Child poverty is unacceptable in modern New Zealand, and the Children’s Commissioner is right to urge politicians to agree to a definition and set a target, argues Andrew Little. I can tell you the horrific numbers: 295,000 children are living in poverty; 149,000 children are in material deprivation; 110,000 children live in damp, mouldy houses; … Read more
Whilst NBC is frantically burying old tapes of The Apprentice, Pete Douglas holds his nose and dives into the YouTube sewer to find some more stellar examples of Donald Trump being terrible. About 10 years ago I visited Trump Tower in New York. This was during the early popularity of The Apprentice and it seemed like … Read more
Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump meet again for the second of three debates in the most bonkers and disturbing campaign in the history of the universe. Toby Manhire watches and boils it down into a sticky raspberry jam. Read the five-minute version of the first debate here. Co-moderator Martha Raddatz of ABC: I’m Martha Raddatz. … Read more
It’s a good time to become mayor of Auckland, but there’s a huge challenge ahead. Matt Lowrie of Transport Blog offers some constructive advice for Phil Goff’s early mayoralty. Dear Phil, Congratulations on becoming Mayor. While the margin was a bit closer than some had expected, that’s what happens when you get such a low … Read more
Kelly Dennett, winner of the 2016 The Surrey Hotel Steve Braunias Memorial Writers Residency in Association with The Spinoff Award, wrote 30,000 words during her week at the Grey Lynn hotel. Runner-up Antony Millen wrote 28,000 words. Second runner-up, Wellington poet Ashleigh Young, managed to write approximately 43 words. But she met a nice cat. On my first day … Read more
The New Zealand Spelling Bee finals have made it to TVNZ 1’s Spellbound. It’s like a 3-hour long penalty shootout where you don’t want anyone to miss, writes Calum Henderson. “Furlow. F-U-R-L-O-W.” This is how I bow out of the finals of the 2016 New Zealand Spelling Bee. It is the third word of the … Read more
A state of emergency has just been declared in Ethiopia amid anti-government protest. The true colours of New Zealand’s diplomatic commitments will be shown in its response to the state crackdown, write Nureddin Abdurahman and Malcolm McKinnon Through the early part of this decade the New Zealand government carried out a sustained campaign for one … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including intense tent problems and the sad departure of Rachel McKenna. 1) Rachel walks towards the light Just another ordinary week for our Rach: she got drunk, knocked down a wedding marquee and vowed to find herself. Before our tiny little brains could comprehend the ridiculous idea … Read more
For the second presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the American people of the internet have been asked to submit their own ideas for questions. Toby Manhire goes in search of some of the best America is all about its ‘of the people, by the people, for the people’ ethos, and when Abraham … Read more
From antique moa-hair baby blankets to NASA-designed ergonomic shoes, Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes takes a look at the must-have items for your precious child. Having a baby is a wonderful time to spend all of the money you have. Once baby has arrived, they basically take care of themselves if you have all of … Read more
Mayor Phil Goff joins Millennial wastrel Hayden Donnell and Metro editor-at-large Simon Wilson to talk about the housing crisis, council culture, *that* headline about sleeping with the same woman for 45 years, and whether we should jail all Boomers. It’s Warcast #9 and Toby Manhire is still in Whanganui, hanging out with New Zealand’s answer to Donald … Read more
Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website. Tim Murphy: A final Pokarekare Ana and a punch in the air: post-mayoricide, Len Brown goes out on a high “This is not a tabloid story, taking things out of context and boasting a headline like: ‘Sex Scandal Made Me a Better Mayor’ … Read more
Hayden Donnell identifies the people who did well, and the ones who got massively owned, in the Auckland local elections. Winners Chlöe “22” Swarbrick Chlöe Swarbrick, whose campaign cost roughly the same as the Goff campaign’s cheese budget, came third with nearly 27,000 votes. Despite being a complete political novice, Swarbrick beat out John Palino, who … Read more
You won’t believe who’s won the Auckland mayoralty race (you will), and all the other outcomes of interest. And the new Mayor of Auckland is … They tried, oh how they tried, to sex up the contest. Guyon Espiner called the leadup to Phil Goff’s candidacy announcement “the longest striptease in history”; Hayden Donnell made … Read more
Aaron Smith’s indiscretions have been the biggest media story of the week. But lawyer Natalya King believes both the couple who made the recording and the outlets which broke the story may have committed an invasion of privacy. Amidst the red-eyed rage that greeted the news that All Blacks have sex – and sometimes have … Read more
Trained psychotherapist and resident advice guru Ms X on shitty jobs and the fine art of knowing when to walk away. Hi Ms X, I’ve been working in a new job for about 10 months now. It’s my first one out of uni and when I started it was quite enjoyable. The woman who hired … Read more
The emergence of the mysterious and timeless Anne ‘The Champagne Lady’ Batley Burton as a natural born New Zealand celebrity has been the greatest treat of Real Housewives of Auckland. Alex Casey spent a few hours in her strange world. “I’d rather save all the animals and bugger the people to be honest.” The Champagne … Read more
A major University of Otago study suggests poorer outcomes for babies born under midwife-led care. Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw looks at the truth behind the headlines. In this article we are going to talk about some of the bad stuff that happens during pregnancy and labour to babies and women. These things are infrequent in New … Read more
Waiting for an egg to boil? Sitting through a long ad break? Be a cool reader and take our cool survey. The Spinoff exists because a small family of amazing brands like what we do and pay to sponsor us as a business. They’re also paying to keep us doing good work because they value you … 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. Today’s guest has built a career doing all the things that a … Read more
New verse by Wellington writer Kate Camp. Welcome to your new sky It is impossible to build an unhackable computer. That’s why the US Navy is equipping its ships with sextants and teaching their crews to navigate by the stars. You can’t hack the stars. Yet. All in all though and on balance I … Read more
The best-seller chart at Unity Books for the week just ended: October 7 Steve Braunias is on a well-deserved break this week and as a result, the best-seller lists are presented without comment. WELLINGTON STORE 1 Constitution for Aotearoa NZ (Victoria University Press, $25) by Geoffrey Palmer and Andrew Butler 2 Like Nobody’s Watching (Escalator … Read more
Registers of foreign workers and attacks on human rights lawyers show the poison of Trump seeping into the Conservative government’s new, cynical strategy, laments London-based New Zealander Tze Ming Mok This time last year Theresa May, not yet the prime minister of the UK, dominated the Conservative Party conference. To my outsider ears, her message … Read more
Your topic for this week’s quickfire quiz: how much do you know about marriage and divorce in New Zealand? Having trouble viewing the quiz? Take it here.
The Great British Bake Off is back on our screens, bringing with it treacherous sponge cake, dry nuts and a myriad of emotions. Tara Ward breaks down the six psychological stages of the show. Imagine an idyllic paradise of wildflowers and lush green grass, where tiny lambs frolic next to a gurgling stream and daffodils wave … Read more
This is not a tabloid story, taking things out of context and boasting a headline like: “Sex Scandal Made Me a Better Mayor” – Len Brown But you could see how it could appear under that title. For, in a more nuanced, reflective and brutally self-aware way, that is what Len Brown said, when we … Read more
Over the next couple of weeks we’ll be introducing you to contributors to The Spinoff Parents, our new parenting blog edited by Emily Writes and made possible by Flick Electric Co. Today music writer Simon Sweetman describes why being a stay at home father is the hardest thing he’s ever done. I met Simon almost … Read more
When rugby players make catastrophic screw ups, their bosses like to smooth things over with the public by taking away key learnings. We stole their method and took some of our own lessons out of the Aaron Smith sex toilet scandal engulfing New Zealand. 1. Having sex in a toilet is a romantic experience Nothing … Read more
Here comes consumer level virtual reality peripherals for your console gaming. Alongside this uptick in personal digital stupefaction comes all Don Rowe’s hopes and dreams. Finally, he can start living. Edited by Joseph Harper Trip the light wicked with Bigpipe, the sweetest ISP in the land.