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Voting in local elections is under way, and you should have received your ballot papers by now in the mail. But if you haven’t, don’t panic. Jolisa Gracewood, Hayden Donnell, and Alice Webb-Liddall have put together this guide to how to vote anyway. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. … Read more
Penny Hulse is retiring after a 27-year council career. She talked to Hayden Donnell about the reasons she stood down, the councillors she can’t stand, the Tamihere vs Goff battle, and her secret to staying sane during even the worst council meetings. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For … Read more
For Auckland is a Spinoff podcast of civic conversations with people working to create and sustain a better Auckland for all. In episode eight policy analyst Owen Gill outlines his vision for Auckland and how we can get there. Auckland in 2019 is in the same moment as Los Angeles was in 1945 and what … Read more
If you’ve ever voted in a local election, you’ll know the heady mix of confusion, boredom, and anger that comes from trying to fill out the DHB section of your ballot. Thankfully Julienne Molineaux is here with an explainer, and a plea for change. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff … Read more
In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Tara Ward goes into the New Plymouth election campaign, which is notable for being filled with pictures of turds. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click here. … Read more
Sophie Handford, the 18-year-old responsible for starting School Strike 4 Climate NZ, is running for council in the Paekākāriki-Raumati Ward. Alex Casey hasn’t done anything as impressive as that, but does look a bit like her. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and … Read more
Penny Hulse made a call for collaboration and unity in the final meeting of her 27-year council career today. Will her plea be granted? Hayden Donnell delivers a grim assessment. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click here. Penny … Read more
The number of uncontested races has been one of the talking points of these local elections. But the headlines still haven’t conveyed the true extent of the problem. Hayden Donnell reports. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click here. … Read more
Every three years, veteran election candidate Tubby Hansen releases major new literary works in the form of his Christchurch voting booklet blurbs. Often they go unappreciated. Not this time. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click here. Tubby Hansen … Read more
Tossing up whether to join the climate strikes on Friday? Don’t make the same mistake we did: this is not going to fix itself. I tried some months ago to convince my nine-year-old grandson that I was going to rely on him to save the world. His wide-eyed wonderment at the enormity of the task, … Read more
In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Hayden Donnell and Josie Adams delve deep into Christchurch, home to the Crusaders, Hagley Park, and iconic election veteran Tubby Hansen. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, … Read more
It’s Spinoff youth voting week, where youth votes count double*. In recognition of the occasion, Tim Muller and Logan Penniket studied how dire youth voting statistics distort our local democracies. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. Local … Read more
It’s Spinoff Youth Voting Week, where old people aren’t allowed to vote*. To celebrate, Tamsyn Matchett has written on a civics education programme giving teenagers a first sweet taste of local democracy before they’re legally permitted to vote for real. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about … Read more
In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Don Rowe looks at the two horse race to control the tourism capital of New Zealand. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. Where? Queenstown, the pride … Read more
An Auckland mayoral candidate has reacted furiously to an advertising approach from Māori Television, which he says was a pay-for-play offer of coverage. Alex Braae reports. UPDATE: Māori Television has responded with an official statement, which can be read in full below. Craig Lord, a long-shot candidate for the Auckland mayoralty, has described an advertising offer … Read more
Covering Climate Now: Ruby Porter looks into New Zealand’s future when the sea level rises 10, 25 and 80 metres, and finds out how much of Auckland will be left. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! I grew up in Ponsonby, but the only bay I … Read more
Covering Climate Now: A changing climate means changing landscapes and changing lives. Mirjam Guesgen talks to the experts about the implications at two ends of New Zealand. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! Auckland is known for its sandy, inviting coastlines and sprawling urban … Read more
Don Rowe on the unsettling boom in his hometown. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. Raglan is changing. You can see it in the streets, where luxury cars slot side by side like so many dominoes. It’s audible in the endless buzz of bikes, jet skis and drones. And it’s palpable, if you’re … Read more
On Friday 15 March, a terrorist attack in Christchurch took the lives of 50 people at prayer. Eighteen months into her first term as prime minister, Jacinda Ardern faced a formidable task: communicate what happened, embrace a ruptured community, and force through real reform. Madeleine Chapman reports. The kids couldn’t believe she was there. A … Read more
Take urgent action on climate change or face mass, worldwide death – that’s the stark message of a new global protest movement that calls itself Extinction Rebellion, who have recently become active in New Zealand. Alex Braae reports on a demonstration the Auckland chapter undertook, and the increasing alarm being caused by climate inaction. What … Read more
A Stuff column by ‘millennial’ Jackson Thomas pondered why anyone would work in fencing, but it applies to much of manual labour. With her husband’s permission, Emily Writes shares his story of what an honest living really is. “Fencing sounds like a great way to make an honest living, but you don’t have to be a … Read more
On Monday night, Joseph Parker, one of a group of young men investigated relating to alleged sexual offences, broke his silence, talking to Newshub five years after The Roast Busters scandal exploded. Many of his survivors were watching. Alex Casey sat down with one of them this week in her Auckland home. Appalled by Parker’s … Read more
No-nonsense 31-year-old Māori/Samoan woman Monique Fiso is behind one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in years. Get ready, Wellington. Wood-fired kareao and asparagus with salted buffalo curd, pine dust and a pine needle vinaigrette. Kina panna cotta with smoked kahawai, green-lipped mussels, caviar and kawakawa oil. Kaipara oysters with horopito mignonette granita and koromiko … 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
We asked former All Black great Bob Burgess to review a new book on his team-mate Keith Murdoch. But then we changed our mind, and asked his wife Linda Burgess to write whatever she wanted about rugby. A rugby game lasts a whole day. Your father wears a gaberdine raincoat and takes the family to … Read more
Imagine all the wealth in NZ as a ten-storey apartment building. Imagine half of NZ crammed in a tiny corner of the bottom floor. Read the Inequality Tower 2015 on the Wireless here. Fill your boots with Side Eyes here. The Bulletin is The Spinoff’s acclaimed, free daily curated digest of all the most … Read more
This week marks the 40th anniversary of one of the most pivotal land actions in New Zealand history – the 506 day occupation of Bastion Point. I don’t whakapapa to Ōrākei but I share an ancestor, Tumutumuwhenua, who didn’t arrive in Aotearoa on a waka but grew from the earth. The wharenui at Ōrakei is … Read more
Exclusive: Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet of New Zealand fashion pioneer WORLD is this country’s most out-spoken critic of off-shore manufacturing. Yet a Spinoff investigation has revealed that multiple garments labeled as made in New Zealand are manufactured in China and Bangladesh. “When did you last look at the label to see where it was made?” – … Read more
A diorama of Auckland dating to the 1930s was lost for decades, and shows in stunning detail the central city with light rail right through it, and before huge chunks of it were demolished. By Duncan Greive, images by Joel Thomas. Who ruined central Auckland? As we contemplate a decades-long healing process – building the … Read more