It was another cold night in another cold community hall in Panmure and Chlöe Swarbrick was still grinning. Simon Wilson reports on Maungakiekie, the electorate that will show whether Labour really knows how to win. There were no MPs in the room. That’s unusual in Auckland: with the party lists working the way they do, … Read more
Transport minister Simon Bridges says no instruction was given to transport officials to hide the business case for the proposed new highway from Auckland to Whangarei. Simon Wilson reviews the paper trail that tells a peculiar story. First, this happened. On August 8 a staffer at the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) wrote an email to … Read more
It’s a New Zealand stalwart, but does anybody have the guts to power rank the rides at Rainbow’s End? Fully grown man Sam Brooks does. Last Friday I decided to go to Rainbow’s End to belatedly celebrate my birthday with two friends, one of whom had never been to Rainbow’s End before, because his childhood … Read more
If bullshit and bluster could make the trains run, Northland would be full of railroads. Still, when politicians gathered in Whangārei on Monday night, they did have some good things to say, writes Simon Wilson, who was up on the stage alongside them. “We need to be doing a lot more large joints in Northland,” … Read more
There’s a lot riding on the Epsom election, with four current MPs in the race and everything from glory to humiliation at stake – for the candidates and for their parties too. Simon Wilson went along to a debate. How many houses were built in Auckland last year? Should a cabinet minister know the answer? After … Read more
When you work at a decile one high school, you’re confronted with the realities of child poverty on a daily basis. Details of this article have been changed to protect privacy. It’s intended to show the challenges confronting students in low-income communities like Manurewa and therefore leaves unsaid the enormous achievements of the school and … Read more
Sometimes, the Auckland Council does some very good things. The new plan for the city centre and waterfront, says Simon Wilson, could just be one of them. Although it does have a few problems… Auckland councillors did something a bit unusual the other day: they gave council officials a standing ovation. (Well, that’s what a … Read more
Winston Peters wants to move the cars from the Auckland waterfront to the port near Whangarei in just two years, and the whole container port within ten. Is he nuts? Simon Wilson reports. How do you decide on the future of the ports of the upper North Island? We now have three clear ways to … Read more
Auckland’s rail services are now carrying 20 million people a year. That’s double the number just four years ago and we’ve reached the milestone three years faster than the planners expected. Matt Lowrie of Greater Auckland looks back at how the city’s commuter train travel was saved from extinction. This story was first published in … Read more
Forget the cliches of women in top hats and bustiers singing tired songs about heartbreak. Auckland Live’s International Cabaret Season is full of energy, emotion, feminism and mischief, writes Sam Brooks. There’s a billion definitions of cabaret, from the clinical to the etymological to the base. For me, cabaret takes the best things of live … Read more
Maraea Rakuraku is an award-winning playwright whose latest work is being presented in Te Pou’s Kōanga Festival in September. Sam Brooks talked to her about history, playwriting and cultural commentary. Kōanga Festival is a two and a half week festival (September 1 – 17) presented by Te Pou, Auckland’s Home of Māori Theatre, consisting of … Read more
The radical reimagining of the suffragette movement, That Bloody Woman, is back for Auckland Live’s International Cabaret Season. Alex Casey spoke to Esther Stephens about her role as Kate Sheppard – and how, this year, Sheppard’s fight is more relevant than ever. The night before the nation votes in this year’s general election, the spirit … Read more
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern visited Māngere and Ōtara on Saturday. Simon Wilson went along to see how big the wind is really blowing. What a storm in a shopping centre. Labour MP Aupito William Sio, who’s the big man in Māngere politics, introduced Jacinda Ardern in the Māngere Town Centre on Saturday morning. He said they’d had the Jacinda … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, utter boor Don Rowe attends the theatre. Pour me a pinot and call me Simon Wilson, cause I think I like the theatre now! Last night’s Matilda was both my first play and first musical, ever – a fact … Read more
Manhattan showtime comes to West Auckland: as the massive 80s musical show Pleasuredome, starring Lucy Lawless, counts down to opening night, executive producer Rob Tapert and producer Charlie McDermott reveal the story of its creation. Rob Tapert: You don’t give up and you try to work only on the things you really love – that’s … Read more
The vote was 20-1, almost everyone joining hands around the table with Cr Efeso Collins to reject trading in Auckland on Easter Sunday. So to speak. The Easter Bunny was there and so was Simon Wilson. Efeso Collins, a councillor from the Manukau ward, said: “I want to tell you a personal story. It’s a … Read more
Bill Cashmore, deputy mayor of Auckland, tells Simon Wilson why he loves working with the government and why he has such high hopes our problems will all be fixed. Bill Cashmore gets up at 4am so you don’t have to. It takes him an hour to drive to work and he’s there before six. Cashmore … Read more
When businesses and others respond to customer demand they do their best to be fast and flexible. So why, asks Mark Knoff-Thomas from the Newmarket Business Association, doesn’t the council work the same way? It’s interesting to observe the lightning speed with which certain things are approved by Auckland Council, when it wants to act … Read more
It’s 10-year planning time. The time when the mayor sets out his vision, his plans to realise that vision and the budget he will use to do it. But there’s a $6 billion hole in the money that needs to be spent on Auckland, and right now Phil Goff has no idea where the council’s … Read more
It was a dank but not very stormy night. The school hall was filled with people, and home baking. And some politicians. Simon Wilson was also there. There are things you can say in Titirangi that you wouldn’t dream of in some other parts of the city. Deborah Russell, Labour candidate for New Lynn, which … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens making the news. Today: Aucklander Gerald Cobb walks us through his early morning commute. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos. The Spinoff Auckland is sponsored by Heart of the City, the business association dedicated to the … Read more
All the political parties say regional development is A Good Thing. But which of them has much of an idea how to make it happen? Simon Wilson suggests they take a good look at a brand new proposal for Regional Rapid Rail. Morrinsville has never known so much attention. Between a semi-automatic weapon callout and … Read more
There’s a big carpark on Takapuna’s Anzac Street and the council wants your imaginative ideas for what to do with it. Councillor Chris Darby has been thinking about movies… When does a carpark become something better than a carpark? Panuku Development Auckland, the development arm of Auckland Council, is asking for ideas from the public … Read more
Lost in last week’s debate about light rail to the airport was another proposal: a Northwest Light Rail line. Harriet Gale from Greater Auckland explains. Just over a week ago Jacinda Ardern announced Labour’s new Auckland transport policy. All the talk was about light rail to the airport, but there were many other components, and … Read more
Government officials have quietly prepared a plan to fast-track light rail – or a rapid bus service – for Queen Street and Dominion Road to Mt Roskill. Just a few months ago finance minister Steven Joyce dismissed this project as “pork barrel politics”. But it’s stage one of light rail to the airport and it … Read more
It’s Restaurant Month in Auckland and the theme is Eat Odd. Simon Wilson, a more than occasional odd eater himself, identifies a favourite top ten food experiences you might not have tried. Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Korean, Turkish, Cajun. High-end dining: Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese, Spanish, Maori. Unusual fish. Truffles. The best of the best: that … Read more
Labour has committed to the Congestion Free Network 2.0 and fast-track rapid transit to the airport – light rail from the north and a busway from the southeast. Papakura resident and transport campaigner Ben Ross explains what this will mean. When Labour announced on Sunday that it was adopting much the same transport policy for Auckland as … Read more
Welcome to episode 3 of the Spinoff Auckland serial The Bakers’ Tale, Brian Ng’s story of a couple of guys and a pastry-making business. Today: Getting personal with Ben. Good news everyone! Ben Chevre (the tall one) is single! As he puts it (read this, and anything else I quote him saying, in your best French accent), … Read more
The Jacindatrain arrived in Auckland yesterday, bringing with it the news that Labour has a radically different transport policy from National. Simon Wilson was there to sample the excitement. “Come and have a beer with me,” said Jacinda Ardern at the end of her election rally at Karanga Plaza in the Wynyard Quarter. She never … Read more