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Unaffordable housing & the culture of greed
Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, October 4th, 2014 - 47 comments
Rental housing remains unaffordable for many. The problem is the greed of investors & speculators, supported by a culture in which housing investment is seen as a way to individual prosperity.
First they sold Auckland, then the rest of NZ…?
Written By: - Date published: 10:00 am, October 3rd, 2014 - 28 comments
A quiet shift in a dodgy Key govt-SkyCity deal: TVNZ land, sold to SkyCity for its convention centre, is to be used for a new hotel. Plus: non-mandated deal between Auckland Transport Authority & a US corporate – intense surveillance of Aucklanders’ diverse activities.
Helen Kelly on Vote Chat: Questions for PoA & Key?
Written By: - Date published: 1:35 pm, August 16th, 2014 - 17 comments
Helen Kelly is interviewed on Vote Chat. Kelly raises questions about the Ports of Auckland & Key’s role in Dirty Politics. She has read some of Dirty Politics, & was axed from today’s the Nation Panel, then replaced by Josie Pagani.[Updated]
Message from Christchurch: Send Help Now
Written By: - Date published: 8:57 am, August 5th, 2014 - 36 comments
Power has been concentrated into the figure of one man – a man who has in recent weeks shown that he thinks he is above the rule of law. You might think your one vote doesn’t make much of a difference – but it is everything to us here. Another three years of National and Brownlee, and we might not have a vote at a local level at all.
Auckland’s forgotten West
Written By: - Date published: 8:55 am, June 17th, 2014 - 107 comments
Almost a week after last week’s storm, some people in West Auckland are only just getting their power back on, while others are still without hot water. Some parts of Auckland’s west are becoming increasingly neglected under John Key’s watch, especially since the centralising-moves following Hide’s blueprint for the “supercity”.
The neoliberal power game: cities for sale
Written By: - Date published: 7:24 am, May 4th, 2014 - 27 comments
An NZ Herald article about Mai Chen’s book on Auckland Council, supports big power, big money, big competition, and economic activities focused on anything but the production of material needs and wants. It ignores the struggling precariat living with housing, income, transport and energy poverty.
Second class citizens. Beggars belief
Written By: - Date published: 9:49 am, April 29th, 2014 - 58 comments
Out of sight-out of mind seems to be the logic of Auckland City’s bylaw to come into effect next month, to outlaw begging on the streets. The clear message from Native Affairs report, ‘Walk on By‘, last night, is that the bylaw is the result of pressure from the comfortable middle classes. [Update: bylaw only says it’s an offence where begging causes a nuisance]
Auckland Council CCO 2 step
Written By: - Date published: 10:42 am, March 7th, 2014 - 13 comments
Mai Chen argues that the current review of Auckland Council CCOs will put them on a tighter leash. Tony Holman argues against the whole CCO set up: it’s a trojan horse, 2 step towards privatisation of Auckland assets. Aucklanders need to have their say. Vote out Team Key to prevent such sales.
A glorious waste of money for the titillation of perverts
Written By: - Date published: 9:28 am, February 8th, 2014 - 70 comments
The fiasco of the wet dick and the perverts shuddered to a conclusion yesterday with the direct bill of around $250,000. Len Brown was strong-armed into paying $40,000 for the audit which turned up nothing much except that his wife brought a lot of hotel nights. Questions remain about who was responsible for the waste caused by the lack of scoping of the external audit. Looks like dirty politics at the ratepayers expense.
Herald massaging a message
Written By: - Date published: 5:19 pm, January 23rd, 2014 - 23 comments
The Herald continues its tabloid-style vendetta against Len Brown by serving up non-news in a shock-horror frame to make the mayor look bad. With a combination of the delicate removal/rewriting of what was said and a a senile loss of memory about the chains imposed on Auckland by National, Act and Rodney Hide – the Granny Herald continues its downward slide into irrelevance.
Auckland Council’s next 100 days
Written By: - Date published: 9:54 am, January 14th, 2014 - 46 comments
Auckland Council probably has only 100 days left to sort itself out. Otherwise it is going to be a long three years where the prospects of good being achieved will be poor.
Local govt is on the move
Written By: - Date published: 11:00 am, January 6th, 2014 - 51 comments
The Local Government Commission is currently proposing to crush a number of local bodies together into the same kind of mess that the Auckland super city has been suffering. Undemocratic and divorced from anything local because only a wealthy few can consider standing and those few can ignore any local wishes from the token local boards. The only defense that citizens have against the LGC is to force binding poll. Be ready to do so for Northland and Hastings/Napier.
Wet Dick and the Perverts
Written By: - Date published: 10:37 am, December 27th, 2013 - 136 comments
It should be the name of a group from a bizarro version of the 1960’s. But no, it is what passes for the governance of the Auckland City Council these days. There is our mayor with his wet dick. Then we have the five perverts who are busy emoting faux outrage whilst quietly forgetting that we elected them to help run a city. Dick Quax, Cameron Brewer, and the handful of other perverts in council can play with that aspect of their lives on their own time.
Auckland in search of democracy
Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, December 24th, 2013 - 29 comments
Media beat-ups around personality politics divert from Auckland’s real problems: an undemocratic council structure that panders to corporates, & that does not represent Auckland’s diversity, while doing little to counter the destructive impact of the inequality gap.
Reef piranha
Written By: - Date published: 8:32 pm, December 22nd, 2013 - 42 comments
Today’s Herald editorial gets one thing right – a media pack has turned on Len Brown. But it’s not gutsy journalism – it comes straight out of the Rupert Murdoch playbook. Len’s latest sin is his upgrades – EY says they total $32,000 for 64 occasions. That’s $500 an upgrade, which seems a lot on top of what Len paid. The report does not detail how this total was arrived at, and I cannot find any example of any journalist asking questions about it.
Ernst and Young should investigate Cameron Brewer
Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, December 20th, 2013 - 240 comments
Cameron Brewer apparently forgot to file a declaration of interests in 2012 which should have included details of a four day junket to the Gold Coast paid for by Mediaworks. Dick Quax forgot to file returns in 2011 and 2012. Is an investigation required?
Showdown at Auckland Council
Written By: - Date published: 8:52 am, December 19th, 2013 - 264 comments
Today’s Council meeting will no doubt develop a great deal of heat but little light. And then hopefully everyone can settle down and working on the real job which is to create Auckland into a great city.
NZ Herald: Disgrace to democracy
Written By: - Date published: 11:03 am, December 18th, 2013 - 246 comments
The right wing NZ Herald editors, have misused their position in the news mediascape to produce some shameless, highly partisan and manipulative propaganda. They do not have the interest of all Aucklanders at heart. More considered analysis needed. Let’s wait for tomorrow’s public meeting.
SkyCity: they’re toxic
Written By: - Date published: 8:11 am, December 16th, 2013 - 170 comments
The detail of the Ernest and Young report on Len Brown clears him of all significiant wrongdoing on the local government purse. The hotel room upgrade values are just complete bullshit for someone who had a regular family timeouts at one hotel – which did most of the almost all of the upgrades. The type of customer that all hotels want. The political question is about receiving anything “free” from Skycity.
Public transport vs private transport. Don’t waste money on fasttracking motorways
Written By: - Date published: 1:08 am, November 26th, 2013 - 99 comments
Ok, I know this image has a lot of issues. It is a 256 color animated gif. Dithered to hell. Bad colour balance, tilt and even a moving focus point. But it certainly makes its point about what kind of road space we’re paying for to inefficiently fill with cars? Have the idiots at NZTA and in this incompetent National government not read their own statistics? Roads aren’t filling up. Public transport does.
Oil rigs – coming to a beach near you?
Written By: - Date published: 7:58 am, November 19th, 2013 - 98 comments
The Government is in the process of handing out oil exploration permits which would if unchanged allow drilling 6 nautical miles out from the west coast beaches of Auckland. And Auckland Council had the chance to submit on the proposal and did so, in a very gentle way, but forgot to ask the locals including the local board. There has to be a better way.
Len Brown will today propose a living wage for Auckland Council employees
Written By: - Date published: 7:48 am, November 7th, 2013 - 15 comments
Len Brown will today propose to Council that it funds a living wage for all Council and CCO employees. It is intended that this is funded through savings, particularly with high level wages, and efficiencies and will be brought in over three years if supported by the Council.
BLip: The swearing of the Auckland council
Written By: - Date published: 9:11 am, October 30th, 2013 - 18 comments
BLip is well known on this site for his ever-growing linked lists of the lies of John Key. But it appears he has been branching out into the role of reporter in this hilarious account of the swearing of the Auckland council last night that was picked out of Open Mike.
On the waterfront: art & politics
Written By: - Date published: 12:01 pm, October 29th, 2013 - 81 comments
Auckland authorities disrespected past worker struggles in allowing an art work on the waterfront, that commemorates the ruthless suppression of the 1913 strike. After protests, it has now been covered. Time for the many to unite for fairness at work & in daily living!
The Blame Game
Written By: - Date published: 7:51 am, October 27th, 2013 - 107 comments
And so it continues. Inside the Palino-Wewege-Cook-Slater camp, every one is pointing the finger at everyone else and putting the blame elsewhere for the clumsily executed smear campaign against Len Brown. Got to wonder who is in the shadows frantically pulling various levers?
Playing dirty: The politics of contradiction
Written By: - Date published: 8:03 pm, October 19th, 2013 - 169 comments
Slater’s track record speaks for itself. As the Brown-Chuang-Wewege-Palino story unfolds, his angle on the story shifts, and the contradictions abound. On The Nation this morning, Slater lays it out: politics is a dirty game, and that’s the game he’s playing.
The NBR and Editorial Independence
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, October 18th, 2013 - 21 comments
The NBR has fired long time senior reporter Jock Anderson for writing a sympathetic Len Brown editorial. This apparently was against instructions even though the comments appeared to be balanced and fair. This raises concerning issues about NBR’s editorial independence and the control over content that management has.
Making sense of the census: regional decline
Written By: - Date published: 12:33 pm, October 16th, 2013 - 30 comments
Yesterday John Key, some MSM journos and a few Standard commentators were gloating that recently released Census 2013 data showed David Cunliffe was wrong in his concern with regional decline. The evidence shows Cunliffe is correct.
What’s the play?
Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, October 16th, 2013 - 108 comments
No-one’s happy with the revelations about Len Brown’s private life, apart from Slater (himself also an adulterer) who is wallowing in all the details that Chuang seems only too happy to provide. But what’s interesting is that this is clearly a political play. Who’s behind it and what do they have to gain? The players: Slater, Slater snr, Chuang, and Palino.
The attack on Auckland’s Democracy
Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, October 16th, 2013 - 172 comments
With Tea Party type zeal Cameron Slater is trying to bring down Len Brown’s mayoralty. What has happened is a tragedy for Len’s family and himself. But as Mayor of the super city we need him to move on from this.
(Un)affordable rents in Berm City
Written By: - Date published: 10:04 am, October 3rd, 2013 - 43 comments
Central Auckland, gated city candidates get cosy about their grass verges. The west has a crisis in affordable rents & homelessness. Labour & Nats housing policies bow to the middle class home ownership agenda. Greens & Mana look to state & council housing.
- Poll serves government an unwelcome entrée to the Budget
Winston Peters might not give a ‘rat’s derriere’ about last night’s poll, but it revealed the unusual absence of a honeymoon period and little payoff for the government’s action plan approach, writes Anna Rawhiti-Connell in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in ...1 week ago - NZ’s Human Rights Record ‘Tarnished’ At UN Rights Review
The age of criminal responsibility was one of numerous human rights issues raised during Aotearoa New Zealand’s UPR. Other key themes were racism and discrimination, the disproportionate representation of Māori in prison, and to uphold the UN Declaration ...1 week ago - Reality Check Radio is still ‘off-air’. But was it ever really at risk?Is the fringe radio station really in a financial crisis, or is it just running a hyped-up donation drive? Fringe internet radio station Reality Check Radio was launched by the anti-vaccine mandates group Voices for Freedom in March 2023. For the next year, it undertook probably the most aggressive promotional ...1 week ago
- How a High Court showdown between two Māori culture giants flared and faded in a dayAbove the Fold: On Monday, the biggest Māori screen production company faced down the biggest funder of Māori content at the High Court. It was an incredibly tense moment – then, just as quickly, it resolved. Duncan Greive breaks down a strange day in the screen sector. Yesterday morning, Māori ...1 week ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 30 April
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 30 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago - ‘Barren, toxic wasteland’: Fast-track risks repeating mistakes of the past – Ngāti ToaUnrestrained development poisoned Porirua’s streams and silted up its harbour. Now Ngāti Toa says the fast-track bill could repeat that environmental vandalism. The post ‘Barren, toxic wasteland’: Fast-track risks repeating mistakes of the past – Ngāti Toa appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- KiwiRail apologises for not telling workers about asbestos riskThe Rail and Maritime Transport Union has discovered KiwiRail knew buildings across more than a dozen sites contained asbestos, but never told those who worked in them The post KiwiRail apologises for not telling workers about asbestos risk appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Mother and daughter ride into the world champsIt’s a ride that’s lasted almost 30 years for mother and daughter BMX riders Nancy and Toni James, and the next stop is the World Championships in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Almost 27 years ago, Nancy and her husband Gerrard took their oldest child, Daniel, to the Waitākere BMX Club. ...1 week ago
- To be competitive in Europe requires modern slavery legislation nowOpinion: An opportunity to raise labour standards, enforce human rights, and foster a culture of responsible business conduct The post To be competitive in Europe requires modern slavery legislation now appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- A fast track with unprecedented powerWhen it comes to talking about the Government’s controversial fast-track consenting process, political scientist Richard Shaw refers to the famous Chinese sci-fi novel Three-Body Problem, while RNZ’s In Depth journalist Farah Hancock talks about zombie projects. Shaw is referring to the three-party coalition Government and how the proposed legislation is ...1 week ago
- Does gender-segregated schooling make a difference?Opinion: The debate over single gender versus co-educational schooling has long been controversial. I went to a co-ed school and was inspired by a remarkable woman who was my maths teacher, and because of her deep knowledge and passion for the subject, I knew that maths was definitely an option ...1 week ago
- Daily crossword, Tuesday 30 AprilThe post Daily crossword, Tuesday 30 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Vale, Vincent O’Sullivan (1937-2024)He won everything and he earned a knighthood and he was a senior literary figure to the point that he was a living monument to himself until his death in the weekend at 86, but there was something about Vincent O’Sullivan that flew under the radar, that was independent and ...1 week ago
- Europe will not be able to fight the return of conscriptionOpinion: The post-Cold War generation grew up never having to worry about their countries’ security. But that era is over. The post Europe will not be able to fight the return of conscription appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Unions Mark May Day With Call To Fight Back Against Government AusterityUnions are holding public events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to mark May Day and International Workers’ Day 2024. ...1 week ago
- The Spinoff is looking for a new staff writerA rare opportunity to join our team of award-winning journalists. The Spinoff is advertising for a staff writer for the first time in… maybe ever? This is an extremely rare opportunity to join our small team of award-winning writers, covering a range of topics and tones, from the most serious ...1 week ago
- ‘sheer glitter ringing about’: Emma Neale remembers Vincent O’SullivanNews that the great writer Vincent O’Sullivan has died has spurred a wave of tributes. Here, fellow writer Emma Neale remembers her friend and colleague. I have a bright string of memories of Vince. The earliest moments are of sitting as a young student in his lectures on Katherine Mansfield, ...1 week ago
- Vale Vincent O’Sullivan, 1937-2024We remember one of Aotearoa’s towering literary figures, who died on Sunday 28 April. Sir Vincent O’Sullivan, one of Aotearoa’s most prolific writers, has died in Dunedin at the age of 87. His son, Dominic O’Sullivan, shared the news on social media on Sunday 28 April: “Hei aitua hoki, kua ...1 week ago
- Ariana Stevens wants te reo Māori to thriveAriana Stevens founded Reo Māori Mai in 2018 to help people connect with te ao Māori through the reo. On Friday she was awarded Tū Rangatira, the supreme award at the Ngā Tohu Reo Māori awards. Te Tai Poutini (the South Island’s West Coast) is often characterised by its remote ...1 week ago
- A tipping point is imminent, and it’s time for our boardrooms to get uncomfortableBad, bad records are going to be broken this year, and it’s time for business leaders to accept that the transition to a low-carbon economy is going to be spiky, writes business leader Dame Therese Walsh. When I was on the board of the stock exchange, the NZX, a gentleman ...1 week ago
- Farmers Reject Government’s Plans To Restart The Export Of Animals By Sea1 May marks a year since New Zealand’s world-leading ban on live exports by sea came into effect. Instead of it being cause for celebration the anniversary is marred by the Government’s plan to restart the unpopular trade. ...1 week ago
- The surprising number of babies being injured at the supermarketMore than a thousand claims have been lodged with ACC over children, some younger than a year old, being injured by shopping trolleys in the last five years. Stewart Sowman-Lund looks at why. Madeleine Holden was at her local Countdown when she heard something no mother wants to hear: her ...1 week ago
- Mr Goldsmith goes to GenevaThe justice minister will be grilled on NZ’s human rights record at the UN later today, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. NZ’s turn in front of the class At 7pm ...1 week ago
- Inquest begins into ‘boy in the water’ Gore deathThis week marks the return of Newsroom’s chart-topping investigative podcast, The Boy in the Water, when investigations editor Melanie Reid will take listeners inside the courtroom during the coronial inquest into the death of three-and-a-half year old Lachlan Jones. Lachie was found floating face up in an oxidation pond on the ...1 week ago
- Act’s arts spokesman once watched a musicalIt took Act’s arts spokesman Todd Stephenson 20 minutes to think of a single New Zealand author and a single New Zealand book. The only artistic experience he could think of is that he went to see Hamilton in New York. His only press release on the arts has been ...1 week ago
- Wellington City Council isn’t very good at owning an airportIf the council isn’t sure if it wants a bigger airport, it probably shouldn’t own hundreds of millions of dollars worth of airport shares. Any fan of a professional sports team, especially in the big-money US and European leagues, knows how much team success relies on the right owner. Good ...1 week ago
- Is the health star system past its use-by date?Plagued by industry lobbying and design flaws, the system may be on the chopping block under National. Is it delivering what it says on the box? At the supermarket, a woman with a baby strapped to her front pushes a trolley piled high with groceries, and two young children sit ...1 week ago
- Let’s rewrite the monuments of the futureOpinion: The idea that peace can ever be ‘won’ by war has always been, and remains, a false idea The post Let’s rewrite the monuments of the future appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- AI’s huge potential to improve healthcareOpinion: Artificial intelligence is increasingly part of life, and so are anxieties about how it will change life as we know it. How it will change our jobs is just one aspect of the dystopian future we imagine it is creating. Some, if not many, of these concerns warrant serious ...1 week ago
- Defence watchdog survives after NZ First blocks repealA watchdog tasked with overseeing the NZ military has survived repeal plans after the intervention of a coalition partner The post Defence watchdog survives after NZ First blocks repeal appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Reviewers suggest delaying next census ahead of big decisionStats NZ is warned it needs the public’s trust, and to be certain its data will be of sufficient quality, for a census shake-up The post Reviewers suggest delaying next census ahead of big decision appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 29 AprilLoading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 29 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Daily crossword, Monday 29 AprilThe post Daily crossword, Monday 29 April appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Powering ahead with green hydrogenCrown research institute GNS Science is about to officially open its new green hydrogen lab in Lower Hutt. One day it could contribute to making sure that small rural communities cut off by disaster can still power through, with stored green hydrogen used to establish a kind of micro-grid. Michelle ...1 week ago
- Fast-track Approvals Bill Presents A Serious Risk To New Zealand Exporters“Our exporters should, therefore, be deeply concerned that the Fast-track Approvals Bill was not assessed for consistency with any of our free trade commitments prior to being introduced to the House,” says Gary Taylor, Chief Executive of the Environmental ...1 week ago
- NZCTU Welcomes Corporate Manslaughter Bill IntroductionNZCTU President Richard Wagstaff is calling on all political parties to support the new Member’s Bill from Labour’s workplace relations and safety spokesperson Camilla Belich MP that would ensure negligent companies are held accountable when their employees ...1 week ago
- Inside the home of New Zealand’s greatest crime writerNgaio Marsh House is one of Christchurch’s best kept secrets – and contains more than a few mysteries of its own. Trust Ngaio Marsh to leave more than a few mysteries scattered through her house long after her departure. For a start, there’s the curious concrete portal in the garden, ...1 week ago
- ‘Apologies to Dvořák’: How a serenade for strings cemented one of New Zealand TV’s strongest...Appointment viewing has been lost to the mists of time, but memories of Montana Sunday Theatre can still be conjured by hitting play on a particular piece of classical music. “You’re not going to be able to sell it.” Over 30 years on, Karen Bieleski still recalls how the task ...1 week ago
- In the studio with artist power couple Claudia Kogachi and Josephine JelicichThe pair opened their first fully collaborative exhibition, Nina for Flowers, last Saturday. Gabi Lardies visited their studio to find out who Nina is and what working together was like. ‘It didn’t start out like, ‘This is a show about Nina,’” says Josephine Jelicich, gripping a thermos of peppermint tea. ...1 week ago
- An ode to the muesli bar, a national treasureThank you, Dr Maximilian Oskar Bircher-Benner, for your brilliant invention. I’m another mid-20s Kiwi who had an OE last year. I hopped on my bicycle where France meets the Atlantic and cycled east. I pedalled through the Loire Valley, down rivers lined with willows and ancient wisteria-draped chateaus. I relished ...1 week ago
- Waste not, want not: New series Food Waste Kitchen turns food trash into treasureTara Ward talks to presenter Naomi Toilalo about the new TV show that turns food waste into a three course feast. Naomi Toilalo is standing in the warehouse at Good Neighbour Tauranga, helping unpack the two-and-a-half tonnes of rejected food that will arrive at the community support hub that day. ...2 weeks ago
- Dog of the month: Scout, who is so independent she could be a catScout is our latest Dog of the Month. This feature was offered as a reward during our What’s Eating Aotearoa PledgeMe campaign. Thank you to Scout’s human, Avril, for her support. Dog name: Scout (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird – she inherited the independent spirit ...2 weeks ago
- ‘I don’t know if we were brave or stupid’: Megan Alatini on changing reality TVMegan Alatini takes us through her life in TV, including ‘terrible’ daytime TV, the class of Carol Hirschfeld and her most embarrassing TrueBliss moment. When she responded to a vague newspaper ad asking “do you have what it takes to be a popstar?” 25 years ago, Megan Alatini never guessed ...2 weeks ago
- Behind the counter: Wellington shopkeepersA new exhibition in Wellington showcases the faces behind your local goods and services. Back in 1977, when I was a fine arts student at the University of Canterbury, I took a series of photographs of Christchurch shopkeepers. The photos were for a calendar – a project for my end ...2 weeks ago
- Iranian Solidarity Group New Zealand Condemns Toomaj Salehi's Death Sentence And The New Aggres...Toomaj and his resistance to tyranny through his songs have become an icon for the youth of Iran, so his sentence has hit the nation hard. Toomaj Salehi is not the first artist to pay the price for standing with the people. ...2 weeks ago
- I saw ‘The Sign’, and it opened up my eyes: All the fuss around Bluey, explainedTara Ward unravels the many nuanced layers of a cartoon about talking dogs. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. It’s not often an episode of a children’s cartoon has adults sobbing into their sleeves, but that’s exactly what happened this week when ...2 weeks ago
- ‘The worst piece of law proposed since 1979’: Reactions to the Fast-track Approvals BillA brief round-up of submissions on the controversial proposed law. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Last week, submissions on the controversial Fast-track Approvals Bill closed just hours after the government released a list of stakeholder organisations who were sent letters advising how they could ...2 weeks ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘Cereal giving’ by Robin PeaceA poem from Robin Peace’s new collection Detritus of Empire: feather / grass / rock. Cereal giving I see a woman’s hands, see her curious hands break a stalk as she walks through the tall prairie, the savannah, the steppe, wherever it was. See her idly bite the grass that ...2 weeks ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending April 26The 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 Hemingway’s Goblet by Dermot Ross (Mary Egan Publishing, $38) A handsomely produced (debossed cover, lovely ...2 weeks ago
- Te Rūnanga O Ngāti Whātua Welcomes Commissioner's Decision Regarding Awataha MaraeThe Commissioner's decision validates the longstanding efforts of the local community and ensures that Awataha Marae will be managed to serve the needs of the local community, particularly for hosting tangihanga. ...2 weeks ago
- ‘A hell of a lot of fun’: Our reviews of Chris Isaak’s dazzling Auckland showThe ‘Wicked Game’ heartthrob is in his late 60s now. That didn’t stop him putting on a lively, goofy and very sparkly show. Apart from ‘Wicked Game’, which graces a sultry playlist of mine simply called 💋, my last sustained Chris Isaak listening session took place when I was about ...2 weeks ago
- Hear me out: All I want is a TrueBliss T-shirtTara Ward makes an impassioned plea for some vital pop culture merch. In April 1999, I became obsessed with a new reality television show called Popstars. Every Tuesday night, five strangers transformed into music royalty before my very eyes as Joe, Keri, Carly, Erika and Megan were chosen to form ...2 weeks ago
- Oranga Tamariki Axes Specialist Māori Roles, Weakens Commitment To Te Ao MāoriThe PSA is shocked that Oranga Tamariki has used the cost cutting drive to downgrade its commitment to Te Ao Māori and remove many specialist Māori roles. ...2 weeks ago
- A guide to Wellington’s best BYO restaurantsWondering where to host your next BYO? Whether its a small gathering or a massive party, we’ve got some recommendations. I was first introduced to the concept of BYOs at Dunedin’s India Gardens, a legendary but sadly defunct establishment, which purveyed enormous quantities of mango chicken to Aotearoa’s drunkest future ...2 weeks ago
- Media industry sheds few tears for minister LeeThe sector says it’s hopeful her replacement Paul Goldsmith will be able to throw it a lifeline, after six months with a minister deemed missing in action, writes Catherine McGregor in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign ...2 weeks ago
- Aotearoa Party Merges With Rock The Vote NZ Party And John Alcock Elected As Party LeaderRock The Vote NZ, known for its advocacy for minor party unity and its role within the Freedoms NZ Coalition during the 2023 General Election, celebrates this merger as a strategic enhancement of its operational strength and outreach. ...2 weeks ago
- An afternoon at the Repair Café, where everyday objects get a second lifeNearly everyone has experienced the frustration of something you use breaking and being difficult or expensive to fix. Proposed legislation could change that. It’s been raining on and off all Sunday afternoon but people are lining up outside a building in a corner of Gribblehirst Park in Sandringham, Auckland. In ...2 weeks ago
- Dreaming of my not-wedding dayWhat does a forever relationship look like when you don’t believe in marriage? And how do you celebrate it? This essay is part of our Sunday Essay series, made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. I’m going to do it, right now. I’m going to say ...2 weeks ago
- David Seymour: Auckland Grammar School ANZAC Day AddressThis speech was delivered to Auckland Grammar students, family, Old Boys, and staff on ANZAC Day 2024 by David Seymour ’97, MP for Epsom. ...2 weeks ago
- David Seymour: Auckland Grammar School ANZAC Day AddressThis speech was delivered to Auckland Grammar students, family, Old Boys, and staff on ANZAC Day 2024 by David Seymour ’97, MP for Epsom. ...2 weeks ago
- Response To ANZAC Day ProtestsACT's Rural Communities and Veterans spokesman Mark Cameron responds to cancellations and protests of ANZAC Day commemorations in Wellington. He says, "These pitiful attempts to detract from ANZAC Day are not at all indicative of the feelings of mainstream ...2 weeks ago
- Die In for Palestine Marks ANZAC dayPōneke based peace activists staged a silent protest at the ANZAC day service to highlight New Zealand’s complicity in war and genocide, and urge the government to take concrete steps to stop the genocide in Palestine. ...2 weeks ago
- Don’t mention the war: On grandparents and Anzac biscuitsAmanda Thompson doesn’t really do Anzac Day. But what she does do is remember the people she knew who had a lifetime to remember stuff they didn’t really want to, because of a war they didn’t ask for. And she does make Anzac biscuits. First published in 2021. All my ...2 weeks ago
- Governor-General's Anzac Day Dawn Service AddressWith our collective remembrance, and steadfast belief in our common humanity, we strengthen our hope and resolve to do what we can to foster dialogue and understanding, and to heal divisions in our pursuit of peace. ...2 weeks ago
- Angling-Conservation Group Sees Fast Track Bill As UndemocraticPrincipal reasons for the opposition is the loss of the public’s democratic right to have “a fair say” and the vital need for a government free from corruption, said Casey Cravens of Dunedin, president of the New Zealand Federation of Freshwater ...2 weeks ago
- Remembering the great TrueBliss vs Bardot national anthem sing-offNever mind the scoreboard – in the 2000 Bledisloe Cup decider, the real trans-Tasman battle was won before kickoff. First published in 2016. The dawn of the new millennium was a dark time for the All Blacks. Their final game pre-Y2K was a 22-18 loss to South Africa in the ...2 weeks ago
- Help Me Hera: Do I even want the public sector job I might be about to lose?I’m on the wrong side of 40, I never pursued creative work and now my job is killing my soul. Help! Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz Dear Hera, May I start with the least original conversation opener you’re likely to hear around the motu at the moment, particularly in Wellington: ...2 weeks ago
- ANZAC Day Wreath Calls For No Future Deaths From AUKUS“Never again - No AUKUS” was the message of the wreath laid at this morning’s national ANZAC Day commemorative service at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park this morning by the Stop AUKUS group. ...2 weeks ago
- Seize the dayWhile Anzac Day has experienced a resurgence in recent years, our other day of remembrance has slowly faded from view. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. Original illustrations by Hope McConnell. First published in 2022. The high school’s head girl and ...2 weeks ago
- The first, forgotten Anzacs, more than 50 years before GallipoliAustralian and New Zealand volunteers fought together in the Waikato War, yet still its place in the Anzac tradition is unacknowledged by our defence forces or Returned Services Association. First published in 2018. When I was a boy cub I attended Anzac Day services in the South Auckland suburb of ...2 weeks ago
- Poem for Anzac Day: ‘Hoki Mai’ by Tayi TibbleA poem by Wellington writer Tayi Tibble. Hoki Mai She kisses him goodbye with her eyes still wet and alight from their last swim in the Awatere river. At the train station celebration, she leads the Kapa Haka but her voice keeps breaking under and over itself like waves. ...2 weeks ago
- Poem for Anzac Day: ‘My World War I Poem’ by Bill ManhireA poem from Bill Manhire’s 2017 book of verse Some Things to Place in a Coffin. My World War I Poem Inside each trench, the sound of prayer. Inside each prayer, the sound of digging. Image courtesy of Auckland War Memorial Museum. ...2 weeks ago
- Anti-Poverty Groups Urge New Minister For Disability Issues To Reverse Funding CutsThe Fairer Future coalition of anti-poverty groups say Whaikaha must be properly funded going forward, and that to argue that poor financial management of the new Ministry is a red herring by the Prime Minister. ...2 weeks ago
- New Media Minister Must Rule Out State Intervention In Private MediaThe Taxpayers’ Union is today congratulating Hon. Paul Goldsmith on his appointment as Minister for Media and Communications and urges him to rule out state intervention in the private media sector. ...2 weeks ago
- ‘Emily Dickinson made me into a writer’: Lauren Groff on the power of readingWelcome to The Spinoff Books Confessional, in which we get to know the reading habits and quirks of New Zealanders at large. This week: writer and one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2024, Lauren Groff. The book I wish I’d written If I wish I’d written a ...2 weeks ago
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