henry cooke
@henrycooke.bsky.social
deputy political editor at the post, wellington tragic
send me gossip or stories: 📞021 241 1398 📧henry.cooke@thepost.co.nz 📧henry.cooke.post@proton.me
send me gossip or stories: 📞021 241 1398 📧henry.cooke@thepost.co.nz 📧henry.cooke.post@proton.me
Great morning out in @zealandia.bsky.social
November 14, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Great morning out in @zealandia.bsky.social
A very interesting wrinkle: Labour currently need TPM to win a seat.
On these numbers if TPM win just a single seat then Labour wins Govt thanks to coat-tailing. If they win back more seats Labour wins again.
But if TPM lose all their seats the coalition is returned.
On these numbers if TPM win just a single seat then Labour wins Govt thanks to coat-tailing. If they win back more seats Labour wins again.
But if TPM lose all their seats the coalition is returned.
November 13, 2025 at 1:51 AM
A very interesting wrinkle: Labour currently need TPM to win a seat.
On these numbers if TPM win just a single seat then Labour wins Govt thanks to coat-tailing. If they win back more seats Labour wins again.
But if TPM lose all their seats the coalition is returned.
On these numbers if TPM win just a single seat then Labour wins Govt thanks to coat-tailing. If they win back more seats Labour wins again.
But if TPM lose all their seats the coalition is returned.
Absolutely horror IPCA report on how the Police handled complaints against McSkimming.
A woman, who said she had a sexual relationship with him when she was 21 and he was 40, made complaints about him and instead of taking it seriously they prosecuted her under the HDCA.
A woman, who said she had a sexual relationship with him when she was 21 and he was 40, made complaints about him and instead of taking it seriously they prosecuted her under the HDCA.
November 11, 2025 at 4:34 AM
Absolutely horror IPCA report on how the Police handled complaints against McSkimming.
A woman, who said she had a sexual relationship with him when she was 21 and he was 40, made complaints about him and instead of taking it seriously they prosecuted her under the HDCA.
A woman, who said she had a sexual relationship with him when she was 21 and he was 40, made complaints about him and instead of taking it seriously they prosecuted her under the HDCA.
Juggernaut season 2 is out! It’s the story of the 90s in NZ politics, the decade that shaped our world just as much as the 80s but is far less examined.
I was very honoured to help with the research.
Out now whereever you get your podcasts.
I was very honoured to help with the research.
Out now whereever you get your podcasts.
November 10, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Juggernaut season 2 is out! It’s the story of the 90s in NZ politics, the decade that shaped our world just as much as the 80s but is far less examined.
I was very honoured to help with the research.
Out now whereever you get your podcasts.
I was very honoured to help with the research.
Out now whereever you get your podcasts.
With both of the expelled MPs intending to challenge the decision and an open question on the support of the rest of their caucus, I don't think the TPM co-leaders attempt to end the story this morning will work.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
November 10, 2025 at 1:14 AM
With both of the expelled MPs intending to challenge the decision and an open question on the support of the rest of their caucus, I don't think the TPM co-leaders attempt to end the story this morning will work.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
At about 4am on the night before he met Trump, it sure seemed like the PM couldn’t sleep. Could you blame him?
My wrap of the weeklong trip to Asia:
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
My wrap of the weeklong trip to Asia:
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
November 2, 2025 at 8:35 PM
At about 4am on the night before he met Trump, it sure seemed like the PM couldn’t sleep. Could you blame him?
My wrap of the weeklong trip to Asia:
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
My wrap of the weeklong trip to Asia:
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
I’m in Korea this week and the country is really showing off. Oodles of free skincare, impressive tech, and delicious food.
All this from a country that was 15x poorer than us just 70 years ago.
Christopher Luxon wants us to replicate that success - my column today is on whether we can
All this from a country that was 15x poorer than us just 70 years ago.
Christopher Luxon wants us to replicate that success - my column today is on whether we can
October 31, 2025 at 1:26 AM
I’m in Korea this week and the country is really showing off. Oodles of free skincare, impressive tech, and delicious food.
All this from a country that was 15x poorer than us just 70 years ago.
Christopher Luxon wants us to replicate that success - my column today is on whether we can
All this from a country that was 15x poorer than us just 70 years ago.
Christopher Luxon wants us to replicate that success - my column today is on whether we can
Is there space for Christopher Luxon at the Trump show?
My piece from Malaysia on how NZ fits into the new world of intense personality-driven diplomacy that Trump has created:
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
My piece from Malaysia on how NZ fits into the new world of intense personality-driven diplomacy that Trump has created:
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
October 27, 2025 at 4:11 PM
Is there space for Christopher Luxon at the Trump show?
My piece from Malaysia on how NZ fits into the new world of intense personality-driven diplomacy that Trump has created:
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
My piece from Malaysia on how NZ fits into the new world of intense personality-driven diplomacy that Trump has created:
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
many are saying it can’t be beat on a good day
October 16, 2025 at 10:43 PM
many are saying it can’t be beat on a good day
He was also a creature of caucus coups. He only beat “city Jim” McLay on the third go round, and Ruth Richardson was only installed after she challenged the deputy role.
October 15, 2025 at 10:26 PM
He was also a creature of caucus coups. He only beat “city Jim” McLay on the third go round, and Ruth Richardson was only installed after she challenged the deputy role.
It’s raining polls:
New Talbot Mill/Anacta is the second in two weeks to show National below 29
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
New Talbot Mill/Anacta is the second in two weeks to show National below 29
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
October 15, 2025 at 4:56 AM
It’s raining polls:
New Talbot Mill/Anacta is the second in two weeks to show National below 29
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
New Talbot Mill/Anacta is the second in two weeks to show National below 29
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
I’ve made a professional Instagram for videos on politics and whatnot. www.instagram.com/reel/DPstenh...
October 12, 2025 at 8:16 AM
I’ve made a professional Instagram for videos on politics and whatnot. www.instagram.com/reel/DPstenh...
Long graph-filled piece out today on all the stuff the opposition agree on - and some of the things they really don’t.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
October 11, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Long graph-filled piece out today on all the stuff the opposition agree on - and some of the things they really don’t.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
Another huge paper (+website!) full of politics reads this morning
- Luke Malpass on the decline of the right
- Thomas Manch talks to a Kiwi aid worker in Ukraine
- Stewart Sowman-Lund on how the Ardern ended up in a Pike River film
- RIP travelators
thepost.co.nz
- Luke Malpass on the decline of the right
- Thomas Manch talks to a Kiwi aid worker in Ukraine
- Stewart Sowman-Lund on how the Ardern ended up in a Pike River film
- RIP travelators
thepost.co.nz
October 10, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Another huge paper (+website!) full of politics reads this morning
- Luke Malpass on the decline of the right
- Thomas Manch talks to a Kiwi aid worker in Ukraine
- Stewart Sowman-Lund on how the Ardern ended up in a Pike River film
- RIP travelators
thepost.co.nz
- Luke Malpass on the decline of the right
- Thomas Manch talks to a Kiwi aid worker in Ukraine
- Stewart Sowman-Lund on how the Ardern ended up in a Pike River film
- RIP travelators
thepost.co.nz
The news that Toitū Te Tiriti are breaking away from TPM so publicly changed the stakes of this chaotic saga for TPM.
The party's 'reset' next week will be a huge test and shape the next 12 months in opposition politics.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
The party's 'reset' next week will be a huge test and shape the next 12 months in opposition politics.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
October 2, 2025 at 11:58 PM
The news that Toitū Te Tiriti are breaking away from TPM so publicly changed the stakes of this chaotic saga for TPM.
The party's 'reset' next week will be a huge test and shape the next 12 months in opposition politics.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
The party's 'reset' next week will be a huge test and shape the next 12 months in opposition politics.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon declines to criticise Israel for potentially detaining Kiwis in international waters, repeats that MFAT advice is to not to try and travel to Gaza.
October 2, 2025 at 11:35 PM
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon declines to criticise Israel for potentially detaining Kiwis in international waters, repeats that MFAT advice is to not to try and travel to Gaza.
INBOX: The Parliamentary Registrar into Pecuniary Interests is doing an inquiry into National MP Carl Bates.
NZH reported recently that his family trust has 25 different properties that were not declared.
NZH reported recently that his family trust has 25 different properties that were not declared.
September 25, 2025 at 1:47 AM
INBOX: The Parliamentary Registrar into Pecuniary Interests is doing an inquiry into National MP Carl Bates.
NZH reported recently that his family trust has 25 different properties that were not declared.
NZH reported recently that his family trust has 25 different properties that were not declared.
The horror GDP print reminded me of this passage from WH Oliver quoted in Tony Simpson’s book on the depression of the 30s.
![Book page that reads: In his general history The Story of New Zealand, W. H. Oliver remarks that the European history of this country has been one of struggle and that furthermore, the struggles did not end with the pioneering period. Rather, they were transformed by new technologies into a different variety of the same thing. The battle to subdue the land and its indigenous inhabitants became instead the battle to create and sustain a particular style of living: by selling to the world commodities with which it was already well endowed at prices higher than most people wanted to pay. And he concludes:
Tied, by the demands of her people and the capabilities of her soil, to international markets, finance and commerce, New Zealand [has] accepted a perpetually precarious position, one of dependence on overseas markets, creditors and shipping. In these spheres she has been and remains engaged upon a struggle less simple than the business of shooting Maoris and burning bush, a struggle which she can by the nature of things never quite win. New Zealand can never stop a market from contracting, a creditor from turning sour, a shipowner from raising his charges.
This passage encapsulates with a rarely expressed starkness one of the fundamental realities of life in New Zealand. It constitutes a conundrum that has, from the outset, bedevilled our politicians. They cannot plan to deliver the way of life citizens demand without the constant risk that something entirely beyond their control will upset their calculations at any moment.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:mxadidnmyvb7xbpiah7i6fqi/bafkreig3y5hrvxw3lgxzezs2k7z4tmmgpehltecbkd4ozidbayc55tmpua@jpeg)
September 17, 2025 at 11:56 PM
The horror GDP print reminded me of this passage from WH Oliver quoted in Tony Simpson’s book on the depression of the 30s.
NZNO nurses are quite literally turning their back on a speech from Health Minister Simeon Brown at their AGM
September 16, 2025 at 9:45 PM
NZNO nurses are quite literally turning their back on a speech from Health Minister Simeon Brown at their AGM
A typical NZ First voter earns a lot less than National and ACT voters, and is far more interested in quality public services than paying down national debt.
Deep dive in the SST/Post today on the awkward arranged marriage of the coalition.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
Deep dive in the SST/Post today on the awkward arranged marriage of the coalition.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
September 13, 2025 at 9:40 PM
A typical NZ First voter earns a lot less than National and ACT voters, and is far more interested in quality public services than paying down national debt.
Deep dive in the SST/Post today on the awkward arranged marriage of the coalition.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
Deep dive in the SST/Post today on the awkward arranged marriage of the coalition.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
The first edition of my new weekly column asks if there are many anti-woke Labour voters for NZ First to still win over as it recruits another former MP.
NZES data suggests a decent minority of Lab voters might be susceptible.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
NZES data suggests a decent minority of Lab voters might be susceptible.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
September 9, 2025 at 8:02 PM
The first edition of my new weekly column asks if there are many anti-woke Labour voters for NZ First to still win over as it recruits another former MP.
NZES data suggests a decent minority of Lab voters might be susceptible.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
NZES data suggests a decent minority of Lab voters might be susceptible.
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
the haters don't know that i'm considering things all the time with a view of actually doing everything i can to respond to the circumstances i've got
August 13, 2025 at 9:12 AM
the haters don't know that i'm considering things all the time with a view of actually doing everything i can to respond to the circumstances i've got
From a British doctor in Gaza www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
July 23, 2025 at 7:35 PM
From a British doctor in Gaza www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
very distressing how common these stories of horrible migrant exploitation in NZ are
July 21, 2025 at 9:02 PM
very distressing how common these stories of horrible migrant exploitation in NZ are
July 14, 2025 at 3:36 PM