Steve Braunias leads a special Spinoff investigation into fresh claims that 1971 was the greatest year in music ever. David Hepworth makes the fairly audacious but sustained and kind of also really persuasive argument in his new book 1971: Never A Dull Moment that 1971 was the greatest year in the history of popular music. … Read more
With an exciting new cast photo coming out of Ferndale this week, Tara Ward digs through some of the finest offerings from Shortland Street‘s archives. Forget the Olympics, ignore the housing crisis, pay no heed to Justin Bieber deleting his Instagram. The big news of the week comes from Ferndale, where the Shortland Street 2016 cast photo … Read more
There is good reason for reforming the student loan system, but the proposal to wipe debt for those who work in the regions doesn’t hold water, argues Eric Crampton. It’s hard to think of any problem solved by Labour’s proposed student loan policy that wouldn’t have better solutions. And I don’t think it is because … Read more
An appalling and outdated law means thousands of New Zealanders still have no access to information about their identities. Bonnie Sumner wants to know why the Government refuses to recognise the terrible legacy of forced adoptions. When my mother gave birth to me and held me in her arms, I was the first blood relative … Read more
Pete Douglas looks at two of the great capitalists of our times, Donald Trump and 30 Rock‘s Jack Donaghy, and wonders if they really would get along like a house on fire IRL. One of the best plot devices on my all-time favourite show 30 Rock is the conflict (and eventual friendship) between … Read more
Saradha Koirala reviews two teen novels which both deal with girls who have “survived something horrific at the hands of a male classmate”. I will talk literature with anyone who’ll listen. Most recently the ones listening have been clinical psychologists. And yes, I’m sure it’s all very Freudian that my mum and my partner share … Read more
The Scott Kuggeleijn case is but the latest example in a long history of damaging misconceptions about consent in this country. Lawyer Madeleine Holden says we need to improve that conversation, and fast. Content warning: This essay concerns the topic of sexual assault which may be triggering to survivors. Recently, the jury in the rape trial of Scott … Read more
Senior ministers just want the assisted dying issue to go away. But for people like Rachel Rypma, legislation could not be more important, writes David Seymour. At first I thought the issue of legalising assisted dying would be a really big deal. One of those major culture war type battles like gay marriage or the … Read more
Deputy mayor and Unitary Plan hero Penny Hulse has told the Spinoff she is ‘vaguely uninspired’ by the candidates for the Auckland mayoralty, saying she’s waiting to hear some ‘genuine vision’. It is an irrefutable fact that the most exciting things to happen in the Auckland mayoralty race so far have been: first, the bizarro … Read more
On Sunday, the Herald ran a crazily racist opinion piece where an unnamed real estate agent criticised Auckland for being “unwholesomely Chinese”. Guy Williams went in search of the truth about the story, and ended up being sucked down a rabbit hole filled with intrigue, recriminations, and Winston Peters. Holy shit! I’m in too deep. … Read more
In the third Earth-shattering installment of The Spinoff’s recently renamed Warcast, we talk to Deputy Mayor Penny Hulse about the Unitary Plan, the disappointing Auckland mayoral candidates, and why she got upset with Mayor Len Brown. She should have been sleeping off a hangover after finally, incredibly, passing the Unitary Plan. Instead, newly minted teetotaller Penny Hulse got up … Read more
On the launch day of Hello Game’s massively anticipated No Man’s Sky Don Rowe and José Barbosa played the thing for 8 hours straight. They invited special guests and streamed it all live to the internet. This is their story heavily edited and cut into 7 minutes. Check out our other coverage of No Man’s Sky: … Read more
Privacy commissioner John Edwards assesses the newly drafted Intelligence and Security legislation, and responds to Kim Dotcom’s suggestion he’s a government lackey and ‘clown’ Until last night I was unfamiliar with the commissioning process for pieces for The Spinoff. Mine came in the form of a Twitter direct message. “John! fancy writing us a post … Read more
Nick Bollinger reviews What Happened Miss Simone?, the biography of black American singer and activist, Nina Simone. If music is some kind of social barometer, then America is brewing a civil war. It would be hard to find a significant hip-hop or R&B record in the past year that hasn’t raised its voice in anger … Read more
Two brilliant pieces of longform current affairs just showed up on Stuff within hours of each other. Duncan Greive looks at the work of Stuff Circuit, and asks why it is that we leave the production of this critical style of journalism largely to chance. The year 2015 saw a great bloodletting at TV3, once … Read more
The Block NZ held its most profitable auctions over the weekend. But while the four teams celebrated their record-breaking profits, Madeleine Chapman saw a housing crisis in action. There’s nothing like a bit of reality television to take your mind off the fact that you may never be able to afford your own home in … Read more
Obama wants to get the trade deal through Congress during the lame duck session, but both Trump and Clinton are vocally opposed. It is too early, however, to declare the battle lost, argues TPP advocate Stephen Jacobi Trade has been described as “war by other means”. That inspired the US Defence Secretary, in peak hyperbole, … Read more
Lumping together foreign investors, international students and immigrants isn’t about policy, it’s about class, writes Keith Ng. Immigrants are like teenagers. We spend a lot of time fitting in, and being hyper-aware of whether we fit it. When teenagers say “eeuuugghhh muuuumm”, they’re actually (kinda) articulating the idea that mum is unwittingly transgressing the social … Read more
In a shocking twist, mild-mannered economist Shamubeel Eaqub has taken a break from calling bullshit to call “good shit” on Auckland Council for passing the Unitary Plan. We thought it would be so hard. Just a few months ago, dozens of people trundled into Auckland Town Hall to yell insults at anyone who’d ever had a positive … Read more
Westside has finished for another year, but the good news is there could be at least 23 more seasons to go. Calum Henderson previews some highlights coming up between now and 2039. Season two of Westside concluded on Sunday night with the West family right in the thick of the 1981 Springbok tour. The Outrageous Fortune … Read more
The new rulebook for Auckland development is almost certain to be approved by Council today. It means a final goodbye to the half-gallon, quarter-acre, pavlova paradise, and that’s a good thing, writes Leonie Freeman, former general manager of Housing New Zealand. Make an acronym of Unitary Plan and you get UP. That’s apt: the adoption … Read more
Tara Ward brings you her rankings for Shortland Street last week, including cheese dreams, sharp jaws and virus-laden horse stables. 1) Leanne orders a takeaway burger stuffed with Phyllovite and a side serving of crazy “You’re not a turkey!” Nicole yelled at her mother. “Gobble, gobble, gobble!” replied Leanne. Leanne’s bloodstream was 100% Phyllovite, meaning she hooned around Ferndale … Read more
An excerpt taken from the introduction to Dad Goes to the Movies (1941), a World War II diary edited and published by Auckland writer Jaq Tweedie, the daughter of serviceman Les Tweedie. Everything has a beginning and an end, and when I was young I was mostly interested in how things started. I knew my … Read more
Straw poll results have been disappointing for NZ’s candidate. But the process is complex and the die not yet cast, writes former NZ ambassador to the UN Terence O’Brien The selection of the next United Nations secretary general is being conducted this year according to a new formula which extends a greater role to the … Read more
In just a few months, the new Philippines president has sparked outrage around the world with a vicious crackdown on the drug trade, targeting everyone from dealers to judges. But the approach is carefully crafted for a domestic audience, writes Rebecca Townsend “If this continues and you try to stop me, then all hell breaks … Read more
Auckland’s housing issues won’t be solved by short term fixes to deep rooted problems. The government and Council needs to stop the blame game and start working together, says property expert Leonie Freeman. Faced with a crisis, we tend to focus on finding the silver bullet to deal to it. Usually without success, silver bullets … Read more
Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website. Alex Casey & Leah Damm: Looking back on a total shitter of a week for women in New Zealand “Perhaps the deepest burn of all came from Margaret Comer, not only a certified woman but also a standing member of the Waikato Women’s … Read more
The Turkish president has brutally suppressed protesters and purged every branch of government of any opposition. We must stand up against him, writes Maria Armoudian. The test of a leader’s commitment to democracy is not in peaceful and agreeable times but in times of dissent and disagreement. And Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has failed … Read more
Achieving a better, fairer Auckland involves much more than just building affordable homes. Urbanist Jenny McArthur explains why liveability should be a key demand of the War for Auckland. As an academic specialising in infrastructure and urban growth, I’ve been delighted by how The Spinoff’s War for Auckland series has helped stimulate the public’s interest … Read more