Threatening people who don’t vaccinate for HPV does more harm than good, writes Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw. I hate a cervical smear, I really do. I look forward to the day when I no longer have to endure that particular bloody awkward and painful part of owning a cervix. I mean really there really are few … Read more
As Australian banks make more and more money in New Zealand, they contribute less and less to the economy, says Sam Stubbs. Here’s what we can do about it. The Australian banking inquiry has been the greatest scandal in Australian corporate history. Heads are rolling, fines being handed out and criminal charges laid. And it’s far … Read more
New Zealanders are outraged at how the United States is treating asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. Thalia Kehoe Rowden reckons this is a good time to figure out if we want to be the good guys or the bad guys, here in Aotearoa. Whenever New Zealanders criticise other countries’ treatment of refugees, someone on … Read more
Alex Casey talks to Nic Murray and Marie Fitzpatrick, co-founders of Good Bitches Baking, about changing the world, one cupcake at a time. It began, like all good things, with a warm cheese scone. Nic Murray’s baby nephew was battling cancer and it was a traumatic time for her whole family. One afternoon, she spent … Read more
The week’s best-selling books at the Unity stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND UNITY 1 The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson (MacMillan, $35) Number one for the third consecutive week! Auckland is really mastering the subtle art of not giving a fuck. 2 Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday (Granta, $33) “Initially, … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today: We don’t know about you, but this millennial can’t wait for her free KiwiBuild home. The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air. … Read more
The arts are meant to be for everyone. But are they really? Mary Sea looks at theatre for babies and why we really really need more of it. Baby theatre. Theatre for babies. What’s the point, I hear you cry, rotten tomatoes at the ready. Why not just get out a wad of cash and hiff … Read more
Is it a real estate ad if you see more of the Dancing with the Stars judges than you see of the house? Our DWTSNZ power-ranker Sam Brooks investigates. I remember the old days, when people used to look at pictures of houses in the newspaper and then go along to open homes and hope the house … Read more
Hundreds of New Zealand’s wealthiest investors gathered for the 2018 Flux Demo Day last week for a night of wining, dining, and million-dollar business investments. Jihee Junn went along to watch this year’s plucky startups pitch it out. “The first rule of investing is: don’t leave the table when the food’s being served!” a jolly … Read more
Australian musician Amy Shark played an intimate set at S @ Spark Arena earlier this week. She spoke to Lydia Burgham about being vulnerable with her songwriting, her Amy Winehouse obsession and working with Jack Antonoff. Releasing a debut album is a momentous occasion in the career of any artist, but for Amy Shark the release also … Read more
In which a current MVP is made to play against a former benchwarmer. There’s a lazy confidence in watching sports on TV. Intellectually, we know we’re watching people do something better than we ever could. But emotionally we struggle to comprehend just how much better. There’s a tiny part of every Olympics spectator that whispers this … Read more
New verse from Auckland writer CK Stead. Witchy Wellington A summer southerly sky grey the sea a beat-up and passing Grass Street I thought ‘Intolerable Lauris’ – not so much, or not just, the person but the name, the way those words seemed to belong together – good company, great fun, wordy and witty but … Read more
In response to the arrival of a southern whale in Wellington harbour, a special emergency meeting of the city’s leading agencies and communications contractors was held in the early hours of this morning. Minutes from the meeting were promptly leaked to noted whale expert Emily Writes. In attendance: Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters, Mayor of … Read more
Love is patient, love is kind, love is not knowing what beautiful nightmares await us in next week’s season finale. Tara Ward recaps the penultimate episode of the second season of The Handmaid’s Tale. Time flies while you’re having fun in the apocalypse, and several weeks have passed since we left June bleeding on the … Read more
There’s an art to visiting open homes. Rebecca Stevenson looks behind ‘the vibe’ and smell of baking as she searches for a new house. I’m not exactly in the market for a new home, but I am in the market for open homes. Let me explain. We own our home. Our home is a dump … Read more
It might have Helen Clark up in arms, but Eden Park neighbour Toby Morris can’t see the problem with live music at the stadium. Rising above the hedges and wooden villas it’s impossible to miss: a giant hulking pile of steel and bulbous clear plastic, like a space craft crashed into leafy Auckland suburbia. It’s … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Renewed call for a Māori seats referendum, Russel McVeagh report released, and the stoush between two leading NZers over a charity concert escalates. Acting PM Winston Peters has renewed and updated his call for a two part referendum on the Māori electorates. Radio NZ reports his comments made … Read more
A week which saw opposition MPs railing against airline menu changes and inquiries properly constituted under legislation they promoted in government suggests they’re hellbent upon repeating their predecessors’ tendency to get tied up in credibility knots, writes former minister Peter Dunne Politicians often get a bad rap, even when they do not deserve it. In … Read more
Yesterday, Jogai Bhatt talked with the people behind creative collective Nah Zone. Today, she talks with one of its closest musical collaborators, Church & AP. Church & AP is a rap duo comprised of Elijah Manu (Church), Nah Zone’s head writer, and Albert Purcell, the younger brother of Nah Zone’s founding director Jonique Purcell. The … Read more
A displaced Wellingtonian yearns for the coffee culture she once derided. “It’s coffee, but not as you know it.” It made a greater impression on me than any advertising slogan on the side of a bus should. The fact, the bitter reality, was that a new kind of cold Nescafe in a can was besides … Read more
A new biography is being lauded as an “intimate and inspiring narrative that helps us at last understand Paul Simon”. But is that possible when there’s no sign of Art Garfunkel? Before starting Robert Hilburn’s Paul Simon: The Life, I was reading Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa Fa: The Adventures of Talking Heads in the 20th … Read more
Adam Goodall talks to the developers of Kiwi game Grabity about soccer cars, flailing swords and big honking machines. I’m playing Grabity online and I’m getting absolutely caned by this person named Chinnaru. They’re showing up in every other game and wrecking my shop, boosting over to my side of the map and firing off … Read more
Your third place is the place you go that isn’t home and isn’t work. It’s where you like to hang out – and ideally, it doesn’t cost you a cent. Jessica Rose of Women in Urbanism offers a few suggestions on improving Auckland’s third places for those who need them most. At this year’s Urbanism … Read more
Good news for the rugby lovers of Taranaki: despite some stands being closed owing to earthquake risk, their temple will remain open after all, reports Lydia Burgham. In Taranaki, a disaster has been looming, shrouding the community in a dark, foreboding cloud. I’m not referring to the impending, overdue volcanic eruption, however. There has been … Read more
HEIHEI says its programming is targeted at kids five to nine years old, but having watched the whole suite of shows – yes, all 39 of them – Thalia Kehoe Rowden finds plenty that’s great for pre-schoolers. Here are the best shows for littlies – and a few to avoid. What do you look for … Read more
The good ship Spinoff needs a part-time finance coordinator. If that sounds like you, read on. If not, you should probably go and read something else tbh. We’re looking for a part-time Finance Coordinator to join the Spinoff. You’ll need to be highly proficient in Xero, have experience with processing IRD payments (PAYE, GST, provisional … 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, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week Simon talks to Shama Lee of Sunfed Foods about how meat-free meats shouldn’t just … Read more
Listen In, a mini-festival featuring A$AP Rocky, Skrillex, Skepta and Lil Skies, was announced this week. To celebrate, Hussein Moses found five of A$AP Rocky’s best (and weirdest) collaborations. A$AP Rocky, rapper, actor and hopeful saviour of Under Armour (remember Curry 2s, anyone?), is on his way to Auckland’s Spark Arena this September for Listen … Read more
Following allegations of sexual misconduct first reported by Newsroom, the law firm Russell McVeagh commissioned an independent review, conducted by Dame Margaret Bazley. Today she has published her findings. Below is her overview. The report can be read in full here. In February 2018, the law firm Russell McVeagh asked me to review claims that … Read more