Election Live, October 11: One million Covid-19 tests completed; leaders begin homestretch of campaign

Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 11, 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 catherine@thespinoff.co.nz. 1.00pm: One new case at … Read more

I love my family. My family love Trump

‘Silence is complicity’, they say. But what do you do when speaking up could irreparably damage the relationships you value most? It was the Facebook post that did it. I normally don’t go there, at least on that social media platform. I go on Facebook for fun, and to keep connections warm. Going political sours … Read more

How roller skating became the sport of the year

Few hobbies have captured the mainstream imagination in 2020 quite like roller skating. Jihee Junn explores the many reasons why.  Just down the road from Auckland’s Glenfield mall is the ActivZone Indoor Sports Arena, an inconspicuous-looking building which, many years ago, used to be a Chipmunks play centre. These days though, it’s the self-proclaimed “home … Read more

Election Live, October 10: Four new Covid cases in MIQ; campaign trail heats up in final week before election

Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 10, 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 jihee@thespinoff.co.nz 5pm: The day in sum … Read more

Victory Park is the book you’ll want to give to the ones you love

Cover of novel Victory Park with lights draped behind

Victory Park is the first novel from Mākaro Press since August 2019, when they put out a little book called Auē. I remember what it felt like to finish Becky Manawatu’s Auē, which went on to win last year’s Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction. Electric. Elating. An in-my-bones knowing that this story mattered. Victory … Read more

Three friends, three breast cancer diagnoses

When broadcaster Sarah Gandy received her breast cancer diagnosis, she turned to two people who knew better than anyone what she was going through: her good friends Rebecca Wadey and Delaney Tabron. This story first appeared on Ensemble magazine. Broadcaster Sarah Gandy was inspired to conceive the Change and Check campaign she launched last month … Read more

I quit online dating to sit with my loneliness. And then I met someone great

In the latest instalment of her column about her adventures in online dating, Alie Benge makes a real connection – and wonders why she can’t shake the need for romantic love. A friend told me I seem happy again. “It’s nice to have happy Alie back,” he said. “It’s been a while.” It made me … Read more

Parenting Place charity cuts ties with counsellor over sexuality conversion therapy

David Riddell says he has been ‘thrown under the bus’ by the well-known parenting organisation, which listed him as an approved counsellor despite his therapeutic practice with children whom he believes have been ‘sent in a same-sex direction’ by their parents. Emily Writes reports. Parenting Place, one of New Zealand’s largest support networks for parents … Read more

Labour has taken the centre. Is it a trap?

Labour’s winning strategy is built on rhetoric that seems to promise real change but never quite delivers, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. Perhaps soon it can give itself permission to do something truly transformational. There is a pit of doom major parties in New Zealand can fall into, when their soft centre supporters abandon them for their … Read more

Andrew Digby, birdman

His commitment to kākāpō and takahē recovery is unrivalled, and it’s turned him into a bit of a social media star. Michelle Langstone talks to DOC science advisor Dr Andrew Digby on changing careers, his love for Twitter, and what it really takes to protect one of New Zealand’s most beloved birds. I meet Andrew … Read more

Review: Educators is New Zealand’s darkest and funniest comedy

The second season of TVNZ on Demand satire Educators continues to skewer New Zealand’s school system, brilliantly and brutally. Is there anything bleaker than a New Zealand high school? As local comedy Educators tells it, probably not. The show, created by Jesse Griffin, Jackie van Beek and Johnny Brugh, has returned for its second season … Read more

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending October 9

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  Short Poems of New Zealand by Jenny Bornholdt (Victoria University Press, $35) “Initially, she thought of six lines and under … Read more

Election Live, October 9: Woman caught escaping managed isolation had also escaped the night before

Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 9, 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. Stewart is off today so Leonie … Read more

How to vote strategically in a Māori electorate

Orange sign that reads Vote here Pōti i konei

The Māori electorates hold the key to stronger Māori representation in parliament. Policy adviser and GP Bryn Jones makes the case for voting strategically to get more Māori MPs in the house.  The Māori seats were established to improve Māori representation in central government. That’s the main reason why I choose to be on the … Read more

Benee launches a record label

Pop star Benee has launched her own record label, Olive and her first signed artist is a young Raglan lad called Muroki. The Spinoff spoke to them both about their next moves. Young Benee’s having a big week. Her latest music video, for the wavy post-lockdown song ‘Snail’, was released this morning. She’s just been … Read more

The Fold: Sido Kitchin is launching not one but four new magazine titles this year

Former Woman’s Day and NZ Woman’s Weekly editor Sido Kitchin joins The Fold’s Duncan Greive to talk about starting School Road Publishing and launching a whole new stable of magazines following the collapse of Bauer Media. Sido Kitchin loves telling New Zealand women’s stories. An important figure in the magazine industry, she edited Woman’s Day … Read more

Election 2020: The climate change and environmental policies in two minutes

Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz, but here’s a whistlestop tour of what parties on climate change and the environment.  Read more two-minute policy wraps here Everyone wants to live in a country with a healthy environment, but how exactly do the parties plan on getting there? … Read more

Three similarities in the fight for assisted dying and abortion rights

Having been part of the fight for reproductive rights as president of ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa, Terry Bellamak says she’s struck by the similarities between the struggles for abortion rights and assisted dying. Both prioritise bodily autonomy Both abortion rights and the right to voluntary assisted dying are founded on the idea that our physical … Read more

Why Labour’s tinkering of our welfare system just isn’t enough

Significantly reducing poverty in New Zealand needs serious commitment and investment, something which Child Poverty Action Group’s Janet McAllister says she’s yet to see from the party of Jacinda Ardern.  “We can’t just tinker with the so-called social welfare system … it’s just not going to cut the mustard.” – Professor Cindy Kiro, chair of … Read more

The Bulletin: Minor parties push for scarce positions

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Minor parties push for positions, Gisborne beneficiary advocates raise alarm on emergency housing, and name suppression continues for NZ First Foundation accused. Last night’s TVNZ minor party debate was preceded by a poll which shows most are under serious pressure. First of all, the poll: The One … Read more

NZ’s best online tool to help you cast an informed vote just got even better

Policy.nz now comes with added referendum information – the simple, elucidating, bullshit-free way to get the essential information you need. Our expectations for Policy.nz in 2020 were high, and they’ve already been exceeded. As of lunchtime yesterday the site had recorded more than 305,000 unique users and 460,000 sessions, serving up more than two and … Read more

The Side Eye: How to draw Marama Davidson and James Shaw

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 co-leaders of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Click here for the rest of the How to draw series. The Side Eye is a … Read more

The impossible kindness of Stan Walker

Stan Walker aged 16, portrait, long curly hair

It’s a popstar memoir. It’s also about one man’s immense compassion, writes Sam Brooks. Content warning: contains details of rape, sexual abuse and violence. On a whim, this past weekend I picked up Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead. The elegant epistolary novel, much lauded on its release 16 years ago, is set in mid 20th century America, … Read more

Why New Zealand needs a national food strategy

What we eat defines our economy, our health, our environment and our culture. That’s why we need a plan for the future of our food systems, writes Angela Clifford, CEO at Eat New Zealand.   Eating is the action we do more than anything else. We spend tens of thousands of dollars on food each year. … Read more

Election 2020: Te ao Māori policies in two minutes

Voting is under way in the New Zealand general election. Explore the main parties’ pledges at Policy.nz, but here’s a whistlestop tour of what parties are promising on issues that affect Māori. Read more two-minute policy wraps here Te ao Māori is a fairly uneven policy area – the Māori Party lists more than 80 separate policies, … Read more

Election Live, October 8: Labour on 47%, National stuck in low 30s in latest poll

Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for October 8, 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. Stewart is off today. Toby, Josie … Read more