Stewart Sowman-Lund 
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 26. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.30pm: The day in sum The Air NZ worker who tested positive on arrival in China most likely caught Covid-19 overseas, said the Ministry of Health in a statement that also announced one new imported case. Six members of the Pakistan men’s … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 25. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 6.00pm: The day in sum A New Zealand soldier was charged with four counts of espionage, after being arrested at Linton Military camp late last year. The Bloomberg review ranked New Zealand top in the best places to be in the era … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 24. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 9.00pm: Resene shop closes, other sites of interest visited by Air NZ crew member revealed Auckland Regional Public Health Service has announced further information about sites visited by the Air NZ crew member who is under investigation in China for Covid-19 prior … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 23. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8pm: The day in sum Two new imported cases of Covid-19 were announced – but the location of origin for one of the two cases is still being determined. An Air New Zealand worker has reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 in Shanghai. … Read more
There comes a time in every successful politician’s career when their Twitter accounts are ruthlessly trawled through by a combination of political activists, bemused bystanders and, yes, bored journalists. Somehow it’s taken three years for prime minister Jacinda Ardern to experience the same treatment. Over the past few days, Twitter has been alight with decade-old … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 19. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.00pm: The day in sum Two new cases of Covid-19 were reported in managed isolation. There are now just 37 active cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand. The prime minister was among those marking a decade to the day since the Pike … Read more
The US president is promoting unfounded allegations of voter fraud. Now, New Zealand’s election is being called into question on Twitter. Posts on social media reveal that New Zealand is no more immune to claims of voter fraud than the United States. And while the allegations may not be coming from any of our politicians, … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 18. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.00pm: The day in sum The state of South Australia was put into a strict lockdown for six days. The royal commission of inquiry into the March 15 terrorist attacks finished. There were three new cases of Covid-19, all detected in managed … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 17. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.00pm: The day in sum There were four new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation Act leader David Seymour called on Chris Hipkins to apologise after the Covid-19 response minister labelled Taiwan an “authoritarian regime”. Taiwan is a multi-party democracy. The government … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 16. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 4.10pm: Masks mandatory on Auckland public transport and domestic flights nationwide From Thursday morning, masks will need to be worn on all public transport in Auckland, in and out of Auckland, and on domestic flights throughout New Zealand, Covid-19 response minister Chris … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 13, covering all the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 3.20pm: The full list – Ministry updates Covid-19 ‘locations of interest’ The Ministry of Health has updated its Covid-19 locations of interest, and is asking anyone who was at the Auckland … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 12, covering all the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.40pm: All Auckland University exams tomorrow to be online Auckland University has announced that following the community Covid case reported today, all exams scheduled for tomorrow, Friday November 13, on central … Read more
A new social media platform that keeps censorship to a bare minimum has taken off in the wake of Donald Trump’s election loss. So what is this thing? You’ve quite possibly never heard of Parler, the new app taking the free speech world by storm. But in the United States it’s top of the app … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 11, covering all the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.00pm: The day in sum The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced a new funding for lending programme will be rolled out next month. The impacts of Covid-19 on Auckland Council … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 10, covering all the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.30pm: The day in sum There was one new case of Covid-19 in managed isolation. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced a breakthrough on a Covid-19 vaccine, with early trials suggesting it protects … Read more
David Farrar (not Farrier) is a pollster for the National Party. Today, he’s being tweeted by Patricia Arquette. Stewart Sowman-Lund talks to New Zealand’s newest celebrity. Updated with tweets by Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Right-wing blogger, commentator and the head of Curia Market Research, David Farrar, has been flung from the safety of New … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 9, covering all the latest from the US election along with New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. See the latest results on an interactive US map here. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7pm: The day in sum Four new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation were announced. … Read more
As we reach the welcome conclusion of Trump’s 2020 campaign, one of the most bizarre in recent history, Stewart Sowman-Lund takes a peek behind the curtain of three of New Zealand’s own chaotic campaigns. ‘Mike… fuck,” says Jeremy Greenbrook-Held, drawing out the “fuck” like someone with a story to tell. The “Mike” he’s referring to … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 6, covering all the latest from the US election along with New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. See the latest results on an interactive US map here. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.10pm: Auckland quarantine worker tests positive for Covid-19 A worker at the Auckland quarantine facility … Read more
The announcement that a controversial New Zealand reality TV star would be returning to the small screen has been met with outrage on social media. Stewart Sowman-Lund reports. Free-to-air television network Bravo has defended the casting of former Real Housewives star Gilda Kirkpatrick in a new local reality show following a rush of negative comments … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 5, covering all the latest from the US election along with New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. See the latest results on an interactive US map here. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 6.30pm: The day in sum The US election remained on a knife-edge, with Joe Biden’s … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 3. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.45pm: The day in sum There were five new cases of Covid-19 in managed isolation, and another case in the Christchurch community linked to the Sudima managed isolation facility. In response to … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for November 2. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8pm: New Covid-19 case in Christchurch community announced The Ministry of Health has confirmed one new case of Covid-19 in the community. The case is a staff member working in a managed … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 30. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 2.00pm: Euthanasia to be legalised, cannabis set to stay illegal Updated Preliminary results from the two referendums have just been released, showing New Zealanders voted overwhelmingly in support of legalising euthanasia – … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 29. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.30pm: The day in sum There were six new imported Covid-19 cases. A group of top epidemiologists suggested New Zealand’s MIQ system could become more flexible, with arrivals from lower-risk countries allowed … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 28. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 6.45pm: The day in sum The Electoral Commission confirmed preliminary results of the two referendums will be released at 2pm on October 30. Labour and the Greens spent another 90 minutes negotiating … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 27. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach us at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.20pm: The day in sum There was one new case of Covid-19, and again no cases in the community Police reminded people not to spread unverified information on social media about an … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 23. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz The day in sum Nine new cases of Covid-19 were announced: eight in managed isolation and one linked to the “marine employee cluster”. The Malt pub in Greenhithe closed its doors for … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 22. All the latest New Zealand news, updated throughout the day. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.30pm: The day in sum There were two new cases of Covid-19 at the border. Meanwhile, two members of crew on the Sofrana Surville tested positive while at anchor off the coast … Read more