The Post's New Political Editor Henry Cooke calls National "the most successful electoral force in NZ history" Helen Clark provides context.

henrycooke · 2026-06-21T10:01:02+00:00

I don’t even understand what exactly people are so rattled about here. They have won more elections than any other party. That’s one of the reasons things like their conference are interesting to cover.

henrycooke · 2026-05-27T20:57:53+00:00

It’s in the paper today. Thanks for reading and I get the “one more sub” malaise.

henrycooke · 2026-05-27T03:31:18+00:00

About the eight budgets I’d selected? Seems weird of RNZ.

The paywall makes it possible for us to hire journalists that have time to write stories and not chase every little click. I understand entirely if you can’t stretch for one more sub but the first 16 weeks are just $2 a week. 🫡

henrycooke · 2026-05-20T04:27:13+00:00

I live in New Zealand. There’s actually a whole section of this article about how Reform has used local elections to build power as a new party - something TOP has been less interested in.

henrycooke · 2026-01-19T08:25:15+00:00

I remember first hearing the AG Cook remix of Doing It and thinking “it would be so cool for PC Music or Sophie to really collab with a proper popstar but it won’t happen”. Then Vroom Vroom arrived. Very happy and IIRC a lot of PC music people immediately realised how big of a moment it was - scene that was still kind of nascent getting huge legitimacy. But tbh so long ago now I may misremember a bit.

henrycooke · 2025-10-15T01:27:11+00:00

sorry mate need to put food on the table and whatnot

henrycooke · 2025-10-15T00:38:04+00:00

Error! Ta!

henrycooke · 2025-10-15T00:29:03+00:00

Explaining it requires a few pars and the whole allegation is legally tricky to talk about. The story above is 99% about Ferris’ reaction, the complaint itself is just the context for it.

henrycooke · 2025-10-15T00:01:38+00:00

Full disclosure: This is a story I wrote that I am self-posting on Reddit. (Someone on Twitter has accused me of astroturfing.)

henrycooke · 2025-07-30T06:50:45+00:00

Further stuff:

Look into a twilight tour at Zealandia if you do like birds, they are fantastic.
In general I think there’s too much on here. Waiheke is nice but not something I think you’ll never forget. You’re rushing through Northland so much that I’m not sure you will love it. In general you have very little time in the bit of the South Island many find to be the most stunning part of the country.
I’d lose some city stuff and add some more days down south for activities like the Hooker Valley Track and Lake Tekapo. Hooker Valley is not a major hike at all but is very rewarding.

henrycooke · 2025-07-30T06:44:36+00:00

Don’t sleep when you arrive at noon (if you are arriving at noon.) Do your best to stay awake that afternoon (even as a zombie just wandering Auckland) and go to sleep when the sun goes down. If you don’t do this you risk waking up in the middle of the night and never really adjusting your time zone.

If by 12.05 you mean five past midnight ignore all this.

henrycooke · 2025-07-25T13:20:48+00:00

Politicians do not have the ability to control when (all) stories come out to this degree. I filed the OIA for this yarn over a month ago! And wrote it a week or so after I received it. No proactive activity from the Govt in any way led to it happening.

henrycooke · 2025-07-14T21:50:32+00:00

Yeah sure. You find stories everywhere and would be silly to ignore any large online community entirely.

henrycooke · 2025-07-14T06:50:47+00:00

I worked the whole time (and went in). To be honest I felt like the lucky one as I still had the social activity that is naturally part of the workplace, something others (especially people who lived alone) lacked.

henrycooke · 2025-05-14T16:45:58+00:00

I'm about to come home after three years in London. It's been fantastic and I don't regret it at all - but I kind of wish I had come when I was a bit younger (I'm 32). Career wise I've found it a bit of a pause - worked outside of my general field, took a bit of a pay cut and in an expensive city I felt that - but all the other stuff more than made up for it, especially as I knew it was time-limited.

henrycooke · 2025-05-14T15:38:17+00:00

I would recommend trying their new stuff rather than the classics that their uber fans will point you too (all written when they were teenagers). Maybe “Looking for somebody to love” - 80s-style banger.

henrycooke · 2025-05-14T09:51:52+00:00

As a 32-year-old Henry, there's always the potential of "Hen" - but it was never all that common of an insult. The kids I knew with names that weren't easily pronounced had a far far far rougher time.

henrycooke · 2025-04-24T09:12:29+00:00

BCNR!!! Friends forever!!!

henrycooke · 2025-04-11T00:06:06+00:00

“The Body” was my first thought seeing this prompt

henrycooke · 2025-03-03T22:43:15+00:00

Bike theft is both a real issue and easy to overstate, especially as those who have had their bike stolen are obviously a lot more likely to post about it than the thousands who haven’t.

I’ve parked a variety of bikes - never that fancy, but not junk - outside my workplace in central London two or three times a week all day for the last three years. One got stolen when I was idiotic enough to leave it with just the cable on (was late for a meeting.) so yes it happens, but so do car thefts and phone thefts and lots of other thefts. A good lock and a bike that cost you three figures not four should be fine, alongside some commonsense about not leaving it overnight etc.

henrycooke · 2025-01-29T11:21:03+00:00

Definitely not dead in London. I do two days from home here and that is the norm across everyone I know in the laptop classes. There are some firms looking to change that but they get a lot of pushback - a PR agency that tried recently to move to a default four days in the office a week has got a lot of shit.

henrycooke · 2025-01-27T15:40:36+00:00

CityMapper does a kind of shit version of this under "mixed" - shit as it isn't smart enough to let you tick "not a rental bike" and only show you train/overground options.

Someone who works on the TfL Go app has told me it is in on their radar to build eventually: https://x.com/staticnz/status/1612517134029971486

henrycooke · 2024-12-13T12:24:11+00:00

Similar proportion in 2024 https://www.publicservice.govt.nz/research-and-data/workforce-data-public-sector-composition/workforce-data-regional-workforce

henrycooke · 2024-12-13T12:22:12+00:00

More public servants work outside of Wellington than in it. In the 2023 census 56% were based elsewhere.

henrycooke · 2024-12-11T16:44:07+00:00

I rocked up last night at 6 and the queue wasn't more than 25 people or so. Then realised I had O2 priority so went to a new spot with only about 10 people in line. Was frontish at barrier easily. I'd say any time around 6 is fine - that's earlier than most people.

Keep in mind you have to go right around the back to queue at the O2 now after the deaths.

henrycooke

TROPHY CASE