Because you are more than a mother. Because you’re doing enough. Because you just don’t feel like it – you’re allowed to say no to your kids, says Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes. I was sent an article and told it would change my life. This happens a fair bit. It’s not that I don’t … Read more
The story of government fraudster Joanne Harrison is one of almost unbelievable greed. But in many ways as shocking, writes Peter Newport, is how her boss, Martin Matthews, ignored the whistle-blowers – and allowed Harrison to exact her revenge. Update 1pm, 3 August 2017: Martin Matthews has resigned his position as Auditor General following the publication of … Read more
Alex Casey delivers her final rankings for The Bachelor NZ season three, including old croissants, a winner and drone shots for days. So many days. Look, I’m tired. I’m more tired than Lily huffing her way up a hilly driveway to meet Zac halfway because the Suzuki Swift probably ran out of gas. I’m more … Read more
Future is coming to New Zealand! Futurehive member Miriama Aoake breaks down why you should be as excited as she is. A few weeks ago, my aging but reliable MacBook Pro crashed and burned in spectacular, day-before-assignment-is-due fashion; taking a vast majority of my music collection with it. Work and uni required an immediate replacement … Read more
For years New Zealand comedy has – with some notable exceptions – had a reputation as something of a boys’ club. Last night its three key awards were all won by women for the first time. Natasha Hoyland, a young comedian herself, describes how that moment felt. When they announced Rose Matafeo as the winner … Read more
Paula Bennett is reportedly keen to see tipping introduced to New Zealand. Henry Oliver explains why this is a terrible, terrible, terrible idea. There’s a lot to love about eating out in the US. The food is usually fatty, salty, sweet and delicious. And the portions are fucking huge. But there’s a downside too. When you … Read more
Two grown men sit down to battle, guided only by the cards and fate. Liam Maguren and his board game svengali Douglas Moore test each other in a battle of card stacking with Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game. Marvel is close to world domination. Over the last decade, the comic book colossus has successfully become … Read more
If Māui dolphins are a Threatened Species priority, why won’t the government act to stop their extinction, asks the WWF New Zealand’s David Tong. Kiwi, kakapo, Māui dolphins and white sharks all feature on a list of 150 priority species in a new draft Threatened Species Strategy that Minister of Conservation Maggie Barry launched earlier … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today: Madeleine Chapman finally gets to experience a toy fad. On Sunday I took my hangover for a walk around Sylvia Park and found myself in front of a stall selling the latest pointless toy, the Fidget Spinner. The young … Read more
Mike Lee, councillor and former chair of the Auckland Regional Authority, explains why he thinks the Auckland Chamber of Commerce CEO Michael Barnett has got it wrong on a port sell-off – and why Mayor Phil Goff is an even bigger problem. This is part two in our debate on the future of the Auckland … Read more
Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson took the reins as the Crusaders head coach at the end of last season. So far his Super Rugby coaching record reads: 12 wins, no draws, no losses. Scotty Stevenson caught up with him in Fiji last week to talk about his coaching philosophy ahead of the Crusaders’ Friday night match against … Read more
The idea that we hold the atmosphere around us in trust, with a duty to protect it for future generations, is taking hold. And the debate is drawing on everything from an 18th century English jurist to contemporary activism by US peoples of colour, writes Claire Browning. Nobody owns the sky, but all of our lives depend … Read more
Rose Matafeo won the Fred Award last night. It’s New Zealand’s most prestigious comedy award, along with the Billy T Award (which she has also won). Sam Brooks talks to her about her comedy, life overseas, and their shared passion for musical flop Nine. I’m going to be straight up here and say that I love … Read more
The latest literary funding grants from Creative New Zealand, featuring established novelists, literary festivals, and The Spinoff Review of Books. Where there’s a trough, there’s a snout. 248 applicants competed for the latest Creative New Zealand funding round, and requested a total of $7,486,318. Dream on! CNZ were able to award $2,032,544 in 92 grants. Among them … Read more
Yesterday the Green Party announced a major policy platform aimed at parents and children in New Zealand. In her own words, Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei explains the Budget for All Mothers. All Kiwi kids deserve the best great start in life, right? And what better country to raise kids: we are blessed with a … Read more
The exhumed skull of a 3,000-year-old Welshwomen. Nazi submarines. Ancient Spanish shipwrecks. The pre-Māori white civilisation theories of Noel Hilliam and his friends have a lot going for them. Except any plausible evidence, writes Scott Hamilton I spent part of last week at an art gallery in Manurewa, helping to put photographs on the walls. One of those … Read more
Alex Casey, Duncan Greive and Jane Yee are in Christchurch to record a live #realpod at the city Art Gallery. But they stole ten minutes to try and process the most emotional end to a Bachelor NZ season yet. Jane Yee says: Sort it out, art department Viarni had it in the bag from night one. … Read more
On the heels of yesterday’s announcement of the Fred nominees for best show of the Comedy Festival, comedian Jonny Potts digs deep into the non-Fred Dagg work of Kiwi icon John Clarke, after whom the award is named. It’s totally understandable that the figure of Fred Dagg dominated New Zealand’s response to the sudden death … Read more
Compiling the best reading from your friendly local website. Henry Oliver: ‘What if birds aren’t singing, they’re screaming?’: Inside Aldous Harding‘s head “Harding’s music is deep and weird and mythic. It exists in its own world and follows its own symbolic logic. She might not want to talk about her music because she doesn’t want to … Read more
Siouxsie Wiles explains why she’s using crowdfunding to bankroll her lab’s effort in response to the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance The crisis is real: we are running out of medicines to treat many of the microbes that cause disease in humans and animals. The crisis will affect us here in New Zealand and the … Read more
Anne-Marie made her name singing on other people’s hits, but now she’s making them on her own. Kate Robertson caught up with her while she was in Auckland this week to promote her forthcoming debut album. If you don’t yet recognise Anne-Marie’s face, chances are you’ll recognise her voice. Lead vocalist on Clean Bandit’s super … Read more
How do we teach our children that their body is their body when there are times we just need them to comply with us so that we can keep their body safe? Laura Borrowdale finds there’s no easy answer – but it’s a discussion we need to have. One of my mother’s key pieces of … Read more
Techweek! Demos, prototypes, presentations, discussions, and keynotes, all radiant with the reflected glow of futurist optimism. Tof Eklund got steeped in digital dreams last week, spending Sunday afternoon at the Magnify VR/AR Expo, and the next day at the subsequent Business Summit. The atmosphere at the Expo was carnivalesque, as techies, gamers, entire families, and … Read more
Chris Cornell died this week. David Farrier writes about what Cornell’s music meant to him, and the day he met his hero. I hadn’t had wifi or cell reception because I was deep inside a weird forest in Japan, but when I switched my phone back on, it was to a flood of messages about … Read more
Alex Casey explains why you should make Top of the Lake your gloomy weekend binge-watch. Here’s the truth: we should all be screaming about Jane Campion’s masterpiece Top of the Lake all day everyday, because it’s some of the best television to come out of New Zealand ever (apart from this and maybe also this). Filmed … Read more
New verse by Wellington writer Freya Daly Sadgrove. STIHL power equipment I wanna be a tool for you like I specifically wanna be your STIHL chainsaw I want you dad-aged and swearing by me cos I do such a good job and I last exactly a lifetime— I want you to be careful about … Read more
The Storm in the Port is a new series in which the key players in the debate over the future of the Auckland port put their cases. First up, Auckland Chamber of Commerce CEO Michael Barnett, who argues that selling it off could be one of the best things to happen to the city in … Read more
We need a new law to plug the big gap in our regulation of health products, argues Mark Hanna Winston Peters has decided that we don’t need an incoming anti-quackery bill. He’s wrong. In a press release earlier this week, Peters called for the poorly named Natural Health Products Bill to be scrapped: “This Bill is regulatory … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today: Simon Wilson orbits a State Highway One showpiece. Ah, the Waikato, where NZTA sends its maddest roading engineers to do their worst. Which they certainly do: absurdly over-engineered exchanges at Te Kauwhata and Rangiriri, giant new motorways leading in and … Read more