After viewing the latest season of Top of the Lake in a cinema, Aaron Yap looks at the increasingly blurred lines between films, TV shows, and everything in between. “It’s so magical – I don’t know why – to go into a theatre and have the lights go down. It’s very quiet, and then the curtain starts … Read more
Momentum around mental health is gathering. But where are the voices of the people who will be impacted first-hand by any policy change? Jess McAllen investigates. This story first appeared on The Wireless. Read the rest of the series here. On a Friday evening in May, police released a photo of Vincent Clayton. He had escaped from … Read more
Michelle Sharp was a corporate go-getter, working for Vodafone before co-founding a successful tech company. But the Kilmarnock Enterprises CEO says she found her path to happiness when she stepped off the business treadmill. Steve Jobs said “the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do”. … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today: we asked some everyday New Zealanders who they’re voting for, and why. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos
Disability Rights Commissioner Paula Tesoriero on what the recent flap over a National candidate parking in a disabled space reveals about our attitudes towards disability. It’d be easy to dismiss the recent news story about disabled National candidate Katrina Bungard, who’s been called out for parking in a disabled carpark she’s entitled to use. Someone … Read more
New Zealand’s top talkback host has been listening to the new leader of the Labour Party. She calls herself a progressive. There is evidence of her having said ‘comrade’. And she speaks very quickly. Leighton Smith has been dispatching stone cold common sense to ZB listeners between breakfast and noon for three decades. Following this … Read more
Nine-piece Auckland band Magic Factory name-check ZZ Top and Creedence Clearwater Revival as cornerstones of their music. Ahead of their US tour, Hussein Moses sits down with Rory Treadaway and Scot Brown from the group to find out how they got hooked on such a throwback sound. It’s lunchtime on a cloudless Auckland day when … Read more
With the latest season of My Kitchen Rules NZ enlisting international heavyweight judges Pete and Manu, Alex Casey finds another celebrity lurking in the contestant line-up. Let’s be honest: it’s been a really huge couple of days for New Zealand celebrity lookalikes everywhere. Mr Bean had a killer time at the rugby. Ryan Gosling did … Read more
What would you do if your political allies were about to form a government but your party was in danger of not being part of it? Simon Wilson goes to Sunday’s Green rally, where the sole remaining co-leader launched the battle that will determine the party’s future, and may also define the shape of the … Read more
Kickstarter isn’t only the domain of backpack and fidget spinner innovators; it’s also good for indie board and card game makers. Pitched as a kid friendly card game built around vicious bears and violent babies, Bears vs Babies won some hard earned dollars from Douglas Moore. What’s his prognosis? Hype is one hell of a marketing … Read more
Steve Braunias reports from the 2017 Going West festival – held for the first time, and forever, he hopes, in Henderson. There were writers of distinction all over the place at the 2017 Going West literary festival held in the weekend but the star of the show was Henderson. The annual event has been staged in Titirangi for … Read more
This Te Wiki o Te Reo we’re sharing the stories of New Zealanders who have challenged themselves to learn te reo Māori. Today: entrepreneur Derek Handley lays down a wero for others. If you really want something, making a public commitment to that goal can be one of the most effective ways to get there. … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today: David Seymour sets out his ‘performance pay for teachers’ policy. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos
Branko Marcetic talks to current and past members of Young NZ First about their role in a party usually linked to the old, about rivalries, radicalism and alt-right infiltration. For the longest time, the idea of a New Zealand First youth wing seemed like an oxymoron. “Who qualifies?” went the joke; “Anyone under 50?” How … Read more
Systematic overfishing and dumping has left numbers dwindling, and recreational fishers are demanding an urgent response from politicians, writes Scott Macindoe of LegaSea. The world is running out of fish faster than we thought. Since the late 1990s the consensus has been that fish numbers around the world are declining. Massive industrial-scale fishing activity is … Read more
Calum Henderson watches Common Sense, a reality show that asks real people for their real reckons on current events. Who hasn’t watched the vox pops on the news and thought: these random people on the street should have their own show? In Australia, that dream has become a new reality series called Common Sense. A spinoff … Read more
So much of the New Zealand economy appears to be doing well. Tourism numbers are astonishing, Kiwis are coming home in their droves alongside new migrants, many of whom are young. But Rebecca Stevenson finds the Kiwi property market is always looming behind the sunshine. Do all roads in New Zealand lead to housing? Probably. … Read more
The Clean have been announced today as the latest inductees into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame. After turning down the offer twice, band member Robert Scott tells Hussein Moses what it was that made them finally change their mind. While there’s been a bunch of talk lately about who’s not in the New … Read more
José Barbosa has watched the Election 2017 debates in his bunker and slaved deep into the night fuelled by only canned tuna and the odd dart to bring you this special report. This content, like all television coverage we do at The Spinoff, is brought to you thanks to the excellent folk at Lightbox. Do … Read more
How does New Zealand get out of the housing hole it’s bought and sold itself into? Property and construction professional James Goodhue has a comprehensive plan. Decent housing is a basic human right. Affordable housing and balanced rental legislation are fundamental needs for an equitable society. Home ownership and secure housing tenure are important ingredients … Read more
There’s a lot riding on the Epsom election, with four current MPs in the race and everything from glory to humiliation at stake – for the candidates and for their parties too. Simon Wilson went along to a debate. How many houses were built in Auckland last year? Should a cabinet minister know the answer? After … Read more
Following local actor Rene Naufahu’s guilty plea to charges of indecent assault, Madeleine Holden looks at the pattern that occurs when prominent men are accused of sexual abuse, and the role that both the media and the public play in perpetuating rape culture. Lee Rene Naufahu, of “ambulance driver Sam from Shortland Street” fame, pled … Read more
It’s damn hard to date when you have young children. Sarah Bichan asked all of the brilliant and amazing mums she knows to share their best tips for romantic nights in. Since the birth of our dear, sweet child, my lovely husband and I had kept up the pretense of date nights but, really, they … Read more
The sight of a small party going to the courts to seek a place on a television debate has become a regular sight in our election campaigns. Andrew Geddis walks us through the debate about the debates. No Gareth, you shall not go to the debate tonight In what is becoming a somewhat predictable election … Read more
Negotiating skinheads, inflatable crocodiles, vegan snacks and the ghosts of Marx and Engels, Tom, Justin and Luke of Auckland hardcore punk band Master Blaster recounts their recent tour of Europe – 18 shows across 7 countries in 27 days. And there’s a music video to prove it. The further we headed east in Poland, the hairier … Read more
At the start of the week the National Party took aim at gangs, prompting a debate around human rights. It all underlines how New Zealand would benefit from a written constitution, argues constitutional lawyer Andrew Butler It’s not about gangs. It’s about all of us. Human rights are about making sure that every individual is … Read more
The best-selling books at the two best bookstores on land. AUCKLAND UNITY 1 Sleeps Standing: A Story of the Battle of Orakau by Witi Ihimaera and Hemi Kelly (Vintage, $35) Publisher’s blurbology: “During three days in 1864, 300 Maori men, women and children fought an Imperial army and captured the imagination of the world…Instead of following … Read more
As iwi organisations grow, Chapman Tripp’s Nick Wells argues they should be establishing themselves as social enterprises to unlock their wealth for the greater good. The Māori economy is a significant part of New Zealand’s past, present and future. While I’m not Māori, my children are, so every time I work with iwi, and their … Read more
Following a poll of readers, the tireless team behind the Spinoff Policy tool have added a bunch of extra categories. Close to 100,000 people have in the last few weeks visited our interactive tool Policy to compare key policies from all major political parties for election 2017. But are the team behind the thing, led by Asher … Read more