Toby Manhire 
The decision, to be announced late afternoon, will be based on public health advice. But it is and should be a call made by elected representatives. Toby Manhire assesses the stakes. Cabinet meets at 10.30 this morning: an early start. They will log on, most of them from their homes around the country, to make … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members here. 6.15pm: … Read more
As New Zealand enters its third week of Covid-19 lockdown, a just-released set of modelling provides a flare of light at the end of the tunnel, reports Toby Manhire. On a day in which the active case number decreased, new analysis finds that “while New Zealand case numbers remain low, tracing, testing, and rapid case … Read more
‘New Zealand leads world in public perception of Covid-19 response,’ says pollster Colmar Brunton. Public support for the official New Zealand response to the Covid-19 outbreak remains high, and well ahead of the world’s richest coutries, new polling suggests. The numbers show New Zealanders’ backing for measures “far outstrips the response in any of the … Read more
In the worst-case scenario modelled, almost 150,000 New Zealanders would be hospitalised with Covid-19 and more than 35,000 would lose their lives. The Ministry of Health has released its mathematical models that project the severity of the Covid-19 outbreak based on different measures imposed on the populous. The modelling delivers “a clear warning of the … Read more
Calls are growing for extra payment for those who continue to head out to work every day, including many on very low wages. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members here. Two petitions have been circulating over the weekend calling for essential … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members here. … Read more
That message you saw yesterday? It was written in Malaysia, and travelled via Australia. The first I heard of it was just after 8.15am yesterday, when a friend sent a concerned message wondering, “have you heard anything?” Through the morning four other friends sent it to me. It landed over and over again in the … Read more
Under new, sweeping travel restrictions, pretty much everyone arriving in New Zealand from Monday must undertake a fortnight of self-isolation. Here’s what that involves. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here. Who needs to self-isolate? When the clock strikes 12 on Sunday night, … Read more
With the exception of arrivals from the Pacific islands, those coming from every country in the world will be required to self-isolate for a fortnight. It follows the cancellation of the remembrance service scheduled for tomorrow in Christchurch and confirmation of a sixth positive Covid-19 case in New Zealand, a man who had been in … Read more
A little bookshop on High Street just scooped a massive prize. We caught up with Jo McColl to celebrate. A trove of wonderful books and wonderful book people, Unity Books Auckland was overnight recognised on the world stage, winning the 2020 Bookstore of the Year Award. The London Book Fair at which the prize was … Read more
Passengers arriving from China are not having their temperatures checked at the border, as in some countries. Here the Ministry of Health explains their rationale. While temperature checks have become commonplace across countries such as China and South Korea – together responsible for the vast majority of the almost 110,000 cases reported worldwide – New … Read more
The third case involves an Auckland man in his 40s. And it almost certainly means a fourth. What’s the latest? The Ministry of Health has revealed more information about the third positive test for Covid-19 in New Zealand. The case was confirmed early this morning but without any detail. In light of those details, it … Read more
The woman, in her 30s, had returned to Auckland from northern Italy over a week ago. What’s the latest? The Ministry of Health announced just before noon today that a second case of Covid-19 had been confirmed, with testing last night coming in positive. The affected woman, who is in her 30s, and her family … Read more
The New Zealand First MP’s attack on ‘students that have come from India’ comes as another prominent New Zealander completes a visit to India embracing, well, students that have come from India. This morning on Newshub Nation, the minister for the regions and verbal jukebox Shane Jones took aim at Indian students, and their impact … Read more
The series, a collaboration between Spinoff Members and Verb Wellington, kicks off with a discussion on politics and the media. As all right thinking people know, there are a mere 204 days until the general election. To get in the mood, we’re launching a new series of live events. And not just events: events in … Read more
A new index ranking ‘soft power’ praises ‘a shining example of how to build a tolerant and inclusive society in the face of adversity’ – and offers a rejoinder to sneers at the prime minister’s appearances in international media, writes Toby Manhire. At the end of last week of Jacinda Ardern appeared on the cover … Read more
First the broadcaster was caught up in an online swindle using Facebook – now it’s surfaced via the other media giant, with an ad that sends you to a fake NZ Herald site. The Herald says it’s seeing an ‘exponential growth in fake and fraudulent content’. “Hosking’s Latest Investment”, went the headline on the Google-served … Read more
In today’s edition: Views on cannabis legalisation could hardly be tighter, the Papua New Guinea PM arrives in NZ, and bad light threatens cricket on the radio. A new poll published this morning finds that 46% of those surveyed would vote yes, and 44% no, with 10% undecided. That’s a markedly different finding to the Newshub/Reid … Read more
Fresh on the heels of this morning’s news about the prime minister handing someone a bottle opener, The Spinoff can reveal that Jacinda Ardern once offered a man a banana. Jacinda Ardern once offered an Auckland man a banana, according to a tweet viewed by The Spinoff. The MP who would go on to become … Read more
In today’s edition: Jami-Lee Ross is confirmed as one of four charged by SFO, a damning international report on the NZ housing crisis, and SkyCity cancels a booking for Peter Singer event. SFO–JLR is not just an unlikely long-haul flight from California to India, but the latest instalment in the dominant, engulfing New Zealand political … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fresh developments around in the political donations saga, the Chinese ambassador speaks out, and some troubling poll numbers for advocates of cannabis law reform. The Serious Fraud Office is formally investigating the operations of the NZ First Foundation. The confirmation came in an SFO statement which … Read more
The challenge keeps knocking on Jacinda Ardern’s door: is there a limit to Labour’s patience with its embattled NZ First partner? Magic Talk serves up plenty of news stories to its parent website, Newshub. Usually it’s on-air tirades and flaming rows, amplified further online. But this week it hit the jackpot, delivering a big and … Read more
An extraordinary week at the national broadcaster ends with a complete backdown on plans to downgrade RNZ Concert and make music staff redundant. Toby Manhire speaks to staff and Helen Clark, and asks: has RNZ’s embarrassment translated into RNZ getting a budget boost? Last Wednesday RNZ music staff were summoned to a meeting to hear … Read more
The Serious Fraud Office will investigate donations relating to NZ First and the NZ First Foundation. It sets a tone for election year, and the spotlight on her deputy prime minister is the stuff of nightmares for Jacinda Ardern. The course of election year in Aotearoa never did run smooth. And so it is in … Read more
Concert FM is to be stripped down in favour of a new station for youth, even as the government prepares bigger plans for restructure. Toby Manhire on the mood inside and outside the national broadcaster. No one seriously thought things could stay as they were. RNZ’s music outputs had been subject to reviews, personnel changes, … Read more
In a pointed op-ed for The Spinoff this morning, the Green Party’s transport spokesperson, Julie Anne Genter, voices dissatisfaction with the ‘NZ Upgrade’, calling the motorway focus ‘nowhere near what we need’. The first details of the huge $12 billion infrastructure spend-up came on Wednesday morning, ahead of the all-star announcement in Auckland. Some $200 … Read more
As the Labour caucus gathers for its annual retreat in the Wairarapa, Toby Manhire asks what might be on the agenda. Labour MPs are meeting today in Martinborough for their now traditional January dress-down gear-up for the political year. The Brackenridge resort, just off the road to Lake Ferry, has in recent years seen the … Read more
Inspired by Winston Peters’ dog and muse, Beau, a range of other dogs have urged their politician owners to get them in the Spinoff gallery. Drool away. For the second time in a week, The Spinoff is bringing together New Zealand’s politician and dog communities in celebration. On Tuesday we published the epochal, soft-hitting, smash … Read more