Hussein Moses talks to Salmonella Dub’s Andrew Penman about their brand new collaboration with Beat Rhythm Fashion’s Nino Birch, and finds out exactly what went down between the band and the organisers of the NZ Music Awards. If all had gone to plan, Salmonella Dub would’ve been inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of … Read more
In a powerful and acclaimed first parliamentary speech, the new Labour MP pledges to give a voice to the voiceless Kiri Allan was elected to parliament via the Labour list. She wrote a candidate’s diary for the Spinoff during the recent campaign. Read her entries, and those of fellow new MPs Erica Stanford and Chlöe … Read more
Following the raging success of its chicken-free chicken, Sunfed Meats has announced its expanding production, with cow-free beef and pig-free bacon also on their way. Carolyn Robinson loved it. Nigel Latta loved it. And judging by its Facebook page, every vegan in the country seems to love it as well. Since Sunfed Meats launched earlier this year, … Read more
Peter Dunne was bloody good at parliamentary business. But building a sustainable political party is about building a political movement, writes Alex Braae The purple corflute was stacked up next to the wall, slogan side up. In the courtyard of a cottage in the heart of Botany, enclosed by a fence, they were invisible to … Read more
How many hate crimes occur in New Zealand each year? Good question. Joe Higham explains why, to stop crimes motivated by prejudice, we first need to start recording them. On the 23rd June 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU. The consequences of the Brexit decision, both positive and negative, are yet to … Read more
In a passionate parliamentary debut, the new National MP says concern for the environment must not be seen as the preserve of the left, and hails the impact of generational change Erica Stanford was elected to parliament as member for East Coast Bays. She wrote a candidate’s diary for the Spinoff during the recent campaign. … Read more
Indigenous peoples throughout English-speaking countries have had their children taken away by the state for generations. Most countries have faced up to this legacy but New Zealand has been in denial about its own Stolen Generation – a group now known as Ngā Mōrehu (The Survivors). The new Labour government has agreed to set up … Read more
In her first parliamentary address, the new Green MP reveals her personal history of anxiety and depression, and her overriding ambitions for NZ. Chlöe Swarbrick was elected to parliament as a list member for the Green Party. She wrote a candidate’s diary for the Spinoff during the recent campaign. Read her entries, and those of … Read more
The best rugby team in the world facing down Australia’s league team in Tokyo? All it takes for the ‘might’ to turn into a ‘will’ is someone to stump up with the cash, writes Jamie Wall. This time of year really is the silly-season for the rugby rumour mill. Just last week we were subjected … Read more
Dominic Hoey (aka Tourettes) reports from his 17-town tour of New Zealand with singer-songwriter Skyscraper Stan and side-kick Josh Jugum. Day six of the tour and we’ve made it to Christchurch. It feels like months have passed since we left Auckland filled with hope and vegan pies. Back then I didn’t know every one of … Read more
Kera Sherwood-O’Regan (Kāi Tahu) is an Aotearoa Youth Leadership Institute delegate to COP23, the United Nations Climate Talks in Bonn, Germany, reporting over the three-week conference. This week: she’s tired and no one’s listening to indigenous people. If you were looking for a nice and neat overview of the COP23 UN Climate Talks, I’ll save you … Read more
TVNZ has pulled a story about Kmart from its site after The Spinoff obtained emails showing two online ‘influencers’ received undisclosed payments to appear. The revelations raise fresh questions about the murky and unregulated world of the influencer economy. Alex Casey investigates. Two prominent online “influencers” appeared in a 1News story about Kmart without having … Read more
In the latest of our occasional series of essays which investigate whether literature exists in the provinces, John Summers looks for clues in Greytown in the Wairarapa. I do most of my writing on the Wairarapa line, the WRL. Every morning, every evening, it rattles beneath the hills between Wellington and Greytown with me aboard, … Read more
Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes on her son’s first day of school. I’m breaking my rule of not writing about mothering without letting my thoughts sit for a while. It’s a thing I try to do, a luxury for a blogger slash internet writer type person. Most people in I don’t know what to call … Read more
Is the freelance dream souring? Victoria Crockford finds insecurity abounds inside the gig economy, and argues we need to make sure rights are not lost with the rise of flexible work. ‘Got Paid’, ‘Went Outside’, ‘Remembered to Eat!!’, cheerfully quipped some of the ‘freelance achievement stickers’ designed by Jeremy Nguyen for the New Yorker recently. … Read more
Graham Cameron uses his background in public service to look at how the dominant model in health and education is selling us all short. The Minister of Social Development announced this week that they will repeal the part of the Social Security Act that requires sole parents to identify the other parent or face benefit … Read more
Jacinda Ardern has described herself as a ‘pragmatic idealist’. In her early forays abroad, the new PM has started to indicate what form that might take – and those hoping to see a new radicalism in NZ politics are likely to be disappointed, argues former National minister Wayne Mapp. After two international trips, New Zealand is … Read more
The contrivances of the first generation of reality shows are being overtaken by higher stakes games, writes Duncan Greive. The first season of Married at First Sight NZ is over, and I for one am an absolute wreck. For the past three years I’ve been part of ‘The Real Pod’, a podcast which has chronicled … Read more
Tamsyn Matchett and her Lorde-obsessed eight-year-old daughter Ruby review Lorde’s show at the Bruce Mason Theatre in Takapuna, on 12 November. (Plus: Ruby’s letter to Lorde.) Ruby is eight years young and affectionately known as “Spawn”. She loves music, specifically Lorde, Michael Jackson and R.E.M, and often asks me if I can invite Lorde to … Read more
Jacinda Ardern has had a busy debut as New Zealand prime minister on the international stage. And so has Jacinta Ardern. Also making a big impact have been Jacinda Arden and Jacinda Adern. Although, come on now, to be fair these are easy mistakes to make. And it’s just the latest in a fine tradition. … Read more
Tara Ward counts down the top ten moments from ‘The Doldrums’, the ninth episode of Outlander season three. Contains major spoilers, obviously. Anchor me in the middle of your deep blue sea, Outlander, because the dramatic winds of ‘The Doldrums’ filled my emotional spinnaker like never before. I don’t know if it was the fresh ocean air … Read more
Pollyanne Peña recently moved to Christchurch from Wellington, she has a brand new baby, and she’s on the look out for new friends. In the first of a series in which she tests ways to find her mama coven, she goes to a speed dating event for mums. Moving cities and having a baby are … Read more
As the government announces an end to new extraction on conversation land, Sefton Darby – whose position on the debate has shifted over the years – says the crucial issue is how we decide at all A lazy no. Then a full-hearted they’re all corrupt, no. Then yes. Then maybe. Then it depends. Those are, … Read more
Flash fiction writer Sandra Arnold on the time a hot air balloon ride went horribly wrong and could easily have gone a lot, lot worse. In 1992 one of my former students announced that he’d passed his pilot’s license exam, and wanted to thank all the teachers for helping him learn English and adjust to … Read more
Radical populism arises on the left, the right and in the centre. In this essay, from the newly published Journal of Urgent Writing, Simon Wilson makes a radical proposal for New Zealand. It was a time when New Zealand was sick of being New Zealand. It was the 1980s, a high old time, a time of … Read more
2017 was the 10th year of Auckland Museum’s popular panel discussion series, LATE. The person behind LATE, Dina Jezdic, looks at the events’ role in giving the museum a modern, provocative voice. The creation of ‘museum’ as a public space, open to anybody, is a very radical concept. Today it is something we take for … Read more
Jaryd and Ben take on the notorious foodie friends in a grim battle for cooking show survival. After a TVNZ 2 crossover visit to Ferndale, MKRNZ returns to Auckland for the second sudden death cook-off at posh-looking wedding venue Kelliher Estate. All the remaining contestants have arrived at the same time, leaving top-of-the-table Teal and … Read more
The Spinoff presents the video premiere of Rob Ruha & The Witch Dr’s ‘KALEGA’, featuring Michael Jackson street dancer Shaun Lindsay and members of Te Kapa Haka o Te Whānau a Apanui. Rob Ruha says: ‘KALEGA’ is the perfect summer anthem and a hot festival jam. It’s a song about the great Aotearoa summer pilgrimage back to the … Read more
Hosting the America’s Cup should be the perfect event for a sailing city like Auckland, shouldn’t it? So why, asks Simon Wilson, is there a risk it’s going to wreck the surrounding area? Something has gone seriously wrong with waterfront planning in Auckland and the America’s Cup is threatening to make a bad situation even … Read more