Hello Caller is our new advice column in which psychotherapist Ms. X answers readers’ questions on manners, morals and mental health. This week, Ms. X tackles the procrastination-guilt-procrastination shame spiral. Dear Ms X. I am really struggling with motivation at work. On the outside, I really enjoy my job, but when it comes down to … Read more
This week is Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori, Māori Language Week. Paul Brislen remembers growing up in Wales and why retaining and teaching Māori language is imperative to New Zealand’s cultural identity. If you put your tongue just behind your upper teeth and blow air (and spit) around the sides in a manner not unlike that laughing … Read more
There’s a serious housing crisis in Auckland, and New Zealand’s rental market is a disgrace. But house hunting in London is a special kind of hell, says ex-pat New Zealander Lucy Gable. A while back, like thousands of ruddy-cheeked, sparkly-eyed Kiwis before me, I left the sunny, if avocado-free, shores of Auckland for the drab weather, poor customer … Read more
The NZ Uber wars are heating up with calls for a crackdown on non-compliant operators as drivers begin to challenge the company’s criteria and pay rates. We talk to one driver leading the charge. The NZ Transport Agency says the company’s revised rules, with drivers no longer requiring P-endorsed passenger licences or to undergo NZTA-stipulated … Read more
‘Don’t call me racist for voting leave,’ wrote expat Kiwi and controversy magnet Alex Hazlehurst earlier this week. How about we call you short-sighted, self-centred and sadly misinformed instead, suggests New Zealand-born Londoner Paul Gallagher. Dear Alex, The upheaval and recriminations following the EU referendum result have seemingly left everyone in the UK on edge. … Read more
Given the failings of the legal system to prosecute sexual offences, some survivors of sexual violence and abuse are choosing to bypass the process altogether and speak out about their abuse online. Madeleine Holden explores this growing phenomenon. Content warning: This story contains discussion around sexual violence and survivors With increasing frequency, survivors of rape and … Read more
Māori Language Week is upon us and to celebrate, The Spinoff has teamed up with Ra Pomare and Mana magazine to bring you ‘Te Reo Ākina with Ra Pomare’. Funded by Te Māngai Pāho and produced by instagram legend Ra Pomare, learn a Māori phrase every day this week with these helpful videos, depicting real life conversations … Read more
Māori Language Week is upon us and to celebrate, The Spinoff has teamed up with Ra Pomare and Mana magazine to bring you ‘Te Reo Ākina with Ra Pomare’. Funded by Te Māngai Pāho and produced by Ra, learn a Māori phrase every day this week with these helpful videos, depicting real life conversations between ordinary hard-working … Read more
Te Puea Memorial Marae has become the epicentre and symbol of Auckland’s homeless families. The Spinoff’s Madeleine Chapman spent a week volunteering there to compile this report. Photography by Qiane Matata-Sipu. The Warehouse has agreed to match all donations delivered through this story – scroll to the bottom for information on how you can help. Two teenage boys … Read more
The father of Imran Patel, the 26-year-old Aucklander convicted for distributing extremist videos, tells Yasmine Ryan he fears that jail risks turning a silly boy into a serious threat. When Imran Patel shouted, “Tell John Key to stop being a slave to America, and to get out of Iraq. Allahu akbar!” after being sentenced last … Read more
Our new weekly advice column, in which practising psychotherapist Ms. X answers readers’ questions on manners, morals and mental health. Dear Ms. X, I am a divorced dad of three. The split was about five years ago now and I thought we had worked out a reasonable co-parenting arrangement. But now my ex has a … Read more
Yes, it is a crisis: a profound and persistent crisis, bedevilled by distractions. Economist Eric Crampton takes a deep breath and works his way through the factors. The word crisis gets thrown around a lot. New Zealand has managed to have several crises in alcohol use over the past decade, despite official statistics showing generally … Read more
Practising psychotherapist Ms. X answers readers’ questions on manners, morals and mental health. Dear Ms. X I have a tricky issue. My partner likes a drink which is fine because y’know, she doesn’t drive drunk or drink all the rent money but she does end up using social media drunk and it’s getting a bit … Read more
Kamal Reddy is going to jail following the successful use of the controversial ‘Crime Scenario Undercover Technique’. What does our highest court have to say about its use? Sorry, you’re not allowed to know that yet, writes Andrew Geddis Kamal Reddy is an undeniably bad man. Last month a jury decided that, back in late … Read more
Former Al Jazeera journalist Caitlin McGee spent years living in the Middle East and has reported from South Sudan, Sierra Leone and Indonesia. Recently returned home to New Zealand, she’s dismayed with what she’s found. The girl sitting across from me never had control of her body. She’d spent her childhood as the possession of … Read more
It was the competition that captivated a nation. The busy working world of New Zealand ground to a halt as one tweet, featuring three identical, nondescript beanies, received 6,800 retweets and a bountiful supply of favourites. This is the oral history of the greatest online giveaway in New Zealand history, as told by key players. … Read more
Madeleine Holden examines the damaging narratives that have surfaced in response to Orlando attacker Omar Mateen’s personal life. In the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, reports are surfacing that the Orlando shooter, Omar Mateen, was gay—or, at least, struggled with his sexuality and frequented gay clubs, with accounts on gay … Read more
For all the bold talk of knowledge waves and a weightless tech future, we’re still reliant on farms and tourists. Time to try a new approach, argues Paul Brislen. Seventeen years ago I helped put together an issue of Computerworld devoted to the idea of building a “Knowledge Based Economy”. It was an exciting time. … Read more
Our new weekly advice column, in which practising psychotherapist Ms. X answers readers’ questions on manners, morals and mental health. Dear Ms. X, I am a 54-year-old male. I’ve had a number of relationships in the past, nothing too serious. Currently I am sort of polyamorous, but I’m thinking I need a good solid one-on-one … Read more
A recent international “innovation mission” was predictably and overwhelmingly dominated by men. To help organisers remedy such absurd and damaging imbalances, Anna Guenther and Jessica Venning-Bryan have produced a list for next time A 50-strong trade delegation of New Zealand’s finest innovators and business people headed off recently to Israel. Their plan? An “innovation mission”, … Read more
When asked if the killing of 50 people at an Orlando gay bar was motivated by homophobia, John Key claimed that he “didn’t know”. Laura Vincent knows. It’s a fact that 49 people lost their lives in the worst mass shooting in American history at a club named Pulse in Orlando, Florida. It’s a fact that this … Read more
The New Zealand Government has agreed to formally investigate why taxpayer funded weather data is currently being blocked for open use – and what data could be freed up in the future. It’s long overdue, writes Philip Duncan. I set up WeatherWatch.co.nz in 2005 when I worked for the Radio Network. In 2010 I was … Read more
Just over two years ago, the Azraq refugee camp was opened in Jordan to house Syrians fleeing their war-ravaged home. Today around 35,000 refugees live there. World Vision’s Simon Day recently returned from Azraq. Here he shares some of what he saw 1 Shimmering on the horizon are the white boxes of the Azraq refugee … Read more
Late last month marked the launch of the 2016 Venice Biennale of Architecture, a global festival celebrating the best in building design ideas. For only the second time in its 36 year history, New Zealand was among the exhibitors, and Michael Barrett was there. Every two years the ancient and beautiful tourist-swamp of Venice hosts … Read more
In a deeply personal essay, youth worker Iain Stevens* tells of the small joys and savage pains of his work with some of our community’s most damaged families. I wondered what it was going to take to break my heart. I’ve been a youth advocate for just on four years. Moving all around West Auckland, … Read more
A new weekly column in which Ms. X, a practising psychotherapist, helps readers find their way through this thing called life. Problems? Hit me with them. I’m here to help. I have been been a practicing therapist for 10 years and in semi-regular therapy for my own abundant issues for over 20. During that time … Read more
Duncan Greive on Bowraville, the heartbreaking podcast dubbed ‘the Australian Serial’. I spent my family holiday immersed in child murder. I didn’t mean for it to be that way – it just sort of happened. First I read: Helen Garner’s House of Grief, a harrowing account of a trial for a man who drowned his sons. … Read more
When John Key flies out to Fiji today, one journalist who won’t be joining the delegation is old Pacific hand Michael Field, who is banned from entering the country. He explains how he got added to Bainimarama’s blacklist. I’ve a long history of being banned in the Pacific. The reason why I’m unable to join … Read more
On the second anniversary of her migration to the Lucky Country, Di White is moved to tears by Chasing Asylum, an acclaimed new film about Australian refugee policy. It’s been two years since I moved to Australia. I arrived on a plane on 4 June 2014. I remember the day well. I was moving between … Read more