The election has thus far been dominated by Metiria Turei’s admission of historic benefit fraud, and its impact on both Labour and the Greens. But Dr Lance O’Sullivan argues that the conversation about welfare Turei wanted to start never really happened. I’m a product of a beneficiary, of a welfare dependant family. My mum was … Read more
The transgressions of Metiria Turei are similar to the transgressions of Bill English and John Key. Or are they? The Herald has fact checked; now Simon Wilson has sense-checked the facts. As we know, Metiria Turei lied to Work and Income about her flatmates to prevent her benefit being cut, because, she says, she needed … Read more
It took less than a day for Jacinda Ardern to be asked about how she might combine being the leader of a political party and a mum at some point in the future, a question unlikely to be asked of a 37 year old man stepping into the same role. Dr. Jenny Condie, list candidate … Read more
Getting young voters engaged in political discourse is a challenge no NZ party has yet cracked. Could memes save the day? Madeleine Chapman leads a guided tour. At age five, most children are able to detect sarcasm and identify it as humour. By age ten, they’re able to differentiate between sarcastic and ironic humour. And somewhere … Read more
The business case for greater freight efficiency in South Auckland has finally been released, and it turns out that a new “Third Main” rail line is the best of 10 options. Guess what’s worst? Putting greater reliance on road freight. So why, asks Ben Ross, does the government still insist on favouring trucks instead of funding … Read more
The Greens had their annual conference this weekend: the perfect opportunity to provide the bold leadership and arresting policy they’ve been missing. Simon Wilson was there to find out if they took it. It’s about leadership. Political parties can have the best policies in the world but if we don’t believe their leaders are trustworthy, likeable … Read more
Better than algebra! The Greens’ Chlöe Swarbrick and Labour’s Jacinda Ardern talk personal aspirations and politics with students at an Auckland inner-city school. Jacinda Ardern told the students at ACG Senior College this week she got saddled with a nickname when she entered parliament: “Socialist Cindy”. She hates being called Cindy, although her mother has … Read more
Not everyone will tell you this, but the Green Party is doing a lot of things right – which is more than you can say about most of the others. So why aren’t they polling better? Kermit will always be right: it is never easy being Green. Even when the world needs you more than … Read more
Does the minister of finance understand the needs of Auckland? He lives here, so of course he does, right? Here are five things, and the speech to accompany them, that Simon Wilson would love to hear Steven Joyce deliver in his first budget speech today. Read all our Budget 2017 coverage here. 1. “Every child … Read more
Alfred Ngaro’s appearance at the National party’s northern conference has already become a political headache. But as Simon Wilson reports, there were more surprising elements in his appearances than have been publicised to date. Alfred Ngaro was the best dressed man in the National Party over the weekend. Make that the best-dressed person. At the … Read more
Sure, Alfred Ngaro screwed up royally – but there was a lot more to the National party conference this weekend. Steven Joyce let a budget secret slip, Paula Bennett stole the show, and the party revealed its 10 point plan to shut down Labour, writes Simon Wilson. “I can’t tell you how proud I am,” … Read more
Prime Minister Bill English made his big pre-Budget speech in Wellington yesterday. He mentioned Auckland exactly zero times. Is this a deliberate election-year strategy, asks Simon Wilson. It’s three weeks till Budget Day. Three weeks until the government sets out the financial framework for the programme it will take into the election in September, now … Read more
Andrew Little wants Phil Goff close to him in cabinet, he has revealed in an interview with The Spinoff. Not actually in cabinet, but as an important part of Wellington’s decision-making processes about Auckland. If the Labour Party gets to form the next government, Auckland can expect some big changes. During an in-depth interview with … Read more
Just when you thought transport planning in Auckland was beyond all hope, here’s a plan to save us all. Or something close to it. Welcome to the Congestion Free Network, version 2.0. Do you have to be a nerdy traffic analyst to fall in love with a map? Probably. I like to think I’m not … Read more
The government is about to push through a plan to build the most expensive road in New Zealand history – without declaring an up-to-date business case or providing any good evidence of the need. Simon Wilson asks why it wants to waste so much of our money. Boy did it rain last week. In that … Read more
National and Labour might deny it, but they have a surprising amount in common on housing. But they also have some big differences, and neither of them seems to really understand what to do about state housing. Why not? Both parties pledge to build more affordable homes, expand the social housing stock and shelter more … Read more
With a water shortage threatened for Auckland, we invited Phil Goff to give us some tips on how to take a short shower. He declined! And then we discovered this… When I was young and devil-may-care I used to ride a motorcycle with the wind in my hair, because that’s how we rocked back then, … Read more
The Spinoff and Spark proudly present Pod On The Couch, a weekly podcast exploring music and the people that make it. This episode: Kate Robertson and Duncan Greive join host Henry Oliver to talk about pop music in the Trump-era. Spinoff Music editor Henry Oliver talks to contributing critic Kate Robertson and The Spinoff’s editor and … Read more
An old year, a new prime minister and a very tired world. Toby Manhire, Annabelle Lee and Ben Thomas bedeck themselves with boughs of holly and size up the winners and losers of the year 2016, and what to expect in the next one. Ho, ho, ho, really, when you think about it. Ben and … Read more
Like millions of us across the country, Joseph Harper was floored by the news of John Key’s shock resignation. Pouring his grief into his nonlinear editing software, Harper created the perfect memorial to New Zealand’s favourite everyman prime minister.
Annabelle Lee and Ben Thomas brave the Spinoff stairwell of doom to join Toby Manhire for another Gone By Lunchtime, the hi-energy Zumba workout of political podcasting. The Spinoff political podcast trio abandon all good sense and attempt to analyse the auditor-general’s report into the Saudi sheep farrago and what it means for Murray McCully … Read more
Following an acclaimed showing at the Venice Biennale, Simon Denny’s politically charged Secret Power is now on view at Te Papa. Henry Oliver spoke to investigative journalist Nicky Hager about his role as special adviser on the exhibition. I met Nicky Hager last year on the Golden Staircase of the Marciana Library in Piazzetta San … Read more
What will Annabelle Lee do when she sees the Labour leader nude on a rug? How will elitist lickspittle Ben Thomas insult Winston Peters? How much fake cocaine will Toby Manhire snort? All these questions answered in a new Gone By Lunchtime. The Spinoff’s unrivalled monthly politics podcast returns with a deep audio dive into … Read more
The Spinoff’s magical interns Katie Parker and River Lin spent an evening gobbling fish and listening to people talk about death. Here they converse via email about what they learned about David Seymour, assisted suicide and their own mortality. Katie: River! So last night you and I were fortunate enough to attend a pretty exciting … Read more
A mindset from the world of business may have spread out into culture and political life, steamrolling ideas of objective truth along the way, argues Campbell Jones There has been widespread discussion over the past month about the disappearance of truth in New Zealand politics. In an important opinion piece, TVNZ reporter Andrea Vance argued … Read more
Amazing political news: a grand coalition was brokered on the Unitary Plan. You just might have missed it because it was signed off in the witching hour on Prime TV. August 3, 2016: the day peace broke out in New Zealand politics. After decades of bickering, sniping, and releasing lists of questions no-one will answer, our … Read more
Labour says the Unitary Plan won’t provide affordable housing. Our mild-mannered economist Shamubeel Eaqub says that ignores the basics of supply and demand. People are getting worried the new Unitary Plan won’t provide enough affordable housing. Modelling done for the Independent Hearings Panel that authored the plan appears to show only 15% of the 247,000 new … Read more
Greg Pritchard is just another person watching nothing be done about the housing crisis. We’re told it’s too complicated and impossible to fix – but, as he points out below, it’s actually terrifyingly simple. Millions of words have been written about the housing situation in Auckland. TV networks have screened countless hours of renovation shows whose clear subtext … Read more
We designed a quiz to test whether you can tell the difference between the Prime Minister of nine years ago and the Labour leader of today. It’s improbably difficult. It’s the End Times in the Auckland housing market. An average house is worth 10 times the average household income. Only four percent of sales are “affordable”. A … Read more