E-commerce market Konei is showcasing local entrepreneurs, including a Māori-Sāmoan collaboration that combines te reo, coffee and chocolate into a delicious learning experience. He kawhe māu? Aē, koa! (Want a coffee? Yes, please!) Enjoying a coffee with a dollop of te reo just got a bit easier this week thanks to a pair of South … Read more
Kewana Duncan, who made his film-writing and directing debut in the tele-film Toke, chats to Leonie Hayden about his career trajectory and how he’s keeping it tika. Kewana Duncan is a new face in the film and television landscape, but he’s no Johnny-come-lately. The writer and director first got his break storylining for Shortland Street … Read more
They’re two cities with identical amenities, identical schools and equally beautiful hinterlands. So why don’t more people choose the one where houses are half the price? A friend with a young family just bought a house. It was old, and needed a bit of work, but it was in a good school zone. It cost … Read more
Three surveys show the prime minister still has the public’s support, ahead of today’s announcement about whether the country will shift alert levels. As health experts cast doubt on the chances of a move to alert level one this week, New Zealanders remain confident in our political leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. Cabinet is meeting this … Read more
Justice reinvestment redirects spending on criminal justice into social justice initiatives that strengthen communities and reduce social harms. Criminology professor Elizabeth Stanley explains why it could be game-changing. New Zealanders have long grappled with an obsession with criminal justice expansions, even though crime rates are on the decline. We tell ourselves: “Just another thousand police … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Rugby world gets fired up at government over tournament loss, cabinet to make new alert level decision today, and police commended for not arresting protesters. The weekend saw an interesting event in the cultural history of this country: The government had a clear opportunity to try … Read more
On Saturday afternoon, Billy Te Kahika Jr was the star attraction at an Aotea Square rally replete with Covid-19 conspiracy theorists. How did a blues musician end up New Zealand’s premier peddler of conspiracy nonsense? David Farrier went searching on the most powerful disinformation network of them all: Facebook. Read more from David Farrier on … Read more
In her last column, Laura O’Connell Rapira suggested how the government could be a better Treaty partner. This week, she reimagines completely new power structures. Between 2012 and 2015, Margaret Mutu and Moana Jackson convened 252 hui with Māori to imagine the future of Aotearoa in 2040, 200 years after the signing of Te Tiriti … Read more
Locations include Les Mills gym in Takapuna, Countdown Milford and The Warehouse Milford. A person who subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 took part in classes at Les Mills in Takapuna as well as visiting various North Shore retailers. Attention is focused particularly on the gym sessions, with Auckland Regional Public Health Service saying anyone who … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for September 13, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other New Zealand news. Find official Covid-19 information 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. Contact us at info@thespinoff.co.nz 8.05pm: Person … Read more
New Zealand’s narrow tax base benefits the wealthy and punishes the poor, says taxation academic Jonathan Barrett – and neither major party seems to want to do anything about it. Ability to pay is the basic principle of tax fairness: people in a similar financial position should pay similar amounts of tax; people who can … Read more
Farewell winter’s veg and welcome in spring with this delicious tart, perfect for a classy lunch or a simple dinner. While this tart makes the most of winter brassicas, it’s also a nod at the arrival of spring. I love tarts, and our kids do too – they’re quick and easy to whip up and a … Read more
Drain layer Ses Tohi (aka Professional Mud Dog) takes Sherry Zhang and photographer Edith Amituanai on a tour around his work site near Auckland Airport – and talks about what he loves about his job, misconceptions about tradies, and what it’s like owning his own business. Ses Tohi, director of drain laying company SS Civil, … Read more
He’s fostered an image as an enigmatic underdog who proved his doubters wrong. But Robett Hollis has spent an extraordinary life trying to avoid being put in a box. Robett Hollis wears the same outfit everyday: a plain black shirt, a black fitted cap, and a pair of Nikes. It’s his uniform, he says. When … Read more
Auckland Theatre Company opened two shows this week, performed under Covid-19 restrictions. So what’s it like to go to the theatre during a pandemic? One of the last theatre shows I saw before we went into the first lockdown was Auckland Theatre Company’s Black Lover. It’s fitting, then, that it’s one of two shows the … Read more
Jean Sergent reviews an exceptional new novel about mental illness, labels, and lovability. It is strange, to love and be loved, when you are unsure of your reality. An emotional uncanny valley opens up in front of you and you push on, staying alive, putting one foot in front of the other, hoping that the … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for September 12, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other New Zealand news. Find official Covid-19 information 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. Contact us at info@thespinoff.co.nz The day … Read more
There’s been good news this week for would-be New Zealanders in the age of Covid-19, as the government has given the green light for more workers and immigrants to enter the country. There was a substantial shift at New Zealand’s border this week as the government announced plans to slowly lower the drawbridge and allow … Read more
Waikato University has started an internal inquiry after a number of senior Māori staff alleged structural racism from the institution. One former and one current staff member say the issue’s been bubbling away for years. In 2018, staff and students of the University of Waikato’s Māori and Indigenous Studies faculty fought to stop the faculty … Read more
She’s head girl, a viral star, a poet. But none of those credentials can ever capture the force of nature that is Aigagalefili ‘Fili’ Fepulea’i-Tapua’i. Portraits by Edith Amituanai. The sky above Aorere College is a brilliant blue. Sunlight gets into every corner of the campus, and music spills out into the morning from a … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s Election Live for September 11, bringing you the latest on election 2020 and other New Zealand news. Find official Covid-19 information 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 6.30pm: The day … Read more
What is sourdough and why did so many people become obsessed with it during lockdown? This month’s Dietary Requirements podcast cracks open the starter to investigate. What are we talking about when we talk about sourdough? On one level it’s just flour and water, but on another it’s so much more than that. To help … Read more
Political leaders from the main parties gathered in Auckland today to address the business community and answer the question: ‘What is your party’s plan for economic growth?’ Here’s what they had to say. As the leaders of five main parties gathered today, the results of a Deloitte and Chapman Tripp election survey revealed some telling … Read more
A new poem by Wellington poet Emma Barnes. If Only If only if only. I could have used my mouth to transmit some meaning. I could have left or come home or done some sort of in between combo of any of these. I could have been the bulldozer, the demolition team, the engineer who … Read more
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Ottolenghi: Flavour by Yotam Ottolenghi and Ixta Belfrage (Ebury, $60) “Every time we publish a book, it feels like the … Read more
Futurist and evolutionary biologist Robert Hickson (Science Media Centre) on the known and as-yet-unknown aspects of the virus. What we know 1. We know where the virus ultimately came from We know that the virus originally came from bats, and most probably a species of horseshoe bat in South East Asia. However, the spike protein … Read more
The new sexuality education guidelines aim to teach kids about healthy relationships – and what sort of parent wouldn’t welcome that? On Tuesday, new sexuality education guidelines were introduced in New Zealand schools. The long-awaited changes include a greater focus on consent, gender and pornography. These guidelines have been years in the making and parents … Read more
Two electorates, seven candidates (including two recent National leaders) and 100 spaced-out audience members. Josie Adams reports from Tauranga. There were two debates for the price of one last night in Tauranga: the battle for the Tauranga electorate and the battle for Bay of Plenty were fought on the same Baycourt Theatre stage before a … Read more
Politicians have pivoted to online video like lions in heat. José Barbosa has trawled through the top five parties’ social media feeds to learn their secrets of going viral. The online video space is changing all the time. If you work in this sector, as I do, you better bloody well keep up and prime … Read more