- It was a bad week for… the relationship between National and NZ First. After Winston Peters said Christopher Luxon was wrong to not warn him of Tuesday’s motion of confidence, Luxon attacked NZ First saying they “put Jacinda Ardern into power”. He seemed unaware of the fact that NZ First also put him into power.
- It was a good week for… Christopher Luxon, who managed to hold on as National Party leader by winning a confidence vote in the party caucus. Afterwards, he held a two-minute press conference, lectured the media for every doubting him, and ran away without answering questions. The very epitome of strong and stable leadership.
- It was a bad week for… the National Party, which is still languishing below 30% in the polls and now doesn’t even have the hopes of leadership change to turn things around.
- It was a bad week for… National’s chief whip Stuart Smith, who was suspected of leaking to the press. He missed Tuesday’s pivotal caucus confidence vote due to what he described as a “longstanding personal appointment”. He would not specify the nature of the appointment, a rare piece of information Smith has declined to share with the media.
- It was a good week for… butter chicken. NZ First MP Shane Jones, while railing against the India free trade agreement, said it would lead to a “tsunami of butter chicken”. Some New Zealanders criticised him for race baiting, while others invited the idea, requesting that he add a volcano of rice and a landslide of cheesy garlic naan.
- It was a bad week for… women in politics. Finance minister Nicola Willis received some inappropriate comments about her body from Shane Jones, who suggested she was “losing too much weight”. When Willis mentioned a downgrade by Moody’s, he presumably thought she was talking about her time of the month.
- It was a good week for… wool. French fashion house Chanel invested in Otago’s Lammermoor Station to secure high-quality merino wool. Local farmers are excited that Swandri and stubbies now count as haute couture.
- It was a bad week for… Sail GP fans. The government confirmed that it will not fund a race in Auckland in 2027. Now how will people see expensive boats on the Auckland waterfront?
- It was a bad week for… New Zealand Police, after a performance review found “serious integrity and conduct failings” and a perceived culture that holds senior officers to a “lesser standard than juniors”. Senior officers are quietly considering whether to charge the reviewers with harassment.
- It was a bad week for… Wellington, which was hit by yet another flood. The Spinoff’s Hayden Donnell suggested it would be more efficient for New Zealand to just keep a state of emergency in place all the time. The government did not respond, presumably because they were dealing with another emergency.
