The Spinoff

a brown scrapbook background with a photo taped to it depicting a grandma with white hair and her granddaughter with black hair, both smiling and holding flowers

Hotboxing my car as my grandma died

In sleep, she perished slowly before me. My grandmother, now submerged amongst the weeds of dementia.

How to celebrate the Rugby League World Cup without being a dick

The Spinoff guide to life

A black-and-white cutout of a shirtless man wearing sunglasses and a necklace, waving a large flag, with another flag-waving supporter behind him against a pastel green and blue illustrated background.

How to celebrate the Rugby League World Cup without being a dick

The Spinoff guide to life

Where to eat in Wānaka – an insider's guide

Charlotte Muru-Lanning

a middle aged man with brown skin stands in a fiel with a lake and mountains behind him. He's wearing a black cap and a black t-shirt and smiling off-camera

Where to eat in Wānaka – an insider's guide

Charlotte Muru-Lanning

Sick to death of the election? Here are some other things to do this weekend

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Sick to death of the election? Here are some other things to do this weekend

Naida Glavish on the grandmother who made the ‘kia ora lady’

Dame Naida Glavish smiles at the camera in a black jacket and red top, standing in front of a traditional Māori whare surrounded by greenery.

Naida Glavish on the grandmother who made the ‘kia ora lady’

Help Me Hera: My boss is obsessed with AI

Hera Lindsay Bird

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Help Me Hera: My boss is obsessed with AI

Hera Lindsay Bird

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Willis vs Wong: The moment the Q+A People’s Debate came alive

Three new polls, side by side – and the election story they foretell

When will we know the NZ election result?

Unity at last: everyone thinks Michael Laws is sexist and gross

The official Spinoff election night drinking game 2026

Political leader profiles

Chris Hipkins wearing a jacket, sitting at a table, with pen to paper

The lifelong campaign of Chris Hipkins

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

A man looks at the camera

Christopher Luxon: The Nat with nine lives, or a man on borrowed time?

Veronica Schmidt

Quilae Wong, a 38-year-old woman with long brown hair is smiling at Iain Lees-Galloway, a man with white hair and a white beard.

Qiulae Wong, the radical moderate

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Rawiri Waititi smiles while greeting another person wearing a black Māori-branded jacket. Waititi wears a wide-brimmed black hat, sunglasses and a black-and-white varsity jacket.

Rawiri Waititi: The hesitant leader

A man wearing sunglasses and a jacket is walking towards the camera in an outdoor setting. Slightly behind him to his left is another man, smiling and wearing a rosette. An orange sticker with a wrinkled appearance, saying "Election 2026", is in the bottom left corner of the image..

Is David Seymour steadying the ship or stirring the pot?

Winston Peters grinning.

Winston Peters still wants to be the prime minister

Chlöe Swarbrick with former Auckland mayors Phil Goff and Len Brown at the opening of the City Rail Link (Photo: Phil Walter/Getty)

Chlöe Swarbrick and the weight of expectations

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The ultimate character of the campaign trail: An electoral gatecrasher who’s voting for himself

Characters of the Campaign Trail

Four book covers arranged on a graphic of a book shelf with coloured and textured shapes behind them.

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending November 6

The Spinoff Review of Books

Woman standing beside colourful wall, smiling

It doesn’t make sense for leftie influencers to bag Opportunity

Paul Kennedy Gunson

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How Election Eve unfolded

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Election eve: One last poll and one last debate

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Four final polls, and the tiny margins that could decide the 2026 election

Nicola Willis and Qiulae Wong face off at the Q + A People's Debate.

Willis vs Wong: The moment the Q+A People’s Debate came alive

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The official Spinoff election night drinking game 2026

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Latest podcasts

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

The blockbuster seat and the Māori vote, with Te Aniwa Hurihanganui

The blockbuster seat and the Māori vote, with Te Aniwa Hurihanganui

Toby Manhire speaks to Te Aniwa Hurihanganui, TVNZ’s Māori affairs correspondent, about which Māori electorates are the ones to watch as the votes are counted this weekend.

At Large with Toby Manhire02 Nov 2026

GONE BY LUNCHTIME - Youtube 16:9

Gone By Lunchtime: Panic stations with a week to go?

A horrific Halloween poll for the National Party has seen Luxon break with the habit of a lifetime and comment on a poll. What to make of it all? And will this be remembered as the 'Opp-erhang' election?

Gone By Lunchtime30 Oct 2026

When will we know the NZ election result?

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

An 82-year-old National/Act supporter who is confused about strategic voting

When will we know the NZ election result?

Everything you need to know about when and how things will unfold on Saturday night and beyond.

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

Veronica Schmidt

An 82-year-old National/Act supporter who is confused about strategic voting

Characters of the Campaign Trail

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

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‘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 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?

A black-and-white cut-out image of Robbie Nicol, next to a diagram of New Zealand parliament with extra some blue seats added.

What is the overhang, and why is it so important this election?

A cut-out black-and-white image of Robbie Nicol holding a card labelled "QUESTIONS ABOUT SPACE VAPES". There is a black-and-white cut-out image of a vape pod next to him.

Space vapes, explained

A black-and-white cut-out image of Robbie Nicol holding up a finger. A fire-danger-style sign is in front of him. Behind him is an abstract orange background.

How much can a politician lie in a NZ election campaign?

Our writers

Alice Neville

Alice Neville

Politics

Kai

Articles by author

The most popular names among political wannabes

Conflicting official advice on ‘time off to vote’ raises concerns

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Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

Politics

Ātea

Culture

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Who to vote for, based on what you (and they) drink

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

One Candidate, One Pint: Michael Wood, comeback kid, on his 'traumatic' political exit

Lyric Waiwiri-Smith

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Alex Casey

Alex Casey

TV & Film

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Society

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

Buyer beware: New pineapple Fruju found cosplaying as grapefruit

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Liam Rātana

Liam Rātana

Ātea

Politics

Sport

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Naida Glavish on the grandmother who made the ‘kia ora lady’

What happens if Kerrin Leoni wins Tāmaki Makaurau?

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Hayden Donnell

Hayden Donnell

Politics

Society

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Unity at last: everyone thinks Michael Laws is sexist and gross

Be prepared: The fat voting pen crisis is real and it is here

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Veronica Schmidt

Politics

Culture

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

Veronica Schmidt

Luxon flubs minimum wage fact and other depressing takeaways from the leaders' debate

Veronica Schmidt

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Emma Gleason

Emma Gleason

Culture

Business

Kai

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

What are ‘space vapes’ and are they on the rise?

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Tara Ward

Tara Ward

TV & Film

Politics

Society

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Sick to death of the election? Here are some other things to do this weekend

New and approved: Awa Eatery, Cromwell

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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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Madeleine Chapman

Madeleine Chapman

Politics

Culture

Sport

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

Madeleine Chapman

NZ’s retirement village population is almost entirely white. Where is everyone else?

Madeleine Chapman

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Toby Manhire

Toby Manhire

Politics

Culture

Sport

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Four final polls, and the tiny margins that could decide the 2026 election

When will we know the NZ election result?

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Joel MacManus

Joel MacManus

Politics

Business

Kai

Articles by author

Willis vs Wong: The moment the Q+A People’s Debate came alive

Qiulae Wong’s fun run bib and other enormous scandals from Election 2026

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Chris Schulz

Chris Schulz

Society

Music

Business

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

Teeks has made an album so hot it hurts

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Henry Oliver

Henry Oliver

Politics

Business

Music

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Election eve: One last poll and one last debate

Unemployment rises to 5.7% but the problem isn’t just how many, but how long

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