Aren’t Can’t Don’t: The ban on prisoners voting is the worst kind of anti-democratic law – harsh, disproportionate and fundamentally at odds with the idea that human rights belong to all of us, write Tania Sawicki Mead and Ashlesha Sawant of JustSpeak Many New Zealanders would likely vote for fairness as our foundational virtue as … Read more
Aren’t Can’t Don’t: As a formerly incarcerated person, I know that denying the right to vote violates respect for human dignity, sending the message that absolute rehabilitation is impossible, writes Awatea Mita. It’s 11.00pm and I am returning to Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility as a “release to work” prisoner. I’ve earned a position of … Read more
New Zealand is engaged in a long-running, intense, and completely reasonable debate over whether Santa is a boy or a girl. Hayden Donnell offers his own equally reasonable addition to the discourse. New Zealand is being torn apart by a single debate. For days now, people have been commenting angrily on Stuff Nation. The chairman … Read more
While the suffrage anniversary offers real cause for celebration, in 2018 not everyone has the right to vote. In the first of two films in our Aren’t Can’t Don’t series, made with the assistance of NZ On Air, women explain what it meant to be denied an opportunity to vote while imprisoned. One hundred and twenty-five … Read more
A very special episode with thanks to our friends at The Women’s Bookshop. They said it couldn’t be done. They said we couldn’t get Clementine Ford back to do another pod. But we did, and here it is. Promoting her new book Boys Will Be Boys, Clementine spends an hour in The Spinoff studio to answer … Read more
Amnesty International today hands over 10,276 signatures to Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway in the form of the I Welcome Pledge, which urges the government to make community sponsorship for refugees permanent. This scheme, explains Meg de Ronde of Amnesty International NZ, complements the refugee quota programme, with the difference being that community groups take the lead, providing … Read more
In a bank? In a shop? On a plane? On a train? Where exactly is it appropriate to wear bare feet? The Spinoff’s own Don Rowe and Madeleine Chapman duke it out. Today shocking news broke of a woman denied access to Sylvia Park on account of her bare feet. The story sparked furious and … Read more
While police in uniform have been banned from the Auckland Pride Parade, organisers of the Wellington Pride Parade have said that uniformed police officers will still be welcome. Below, a statement from members of the Wellington LGBTQi community denouncing that decision. We are a collective of queer people who live around Te-Whanganui-a-Tara. We are disappointed … Read more
The furore over whether or not Santa can be a woman has roared through the New Zealand mediasphere over the weekend, and even into this morning. Alex Braae offers a counterpoint on the debate. You may have found yourself on the spot in the last few days, being asked whether or not Santa Claus should … Read more
The moment is now for tough conversations about justice reform, and it is vital that increased use of diversion for those with mental health issues is part of those conversations, writes Nicola Corner from JustSpeak For the past few months, we’ve seen a lot of much needed discussion come out in the justice space. In … Read more
Our new series produced by the New Zealand Red Cross profiles people from refugee backgrounds who now call New Zealand home. Our fourth Kiwi Legend: Sahra Ahmed, who fled Somalia at the age of nine to become a nurse and mental health advocate for her local community in Christchurch. Sahra Ahmed vividly remembers arriving at Auckland … Read more
With NZ Army numbers dwindling, recent recruit Peter McKenzie looks back on his time in basic training for the Army Reserves. As I sank into the tussock I slowly gestured downwards with an outstretched palm. Legs splayed, I peered through the scope of my 38-year old assault rifle. A hill lay 400 metres in the … Read more
Instead of more roads, what about more rail? James Dann draws up a plan on how he’d improve Christchurch with a brand new transport system centred on heavy and light rail. Christchurch is a sprawling mess. Its only major geographical feature is the Port Hills, a buffer that has slowed growth in one direction. From … Read more
Here’s the latest on Auckland’s City Rail Link developments, courtesy of RNZ. The Australian parent company of a key firm involved in the City Rail Link has announced it is in administration. Here’s what we know so far about what that means for New Zealand’s largest ever transport infrastructure project. Perth-based RCR Tomlinson had gained $A100 … Read more
The government has just announced plans to regulate vaping and smokeless tobacco products in New Zealand. Here’s everything we know so far. So, what is it the government is doing exactly? The government has decided that next year, the Smoke-free Environments Act 1990 (SFEA) will be changed in order to clarify rules around vaping and … Read more
In the same week that a petition was launched to ban “sexist” ride-sharing app DriveHer, Uber has launched a new initiative to end gender violence in their cars. Uber has launched a new safety initiative in New Zealand and Australia called Driving Change, part of a commitment to preventing gender-based violence for users of the … Read more
New research released by Good Shepherd New Zealand has exposed the country’s hidden economic abuse issue. The findings should be an important catalyst for action, writes Nicola Eccleton. Economic abuse is a powerful, silent weapon used to control women – stripping them of their independence and trapping them in coercive relationships. There are no bruises, … Read more
Once a US-only phenomenon, Black Friday sales are now firmly part of the New Zealand retail calendar. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of snagging a one-off bargain – but are shoppers being had? Black Friday is upon us once again. The annual ritual of deals kickstarts the Christmas shopping period. Retailers … Read more
For a brief moment in the late 20th century, New Zealand produced some of the dopest hand-painted clothing on Earth. Don Rowe talks to the founders of Kozmik Klothing. Most everyone in the 1980s dressed like shit. That’s just a fact. But for a brief moment in the late 80s, on Auckland’s North Shore, there … Read more
Earlier this week a trade unionist wrote for The Spinoff about the rise of public service strike action under the Labour government. Today former Green Party education spokesperson Catherine Delahunty shares her perspective. I have heard more than a few complaints that teachers did not strike under National, so why are they doing it now? … Read more
Seriously, look at it. Bring on summer. Feels like just yesterday it was Christmas and now summer’s back. Wow summer vibes, right? Wrong. It’s going to rain for 10 days. Metservice has reported thunderstorms today, rain tomorrow, rain on Friday, and rain until the end of time. Niwa, the prettier version of Metservice, has controversially … Read more
Retired greyhounds being supported to become the wonderful pets they are inside by men who are inside New Zealand prisons. I dislike both the greyhound racing industry and the industrial prison complex but there’s no denying that even if this is a PR stunt it’s a lovely one. In early 2018 Greyhound Racing New Zealand … Read more
Is there a single answer that addresses all the freshwater and environmental problems? Yup: it’s fewer cows, writes ecologist Mike Joy in this extract from his new book Mountains to Sea: Solving New Zealand’s Freshwater Crisis The problems faced by New Zealand’s environment, particularly freshwaters and soils are wicked, complex and intertwined. After struggling with … Read more
Over 24 hours, The Spinoff received more than 100 stories from New Zealand women who have been made to feel unsafe in a taxi or Uber. This article contains description of sexual assault and harassment, please take care. Yesterday, a feeble troll of a petition on Change.org announced that the new women-only ride-sharing app DriveHer … Read more
A tale of a Wellington City Councillor, a plaque celebrating a famously compassionate Wellingtonian, and 32 people living in cars in the councillor’s ward. “Apparently there are now 32 people living in cars in the unrestricted parking area directly below X Road*” the flyer from Wellington City Councillor Nicola Young said. Shockingly, what followed next … Read more
A coalition of 150 scientists have written an open letter calling for faster and more comprehensive action on climate change. But what could that actually look like in practice? The IPCC report couldn’t have put it more plainly. Human civilisation will be unable to avert the worst effects of climate change unless we act swiftly … Read more
Some people simply love to compete. Madeleine Chapman writes in defence of competitiveness. “Oh my god you’re so competitive.” Said by my friend in primary school after a particularly intense game of lunchtime rugby. Said by multiple girls at different college athletics days after I actually tried hard to throw the javelin properly. Said by … Read more
When musician Anthonie Tonnon started to research the history of Dunedin’s railway system for his new music video, it grew into a consuming, Aotearoa-wide investigation – and the inspiration for the tour that kicks off this week. If you live in a large city with a passenger rail network, a railway underpass will not be … Read more
The Testimatic is New Zealand’s first medicinal glory hole, providing an eye-contact-free testicular examination. Don Rowe gets his balls squeezed in public. “If you don’t do it, your story is bullshit fake news,” the man said. “That’s journalism – you have to do it or really you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” … Read more