Ātea

Why Jacinda Ardern's decision to spend five days at Waitangi is a really big deal

Rangatira ki te rangatira: Ardern's approach to Waitangi commemorations offers the chance to break from the bad old days under PMs of both parties, writes Annabelle Lee


Guest writer
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New

Working mothers make great employees, so stop being an asshole about them

How Noah Slee's new album saved him from himself

Kit Harington in Gunpowder makes Jon Snow look like a bloody wimp

'Don’t die. For God’s sake don’t die': a devastating new novel by Han Kang

Hanging with a kid in Pt Chev: tips for Clarke Gayford from a stay-at-home dad

Eight rentals in eight years: What unstable housing is like for children

Damned lies and statistics: why Stats NZ should listen to queer communities

Summer health series: Treaty partnership and decision making

A sad reality: rocket launches are boring

The Monday Extract: A perfect day for elephant fish

Ātea

Why Ngāi Tahu and Tainui's Treaty payment top-ups are fair and legal


Contributing writer
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On Sunday, Stuff revealed that two iwi received Treaty payment top-ups totaling $370 million thanks to ‘relativity clauses’ in their original settlements, and implied the payments were furtive and excessive. Here’s why they’re not.

Politics

An accountability checklist: how to tell if the new government is performing


Guest writer
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It's easy to forget pledges of the past. Ben Smith looks at a selection of policy areas, what was promised, and the tangible outcomes that might tell us whether they're being honoured.

NZ Art Parallels: This pregnancy is going to be an art-parallel goldmine

The Spinoff is hiring a reporter/editor

Where were you when Suzanne Paul lifted a truck with a vacuum cleaner?

The rise and fall (and rise again) of The D4

The Best Of

The PM's baby: all the worst takes so far

Two words from Emily Writes in response to today's many terrible reckons: shut it.


Parents Editor
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Sausages and Custard: An ode to the weird and wonderful Kiwi Kidsongs albums

Allanah Faherty remembers Kiwi Kidsongs, a series of government-funded kids' albums that were sung in primary schools all over the country for 20 years.


Guest writer
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I'm a civil servant and I can no longer afford to rent in Wellington

Following our report on the increasingly chaotic rental market in Wellington, one young government employee explains why she's being forced to leave town. 


Guest writer
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RIP Stage Challenge, where the non-sporty kids got to shine

News came today that Stage Challenge, the national dance competition for schools, is to close after 25 years. Kristin Hall pays tribute to the touchingly earnest extra-curricular.


Contributing writer
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Think the racist menu is OK? Fine! Just know you’re making others feel like shit

Comedian James Roque responds to the exhortations online that we should all just lighten up and learn to take a joke over that Christchurch restaurant menu.


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Politics

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Calling an extraordinary general meeting of the Parly Kids' Caucus

Following Jacinda Ardern's announcement that she will soon have a baby, the Spinoff has exclusively obtained a memo from the daughter of MP Kiri Allan to her fellow parliamentary under-ones.


Guest writer
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Kiwis of Snapchat: Jacinda Ardern, pregnant PM

In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern isn't feeling too great.


Staff writers
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'The next day I was back on the job': the last time a woman PM gave birth in office

A woman prime minister giving birth while in office? It's already happened once in Pakistan. 


Staff Writer
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A Clacinda or a Jark: what will the new first child of the nation look like?

The Spinoff Labs has deployed advanced machine learning and AI to come up with these images which accurately answer the critical question: what will the prime ministerial child look like?


Staff writers
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The PM is preggers: Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford to have baby in June

Jacinda Ardern has announced via social media that she and her partner Clarke Gayford will be having a baby.


Staff writers
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Television

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Lightbox

What international reality franchises should NZ adopt next?

2018 is going to be a big year for our local reality franchises from Dancing With the Stars to Project Runway, but what's still missing? Calum Henderson fills in the gaps.


Staff Writer
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Mr Telly is the funniest, angriest letters section in New Zealand

Sam Brooks defies the ancient wisdom 'never read the comments' and goes deep into nine weeks of the TV Guide's Mr Telly letters.


Gaming Editor
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Throwback Thursday: The L Word was ahead of its time – in more ways than one

Sylvia Giles watches the mid-2000s soap The L Word and discovers a plethora of feminist conversations that are only starting to happen now in the mainstream. 


Guest writer
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What’s new to Lightbox in January?

Alex Casey and Sam Brooks introduce some new shows on Lightbox that might take your fancy this month.


A bunch of people
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Which channel wore their returning 7 o'clock show best? 

Last night marked the return of several key shows to the coveted 7 pm time slot, so we deployed our television moles to watch and report back. 


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Business

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Kiwibank

Pay me now: Small business owners on the battle to get what they're owed

Our piece on the struggle to get paid resonated widely with small business owners. Here are their stories, and some tips, covering the endless fight to get invoices paid.


Staff writers
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The Primer: Ubco Bikes

Every week we ask a local business to spill the beans about themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to Timothy Allan of Ubco, makers of an electric-powered, eco-friendly alternative to off and on road bikes.


Staff Writer
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The Kiwi company shaking up the peanut butter industry

Peanut butter maker Fix and Fogg has grown from the farmers' markets to the biggest online marketplace in the world, Amazon. Rebecca Stevenson caught up with founder Roman Jewell, and discovered Kiwi ingenuity at the heart of this small business success story.


Business Editor
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Is Paul Ryan really wearing Allbirds sneakers? A Spinoff investigation

The Kiwi footwear has become a favourite of Silicon Valley elites. But are the shoes now furnishing the feet of the top Republican and speaker of the house Paul Ryan? Jihee Junn investigates.


Staff Writer
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Blastoff: what do New Zealand's new space laws mean for other emergent technologies?

Lawyer Steven Moe looks at the developing world of space law, and questions whether similar moves are needed for other exponential technologies on our immediate horizon.


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Music

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Spark

Best Songs Ever: Kody Nielson's Baroque disco vs Kylie Minogue's country house?

Our regular round-up of new songs and singles, featuring Kody Nielson, The Venus Project, Kylie Minogue, Fall Out Boy and more…


Panel writers
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Sausages and Custard: An ode to the weird and wonderful Kiwi Kidsongs albums

Allanah Faherty remembers Kiwi Kidsongs, a series of government-funded kids' albums that were sung in primary schools all over the country for 20 years.


Guest writer
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Sociology, saunas, lentils: Getting to know innovative R&B artist Kelela

Madeleine Holden talks to Kelela ahead of her Auckland show this week.


Contributing writer
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Mike Chunn shares two of his favourite songs from the first year of NCEA songwriting

Play It Strange CEO Mike Chunn reflects on the first year of songwriting as an NCEA subject and shares two of his favourite songs to come out of the initiative with stories by their writers.


Guest writer
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How to listen to Mount Eerie, the saddest musician in the world

Murdoch Stephens saw Mount Eerie play in Krakow, visited Auschwitz, and wrote about how to listen to songs of unimaginable tragedy.


Guest writer
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Staff Writers

Duncan Greive
Managing Editor

Media

Editorial changes at The Spinoff

The editor of The Spinoff explains why he is no longer editor of The Spinoff, plus talks through other key staff changes. Then indulges himself about what The Spinoff means, and how it was made.

Read on.

Toby Manhire
Editor

Summer reissue: Laila Harré on the Internet-Mana debacle and rejoining Labour

Catherine McGregor
Deputy Editor

'Trump and New Zealand are a co-brand'

Alex Casey
Television Editor

The bleakest moments from the return of The AM Show

Henry Oliver
Music Editor

Summer reissue: On the cusp of stardom, Aldous Harding watches the horizon

Society

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Simplicity

The hell that is renting as a single parent in Wellington

Finding a rental in Wellington isn't only a battle for students and young professionals. Here, single mothers tell their accommodation search stories, and public policy researcher Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw explains why housing insecurity is so damaging for families.


A bunch of people
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Being measured means that you're there: On the LGBTI+ community and the census

This year's census will again not include any non-binary gender options or any questions about sexual orientation. That's a government-endorsed insult to the LGBTI+ community, writes comedian Eli Matthewson.


Guest writer
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I'm a civil servant and I can no longer afford to rent in Wellington

Following our report on the increasingly chaotic rental market in Wellington, one young government employee explains why she's being forced to leave town. 


Guest writer
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Intrepid summer road trip: Canterbury's oldest cheese, clearest water and best secondhand shop

In the third part of a four piece series exploring places around Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Beck Eleven finds hidden treasures and clear water, and Simon Day falls in love with Banks Peninsula.


Staff writers
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Stop guilting poor people into using menstrual cups

The indestructible, environmentally friendly, unlimited use menstrual cup has been celebrated as the answer to 'period poverty'. But they're not for everyone, writes Andrea Nielsen-Vold.


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Parents

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Flick Electric Co.

When Jacindababymania hurts

Across the country there was public celebration over the news prime minister Jacinda Ardern is pregnant with her first child. Privately, there was pain and heartache as those who want a baby themselves cope with the news.


Guest writer
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The PM's baby: all the worst takes so far

Two words from Emily Writes in response to today's many terrible reckons: shut it.


Parents Editor
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You're never too young to protect the planet

In the first story in a series celebrating the amazing things young New Zealanders do every day, James Kehoe Rowden talks to Angela Cumming about his commitment to protecting the environment, and shows little can make a big difference. 


Contributing writer
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Congratulations Jacinda! Love, Emily Writes

A message for prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who announced her pregnancy this morning.


Parents Editor
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What I wish my antenatal class really talked about

Antenatal classes are wonderful but sometimes what's covered is less useful than the chance to meet other new parents. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes asked parents to tell her what they wish they'd heard in these classes.


Parents Editor
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Ātea

See more Ātea content

Māori business in 2018: 'We need to invest in the whole'

Joshua Hitchcock looks ahead to 2018 and hopes that the thriving Māori economy doesn't overshadow other important areas of development.


Contributing writer
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Oh, te reo Māori is dying? Let me just stop you there...

In the wake of negative te reo Māori stories this week, a hashtag has appeared that centres the conversation back on the positive.


Ātea Editor
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Summer health series: Why 'reducing inequality' isn't enough

In part two of our series on the future of Māori health, former Ministry of Health advisor and policy analyst Gabrielle Baker asks if ‘reducing inequalities’ is aiming too low.


Guest writer
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Matakana Island visitors are being disrespectful and dangerous. Māori have every right to protest.

Local hāpu blockades barring people from using a wharf on Matakana Island in the Bay of Plenty have drawn the ire of visitors and tourist operations.


Contributing writer
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The Harare Haka: Why they're doing our haka in Zimbabwe

A high school in Harare, Zimbabwe, has adopted and adapted 'Ka Mate', the haka made famous by the New Zealand All Blacks. Photojournalist Cornell Tukiri travelled to Harare see for himself and to ask: is this OK?


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Auckland

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Simplicity

The Spinoff Reviews New Zealand #53: Daily Bread, Pt Chevalier

We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, does the celebrated new bakery from the Orphan's Kitchen team live up to the Instagram hype?


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Is the Quay St protest really about the trees?

A protest against the relocation of 15 trees from Quay St to nearby parks is preventing work on the cycleway extension. Jolisa Gracewood and Max Robitzsch sigh deeply and explain how we got here.


Guest writer
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Witty, stylish and diverse, Paperboy was a weekly burst of energy. So why did it die?

Bauer has announced the closure of Paperboy, its acclaimed ‘freemium’ Auckland magazine. Why did its publisher let it perish?


Guest writer
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Summer reissue: Why have Parisians fallen in love with bike sharing?

Simon Wilson came back from a visit to Paris filled with enthusiasm for ways to make Auckland better. Here’s the first: a great big bike share scheme.


Guest writer
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Kiwis of Snapchat - Summer Series: how to get on the Auckland property ladder

If you've been looking for way to buy a house in Auckland: this is it.


Staff writers
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Media

See more Media content
Made possible by
Simplicity

Editorial changes at The Spinoff

The editor of The Spinoff explains why he is no longer editor of The Spinoff, plus talks through other key staff changes. Then indulges himself about what The Spinoff means, and how it was made.


Managing Editor
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The best of The Spinoff this week: racism and rentals

Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. 


Staff writers
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Ranking New Zealand's top celebrity summer beards of 2017-18

To paraphrase early-2000s chart-toppers LFO: Summer beards come and summer beards go, some are worthwhile and some are so-so.


Staff Writer
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The trouble with that ‘in defence of Trump’ column

In purporting to deliver a disinterested appraisal of the US president’s first year, Heather Du Plessis-Allan creates a perfect storm of misinformation, argues Branko Marcetic


Contributing writer
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The best of The Spinoff this week: boobs, beers and Banksy

Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website.


Staff writers
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Gaming

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Bigpipe

The Mongrel Mob game is bleak proof that all publicity is good publicity

On Friday little known developer Supremacy released a mobile game named Mongrel Mob Defence and the media, predictably, went nuts. Sam Brooks says this kind of controversy not only allows these kinds of developers to thrive - it's what they need to survive.


Gaming Editor
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From Dunedin to LA: The NZ game developer joining one of the world's best games companies

Tim Nixon, the founder and creative director of Runaway Play – creators of successful mobile games Flutter and Splash – is heading to LA to join ThatGameCompany, one of the most critically lauded game developers in the world. He talks to Baz Macdonald about his career in games, and the upcoming NZ launch of ThatGameCompany’s latest release, Sky. 


Guest writer
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The deep nihilism and faux-profundity of Little Red Lie

Little Red Lie is the misanthropic, dark-as-tar game from indie developer Will O'Neill. Gaming editor Sam Brooks played it – and was disturbed by what he found.


Gaming Editor
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Beware the bears: We play the Turkish video game 'set in New Zealand'

Turkish developer 2645turqoise has released a game that purports to be a vast survivalist adventure across New Zealand. Adam Goodall finds out how well Ka Mate captures true blue bear-free Aotearoa.


Guest writer
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The curious case of the Three Kingdoms video games

This week, Creative Assembly announced another spinoff to the Total War series, this time based around the Three Kingdoms War in China. Sam Brooks investigates why this period is a bizarrely popular one for video games.


Gaming Editor
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Books

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Unity Books

Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending January 19

The week's best-selling books at the two Unity stores.


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The Friday Poem: 'How to woo your husband' by Selina Tusitala Marsh

New verse by the poet laureate of New Zealand, Selina Tusitala Marsh.


Guest writer
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Hello darkness: Peter Wells' cancer diary, part 2

The second instalment of Peter Wells' diary of life with cancer, republished from his private Facebook with permission.


Guest writer
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In which Jennifer Egan lays a great big egg

Guy Somerset compares the new novel by Jennifer Egan to Winona Ryder's performance in Stranger Things. It's not a compliment.


Guest writer
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Book of the Week (actually, book of the summer): Gabriel's Bay by Catherine Robertson

An essay by Catherine Robertson, author of the wildly entertaining novel Gabriel's Bay, on the problems some critics have with 'women's fiction'.


Guest writer
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Science

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Made possible by
The MacDiarmid Institute

Short shark shock: NZ's shark man on the scare at Oriental Bay

Just how worried should we be about talk around a surge in shark numbers in our shore, and the unexpected visitors to Oriental Bay. Alice Webb-Liddall talks to Riley Elliott. 


Guest writer
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Slaying the zombie memes in that 'climate sceptic' column on Stuff

I would love for Doug Edmeades to be right, as I would sleep better at night, but the arguments he trots out have been debunked over and over again, writes climate scientist James Renwick


Guest writer
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Enough is enough. Academics must stand up against this bullshit

Shocking revelations around a clinical trial of a new tuberculosis vaccine are just the tip of the iceberg. Maintaining public trust in science depends on a new approach to transparency.


Contributing writer
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Summer Reissue: Is Siggi Henry New Zealand's most dangerous city councillor?

She's an anti-vaccination, anti-fluoride campaigner who believes measles is a hoax and polio can be cured with vitamin C. Meet Siggi Henry, one of the most powerful people in our fourth largest city. Angela Cuming reports.


Contributing writer
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Summer Reissue: Sorry Paleo Pete, but I'll take medical qualifications over your 'common sense' any day

Every time celebrity chef Pete Evans talks about his 'wellness' beliefs, scientists and doctors line up to counter them with peer-reviewed research and established facts. That's because Evans' 'common sense' sounds a lot like utter nonsense, writes Dr Siouxsie Wiles.


Contributing writer
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Podcasts

See more Podcasts content

Why being from Aotearoa makes selling your video game overseas easier

The brains behind one of our most innovative and internationally recognised video game studios talks to Simon Pound.


Business is Boring boss
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Think startups are only run by single guys and their friends? Meet Dr Alyona Medelyan

Simon Pound talks to machine learning expert Dr Alyona Medelyan.


Business is Boring boss
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Why hiring tangata whenua should be a priority for all businesses

Simon Pound chats to Michael Moka about Māori entrepreneurship and bringing the whānau (values) to work.


Business is Boring boss
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The Spinoff presents SUPERPOD 2017

To punish you all for being naughty this year, The Spinoff made an unholy mash-up of four of its podcasts.


Staff writers
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Breeder's Digest: A very merry breeder's Christmas

Everything you need to know about surviving Christmas in one handy pod.


Podcast
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Partner Content

See more Partner Content content

Kit Harington in Gunpowder makes Jon Snow look like a bloody wimp

Sam Brooks argues why Catholic Rebellion thriller Gunpowder is far more interesting than other dour dramas from the same period.


Gaming Editor
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The rise and fall (and rise again) of The D4

Before they called it quits in 2006, The D4 were held up as one of Kiwi saviours of rock n’ roll. Frontman Dion Lunadon talks to Hussein Moses about what went wrong and why now is the right time to get back together.


Contributing writer
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You're never too young to protect the planet

In the first story in a series celebrating the amazing things young New Zealanders do every day, James Kehoe Rowden talks to Angela Cumming about his commitment to protecting the environment, and shows little can make a big difference. 


Contributing writer
-

Throwback Thursday: The L Word was ahead of its time – in more ways than one

Sylvia Giles watches the mid-2000s soap The L Word and discovers a plethora of feminist conversations that are only starting to happen now in the mainstream. 


Guest writer
-

Intrepid summer road trip: Canterbury's oldest cheese, clearest water and best secondhand shop

In the third part of a four piece series exploring places around Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, Beck Eleven finds hidden treasures and clear water, and Simon Day falls in love with Banks Peninsula.


Staff writers
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