Every week Chartlander travels back through time, landing in a different year on the official New Zealand singles chart in the hopes of (re)discovering forgotten Top 40 gold. Today we continue our tour of classic general elections at the start of Winston Peters’ career in parliament. The date is May 24 1979, and today, six … Read more
People who are ‘just managing’ in New Zealand are not heartless if they support policies that will help their family most in the short term. But there is a better, more positive way to ease their pain, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw. Yesterday I had a play with the Herald’s income inequality tool created by Max Rashbrooke, … Read more
Who’s going to be an MP when this is all over? Simon Wilson has been studying the candidate battles, counting down the lists and poring over the chicken entrails. Who’s going to be an MP on Sunday? That depends on how well the parties do in the election, of course, but it also depends on … Read more
Welcome to Top of the Pile, a gaming series in which two idiots are forced to play a game at the top of the ‘just released’ list. This week TOTP returns and what a game Joseph and José are forced to play. Say hello to fairy-tale set, talking animal board game Armello! This post, like … Read more
Last night’s poll suggests the election might be slipping away from Labour. Former National cabinet minister Wayne Mapp gives his perspective on the slide. Wednesday’s TV1 poll confirmed a trend of the last two weeks. That voters are shifting back to National. Of course a poll is only a poll – it might be wrong. … Read more
What could a TV2 election special from 2002 teach modern news producers as they prepare for Saturday night’s big event? Calum Henderson investigates. Election night has historically been one of the biggest events in live television, second only to the telethon. This year, all the major newsy channels will be working hell for leather, designing … Read more
Since the Policy tool launched on the Spinoff last month, its creators have watched people arrive by the tens of thousands to learn about the parties’ positions. What lessons have they drawn? There’s a right way and a wrong way to think about voting. First you have to care. Easy enough. Then you’ve got to … Read more
It was make or break for Daenerys and Stannis Jacinda and Bill tonight on the back of a horrorshow poll result for Labour. So did either deliver a knockout blow? Duncan Greive: this election is going to be incredibly close and I don’t know who will win An original take, I know, but to be … Read more
A statement from The Opportunities Party, supplied by its communications director Sean Plunket, responding to Mike Joy’s assertion that he did not endorse TOP. Mike Joy has since accepted this version of events, and we have updated his story to reflect this. Let us start by saying we have enormous respect for Dr Mike Joy and … Read more
Bill English and Steven Joyce’s ruthless strategy appears to be thriving, as the drag race nears the finish line. For a while now, the National Party strategy has been two-pronged. First, scare the living shit out of wavering voters over the economic credibility of the Labour Party. Second, stare sternly at old-school blue voters who … Read more
Parents in low income families are always being told that they’re making bad choices in the supermarket; many wealthy or comfortable families seem to believe they’d be better able to survive and thrive. But, as Rebekah Graham explains, her research with New Zealand families shows what’s really happening. To protect the privacy of research participants, … Read more
Scientist Dr Mike Joy writes about his experience of watching a private Facebook status become a very public endorsement. Editors update: after publishing the below piece The Spinoff received a phone call hotly disputing it from TOP’s Sean Plunket. He claimed to possess and has since provided an email from Mike Joy dated 11.17am on … Read more
A digger hit our pipeline! But don’t panic – we produce more than 40 million barrels of oil each year. Problem is, most of it is exported. Rebecca Stevenson finds out why. In the nineteenth century oil prospectors would sniff and taste the crude oil they found. If it tasted sweet it was the good … Read more
For about two months in 2014, Elle Hunt watched nothing but Gossip Girl. On the 10th anniversary of the show’s premiere, she reflects on the legacy of the Upper East Side snark-fest – and why sometimes it’s OK to give up on a mediocre TV show. Warning: contains a big spoiler – the biggest – directly … Read more
The 36 Questions Project is a series in which Meg Williams takes a politician on a date and asks them the 36 Questions, a series of conversation starters designed to make two people fall in love. In this final instalment, Williams dates Green Party candidate Chlöe Swarbrick. Previously on the 36 Questions Project: United Future … Read more
We present the five most interesting takeaways from analysis of the vast trove of data thrown up by our Policy tool in the lead-up to this election. Since its debut on August 14, more than 120,000 people have viewed over 1.3 million pages of Policy, our tool for comparing parties’ different positions across various areas. … Read more
Transport minister Simon Bridges says no instruction was given to transport officials to hide the business case for the proposed new highway from Auckland to Whangarei. Simon Wilson reviews the paper trail that tells a peculiar story. First, this happened. On August 8 a staffer at the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) wrote an email to … Read more
With the release of a new album and a NZ show coming up, Madeleine Chapman spoke to London Grammar’s Dot Major to find out just what’s been happening for the past four years. Scroll to the bottom if you’re just here for the free tickets. I never would have thought there was a place for … Read more
In 1996, NZ First went into coalition with Winston Peters’ old party. In 2005 it propped up a Labour government. Branko Marcetic looks back at those examples and how they fared. Only a few months ago, with Labour in polling doldrums and an apparent mood of anti-establishment change in the air, New Zealand First seemed … Read more
Calum Henderson watches Face the Classroom, TVNZ’s two-night special that forced our politicians to confront their harshest critics yet – the children of NZ. Move over Mike Hosking, Paddy Gower, Lisa Owen – it turns out the best political interviewers of this election campaign might just be a classroom of 8-12 year old kids from Ellerslie … Read more
The Real Pod team assemble in the boardroom of dreams to talk reality TV and real life in New Zealand, including The Block disaster, Max Key’s new merch and the engagement of the King and Queen of New Zealand television. It’s been a tremendous week for The Real Pod team this week, with New Zealand TV … Read more
On Friday the Māori Party issued a press release that criticised Labour for legalising same sex marriage. An aghast Laura O’Connell Rapira responds. It’s never easy being takatāpui. Within the queer community, we can be subjected to exclusion and discrimination based on our culture and heritage. In the Māori community (and indeed in society as … Read more
If you’ve seen the ‘Māori’ episode of kids show Justin Time Go, you’ll know how batshit it is. Steph Matuku breaks down the mess that is ‘Let’s Haka Dance!’ I don’t care what the experts say, telly is a great babysitter. That’s especially true in the hell zone from 5pm when my kids are tired … Read more
After several years of flirting with the bloodsport we call politics, 2014 New Zealander of the Year Dr Lance O’Sullivan has entered the fracas, announcing he will run for the Māori Party in 2020. But why? And what does he stand for? Don Rowe finds out. When I profiled Dr Lance O’Sullivan last year he … Read more
Five days out from the election, is the Jacinda effect still alive? As farmers protest in Morrinsville amid talk of a rural-urban divide, Toby Manhire joins the Labour leader on the trail in Whanganui. Jacinda Ardern is up the front, in 1C. On a big plane, it’s a posh seat – but there are no … Read more
Last seen two weeks ago sipping on a pink panther at Toni Street’s birthday party, Mike Hosking made his return to terrestrial television last night. Tara Ward was watching, and found herself sucked right into his eye-rolling vortex. The planets aligned, the clouds cleared and rainbows filled the skies when Mike Hosking returned to Seven Sharp … Read more
With an aim to empower both women in the workplace and girls in school, two young entrepreneurs have launched a drive to provide free sanitary products through corporate partnerships. Jihee Junn talks to Jacinta Gulasekharam of Dignity to find out how it all works. Menstruation! Lady business! That time of the month! Whatever medically accurate … Read more
Today is Women’s Suffrage Day; in four days’ time, the country goes to the polls. Equal Employment Opportunities Commissioner Dr Jackie Blue reflects on the meaning of a New Zealand woman’s vote. Kate Sheppard. Her face is on our $10 notes for a reason, but how often do we think about what that reason is? … Read more
The Block NZ signifies everything that’s wrong with our tax system. Takapuna tax expert Terry Baucher fills Rebecca Stevenson in on how we can get a lump of cash, and keep it all to ourselves. After we all recovered from the horror that was The Block NZ finale, it’s a good time to learn why … Read more