Tossing up whether to join the climate strikes on Friday? Don’t make the same mistake we did: this is not going to fix itself. I tried some months ago to convince my nine-year-old grandson that I was going to rely on him to save the world. His wide-eyed wonderment at the enormity of the task, … Read more
Alex Casey power ranks the final week of Celebrity Treasure Island and, folks, we have a winner. What an absolute doozy of a finale. With $100,000 on the line for their charities, the final three men went hundies to find the buried treasure chest that brought them all there. Yo ho ho and a bottle … Read more
When a Married at First Sight NZ contestant is a singer/songwriter, we simply have no choice but to listen to their entire back catalogue. It’s always exciting when a Married at First Sight NZ contestant has dipped their toes into some other public-facing arena. Bel Clarke gave The Bachelor NZ a go that time. Samuel … Read more
The impact of pregnancy and birth on the body is immense, yet we rarely discuss the ways it impacts women’s lives, says Emily Writes. Before writing this piece on pregnancy and postpartum body changes I ran a short survey that I shared in a small Facebook group. Within half a day I had more than … Read more
In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Hayden Donnell and Josie Adams delve deep into Christchurch, home to the Crusaders, Hagley Park, and iconic election veteran Tubby Hansen. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, … Read more
Otago University’s student magazine Critic Te Arohi has had a stellar couple of years, producing bold, disruptive journalism that delights in poking authority with a large stick. Respective editors have taken the same approach to their covers, producing a number of anarchic images designed to provoke and titillate (with great success). As anyone in magazine … Read more
Experts are warning that the legalisation of cannabis could increase the levels of contamination in other crops and impact our trade relationships, writes Zac Fleming. Warnings have been raised with the government that New Zealand’s trade relationships could be compromised by food contaminated with cannabis if the plant is legalised. On at least four occasions … Read more
Transforming food scraps into a nutrient-rich climate-change fighter is dependent on keeping it in the neighbourhood, according to the people behind a new composting initiative. It’s sweet to chuck this apple core under that bush over there, right? It’ll return to the earth and nourish the soil… surely? Sorry, but that’s not how compost works … Read more
Researchers say the first comprehensive study on the health and wellbeing of trans and non-binary New Zealanders reveals serious health inequities. RNZ digital journalist Murphy reports. Warning: This story discusses suicide, self-harm and sexual violence. In New Zealand, trans and non-binary** people suffer from high or very high psychological distress at rates nine times higher … Read more
Nisa founder Elisha Watson’s step-by-step guide on the most important things to think of when trying to build an ethical brand. Two years ago, I quit my job as a lawyer to start Nisa, an underwear brand that employs former refugees. I set up a garment manufacturing workshop with zero fashion or manufacturing experience and … Read more
It’s Spinoff youth voting week, where youth votes count double*. In recognition of the occasion, Tim Muller and Logan Penniket studied how dire youth voting statistics distort our local democracies. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. Local … Read more
Yesterday Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern delivered two speeches on climate change to the United Nations in New York. This is what she said. Keynote Address to UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit Private Sector Forum Mr Secretary-General, leaders, ladies and gentlemen. Recently in New Zealand our journalists, like many around the world, took part in the … Read more
16 year old climate activist Greta Thunberg has given world leaders at the United Nations a harsh and furious dressing down, over their inaction on climate change. Here’s what she had to say, in full. This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Christchurch councillor and candidate under investigation comes forward, census data finally released, and Ardern speaks at the UN. The mystery – or rather open secret around Christchurch – over which Councillor has been under investigation is over. Councillor Deon Swiggs, representing the Central Ward, made a … Read more
Could Spark’s Rugby World Cup streaming failure force a pragmatic alliance with Sky? Trevor McKewen asks what this would mean for each of the corporate giants – and NZ Rugby. Spark Sport has just dumped incoming New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson with his first serious challenge. The streaming platforms “abject disaster” – as … Read more
Fonterra has delayed its walk up the annual results aisle by two weeks, after earlier warning it will make a multi-million dollar loss. Peter Fraser traces the events leading up to the surprise decision and considers whether there is more to it than meets the eye. For Fonterra, September 12 2019 mattered. It was the … Read more
Joan Fleming on Wild Honey: Reading New Zealand Women’s Poetry, the humming, house-like opus by poet and champion of poets, Paula Green. When Miranda July came to Melbourne in 2016, she did something that I have found difficult to forget. She told us that she was going to stage a conversation between ‘all the men … Read more
Following serious allegations emerging online, episode two of New Zealand Today has been removed from ThreeNow along with all relevant clips. Mediaworks have removed episode two of Guy Williams’ comedy series New Zealand Today from its streaming platform ThreeNow after being informed of recent allegations involving a person briefly featured in the episode. All content … Read more
It’s Spinoff Youth Voting Week, where old people aren’t allowed to vote*. To celebrate, Tamsyn Matchett has written on a civics education programme giving teenagers a first sweet taste of local democracy before they’re legally permitted to vote for real. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about … Read more
Carla van Zon, former artistic director of the Auckland Arts Festival, issues a call for artists to make their voices heard in the battle against climate change. I am passionate about the arts and believe art can change lives, attitudes and even the world, individual by individual. I also believe that art is pivotal to … Read more
Nerds, rejoice. The day of reckoning is finally upon us, with the release of the data from the 2018 census. So what are some of the interesting facts and figures? Forget about how badly this Census was botched. Forget about how there are concerns over how accurate the response data is, or that the results … Read more
A perfectly preserved set of Big Fresh Animatronic Fruit and Veges went on sale this week. Hayden Donnell delivers an exclusive update on their fate. Everyone remembers their first encounter with Junk & Disorderly’s set of Big Fresh Animatronic Fruit & Veges. There’s something overpowering about the experience. The Butter looms overhead, deranged joy etched … Read more
In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Don Rowe looks at the two horse race to control the tourism capital of New Zealand. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. Where? Queenstown, the pride … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Indonesia to send contaminated recycling back to NZ, LAWA report shows water quality dropping at more sites than not, and Spark Sport suffers harsh weekend. Shipping containers full of contaminated recycling could be shipped back to New Zealand, Anna Whyte from One News reported near the end of … Read more
An Auckland mayoral candidate has reacted furiously to an advertising approach from Māori Television, which he says was a pay-for-play offer of coverage. Alex Braae reports. UPDATE: Māori Television has responded with an official statement, which can be read in full below. Craig Lord, a long-shot candidate for the Auckland mayoralty, has described an advertising offer … Read more
Assessing the fallout – for better and for worse – from Spark’s RWC debut. The worst fears of Spark came true over the weekend, as issues impacted its stream of the All Blacks’ pivotal matchup with South Africa, leading to it transferring the livestream to TVNZ’s Duke. The following day it maintained the Duke service, … Read more
Covering Climate Now: There’s a range of dairy-free ice creams available these days, but it’s a fair bet none will be as delicious – or satisfying – as making your own. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! If the latest stats are anything to … Read more
New Zealand banning Huawei’s 5G network equipment won’t impact you nearly as much as the US’s recent moves against Huawei phones, writes Henry Burrell. Twenty years ago, you would have shown off your flash new Ericsson or Nokia. How times change. Now, those two entities exist only to provide mobile network equipment, (Nokia’s Android phones … Read more
Grant McDougall reviews Kilgour’s new solo album, Bobbie’s A Girl, which sees him reflecting on the deaths of his friend and former bandmate, Peter Gutteridge and his own mother, Helen Kilgour. There is a passage in Shayne Carter’s excellent recent autobiography, Dead People I Have Known, in which he describes David Kilgour’s reaction to one … Read more