan Tinetti and the incoming mayor of Rotorua, Tania Tapsell join the GBL trio of Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas before a live audience. On the agenda: the meaning of the local elections, the kind of election to expect in 2023, some wild predictions and which hat will Jan Tinetti wear? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A whistle-stop tour of the biggest and most surprising results in the 2022 local body elections, from south to north, with The Spinoff’s local election squad of Toby Manhire, Shanti Mathias and Stewart Sowman-Lund. Plus: what message do they send as a whole to Jacinda Ardern and the Labour government, the role three waters played, and what to do about another dismal turnout. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 40 years and 14 election campaigns, Phil Goff is departing politics. He completes his farewell tour in a discussion with Toby Manhire, spanning his early years as a long haired, idealistic activist and being at the controversial cabinet table with David Lange and Roger Douglas and later with Helen Clark. Plus: his time as mayor of Auckland, whether local government needs an overhaul, and what's next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben, Annabelle and Toby huddle around the new TVNZ/Kantar numbers to warm their frostbitten fingers. What does it mean for the year to election day, who will be happiest, and, for the first time ever in political punditry they ask: Can Winston Peters be written off? Plus: Is Christopher Luxon onto a winner on tax attack, was the Sam Uffindell report sufficiently transparent, and is the Public Service Commissioner’s investigation into potential Nanaia Mahuta conflicts necessary – or even overdue? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On their 18th hour queuing outside Westminster Hall, Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas pause to discuss the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the accession of KC3 and what it means for Aotearoa and the national appetite for going republic. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No, KC3 is not on the pod, but we have the next best thing: Otago University professor and royal correspondent Andrew Geddis, in conversation with Toby Manhire following the death of Queen Elizabeth after 70 years on the throne. What is the monarch’s role in New Zealand’s political apparatus? Can the head of state intervene in our stuff? And what might the accession of Charles mean for the republican cause? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The "squeezed middle" payment was meant to be a political circuit breaker, but it's left the government on the defensive. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire speak on what went wrong and the demands for an apology - does the scramble to explain adding GST on KiwiSaver fees just add to a sense that they're not in control of the story? Plus: Slán leat to Trevor Mallard and kia ora to new speaker Adrian Rurawhe, the potential for Brian Tamaki's new Freedom NZ political project, and Marama Davidson gets grief for use of the C-word (chocolate). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a special episode to mark the publication of his book Yes, Minister, the former National cabinet minister talks to Toby Manhire about the Key years, the state of the National Party, the colleagues he’d admired and those he loathed. He reflects on his role in building and promoting principles of Crown-Māori co-governance, his time as attorney general, and why he lived in terror of winning an electorate seat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two junior MPs, one new and the other very new, have become the centre of political attention in the last 10 days. Both have been suspended from their party caucus. Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire examine the allegations by Labour's Sharma, the extraordinary way it played out and Jacinda Ardern's response. And what of National's Uffindell? Should he be punished for an assault more than 20 years ago, has he atoned and how did Christopher Luxon deal with it? Plus: what do the cases together tell us about the culture in the parties and the strange workplace of parliament? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our biggest city is gearing up for its fifth Super City election, and the golden-voiced Todd Niall – formerly of RNZ and now senior Auckland reporter for Stuff – has seen them all. He joins Toby Manhire to discuss the leading contenders for the office some call the country’s second most important elected role, including Efeso Collins, Leo Molloy, Viv Beck and Wayne Brown, who have recent been joined by two unexpected candidates: John Palino (of Florida) and Lisa Lewis (of Hamilton). Plus: How does 2022 compare with previous campaigns? Why are turnout numbers so risible? And what can a mayor actually hope to achieve? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Green Party AGM voted to make James Shaw reapply for his job, but so far his only challenger is Ron, aka Re-open Nominations. Toby, Annabelle and Ben ask what it means for the party. Plus: Thousands of people around the world have been given $350 they don’t deserve by the NZ government – is this a big cock-up or a big beat-up? Is enough being done to close the gaping loophole exposed in political donations law? And a comprehensive history of Ben Thomas’s political career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Guardian journalist Richard Adams joins Toby Manhire to recount the scandals and fabrications of "a government run by journalists" and assess the contest for a new Conservative leader and prime minister. Also: the state of the Labour opposition, and what Christopher Luxon and New Zealand can learn from the English education system. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The hell years of National since John Key's departure are revisited in jaw-dropping detail in Andrea Vance's new book. In a special edition of Gone By Lunchtime, she talks to Toby Manhire about the revelations, and whether Christopher Luxon can consign the bad times to history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Rats are back: Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas have been released from isolation and there’s a lot to catch up on. With Toby Manhire, they discuss the surging winter COVID wave, the new measures and the health system; what Jacinda Ardern achieved at Nato, the EU and in Australia; and Christopher Luxon’s own trip abroad and his response on abortion and policy as MP Simon O’Connor cheers the Roe v Wade overturn. And there’s more: Te Pāti Māori’s AGM and the petition on Te Matatini funding, plus Act’s conference and David Seymour’s demands for the first 100 days of a National-Act government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is a plasterboard shortage turning into a political crisis? Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire unholster the tape measure. Plus: Who were the winners and losers in Tauranga’s byelection, Jacinda Ardern heads to Europe to speak at Nato, all the ups, downs and sleights of hand in a “minor” cabinet reshuffle, and the legacy of Trevor Mallard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this bonus episode, Toby Manhire talks to former Green MP Gareth Hughes about his new book on Jeanette Fitzsimons, a giant of green politics in New Zealand. They talk about her role in the Values, as co-leader of the Greens and within the Alliance in the formative years of MMP. Plus: what does he make of the Green Party in 2022? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire dress head to toe in union jacks to assess Jacinda Ardern's US visit and the furious Chinese response to her joint statement with Joe Biden on the Pacific. Plus: the prime minister returns to sobering domestic polls, a word for Queen Elizabeth, and the prospects of a King Charles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a globetrotting edition of our politics podcast, Toby, Annabelle and Ben look at the Australian election and its meaning for New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern's trip to the United States, and how much hinges on a meeting with Joe Biden. Plus: A look back at last week's budget and the so-called "squeezed middle", electoral reform, and the NZ on Air funded Chlöe Swarbrick doco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Toby Manhire (Gone By Lunchtime; Auckland studio) and Bernard Hickey (When The Facts Change; parliament studio) join forces for a budget reaction crossover special. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Grant Robertson pull a cost of living rabbit out of the hat? Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas talk budget day, the big emissions reduction plan, Te Pāti Māori and an early burst of coalition negotiations. Plus: can Jacinda Ardern forgive Trevor Mallard's trespasses, and what is the speaker playing at? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this bonus extra pop-up edition of GBL, Toby Manhire calls AAP NZ correspondent Ben McKay, currently watching the campaign from Tasmania, for the latest on the race. Can Anthony Albanese’s Labor dethrone Scott Morrison’s Coalition? Will the ‘teal wave’ crash ashore? How does Australia’s electoral system work? And just how different is Australia’s media and political culture to Aotearoa’s? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Five months in, how is the new National leader faring? Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire give their verdicts. Plus: the Rotorua representation bill, grounded kiwis and existential kiwifruit garnish Ardern’s trip abroad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As NZ dispatches a 1969 Herc, 59 personnel and “lethal aid” cash to support Ukraine, how big a shift is it in our contribution? Plus: will fair pay agreements be this government’s biggest achievement? What is Ashley Bloomfield’s legacy? What is Louisa Wall up to? And a word on Moana Jackson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vaccine mandates, passes and other restrictions are all on the way out. But our Covid numbers are worse than they've ever been. Leading pundit-podiologists Annabelle, Ben and Toby do the maths. Plus: David Seymour and Act call for a referendum on Māori co-governance, Louisa Wall quits parliament, and a Solomon Islands defence deal with China causes alarm. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The morning after announcing he's quitting politics, former National leader and self-proclaimed “regular dickhead” Simon Bridges joins Gone By Lunchtime in a candid conversation to explain the decision and his future plans – and reflect on the people "who exploded on me". Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annabelle and Toby are joined by The Spinoff’s political editor Justin Giovannetti to talk about the latest from the parliamentary occupation and the government's response. Did Jacinda Ardern get it right? Was Chris Luxon right to diagnose a New Zealand divided? And should the action be called “an anti-mandate protest” or is it something else? Also: the dramatic wave of omicron washing across the country, Ashley Bloomfield’s mea culpa on a big overestimation of PCR test lab capacity and the New Zealand response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the anti-mandate occupation of parliament grounds enters its ninth day, Toby, Annabelle and Ben ask: just who are the protesters? Have the police got the response right? What about Trevor Mallard? And is it a good idea to engage? Plus: The latest from the Auckland mayoral race. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Annabelle, Ben and Toby celebrate their sixth year of close pod contact. Jacinda Ardern's opening up speech, reviewed. The Bellis saga, assessed. RATs, digested. The polls, examined. And Ben's Covid test result, revealed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a short break over summer. We'll be back with new episodes soon, but until then here's one of our favourites from 2021. From November: Judith Collins is out as leader of the opposition after a spectacularly messy 24 hours of politics. But who’ll replace her? The Gone By Lunchtime team assembles for an emergency edition of the podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a short break over summer. We'll be back with new episodes soon, but until then here's one of our favourites from 2021. From October: Annabelle, Ben and Toby spend 24 hours Zorbing the length of the country in the cause of vaccination and political commentary. On the agenda: what comes after elimination, the vaccine rollout, and MMP at 25. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gone By Lunchtime is taking a short break over summer. We'll be back with new episodes soon, but until then here's one of our favourites from 2021. From March: Join Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas as they discuss Labour’s now week-old housing package, the National caucus's fluoride vote, Christopher Luxon, travel bubbles, Police 10-7 and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosted by Gone By Lunchtime’s Toby Manhire and featuring representatives from The Real Pod, The Fold, Nē? and Dietary Requirements, SUPERPOD 2021 is the crossover podcast event we’ve been waiting all year for. Join us as we relive the highs and lows and heroes and villains of the longest, shortest year in living memory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the sun sets on 2021, Toby, Annabelle and Ben are joined by a cast of very special guests with a crop of hard-boiled good-time questions for the inaugural Gone By Lunchtime Christmas quiz. Gone By Lunchtime wouldn’t exist without support from The Spinoff Members. Find out how to join at members.thespinoff.co.nz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices