His toughness is legendary, but how is the man recently voted the world’s best rugby player of the last decade holding up now? Richie McCaw had vowed to quit lifting weights once he hung up his boots. He changed his mind. Instead, he told me, he decided to stick with it, to keep his remarkably … Read more
Contrary to claims, there is a sound legal foundation for community checkpoints organised by iwi, write legal scholars Max Harris and Professor Emeritus David V Williams. New Zealand’s response to the coronavirus crisis has involved significant community cooperation. Household bubbles have observed physical distancing rules. People have helped each other understand what’s prohibited at level … Read more
Megan Dunn takes a long look at the art in the Auckland Hospital collection and finds out that yes, there is art, even in intensive care – but the price of seeing it is everything. I got the pamphlet in the mail back in January. It says after someone close to you dies it is … Read more
The appeal of Star Wars is universal, but the central themes have special resonance for indigenous people – which is why having a uniquely Māori spirit at the helm is so exciting. May the 4th was with us this week as Disney announced that New Zealand film-maker and Waihau Bay rebel leader Taika Waititi would … Read more
The public policy response to the Covid-19 crisis has been a great and instructive success, and Jacinda Ardern has proven herself a class above all predecessors as a communicator, writes former prime minister Sir Geoffrey Palmer QC. Plus: a note on the legal questions. The global phenomenon Covid-19 poses challenges for New Zealand public policy. … 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 three – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more
In the first of a wide-ranging three-part series looking at the state of rugby in New Zealand, Scotty Stevenson asks where the sport is at, where is it going and how will we get there? This content has been made possible by the support of The Spinoff Members. If you can, please consider donating here. Find the other … Read more
With the global economy due for another slowdown, coupled with major economic disruption caused by Covid-19, we’re standing on the precipice of what looks to be a long and hard global recession. So what can we do to protect ourselves? Accountant and financial blogger Sam Harith has some advice. 1. Identify your personal income stream(s) … Read more
For the past week, we’ve been showcasing our picks from the 48Hours Lockdown. Today, we’ve got the awards special AND the winners to show you. Thanks to Covid-19, for the first time in the 18-year history of the 48Hours film competition, organisers had to make the decision to postpone the event. Feeling the creative longing … Read more
On Wednesday night, Young Act’s vice president announced her resignation, citing ongoing harassment. The executive is now promising a cultural overhaul, reports Josie Adams. Young Act, the youth branch of right-wing political party Act, has been accused of fostering a culture of sexual harassment and slut-shaming, leading to the resignation of its vice president in … Read more
Engineer Keith Jacob, from Northland, is one of 11 New Zealand crew members spending the winter at Scott Base in Antarctica. It’s the only continent free of Covid-19, yet one where isolation is part of the usual drill. Anke Richter: How was your last weekend, Keith? Keith Jacob: Very social. We had a whole … Read more
Last week, an inaccurate tweet about suicide spread so far that both the Ministry of Health and the Mental Health Foundation had to respond. Hayden Donnell looks at what happened, and how the government could prevent a repeat. Warning: this story contains discussion of suicide On Sunday, the Ministry of Health and the Mental Health … 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 three – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … Read more
Morbid Netflix comedy Dead to Me takes the talents of its two lead actors and runs with them, says Sam Brooks in his review of the second season. Very minor spoilers for the first season of Dead to Me follow. More so than any other art form, television has moved leaps and bounds from the … Read more
He started as a journalist, became a producer, and is now one of NZ’s most successful TV creators. Bailey Mackey joins Duncan Greive on The Fold. This month’s episode of The Fold, The Spinoff’s media podcast, features host Duncan Greive in conversation with Bailey Mackey, a TV producer with one of the most interesting CVs … Read more
No matter how the world changes, Auckland Zoo will always have a role to play in its community. It’s a school, a mental health tool and a force against injustice; and now, it’s online. For almost a century, Auckland Zoo has brought the natural world to its urban community. It has wildlife found nowhere else … Read more
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel (Fourth Estate, $50) The author, to Vulture: “When I got towards the … Read more
One of the success stories of the level four lockdown, SOS Business has provided a channel for incapacitated communities to send support where it is needed most. In the frenzied 48 hours before level four took effect, when packs of Cottonsoft were being ripped off supermarket shelves like the last lifejackets on a sinking ship, … Read more
With the third and final instalment of Petals for Armor, Hayley Williams has completed the extended birth of a very large child. She talks to Josie Adams about graduating from emo to goth. Our introduction to Hayley Williams, solo artist, was ‘Simmer’. Working from the vocals up, the song pulses, breathes and viscerally dissects the … Read more
Tired of watching human faces on your screen but still love a bit of action? Tara Ward has you sorted with nature docos to fill the heart and lift the soul. People are annoying, and that’s the truth. Look it up in the dictionary, write it in the sky, tattoo it across your heart. Have … Read more
Mother’s Day is just around the corner and this year it will be different – no, not because of the pandemic, but because Emily Writes has created a gift guide for you. This Mother’s Day will be a Mother’s Day like no other. We’re in the midst of a global pandemic and if you’re a … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Peters throws New Zealand into the fray over Taiwan’s WHO inclusion, more detail emerges on legality of lockdown, and a potentially major decision for the courier industry. The government wouldn’t frame it in such a way, but they’ve made several recent moves which indicate they’re … Read more
Let’s get on with it, writes New Zealander turned Tasmanian Ryk Goddard – we’ve got a lot in common, starting with our suspicion of mainland Australia. I have a pitch to make. I know the idea of being in a bubble with Aussies raises some serious trust issues for you guys. But I think … Read more
With Ardern and New Zealand in headlines for what promises to be a successful elimination strategy, we have an opportunity to use that influence in international relations, write Nina Hall, Max Harris, Evelyn Marsters, Thomas Nash and Arama Rata of New Zealand Alternative. The international praise of Jacinda Ardern’s response to Covid-19 means that New … 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 three – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For 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 … 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 talks to Asantha Wijeyeratne from PaySauce. Recently, local employment solutions provider PaySauce announced it had raised more than $5 million … Read more
In the third part of a new series sharing the stories of families learning from home during lockdown, Jessie Moss observes her daughters learning at each step of their lockdown journey. As Covid-19 began to sweep the world, our family started looking for a new house. We finally moved on March 20 and a few … Read more
A queer retelling of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, Netflix’s The Half of It highlights the messy reality of love at a time when we might need it most. An ex-boyfriend used to tell me that the Ancient Greeks had eight different ways of saying “love”. Eight different expressions to pinpoint one’s affections, longing, and … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia worked with Chris to create today’s charts. These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates in the early afternoon, which describe the situation at 9am … Read more