Gone By Lunchtime

The Spinoff

About

A New Zealand politics podcast hosted by The Spinoff's Toby Manhire with Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas.

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226 episodes

Numbercrunchawamba

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

43m
Mar 19
An untimely case of entitleditis

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

49m
Mar 05
Ia manuia lau malaga, Efeso Collins

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

28m
Feb 20
Waitangi spiders and the Winston scriptures

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

48m
Feb 07
The three-headed taniwha

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

52m
Jan 25
2023: A year in review

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

44m
Dec 19, 2023
The Spinoff presents SUPERPOD 2023

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

42m
Dec 18, 2023
Luxon and the rizz

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

38m
Dec 08, 2023
The Weet-Bix coalition

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

34m
Nov 26, 2023
Big rock energy and coalition talks

The special votes have confirmed a "worst case scenario" mélange à trois comprising National, Act and NZ First. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas assess the state of coalition talks. What are the, as Christopher Luxon's puts it, "big rocks", "additive things" and "things we've got variance in"? Plus: Te Pāti Māori triples its caucus, Chris Hipkins faces a leadership vote, and our predictions on when the new government will be announced. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

51m
Nov 07, 2023
Post-election special: back on one track or other

National has won the election, but what kind of victory is it? Will a coalition with Act be enough, or is Winston Peters’ phone about to ring? Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire sift through the results the morning after, sizing up Christopher Luxon’s achievement, the Labour plunge and the future for the Greens, NZ First and Te Pāti Māori. It was a night that produced some big surprises, in Auckland seats and across the Māori seats. Plus: what next for a wounded Labour, what kind of government would a National-Act coalition mean, and the task ahead for Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

54m
Oct 14, 2023
Election night special: a debrief

After months of living and breathing this year’s election campaign Gone By Lunchtime’s Toby Manhire, The Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman and The Bulletin editor Anna Rawhiti-Connell join together to discuss the events of election day. Toby arrives fresh from a whirlwind tour of various party events while Mad and Anna emerge from an evening spent devouring election coverage and reporting on results. Go here to watch this episode on YouTube, where it broadcast as a livestream on election night. Keep an eye on this feed later today (Sunday 15th October) for a morning-after-the-night-before deep dive with Toby, Annabelle and Ben. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

31m
Oct 14, 2023
Panic at the Briscoes

In the last pre-election pod, Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire comb through the final polls and take stock after a hectic final few days in which panicked-looking National has gone really negative - on a government led by them. Meanwhile, Labour might have inched back up, but is it enough to give them even a distant hope? Plus: Thoughts on Act, the Greens and Te Pāti Māori, and a not entirely fond farewell to the campaign of 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

51m
Oct 11, 2023
Chris Hipkins is relentlessly positive

The Labour leader has Covid-19, which means a campaign rejig and a protracted squabble with Christopher Luxon about who is quitting the Press debate and who isn’t. Meanwhile, Winston Peters has gone into bombastic overdrive, parts of the campaign have gotten ugly, and a clutch of new polls indicate tight races in Auckland Central, Tāmaki, and Hauraki Waikato. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Ben Thomas take the pulse. Plus: Christopher Luxon has declined to be interviewed by The Spinoff or on the pod. We extend again a warm invitation to the man who could be prime minister in a few weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

48m
Oct 03, 2023
Winston Peters? I don't know her

In the second leader debate, Chris Hipkins went full-mojo against Christopher Luxon. Did it work for him, or did he overdo it? The NZ First leader wasn't there and yet he really was, after Luxon ruled him in at the start of the week. "I don't know him," professed Luxon of Peters, but will that wash? And what was the thinking behind the ruling-in, and why now. Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire tackle all of that, and pick the stars and the flops across other debates of the last week, including the powerbrokers clash on Newshub Nation, and the young voter and kaupapa Māori debates on TVNZ. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

36m
Sep 27, 2023
Megapod 22: Can Annabelle, Ben and Toby make it out alive?

In the 12th and final hour of the Election 2023 Megapod, the Mount Rushmore of political podcasting returns and makes a desperate dash for the finish line. There is some discussion of polling and the campaign trail as it hits mid-point, but mostly it’s Annabelle pounding her chest and shouting, “there’s nothing left in here for you.”  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

49m
Sep 24, 2023
Megapod 21: The Real Pod x Gone By Lunchtime + The Worm

It’s getting late and unruly on the Election 2023 Megapod, and that means it’s time for The Real Pod’s Jane Yee and Duncan Greive to join Toby Manhire and Ben Thomas – as well as Spinoff editor Madeleine Chapman – to remember The Worm, the strange and transformative graphic that once crawled across debate screens. The quintet then look back on key appearances by politicians on reality television.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here.. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

48m
Sep 24, 2023
Megapod 20: Bernard Hickey – the man, the myth, the machine

In an extended interview, Toby Manhire talks to Bernard Hickey about his life in media, politics and the economy. We also discover why Bernard has totally changed his approach to journalism.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

57m
Sep 24, 2023
Megapod 19: All hail Policy.nz

Ollie Neas of Policy.nz joins Toby Manhire to reflect on the history and purpose of New Zealand’s best policy comparison tool, how it works, and what it can tell us already about the parties’ priorities in this year’s election.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

14m
Sep 24, 2023
Megapod 18: Youth Wings revisited

As the second season of The Spinoff video series Youth Wings is released, two of the participants from the previous season join Toby Manhire to give their impressions of the new crop, reflect on responses to their own appearances three years ago, and reveal what they’re up to now.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

23m
Sep 23, 2023
Megapod 17: Raf Manji says Top is still in the game

Despite a poll that put him in third place, Raf Manji insists that he can win the seat of Ilam and bring the Opportunities Party into parliament for the first time.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

7m
Sep 23, 2023
Megapod 16: Grant Robertson on Labour’s record and the mood for change

How does Labour’s economic record stack up after six years? Toby Manhire talks to Grant Robertson about his approach to politics, memories of 2005, and whether he feels he’s achieved what he hoped for.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

22m
Sep 23, 2023
Megapod 15: Andrew Geddis on how to make a government

Just how much power does the governor general wield, is David Seymour’s thought experiment of “confidence but no supply” plausible, and what would happen in a 60-seats-all tie? Constitutional expert Andrew Geddis joins Toby Manhire to chew through the scenarios.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25m
Sep 23, 2023
Megapod 14: David Seymour on why he despises political TV drama

Act leader David Seymour explains why he thinks political dramas on television are a dangerous drug for politicians. Plus: does he want Act to “own” policy areas in a coalition, or to feed in across the board? This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10m
Sep 23, 2023
Megapod 13: Ben McKay on the Voice vote in Australia

Australians will vote on October 14, too: on creating a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. What would the creation of this body mean and how is the debate shaping up? Plus: how interested are Australians in New Zealand politics now Jacinda Ardern has left the scene?  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

20m
Sep 23, 2023
Megapod 12: Brooke Van Velden on the battle for Tāmaki

The Act deputy leader has launched an audacious challenge in the east Auckland seat of Tāmaki. She joins Toby Manhire to discuss her philosophical differences with Simon O’Connor, whether Act could live with an anti-abortion MP in its caucus, and the policy issues that fire her up. She also reveals that Act has written a letter of complaint to Newshub about coverage of its campaign launch.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

27m
Sep 23, 2023
Megapod 11: The hot seats in election 2023

Which electorates have pulses racing in this campaign? Toby Manhire is joined by Spinoff colleagues Charlotte Muru-Lanning, Stewart Sowman-Lund, Shanti Mathias and Joel MacManus to pick the seats they’re most excited about, including Tāmaki Makaurau, Tāmaki, Wellington Central and Ilam. This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

50m
Sep 23, 2023
Megapod 10: Chris Hipkins reveals he has read a book

In the first debate, Labour leader Chris Hipkins appeared to suggest he had not read a book. On our epic 12-hour megapod, he confirmed that in fact he has, and what his favourite books are. Plus, Hipkins’ self-assessment of his mojo, the mood in Gisborne, his prediction for turnout and political TV comfort food. This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6m
Sep 22, 2023
Megapod 9: The foreign affairs debate we’re not having in election 2023

International issues have so far had stuff-all airtime in the campaign. University of Otago professor Robert Patman talks Ukraine and Russia, Aukus, and the geopolitical questions the leaders should be facing.  This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

17m
Sep 22, 2023
Megapod 8: Erica Stanford on the minister she wants to be

High-flying National MP Erica Stanford joins Toby Manhire to explain why she wants to be education minister and why the National Party wants to mandate structured literacy. Plus: the pressure politicians face and a response to the suggestion a two-woman party leadership wouldn’t fly. This is an excerpt from our day-long Election 2023 Megapod, recorded on September 20. Watch the full megapod livestream here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28m
Sep 22, 2023