Asher Emanuel heads along to the Supreme Court to watch as Arthur Taylor takes the virtual stand to argue that prisoners should be entitled to cast ballots. The chief justice invited Arthur Taylor to sit down while delivering his submissions. Ordinarily you are required to be on your feet when addressing a court. But when … Read more
Turns out, we’re still TWO HUNDRED YEARS from fully closing the economic gender gap. So we asked some of our Spinoff colleagues to cast their minds into the future. Each year The World Economic Forum produces a gender gap report which measures gender equality. The report looks at gender gaps across four thematic dimensions: Economic Participation … Read more
Alex Casey has lunch with The Red Hat Society in Auckland, a group of retired women who don’t give a hoot about growing old. It was honestly like Geoff’s Emporium threw up. An orgy of red tulle and faux fur, pearls, tiny top hats stapled onto larger top hats, diamantes, glitter and feathers. Whether intentional … Read more
A renewed focus on women’s and gender issues around the world has provided a backdrop for New Zealand’s first women’s charitable fund, writes Auckland Foundation CEO Dellwyn Stuart, who launched the fund last November. New Zealand has long been one of the first nations to see the light when it comes to gender equality issues. … Read more
As New Zealand prepares to mark 125 years of women’s suffrage there is plenty to celebrate – but as the #metoo movement shows, there is still much to be done, says Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy On the 19th of September, 1893, my predecessor Lord Glasgow, officially signed the bill giving women the right to … Read more
What do deprivation, bar location and time of day all have in common? They all affect the rate of assault in New Zealand. It’s safe to say that when it comes to assaults, alcohol matters. In 2009, the New Zealand police estimated that approximately 31% of all recorded crime (including assault) was perpetrated by an … Read more
Air New Zealand’s new safety video has attracted criticism for being filmed in Antarctica, location of the airline’s 1979 crash. But, as NZ Antarctic Research Institute chair Sir Rob Fenwick writes, that shouldn’t take away from Air NZ’s world-leading work to address climate change, in Antarctica and elsewhere. Air NZ should be congratulated for its … Read more
For years, Milo has (literally) been milking its Health Star Rating thanks to a loophole which allows calculations on an ‘as prepared’ basis. Jihee Junn looks at how the Milo’s removal of its rating puts the spotlight back on the system’s shortcomings and why the HSR is due for a serious review. Milo has always … Read more
Rent Week 2018: Riding into office at least partly on the inability of the National government to solve – or acknowledge – the housing crisis in New Zealand, Labour now faces the titanic task of actually making something happen. Don Rowe speaks to Minister of Housing and Urban Development Phil Twyford about just how Labour … Read more
Thirty-nine years ago, Eric Houghton’s father died in the Mount Erebus plane crash, along with 256 other passengers and crew. Now, he writes, Air New Zealand’s new Antarctica-set safety video is dredging up painful memories. 28th November 1979 was like any other day; I think it was a bit cloudy and temperate. I went to … Read more
Listen to Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and Michele A’Court tackle the past month in women, news and popular culture. This month On the Rag, we look back at the revelations from the law world and the reality of workplace harassment. What else shouldn’t you ever, ever say in the workplace? What steps can you take … Read more
A High Court hearing was this week shut off to everyone, including media – something even the judge calls ‘anathema to the fundamental concepts of fairness’. Andrew Geddis explains what’s going on. Something quite strange is happening at the High Court in Wellington this week. Journalists doing their regular rounds of that place’s pathos, bathos, … Read more
Rent Week 2018: Madeleine Chapman spends a long, soul-sucking day at an Auckland tenancy tribunal. It’s 10:30am at the tenancy tribunal in Auckland District Court and everyone would rather be somewhere else. The first case of the day features two property managers in sleek attire who wait outside the courtroom and talk about friends and … Read more
Alex Casey rounds up the highlights from a very funny RNZ interview with David Seymour about his very stupid and sexist t-shirt. Everyone knows that meat = sex. Ham steaks? They are boobs. Chicken breast? Also boobs. Sausages? Phwoar. Rump? Come ON. It is in this hot and heavy climate of carnal carnivores that David … Read more
Rent Week 2018: Last month The Spinoff reported landlords in Wellington were actively encouraging bidding wars in an attempt to hike rents. Here NZ-born, Melbourne-based tenancy lawyer Joseph Nunweek outlines a simple legislative change that would make the concept obsolete. Since I last wrote for The Spinoff about newly-unveiled changes to tenancy law in Victoria … Read more
Aerial artist Empress Stah performs the world’s only laser butt plug show, and she brought it to Splore 2018 last weekend. Simon Day spoke to her about how her art challenges audiences to look at the world in a different way. Empress Stah hung from her trapeze above the stage as hundreds of Splorers waited … Read more
Rent Week 2018: Like all media companies, we spend our days looking at Reddit for things to repost. The difference is that we ask. And so, with the permission of Chelsea S aka /u/PavementFuck, we present Renting 101 – everything you need to know about being a tenant in New Zealand. Since it’s renting season, … Read more
It’s the biggest scandal to rock the legal profession in years. Yet the official response to the Russell McVeagh revelations has been woefully inadequate, says special counsel Linda Clark. I work with a group of simply terrific young women. They are bright, engaging, hard working and professional. These women – and so many others like … Read more
Read more from the Spinoff’s Rent Week 2018 here. This content was made possible by the NZ Human Rights Commission. The Commission is calling on all Kiwis to stand up to racism by giving it no encouragement. No respect. No place. No power. For more information on how to get involved, visit www.givenothing.co.nz
As part of the ongoing We are Beneficiaries project highlighting the realities of life on a benefit, artist Sam Orchard tells the stories of women who have refused to name their baby’s father – and been punished for their decision. One of the most harmful of WINZ’S many sanctions against beneficiaries is section 70A, which … Read more
New Zealanders sometimes like to claim that they are a classless society but anyone studying New Zealand English would know this isn’t true, writes NZ language expert Elizabeth Gordon In the early 1900s people were commenting on the newly developing New Zealand accent. They called it a “colonial twang” and they hated it. They said … Read more
With the announcement that Labour is moving towards abortion law reform, New Zealand is gearing up to talk about a topic that makes a lot of people uncomfortable. So how can we acknowledge and move past the discomfort towards a law that works? In case you didn’t realise, abortion is still in the Crimes Act. … Read more
An outcry over the treatment of disabled patrons at Hamilton’s Seddon Park during a recent Blackcaps match could have been avoided with just a bit of prior communication, says sports writer and disabled person Michael Pulman. During last Saturday’s Twenty20 International at Seddon Park, disabled patrons were turned away from their designated seating in order … Read more
The Silicon Valley billionaire and Trump backer Thiel is not the first white man to want to abandon his home in the northern hemisphere for a South Pacific paradise, writes Scott Hamilton Peter Thiel seems to like New Zealand. In 2011 the billionaire IT investor asked for and very quickly received New Zealand citizenship; later … Read more
Revelations of alleged sexual harassment by a former partner at Russell McVeagh underscore the unique privilege of the legal profession. “Abusers don’t need to tear through the law because their very relationship with the law protects them,” writes Danyl Mclauchlan. A lawyer at a party told me. I couldn’t remember where he worked so I yelled … Read more
With over 2.8m members, KiwiSaver is the most successful financial product in New Zealand since the chequing account. Simplicity managing director Sam Stubbs looks at its potential for New Zealand. Since 2007, KiwiSavers have amassed $45 billion. That’s a lot of money, with a lot of potential payoffs for New Zealand. Already, we are starting to … Read more
Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Nico Porteous, both 16, won bronze medals at the Winter Olympics this week. Their efforts add to an ever-growing list of impressive achievements by New Zealand teenagers. When the world ends and New Zealand must present its best self for God’s judgment, it will be as a teenager. I spent a couple of … Read more
It was the surprise hit of March 2017, and now Rent Week is back, baby. And we want your stories. Many of us live in homes that we could never afford. And yet they’re not even nice to live in. What a conundrum. But the Rent Life doesn’t have to be a greasy carousel, carrying … Read more
As ex-cyclone Gita tore towards the midriff of New Zealand, the Spinoff asked photographer Sean Gillespie to capture the city’s encounter with the storm. For the capital, Gita was mercifully less violent than anticipated, but Sean still managed to capture some sweet Wellington snaps. Civil Defence had told the capital to prepare for power cuts, water … Read more