Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for January 29, keeping you up to date with the latest local and international news. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz Our members make The Spinoff happen! Every dollar contributed directly funds our editorial team – click here to learn more about how you can support us from as little as … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Hongi Luo, brand director at TikTok. In terms of cultural reach and impact, the biggest tech app in … Read more
Taking control of your financial wellbeing can have cascading positive impacts for your life and it can also be fun. With the help of the team at Kiwi Wealth, we’ve compiled some simple tricks for balancing your books in 2021. There’s something about the beginning of a new year, especially after the decadence of the … Read more
For two decades, under both National and Labour governments, housing costs have risen far faster than wages. Here’s a horrific graph that shows by just how much. Last Thursday saw the first of what will no doubt be dozens of housing-related set pieces from Labour, wherein they announced 8,000 public and transitional houses. Or, as … Read more
As house prices escalate rapidly around the country, Kawerau saw them more than double, the biggest nationwide increase over the decade. Alex Braae goes to the Bay of Plenty town to find out what impact it is having on renters. The headline figure was stark. Data from realestate.co.nz showed that over the last decade, Kawerau’s … Read more
Houses might be the most popular and inflated purchases in New Zealand, but there are plenty of other products that are seeing soaring demand and prices over the past few months. Here’s a list of what New Zealanders are spending their money on with international travel out of the picture. Used cars (including vans) In … Read more
Our guide to stopping procrastinating and actually (finally) getting on top of investing. Because there’s a good chance that if you’re reading this, you don’t know a single thing about it. In part one, we covered some of the basic things you need to know about investing – why do it? How hard is it? … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Simon Coley, co-founder of All Good and Karma Drinks. Bananas are one of the most popular grocery items … Read more
Pinged $65 for overstaying 10 minutes in a parking block? Put away your hard-earned cash and read this first. Hopefully, by now, I’ve already established myself at The Spinoff as the resident tightarse, determined to avoid all unfair and unnecessary punishments (see: oversize baggage charges). Today, I’m focusing my attention on a similarly evil institution … Read more
Varieties of merino wool footwear are emerging faster than Netflix series about British aristocracy. Michael Andrew takes a look at the rise of the shoe that almost everyone – including his 95-year-old grandma – is wearing. Some might say it all started with Allbirds. After all, to the average consumer, it was the New Zealand-American … Read more
A distinctly colonial institution, banking has long ignored te ao Māori. Teaho Pihama believes investment in tikanga Māori at Kiwibank can have significant, positive outcomes for Māori. In early 90s Tāmaki Makaurau, when Teahooterangi (Teaho) Pihama was growing up riding his bike around the streets of Kingsland until the streetlights came on, the inner city … Read more
With new strains of Covid-19 bearing down on our shores, Pattrick Smellie of BusinessDesk looks at the challenges 2021 has in store, and what can be done to prepare. In the three weeks that New Zealanders have been at the beach and ignoring Covid tracer app sign-ins, the threat of Covid-19 has grown exponentially. Where … Read more
On the East Coast, a group of Māori-owned enterprises is innovating to create new revenue streams while doing what they love. New Zealand’s remote and sparsely populated regions are typically not the best places to create thriving brick-and-mortar businesses. In small communities miles away from any major centres, there are so many factors that can … Read more
Summer reissue: Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Stacy Gregg, author of Pony Club Secrets and The Princess and the Foal. First published June … Read more
Summer reissue: Claims that cherry pickers can pull in $400 a day should have all of us packing our bags and heading south. But is orchard work really that lucrative? First published November 27 2020 Every year, as a crisp and blissful summer thaws the South Island out of its languor, students at the University … Read more
Summer reissue: Alex Casey goes on a hunt to find the rarest $10 note in the land. First published February 10, 2020. I’ve always been really good at finding money. Not in the useful, fiscal hole kind of a way, but in the literal, frequently picks up bottle caps thinking they are 50c coins kind … Read more
Summer reissue: Esther Ng is the most successful New Zealand designer you’ve never heard of. Her label, Prix, has been seen on celebrities like Ariana Grande and Kylie Jenner, she has over 150,000 Instagram followers and she’s currently working from her bedroom. First published September 20 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay … Read more
Summer reissue: Saia Latu has experienced enough ups and downs for several lifetimes. The man behind one of New Zealand’s most successful recycling companies – and the recently named Pacific business entrepreneur of the year – tells Justin Latif how he made it to the top. First published December 5 2020 Saia Latu’s life reads … Read more
Summer reissue: Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Scottie Chapman from Spring Sheep Milk Co. First published July 16, 2020. Independent journalism depends on … Read more
Summer reissue: Buying secondhand clothing is one of the best ways to refresh a wardrobe without spending wads of money or contributing to the wasteful fast fashion industry. But there’s a fine art to finding pieces that are worth your time. First published August 2, 2020 I’ve never been hunting but I imagine, in a … Read more
Summer reissue: The story of how a leisurely bike ride around Hawke’s Bay turned into a one-man rampage against perceived corporate privilege. First published October 24 2020 In the early hours of October 10, in a motel in Napier South, Ian Swney, 62, was struggling to sleep. A semi-retired kindergarten teacher, he’d travelled to Napier … Read more
Summer reissue: The price of gold hit record highs in August, and New Zealanders are lusting for it. Josie Adams investigates the age-old attraction of this precious metal – and where we’re getting it from. First published September 10, 2020. Gold is real money. You can’t print it from a machine or birth it from … Read more
Summer reissue: Less than half of New Zealand adults have a will. One hundred per cent of New Zealand adults die. Sam Brooks writes on why you need a will. First published February 29, 2020. Before you read any further, ask yourself this one question: If I dropped dead right now, reading this piece, would … Read more
Summer reissue: In a leafy park in Queenstown, George Driver discovers why New Zealand produces the best tree climbers in the world. First published November 16 2020 I could hear them before I could see them. The sound of a dozen people hollering rolled across Lake Wakatipu. Entering Queenstown Gardens I soon found the source … Read more
Summer reissue: How to stop procrastinating and actually (finally) get on top of investing. Because there’s a good chance that if you’re reading this, you don’t know a single thing about it. First published September 29, 2020. I can’t say I have a lot of good habits, but one habit I can vouch for is … Read more
Summer reissue: Todd Scott made millions as a sales genius, and bought New Zealand’s best-known business publication. Then he lost his house. Duncan Greive profiles the country’s most enigmatic owner, and hears some blunt criticisms from the old friend he bought the paper off, Barry Colman. First published June 2 2020 Independent journalism depends on … Read more
Summer reissue: Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Rachel Taulelei, CEO of Kono. First published June 4, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help … Read more
Summer reissue: When the iPhone owns less than half the market, what are the best Android alternatives at every budget? First published June 23, 2020. Getting a new phone can be one of life’s little pleasures. Many of us hang onto our handsets for two years or more, so when that magic upgrade day finally … Read more
Summer reissue: Homeownership has long been touted as the great Kiwi dream, but not everyone’s looking for a permanent fix. Jihee Junn explores the rising phenomenon of renters by choice. First published February 25, 2020. Even if I had a hundred grand sitting in the bank for me to spend right now, I’m not sure … Read more