The focus is Auckland as the party faithful gather to celebrate or drown their sorrows. Most of the country’s political leadership is in the supercity tonight to watch the results roll in and see who is headed back to parliament. The parties, while smaller than in previous years, will be an unforgettable sight of cheering … Read more
Some nail-biting battles are brewing in the Māori seats – here’s a primer so you know what to keep an eye out for as the results start rolling in. Candidates from four different parties have stood in the seat of Te Tai Tokerau since MMP was introduced. While Labour’s Kelvin Davis has polled streaks ahead … Read more
Within the wider MMP contest for the party votes, results in individual seats could be telling. Here’s a selection to keep an eye on. We’ll know the big picture result very soon, but for a lot of individual MPs, their political future rests on what happens in their seats. Here are some of the big … Read more
Your essential guide to following election night with your eyes and ears, on TV, radio and online, plus where to watch and listen to Sunday’s bumper crop of post-election analysis. Don’t forget to keep your second screen tuned to The Spinoff, where we’ll have rolling coverage kicking off as soon as polls close on Saturday. … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 17, bringing you nothing but dogs at polling booths until 7pm, after which we’ll bring you all the news from the election. Send your dogs at polling booths snaps (no humans please) to info@thespinoff.co.nz 5.50pm: Monty Don in Howick A very good name for a dog. 5.40pm: … Read more
After last weekend’s Bledisloe Cup match, Justin Latif asks why we’ve fallen out of love with drop kicking. October 6, 2007 was truly one of the darkest days of my life. To many New Zealand sports fans, just hearing the words “two thousand and seven” elicits cold sweats and furrowed brows. If you’re unsure what … Read more
In the final instalment of her column about her adventures in online dating, Alie Benge ponders a world that isn’t afraid of love. I’m obsessed with love. All forms are fascinating. Familial love, aromantic love, queer love, desire, friendship. But my interest has come from a position of anthropological curiosity. In my own life, I’ve … Read more
Rebecca Wadey writes for Ensemble on the meditative pre-bed puzzle routine that has helped her through a messed-up year. My obsession with jigsaw puzzles started innocently enough, as most obsessions do. Initially it was a means to get off social media, and the inane scrolling one does discreetly while their family are watching yet another … Read more
Our most verbose screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin, makes good on all his hype in just his second turn as director. If I had to pick one of the best opening scenes of the past decade, I’d go with the scene that opens The Social Network. It’s an immediate evisceration of Mark Zuckerberg – and by proxy, … Read more
Some people made sourdough. Some took up sewing. But Sacha Judd and her friends got through this pandemic-dominated year by developing a curious obsession with a curious sport. No one needs another thinkpiece about the effect of 2020 on our exhausted brains. You’ve already read a hundred hot takes bemoaning the fact that we can’t … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 16, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other NZ news. The essential campaign dates are here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Explore the parties’ pledges at Policy. I’m on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.00pm: The day in sum … Read more
The 2020 election campaign is coming to a close. The Spinoff followed National’s Judith Collins and Labour’s Jacinda Ardern as they travelled Auckland during the final hours of campaigning. Labour’s slogan this election is “Let’s keep moving”, but the party’s campaign got bogged down in Onehunga today as Jacinda Ardern was swamped during a walkabout. … Read more
Hosting an election night party but still stressing over what to serve? Don’t worry, we’ve got you. Election night parties are mostly shambolic. Between the people who want to sit in front of the TV and watch numbers roll across the screen for hours and those who just came to delete some beverages, sometimes the … Read more
The Spinoff’s new(ish) political editor Justin Giovannetti joins Duncan Greive to share his impressions from a hectic first six months on the job – and in New Zealand. When Justin Giovannetti interviewed for the job of political editor at The Spinoff, from Canada, the world was quite a different place. In the time it took … Read more
A new poem from poet and teacher Rhys Feeney. when i grow up, i want to be nothing at all people pen poems on the bar’s toilet walls polemics for sucking peen & voting for corbyn i read each poem & do a breathing exercise before pissing & checking my phone the muffled reverb of … Read more
Jacinda Ardern is on course to become prime minister again, but what sort of government would she lead into the 53rd New Zealand parliament? The first thing to say is that it’s not over yet. The parties are still out there campaigning, the undecided voters could all suddenly decide in one direction, the pollsters could … Read more
After almost 15 years together, Cut Off Your Hands are officially disbanding. Frontman Nick Johnston spoke to The Spinoff about where he’s been and where he’s going. Three years into their decade-and-a-half-long career, Cut Off Your Hands needed a break. The Auckland band were high-energy, sweaty, and perpetual; frontman and singer Nick Johnston reckons they … Read more
Well, that was a grind, wasn’t it? José Barbosa scrapes himself off the floor. Over the campaign I’ve made some videos boiling down those televised debates between Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins. (All of them can be viewed here, by the way.) It’s been an extended campaign and I can safely say I’ve been ground … Read more
What do voters in different electorates care about most? Data from Policy.nz reveals some interesting trends, report Chris McIntyre and Stella Blake-Kelly. In our last article, we broke down the Policy.nz data to look at our readers’ favourite policies, to read the tea leaves on the differences between the interests of likely voters for different … 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 Take Your Space: Successful Women Share Their Secrets by Rachel Petero and Jo Cribb (OneTree House, $34) Painting, law, finance, photography, business, … Read more
Amanda Thompson is a giant nerd, but she thinks cannabis plants look really cool. So if the yes votes prevail and it’s legalised, she’ll be growing a couple. Here’s her entirely hypothetical guide to how to do it. Voted yet? I have. As you get older, you get the joy of doing things early. Like … Read more
Chinese influence in New Zealand politics has been the subject of regular debate over the last term. What does it mean to represent the Chinese community in 2020? Sherry Zhang meets Labour’s rising star Naisi Chen. Among the new faces on course to ride Jacinda Ardern’s wave of popularity into parliament tomorrow is Naisi Chen. … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pre-election poll shows massive lead for Labour, Advance NZ kicked off Facebook, and new developments in NZ First Foundation saga. A poll released just days before the election shows Labour is still in a clear position to form the next government. While the One News Colmar Brunton showed … Read more
Data from Policy.nz can tell us which were the ‘favourite’ policies for each of the main parties, and some surprising information about second party preferences. Chris McIntyre and Stella Blake-Kelly of Policy.nz explain Policy.nz summarises every single policy released by the major parties, making it easy for voters to compare. More than 410,000 people have now … Read more
Each week in the lead-up to the election, The Side Eye cartoonist Toby Morris is going to teach us how to draw a different New Zealand politician. This week, it’s the New Zealand First leader. Click here for the rest of the How to draw series. The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby … Read more
Everything you need to know about the timings for Saturday and beyond. When will the election result be known? Polls close at 7pm on Saturday October 17. And we’ll get a pretty good idea of how the parties have done very soon after that. How soon? For the first time, the majority of New Zealand … Read more
Two days out from the election, what did we learn from tonight’s final leaders debate? Here’s what our debate watchers thought. Justin Giovannetti: The tank is empty Judith Collins is done. The feeling that will stick with me from that debate came afterwards when the leaders faced the media in the atrium of TVNZ. Collins, … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 15, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other NZ news. The essential campaign dates are here. For all you need to know about the cannabis referendum click here. For the assisted dying referendum click here. Explore the parties’ pledges at Policy. I’m on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 8.05pm: The day in sum … 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 Josh Emett, Michelin-starred chef and restaurant owner. Josh Emett is a household name in New Zealand, famous for … Read more