New Zealand’s first case of Covid-19 has just been confirmed. Here’s what we know so far. What’s the latest? Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has confirmed New Zealand’s first case of Covid-19 coronavirus. New Zealand is the 48th country to have a confirmed case of the virus. What do we know about the patient? The patient … Read more
New child poverty figures were released today by Statistics NZ. A press release from the prime minister boasts, ‘18,400 children lifted out of poverty’. National meanwhile claims ’20k more children in poverty under Jacinda Ardern’. Can they both be right? As ever, the numbers are more complex (and malleable) than they seem. Leonie Hayden and … Read more
Our writers celebrate the best performances you can watch right now on NEON. Basically? They’re iconic. We all love a good story, and a great plot twist can turn a mediocre TV show into addictive weekly viewing. But what really keeps us coming back are the characters, and seeing actors at the height of their … Read more
What are you going to be watching in February? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Lightbox, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ OnDemand. Click here to read our listings from January. The Biggies Outlander (Season 5 on Lightbox weekly from February 17) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t745AinnAno Outlander is back … Read more
We’re recruiting a political journalist to join the press gallery in Wellington – a brand new position, made possible by our members programme. Politics has been a bedrock of The Spinoff’s coverage for a number of years, and we’re excited to announce its expansion through our recruitment of a new staff journalist to work from … Read more
What are you going to be watching in January? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Lightbox, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ OnDemand. Click here to read our listings for December. The Biggies AJ and the Queen (binge on Netflix from January 10) The RuPaul empire … Read more
The drug-testing organisation KnowYourStuffNZ has issued an advisory around potent MDMA pills in circulation this summer. High-dose ecstasy is in circulation ahead of New Year’s Eve, according to KnowYourStuffNZ. Their testing operations have identified the MDMA pills already this season, and says they’re “likely to be found around the country over the holiday period”. According … Read more
The Spinoff produced four web series in 2019. Here is the cream of the crop. Scratched: Ruia Morrison’s unlikely tennis journey from Rotorua to Wimbledon Meet Ruia Morrison, the first New Zealand woman and first Māori tennis player to compete at Wimbledon. Raised on the courts of Te Koutu in the 1940s, Morrison quickly dominated … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. It’s the second to last week on The Great Kiwi Bake Off and utterances of “don’ like jelleh?” are ringing through the land. Booze jellies, udder jellies and ancient Egyptian jellies abound, our final four bakers pulled … Read more
Join various hosts of The Spinoff podcasts Gone by Lunchtime, On The Rag, The Real Pod, Paper Cuts, The Offspin, and Dietary Requirements as we look back at the car crash that was 2019. In this special end of year podcast hosted by Leonie Hayden, we dissect the country’s response to national disasters, the highs and lows … Read more
The 2010s started with Taika Waititi’s breakout movie; it ended with him being tipped for a Best Picture Oscar. But this wasn’t just the Taika Decade. Here are 10 movies that epitomised New Zealand cinema in the 2010s, as judged by Josie Adams, Sam Brooks and Alice Webb-Liddall. Boy It’s not the first film Taika … Read more
The Spinoff is seeking applications for the role of business journalist, starting February 2020. The Spinoff is seeking a journalist to run our business section. Primarily a writing and reporting role, they will also commission and edit from within our (we think) excellent group of staff writers, and occasionally outside the room too. Our business … Read more
Around 2pm every day this week, The Spinoff counts down the 100 most iconic local television moments of the 2010s. Today, moments 40-21. Previously: The 100 NZ TV moments of the decade, #100 – #81 The 100 NZ TV moments of the decade, #80 – #61 The 100 NZ TV moments of the decade, #60 … Read more
Former Labour volunteers say they’re left feeling ‘shattered’ following the report, which substantially finds the allegations, including sexual assault, are ‘not established’, and finds that evidence presented by a key complainant was unreliable. Note: Representatives of the respondent have contacted The Spinoff reiterating that he adamantly rejects any allegations of sexual assault, and noting that … Read more
At 2pm every day this week, The Spinoff will be counting down 100 local television moments of the decade. Today, moments 60-41. Previously: The 100 NZ TV moments of the decade, #100 – #81 The 100 NZ TV moments of the decade, #80 – #61 60) John Oliver is obsessed with us, 2015-2019 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmoe0tgpxaM “How to … Read more
At 2pm every day this week, The Spinoff will be counting down 100 local television moments of the decade. Today, moments 80-81. Previously: The 100 NZ TV moments of the decade, #100 – #81 80) Behind Jeff’s Eyes, 2018 The first season of the Great Kiwi Bake Off was notable for many charming things (the hosts, … Read more
At 2pm every day this week, The Spinoff will be counting down 100 local television moments of the decade. Today, moments 100-81. 100) Kiwi Steve makes it through to Conan, 2017 Not strictly local television, but this moment had about a one in a bajillion chance of ever happening, and yet somehow… it did. In … Read more
From New Zealand’s biggest band selling out Western Springs to a landmark moment for Pasifika women onstage, these are the live events that shaped New Zealand this decade. An anchor in the middle of the deep blue sea: Daffodils, 2014 “Daffodils should play all over the country. It should play all over the world. It resonates … Read more
Twenty-four hours after the eruption on Whakaari/White Island, here’s what we know about the ongoing situation. How many people have died? Currently, the official death toll stands at five, but there are a further eight people missing, who are presumed to have died in the eruption. 31 people remain in hospital and three have been … Read more
If you’re looking for Christmas gifts or just trying to fill the void of silence with your friends and family this festive season, look no further than the humble board game. Christmas is coming which means long, lazy days with your nearest and dearest, perhaps eating too much and definitely still spending too much time … Read more
Five people are dead, a number unaccounted for and up to 20 injured, some critically, after a volcano erupted in the Bay of Plenty this afternoon. Update 9.16pm: Police have confirmed that five people are dead following this afternoon’s Whakaari/White Island eruption. Deputy commissioner John Tims said it was too early to confirm nationalities but … Read more
What are you going to be watching in December? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Lightbox, Disney+, AppleTV, Neon, Amazon Prime, Acorn and TVNZ on Demand. Click here to read our listings for November. The Biggies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fnS96wQp4c The L-Word: Generation Q (NEON, Season 1 weekly from December … Read more
Our writers confess their guiltiest streaming pleasures on TVNZ OnDemand. But is it really guilty when the pleasure is this good? We’ve all been there. You get home after a long day at work, you pop your feet up on the couch and you can’t do anything but look at the television screen. You don’t … Read more
Since the death of of Grace Millane, a visitor to New Zealand, last year, countless emotions have been stirred. The trial of recent weeks will have returned those to the surface. In this post, updated from an earlier version published in December, we offer some suggestions on how to channel the sadness, hurt and anger. … Read more
In October teams of second-year Unitec Architecture students designed, modelled, then constructed interactive light installations in Devonport’s Windsor Reserve for GLOW@Artweek. The brief is strict. Their budget is zero. And the installations must be zero waste too, both in the construction and in the afterlife of the projects. These strict conditions on Unitec’s installations for … Read more
13 moments that prove the music awards are so much > than all other award shows BENEE cleaned up, every performance was somewhere between an eight and a ten, there was an unfeasible quantity of award presenter awkwardness and many nights ended very late. The music awards are over 50 and still absolutely rule. Here’s … Read more
After Massey University in Wellington cancelled Feminism 2020 last month, the controversial event has found a new home in the parliament banquet hall. UPDATE 2.30pm: David Seymour has confirmed that he is hosting Feminism 2020 in parliament. “After Massey University prevented Feminism 2020 from taking place on its Wellington campus, I agreed to host the … Read more
A law change that would allow assisted dying in certain select cases is coming up to a final reading in parliament tonight. Here are some of the many views on the matter we’ve published. As the End of Life Choice bill has made its way through parliament, it has become clear that the issue of … Read more
In the second part of a new event series looking at the future of Auckland, The Spinoff and Auckland Council host In My Backyard: Glen Innes, to ask what the suburb can teach the rest of the city about housing. Throughout its history, Glen Innes has had the highest density of state housing in New … Read more