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 leader of the Act Party. Click here for the rest of the How to draw series. The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for September 24, 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 stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.45pm: The day … 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. This week he talks to Dr Elizabeth Berryman, founder and CEO of mental health app Chnnl. Those in the medical profession have difficult … Read more
Three shows in one month? Sounds ridiculous, but that’s actress Morgana O’Reilly for you. If you haven’t seen Morgana O’Reilly on your screens, chances are you’re just not paying attention. The actor has been ubiquitous for over a decade now – you may know her from indie horror Housebound or, more likely, from her 18 … Read more
From Te Rerenga Wairua at the top of the country, right down to Rakiura, we’re taking a look at our seven Māori electorates and the candidates contesting the seats. First up: the electorate of Te Tai Tokerau. Te Tai Tokerau is our northern-most Māori electorate. Its boundary begins on the north side of the Auckland … Read more
The Māori Party’s time in government with National proves the impact of minor parties isn’t always measurable by the number of bills they pass or the amount of funding they secure, but also its impact on the political tone, argues Ben Thomas. After Tuesday’s lacklustre leader’s debate, one question hung in the air: where were … Read more
The Rawiri Community House, nestled between the Auckland suburbs of Manukau and Manurewa, helps hundreds of families with food and other essential services each week. It’s kept going thanks to an unlikely friendship forged in the struggle to help those doing it toughest. My interview at the Rawiri Community House in Rata Vine, with Liz … Read more
From damp housing to unsafe work, doctors see every day the conditions worsening the health of thousands of New Zealanders. Dr George Laking of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians explains the four things we can do make a change for the better. Physicians are specialist doctors who look after people with medical illnesses. We … Read more
OPINION: Covid-19 has created a huge backlog for New Zealanders affected by breast cancer. The next government must improve access to diagnosis and treatment to prevent more deaths, says Breast Cancer Foundation NZ CEO Evangelia Henderson. I always look forward to the contest of ideas that comes with every election, but I never imagined we’d … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Horticulture industry facing labour crisis, details of new cases spark concern, and Canterbury candidate under fire for local government record. Fears are growing that fruit will simply rot on the vine this season, because nobody will be there to pick it. Plenty of this sort of … Read more
Legalising euthanasia while the world is in the grip of a deadly pandemic would further stretch an already stretched health system, and have implications far beyond that for the disabled community, writes Robyn Hunt. Read more perspectives on the assisted dying referendum here. Considering assisted dying in the middle of a deadly world pandemic seems counterintuitive. … Read more
Labour has made an extraordinary ascent in the polls and is now clinging to a mostly non-threatening brand of centrism. Hayden Donnell counts the cost of that strategy. Cast your mind back to 2016. As Bill English rolled out his budget, Grant Robertson issued what looked like a criticism. In an article headlined “a Budget … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for September 23, 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 stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7pm: The day … Read more
Yesterday’s Colmar Brunton poll for TVNZ had Act inching toward its best-ever election result, on 7%. With that, the one-man Act band would become a Seymour-led club of nine. So who the hell are they? By now, David Seymour must be among our most recognisable political figures. Entering parliament fresh-faced in 2014 as the MP … Read more
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, New Zealand’s audiovisual archive, has uncovered some clues, but needs your help in solving a 90-year-old mystery. “A Mild Case of Murder”, one title shouts. “The Wife Who Knew”, insinuates another. “Happy Honeymoon – A Near Tragedy”, warns a third. Film-making is serious business and involves many people – can … Read more
Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins showed their true colours in the first leaders’ debate, and they were pretty pale. Last night I settled in on the couch with a beer and takeaways, and watched an engaging, rambunctious and focused political debate. It was entertaining but also challenging and informative, and covered the critical issues facing … Read more
Determined to write New Zealand’s first Covid book, Paul Little chronicled the lives of more than 20 New Zealanders under lockdown as rural domesticity took over his own. It all started with a mysterious virus causing a global pandemic that threatened the lives of millions of people, my writer wife and I losing our long-standing … Read more
Watch all five episodes and read the special interactive feature on The Spinoff from Monday. If you’ve seen a climate crisis documentary before, you’ve probably seen plenty of icebergs tumbling into the ocean and factories pumping big plumes of smoke into the atmosphere. The Spinoff’s new documentary series 100 Year Forecast has a bit of … Read more
Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee Mather and Ben Thomas discuss last night’s raucous, robust and entertaining debate… and also the one between Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins. Election debate season is finally upon us, and the Gone By Lunchtime trio are here to talk Tuesday night’s two big debates. The Hui’s livestreamed Waiariki candidate debate between … Read more
Today The Spinoff launches Ako, a new series made in partnership with Spark NZ to highlight their Kupu app, with a piece introducing three very different te reo Māori learners. Despite being indigenous to Aotearoa, the history of te reo Māori is a fraught one – it wasn’t until the late 1980s that it was … Read more
New Zealand’s housing market is going ballistic, defying economic forecasts and historic trends. Michael Andrew asks the experts what’s causing the clamour and what it means long term. Six months after Covid-19 first reached our shores, New Zealand’s economy has officially moved into recession. GDP is down 12.2% – the largest drop on record – … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Politics nerds rejoice with both a poll and a debate, a remarkable story of a high finance world crashing down, and travel agent industry up against it. The top-line figure is clear – Labour still has a massive poll lead over National, more than a … Read more
Uncertainty is an unavoidable part of healthcare at the edges of life, writes Colin Gavaghan of Yes for Compassion. Read more perspectives on the assisted dying referendum here. You’ve probably seen the adverts. Parents are taking their offspring to buy their first car. But the salespeople, instead of bigging up their products, are emphasising all … Read more
A legal challenge to the University of Otago’s diversity policy for medical student intake doesn’t deserve to succeed, write Maria Hook, Jane Calderwood Norton and Andrew Geddis This week the Christchurch High Court is hearing a legal challenge to Otago University’s medical school ‘Mirror on Society’ policy, and associated admission scheme. Full details of the … Read more
Who came out on top in tonight’s leaders’ debate? Here are our debate watchers’ verdicts. Toby Manhire: Everyone is knackered Given that most of the country, most of the Covid-battered world, is basically just knackered, is it any surprise that tonight’s opening debate felt a bit knackered, too? Jacinda Ardern and Judith Collins walked down … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for September 22, 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 stewart@thespinoff.co.nz Recap: Ardern and … Read more
The first leader debate begins at 7pm on TVNZ 1. Ready your pencils. Judith Collins, Jacinda Ardern and John Campbell all want you to have a good time during tonight’s first leader debate for election 2020. And so do we. That’s why we (well, Toby Morris mostly) have conjured up a bingo card. If you’re … Read more
What happened to the bridge, when will it be fixed, are we ever getting another harbour crossing – and how long will it take to get home tonight? Few of us remember a time before the bridge. Its eight glorious lanes run from St Mary’s Bay across the Waitematā harbour to Northcote. Without it Auckland … Read more
On Thursday night the arts, culture and heritage spokespeople from Labour, National and the Greens will have a conversation on arts policy, facilitated by Miriama Kamo. We’ve got all their policies here, so you know who stands for what. Earlier this year, Ben Thomas wrote for The Spinoff about why politicians find it hard to … Read more