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Nowhere will the reality of Covid-19 be felt more acutely than our hospital ICUs. Dr David Galler on the mood at the front line. Intensive Care is a glass half full specialty and I am a glass half full person. That helps a lot when matters out of our immediate control are thrust upon us. … Read more
Andrew Geddis explores the legal issues around a possible postponement to the election date. There’s a lot we don’t yet know about how Covid-19 will impact us here in Aotearoa New Zealand. But the advice from experts – massive respect, as we used to say back in the day, to Siouxsie Wiles and her fellow … Read more
How the process runs, why we’re not testing everyone who feels ill, and something you can do online immediately and easily to help the fight against the virus. The Spinoff’s coverage of Covid-19 is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here. With confirmed cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand up to … Read more
The government is spending $12.1 billion to counter the Covid-19 crisis. Where is the money being targeted? Here are the essentials. What’s all this then? With recession bearing down on the country, and a large numbers of jobs at risk of being lost, the government has ploughed billions of dollars into the economy. The main … Read more
Rolling updates as they happen, by Spinoff writers. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here. New updates: To read new updates for Tuesday March 17, please join us here. 9pm That’s a wrap for today. We’ll be back up and running from 7am … Read more
We don’t need an anniversary to pray for those who died, to honour the suffering of those who survived. But are we ready to face the complexity of the changes that are needed? An essay by Anjum Rahman. Anniversaries are a difficult thing. Muslim beliefs around death are quite different. No grave stones or other … Read more
Under new, sweeping travel restrictions, pretty much everyone arriving in New Zealand from Monday must undertake a fortnight of self-isolation. Here’s what that involves. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here. Who needs to self-isolate? When the clock strikes 12 on Sunday night, … Read more
Siouxsie Wiles on the contrasting responses by leaders in the US, Britain and New Zealand. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here. It’s been a whirlwind few days on the Covid-19 front. The biggest headline of today was Jacinda Ardern’s announcement of a … Read more
With the exception of arrivals from the Pacific islands, those coming from every country in the world will be required to self-isolate for a fortnight. It follows the cancellation of the remembrance service scheduled for tomorrow in Christchurch and confirmation of a sixth positive Covid-19 case in New Zealand, a man who had been in … Read more
We must act quickly, with no half-measures. Dr Siouxsie Wiles explains why, with illustrations by Toby Morris. The Spinoff’s ongoing expert-led, evidence-based coverage of Covid-19 is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here. Spinoff cartoonist Toby Morris and I recently introduced you to the concept of #FlattenTheCurve. Now we want to … Read more
A proper reckoning with March 15 2019 demands that we take up a generations-long struggle to destroy all the exclusions that make up our society and produce the conditions we know as racism. An essay by Morgan Godfery. This work is made possible by Spinoff Members. 1 I was cleaning out the garage the other … Read more
It is not a time for panic. It is, however, a time to draw up a pandemic preparedness plan. Where to begin? Siouxsie Wiles to the rescue. The Spinoff’s ongoing expert-led, evidence-based coverage of Covid-19 is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here. Now that Covid-19 has officially been declared … Read more
The donations scandal looks very different if we see ourselves not as Labour supporters or National voters but as citizens of a country whose politicians are selling us all out, argues Danyl Mclauchlan in the conclusion to our series on electoral funding, Money Talks. This series is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join Members to … Read more
Max Rashbrooke makes the case for reforms based on the democratic principle that we should each have the same influence over politics. We could do worse than starting by looking at Canada, he argues. The Money Talks series explores the rot in our donations system and ideas to fix it. It is made possible thanks to … Read more
How is the coronavirus likely to play out, how does it end, and does our behaviour make a difference? Here infectious diseases expert Dr Siouxsie Wiles walks us through the epidemic curve, with illustrations by Toby Morris. The Spinoff’s ongoing expert-led, evidence-based coverage of Covid-19 is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join … Read more
Siouxsie Wiles looks at the places with the largest number of coronavirus cases outside mainland China, and the efforts to understand its spread. The Spinoff’s ongoing coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. To support our journalism join members here. We are now clearly dealing with a very serious global threat, as the … Read more
All this week on The Spinoff, a series of pieces examine the crisis in our electoral funding rules. How did we get here? How might we fix it? Today, Elisha Watson proposes a completely different way to approach the problem, via ‘democracy dollars’. This series is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join Members to support more … Read more
Today The Spinoff launches a week-long series on politics and funding. With a host of donations under scrutiny, we’ll ask: how did we end up in this predicament, and how might we fix it? Launching the series, Otago University law professor and electoral law expert Andrew Geddis explains why the subject is of such fundamental … Read more
The series, a collaboration between Spinoff Members and Verb Wellington, kicks off with a discussion on politics and the media. As all right thinking people know, there are a mere 204 days until the general election. To get in the mood, we’re launching a new series of live events. And not just events: events in … Read more
The high-profile case at the Wellington High Court has come to an early halt after lawyers for Bob Jones, who was suing writer and director Renae Maihi, announced they will no longer continue. Sir Bob Jones was suing Renae Maihi for defamation after she presented a petition to parliament in 2018 to strip Jones of … Read more
In 2018, Robert Jones wrote a piece he argued was ‘satire’, in which called for an annual ‘Māori Gratitude Day’. Filmmaker and activist Renae Maihi responded with a petition to have him stripped of his knighthood. Jones is suing her for defamation. You’d be forgiven for thinking it was Sir Bob Jones being sued for … Read more
Far from home, the Latin American football fanatics of Waiheke Island are fighting to regain their place on the New Zealand football league. It’s a tale of passion, pride and love for the beautiful game, writes Michael Andrew. This story was made possible by Spinoff Members. To support independent, homegrown journalism, join today. For the … Read more
New research encourages ‘interventions’ – things like programmes aimed at helping poorer families to ‘be better parents’ – without addressing substantially issues of poverty, and it’s a bit like trying to prop up a crumbling brick wall with a piece of four-by-two, writes Max Rashbrooke. Imagine a team of explorers who, searching for the source … Read more
The NZ Defence Force has become an active participant in US military-space war games, together with other Five Eyes partners. As the extent of involvement continues to grow, questions arise around the trade-offs, and the absence of any public debate. Ollie Neas reports. This investigation is made possible by Spinoff Members. To support independent, homegrown … Read more
The father-and-son team behind Zach, the medical AI that seemed too good to be true, have been found by Internal Affairs to have engaged in ‘serious wrongdoing’, with the trust providing ‘inconsistent, misleading and untruthful answers’. David Farrier looks at what went wrong, and tries to make sense of a very, very perplexing story. Read … Read more
Summer journeys: In the fourth of a special travel writing series, Anjum Rahman recounts a return to her place of birth at the age of 12, and reflects on how the history of Muslims in India is being rewritten. The Spinoff Summer Journey series is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming … Read more
Summer Journeys: After touring the world with his band The Phoenix Foundation, Samuel Flynn Scott has figured out the real reason we travel – to nosy around where humans buy snacks. The Spinoff Summer Journey series is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click … Read more
Writer and actress Michelle Langstone reflects on loneliness on a trip to Singapore. The Spinoff Summer Journey series is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click here. Three days in Singapore as a step-down converter from the bougainvillea-stained Greek holiday that has left my … Read more
Summer journeys: In the first of a special summer travel series, Linda Burgess looks back on the not-so-glamorous New Zealand holidays of her youth. The Spinoff Summer Journey series is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click here. American girls, in their early teens, … Read more