Pay for Play is a colloquial term for bribing parties by giving them money (or sea food dinners) - and it is technically illegal if you can prove it happened. And an issue cropping up with NZ First shows not only how stupidly difficult it is to prove when it seems so obvious, but also that we all should be really aware of the people pouring money into Coalition campaign bank balances in an effort to keep the status quo - because they seem to benefit an awful lot from keeping this awful lot.

Check out www.election2026.co.nz for resources and tools to help you decide on who to vote for.

Why not check out some of my other content - there’s an award winning podcast, a weekly newsletter and more - https://linktr.ee/paul_barlownz

And if you want to support what I do with a donation, you can do that through this link - https://buymeacoffee.com/paul.theotherone

All your support is really appreciated, especially as we push for a change of government in 2026!

©️ Paul… The Other One, 2026

It’s Star Wars Day - and like a lot of good sci fi, we can learn and be inspired by the messages from a Galaxy Far Far Away in this  year’s election.

Check out www.election2026.co.nz for resources and tools to help you decide on who to vote for.

Why not check out some of my other content - there’s an award winning podcast, a weekly newsletter and more - https://linktr.ee/paul_barlownz

And if you want to support what I do with a donation, you can do that through this link - https://buymeacoffee.com/paul.theotherone

All your support is really appreciated, especially as we push for a change of government in 2026!

©️ Paul… The Other One, 2026

Does the PM want war? Why do the Coalition get scared by Pacifica artists saying things, and which icon finally made its way into Parliament this week?

All these and more news stories to depress you for the weekend, in the return of This Week’s The News, for 2026.

Check out www.election2026.co.nz for resources and tools to help you decide on who to vote for.

Why not check out some of my other content - there’s an award winning podcast, a weekly newsletter and more - https://linktr.ee/paul_barlownz

And if you want to support what I do with a donation, you can do that through this link - https://buymeacoffee.com/paul.theotherone

All your support is really appreciated, especially as we push for a change of government in 2026!

©️ Paul… The Other One, 2026

*This Week’s The News is a satire, based on real news reports. Some comments and representations have been made for comedic effect.

Media is getting antsy at a lack of policy to dig into, but that's actually pretty normal for this time before a budget - but that doesn't mean we don't know what's being considered and the direction Labour is looking at going on a range of topics.Oh hey - you should join up as a Member! You get to see stuff early and some exclusive perks along the way!You can do that here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS5QpoPLpxpQFYm5Kc7SCHA/joinSubscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/@Paul...theotherone?sub_confirmation=1If you want to support what I do, you can make a contribution via Buy Me a Coffee at https://buymeacoffee.com/paul.theotherone

We should always be wary of Vague-ification in our news, especially when that news comes from a clearly partisan, astroturf connected known hard right shill and framed to make us add the gory details.

Check out www.election2026.co.nz for resources and tools to help you decide on who to vote for.

Why not check out some of my other content - there’s an award winning podcast, a weekly newsletter and more - https://linktr.ee/paul_barlownz

And if you want to support what I do with a donation, you can do that through this link - https://buymeacoffee.com/paul.theotherone

All your support is really appreciated, especially as we push for a change of government in 2026!

©️ Paul… The Other One, 2026

When it comes to wanting a Star Trek future, where everyone is treated with respect in a post scarcity world, well we get to make the decisions on if that happens when we choose our leaders - like we do in November. But what do we look for in those leaders - well that’s where Star Trek actor, writer and ambassador Tawny Newsome has some thoughts we should consider…

Check out www.election2026.co.nz for resources and tools to help you decide on who to vote for.

Why not check out some of my other content - there’s an award winning podcast, a weekly newsletter and more - https://linktr.ee/paul_barlownz

And if you want to support what I do with a donation, you can do that through this link - https://buymeacoffee.com/paul.theotherone

All your support is really appreciated, especially as we push for a change of government in 2026!

©️ Paul… The Other One, 2026

Politics and Pop Culture - they go together like two things that go together really well but some people just inexplicably don’t see it. In this series, I’m exploring the cross section of media and political discourse with politicians to see how they’re influenced, how their views are shaped by the pop culture they consume.

Joining me for Episode 1 is Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan, Green Party MP, gamer, anime fan and Armageddon Expo aficionado!

Check out www.election2026.co.nz for resources and tools to help you decide on who to vote for.

Why not check out some of my other content - there’s an award winning podcast, a weekly newsletter and more - https://linktr.ee/paul_barlownz

And if you want to support what I do with a donation, you can do that through this link - https://buymeacoffee.com/paul.theotherone

All your support is really appreciated, especially as we push for a change of government in 2026!

©️ Paul… The Other One, 2026

It may look like he can’t handle Tova, and it may be framed like what the National party would really like is media to hold them accountable, honestly, for reals, but their track record is one that shows a Prime Minister who hides from media he doesn’t feel are friendly to him and will hold actually him to account. 

Check out www.election2026.co.nz for resources and tools to help you decide on who to vote for.

Why not check out some of my other content - there’s an award winning podcast, a weekly newsletter and more - https://linktr.ee/paul_barlownz

And if you want to support what I do with a donation, you can do that through this link - https://buymeacoffee.com/paul.theotherone

All your support is really appreciated, especially as we push for a change of government in 2026!

©️ Paul… The Other One, 2026

The downgrade from Moody’s sounds like scary financial news to the uninitiated but don’t worry - it’s only happened because of the way the Coalition has screwed the economy and it’s easily fixed by doing the things the Coalition refuse to do - so I’m sure it’ll be fine.

*Warning, contains distressing noises from the Finance Minister that was probably her being overly performative in her disdain for Chippy but somehow equates in her head and from her alleged secret twitter handle to an offensive comment about her being a woman.

Check out www.election2026.co.nz for resources and tools to help you decide on who to vote for.

Why not check out some of my other content - there’s an award winning podcast, a weekly newsletter and more - https://linktr.ee/paul_barlownz

And if you want to support what I do with a donation, you can do that through this link - https://buymeacoffee.com/paul.theotherone

All your support is really appreciated, especially as we push for a change of government in 2026!

©️ Paul… The Other One, 2026

The confidence vote was meant to steady the ship for the National Party - it never was going to do that though and one day after we are seeing more messy drama from the party that want’s you to believe they’re a strong stable leader of the country. 

Check out www.election2026.co.nz for resources and tools to help you decide on who to vote for.

Why not check out some of my other content - there’s an award winning podcast, a weekly newsletter and more - https://linktr.ee/paul_barlownz

And if you want to support what I do with a donation, you can do that through this link - https://buymeacoffee.com/paul.theotherone

All your support is really appreciated, especially as we push for a change of government in 2026!

©️ Paul… The Other One, 2026