More than ever, New Zealand’s ethnic communities can play a crucial role in elections. In the first of a Spinoff series, Don Rowe talks to Sandeep Singh, editor of the Indian Weekender. There are now almost 200,000 Kiwi-Indians living in New Zealand, and for 120,000 readers, the Indian Weekender is a newspaper of choice. This year they’re dedicating … Read more
New Zealand’s shameful rates of family violence place us at the bottom of the heap when it comes to intimate partner violence and child abuse in the OECD. Māori are among the greatest offenders and victims alike. Simon Day spoke to Denise Wilson about the history of family violence in this country and her solution … Read more
Three years ago today Dirty Politics was published, lighting the fuse on an extraordinary election campaign. Hayden Donnell looks into what the cast of Nicky Hager’s book have been up to since. It seems impossible, but there was a time when politics was even worse than it is now. Today our most fractious political debate … Read more
Pollwatch: Under Jacinda Ardern, Labour has powered back to the future in the new Newshub poll, as an embattled Green party slides. But are National impermeable? And should we be talking about a disaster for NZ First, too? Toby Manhire weighs it all up. There is something distasteful about fighting over a political corpse. “We … Read more
Just over three weeks after making an emotional admission at the Greens conference, Metiria Turei has resigned as her party’s co-leader. Young Greens co-convener Meg Williams pays tribute. I’ve had messages from friends this evening who are sitting in lectures, driving in cars, sitting at their desks at work, walking on the street, trying to … Read more
Parents in low income families are always being told that if they are having difficulty putting food on the table that they should just ‘put in a garden’. But, as Rebekah Graham and Kimberly Jackson explain, their research with New Zealand families shows that it’s not as simple as it sounds. To protect the privacy … Read more
After weeks of working sources deep inside New Zealand’s political parties, Henry Oliver reveals the songs dominating the office stereos at campaign headquarters.* * Not really. We freely admit this entire playlist is a work of speculative fiction. National Eminem – ‘Lose Yourself’ A source tells the Spinoff that, despite the trouble caused by the … Read more
All week the Spinoff Review of Books is examining and taking inspiration from A Moral Truth, an important new book about investigative journalism in New Zealand. Today: Former Mana editor Leonie Hayden, now of The Spinoff, considers the lack of Māori newspaper reporters. It’s alarming when you realise that the world is starting to be … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews the latest from Gone Home hitmaker Fullbright: a meander through an abandoned space station called Tacoma. If you hated Gone Home, stop reading this now. You’re not good enough for these words and you should go and learn how to get feelings from your videogames like a good honest nerd who also gets feelings from their … Read more
On the eve of his appearance at a Victoria University event in Wellington, comic book author Fumio Obata talks to Guy Somerset about his ongoing project chronicling the aftermath of the Fukushima tsunami and nuclear disaster. At art school, Fumio Obata was taught the importance of “the theme, having something of your own, something only … Read more
Got a thirst for chilling mysteries in even colder places? Tara Ward rounds up the best in Nordic Noir on Lightbox. To celebrate the arrival of mystery-thriller Jordskott to Lightbox, we’ve gathered together an extensive list of the best Scandi-noir dramas around. Stop drawing sad faces into your window condensation, because what better way to … Read more
The Opportunities Party wants to bring German-style renter protection laws to New Zealand – and that’s great, says Berlin-based New Zealander Maddie Holden. But how exactly does that policy fit with Gareth Morgan’s devotion to neoliberal economics? Gareth Morgan’s The Opportunities Party (TOP) unveiled an interesting new policy about rental housing this week, proposing to … Read more
The transgressions of Metiria Turei are similar to the transgressions of Bill English and John Key. Or are they? The Herald has fact checked; now Simon Wilson has sense-checked the facts. As we know, Metiria Turei lied to Work and Income about her flatmates to prevent her benefit being cut, because, she says, she needed … Read more
It’s Restaurant Month in Auckland and the theme is Eat Odd. Simon Wilson, a more than occasional odd eater himself, identifies a favourite top ten food experiences you might not have tried. Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Korean, Turkish, Cajun. High-end dining: Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Lebanese, Spanish, Maori. Unusual fish. Truffles. The best of the best: that … Read more
Alex Casey watches the return of TVNZ’s So This Happened, the online series giving a voice to women’s experiences of harassment. There is an inevitable, incredible thing that happens when you put a bunch of women in a room together with enough space to talk freely. No, we don’t shriek like banshees at the moon, … Read more
Labour has committed to the Congestion Free Network 2.0 and fast-track rapid transit to the airport – light rail from the north and a busway from the southeast. Papakura resident and transport campaigner Ben Ross explains what this will mean. When Labour announced on Sunday that it was adopting much the same transport policy for Auckland as … Read more
Though the virtual mini-golf market is crowded, there’s at least one game coming in well under-par. Matt Codd reviews Infinite Minigolf, the putt-simulator for the discerning golfer. When I was 10 or 11 years old, my family went on a trip around New Zealand. Though most details of that holiday are hazy (it was a … Read more
Stop the election bus for just one second, please. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee and Ben Thomas have recorded a new Gone By Lunchtime podcast and it will probably be overtaken by events by teatime. Two third-term Green MPs have in effect jumped ship, saying Metiria Turei is not fit to lead the party. Will that torpedo … Read more
The recent conversations about parenting while poor have been deeply upsetting to many of those who have lived that experience. Here Kiki Van Newtown, mum of two and musician, shares what it was like growing up on welfare, and the lessons she learnt from her mum about how to survive while poor. There’s a running … Read more
The Real Pod team are back together to discuss the shambles that is Mark Richardson, mermaid costumes, and getting drunk with Hilary Barry. PLEASE NOTE: OUR GRAPHIC DESIGNER IS TOO GOOD FOR US AND THAT IS NOT THE REAL MARK RICHARDSON After many weeks apart, host Jane Yee is joined by Duncan Greive and Alex … Read more
Listen to Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and Michele A’Court tackle the past month in women, news and popular culture. PLEASE NOTE: OUR GRAPHIC DESIGNER IS TOO GOOD FOR US AND THAT IS NOT THE REAL JACINDA ARDERN This month the gang is back together to tackle the past month-ish in New Zealand media, news and … Read more
New Zealand’s prison population is ballooning, and no politician seems to have any good plan to stop it – except Labour deputy leader Kelvin Davis, writes Di White. For almost two decades there has been a ring fence around prison policy in New Zealand. It’s a high fence – you can’t climb over it by … Read more
Adrian Hatwell talks to photographer and Rip It Up founder Murray Cammick about his exhibition AK 75-85, on now at Black Asterisk Gallery in Auckland. “This is not a punk show.” That’s what Auckland photographer Murray Cammick tells me of his latest exhibition, AK 75-85. But after a quick look at the images on display, … Read more
A cautionary tale, by Paul Brislen. It started with an email from a colleague. Could I sign the attached form? I get this sort of email a lot; no two clients or providers use the same format so it was quite nice to see a link to an online service. I clicked on it. Almost … Read more
All week this week the Spinoff Review of Books examines A Moral Truth, an important new book about investigative journalism in New Zealand. Today: the book is reviewed by John Campbell. In August, 1903, the New Zealand Herald published a series of articles by Hilda Rollett on “the slums of Auckland”. Greedy landlords, overcrowding, “diseases … Read more
An attempted mutiny against Metiria Turei has ended with two MPs resigning and the Greens thrown into turmoil. The Ardern euphoria now faces a brutal hangover, writes Toby Manhire #IstandwithMetiria, went one of the rallying cries that echoed among Green supporters in response to the backlash against the co-leader’s revelations of historic law-breaking. This evening two … Read more
Are we getting the right advice on co-sleeping? Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes is concerned some of the safety messages out there aren’t aligned with the reality of parenting. Content warning: This post talks about Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, also known as Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy. At about seven weeks pregnant with our first … Read more
It’s week six on The Block NZ and Jane Yee is back stronger and more defiant than Yanita’s hairstyles. Secrets, sabotage and spying. We’re halfway through season six of The Block NZ, and the knives are well and truly out. Specifically, the dinner knives, because this week we enjoyed/endured the ultimate Block challenge that is … Read more
If the government won’t do something about housing, then Queenstown mayor Jim Boult will – or at least, that’s the plan. Peter Newport finds out how he proposes to fix the town’s affordable housing crisis – now officially worse than Auckland’s – and why he’s calling on Wellington to loosen its iron grip on local … Read more