投稿者: Steve Braunias
After being ousted as New Zealand opposition leader, Simon Bridges has returned to himself – a likeable maverickHe walked in the door at the same time as my cat, which heightened the impression that he looked like something the cat dragged in. It was t…
In this book extract, Steve Braunias describes a visit to the New Zealand home of the German internet entrepreneur who is fighting extradition to the USThis is the way the world ends: in a candy store. When I asked Kim Dotcom for his address in Queenst…
Reports of queues for inessential items have come in fast but we can still count ourselves luckyThe bananas were the first to go. “Look,” I said to my daughter. We stood and gazed at the supermarket shelves set aside for bananas. They’d been stripped b…
The lights are on, but the party’s over – in the time of Covid, we can’t even buy duty-freeEverything seemed just the same when I flew into Wellington this week, which is to say the last 10 minutes were a living hell. Hello turbulence, my old friend. T…
As prime minister, Ardern inspired love and trust; now she has to do something with itAnd the winner is … New Zealand. It was the happiness election – Covid fizzled out, lockdown was released, and a sense of gratitude and sheer joy buoyed Jacinda Arder…
Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins both bring B-game to seemingly interminable showAre we there yet? Is it election day? Is it possible to bring the date forward a little bit from 17 October? Not by too much – things have to be put in place, pens secure…
Spooky opening gives way to a leaders’ showdown with little drama and lacking in sparkThere was high drama at the first televised debate last night between New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, and the leader of the oppositionNational party, Ju…