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.
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Introducing Behind the Story: If you love a dog, you must also love disposing of its sh*t
Luxon's mojo machine misfires
Aukus ruckus: the scrap over NZ independence in foreign policy
A conversation with Grant Robertson at the cricket
Numbercrunchawamba
Ia manuia lau malaga, Efeso Collins
Waitangi spiders and the Winston scriptures
The three-headed taniwha
2023: A year in review
The Spinoff presents SUPERPOD 2023
Luxon and the rizz
The Weet-Bix coalition
Big rock energy and coalition talks
Post-election special: back on one track or other
Election night special: a debrief
Panic at the Briscoes
Chris Hipkins is relentlessly positive
Winston Peters? I don't know her
Megapod 22: Can Annabelle, Ben and Toby make it out alive?
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