Our mystery writer returns to explain what the festive season means for the real angels among us – retailers. The Spinoff published the original behind-the-scenes essay by this bookseller a few months ago. We still can’t tell you who she is. We can tell you she really does work in a New Zealand bookstore, and … Read more
Countries that signed up to the Paris agreement promised to review their efforts every five years, but already New Zealand has stumbled, writes Bronwyn Hayward. Saturday marked five years since the Paris Climate Agreement was signed. That agreement was the moment that the world’s governments (196 countries) finally agreed climate change was real, was happening … Read more
On Auckland’s waterfront more than 90 years ago, thousands of people flocked to our very own Luna Park. Louise Fisher recounts its short, trouble-plagued history. Long before there was a Disneyland or Six Flags, there was Luna Park in Auckland. Operating from 1926 to 1931, the park’s main attraction was the ‘big dipper’, a gentle … Read more
Despite frustrating dialogue and outlandish drama, Amazon Prime Video’s The Wilds makes for a compulsive, emotional binge watch. I’m sure I’m not alone in that I often imagine what I’d do if I was stranded on a deserted island. The practical and philosophical dilemmas presented by such a scenario are endlessly fascinating, as evidenced by … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for December 12-13. 6pm: The weekend in sum An Air New Zealand crew member has tested positive for Covid-19 after arriving in New Zealand on a flight from the United States on December 9. Early results from genome sequencing suggest they were infected in the US, not New Zealand. … Read more
Upper Hutt’s library recently became the fifth in New Zealand to abolish late fees. Should others follow suit? In February 2018, American librarian Dawn Wacek delivered a Ted Talk arguing that library late fees should be done away with completely. Her contention: overdue fees do nothing to incentivise people to return their books, but instead … Read more
On October 17, voters called time on the Labour NZ First coalition government, sending the self-proclaimed “handbrake” of NZ First into the wilderness and returning Labour with enough support to govern alone. In this Herald Premium article, the NZ Herald’s Claire Trevett spoke to politicians and staff about the three years the two parties and … Read more
The Spinoff Members enjoy many benefits, including a special treat in their inbox every Thursday – the Bulletin World Weekly, an international news round-up focusing on the best journalism from around the globe. As a festive bonus, we’re sharing the final one of the year with all our readers. In the last Bulletin World Weekly … Read more
Earlier this year, Ingrid Starnes was forced to close all its retail stores after Covid-19 severely disrupted its business. Now the fashion label is embarking on its next chapter with a brand new business model – one which promotes an honest and sustainable future for fashion, writes Ingrid Starnes managing director Simon Pound for Ensemble. … Read more
Ruby Brunton’s late parents Alan Brunton and Sally Rodwell founded New Zealand’s least ordinary theatre company, Red Mole. Now based in Mexico City, she reviews Martin Edmond’s memoir about his time with the group. It’s easy to romanticise the past, especially when the past you’re remembering is light-years from the current moment. As I read … Read more
It’s the most lucrative time of the year for retailers but a myriad of problems is threatening to change that. So what’s with the hold-up? And what are some goods New Zealanders might be hard-pressed to find on Christmas shelves this year? Despite being a geographically isolated country at the bottom of the globe, flowing … Read more
The UN’s ‘Nelson Mandela rules’ state that you can take away someone’s liberty, but not their humanity. New Zealand’s punitive abuse of Māori and Pacific peoples in prison is trampling all over that, writes Meg de Ronde, executive director of Amnesty International New Zealand. There’s an oft-used quote attributed to Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela: “It is said … Read more
Thousands of former students and their families have now been affected by the last-minute postponement of Otago University and Polytechnic graduation ceremonies due to a security threat earlier this week. Among those set to graduate, the news was met with disappointment and disbelief, reports Sinead Gill – and a little relief. For an event that … Read more
More than two months ago, an urgent review of New Zealand’s Covid-19 testing system was delivered to the government as the country’s largest coronavirus cluster burned through Auckland. It still hasn’t been made public. New Zealand’s confidence in its Covid-19 border defences was at a low ebb in August as a cluster of cases in … Read more
Move over Simone Anderson, Clarke Gayford has put away his fishing rod and replaced it with his phone… and a sheep? Stewart Sowman-Lund explains. The world of sponsored content is murky at the best of times and downright insane at the worst, with smiling influencers selling everything from teeth whitening kits to Covid-19 conspiracies. Thankfully, … Read more
Another Ryan Murphy joint, another shitshow. Netflix’s The Prom, adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name, is the latest outrage from writer-director Ryan Murphy, and Sam Brooks has had enough. I’ll put this up front: I think Ryan Murphy is one of the worst things to happen to television in the past decade. … Read more
A poem by Melbourne-based New Zealand poet Jennifer Compton. Under the Flight Path I raise my glass of wine to the silence of the midnight curfew. I am minding house in the inner west for my son and his girlfriend as they jet off to Helsinki. I have been driven out of the house into … 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 See-LEVEL founder Dudley Jackson. Around 25% of the population experiences seasickness to an extent that makes ocean-going uncomfortable … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for December 11. Reach me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 2.35pm: Disney announces possibly too many new films, TV series Culture editor Sam Brooks breaks down the literal shit tonne of upcoming releases: Today, Disney announced in their classic fashion – a massive Twitter thread – what they’ll be working on for … 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 Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman (Bloomsbury, $35) Counterpoint: go spend 20 minutes in Westfield St Lukes. Actually any … Read more
Two Māori University of Auckland students tell Sherry Zhang about their struggle to get coffee with racist imagery removed from campus – and why they think it’s emblematic of a bigger problem. A few weeks ago, The Spinoff received a peculiar email: Subject: Auckland University Racist Coffee!! Body: Please investigate! Photos Attached: Caricatures of a … Read more
It’s the soap opera we all know and love, and it turns 60 years old this week. Coronation Street’s cast share why they think the show has endured for so long. It would take over 175 days to binge watch the 10,101 episodes of Coronation Street made since 1960. We can all agree that’s half … Read more
In New Zealand classical music, the writers of words are routinely hidden from view. If they care so little, why not settle for humming the melody, asks NZ’s inaugural poet laureate, Bill Manhire. I watched the Whānau London Voices concert the other day, and admired the initiative and spirit of the venture, as well as … Read more
Grab a slice of moon cheese and sit back as Alex Casey imagines her dream multi-course dinner party plucked straight from our TV and movie screens. This has been a simply scrumptious year for realising just how many things we can’t do any more. We can’t travel internationally. We can’t press lift buttons with our … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Why it matters Wairoa lost their dentist service, commercial rent relief won’t be revisited by government, and four year term referendum looking likely. It can be hard enough for key workers to live in the big cities, with the high cost of living. But for many … Read more
As New Zealand’s property market breaks new records, and politicians wring their hands about what to do, Child Poverty Action Group’s Frank Hogan suggests it’s actually the worst time to promote schemes to get people on the housing ladder. The New Zealand housing market has never looked more like a Ponzi scheme than it does … Read more
The extraordinary adventure that is Australia’s attempt to make Facebook and Google pay for news has reached its climax, writes Hal Crawford, and it’s still possible the world’s smallest continent will end up with one of the world’s worst internet experiences as a result: no Google search and no news on Facebook. The “News Media … Read more
Instead of asking why so many Māori people are in prison, maybe we should be asking why we’ve created a prison system that’s obsessed with putting Māori people in it. If you don’t want to go to prison just don’t do any crimes, right? Unfortunately, it’s a little bit more complicated than that. When we … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for December 10. Get me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.15pm: The day in sum For the first time in nine months, no Covid-19 update was released by the Ministry of Health. Going forward, updates are to be released on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. An investigation is underway after two UK … Read more