James Shaw Talks Speight’s, Three-Ways, and Avoiding Political Roadkill

Posted 5:53pm Saturday 3rd March 2018 by Esme Hall

After losing his co-leader just before the 2017 general election, James Shaw was tasked with leading his party alone on a quixotic journey from outsiders to governors. Rather than riding in on a green wave, the party limped across the line, just squeezing above the 5% threshold required to keep Read more...

France’s State of Emergency Becomes Permanent

Posted 11:36am Sunday 8th October 2017 by George Elliott

In response to the spectre of terrorist attacks, France has made its current legal exceptions permanent, kicking the judiciary out of the process and expanding warrantless practices. A state of emergency has been in place since November 2015, when hundreds were killed or wounded in a coordinated Read more...

Post-election debrief: Dunedin North MP David Clark Speaks to Critic

Posted 10:25am Saturday 30th September 2017 by Joe Higham

Joe Higham: What are your thoughts on how the election campaign went? David Clark: It’s been a rollercoaster. When we began last November, we had a different leader and we had a plan we’d been working on for a couple of years, and it’s only a couple of months ago that we changed Read more...

General Election Purgatory: Filling the Void with Speculation

Posted 10:18am Saturday 30th September 2017 by George Elliott

We are at a stage where, for all the analysis, all the hearsay and all the expertise, things are just uncertain. It’s both frustrating and rapturous; plain and radical. Winston Peters, the leader of NZ First, is waiting for the special votes to be finalised on 7 October and is consulting with Read more...

Aung San Suu Kyi: Myanmar’s Fallen Angel

Posted 11:24am Sunday 24th September 2017 by George Elliott

Aung San Suu Kyi, the de facto leader of Myanmar (a.k.a. Burma), was once the Asian darling of the Western liberal order. She was a saintly freedom fighter who would bring democracy (and presumably free enterprise) to a Southeast Asian nation that had been ruled by military dictatorships since 1962. Read more...

Sage Advice | Politics

Posted 2:37pm Sunday 17th September 2017 by Mat Clarkson

“Be prepared, there is a small chance that our horrendous leadership could unknowingly lead us into World War III.” - Donald J. Trump, @realDonaldTrump “Tweets on Winston Peters NZ Politician” - Winston Peters, @winstonpeters   It’s that time again, Read more...

Critic’s Guide to the 2017 General Election

Posted 10:54am Sunday 10th September 2017 by Esme Hall

More young people have enrolled to vote than at this point in 2014. But, young people are still underrepresented in choosing New Zealand’s government. It’s not that we don’t care, it’s just that none of the parties really speak to us. Or they all do, in different ways. When Read more...

Grant Robertson Talks About Homophobic Abuse

Posted 11:04am Sunday 10th September 2017 by Joel MacManus

In a candid interview with Critic, Labour Party Finance Minister Grant Robertson revealed the extent of the personal attacks he has faced since he became an MP. Robertson, who is openly gay, said that he has experienced both “actual abuse” and “unconscious bias” over his Read more...

‘No Surprises’ Surprises and Multidimensional Scandal Strip Tease

Posted 11:06am Sunday 3rd September 2017 by George Elliott

There's been allegations made of leaking, dirty rumours on Twitter and blurring lines between the bureaucratic and political – the election is just threeish weeks away! The so-called ‘no surprises’ convention – not strictly the singular matter of Winston Peters' Read more...

The Opportunities Party Fills Dunedin Auditorium on National Roadshow

Posted 10:45am Sunday 20th August 2017 by Joe Higham

Care. Think. Vote. That was the message displayed on the projector of Dunedin’s Glenroy Auditorium where the Opportunities Party's (TOP) Leader Gareth Morgan spoke last week. A crowd of well over one hundred people gathered to hear what the millionaire businessman and economist had to Read more...