New Zealand Listener

Shock and awe

Jacinda Ardern’s resignation raises the question as to whether politics has changed much over the past few decades. The answer, I think, is yes. And that is both good and bad.

For the past 27 years, we have had a greater variety of political parties in Parliament, due to the introduction of proportional representation. Labour and National have remained the two largest and have led MMP governments, but both parties have

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from New Zealand Listener

New Zealand Listener3 min read
Uncovering Our Past
There’s a Māori whakataukī (proverb) that says, “Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua. / I walk backwards into the future with my eyes fixed on the past.” The loop of past, present and future speaks to New Zealand Wars: Stories of Tauranga Moana, the la
New Zealand Listener6 min read
Weaving Welsh With Waiata
You probably saw it on the news. Last month, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa ONZ, one of our most revered cultural figures, was honoured at Parliament. The occasion was Dame Kiri’s 80th birthday but this was a celebration of a life, not a day. There were speeche
New Zealand Listener5 min read
‘That German boy’
On the day after World War I began, my father, at 18, volunteered with enthusiasm to join the Bavarian Artillery. He survived the terrible Battle of the Somme, won two Iron Crosses and ended the war, defeated, in a military hospital in Alsace. Lieute

Related Books & Audiobooks