Commute Week: Sam Brooks muses on the commutes of his life – what they meant to him at the time, and what they mean now. As a near lifelong Aucklander, I’m also a near lifelong participant of the Auckland commute – a commute which I will apparently spend 20 working days in each year. This is … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Emily Writes: An open letter to Mike Hosking “Now, any parent who actually parents will know that early childhood education is no walk in the park and the question is absurd. And “painting pictures with a three-year-old” is not only not easy, but also it’s nowhere near all that … Read more
With Budget day fast approaching, how will it be sold to the public? And how will the opposition go about pinning a derisive name on it? Let’s look back at some of the best and worst attempts. Budgets are complicated, big hairy beasts of policy packages rolled out to the public in the space of … Read more
Commute Week: The rush-hour drive from Rangiora into Christchurch is bad enough to give Auckland a run for its money. But Jamie Small finds it’s no longer a commute from hell. The morning run into Christchurch from the north is famously terrible. The burgeoning population of the neighbouring Waimakariri District adds to the congestion problem, … Read more
Our well-being and our bank accounts are intricately linked. Simplicity’s Amanda Morrall says the relationship between your financial health and your mental health is inseparable. Juggling the worlds of yoga and finance as I do is a mind bend for some folks. They can’t seem to square the rational with the esoteric. On the surface it … Read more
On Mother’s Day it’s important to recognise all mothers – and to consider the way we talk about those mothers who bear the brunt of stigma around poverty and income inequality, writes KidsCan’s Julie Chapman. It’s Mother’s Day, when our glossy magazines are overflowing with flawless images of Kiwi celebrities paying tribute to their mums, and the … Read more
What is it like to have a disease that nobody can ‘see’ and which society can shame you for talking about? To mark International ME/CFS Awareness Day, Hannah Gibson writes about her experience with ME/CFS, and the struggle to have her condition legitimised in Western medicine. When I was a young girl, my mother says … Read more
As expected, every single award last night was won by the Spinoff, to universal acclaim. In a glittering ceremony at the Auckland hotel which used to be glamorously known as the Langham but was recently renamed Cordis so that it sounds more like a provincial motor inn, the cream of New Zealand media gathered last … Read more
You want mothers? Lightbox has ’em. Tara Ward takes a look at the best TV mothers to hang with this weekend. Mothers. They’re everywhere these days; at work, at the gym, on the television. They’ve even had the audacity to give themselves a day in their own honour (it’s tomorrow, FYI). Nowhere is safe from women … Read more
Why are young Māori over-represented in New Zealand’s youth justice system? Maybe we could start by asking them, writes Victoria University’s Sarah Monod de Froideville. The first Youth Justice Indicators Summary Report, recently released by the Ministry of Justice, shows that young Māori (and Pasifika) increasingly make up the greatest proportion of young people who appear … Read more
Three extraordinary women have taken their design and architecture skills and created a training programme for some of the country’s most vulnerable rangatahi. Head north on state highway one, stopping for a sandwich among the bright and busy architecture of Kawakawa. Past Moerewa’s giant AFFCO meatworks, glowering on the edge of town like a taniwha … Read more
Commute Week: Last year New Zealand imported a massive 20,000 e-bikes and that number is likely to grow exponentially. But what do you need to know before you buy one? Russell Brown has the lowdown. If you think you’re seeing more e-bikes on the road, you’re not wrong. In 2014, according to Statistics NZ, there … Read more
No, there is nothing cute or funny about mums spending Mother’s Day doing the housework, writes Angela Cuming. Between Damien Grant and Mark Richardson, you’d think there be little left for the mainstream media to do that belittles and demeans women and mothers but never underestimate the power of a click-hungry news editor, especially in … Read more
Is there nothing that public transport can’t do? My commute nearly killed me. And it also came pretty close to dismantling my marriage. To get from my home in Titirangi to my previous job in Penrose, I had little choice but to drive. The journey by car was 30 minutes to an hour depending on … Read more
New verse by Wellington writer James Brown Liking Similes Here, the cicadas sing like Christian women’s choirs in a disused cotton mill. ‘Letter from the Estuary’ by Erik Kennedy When I hear cicadas, their singing always reminds me of Christian women’s choirs in a disused cotton mill. I picture the conductor’s arms bent in … Read more
The week’s best-selling books at the Unity stores in High St, Auckland and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND UNITY 1 What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton (Simon & Schuster, $50) “This is a very uncool opinion among journalists, but I actually quite enjoyed Clinton’s book. It’s a cautionary tale about how far even the most accomplished women … Read more
Back once again with the renegade bluster, the Gone By Lunchtime team climb many flights of stairs in the cause of NZ political discourse. Just when we thought Annabelle Lee was never going to respond to another message, the Spinoff’s most acclaimed politics podcast returns. The garlanded producer of television’s The Hui is joined by PR … Read more
With the return of Three’s women-led sketch show Funny Girls tonight at 9.45pm, we bless ye with an exclusive clip from tonight’s episode. Funny Girls returns to Three tonight at 9.45pm This content, like all television coverage we do at The Spinoff, is brought to you thanks to the excellent folk at Lightbox. Do us … Read more
Social media can be an effective tool for police in finding missing persons and suspects. But where is the line and was it crossed this week? Revenge is so many things. It’s a dish best served cold. It’s sweet but not fattening. It’s an acid that burns its holder. Justice is nothing. Justice is just. … Read more
Reggae musician Carl Perkins has died, aged 59, after a battle with bowel cancer. He was a member of pioneering Aotearoa reggae group Herbs in the early ’80s, starting on percussion with the band when they were recording their second album Light of the Pacific. He had a hand in writing the hit ‘Long Ago’ … Read more
Planned and implemented in the right way, these projects can lead to the creation of high quality urban places at the same time as reducing the need for travel, writes urban designer Alistair Ray. Patterns and modes of transportation shapes cities. Types and intensity of land use are directly linked to the types and methods … Read more
Commute week: Some encounter it routinely, for others its existence may come as a surprise. Is enough being done to combat sexual harassment on our public transport networks? Alex Casey talks to the people trying to change your commute for the better. It was, sadly, the first penis I ever saw in real life. I … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Parkable co-founder Brody Nelson whose business is using technology to shake up traditional parking. ONE: How did Parkable start and what was the inspiration behind it? Parkable started in 2015 when its … Read more
From a wee toddler singing on the bus to entertaining unsuspecting commuters on Auckland’s trains, Geneva Alexander-Marsters reflects on her life on public transport and the POP Waiata project she initiated in 2017. I used to sing on the bus as a kid. My mother would take me with her on the morning commute to … Read more
Mother’s Day is on Sunday. If you have a mother in your life, or you know a mother, The Spinoff Parents has crowd-sourced a list of shit mums really want. Gosh mothers are lucky. They get one day a year where they get treated nicely for a few hours. Mother’s Day! Hurrah! Are you wondering … Read more
Simon Pound, host of The Spinoff podcast Business is Boring, reflects on the highlights and lessons of 100 episodes. Thanks to Callaghan Innovation for their support. This week marks 100 episodes of Business is Boring. It’s funny as that sounds like a lot but it also feels like we’re only just getting started. Like they … Read more
Alex Casey dissects episode four of The Handmaid’s Tale, including tense baby showers and a walk down memory lane. Contains spoilers, obviously. June, in the sacred words of Fur Patrol, am I surprised to see you here with Lydia? No. No I’m not. After last week’s literal plane crash disaster, I knew it was only … Read more
If you’ve ever caught one of Auckland’s Link buses, you’ve probably spent a good chunk of the ride sitting at a bus stop, not moving. But why? On Monday morning I got on the Inner Link bus at Victoria Park on the way into Britomart at 9.21am. It had just stopped for a driver changeover. … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Contracts signed by Filipino migrant workers have illegal anti–union clause, voters stream away from Māori roll, and the government considers an inquiry into forced adoptions. Filipino migrant workers have been jibbed out of jobs in construction,a Newshub investigation has found. Dozens of illegal contracts, which promised work … Read more