Corin Dann is a prominent New Zealand journalist and broadcaster, best known for his work in political and economic reporting. He began his career at Radio New Zealand (RNZ), later moving into television where he became TVNZ’s political editor and host of current affairs programme Q+A. Dann returned to RNZ in 2019 as co-host of Morning Report where he covered major events including the Christchurch mosque attacks, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Cyclone Gabrielle. In April 2026, he transitioned into the role of RNZ’s Business Editor, reflecting his long-standing focus on economics and business journalism. Originally from Christchurch, Dann is widely regarded for his strong interviewing style and in-depth understanding of New Zealand’s political and economic landscape.
Kos Samaras is a Greek-Australian lobbyist, pollster and former Victorian Labor strategist. He helped run Labor’s state election campaigns for 14 years before departing to found RedBridge, a political consultancy firm and pollster, which has become influential in Australian politics. Kos specialises in compiling and interpreting research, statistical data and polling to provide a unique insight into the cause and effects of social and political issues impacting communities. Often sought for expert commentary on polling data and its impact on all level of politics, Kos’s keen understanding of political parties and decision making will provide the Summit with an Australian perspective on fragmentation in the current political cycle.
Tim Hurdle is a New Zealand political strategist, commentator, and public affairs consultant with extensive experience in both government and the private sector. He previously served as a senior adviser to the National Party and was its campaign director for the 2020 general election. He was campaign director to elect Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown, and Tauranga Mayor Mahé Drysdale. Hurdle has worked on major public policy and economic issues for corporate clients, combining political insight with commercial expertise; he is also a regular media commentator on New Zealand politics.
David Talbot is a political pollster and strategist, and a director at Talbot Mills Research. He has worked at the highest levels of politics and business, serving as a key adviser and pollster to former Prime Ministers Jacinda Ardern and Chris Hipkins. Talbot specialises in corporate, social, and political research, providing strategic insights to help organisations understand and influence public opinion, and is widely regarded as one of New Zealand’s leading figures in political research and campaign strategy.
Jack Vowles is Professor of Comparative Politics at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. He directed the New Zealand Election Study between 1996 and 2023 and remains a co-investigator for its forthcoming work on the 2026 election. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 1996. During his career he has worked at the University of Auckland, the University of Waikato, and the University of Exeter. His research primarily focuses on New Zealand and comparative political behaviour, voter choices and turnout, electoral systems, public opinion, and the political consequences of globalization. He also maintains a strong interest in normative and empirical democratic theory.
Qiulae’s roots are proudly in One Tree Hill in Auckland. After studying law and politics, she stepped into the world of human rights, disability inclusion, ethical fashion, climate and purpose-driven business. Throughout her career, Qiulae has built companies, scaled global movements and supported major brands like Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney to shift towards long-term, sustainable business models. After a decade overseas, Qiulae returned home with husband Grant and her two daughters in 2022. That’s when she stepped up to lead the B Corp movement in New Zealand – helping some of Aotearoa’s most recognised businesses (like Kiwibank and Sharesies) to balance profit and purpose. From there it was on to KPMG to support some of our largest corporations to tackle the transition to a low-carbon future, as well as several volunteer and governance roles in the climate and purpose space. After a career standing up for better business, Q is now leading a new generation of politicians to Wellington to stand up for the integrity and long-term thinking New Zealand needs now.
Ricardo Menéndez March (born 1987 or 1988) is a Mexican-born New Zealand activist and politician who, since 2020, has been a MP for the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Menéndez March moved to New Zealand from Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, in 2006.He worked as a film projectionist for a decade in Auckland but was made redundant due to film digitisation. After that role, he worked in hospitality, then in migrant advocacy. Menéndez identifies as a “proud socialist” and a “true Marxist] He says that the Green Party would work hard to offer support to Labour to enact “genuine, bold socialist policy”.
Wayne Eagleson is a prominent New Zealand political figure and corporate affairs specialist, best known for his long tenure as chief of staff to senior National Party leaders. He served as chief of staff to Prime Ministers Sir John Key and Sir Bill English, and earlier to Opposition leader Don Brash, making him one of the longest serving non-elected figures in New Zealand politics. Eagleson began his career in Parliament working in the National Party research unit and later as a private secretary to former Prime Minister Jim Bolger. He also worked in the private sector in senior public affairs roles with major organisations including DB Breweries, Westpac, and Transpower. After more than a decade at the centre of government, he left his chief of staff role in 2017 and transitioned into lobbying and corporate advisory work. He has also held governance roles, including serving on the board of Wellington Airport. Eagleson is currently a Director at corporate affairs consultancy, Thompson Lewis.
Neale Jones has extensive experience in New Zealand politics, including most recently as Chief of Staff to Labour Leader Jacinda Ardern and former leader Andrew Little. Neale has previously worked as Political Director and Communications Director in the Labour Leader’s Office. In these roles, Neale has led work on political strategy and communications. He held a senior role in Labour’s successful 2017 election campaign and served on the negotiation team for Labour’s coalition talks with New Zealand First and the Greens. Neale has previously worked in senior campaign and communication roles in New Zealand and the United Kingdom in the NGO sector and the trade union movement. More recently, Neale led strategy and communications for Andrew Little’s successful campaign for Mayor of Wellington, helping to achieve the strongest mayoral result in the city in 142 years. This gives Neale a deep knowledge of the political environment in New Zealand and a valuable insight into how to engage constructively with opposition parties. Neale is based in New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington and affiliates to Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Apakura. He is a regular political commentator across a range of media.
Stuart Wilson brings over two decades of strategic leadership advising senior ministers and delivering high-stakes political campaigns in New Zealand.In his most recent role as Specialist Ministerial Advisor to New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister, Hon David Seymour, Stuart spearheaded critical initiatives in the regulation and finance portfolios. He drove the creation of the Ministry for Regulation and played a pivotal role in developing landmark legislation, including the Regulatory Standards Act and Overseas Investment Amendment Act.As one of New Zealand’s foremost political campaign managers, Stuart has directed senior operational and strategic efforts in eight general election campaigns since 1999, alongside numerous by-elections and local government races. He lead the Act Party election campaigns in 2011, 2017, 2020 & 2023. His global experience extends to campaigns in the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia, where he honed strengths in political polling, field operations, and strategic message development.He was member of ACT’s coalition negotiation team in both 2008 and 2023.Earlier in his career, he worked as an international hospitality consultant across North America, the Middle East, and Africa. Stuart holds a master’s degree in real estate from Cornell University.
Hon Kieran McAnulty was first elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 2017, representing the Labour Party as a list MP. He served his first term as junior whip and in their 2020 election successfully contested the Wairarapa electorate. While in government, McAnulty has served as minister across several ministries including Racing, Emergency Management, Rural Communities and Regional Development. McAnulty returned to parliament after the 2023 election on the Labour Party list and had his private member’s bill drawn in April of this year easing alcohol restrictions on Good Friday, Anzac Day and Christmas Day, passing just in time for New Zealanders to enjoy a drink under normal conditions at their local pub over Easter weekend. Kieran is Labour’s Campaign Manager for 2026.
Simeon Brown is the Minister of Health, Minister for Energy, Minister for State Owned Enterprises. He is the MP for Pakuranga. Prior to entering politics, Simeon completed Law and Commerce degrees at the University of Auckland and worked in Commercial Finance at the Bank of New Zealand, as well as serving as an elected Local Board member at Auckland Council.
Troy Pilkington (Moderator) is one of New Zealand’s leading competition, consumer and regulatory lawyers. Troy has acted on many of New Zealand’s most high-profile matters involving the Commerce Commission, including market studies, cartel and consumer law investigations and Court proceedings, and merger clearances. In the media space, Troy has acted on many media related matters of significant public interest – including acting for the New Zealand News Publishers’ Association in relation to their successful application for Commerce Commission authorisation to collectively bargain with Google and Meta in relation to the display of New Zealand news content on Google and Meta’s platforms, and acting for Stuff and NZME in their application for Commerce Commission authorisation to merge their news publishing businesses.
Matthew Hooton is the editor-in-chief of the capital’s daily newspaper, The Post, and of the nationwide the Sunday Star-Times. He has been both a participant and close observer of New Zealand politics for more than 30 years, including as a columnist and political commentator, a lobbyist and a parliamentary and ministerial staffer. As a lobbyist, his clients included many of the major players in almost all sectors of the New Zealand economy. He has a PhD in philosophy, with a thesis on the principles of conservatism, and undergraduate degrees in economics and international relations.
Thomas Jamieson is a senior lecturer in political science and international relations at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington. He studies the relationship between information and public opinion about politics and public policy and is especially interested in the conditions under which people search for and use information to influence their attitudes and behaviour. He employs a variety of methods in my work, including experiments, content analysis, interviews, and statistical analysis. He is also a co-investigator of the New Zealand Election Study in the 2026 general election (with Luke Oldfield and Jack Vowles). Tom has
a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Southern California. Before USC, and a BA, BA (Hons) and MA degrees from VUW.
Linda Clark (Monderator) is a Wellington based barrister and former partner of Dentons Kensington Swan. She specialises in public law, defamation and assisting individuals facing high-wire legal challenges. Before she was a lawyer, Linda was an award-winning New Zealand journalist, broadcaster, and former political editor. She rose to prominence as TVNZ’s political editor in the 1990s, where she was known for her authoritative coverage of Parliament and incisive interviews with leading politicians. She has remained an influential voice in New Zealand public life through commentary, broadcasting, and governance roles, making her a prominent figure at the intersection of journalism and law in New Zealand.
Henry Cooke is the political editor of The Post. He has reported on politics since 2017, when on his second day on the job he mistook Stuart Nash for Todd Barclay. Henry has a particular interest in housing, electoral law, and the public service. He writes the Friday morning political newsletter for The Post and the Saturday morning politics column. During a stint in the UK he wrote the Museum Street newsletter on New Zealand politics.
Thomas has been working at the Herald since 2021. He previously worked for Stuff and Newsroom in their Press Gallery offices in Wellington. Thomas became the Herald’s political editor in 2025. He closely covers the finance portfolio and dabbles in transport, climate change and other things.
Jo Moir leads RNZ’s political coverage managing an exceptional team of six political reporters. She has oversight of national politics and policy and is first port of call for political analysis and breaking news. Jo started in the Parliamentary Press Gallery with Stuff in 2015, before joining RNZ as a journalist in 2018. After a stint as Political Editor of Newsroom from 2021, she returned to RNZ as Political Editor in early 2024. In her decade at Parliament, Jo has reported on five prime ministers, many political leaders, and significant events like the Covid-19 pandemic, Whakaari eruption, March 15 terror attacks, and the Parliament protest. Jo has covered three elections and extensively travelled overseas with the Prime Minister of the day. She has been a finalist for political reporter of the year three times at the Voyager Media awards, including being named runner-up in 2022.
Anna Whyte serves as the Parliament Press Gallery chair and political correspondent at financial and economic news hub, Interest.co.nz. She specialises in government finances, the public service and technology news. Anna has also worked for The Post, Stuff and TVNZ across broadcasting, print and digital news in the Press Gallery for the last eight years.
Esther Robinson is Director of Government Relations at One Plus One Communications, where she leads the agency’s Wellington-based government relations practice. She has more than a decade of experience across politics, public affairs, strategic communications and corporate advisory, including as a senior political adviser in the Beehive and as a consultant to organisations navigating complex policy and regulatory environments. Esther works across Parliament to help clients understand political developments, build constructive relationships with decision-makers, and connect their government engagement with wider business and reputation objectives. She is particularly interested in bringing public and private sector perspectives together to develop practical policy solutions. Alongside her consulting work, Esther co-hosts Three Gals One Beehive, a leading independent political podcast providing accessible and informed weekly analysis of New Zealand politics.
Georgina Stylianou is the Managing Director of BRG and brings more than 15 years’ experience across journalism, government and public affairs. She began her career as a print and broadcast journalist with Stuff, RNZ and The Press, covering local government, housing, infrastructure and disaster recovery. She later moved into government, serving as Press Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Civil Defence before becoming Senior Advisor to the Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development. Between 2017 and 2020, she was part of the team responsible for delivering the $3 billion Provincial Growth Fund, working closely with Ministers, officials, councils, iwi and community leaders throughout New Zealand. Today, Georgina advises clients across a range of sectors including technology, infrastructure, and energy. Outside work, you’ll find Georgina juggling two young children, reading either the latest political memoir or an unapologetically light rom-com, and co-hosting a weekly political podcast.
Conor Whitten is Principal Consultant at Lillis Clark, a leading public affairs firm based in Wellington. He has 15 years’ experience in government relations, corporate affairs, communications and journalism. Conor works on some of Lillis Clark’s most complex accounts spanning aviation, agri-tech, infrastructure, retail and government services. He brings a sharp eye for how policy decisions develop and operate in the real world, and how organisations can get ahead of them. Before consulting, Conor represented businesses large and small at the Wellington Chamber of Commerce and spent more than a decade as a journalist. He served as Newshub’s Australia Correspondent before joining the Parliamentary Press Gallery in Wellington, where he covered elections, economic policy and the inner workings of government. He went on to join award-winning current affairs show Sunday at TVNZ. His reporting took him across Asia-Pacific, from natural disasters to election campaigns, crises and social unrest.
Matthew Galt is a Senior Economist at ANZ, where he focuses on forecasting the New Zealand economy and housing market. Prior to joining ANZ in 2025, he worked in economic policy roles at The Treasury, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. His experience spans economic analysis, fiscal policy, monetary policy and housing policy. Matthew holds an Honours degree in Economics from the University of Canterbury.
Blair Turnbull joined Milford as Chief Executive Officer in March 2025. Blair has over 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry in New Zealand, Asia Pacific and the United Kingdom, with a proven global track record in large-scale digital and data innovation, delivering disruptive, customer-focused models. Blair has strong leadership skills and a deep knowledge in client centric delivery and digital innovation. Most recently, Blair was CEO of Tower Insurance NZ and as such played a fundamental role in transforming the business to become a leading direct New Zealand and Pacific insurer, with an aligned culture and strategy, and a focus on innovation in digital technology. Prior to that, Blair was Managing Director, UK Digital, UK & International with Aviva Group, Executive General Manager, Wealth and Insurance at ASB Bank and Executive VP, Group Advisor Strategy Planning and Projects at Great Eastern Life in Singapore. Blair holds a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accounting, Marketing and Finance and a Postgraduate Diploma in Commerce from the University of Otago.atthew Galt is a Senior Economist at ANZ, where he focuses on forecasting the New Zealand economy and housing market. Prior to joining ANZ in 2025, he worked in economic policy roles at The Treasury, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. His experience spans economic analysis, fiscal policy, monetary policy and housing policy. Matthew holds an Honours degree in Economics from the University of Canterbury.
Dr Eric Crampton is Chief Economist with the New Zealand Initiative and Adjunct Senior Fellow with the Department of Economics and Finance at the University of Canterbury. His work covers a broad range of microeconomics topics including competition policy, urban economics, local government, and environmental economics. His columns and commentary on economic policy feature regularly across a broad range of media outlets.
Nicola Willis is the Minister of Finance, Minister for Economic Growth and Minister for Social Investment. Prior to becoming an MP, Nicola held a number of senior management roles at New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra. She also served on the boards of Export NZ and policy think-tank the New Zealand Initiative.Nicola was a senior advisor to Prime Minister John Key during his first term in Government, having previously worked for the National Party in Opposition.She is a graduate of Victoria University of Wellington with a first-class Honours degree in English literature. She grew up in Wellington, and today she lives there with her husband Duncan and their four children.
Hon Barbara Edmonds is the proud Member of Parliament for Mana, as well as the Finance Spokesperson for the Labour Party. The Mana electorate that covers Linden, Porirua and Raumati and Paraparaumu East.Since becoming an MP in 2020, she served as the Minister of Internal Affairs, Economic Development and Minister for Pacific Peoples as well as Associate Minister for Health, Housing and Cyclone Recovery.Before her promotion to Cabinet, she also served as the Associate Whip for the Labour Caucus and Chair of the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee. Before Parliament, Barbara acted as a senior advisor to Ministers under successive governments and was a key contributor to the Government’s law reforms following the March 15 Terror Attacks. Barbara was also heavily involved in the Government’s tax, social policy, small business, and economic response to COVID-19.Before the Beehive, Minister Edmonds worked in the Policy and Strategy, and Legal and Technical Services areas of Inland Revenue as well as private medical, and fire and general insurance industry.Barbara has been moulded and shaped by quintessential Labour values. The safety nets provided by previous Labour governments meant that as a child, she never fell through the cracks. She wants to use these values to make Aotearoa the best place for children to grow up.Barbara lives in Titahi Bay with her husband Chris and their eight children. When she’s not in Parliament, you can find Barbara actively engaging with her constituents, championing their concerns, and striving to create better opportunities for everyone in Mana and Aotearoa. She is passionate about equitable access to healthcare, economic policy that is people-centred and opportunities for New Zealanders to get ahead.
Jane Clifton has been a journalist all her working life. She has been on The Dominion and then for over 24 years as the political columnist on The Listener. She got time off for good behaviour and has subsequently had forays into TV3 and Business Desk. Most recently she has been serving as the Ambassador’s Wife in Dublin where her husband the Hon Sir Trevor Mallard was posted until Winston Peters recalled him. She loves gardening and dogs and is the author of our wittiest political memoir, “Political Animals, the confessions of a Parliamentary Zoologist.”
