In June, Trevor McKewen, an Australian citizen living in New Zealand, travelled to Queensland to be with his dying brother. Now back home, and staying in an Auckland hotel, he writes this dispatch from his second spell of managed isolation in as many months. For the past month and a bit, I have lived in … Read more
When medically prescribed cannabinoids are inaccessible or ineffective, ‘green fairies’ step in to help. Those in chronic pain deserve better than an ad hoc, black market system, writes Kevin Dew. “Green fairies” are dealers who provide cannabis products to those who want to access them for health purposes. As well as cancer sufferers, these include … Read more
People flooded pubs as England celebrated ‘independence day’, but all Elle Hunt wanted was the hairdresser. As unlikely as it recently seemed – and as unsettling as it still feels – something resembling normal life has begun to resume in London. I first felt it when I realised I was running late for my hairdresser’s appointment, … Read more
Our Covid-19 outlook is still one of the most positive in the world. But with new cases emerging in recent weeks, our optimism levels have taken a hit. Jacinda Ardern yesterday delivered a speech announcing the “next steps” for New Zealand’s Covid-19 response, and what will happen in the event of a community case being … Read more
Mistrust in the government and generational trauma mean Māori communities are more at risk of falling victim to conspiracies relating to the 5G spectrum. Alice Webb-Liddall finds out what needs to be done to combat this dangerous misinformation. The real danger of conspiracy theories can sometimes be hard to grasp. When comments on Facebook link … Read more
Today’s news that the mosque shooter will represent himself at his sentencing next month has raised fears he plans to use it as a platform for his hateful views. But the judge may have other ideas, write Otago University professors Danica McGovern and Andrew Geddis In March of this year, the man responsible for last … Read more
People from immigrant backgrounds often struggle to find work in New Zealand, despite their qualifications. So why is the Office of Ethnic Communities looking for people to do its work for free, asks former race relations commissioner Joris de Bres. Last week, the Office of Ethnic Communities announced on Facebook that it was launching a … Read more
Crowd entertainment at sports games is a hard task, but please let’s stick to T-shirt cannons and on-field japes instead of watching strangers smooch, eh? Funny kiss cam footage is a key element of any viral fail video compilation. A “she’s my sister” sign pulled out of a pocket as the camera accidentally pans to … Read more
For one hour a week the supermarket lights are dimmed and the music stops. And it’s a kind of triumph, writes Michelle Langstone. I thought there’d been a power cut. The lights were out at the entrance, so you arrived into a kind of gloom. There was no music, and no advertisements accompanying shoppers down … Read more
As Aucklanders reluctantly adjust to the inconvenient practice of water conservation, a drought-savvy Northlander shares the tips and temperament needed to get through the dry times. Auckland’s water shortage was recently reported on The Project, and viewers were earnestly exhorted to fill their dishwashers completely before turning them on. My husband and I looked at … Read more
Let’s not allow the focus on big-budget infrastructure projects to detract from the vital role public transport will play in revitalising our cities in a post-Covid world, says Greg Pollock. The recent match between the Blues and the Hurricanes was one of the world’s first major post-lockdown sporting fixtures. It was watched live by a … Read more
Over the decades, Mike Fox has witnessed the housing market progressively tilt towards larger, more expensive homes. Without a major overhaul of the current regulatory processes, he says, things will never change. It’s one of the biggest problems our country faces – we cannot produce the affordable housing that’s so desperately needed. But we can … Read more
They might sound like the same thing, but light rail is quite different from light metro – the system that transport minister Phil Twyford now favours for Auckland. Katy Wakefield and Emma McInnes of Women in Urbanism explain why the metro option is a poor substitute for LRT. Transport is a feminist issue. The issue … Read more
Today The Beths release Jump Rope Gazers, the follow-up to their beloved and acclaimed debut album Future Me Hates Me. Back in December, Side Eye cartoonist Toby Morris joined the band in the studio while they recorded ‘Just Shy of Sure’, which you can listen to here: The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic … Read more
At midnight last night, metropolitan Melbourne returned to lockdown and is scheduled to stay there until late August. Melbourne-based New Zealander Joe Nunweek reports from a city finding itself once more in the grip of Covid-19. On Monday morning I got a parking ticket. Previously I only used to use my car to try and … Read more
Yesterday Ātea editor Leonie Hayden suggested a number of Māori whose great deeds deserve to be memorialised in stone. Today Pākehā historian Scott Hamilton picks four heroic early New Zealanders of European descent. Recently I publicly suggested that Akaroa’s Bully Hayes Restaurant and Bar should change its name. Bully Hayes was a 19th century slaver … Read more
As universities around the world slash jobs and courses in response to the pandemic, Victoria University of Wellington is signalling its intention to introduce sweeping austerity measures, a group of concerned tutors write. A response from Victoria University of Wellington is at the end of this column. So far, 2020 has been a year of … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff … Read more
The Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand said it repeatedly warned the government an attack like that on March 15 last year was possible. Today, it released the evidence. Within days of the March 15 mosque attacks, while the names of the dead were still being recorded, Anjum Rahman of the Islamic Women’s Council of … Read more
After months of delays, the man responsible for murdering 51 people in a Christchurch mosque will finally be sentenced next month. Law professor Kris Gledhill explains how the sentencing will likely unfold. On the very day New Zealand entered Covid-19 lockdown, the man arrested for the Christchurch mosque terror attacks admitted he was a murderer … Read more
A new petition calling for an end to religious instruction in primary schools is part of a renewed campaign to make state schooling truly secular, reports Emily Writes. Few people know about Section 54 of the Education and Training Bill, but Tanya Jacob does. That’s why she has authored a petition against it. Jacob and … Read more
Combatting climate change as a healthcare organisation involves more than simply reducing its carbon footprint, writes David Galler. It means seeing climate change and wellbeing as intertwined – and that what’s good for the environment is always good for health. This pandemic, as overwhelming as it is, will eventually pass. But before too long there … Read more
The family of pioneering New Zealand suffragist Kate Sheppard kept an important secret – one that possibly explains a lot about her life, her beliefs and her motivation. Kate Sheppard’s secret involved her father, Andrew Wilson Malcolm, and what happened to him after she was born. An extensive and painstaking quest by her great great … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff … Read more
The Spinoff’s most-viewed article, by far, is an explainer about a drug that probably doesn’t exist. Josie Adams explains why a low-stakes story she wrote in a morning took flight. In early April I wrote this story about adrenochrome, a chemical compound that doesn’t exist in any meaningful way, and how it became the centre … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff … Read more
The inspiration for an upcoming Taika Waititi movie, Hemi Pomara was forcefully taken from the Chatham Islands to Sydney, and then to London, where he sat for a French portrait photographer in 1846. That photo was recently discovered in Australia’s national library by two researchers, who write here about their remarkable find. It is little … Read more
The “sovereign citizens” movement has reached New Zealand, and their focus is Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour. Here’s what’s going on down there. A small group has been keeping watch over several yachts in the Auckland Viaduct, led by former union organiser Sharna Butcher. They make various allegations, the most serious of which is that yachts currently … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff … Read more