Covid-19, election 2020 and beyond: Q+A revisits a year of politics

December 6, 2020

The Covid-19 pandemic, the election and Winston Peters’ exit from Parliament were among the memorable moments.

With the election and the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020 proved to be a busy year for New Zealand's political landscape. 

Alongside the politics of each week, TVNZ1’s Q+A sought to bring viewers some of the issues on the periphery of politics as well. 

Q+A reporter Whena Owen’s year started in the Far North, where locals were claiming sprawling avocado orchards there would suck the place dry. 

Far North mayor John Carter said he accepted "in hindsight" that more should have been done.

As the Covid-19 pandemic took hold, Q+A talked to some University of Auckland students stranded in mainland China after New Zealand closed its borders to the region.

As June rolled around, Q+A documented  Whena Owen’s two-year attempt to get former National list MP Dr Jian Yang, who had connections to the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese spy agencies, to speak with New Zealand media. 

Since questions were raised about his links to the Chinese Communist Party, Dr Jian Yang has refused Whena Owen’s interview requests. Should he front?

Yang announced in July — a fortnight after the story went to air — he wouldn’t be standing for re-election .

Then came the election, and Q+A sought out voters’ concerns across the country. Jobs and employment were at the forefront of the minds of many. 

Candidates from multiple parties are looking to woo voters.

ACT leader David Seymour won big at the election, and Q+A was there to witness his nautical spectacle on election night as he rolled into his party’s HQ to the applause and cheers of supporters. He’s no longer the sole ACT voice in the House, with the election giving him nine other friends to take to Parliament.

ACT is on the way to its best ever election result.

Q+A also paid homage to the iconic NZ First leader Winston Peters, who first ran for Parliament in 1975 and didn’t make it back as an MP after the election results came in. 

To end the year, Q+A sat down with Parliament’s newest talent as it looked ahead to the 53rd Parliament.

Watch reporter Whena Owen’s wrap of the year in the video above. 

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