There’s a terrible drought affecting New Zealand, and no-one is reporting on it. Don Rowe goes where MSM churnalists fear to tread, and covers the great weed shortage of 2016. A giant ‘meh’ echoed around New Zealand last week, as news broke that a combined police and air force operation had culminated in the elimination of ‘around 9000’ cannabis plants … Read more
What kind of Kiwi are you? According to this noxious survey, you’re less of a patriot for being proud of Māori culture. The Kiwimeter survey – as seen on TVNZ’s website and all over your Facebook feed – has grabbed the attention and opinions of the nation, not to mention its fair share of controversy. … Read more
Whau the People is an arts collective based in Avondale, Auckland. They are currently raising funds to run a creative community hub, which will be home to exhibitions, performances, talks, parties, workshops, and other various events. Their aim is to make creative events part of the normal everyday life of a suburban area. Avondale gave … Read more
The acclaimed author and academic Ranginui Walker was farewelled over recent days by hundreds of mourners at Auckland’s Ōrākei Marae. Among those who spoke at the tangi was his former colleague Dame Anne Salmond. Ko te wai e hora nei, ko Waitematā, Ko te marae e takoto nei, ko Tumutumuwhenua, Ko koutou āku rangatira kua … Read more
The author of the masterpiece Ka Whawhai Tonu Matou: Struggle Without End was in the best tradition of what it means to be a New Zealander Dr Ranginui Walker, the public intellectual who helped radically reshape New Zealand politics, has died aged 83. Humble without ever becoming deferential, egalitarian without ignoring difference, and inspiring without … Read more
In her weekly column, Zoe Scheltema looks at an issue or trend in the world of beauty. This week, she unlocks the secrets behind some of the most dramatic looks at the Pride Parade, with the help of drag makeup artist Sam McGregor. The annual Pride Parade took over Ponsonby Road on Saturday evening, as 65 floats celebrated … Read more
Five years on from the catastrophic earthquake, some of Canterbury’s finest reveal how they’re planning to mark the occasion, and how optimistic they feel about the recovery. At 12:51pm on February 22, 2011, Canterbury was changed forever, when a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck. One hundred and eighty five people would lose their lives, with vast … Read more
Days before the five year anniversary of the destructive 6.3 earthquake, Christchurch has been struck by another tremor, wreaking damage far beyond a few broken mugs. Valentine’s Day started so well. I was watching Sunderland’s win over Manchester United*, with lovingly hand-crafted cinnamon brioche that my partner had made for me. Now, I’m sitting on … Read more
Zoe Scheltema presents the new diverse Barbie range to a diverse range of consumers including her mother, a famous comedian and some anonymous blokes on Tinder. She’s tall, she’s thin, she’s blonde, she’s a fashionista and she’s an astronaut. Barbie is the toy that every little girl wants. It’s long been argued that Barbie, however radiant, … Read more
Chaos reigned, if only briefly, over the Auckland CBD today. Don Rowe moves through a world of swirling ideology and takes an exhilirating walk down Queen Street with a few thousand other people. “You’re a very loud minority!” sneered a solitary businessman in an off-pink dress shirt. A few people turned their heads, someone called … Read more
Despite huge advances in gender parity, women continue to be paid significantly less than men in the same role. So what’s the fix? Auckland Business School professor Susan St John has a radical plan. The gender pay gap is back in the news. A recent Radio NZ report about the latest public sector employment data … Read more
To mark the relaunch of the site in September 2015, Alex Casey decided to rank the entire Little Shop collection from New World. I see a girl screaming in the supermarket. She’s stamping her chubby feet and pulling at the tulle of her tutu in rage. “WHERE ARE THE LITTLE SHOPS MUMMY,” she shrieks, red-faced through … Read more
Tis the season to be frothing at the mouth over beat-up stories about the PC brigade wanting to throw children’s Christmas stockings into a pit of fire. Beat-ups about do-gooders wanting to “ban Christmas” have become a mainstay of the leadup to the festive season the world over. This year in New Zealand, the target … Read more
“I just was at a stage in my life where cheeseburgers were really important to me” – Hadleigh Sinclair. Christmas is stressful. Highly strung parents, lunch with inappropriate uncles and the inevitable December 24 Westfield mall clusterfuck of last-minute shopping for family and friends you should probably know better than you do. For Hadleigh Sinclair and … Read more
Kathy Cumming attended the Paris Climate talks as part of the New Zealand delegation, and as media ambassador for the Green party. She writes about witnessing the mundane and magical creation of history. Let me start at the end; now commonly referred to as “only the beginning”. A deal to prevent climatic catastrophe had been … Read more
From Caitlyn Jenner’s internet-breaking news, to Maura Pfefferman, the transitioning matriarch of Transparent, transgender issues were everywhere in 2015. But, asks transgender activist and academic Lexie Matheson, how much has really been achieved? It’s interesting that one of the Words of the Year for 2015 is ‘transgender’. Helen Newstead at Collins Dictionary told us “Collins … Read more
Tis the season to be frothing at the mouth over beat-up stories about the PC brigade wanting to throw children’s Christmas stockings into a pit of fire. Beat-ups about do-gooders wanting to “ban Christmas” have become a mainstay of the leadup to the festive season the world over. This year in New Zealand, the target … Read more
The Spinoff presents Jamboree, all the tittle-tattle and scuttlebutt you can handle. This week: the Greens’ heating solutions – exposed; Sonny Bill – uncaged and canapés – unbudgeted! Friday saw the debut of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand‘s ‘open home’ in Auckland, a chance to mingle with MPs and sympathisers to The Cause at … Read more
The Spinoff enters the tittle-tattle market with a thrilling new zeitgeist-defining column, Jamboree. This week, All Blacks, boobies, women of influence, Steve Braunias, Camilla P-B, and Kate Hawkesby lets rip.News arrives from Jamboree’s London bureau of disappointment in the British capital when the All Blacks, on cloud nine following their Rugby World Cup victory at … Read more
The eighth iteration of Christchurch’s public art biennial SCAPE opened earlier this month, clustered around the CBD. Subtitled New Intimacies, it aims to bring people back into the centre of the rebuilding city with works from local and international artists. Is there a better way to analyse a complex collection of artworks than the Spinoff’s … Read more
Jess McAllen says that the #stepforward campaign to end mental health discrimination, while well-intentioned, doesn’t seem likely to actually achieve anything. It’s hard to knock an attempt to open up conversation around destigmatising mental illness. But, as a long-term user of mental health services, #stepforwardnz has been bothering me since it launched in June. I have a lot of … Read more
The Boobs on Bikes paraded down Auckland’s Queen Street yesterday. Alex Casey and José Barbosa talked to crowd members to get their questions answered. The sun was beating down as the clock struck 12 on Auckland’s Queen Street. It was too hot and I had to keep my jacket on because I had forgotten that my … Read more
Duncan Greive watches the launch of OMG Tech!, a charity with the mentality of a startup, featuring a superhero using her power for good. They came into the city just to be near her. So that, perhaps, some of her magic might rub off on them. Phil Goff knew his eternally unannounced mayoral campaign could one … Read more
The fourth in an occasional series commending excellent New Zealand journalism, Alex Casey applauds Kanoa Lloyd’s piece about Chris Brown on Newsworthy yesterday. It’s hard to turn any corner on the internet right now without someone saying something about Chris Brown. He’s just been banned by Australian Immigration from touring the country, following his horrific … Read more
The Mighty Zuck, His Zuckness of Zuckerberg, announced this week that plucky startup Facebook was giving some serious thought to introducing a “dislike” button, for users who didn’t exactly “like” the post they were reading, but felt utterly obliged to click something. Good idea. And why stop there? Here are a bunch of other buttons … Read more
New Zealand’s music charts are suddenly awash with charity singles. The teams are: Guy Williams and Scribe, Crowded House and every other non-dead New Zealand musician. Calum Henderson surveys the Charity Single Wars. The Pigeon Song Cause: KidsCan Stars: Guy Williams, Scribe Rival charity song composer Joseph Moore described the charity single wars as the biggest … Read more
I see a girl screaming in the supermarket. She’s stamping her chubby feet and pulling at the tulle of her tutu in rage. “WHERE ARE THE LITTLE SHOPS MUMMY,” she shrieks, red-faced through tears. I turn slowly to realise I am facing a mirror. The girl, it’s me. I’ve been a slave to the miniature ever … Read more
An occasional series commending excellent New Zealand reporting. It took three bylines to bring us the story about fainting children in the Southland Times on Tuesday… …and the only wonder is that it didn’t take the whole newsroom. It has the feel of a swarm of reporters chasing down breaking news. It’s thoroughly reported, and … Read more