The Spinoff

Gone By Lunchtime

News EN ↓ 318 episodes

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

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: thespinoff.co.nz

Author

The Spinoff

Category

News

Podcast website

thespinoff.co.nz

Latest episode

Oct 30, 2026

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Episodes

Coalitions, coronations and chaos 11.05.2023

Christopher Luxon has ruled out working with te Pāti Māori, lambasted the “coalition of chaos” and invoked “separatism”. Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire assess the strategy, the timing and the rhetoric. Plus: the latest on Meka Whaitiri and the reasons for her defection, the resignation of Elizabeth Kerekere and what it means for the Greens, and important discourse on the oiling...

Emergency podcast: Meka Whaitiri defects from Labour 03.05.2023

Big news: The MP for Ikaroa-Rāwhiti and government minister, Meka Whaitiri, has jumped from the Labour Party to the Māori Party. Were Toby Manhire, Ben Thomas, and Annabelle Lee-Mather as blindsided as Chris Hipkins, as he lived it large in London ahead of the Coronation? What exactly were her reasons for defecting? How damaging is it to the government? And, if she has really notified the Speaker...

Big Tax Energy 27.04.2023

Is the report on tax paid by the wealthiest New Zealanders valuable data or political stunt, and does David Parker's campaign for a wealth tax stand a chance against Chris Hipkins' no-frills crusade? Annabelle Lee-Mather, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire discuss potential future Labour tax policy, relocating the podcast to Australia to take advantage of the new citizenship pathway; Kiri Allan, Meng Foo...

Three Waters? Never heard of it 13.04.2023

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/adchoic...

Cross Chris'll make Stu jump 29.03.2023

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 poli...

Cosying up next to the policy bonfire 15.03.2023

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...

We will not be neutered, declare Annabelle, Ben and Toby 28.02.2023

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 th...

Ben calls in from Wairoa, the town torn apart by Cyclone Gabrielle 20.02.2023

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 ramif...

Blame it on the Wayne 01.02.2023

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

Bread, butter, Coke, Pepsi: on PM Hipkins 24.01.2023

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

EMERGENCY PODCAST: Jacinda Ardern resigns 19.01.2023

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...

Bonus Episode: Predicting the 2023 election date 10.01.2023

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

Bonus Episode: The days that defined NZ politics in 2022 27.12.2022

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

The Spinoff presents SUPERPOD 2022 25.12.2022

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' h...

Performing a check-up on NZ's political parties 20.12.2022

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

The fog of Orr 30.11.2022

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 publi...

Kiri Allan, Erica Stanford and Chlöe Swarbrick on five terrible, glorious years 22.11.2022

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/pri...

Good cop, bad cop, dark cop, anxious cop 16.11.2022

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/ad...

Labour girds its loins 02.11.2022

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 d...

Raf Manji on TOP 3.0 26.10.2022

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 mo...

Star-studded live Tauranga special 17.10.2022

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/p...

Local election super-wrap special 12.10.2022

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 a...

Phil Goff special: on a life in politics and idealism v pragmatism 04.10.2022

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 wha...

Around the poll campfire 28.09.2022

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 Serv...

Charles III, king of Aotearoa 15.09.2022

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

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