Given he’s regarded as a leader from the pragmatic centrist side of the National Party, it was puzzling to hear Simon Bridges this morning apparently endorse trickle-down theory. “I think there is some trickle-down effect actually, and a lot of people say no, no no,” said Bridges on The AM Show this morning, when questioned … Read more
Developed by New Zealand plant scientists and funded in part by a $20 million MBIE grant, Calocurb is being marketed as a major step forward in appetite-control treatment. But is it all it’s cracked up to be? Weight loss industry expert Andrew Dickson gave it a try. Calocurb was launched here in New Zealand in … Read more
Commute Week: Last year New Zealand imported a massive 20,000 e-bikes and that number is likely to grow exponentially. But what do you need to know before you buy one? Russell Brown has the lowdown. If you think you’re seeing more e-bikes on the road, you’re not wrong. In 2014, according to Statistics NZ, there … Read more
Is there nothing that public transport can’t do? My commute nearly killed me. And it also came pretty close to dismantling my marriage. To get from my home in Titirangi to my previous job in Penrose, I had little choice but to drive. The journey by car was 30 minutes to an hour depending on … Read more
Commute week: In the second of his new 5 people series, Toby Morris sizes up the lord guardian of the extra seat, and other passengers we love to hate. Jay Barker, bag-dozer Jay’s got a bag full of textbooks and his head in an essay that’s due on Wednesday morning that he hasn’t started. … Read more
Commute week: Statistics released under official information legislation reveal a tiny group of 100 Supergold card holders hoover up over $200,000 worth of free trips to Waiheke Island every year. If you were looking out at a map of New Zealand and wondering where its most privileged citizens lived, it’s likely that Waiheke would be … Read more
Mike Hosking argues that kindy teachers don’t deserve to be paid like high school teachers. But does he have any idea what an early childhood educator actually does? So, it seems a bit redundant to write a piece about Mike Hosking’s latest “Mike’s Minute” or whatever it is he actually does. It’s all just grist … Read more
There was no sign of the promise she’d ‘let her guard down’, and flashes of Sarcastic Wine Mom aside, Hillary Clinton offered little more than platitudes at Spark Arena, writes Charlotte Graham-McLay. The song ‘Roar’ by Katy Perry blared from the loudspeakers, a universal indicator that we, the audience at An Evening with Hillary Clinton, were about … Read more
Last October, Onzo rental bikes, with no gears and airless tyres, appeared around Auckland city as a commuter option. Madeleine Chapman decided to see just how far she could commute on one in a day. It took nine hours for me to feel genuine fear on my Onzo bike ride to Huntly, and it was … Read more
The outspoken ethical fashion champion has contacted The Spinoff with further comments about the garments that were manufactured offshore but boast ‘Made in NZ’ tags. Following the publication this morning of a story revealing the provenance of garments being sold at WORLD with a “Fabriqué en Nouvelle Zélande” label attached, the fashion house’s founder Dame Denise … Read more
Exclusive: Dame Denise L’Estrange-Corbet of New Zealand fashion pioneer WORLD is this country’s most out-spoken critic of off-shore manufacturing. Yet a Spinoff investigation has revealed that multiple garments labeled as made in New Zealand are manufactured in China and Bangladesh. “When did you last look at the label to see where it was made?” – … Read more
Almost 20 more people have been in touch with The Spinoff to relay their experiences with Dommy Topia, whose actions were first brought to light via Instagram this week. And it’s clear Topia’s been pulling the same tricks for years. Dozens of people have come forward accusing Dominic (Dommy) Topia of scamming them out of … Read more
Yesterday’s bombshell story about a story that wasn’t a story has sent shockwaves through the reckons machine. At least four news organisations have over recent months been following up on the malevolent bullshit being peddled about Jacinda Ardern’s boyfriend Clarke Gayford by anonymous cretins on the internet – but no one was publishing them because … Read more
After a cinema in Hawera banned patrons wearing pyjamas last week, ex-cinema attendant Alex Casey shines a light on much grosser stories from the back row of theatres around the country. First published May 2018. Something extremely weird happens to people inside a cinema. Maybe it’s the enveloping womb-like darkness that reverts grown adults to … Read more
The Herald has reported that untrue things are being said about Jacinda Ardern’s partner. Here’s what we know so far. Everyone in media and political circles, Steve Braunias notwithstanding, has been gasbagging like mad over the last month about rumours related to Clarke Gayford, the partner of the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. Most of these … Read more
The country is changing. And in contrasting herself from her predecessor and advocating for this change, the PM is wielding her awesome and terrible powers of virtue-signalling. It’d be odd if she wasn’t, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. As The Spinoff recently documented, virtue-signalling is the opposition’s favourite attack line against the Labour-led government. Why “virtue-signalling”? It’s … Read more
He showed up to a voice over job and was asked to mispronounce a Māori place name. Dave Ward explains why he chose to speak up instead. Taika Waititi was right on the money. We have a race issue in Aotearoa and it’s not going away. Last week I refused to deliberately mispronounce a Māori … Read more
Madeleine Chapman has written a column about Kate Hawkesby’s column about Deborah Hill Cone’s column about Deborah Hill Cone’s column about Clarke Gayford, and this is that column. There’s something about Deborah Hill Cone and Kate Hawkesby that keeps nagging me every time I see their columns. At first I thought it was outrage, then … Read more
In less than 20 years, e-commerce giant Alibaba has revolutionised how people buy, pay, sell and market products in the world’s most populous nation. Jihee Junn travelled to its headquarters in China to see Alibaba’s complex ecosystem in action and find out how New Zealand companies are using it to leverage their entry into the … Read more
Last week Red Nicholson tweeted a word of advice to Stuff, and found the system works. But to help us avoid bungling it in the first place, he offers some extra advice for journalists and editors on disability-related news and language Most days on Twitter are spent shouting enlightened reckons into the social media void, … Read more
The NZ International Comedy Festival is here, and last night it kicked off with its traditional opener, the NZ Comedy Gala. But this year, among the local and international comedians, there was a whole lot of racism. Julie Zhu writes. As a Chinese woman, I’m used to surface racism. My brain has almost developed an … Read more
After blowing up The Mint Chicks in spectacular fashion, the Nielson brothers are back together, with Kody recently joining Ruban’s acclaimed act Unknown Mortal Orchestra. “Brothers can have a volatile relationship,” he tells Hussein Moses, “but at the end of the day we’re still brothers.” The first time Kody Nielson heard a mysterious new band … Read more
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Two restaurants with the exact same name operate beside each other in Mt Albert. But which is the real Mt Albert BBQ Noodle House? Madeleine Chapman eats and investigates. Occupying the heart of the Mt Albert food district are two rival restaurants right next door to each other. Both make cheap, generously portioned, delicious Chinese … Read more
There are a handful of dead bodies in the Auckland Hilton and Don Rowe has seen them all. The controversial Body Worlds Vital exhibition is a powerful meditation on mortality and death, he writes. “We do not see things as they are,” goes the old Talmudic phrase, “We see them as we are.” How then … Read more
As revealed on The Real Pod this week, cats Brian and Christine Rice-Green are having a second chance at living with New Zealand TV royalty. In a shock twist straight out of any M. Night Shyamalan thriller, The Spinoff has learned that the feline friends of Matilda Rice and Art Green are not who they … Read more
Dwayne The Rock Johnson welcomed his third daughter into the world today. Having read his Instagram post about the birth, Dwayne The Rock Johnson’s number one fan Emily Writes is now recovering in hospital after an ovary explosion. From her death bed, and with the assistance of her group-chat sisters Becka, Tamsyn, Gem and Vanessa, she … Read more
Rebecca Wood is a force of nature in a striking new Rebel Sport commercial. But ‘how many lives you live is up to you’? Nah, not for female rugby players. There’s a lot to like about Rebel Sport’s latest foray into the world of selling stuff. A powerful Black Fern is seen charging through a … Read more
Claims in Deborah Hill Cone column cast doubt on the prime minister and her squeeze, who stands accused of being cringey and having a name ending with the letter ‘e’. Danyl Mclauchlan digs deeper. Early this morning the New Zealand Herald published a hard-hitting piece on Clarke Gayford, a fishing show reality TV star and … Read more