Toby Manhire 
A cornerstone of the Labour-Green post-election deal, the legislation will enshrine net zero emissions by 2050, with an independent Climate Change Commission installed. Methane gases, primarily emitted by agriculture in NZ, will need to reduce by 10% by 2030 under the bill. Read the Spinoff interview with climate change minister James Shaw here. Almost a … Read more
This is a big deal for NZ journalism, writes Toby Manhire. What will be paywalled and what won’t? And have they got the price right? New Zealand media push notifications cannot often be accused of downplaying news, but the Herald’s announcement this afternoon of “one of the biggest New Zealand media moves of 2019” was … Read more
And she’s the only elected leader in the top 10. Jacinda Ardern has been widely praised for her leadership following the Christchurch attacks last month, but now one American magazine has put a number on it, ranking the New Zealand prime minister second in a list of the “world’s greatest leaders”. The accolade for Ardern, … Read more
Toby Manhire spends a day chasing kingis – and PM-adjacent yarns – with Fish of the Day host Clarke Gayford. Mid-week, mid-morning under a muddy grey January sky. We’re skimming into the Hauraki Gulf on a stupidly expensive boat, stacks of fishing rods wobbling away, and Clarke Gayford is getting technical. “So on the handle, as it comes … Read more
A whistlestop tour of the case for the National caucus to give Simon Bridges the boot in favour of JuCo, and the case for doing no such thing. Suddenly the National Party is an issue again. When One News unveiled the results of its latest Colmar Brunton poll last night, attentions were focused less on … Read more
Ten days after the terrorist shooting in two Christchurch mosques took 50 lives, Jacinda Ardern speaks to Toby Manhire in her Beehive office. ‘I’ll show you something,” says Jacinda Ardern. We are sitting on sofas in her office on the ninth floor of the Beehive. It is just 10 days since a terrorist attack in Christchurch … Read more
The former NZ PM says the global policy boss for the online behemoth has contacted her saying he wants to visit NZ, following an angry backlash against the platform over its livestream of a mass terrorist murder at a Christchurch mosque. Toby Manhire reports Helen Clark has joined the chorus condemning Facebook and other online … Read more
In New Zealand we’re waiting to see if the all-powerful Facebook boss means what he says about ‘moral responsibility’, writes Toby Manhire More than four days have passed since the world’s weakest man launched an assault that took the lives of 50 people at prayer in Christchurch. He did it with a camera stuck to … Read more
As part of a day of #schoolstrike4climate, demonstrations by young people calling for action on climate change, thousands of New Zealand students are expected to skip classes tomorrow. What’s going on, and where? What and when? Rallies and marches are planned around the country, kicking off a day of action around the world. In Auckland, … Read more
As the United Kingdom wakes in yet another pool of fevered Brexit sweat, here are the essential things to know – and a glossary for bluffing your way through a conversation about it all Just when you thought the USA was running away with the title of most abjectly humiliating end-of-empire flameout, Britain has surged … Read more
In the face of opposition to its involvement in mobile tech roll-outs around the world, the Chinese telecoms behemoth has unleashed a devastating global weapon: the simile. In a series of ads for print, digital and billboards across New Zealand this month, the Chinese telecoms giant Huawei pushed back at the government’s rejection of a … Read more
Joining dancing dildos, flags, Eminem and ponytails, getting-left-off-maps can now be added to our rolling collection of the Last Week Tonight show’s coverage of its most favoured/lampooned nation. Update, February 19, 2019: Topical comedy programme Last Week Tonight has returned to HBO for 2019, and its dedicated New Zealand Monitoring Unit has delivered already. It may have been … Read more
The first day back in parliament comes with double gloom for Simon Bridges: not only did Labour overtake National in Newshub’s poll, but the ‘strong and decisive’ one is preferred as PM. Who’d bet against Collins having another tilt at the leadership before the next election, writes Toby Manhire Just less than four months ago, … Read more
The only plausible explanation for the Radio Sport host’s diatribe against my colleague is an elaborate attempt at performance art – the alternative is heroic incoherence and worse, writes Toby Manhire It was a belter of a night at Eden Park on Friday. A sell-out crowd. A sea of mostly Indian flags; drumming and chanting. … Read more
Spare a thought, please, for the commentators, battling desperately to string together coherent ideas as the mercury hits ridiculous. The weather was hot in New Zealand this week, as documented for posterity by our newspaper of record in cover lines such as “In for a scorcher”, “HEATWAVE”, “Keep your cool, the heat’s here all week” … Read more
He’s a lot of things: a commentator, political PR guy, Twitter scrapper, dad, recovering alcoholic – even Mongolian ambassador. But Matthew Hooton’s main focus at the moment is chalking up a philosophy Master’s in London. Toby Manhire meets one of the most fascinating – and polarising – characters in NZ politics Life is a like … Read more
The new chief science adviser to the prime minister, Professor Juliet Gerrard, talks about diversity in science, the political hot potatoes, and what constitutes science. This post was first published Nov 13 2018 The biggest splash out of the office of chief science advisor to the NZ prime minister came in the final days of … Read more
This year Winston Peters finally took the reins of power, albeit only for six weeks of maternity cover. Ahead of Peters’ stint in charge, Toby Manhire surveyed a truly extraordinary career This story was first published on the Spinoff in April, and originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. For someone who styles himself as a straight-shooter, Winston Peters … Read more
The bombshell story about a story that wasn’t a story sent shockwaves through the New Zealand reckons machine. This post was first published on May 3 2018 At least four news organisations have over recent months been following up on the malevolent bullshit being peddled about Jacinda Ardern’s boyfriend Clarke Gayford by anonymous cretins on … Read more
In the first days of 2018, as she embarked on a critical year for her newly formed government, Jacinda Ardern hosted Spinoff editor Toby Manhire at her Auckland home. This post was first published Feb 1 2018 Mid-morning, Anniversary Monday, and Auckland is melting. “Yesterday, I was trying to write a speech, and it was … Read more
Every day in the lead-up to Christmas, open the door to reveal a Spinoff writer’s short, sizzling commentary on a weighty subject. Our arbitrary and strictly enforced word limit: 365. Today: Toby Manhire on an appalling trope that has long haunted our screens. There’s a moment in the final episode of Park Chan-wook’s masterful adaptation … Read more
The justice minister says he’s cautiously satisfied by assurances from the internet giant after they sent representatives to his parliamentary office yesterday in the wake of Spinoff revelations When the Spinoff broke the news last week that Google had sent out an email naming the man accused of killing backpacker Grace Millane, in breach of … Read more
Today one of the true veterans of NZ radio hangs up the headphones to complete three decades as the morning host at Newstalk ZB. To mark the occasion we asked a number of Leighton Smiths if they had a message for him. Leighton Smith on Leighton Smith Very grateful for this opportunity to provide my … Read more
That one of the world’s biggest companies rides roughshod over a New Zealand court name suppression tells you all you need to know about the giants of Silicon Valley, argues Toby Manhire. Imagine if a media company told you the name of the man accused of killing Grace Millane. Imagine if, in defiance of a … Read more
The immigration minister has revealed that Czech convicted drug smuggler Karel Sroubek is liable for deportation after all. Does it all mean Lees-Galloway should resign, as some have demanded? Toby Manhire battles it out with Toby Manhire A review of evidence in the case of Karel Sroubek, the Czech drug smuggler who Iain Lees-Galloway decided … Read more
On the 125th anniversary of women exercising suffrage for the first time in NZ, the support party has called for a change in the law that sees incarcerated people ‘unjustifiably denied the right to vote’. The Green Party has added its voice to a growing call for a change in the law that denies people in … Read more
The justice minister tells the Spinoff he’s keenly watching the UK-led inquiry into fake news, disinformation and Facebook and backs calls for the company to be held accountable. As global pressure to hold Facebook accountable for its impact on democracy mounts, New Zealand’s justice minister has told the Spinoff he is actively monitoring events and … Read more
Parliaments in the UK, Australia, Canada and Brazil are waking up to the role of the social media giant in their democracies and is demanding Mark Zuckerberg answer questions. Toby Manhire attempts to learn where New Zealand sits on the issue – and is deeply unimpressed with what he finds. An annus horribilis for Mark … Read more
‘Nine long years’ is a jazz standard in political debate. Using opinions and mathematics Toby Manhire has settled on the moment from which it is no longer acceptable to use this rhetorical device. No correspondence will be entered into. The rule is simple: everything good is down to the current government, and everything that isn’t … Read more