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I always said that in print it's like working with a scalpel, because you can really get into the nitty-gritty, and you can be really specialised and direct. And you can work with complex issues really easily. In TV you've got to drop the scalpel, and they hand you an axe. It can be really effective to use, but it's nowhere near as delicate as working in print. [4]
He took over as political editor of 3 News from Duncan Garner in November 2012. [6]
Despite controversy about political bias on social networking sites, Gower claims to be a non-voter on the grounds of impartiality, stating: [7]
People ask all the time do I vote, and I just don't, because I like to be independent as possible. I understand a lot of other journalists here can vote and personally I think that's fine. And being fair to both sides is important, and always giving a fair go to everyone and letting them have their say is absolutely crucial. Ultimately the best guard against bias is just by doing the best stories in the best way that you can. If you’re following the news then you never have to worry about being biased.
In 2018, after five years as Newshub's political editor, he shifted roles to become its national correspondent. [8] He maintained this role until Newshub’s closure in 2024.
On 20 August 2024, Stuff announced the hiring of Gower for their news operations. [9]
On 18 August 2014, Gower appeared in a skit by the University of Auckland Law School’s comedy revue, presenting a live report for 3 News in the campus’s library. In the skit, a library-goer stands up and says, "This is a fucking library!", to which Gower replies, "This is the fuckin' news." [10] A remix of the video posted in December later went viral. [11] [12] He recreated the video in the same location as part of the announcement of his hiring by Stuff ten years later, with the profanity bleeped out. [9]
In 2019, Gower featured in a two part documentary series Patrick Gower: On Weed where he explored issues related to medicinal and recreational cannabis before the 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum. The documentary, produced by Three and funded by NZ on Air, was filmed in New Zealand and the United States. [13] [14] A final third episode was released in September 2020, [15] [16] in advance of the referendum which had been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [17] [18]
In July 2021, Gower broke the story on a leaked draft script of the controversial They Are Us movie, which was based on the Christchurch mosque shootings. The proposed script was criticised by members of the New Zealand Muslim community as well as several politicians including National Party leader Simon Bridges, ACT Party David Seymour, and former Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters for its depiction of graphic violence, exploitation of the tragedy for commercial gain, and historical inaccuracies of the events relating to the mosque shootings. [19] [20] [21] Gower was emotionally affected by the script and called upon the film's director and writer Andrew Niccol to withdraw from the film production. [22]
Brian Raymond Tamaki is a New Zealand Christian fundamentalist religious leader, and politician. He is the leader of Destiny Church, a Pentecostal Christian organisation which advocates strict adherence to fundamentalist biblical morality. Tamaki has been involved with various fringe political parties and movements, and since 2022 he has led the Freedoms New Zealand party. A perennial candidate, he has run for office several times but has yet to be elected.
The Congregation of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer, commonly known as The Sons and The Transalpine Redemptorists, are a religious institute of the Catholic Church canonically erected in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen and based on Papa Stronsay in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, as well as in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, until July 2024. They were formed in 1988 as a traditionalist offshoot of the Redemptorists, following a monastic rule based on that of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, and was later formally erected as a religious institute in 2012.
Samantha Hayes is a New Zealand journalist and newsreader, best known for co-anchoring Three's flagship news programme Newshub Live at 6pm.
Dame Jacinda Kate Laurell Ardern is a former New Zealand politician who served as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand and leader of the Labour Party from 2017 to 2023. She was a Labour member of Parliament (MP) as a list MP from 2008 to 2017, and for Mount Albert from 2017 to 2023.
The use of cannabis in New Zealand is regulated by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, which makes unauthorised possession of any amount of cannabis a crime. Cannabis is the fourth-most widely used recreational drug in New Zealand, after caffeine, alcohol and tobacco, and the most widely used illicit drug. In 2001 a household survey revealed that 13.4% of New Zealanders aged 15–64 used cannabis. This ranked as the ninth-highest cannabis consumption level in the world.
Munokoa Poto Williams is a New Zealand Labour Party politician and a member of Parliament. She was elected in a 2013 by-election and served as Minister of Conservation and Minister for Disability Issues in the Sixth Labour Government.
Various organisations commissioned opinion polls for the 2017 New Zealand general election during the term of the 51st New Zealand Parliament (2014–2017). Roy Morgan Research polled monthly, with MediaWorks New Zealand and Television New Zealand polling less frequently. The last The New Zealand Herald was in December 2015, and Fairfax Media discontinued their poll after the 2014 election. The sample size, margin of error and confidence interval of each poll varied by organisation and date, but were typically 800–1000 participants with a margin of error of just over 3%.
Whakamana Cannabis Museum is New Zealand's first museum dedicated to the history of cannabis use and culture. It was first opened in October 2013 in Dunedin by Abe Gray, former deputy leader of the Aotearoa Legalise Cannabis Party (ALCP), and Julian Crawford, former ALCP regional spokesperson.
Chlöe Charlotte Swarbrick is a New Zealand politician. Following a high-profile but unsuccessful run for the 2016 Auckland mayoral election, she became a parliamentary candidate for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand, standing in the 2017 New Zealand general election and was elected as a member of the New Zealand Parliament at the age of 23. In the 2020 election, Swarbrick was elected as the Member of Parliament for Auckland Central, becoming the second Green Party MP ever to win an electorate seat, and the first without a tacit endorsement from a major party leader. She retained Auckland Central in the 2023 election. In March 2024, she was elected co-leader of the Green Party.
The Project is a New Zealand current affairs show hosted by Jesse Mulligan, Kanoa Lloyd, and Jeremy Corbett with rotating guest panelists. It aired at 7 pm weeknights on Three.
The 2020 New Zealand cannabis referendum was a non-binding referendum held on 17 October 2020 in conjunction with the 2020 general election and a euthanasia referendum, on the question of whether to legalise the sale, use, possession and production of recreational cannabis. It was rejected by New Zealand voters. The form of the referendum was a vote for or against the proposed "Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill". Official results were released by the Electoral Commission on 6 November 2020 with 50.7% of voters opposing the legalisation and 48.4% in support.
Two consecutive mass shootings took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 15 March 2019. They were committed by a single perpetrator during Friday prayer, first at the Al Noor Mosque in Riccarton, overlooking Hagley Park, at 1:40 p.m., and second, after driving at speed across town, at the Linwood Islamic Centre at 1:52 p.m.
Christopher Mark Luxon is a New Zealand politician and former business executive who has been serving as the 42nd prime minister of New Zealand since 2023, previously as leader of the Opposition from 2021 to 2023, and as leader of the National Party since 2021. He has been member of Parliament (MP) for Botany since 2020. He was the chief executive officer (CEO) of Air New Zealand from 2012 to 2019.
Tova O'Brien is a New Zealand political journalist and broadcaster.
Sarah Jean Pallett is a New Zealand midwife and politician who was the Member of Parliament for Ilam in the House of Representatives for the Labour Party from 2020 to 2023.
Abraham Gabriel Gray is an American-born New Zealand cannabis activist, politician and founder of the Whakamana Cannabis Museum, New Zealand's first and only cannabis museum. Gray was a University of Otago lecturer and tutor for over a decade before founding the museum.
Jazz Thornton is a New Zealand mental health activist, author, speaker, TikToker and filmmaker. Thornton co-founded a suicide prevention organisation, Voices of Hope, with eating disorder activist Genevieve Mora. Thornton has written three books: an autobiography Stop Surviving, Start Fighting,My Journey Starts Here, a guided journal for improving well-being, and Letters to you, a book of letters to provide support, information, encouragement and tips on practical help for anyone suffering low moments. The 2020 New Zealand documentary The Girl on the Bridge deals with her struggles with mental health. In the documentary, Thornton meditated on losing her friend Jess to suicide.
Philip Neville Arps is a New Zealand white supremacist best known for being jailed after publicly sharing the livestream of the 2019 Christchurch mosque shootings.
Rose Renton is a Singapore-born New Zealand cannabis activist, known for her work advocating for medicinal cannabis. Renton has campaigned for medicinal cannabis law reform and the right to grow plants, coordinating a petition which was presented to Parliament in 2016. She has also worked as a "green fairy", providing her own home-made medicinal cannabis to patients prior to legalisation, a subject of numerous documentaries and media interviews.