Author Archive
Prebble out of step with Mainfreight board
Written By: - Date published: 3:39 pm, May 6th, 2008 - 23 comments
This morning on Breakfast Prebble called the government buy-back of trains and ferries “loony”. What’s alarming is that Prebble is on Mainfreight’s board of directors. His comments appear to put him seriously out of step with Mainfreight’s chief executive Don Braid, who commented: Provided the Government manages it [the rail operations] in a commercial way […]
How Boris won London by not being Boris
Written By: - Date published: 9:44 am, May 6th, 2008 - 13 comments
Tory candidate Boris Johnson has triumphed in the mayoral race for London in a campaign masterminded by the Australian political tactician Lynton Crosby. The Sydney Morning Herald has the story: Brought in at the end of last year, the mysterious Crosby – “you know I don’t do interviews”, he responded to an email from the […]
Key: National’s great white hype
Written By: - Date published: 1:39 pm, May 5th, 2008 - 21 comments
Tom Frewen’s latest column seems to have somehow slipped through the usually rigourous editorial process at the NBR. The sidebar reads: “John Key’s lyrics sound like the gobbledygook of Bushisms”. “Yeah, I mean look, the truth is, with the greatest respect to Rodney, he doesn’t understand the telecommunications sector very well if he can’t sort […]
will.i.am vs john.he.is
Written By: - Date published: 11:04 am, May 2nd, 2008 - 9 comments
So you’ve seen Obama’s Yes We Can music video; here’s the McCain response:
Simon’s semantics
Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, May 2nd, 2008 - 16 comments
Never one to miss an opportunity to stir up fear over crime, Simon Power now wants us to believe that we’re less safe because of the rise of “violent offenders” being granted home detention. As is increasingly common inside his caucus, he’s hoping that we’ll overlook the detail. The background is that in the last […]
Government to fully fund virus vaccine
Written By: - Date published: 9:38 am, May 2nd, 2008 - 61 comments
Vernon Small reports that the PM is due to announce an immunisation programme for teenage girls targeting human papilloma virus. The programme is expected to start with girls aged 13 who will be offered free anti-cervical cancer immunisation as part of the $150 million government programme. The cost per person is expected to be around […]
Corporate responsibility
Written By: - Date published: 4:07 pm, May 1st, 2008 - 5 comments
Anyone remember the Pinto? Arguably not Ford’s finest hour. When in 1968 it became apparent that the Pinto’s defective fuel tank could result in the car catching fire when hit from behind, Ford executives reached for their calculators. Some quick sums (from a leaked memo) showed that the costs of fixing the Pinto were around […]
Mission Accomplished
Written By: - Date published: 11:54 am, May 1st, 2008 - 33 comments
Today is the fifth anniversary of Bush’s infamous “Mission Accomplished” speech in which he stated that “Major combat operations in Iraq have ended”. To mark the date Moveon.org have released the following ad, intended to remind the public that as McCain himself said, “no one has supported President Bush on Iraq more” than he has. […]
National on personal attacks
Written By: - Date published: 2:24 pm, April 29th, 2008 - 13 comments
Greenwoman just flicked us this:
Dunne: feathering his own nest
Written By: - Date published: 12:40 pm, April 28th, 2008 - 12 comments
Peter Dunne is once again touting his plans to introduce income splitting. It’s a policy aimed at helping out the wealthy. New Zealand Institute of Economic Research senior economist Patrick Nolan tells us that “80% of the tax gains of income-splitting would go to the top 20% of taxpayers”. Dunne was reportedly “not bothered” by […]
Does money buy happiness after all?
Written By: - Date published: 4:15 pm, April 23rd, 2008 - 29 comments
In 1974, economist Richard Easterlin, published a study in which he argued that economic growth didn’t necessarily lead to more satisfaction. In poor countries, gaining the necesseties of life raised happiness but beyond those gains there was no increase. This became known as the Easterlin paradox. Just last week, two young economists presented what they […]
50 ways to help the planet
Written By: - Date published: 2:26 pm, April 23rd, 2008 - 5 comments
Check out 50 ways to help the planet. My favourites? Shower with your partner Invest in your own reusable coffee cup Picnic with a marker pen
Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon’s Hidden Hand
Written By: - Date published: 9:33 am, April 23rd, 2008 - 2 comments
The NY Times reports on the symbiotic relationship between media “military analysts” and the Bush administration. Records and interviews show how the Bush administration has used its control over access and information in an effort to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse — an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from […]
Owen Glenn’s secret shame
Written By: - Date published: 1:20 pm, April 22nd, 2008 - 28 comments
As Robinsod notes below in his insightful review of Wishart’s Absolute Power it’s abundantly clear that the author specialises in a particular brand of “idiocy, madness and paranoia”. I was particularly intrigued by the sensationalist chapter accusing Owen Glenn of Mafia connections. The basis for this defamation? ‘Some of his associates allegedly have names like […]
Blogger sweatshop
Written By: - Date published: 2:16 pm, April 21st, 2008 - 11 comments
(Via BoingBoing.net)
Reading the tealeaves
Written By: - Date published: 12:06 pm, April 21st, 2008 - 25 comments
One News reports on their Colmar Brunton poll showing a 19 point lead to National and Key ahead in the preferred PM stakes: Labour continues to trail National – There’s more bad news for Labour in the latest ONE News Colmar Brunton poll. It’s trailing well behind National but the results suggest the governing party […]
ACT: shamelessly campaigning with your money
Written By: - Date published: 3:46 pm, April 18th, 2008 - 81 comments
Earlier in the week we heard that Heather Roy may have broken the Electoral Finance Act by including party advertising messages in her weekly taxpayer funded newsletters without the required authorisation by ACT’s financial agent. This time round she’s added the necessary authorisation but decided that it’s still ok to bill us for hearing from […]
Police confirm Brash email leak an inside job
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, April 16th, 2008 - 19 comments
Police have closed their investigation into the theft of e-mails from former National Party leader Dr Don Brash and have announced that they have been unsuccessful in identifying those responsible for the thefts. Despite Brash’s ongoing insistence to the contrary, the police have said that they’ve been able to rule out the possibility than an […]
Our condolences
Written By: - Date published: 10:11 am, April 16th, 2008 - Comments Off on Our condolences
Our condolences to all those affected by the Mangatepopo Gorge canyoning tragedy.
Nats’ school funding policy under attack
Written By: - Date published: 2:45 pm, April 15th, 2008 - 33 comments
Stuff reports that “Principals and teachers have savaged a National Party plan to increase funding for private schools, calling it a thinly disguised tax break for the rich.” New Zealand Secondary Principals’ Council chairman Arthur Graves called Key’s proposal to increase funding to private schools at the expense of the public system “a deliberate attempt […]
Join the smackathon
Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, April 15th, 2008 - 56 comments
Just what you may have been waiting for: www.righttosmack.co.nz While we want the government to interfere with people’s private activities to some small degree; (outlawing homosexuality, stopping abortions, abolishing civil unions, abolishing legalised prostitution, etc.) – we will not tolerate being told we cannot use force and violence as part of loving correction and discipline! […]
Labour Congress EFA protest
Written By: - Date published: 3:22 pm, April 14th, 2008 - 21 comments
Jordan Carter’s just posted a photo of what looks like nine EFA protesters having their say outside the Labour Party Congress on the weekend. Looks like there are two journalists and a cameraman in the shot too so if my maths is right that’s a grand total of six genuine protesters. Nice work John.
Fraser Colman has died
Written By: - Date published: 1:58 pm, April 14th, 2008 - Comments Off on Fraser Colman has died
The Dom reports that “Fraser Colman – best known for being the cabinet minister on board the frigate that sailed to Mururoa Atoll in 1973 to protest against French nuclear tests – has died aged 83.” A year after winning the election in 1972, the Kirk government decided that a cabinet minister should be on […]
National to sell TVNZ
Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, April 14th, 2008 - 33 comments
Despite Key’s best efforts to inoculate against the “hidden agenda on asset sales” perception – he’s now peddling the story that National won’t start selling assets until 2011 – the truth seems to have slipped out. A reliable source close to the party has leaked National’s broadcasting policy for the upcoming election. According to the […]
John Key – The Gambler
Written By: - Date published: 12:30 pm, April 14th, 2008 - 19 comments
A reader’s just sent us the lyrics to the song sung at Labour Party social and again at the conference as reported in The Herald today. We understand they were penned by Grant Robertson, Labour candidate for Wellington Central. To the tune of “The Gambler“: John Key – The Gambler On a warm summer’s evening […]
Beware the Tory wolf in liberal clothing
Written By: - Date published: 4:28 pm, April 9th, 2008 - 23 comments
Polly Toynbee of The Guardian writes: “Beware the lesson of the Tory wolf in liberal clothing: Sweden’s great social democracy has been transformed for the worse – and Britain risks importing the nightmare”. At the previous election [the moderates] had crashed at just 15%, so Reinfeldt, an appealing and eloquent 41-year-old, had a free hand […]
National under fire over unauthorised advertising
Written By: - Date published: 4:02 pm, April 8th, 2008 - 80 comments
Annette King has hit back at National in the House today, producing two items of electoral advertising from them, neither of which is authorised. The first of these is a promotional pamphlet for John Key, the second is their 2005 Broadcasting policy – still available for download on their website, which bears the slogan “Party […]
Finlay MacDonald: The Audacity of Hype
Written By: - Date published: 10:23 am, April 8th, 2008 - 14 comments
A reader wrote to us to say that they’d recently seen Finlay MacDonald speak at Otago University as part of the Distinguished Communicator Lecture Series for the Centre of Science Communication. The talk is now online: The Audacity of Hype: John Key and the new National Socialism. In case you hadn’t picked up on this […]
Helen Clark on BBC’s “Hardtalk”
Written By: - Date published: 7:43 pm, April 5th, 2008 - 17 comments
Sarah Montague from BBC’s Hardtalk interviews Helen Clark – starting with a question about whether the time might be right for a New Zealand referendum on republicanism. I’ve got to admit that I found it thoroughly refreshing to watch an interview where the interviewer doesn’t pull punches but also isn’t competing to be the centre […]
Didn’t take long
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, April 4th, 2008 - 7 comments
A reader just sent us this – REM meets John Key. (Hat-tip: PJ)
- The Secret Diary of .. Sheriff Seymour
Monday Sheriff Seymour rode his white horse through the beautiful tree-lined streets of the wealthiest suburb in Dodge, and arrived at the mansion of one of the richest men in the whole state.He rang the doorbell. A servant led him to an oak-panelled room, and gestured for him to sit.He ...1 week ago - The case for COPs (even this one)
Every day this week, COP29 has managed to spark international headlines for all the wrong reasons.First, the eight hour agenda fight over what, actually, diplomats will spend time negotiating this year.Then on Tuesday the President of Azerbaijan, which is hosting COP29 in the capital Baku, called oil and gas a ...1 week ago
- The Weekend: In defence of Auckland’s ‘incredibly’ expensive Christmas tree
Anna Rawhiti-Connell reflects on the week that was. This week I hosted The Spinoff’s Year In Review live event In Wellington. Everything went remarkably well, and you can attend the same (but maybe more refined) event in Auckland on December 11. The welcoming crowd in Wellington even wanted more of ...1 week ago - ‘Really worried’: What Now’s Chris Kirk on smuggling gunge out of New Zealand
The What Now and Brain Busters presenter takes us on a trip down TV memory lane. Growing up, Chris Kirk was a huge fan of What Now. Every Sunday morning, he would wake up early to watch Carolyn Taylor and Jason Fa’afoi entertain the nation, delighting in every chaotic, gunge-filled ...1 week ago
- The case of the cursed bread: An excerpt from Una Cruickshank’s The Chthonic Cycle
The Chthonic Cycle by Una Cruickshank is a compelling series of essays that explore a wide range of fascinating and unexpected subjects. This excerpt, from an essay called ‘Les Tigres’, tells the story of a massed hallucination event in 1951, France. On a hot August day in 1951, 280 people ...1 week ago
- The slowest city in the world is on the brink of change
New Zealander Tasha Black relays what it’s like in post-revolution Bangladesh from an eight-hour traffic jam in Dhaka. It’s Friday night on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the traffic is stuck. Trucks, auto-rickshaws, private cars, buses, all stuck. A stationary ambulance futilely spins its red and blue lights. It’s ...1 week ago
- The Nobel Prize in Not Beating Up Your Kids
On the most extraordinary human achievements you’ll never, ever notice, and possibly shouldn’t celebrate. The Spinoff Essay showcases the best essayists in Aotearoa, on topics big and small. Made possible by the generous support of our members. We’re all in therapy these days, everyone in the Veja-heeled milieu I find myself ...1 week ago
- ‘Theatrical, chaotic and romantic’: Heidi Simpson’s perfect weekend playlist
Indie-pop darling Heidi Simpson shares her perfect weekend playlist. Heidi Simpson is a singer, tune maker, pop music believer and certified cool girl. The Tāmaki Makaurau native typically muses on Saturday nights and the emptiness between waiting for something to happen, but her recently released single ‘Best Kept Secret’ is ...1 week ago
- The Kiwi world champions you’ve heard too little about
The Paddle Ferns are back on top of the world after winning the Canoe Polo World Championships for the second time in eight years.It’s a growing sport that combines kayaking and ball-handling skills in a contact team game, played either indoors or out, with five players a sideSeventeen countries competed ...1 week ago
- Short story: I’ll ask my sister, by Marilyn Duckworth
A chatter of small brown birds rose up from the crippled tree at the street’s end. Muttering. She was reminded of the local Council who were still grumpily debating problems, including those of street verges. Some home owners had been taking it upon themselves to make cheeky personal use of ...1 week ago
- Apec’s ‘elephant in the room’
As business leaders and politicians discussed the major economic issues facing the world at Apec’s annual CEO Summit, there was an unignorable “elephant in the room”, as one moderator put it.Donald Trump’s name was rarely mentioned by the speakers, yet the potential impact of his second term in power was ...1 week ago
- Censorship Is Alive And Well In New Zealand
“What this looks like to us is censorship of anyone who tries to disagree with this Government, which causes a chilling effect” says Cooper Legal Senior Associate, Lydia Oosterhoff. ...1 week ago - Raw Politics: MPs face-off over the Great Divide
Parliament saw two historic days this week, one of great solemnity and unity, the other a raucous and high-stakes stand-off between political foes over the Treaty of Waitangi.Raw Politics looks first at the volatile reception for Act’s Treaty Principles Bill at its first reading, how parties performed to their voting ...1 week ago
- In Cold Water is a must-see for true crime fans
A new documentary series tells the story of a former Napier councillor accused of murder in Canada. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. In 2010, New Zealander Peter Beckett was on holiday in Canada’s Rocky Mountains, enjoying a relaxing afternoon fishing on ...1 week ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘FREE TRAMPOLINE’ by Sophie van Waardenberg
A new poem by by Sophie van Waardenberg. FREE TRAMPOLINE If I could, I’d praise the world— how this, how that, how the darling other— but all I do is sit down, hang on, come home. It has to be enough. On the walk from the station all the sidewalk ...1 week ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending November 15
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Zest: Climbing From Depression to Philosophy by Daniel Kalderimis (Ugly Hill Press, $40) Kalderimis ...1 week ago
- The rebuilding of Fazerdaze
Following the release of her sophomore album Soft Power, Amelia Murray (Fazerdaze) tells Alex Casey about heading south and rediscovering herself. Fazerdaze is back in Morningside, but everything has changed. “It’s so strange to be back, ” she says softly, gesturing out of The Spinoff’s office window at the drizzly ...1 week ago
- Where does kai come from? Learning in the māra
Lucinda Bennet reflects on appreciating vegetables and learning through doing. This is an excerpt from our food newsletter, The Boil Up. When you pull a carrot from the ground, there’s a certain sound it makes, a kind of “pop” as the tip detaches from the root cap. It’s something you can ...1 week ago
- The cost of being: A lawyer with two kids, a mortgage and a love of good meat
As part of our series exploring how New Zealanders live and our relationship with money, a 42-year-old lawyer shares how he and his family approach their finances. Want to be part of The Cost of Being? Fill out the questionnaire here. Gender: Male. Age: 42. Ethnicity: Pākehā. Role: Lawyer with two ...1 week ago
- Watch live: New Zealand vs Australia in the Trans-Tasman Scrabble Challenge
In an Antipodean first, the Bledisloe Cup of Scrabble is streaming live on YouTube all weekend. Here’s how to watch and everything else you need to know. What’s all this then? It’s Scrabble as you’ve never seen it before! Unless you already watch Scrabble online, in which case it’s Scrabble ...1 week ago
- Treaty Principles Bill will greatly damage National’s relationship with Māori – former minister
This article first appeared at rnz.co.nz and is republished with permission.There is no doubt the Treaty Principles Bill will greatly damage National’s relationship with Māori, former Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson says.The legislation passed its first reading on Wednesday afternoon, but not before extraordinary scenes of opposition that led to the Speaker suspending ...1 week ago
- How the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill played out
And why one former MP, explains Stewart Sowman-Lund for The Bulletin, says John Key would never have allowed this to happen. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...1 week ago
- Carol Hirschfeld could be in line for top TVNZ role
The big-cost out strategy at TVNZ could see former news presenter Carol Hirschfeld emerge as a front runner to head both the news and programming departments The post Carol Hirschfeld could be in line for top TVNZ role appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- When home is where the work is, city design should fall in line
Opinion: The pandemic-induced WFH shift is altering the fabric of our built environments, offering unique opportunities to change how we work and live The post When home is where the work is, city design should fall in line appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- All 14 malls in Christchurch ranked from worst to best
To celebrate Christchuch Anniversary Day, Joseph Harper ranks every mall in the ‘garden city’. This is the first in the Malls of New Zealand series, where we rank the malls in major centres. Next week: Auckland. When I was growing up in pre-quake Ōtautahi, people used to say that the ...1 week ago
- The climate and human rights crises are indelibly intertwined
At the Cop29 climate conference, the host country’s president called oil a ‘gift of god’. But for many people all over the world, it is in fact a curse. Maria Armoudian, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations, explains. In the first week of the United Nations international climate ...1 week ago
- Havana’s clean sweep in memory of dad
As Havana Hopman walked off the gymnastics floor, her ribbon trailing behind her, she turned her tear-filled eyes to the roof and whispered: ‘Thank you’.It was the final day of the national gymnastics championships in Palmerston North, and for Hopman – New Zealand’s top rhythmic gymnast for the past four ...1 week ago
- Pacific staring down ‘twin storms’ of debt and climate disaster
A ‘vicious cycle’ sees Pacific nations take on debt to recover from disasters, underinvest in resilience and suffer more damage as a result The post Pacific staring down ‘twin storms’ of debt and climate disaster appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 15 November
The post Daily crossword, Friday 15 November appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Rocketlab’s Māhia launches linked to Israeli military intelligence
Space Minister Judith Collins is urged to revoke or decline Rocketlab applications with possible links to the war in Gaza The post Rocketlab’s Māhia launches linked to Israeli military intelligence appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- This week’s bestselling books – November 15
FICTION1 The Songbirds of Florence by Olivia Spooner (Hachette, $37.99)A free copy of the author’s latest historical novel – set in 1942, in Egypt, where Kiwi women are sent to provide respite to weary soldiers returning from the front line – was up for grabs in last week’s giveaway contest. Readers were asked to say ...1 week ago
- Uniformed Defence Force Should Not Be Used As Strike Breakers
“In a modern liberal democracy, any deployment of the armed forces in employment relations is a drastic step, and should be avoided at all costs,” said Wagstaff. ...2 weeks ago
- House suspended as haka interrupts first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill
Speaker Gerry Brownlee has suspended the House of Representatives after a haka, led by Te Paati Māori and performed by members in the public gallery, interrupted the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill. As thousands continue to protest and hīkoi around Aotearoa, the first reading of the Treaty Principles ...2 weeks ago
- Review: Crowded House gets Ōtautahi breaking the rules
Last night at Wolfbrook Arena in Christchurch, Crowded House did the unthinkable – they got a polite New Zealand concert crowd to break the rules. Here’s something I’ve observed about concert attendance in the north vs the south. Where most Aucklanders will bustle in just as the main act takes ...2 weeks ago
- The case for reading books about animals wearing clothes
In light of Gloriavale’s reluctant acceptance of Winnie-the-Pooh, Claire Mabey argues in favour of the wider canon of anthropomorphic animal literature. There is nothing more bleak than the banning of books and the curtailment of reading. Control what people read and you control what they think, and how they behave. ...2 weeks ago
- Coldplay and 57,000 babies at Eden Park
Review: Everything happens all at once at Coldplay’s sold-out show. About 15 minutes into Music of the Spheres, I realised that we were all just big babies. When Coldplay emerged for their first song, our compostable plastic wristbands lit up around Eden Park, delighting us all. Minutes later, Chris Martin ...2 weeks ago
- Dear Donald, here’s why you should cut NZ a break in the tariff torrent
Ten irrefutable reasons for the incoming president to exempt plucky little New Zealand from import tax hikes. The former and future president, Donald J Trump, has been re-elected on a platform pledging new and universal import tariffs of 10%-20%. The challenge for New Zealand politicians and officials is to somehow ...2 weeks ago
- Help Me Hera: Why do I only befriend people nobody else can stand?
How do I end this cycle of misery, once and for all? Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz Dear Hera How do I break a lifelong pattern of forming close friendships with people that nobody else can stand? Ever since I was about 12, I have had a succession of very ...2 weeks ago
- On the frontlines of Hīkoi mō te Tiriti
Thousands converged on Auckland, the day before the first reading of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund for The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...2 weeks ago
- You’re gonna miss the post office when it’s gone
Despite it dwindling locations and reduced service, NZ Post remains a pillar in every community, writes Hera Lindsay Bird. Every Saturday morning I arrive at 7.30am, and enter the post office box lobby. Behind the narrow corridor of identical red letterboxes, there is a locked room, full of ancient Christmas ...2 weeks ago
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