Toby Manhire 
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. The biggest splash out of the office of chief science advisor to the NZ prime minister came in the final days of its first occupant’s tenure. A report overseen by … Read more
As Marcus Lush reveals ‘outrage about the NZME Christmas Party’, we launch our crowd-sourced investigation into the contemporary reality of the festive work do. Last night Newstalk ZB’s evenings host Marcus Lush blew the lid on a major New Zealand media scandal for the festive season. The issuing of invitations to radio and publishing giant … Read more
A new product from the upmarket US audio company promises to lull you to sleep. Toby Manhire takes them to bed. Fruit flies need it, homo sapiens need it, we all need it, even if scientists may not know all the reasons why we do. And the moments we know most of all that we … Read more
The big announcement was funding for 600 new staff in schools to assist students with learning needs as the prime minister addressed an adoring crowd at the Dunedin Town Hall Never has the description “leader’s address” been truer. Before the party faithful at the Dunedin Town Hall this afternoon, Jacinda Ardern offered what might be … Read more
A year ago today, Bill English and Winston Peters formally tied the political knot. Toby Manhire assesses the first 12 months for the coalition and the challenge for Jacinda Ardern, leading a Labour Party left out in the cold again. They were called the Odd Couple, they were called yesterday’s men, they were called the … Read more
In a series of interviews this morning, a very high-ranking member of the National caucus has set the clock ticking, laying out exactly what Bridges needs to achieve in the coming polls to remain in his job Last night the immediate damage to the National Party from the Jami-Lee Ross saga was laid out in … Read more
A new Colmar Brunton poll for TVNZ conducted in one of National’s bleakest weeks makes tough reading both for the party and its leader. As is often pointed out, to read too much into any one poll is folly: it’s the patterns that matter. That’s a fair point; some of us do every now and … Read more
Here are some of the issues an internal probe following the Jami Lee-Ross saga will confront. The National Party leader faced a bit of blowback for commissioning an inquiry into the leaking of his expenses. He’s unlikely to face much criticism, however, for the inquiry he commissioned today. After a week-long fusillade from Jami-Lee Ross, … Read more
In a week like no other in NZ politics, the Botany MP turned on his former party and its leader, going about as rogue as you can go. Toby Manhire tallies the explosions Over the course of 100 hours last week, Jami-Lee Ross turned into a human firestorm. It began on Monday lunchtime with the … Read more
Even a unanimous vote by the National caucus to give the rebel MP the boot may not be enough to save the leader, writes Toby Manhire As he isn’t shy to remind us, Winston Peters rightly predicted Brexit and rightly predicted President Trump. He probably predicted the kayak octoslap and Lotto history being made by … Read more
The challenge is greater, because of the battle to get everyone on board, says the PM as part of a wide ranging interview with the Spinoff. And New Zealand’s methane emissions problem prompts a new analogy from Ardern: the moon landing Jacinda Ardern says she has “upgraded my position” on her characterisation of climate change … Read more
Ahead of the first anniversary of Winston Peters’ knife-edge announcement, Jacinda Ardern pops by Spinoff HQ to talk to Toby Manhire about what’s been achieved, what hasn’t, and whether or not she’s allowed to say ‘Labour-led government’ any more. Listen to the full interview with the PM in our podcast special here. A year and … Read more
A year on from the last election, and barely a breath before the next, we’re rebooting our politics coverage. Toby Manhire explains. A wave of recent-past nostalgia has washed over New Zealand in recent weeks. The anniversary of the elevation of Jacinda Ardern to the leadership of the Labour Party amid a helter-skelter campaign. The … Read more
The latest international takes on the New Zealand prime minister, in the New Yorker and on the ABC, underscore the scale of her achievement at the UN in New York last week, writes Toby Manhire. On Sunday morning RNZ’s Mediawatch programme struck a sceptical pose and stared down the New Zealand coverage of the prime … Read more
At its 25th birthday convention on the weekend, The NZ First Party passed a remit calling for a test for new arrivals, requiring that they understood NZ values. The Respecting New Zealand Values Bill would require refugees and migrants to sit a test showing they understood what it means to be a Kiwi. One delegate, … Read more
Late on Monday night saw an unprecedented, large-scale ‘point in time’ census of Auckland’s homeless population, ‘Ira Mata, Ira Tangata’. Toby Manhire went out counting, together with about 700 others. Think about it like this, said Wilf Holt: “You’re going to be visiting people in their bedrooms.” He said: “If tomorrow night someone flashes a torch … Read more
The prime minister sought to rally the troops and assert unity among the three parties of government today, but there wasn’t much substance to get your teeth into, writes Toby Manhire The question hanging in the air after Jacinda Ardern’s big speech this afternoon: what even was that? It had been trailed as “Next steps … Read more
The entrepreneur has written that he accepted an offer of the new position a month ago, but it has been rescinded following the controversy around a secret meeting with Clare Curran and criticisms of his suitability The controversy around Clare Curran’s use of a private email account and secret meetings, which resulted in her resignation … Read more
With business confidence having plunged, the prime minister’s goal this morning was to get the big beasts back onside. Did her speech, and her announcement of a new advisory council, do the trick? Toby Manhire went along to the breakfast to find out. Jacinda Ardern has talked a lot about elephants and rooms lately. In … Read more
The roulette wheel of Australian politics has spun again, with the marble landing on the conservative MP Scott Morrison. The Sydney MP and treasurer has come through the middle of the Malcolm Turnbull vs Peter Dutton hellfire clash to become Liberal leader and prime minister designate, beating Dutton in the final round 45-40. But: who … Read more
It was a very good week to feel quietly smug about living on this side of the ditch, says editor Toby Manhire. The Spinoff TV, 10.45pm Fridays on THREE
National knows it’s short of mates as it looks ahead to 2020, but the real appeal for the biggest party of the Opportunities Party’s revival is that it could hurt the Greens, writes Toby Manhire It is tempting to remember the Opportunities Party’s contribution to the New Zealand general election of 2017 as a car … Read more
You can download your friendly local website’s mobile application for zero dollars – now with variable text size and search functionality. Update December 2019: The Spinoff app now comes with search functionality and the option to increase text size. Find the text-size option at the top of each post, and the search bar by scrolling … Read more
The Spinoff’s editor reviews the last seven days in New Zealand news, sorting out those riding high from those who wish they could crawl back under the bedcovers. The Spinoff TV, 10.45pm Fridays on THREE
Statistics NZ has conceded that the 2018 census response rate may be down by almost 5%, sparking concerns that some groups might not be captured by the survey. It has also led to a delay in the release of first results till March next year, and an apology from the government statistician The 2018 Census, … Read more
Did a National MP really call a Labour MP a “bitch” in parliament? And if so why did it vanish from the official Hansard record? It was just another ennui-inducing debate in the House of Representatives. A scattering of rostered MPs were debating, if you must know, the Appropriation (2017/18 Supplementary Estimates) Bill and Imprest … Read more
Our Q&A introduction to the topic of the moment. Today: Theresa May’s UK government is in crisis following high-profile resignations and disarray around plans to leave the European Union. What’s the latest? The British government has been as sober and stable as a vodka jelly since it voted two years and two weeks ago to … Read more
The Checkpoint host’s departure for a new role at TVNZ is the latest blow to the public broadcaster in a tumultuous 2018. Toby Manhire attempts to get his head around it all. One of the biggest beasts of New Zealand broadcasting, John Campbell will leave RNZ on September 14, almost three years to the day … Read more
In a rant about media peddling nonsense, the Newstalk ZB host peddles nonsense about that Time border cover and we look forward to him saying sorry for peddling nonsense. The host of the Mike Hosking Breakfast, Mike Hosking, has left himself with no alternative but to issue an apology and correction over words spoken by … Read more