Every week we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Sandanee Samarakoon and Nawaz Ahmed, founders of Kimera, a subscription box service that sends treats to your loved ones studying away from home. ONE: How did Kimera start and what was the inspiration behind it? … Read more
An exclusive walking tour reveals the true extent of a city’s obsession with visiting pop star Ed Sheeran. Contrary to what an out-of-towner might believe, Ed Sheeran is not the first international pop superstar to ever play a show in Dunedin. In 2004, Busta Rhymes came and played at the Town Hall. In 2006, seven … Read more
Tax, tax, lovely tax. We all pay it, in one way or another, and we rely on it to pay for things like schools, healthcare and roading – our tax does some wonderful things. Here are ten tax numbers you need to know. The Spinoff is hosting Tax Heroes – a series covering tax, who … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Commentators say government is in crisis, record gains in net migration, and the cost of posting a humble letter is going up. This is the web version of the Spinoff’s daily morning email The Bulletin. Read more about the Bulletin here. Sign up here to get … Read more
In the space of 13 years, the Yakuza series has turned from a clone underdog into a cult classic, and the latest game is their most anticipated yet. Sam Brooks reviews Yakuza 6. It’s 2005. I’m wandering in the United Video in Papakura trying to find a game to rent out for the weekend – … Read more
Anthony McCarten is nominated for Oscars and wins Baftas for the films he writes, such as The Theory of Everything and Darkest Hour. The New Plymouth-raised writer is also a novelist with a devoted following in Germany. He reports from his latest tour. My book tour is nearing its end. The book I am touring has lost … Read more
The second half of season seven of Suits hits Lightbox tomorrow! But what would it look like… in New Zealand? Like real, flyover country New Zealand. Sam Brooks imagines this beautiful scenario. We all know Suits. It’s the show where lawyers outwit those around them, fall in love, fall in almost-love and wade in the murky waters between … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to JessB about her first EP and how her professional netball career is helping her in the music industry. JessB is a force of focus and energy, the kind of person that seems to, at all times, be moving toward some kind of achievement. A bit over a week ago, Jess (birth … Read more
Today we launch Tax Heroes, a project created in partnership with the IRD which aims to ‘invert the rich list’, and instead focus on the entities that contribute the most to New Zealand. Duncan Greive explains what it’s all about. Every July for 32 years the National Business Review has published its ‘Rich List’, a … Read more
Tax Heroes: We take a closer look at how much tax our 50 biggest companies paid in 2017. “Tax is love”: Read Duncan Greive’s introduction to our new Tax Heroes series here. Do our biggest businesses pay their fair share? This was the question confronting Auckland accounting professors Jilnaught Wong and Norman Wong. So they … Read more
Nadine Anne Hura shares the challenges of encouraging te reo Māori with teenagers and the joy of total immersion environments for all of the whānau. My motivation for learning Māori has changed a lot since I first enrolled in a total immersion te reo course three years ago. Back then, I was all about the fast-track to … Read more
Yesterday a nearly 70,00-strong petition was presented to Parliament calling for the revocation of Sir Bob Jones’ knighthood following racist comments made in the NBR. Kera Sherwood O’Regan was there. A petition containing 68,760 signatures asking for the removal of business magnate Sir Bob Jones’ knighthood was presented at a pōwhiri on Parliament steps yesterday, following … Read more
John Edwards, the NZ privacy commissioner, explains why he has determined Facebook to be non-compliant with the New Zealand Privacy Act – and why he deleted the app. I’ve been on Facebook for nearly 10 years. I wasn’t that keen on it at first, as I kept getting pestered by digital agriculturalists using the needy Farmville … Read more
Anika Moa’s new show Anika Moa: Unleashed launches today at midday on TVNZOnDemand with an interview with National deputy leader Paula Bennett. It’s a perfect showcase for two strong personalities, writes Sam Brooks. Anika Moa is one of the greatest interviewers in our country, and she does it in the skin of an internet troll. … Read more
The honesty box our cashless society has been waiting for has arrived in the form of an online app. Jihee Junn talks to the Taranaki-based developer behind My Honesty Box to find out how it works, why it doesn’t take commission, and how it already has interest from vendors in the United States. Honesty boxes … Read more
This weekend, undefeated heavyweight champion Joseph Parker seeks to unify his belts against British superstar Anthony Joshua. Today they finally squared off at a press conference. Don Rowe reports from London in the first in a diary series leading up to the fight. It was grey and drizzly in Isleworth as the press hacks filed … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In this morning’s edition: Minister Clare Curran still under fire over Radio NZ meeting, New Zealand’s spies can’t find any Russian spies, and no National candidacy for Dr Lance O’Sullivan. Radio NZ’s Head of Content Carol Hirschfeld has resigned after lying over the arrangement of a meeting with Broadcasting … Read more
Spinoff cheat sheet: For four months from 3 April, Māori can choose whether they want to be on the Māori electoral roll or the general electoral roll. It’s an important decision that could influence the next election and the shape of our parliament. What’s all this then? Since 1975, Māori in New Zealand have been able … Read more
Alex Casey talks to the women behind Body Double, a show in the Auckland Arts Festival that seeks to destroy traditional ideas of sex, desire and female passivity in the bedroom. It’s 9am and the Q Theatre cafe is blasting the song that, we’re excitedly informed, Julia Croft lost her virginity to. ‘The Truth’ by … Read more
We continue our occasional – and occasionally insanely depressing – series which investigates whether literature exists in the provinces. Becky Manawatu looks for signs of bookish life in Westport. The Buller Rural Education Activities Programme Hall on Henley Street in Westport smells like a church and is decked out with those wooden school chairs that force you … Read more
Having voted down a 2% pay offer from district health boards, nurses will soon decide whether to instigate a strike. In a post first published on Facebook that has since gone viral, nurse Elizabeth Alice explains why they’re not backing down. Update, July 12: Following the breakdown of talks with the DHBs, nurses are on … Read more
Here we come and we are analysing fiscal data, cheers Eric Crampton, as he lays out a compelling argument for an international economists’ regatta that will pump cash into the NZ economy. I know you’re going to be sceptical about this but hear me out. The 2021 Economist’s Cup should be held in Wellington. This … Read more
The latest from Sam Barlow pushes the form of both video games and TV – but the writing lags behind it, Sam Brooks writes. Back in 2015, I was a big fan of Her Story, creator-writer Sam Barlow’s award-winning game that precedes the recently released #WarGames. In Her Story, you were left to figure out … Read more
Our stay at home dad columnist Adam Mamo on the joys and challenges of being a stay at home dad. Many months ago I switched dad codes from the full time employed variety to the stay at home type, for a toddler and a baby. The swap not only brought significant challenges but also regular … Read more
The Golden Dawn, the Ponsonby pop-up bar that accidentally lasted seven and a half years, closed on Sunday morning. Simon Day and Emily Raftery were there, cameras in hand. Read our interview with The Golden Dawn’s Matthew Crawley and Nick Harrison here. The Spinoff’s music content is brought to you by our friends at Spark. Listen to … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, what mycoplasma bovis means for our beef and dairy industry. What’s all this about then? Tens of thousands of cows will be culled, mostly in the South Island, to deal with an outbreak of mycoplasma bovis. The cattle … Read more
Spinoff cheat sheet: Carol Hirschfeld has left the public broadcaster after misleading her boss over the nature of a meeting with Clare Curran. What’s going on, and what does it mean for the minister? What just happened? Great question. Carol Hirschfeld, a journalist with a formidable career including senior roles at Three, Māori TV and … Read more
The success or failure of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into state welfare abuse will depend on how much attention it gives to Māori boys – and a change in New Zealand’s attitude, writes Aaron Smale. Years ago while reading Anne Else’s 1991 book A Question of Adoption, I came to a chapter that talked … Read more
Inspired by the controversy over Facebook’s exploitation of users’ personal information, four Spinoff staffers downloaded their data. Here’s what they found. After revelations that 50 million Facebook users had their personal information improperly obtained by data mining company Cambridge Analytica, Wellington software developer Dylan McKay downloaded his Facebook data, and found some personal information he believes … Read more