Researchers say the first comprehensive study on the health and wellbeing of trans and non-binary New Zealanders reveals serious health inequities. RNZ digital journalist Murphy reports. Warning: This story discusses suicide, self-harm and sexual violence. In New Zealand, trans and non-binary** people suffer from high or very high psychological distress at rates nine times higher … Read more
Carla van Zon, former artistic director of the Auckland Arts Festival, issues a call for artists to make their voices heard in the battle against climate change. I am passionate about the arts and believe art can change lives, attitudes and even the world, individual by individual. I also believe that art is pivotal to … Read more
A perfectly preserved set of Big Fresh Animatronic Fruit and Veges went on sale this week. Hayden Donnell delivers an exclusive update on their fate. Everyone remembers their first encounter with Junk & Disorderly’s set of Big Fresh Animatronic Fruit & Veges. There’s something overpowering about the experience. The Butter looms overhead, deranged joy etched … Read more
To mark International Day of Peace, Dr Rebecca Dudley of the New Zealand Red Cross explores the role that New Zealanders play in the global story of war and peace. Personal stories about war almost always begin with a memory. A humid afternoon in South Sudan. A calm Wednesday evening in Beirut. A bustling shopping … Read more
The history of tattoo art in Japan is deep-rooted and complex – and so is the cultural aversion to tattooed bodies, explains Brian Ashcraft, the author of a book on subject. Tonight, when the All Blacks take the field, they’ll likely be covering up. In order not to run afoul of Japanese cultural niceties, players … Read more
Covering Climate Now: Saying climate change is important is one thing. So why are we so incapable of having a real conversation about what actually addressing it will mean? Sam McGlennon investigates. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! Up until a week ago, I often wondered … Read more
Writer and cannabis legalisation expert Russell Brown watched episode two of Patrick Gower on Weed, and found it highly entertaining but dangerously light on facts. Patrick Gower is good value when he’s high. In the second part of his documentary Patrick Gower on Weed, he does what you’d expect in a modern weed documentary and … Read more
Covering Climate Now: Carys Goodwin reflects on giving up, and what convinced her to take up the fight again. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! Four years ago, while working for the Green Party in parliament, I did a brief stint as the climate … Read more
Covering Climate Now: It’s easy to indulge in the idea that individual actions can’t have an impact on climate change. But a few simple ideas from economics show how wrong that is, argues Waikato University lecturer in environmental economics Zack Dorner. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to the contributions … Read more
Covering Climate Now: Submit, protest, vote. These are the moments that must be seized, writes Sam McGlennon The Spinoff’s participation is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! The waves are now running together. The next month of national, regional and local politics in New Zealand will go a long way to determining … Read more
Finally, New Zealand history will become a compulsory school subject. So what’s so good about that? New Zealand history will be a compulsory primary and secondary school subject within the next three years, Jacinda Ardern announced today. The decision has proved popular to campaigners and academics like Vincent O’Malley who have battled for years to … Read more
While the protests continue in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong diaspora looks on with fear, anger, solidarity and hope. Zoe Mills asked Hong Kong New Zealanders what they wanted to say to those back home, as they fight on to protect their civil liberties. Since June, a wave of political unrest has rocked Hong Kong. … Read more
The prime minister has some news about the place of New Zealand history in the school curriculum. Recent events show us how crucial it is that it’s given the prominence it deserves. Today, during the unveiling of a New Zealand Wars memorial plaque, Jacinda Ardern will make an announcement concerning the teaching of history in … Read more
A story about the perils of being a non-drinking university student gave an inaccurate impression of how widespread heavy drinking really is, argues Amy Russell. On Saturday The Spinoff published a good read first published in Critic, the Otago University student magazine, titled “What it’s like to be sober at New Zealand’s drunkest university”. The … Read more
In the latest episode of On The Rag, based on the podcast of the same name, watch as Alex Casey, Michèle A’Court and Leonie Hayden tackle the issue of abortion and why the law has to change. In the fifth episode of our mana wāhine series On the Rag, Alex, Michèle and Leonie look at the … Read more
What’s the issue with online porn, and is there really any way to keep kids from watching it? Porn you say? On a Sunday? Lord forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us, but we need to talk about smut. Specifically, smut on the internet. The government is considering a number … Read more
Being a student means exam panic, crappy flats and getting wasted, a lot. So what does that mean for non-drinkers? Chelle Fitzgerald talks to Otago University students who gave up the drink. This story was first published in Critic, the University of Otago student magazine. In late 2016, I decided to become one with wellness … Read more
Within households grappling with food insecurity, parents will often choose to go without essentials long before their children do, writes Dr Rebekah Graham. As a wealthy, food-producing nation, New Zealand has a responsibility to all its citizens to ensure access to sufficient food for health and well-being. Yet currently, almost one in five Kiwi children … Read more
Former prime minister Helen Clark has called for New Zealanders to vote yes when they hit the booth in next year’s cannabis referendum. Former prime minister Helen Clark says New Zealanders should vote yes to the legalisation of cannabis and the wiping of minor cannabis-related convictions at the 2020 cannabis referendum. The recommendation comes off … Read more
Last week was New Zealand Fashion Week 2019. The Spinoff sent along two Fashion Week novices – culture editor Sam Brooks and staff writer Josie Adams – to cover it. Here are their wildly varying experiences of the annual fashion event. Sam Brooks attended NZFW from Monday through to Thursday. Josie Adams attended Friday through … Read more
On The Rag host Leonie Hayden got (fake) pregnant and decided to get a (fake) abortion. This is her story. Every year in New Zealand about 13,000 people have abortions. And every year in New Zealand about 200 people are denied abortions. Under our current abortion laws we have an illusion of choice. Abortion care … Read more
This week’s issue of Otago University student magazine Critic features a story on a landlord who gave tenants illegal fixed-term contracts for what was legally a boarding house. It’s just the latest in a string of shocking stories of exploitative Dunedin landlords and property managers, writes editor Charlie O’Mannin. Over the past few years Critic … Read more
More than 600 psychologists in New Zealand have voted to continue the strike they began last month. They say poor pay, long hours, and an institutional lack of respect are causing a mass exodus. A month ago, on the 31st July, 600 APEX psychologists in 16 District Health Boards (DHBs) stopped working overtime. APEX has since … Read more
Eighty years ago, New Zealand declared war on Germany. We seem to take it for granted, most of us, that we needed to join the horrific struggle of the second world war. But the the reasoning may not have stacked up, writes historian Stevan Eldred-Grigg. On 1 September 1939, Hitler ordered his tanks, warplanes and … Read more
The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read the rest of the series here.
Auckland’s latest mall development, Westfield Newmarket, had its first stage opening yesterday. Josie Adams went to see what all the fuss was about. The long-awaited Westfield Newmarket, on the site of the iconic 277 and now the largest shopping centre in the country, has opened some of its eventual 200-plus doors. Consumers across the supercity … Read more
In the latest episode of On the Rag, Alex Casey sits down with ALRANZ’s Terry Bellamak to bust some common myths about abortion. Since 2015, Terry Bellamak has been the president of the Abortion Law Reform Association of New Zealand (ALRANZ), a group that advocates for abortion law reform alongside further reproductive rights, including the … Read more
The Pop-Up Globe will be popping down at the end of its 2020 season and setting off overseas. Sam Brooks talks to its founder, Miles Gregory, about where the future of the company lies. More than 650,000 tickets; 17 productions; 1206 performances; 212 acting jobs. Regardless of where you stand on the Pop-Up Globe, the … Read more
After years living in New Zealand with her family, English writer Jai Breitnauer is going home. Or is she? I bloody love New Zealand. That might not always come across in the pieces I write, but I do. I love Jacinda and our lefty, greeny, don’t-mention-Winston government. I love the people who take their actual … Read more