I’ve never seen such tumult in NZ politics, writes National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp, but what matters most remains policy – how are the alternative governments likely to proceed in five key areas? I cannot recall a time in New Zealand politics of such change and turmoil. Perhaps the closest would be Sir Robert … Read more
Brought to you by Inflatable World, Breeder’s Digest is your monthly coffee group in a podcast. Hosted by mum of three Jane Yee and virgin mum Nicola Winslade, Breeder’s Digest is a casual chat with your mates about all the rubbish bits of parenting and all the really good bits as well. Have your say … Read more
New verse by New Plymouth writer Elizabeth Smither. The name in the freezer Someone we both disliked: you wrote his name on a slip of paper, folded it and inserted it in the freezer under a tray of ice cubes, next to a frozen chicken, frozen vegetables a casserole sectioned into cartons. … Read more
The New Zealand Hawks are one game away from their first International Cup title since 2005. Who are the Hawks, and what does this mean for the future of ‘Australia’s game’ in this country? Alex Braae explains. Seconds remained in the first quarter of the most important game of AFL the New Zealand Hawks had … Read more
Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. The Spinoff is devoting a week of coverage to the issue, its advocates, complexities, and solutions. Today, The Morgan Foundation’s Paul Young looks at the data and uncovers some dirty secrets about New Zealand’s emissions. Aotearoa New Zealand – clean and green, principled and progressive. So … Read more
It was a dank but not very stormy night. The school hall was filled with people, and home baking. And some politicians. Simon Wilson was also there. There are things you can say in Titirangi that you wouldn’t dream of in some other parts of the city. Deborah Russell, Labour candidate for New Lynn, which … Read more
Pollwatch: 1 News’s Colmar Brunton survey puts the Greens out of parliament, in a nostalgic National vs Labour race. MMP was meant to make multi-party politics the norm, and so it has: we’ve never seen a majority one-party government. But the two big parties have resisted all obituaries, and the new Colmar Brunton poll for … Read more
Kath Cooper, an early childhood lecturer who parents four children with her wife, believes all parents need to actively support LGBTQI-friendly environments at their children’s schools. With input from the Rainbow Families NZ community, she’s sharing this article in the hope that it will spark conversations at your child’s early childhood education centre, primary school, … Read more
Henry Oliver talks to bedroom producer and multi-instrumentalist Merk, who is playing at Seamless, an all-ages show, in Auckland this weekend. To win tickets, read till the very end! So what are you up to at the moment? I’m just working on new music. I was just in Europe for a couple of months playing for … Read more
The horrific events of last weekend at the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, brought back memories for Hye Ji ‘Erica’ Lee, a Korean New Zealander who studied there six years ago. In 2011 I was a student at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, as part of an exchange programme with the University of … Read more
Confused by all the online tools analysing which party you align with best? Don’t worry, Hayden Donnell is here to help. With the general election only eight weeks away, New Zealand is suddenly drowning in quizzes. Everywhere you turn on the ‘net, there’s a new web exam testing your opinion on everything from Auckland housing … Read more
An essay by Carl Shuker in response to the shoddy response of most reviewers to the new novel by Wellington writer Pip Adam. Why, he simmers, are so many New Zealand critics so lazy, so patronising, so cheerfully ignorant, and just plain wrong? The finest piece of writing in New Zealand fiction this century happened and you … Read more
Lucy Zee revisits the sensual Toffee Pops ad of the 90s starring Carlos Spencer and a whole lot of lust. The best factory produced, mid-range, supermarket shelf, chocolate coated cookie in New Zealand according to this statistically accurate twitter poll is: I am going to be honest here guys, I was expecting Toffee Pops to … Read more
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 go back to the last time the Labour Party came into power. The day is November 27, 1999, and Helen Clark has just been elected … Read more
Last night the Clutha Southland National Party selected Hamish Walker, a 32 year old business advisor from Dunedin, as the replacement for disgraced MP Todd Barclay. But if National think that will put to rest the questions swirling around their electorate operations in the Deep South they’re dreaming, writes Peter Newport. It’s a long drive … 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, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. Every company these days has a lofty goal. App makers with silly … Read more
So far our Emissions Trading Scheme has been deemed largely ineffectual, thanks to low-integrity overseas credits and low emission prices. Motu’s Catherine Leining believes recent global and local changes mean the ETS can do its job – if we are ready to get serious about reducing New Zealand’s own emissions. Ninety-two percent of New Zealanders … Read more
Tara Ward watches Wasted, a buzzy British comedy starring spirit guide Sean Bean as every famous Sean Bean character ever. Imagine discovering your subconscious mind can manifest itself into the form it trusts the most. It’s an alarming thought, mostly because mine would reveal itself as an electrifying mix of Suzy Cato and Astar from … Read more
Leaked texts and sordid details have brought the Aaron Smith scandal roaring back into the news. Lawyer Natalya King assesses the fallout and its legal implications for Smith, the All Blacks and the media. Aaron Smith and the toilet tryst is back in the news, but this time around we’ve got all the detail we … Read more
All the political parties say regional development is A Good Thing. But which of them has much of an idea how to make it happen? Simon Wilson suggests they take a good look at a brand new proposal for Regional Rapid Rail. Morrinsville has never known so much attention. Between a semi-automatic weapon callout and … Read more
Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. The Spinoff is devoting a week of coverage to the issue, its advocates, complexities, and solutions. Today, five journalists discuss the intricacies and importance of covering climate change. Climate change is the biggest story on any editor’s newslist right now. Legendary environmentalist David Suzuki wants journalists to … Read more
The National Party’s plan for ‘Young Serious Offenders’ is causing outrage among youth justice advocates. JustSpeak director and pregnant mum of one Katie Bruce asks us to imagine if it was our child being given this label. The new category of Young Serious Offender will never include my son. Don’t get me wrong, it’s the … Read more
The Real Pod team smash 1000 coffees to discuss Miss Universe NZ, The Block’s resurgence and our producer Mad’s brush with death. Plus: an exciting new Mike Puru segment. As the pirate ship at Rainbow’s End makes its final voyage this week, The Real Pod stowaways are regaled with producer Mad’s tale from the seven … Read more
The deputy PM can thank the legacy of the British Empire for sparking a political crisis, writes Australian history expert Kate Hunter Confused about citizenship? You wouldn’t be the only one. Adding to the strange episode of millionaire businessman Peter Thiel being granted citizenship despite having only visiting New Zealand for 12 days, we now … Read more
Aaron Yap plumbs the depths of The Expanse, a sci-fi space opera that’s drawn comparisons to some of television’s greatest. It’s weird to think that the Syfy channel once spawned Battlestar Galactica, one of, if not the finest science fiction series of the modern television era. Today, the very mention of Syfy is cause for … Read more
Dirty Politics landed like a bombshell in the NZ election campaign of 2014. It may not have affected that outcome, but that was never the ambition. It has, however, made a big impact on our politics, argues Nicky Hager Three long years ago, during the last election campaign, the book Dirty Politics revealed a political … Read more
Getting Your Shit Together is a monthly column on everyday mental health from Auckland mindfulness educator Kristina Cavit. This month she’s talking about the effect yoga has had on her own life, and on those of the prisoners and children she works with. Growing up in New Zealand’s ‘toughen-up’, rugby-dominated sports culture, our school P.E … Read more
Superhot, an innovative critique on the dangers of hype culture and gamer identity, has been ported to virtual reality. But something critical is lost in translation, writes Matthew Codd. Superhot was one of the most inventive games of 2016. I don’t just mean in terms of its clever twist on first-person shooter mechanics – time … Read more
There’s a big carpark on Takapuna’s Anzac Street and the council wants your imaginative ideas for what to do with it. Councillor Chris Darby has been thinking about movies… When does a carpark become something better than a carpark? Panuku Development Auckland, the development arm of Auckland Council, is asking for ideas from the public … Read more