The Spinoff

The best and worst voting booths for each party, plus other data details from Election 2026

The right won votes in sports clubs, the left won in libraries, and shopping malls swung more than any other type of polling place.

Helen Emett at The White Lady

Nocturnalists: Helen Emett on why a late-night burger always hits the spot

‘I asked them point blank’: The time Dai Henwood busted open an otter conspiracy

Helen Emett at The White Lady

Nocturnalists: Helen Emett on why a late-night burger always hits the spot

‘I asked them point blank’: The time Dai Henwood busted open an otter conspiracy

'The plot twist is devastating': the book Isabel Haarhaus wishes she'd written

The Spinoff Review of Books

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'The plot twist is devastating': the book Isabel Haarhaus wishes she'd written

The Spinoff Review of Books

How diverse is our new parliament?

Dark green leather chairs in a circle image within a large teal eye shape, against a light blue crumpled paper background. Yellow people outlines are in each corner.

How diverse is our new parliament?

What’s central Auckland and where do you draw the line?

A map of Auckland, the sky tower, a hand and pencil.

What’s central Auckland and where do you draw the line?

Billionaires at the ballot box: Did the vote-splitting campaign work?

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Billionaires at the ballot box: Did the vote-splitting campaign work?

A visual history of the NZ parliament – 2026 edition

A clip of the parliament visualisation by Chris McDowall and Tim Denee

A visual history of the NZ parliament – 2026 edition

The Hui is ending after 11 seasons. Here’s what Aotearoa is losing

Black-and-white portraits of two Māori current affairs broadcasters, a man in a suit and tie and a woman in a dark blazer, against a textured green and cream background with red geometric shapes and pink starburst graphics.

The Hui is ending after 11 seasons. Here’s what Aotearoa is losing

Popular

The winners, losers, big losers and gigantic losers from the 2026 NZ election

RNZ’s Lisa Owen takes to RNZ’s chair over $12m budget blowout

Veronica Schmidt

Seven burning questions about the election and negotiations, answered

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

Meet the nine new Māori MPs entering parliament

A visual history of the NZ parliament – 2026 edition

A steak sandwich on baguette.

New and approved: Cafe Saints, Auckland

The cost of being_2250x1350 - 1

The cost of being: A screen industry worker who 'refuses to pay for crap'

The Cost of Being

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RNZ’s $11.8m deficit: ‘Error after error after error’

imageT - Politics

How the different parties are positioning themselves for coalition negotiations

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

Black-and-white portraits of nine incoming Māori MPs arranged in an overlapping collage against a textured red background with a bold yellow geometric shape.

Meet the nine new Māori MPs entering parliament

Chris Luxon and Chris Hipkins on election night

The entrances of election night, ranked

Qiulae Wong and her caucus on the steps of parliament.

‘She would have been, like, are you insane?’ Qiulae Wong on her new job

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RNZ’s Lisa Owen takes to RNZ’s chair over $12m budget blowout

Veronica Schmidt

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AL - Cover images - 17

‘She would have been: are you insane?’ Qiulae Wong on her new job

Toby Manhire speaks to the Opportunity Party leader about making political history, what she was doing during the last election and whether or not she’s heard from Christopher Luxon.

At Large with Toby Manhire09 Nov 2026

GONE BY LUNCHTIME - Youtube 16:9

Gone By Lunchtime: Making sense of the 2026 election

It's the morning after the night before. Toby, Ben and Annabelle return, bleary-eyed, to the studio to digest what just happened.

Gone By Lunchtime08 Nov 2026

GONE BY LUNCHTIME - Youtube 16:9

Gone By Lunchtime: Final polls, pervy trolls, and our predictions

Annabelle, Ben and Toby gather one last time before the polls close on election 2026 to assess the final flurry of campaign action and deliver their 100% correct predictions about the results on Saturday night.

Gone By Lunchtime06 Nov 2026

AL - Cover images - 16

Election 2026! The last-gasp hot-take shootout

Toby Manhire is joined by the Spinoff’s best and brightest for a special pre-election roundtable to recap the good, the bad and the ugly of the campaign so far.

At Large with Toby Manhire04 Nov 2026

Can we really trust the polls?

Can we really trust the polls?

Toby Manhire speaks to Murray Campbell of Research Association NZ about the methods behind political polls in Aotearoa, how fairly the media represents those polls and why Curia withdrew from the pollsters’ association.

At Large with Toby Manhire03 Nov 2026

Seven burning questions about the election and negotiations, answered

Seriously, 131 MPs? There literally aren't enough seats for them in parliament

What just happened? What will happen?

Seven burning questions about the election and negotiations, answered

Will Luxon rule in Opportunity? Does the left have a chance? Should I cancel my Christmas leave now?

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

Seriously, 131 MPs? There literally aren't enough seats for them in parliament

What just happened? What will happen?

Partner stories

Collage of photos showing Mr Morris restaurant, Helen Emett and Tracy Grant Lord

Where to go for cheap eats in Auckland central – and where to splurge

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Find a way to make it work: Why Aotearoa needs engineering consultants

Shane Liu at Chom Na Thai Food.

Nocturnalists: Shane Liu on finding balance and doing business after dark

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An overworked freelancer asks: Could the right tech setup increase my income?

Jack Young at his Auckland bar No. 7

Nocturnalists: Jack Young knows how to have a good time in Auckland

Digital exclusion concept image showing a smartphone and a padlock

‘Constantly seeking access': The young people locked out of a connected world

A cut-out illustration of an older car on the road

Where I went wrong buying my secondhand car

Chris Parker, Poi Eruera & Emma Gleason enjoying Auckland by night

What does an ideal night out in Auckland look like?

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A frazzled dad asks: Could a smart home save my sanity?

Sophie Gilmour

Nocturnalists: Sophie Gilmour has a genius tip for a great night out

Latest video

A black-and-white cut-out image of Robbie Nicol holding a bar chart. The bar on the left is higher than the bar on the right.

Voter turnout second lowest in NZ history

In this year's general election, roughly 1.2 million New Zealanders who could vote, didn’t. Robbie Nicol breaks down some of the reasons why.

Now You Know10 Nov 2026

Black-and-white cut-out image of Christopher Luxon, Winston Peters and David Seymour on an abstract orange background.

The election’s over; what will happen next?

On an abstract orange background. Cut-out black-and-white images of Christopher Luxon, Qiulae Wong and Chris Hipkins.

Who won the NZ election?

A cut-out black-and-white image of Robbie Nicol on an abstract orange background. He is holding a graph of an average of the last four published polls.

How accurate are NZ's polls?

A black-and-white cut-out image of Lyric Waiwiri-Smith and Robbie Nicol shaking hands on an abstract orange and blue background.

How do parties form a government?

Our writers

Hayden Donnell

Hayden Donnell

Politics

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The winners, losers, big losers and gigantic losers from the 2026 NZ election

Winston Peters, the kingmaker dethroned

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Joel MacManus

Joel MacManus

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Kai

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The best and worst voting booths for each party, plus other data details from Election 2026

'Shit, we did it!': Inside Opportunity's history-making night

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Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

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Ātea

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How the different parties are positioning themselves for coalition negotiations

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

Seven burning questions about the election and negotiations, answered

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

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Alex Casey

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Review: Big Girls Don’t Cry captures the endless ache of adolescence

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Chris Schulz

Chris Schulz

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Why do 0% beer fans keep getting asked for ID?

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Veronica Schmidt

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RNZ’s Lisa Owen takes to RNZ’s chair over $12m budget blowout

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Tomorrow is election day. We'll have rolling coverage, yes, but also dogs

Veronica Schmidt

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Madeleine Chapman

Madeleine Chapman

Politics

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Sport

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The hangover: Key takeaways and reactions from Election 2026

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Rage against the machine: I refuse to join any supermarket rewards programmes

Madeleine Chapman

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Alice Neville

Alice Neville

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Kai

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How diverse is our new parliament?

The most popular names among political wannabes

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Liam Rātana

Liam Rātana

Ātea

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Meet the nine new Māori MPs entering parliament

Te Pāti Māori holds five seats despite turmoil, as Greens surge

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Tara Ward

Tara Ward

TV & Film

Politics

Society

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The entrances of election night, ranked

All the weird and wonderful things from election night coverage

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Emma Gleason

Emma Gleason

Culture

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Kai

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Nocturnalists: Helen Emett on why a late-night burger always hits the spot

What’s central Auckland and where do you draw the line?

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Claire Mabey

Claire Mabey

Books

Culture

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How one man's passion for rugby league is getting kids into reading

Meet the tiny indie publisher behind the New Zealand novel of the year

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Toby Manhire

Toby Manhire

Politics

Culture

Sport

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A visual history of the NZ parliament – 2026 edition

‘She would have been, like, are you insane?’ Qiulae Wong on her new job

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Henry Oliver

Henry Oliver

Politics

Business

Music

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Billionaires at the ballot box: Did the vote-splitting campaign work?

RNZ’s $11.8m deficit: ‘Error after error after error’

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