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NZ’s response to the humanitarian crisis of the century puts shallow prudence above people and principle

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Opinion: Murdoch Stephens of Doing Our Bit unpicks the announcement of a modest increase in NZ’s refugee intake, and the immigration minister’s suggestion that campaigners ‘care a little less’ about new arrivals’ resettlement There is a familiar arc that is meant to be respected when responding to disappointing news from a disappointing government: cautiously challenge … Read more

Shortland Street Power Rankings – Leanne is ready for her close-up

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Tara Ward brings you her Shortland Street Power Rankings for last week, including Detective Curtis and Ferndale’s PR nightmare.  1) Rachel steers the ship only slightly askew This week’s drama put the ‘eeeee’ into ‘CEO’ for Rachel. Word spread that Rachel had employed George The Fake Doctor, meaning she found herself waist deep in a public … Read more

What not to expect from the world’s biggest video game event this year

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E3 is the video game industry’s juggernaut trade show. 95bFM’s Kermath has attended the OTT jamboree 4 times over the years. This year he’ll be filing dispatches for The Spinoff chronicling the personalities and cultural forces that coalesce around E3. As a prelude he outlines why this year’s convention will be different and the real reason … Read more

‘Is that a dirk in your hand, or are you just happy to see me?’ – Thoughts from Outlander S02E10

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Our resident Outlander fanatic Tara Ward shares her thoughts from the much-anticipated return of time-travel romance series. Contains spoilers. And smoulders.  It’s taken 10 long (LOOOOONG) episodes to get to this epic moment. At last we stand united with our hoes, scythes and assorted garden implements, ready to bayonet ourselves a butcher’s feast of human intestines. … Read more

Podcast: The Get #3 – Aimie Cronin talks reporting on Catholicism, anxiety and New Zealand slums

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The Spinoff and Barkers are proud to present a new seven-part podcast series: The Get. Each week Canon award winning journalist Naomi Arnold will interview some of New Zealand’s best feature writers and news journalists about how they hunted down the biggest stories of their careers. “I love the reporting part. I love just being on … Read more

Announcing the TEN FINALISTS!!! in the Surrey Hotel Steve Braunias Memorial Writers Residency in Association with The Spinoff Award

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In which we name the ten finalists of our amazing new writers residency award – and also announce a second and third-place prize of free accommodation with pizza. Ten finalists have been chosen in the inaugural Surrey Hotel Steve Braunias Memorial Writers Residency  in Association with The Spinoff Award. Applications for the new and extremely groovesome … Read more

Dutch Courage: Choreographer Paul Lightfoot on bringing the fearless Nederlands Dans Theater to NZ

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As the acclaimed contemporary dance company prepares for arrival in Auckland, artistic director Paul Lightfoot tells Catherine McGregor what audiences should expect. Plus, tips for the contemporary dance first-timer. The news that Nederlands Dans Theater is on its way to Auckland has the New Zealand dance community members jeté-ing for joy. They have a message … Read more

The best of The Spinoff this week: Sunday 12 June edition

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Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website. Madeleine Holden: ‘This is how you raise a rapist’: on the culture which created Brock Turner “Mr Turner held attitudes about women, consent and entitlement that fed through to his son and helped to inform his behaviour. This became evident throughout the trial and … Read more

Life in tin boxes: 24 powerful photographs from Azraq refugee camp

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Just over two years ago, the Azraq refugee camp was opened in Jordan to house Syrians fleeing their war-ravaged home. Today around 35,000 refugees live there. World Vision’s Simon Day recently returned from Azraq. Here he shares some of what he saw 1 Shimmering on the horizon are the white boxes of the Azraq refugee … Read more

Building the future: New Zealand at the ‘Olympics of architecture’, the Venice Biennale

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Late last month marked the launch of the 2016 Venice Biennale of Architecture, a global festival celebrating the best in building design ideas. For only the second time in its 36 year history, New Zealand was among the exhibitors, and Michael Barrett was there. Every two years the ancient and beautiful tourist-swamp of Venice hosts … Read more

You Shouldn’t Dream Here: On the tragic Auckland most of us never see

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In a deeply personal essay, youth worker Iain Stevens* tells of the small joys and savage pains of his work with some of our community’s most damaged families. I wondered what it was going to take to break my heart. I’ve been a youth advocate for just on four years. Moving all around West Auckland, … Read more

MediaWorks has closed SCOUT: Remember the glory days with a selection of its finest headlines

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Today marks the last day for MediaWorks’ gossip site SCOUT. If you didn’t have time to say your goodbyes, Alex Casey has assembled a shrine to the greatest headlines the site ever published. Last week MediaWorks bought out Rachel Glucina’s share of her entertainment website SCOUT, and as of today the website has disappeared, redirecting straight to Newshub … Read more

An open letter to Maureen Pugh, the new National MP who ‘doesn’t believe in pharmaceutical drugs’

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Maureen Pugh is National’s newest MP, having replaced the new US ambassador, Tim Groser, from the list. Prompted by news that Pugh “doesn’t believe in pharmaceutical drugs”, Siouxsie Wiles drops her a line Dear Maureen Congratulations on becoming the National Party’s newest MP! I’ll have to admit, though, that I’m a little nervous about your … Read more

Monitor: The end of mainstream television’s Asian evasion and why it’s kind of a big deal

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After years of watching white faces fill his favourite television shows, Aaron Yap finally got to see his own culture represented on the small screen. Sometimes I feel like a bad Asian. The fact that I require English subtitles to watch anything in my native Chinese tongue bothers me if I think about it too … Read more

The Friday poem: “Dear Dominique” by Sarah Wilson

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New verse by Nelson writer Sarah Wilson. Dear Dominique “I was having sex with my girlfriend when she started her period. I dumped that bitch immediately.”  – tweet Dear nameless dummy on Twitter: You’re the reason my daughter cried funeral tears when she started her period. The sudden grief all young girls feel after the … Read more

Everything you need to know about EURO 2016 before it takes over your life

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It’s EURO 2016 eve, the most beautiful time of the football year: a carnival of early morning starts, low-key sports betting addiction and extremely niche memes is nearly upon us. Get match-fit with James Beavis’ essential group-by-group breakdown. Group A (aka The One Where France Maybe Won’t Succumb To Infighting This Time) Teams: Albania, France, … Read more

Jane Yee on The Block: Week Two, No more Mr Nice Dyls

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Our resident Blockaholic Jane Yee recaps the highs and lows from week two of The Block NZ, including Dyls’ lament and a shocking neck tatt. Holy damn! Like a Honda Jazz weaving around Auckland’s waterfront, week two on The Block NZ has turned an awesome corner. After last week I feared I might finally be … Read more

Australia forced to face its modern demons on the extraordinary ‘Bowraville’ podcast

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Duncan Greive on Bowraville, the heartbreaking podcast dubbed ‘the Australian Serial’. I spent my family holiday immersed in child murder. I didn’t mean for it to be that way – it just sort of happened. First I read: Helen Garner’s House of Grief, a harrowing account of a trial for a man who drowned his sons. … Read more

The Sky and Vodafone deal: a modern business fable

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The only universally understood business in Auckland today is housing. So what better metaphor for Tim Murphy to use to describe the motivations and implications of today’s Sky-Vodafone deal. The Parable Vodafone New Zealand and Sky TV are happy next door neighbours. Two houses.  One with a view, the other with a sprawling yard. Both valuable. Both relied on by … Read more

For all the thrill of cyber armies and drones, there’s more to NZ’s new defence strategy

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With an increased emphasis on our immediate neighbourhood and non-traditional defence activities, the White Paper strikes a refreshing balance, writes the Centre for Strategic Studies’ David Capie The immediate media response to the 2016 Defence White Paper suggests we are all vulnerable to being mesmerised by high-tech toys. Even before the paper was officially launched … Read more

Total War Warhammer is totally awesome

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Don Rowe lives out his childhood dreams on the battlefields of Total War Warhammer, the best thing to happen to strategy games since priests went ‘wololo’. The far shores of Lake Rotoma in the central North Island seem a strange place to find a small child painting warhorses, but I was always a strange child. Sadly, … Read more

Podcast: Business is Boring #6 – Dion Nash on zigging when others zag

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‘Business is Boring’ is a new weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound will speak with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand, with the interview available as both audio and text. This week: Dion Nash, creator of male cosmetics brand Triumph & Disaster. Triumph and Disaster … Read more

The Skodafone deal is driven by the battle with the dumb pipe

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A Vodafone-Sky merger works for companies waking up to new realites about content, distinctiveness and immediacy. Whether it’s good for consumers is another matter altogether, argues Paul Brislen. There are two major trends in the telecommunications market that directly relate to the Vodafone-Sky-TV merger. The first is the commoditisation of everything. If you can reduce … Read more

How The Greatest shone a light on civil rights, and how it gave others courage

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From Memphis, sports writer Ben Stanley reflects on the enduring social impact of Muhammad Ali, who died last week aged 74. “I am America,” legendary boxer Muhammad Ali once declared. It was 1970. He had been convicted evading the draft to serve in the Vietnam War, and was losing the prime years of his boxing … Read more

Book of the Week: Marion McLeod on Jenny Diski

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Marion McLeod reviews In Gratitude by Jenny Diski, which she began writing when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Her given name was Jennifer Simmonds, which always makes me laugh. A name from Tunbridge Wells or Teddington. That’s what her mother wanted – a nice, well-behaved, middle-class daughter. The daughter didn’t oblige, though she did … Read more