The Sallies are so fed up with mobile traders preying on poor areas and trapping people into crushing debt that they’re firing back with a rival service. When the Salvation Army first started in New Zealand in the 1800s it noticed the bakers of the day were exploiting people with extremely high bread prices. So, … Read more
The country’s most promising chefs of the future battled it out in the grand final of the National Secondary Schools Culinary Championship this week. Alice Neville went along to watch the action. The teenage years, so they say, are a time for experimentation, exploration and, quite often, failure. If the reminiscing of The Spinoff team … Read more
Parents living in South Auckland were shocked, but probably not surprised, to learn this week that Auckland Council have been underfunding their playgrounds. Angela Cuming looks at some of the reasons why – and what is being done about it. So Hamilton City Council has finally done the right thing and voted to build new … Read more
No other road in New Zealand is as rich in history, suffering, war, immigration, hope and hard, hard work as the Great South Road that joins Auckland to the Waikato. Scott Hamilton walked its length and felt its pulse. For the last five years I’ve travelled the Great South Road. My journeys have been spasmodic, erratic, circuitous. They began when … Read more
Two Auckland schools went into lockdown recently, so why did one dominate the coverage? The Side Eye looks into the way King’s College and Ōtāhuhu College featured in reporting. The Bulletin is The Spinoff’s acclaimed, free daily curated digest of all the most important stories from around New Zealand delivered directly to your inbox … Read more
This Sunday a unique parade is taking place on Auckland’s K Road to honour Hape, the resourceful ancestor that Karangahape Road is named for – and to highlight the plight of his descendants. You may have heard the name Ihumātao at some point over the past couple of years. They are the small semi-rural South … Read more
Aotearoa is home to the biggest Polynesian population on earth – a fact brought home to us all in high definition colour as the red sea of Mate Ma’a Tonga fans flooded the Rugby League World Cup in celebration. But for Pasifika Human Rights advisor and South Auckland local Tuiloma Lina Samu, it was a … Read more
When you work at a decile one high school, you’re confronted with the realities of child poverty on a daily basis. Details of this article have been changed to protect privacy. It’s intended to show the challenges confronting students in low-income communities like Manurewa and therefore leaves unsaid the enormous achievements of the school and … Read more
Labour leader Jacinda Ardern visited Māngere and Ōtara on Saturday. Simon Wilson went along to see how big the wind is really blowing. What a storm in a shopping centre. Labour MP Aupito William Sio, who’s the big man in Māngere politics, introduced Jacinda Ardern in the Māngere Town Centre on Saturday morning. He said they’d had the Jacinda … Read more
Henry Oliver catches the 312 bus to Onehunga with SWIDT, whose debut album Stoneyhunga is out today. “We grew up on here,” says Spycc (Daniel Latu), one of SWIDT’s two MCs after we pile into the back of the 312 bus to Onehunga, the base of New Zealand’s most exciting hip-hop group. “This is our second home.” … Read more
Yesterday morning five leading mayoral candidates headed to Mangere’s Ngā Whare Waatea to debate the issues facing South Auckland. Mana magazine editor Leonie Hayden was there. Throughout the debate, a pop quiz was held to test the candidates’ general knowledge of South Auckland. The only rules were: No referring the matter back to central government. No … Read more
Yesterday morning five leading mayoral candidates – Goff, Swarbrick, Crone, Palino and Thomas – visited Mangere’s Ngā Whare Waatea to debate the issues facing South Auckland. Mana magazine editor Leonie Hayden was there. At 9.30am I arrived for the powhiri, as instructed, and waited at the entrance to be called on to Whare Waatea, the … Read more