A pioneering New Zealand voice, a neighbour, and not finished yet. Ahead of the 20-year anniversary concert for his great album, Michelle Langstone talks to Che ‘Fu’ Ness. Portraits by Edith Amituanai. I lived next door to Che Fu for a year when I was a Uni student. It was in between his breakthrough debut … Read more
Summer reissue: 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. First published September 12 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members … Read more
The National Party leader tells Duncan Greive what conviction means to her, and why she thinks she gets treated differently to Jacinda Ardern. The first time I saw Judith Collins at close quarters, she was moving through what was inelegantly billed as the “National stakeholder party” held at parliament last year. It was a fun … 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
A new poem from Paula Harris. how to cook cheesecake on a bbq you’ll need to borrow a cheesecake pan from your former best friend who borrowed your cheesecake pan two years ago, he just needed it for a few days, there was a dinner party coming up, a dinner party you weren’t invited to, … Read more
The quest to create affordable housing in New Zealand is an interminable dilemma. But as Dan Heyworth writes, the issue comes from the old British feudal land system on which ours is based. Recently I was involved in a project that responded to government calls to use off-site manufacturing to bring affordability to the housing … Read more
Kiran Dass interviews Mark O’Connell, whose new book sprang from terror about what climate change meant for his kids. Dublin writer Mark O’Connell reckons we’re alive in a time of worst-case scenarios, and that we can only really survive in a meaningful sense as part of a community. Following his first book, 2017’s To Be … Read more
After almost 50 years, New Zealand’s only aluminium smelter is due to close next August. We take a look at what it means for the economy and the environment. What’s all this then? Multinational metal and mining corporation Rio Tinto has today announced it is planning to close the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter in Southland … Read more
Cannabis legalisation could present a valuable opportunity for small businesses and startups looking to be part of a growing global industry. But will stigma around cannabis use stand in the way? Around the world, cannabis is blooming. In the US, Canada and Europe, law changes have brought about partial or full legalisation of medical and … Read more
With the impeachment process essentially shut down by the Senate, attention turns today to the state of Iowa, where it’s finally time for voting in the race to challenge Donald Trump for the presidency. So what are the Iowa Caucuses, why do they get such attention, and which Democrats are best placed to make it … Read more
A fringe political party is hoping for better returns in 2020 after adding a high profile independent lawyer as co-leader. Alex Braae reports. A courtroom champion of stopping 1080 drops and promoting medicinal cannabis rights is turning her attention to parliament. Independent lawyer Sue Grey gained national profile through cases like the Brook Valley brodifacoum … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Robertson signals big borrowing to boost infrastructure, discarded e-scooters spark concern, and a big week coming for Auckland’s port. The screams of joy from Keynesians echoed out across the land, after a government announcement that the purse strings would be loosened to fund infrastructure. The NZ Herald reports … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Poorly paid paramedics call for full government funding, Andrew Little signs off more surveillance warrants, and Christchurch accused links to far-right confirmed. An open letter from a paramedic for the government to fully fund ambulance services has sparked a major wave of reaction. Speaking to Newshub, paramedic Dean Brown said … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Latest QV figures show huge house price rises in smaller towns, new study shows terrible bottom trawling impact, and nurses give natural disaster warning. Concerns are being raised about small town house prices, with the view that they too are steadily becoming unaffordable. It comes off the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Social housing list balloons amid heavy demand, bizarre development in NZ-China relations takes in former PM, and another species of foreign fruit fly found. The social housing waiting list has cracked 10,000, and is steadily rising all the time. Newshub reports that is an increase of 73% on … Read more
David Cohen remembers a man admired and loved by his colleagues in the media, in politics, and beyond. Journalists and other public figures spent Wednesday expressing their sadness amid the news that Rob Hosking, a senior political reporter and wry commentator for the NBR and other news outlets, had died of cancer. Rob, a former … Read more
When Gordonton’s Aaron Hopa died in a tragic diving accident off Whangamatā on December 8, 1998, he left a legacy shaped by rugby, whānau, and aroha. Ben Stanley tells the story of the greatest All Black you never knew. This story was made possible by The Spinoff’s Longform Fund for major journalism projects, and in … Read more
As they prepared to move to a bigger space, Auckland artisan bakers Fort Greene paused to reflect on the glorious potential held within two pieces of bread. Springing out of bed to start work before the birds start singing is probably a sign you’ve found your calling in life. Liam Fox, who owns Auckland cafe … Read more
For a select few women, this could be the difference between a baby, and not. I’ll say it again: C-sections can cause infertility. Catherine Woulfe writes. This feature was made possible thanks to reader contributions via the Spinoff Longform Fund. Click here to support our investigative journalism. In October 2014 I had the kind of … Read more
Best known for their door-to-door evangelising, Jehovah’s Witnesses are on a quest to save the ‘wicked’ from damnation. For victims of sexual abuse within the organisation, however, that quest has seen perpetrators shielded from justice. Amy Parsons-King has met several survivors as part of an investigation for The Spinoff. These are their stories. This feature … Read more
Spinoff Review of Books editor Steve Braunias revives the revolutionary live email interview with a new star of New Zealand literature – the wildly talented Tayi Tibble, author of Poūkahangatus, her debut collection of verse which is launched later today by Victoria University Press. I’ve been thinking for a little while now that something extraordinary … Read more
Henry Oliver explores the corridors and changes happening at Auckland Museum, and what they say about Tāmaki Makaurau. Cities change. It’s part of their essential nature. A product of their population, cities are constantly transforming as they attract new people and lose others. While the hills and the water and sky remain, essentially, unchanged, everything … Read more
Each week, Jesse Mulligan talks to hundreds of thousands of New Zealanders, through TV, radio and in print, and his voice is beloved throughout the country. He tells Alex Casey about the humiliating failures, awkward experiments and games of Strip Honk he endured along the way. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. Jesse Mulligan … Read more
Two restaurants with the exact same name operate beside each other in Mt Albert. But which is the real Mt Albert BBQ Noodle House? Madeleine Chapman eats and investigates. Occupying the heart of the Mt Albert food district are two rival restaurants right next door to each other. Both make cheap, generously portioned, delicious Chinese … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Reports detail terrible conditions in rest homes, lawyers called in over Plunket money, and Dunedin students are burning fewer couches. Rest home patients are suffering from bad care and understaffing. The NZ Herald reports in some instances residents are being strapped to chairs all day, and not moved at … Read more
Three women recount their experiences with the men who ran Pavement magazine and photographed for it, including allegations of sexual harassment, drugs and alcohol on set and sexual relations with a 15 year-old model. By Alex Casey and Noelle McCarthy. This story was made possible by The Spinoff’s Longform Fund for investigative journalism. It was May … Read more
Earlier this week David Farrier lifted the lid on the very strange case of the Christchurch AI that would supposedly revolutionise global medical practice. What has he discovered since? Since writing about Zach, the AI that increasingly appears to be neither Artificial nor Intelligent, all the main players have fallen strangely silent. Associate Professor Pickering … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. Sign up here to get The Bulletin direct to your inbox every single morning. Public money has been used to spy on earthquake victims, Amy Adams gets a top job in National, and marine protection network proposals in the South Island are disappointing to environmentalists. Patrick Gower returns to Newshub in his … Read more
Charlotte Graham-McLay talks to acclaimed Australian author Charlotte Wood – who is appearing at the New Zealand Festival this weekend – about sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and ‘angry women’. A journalist launches a national enquiry into sexual harassment and is accused of doing it “for clicks”. The Australian media decides to name the woman who … Read more