Analysis

The boomers! They’re everywhere! (Image: Tina Tiller)

New Zealand has a boomer problem

We have too many boomers and not enough young workers to fund their retirements. National thinks its new KiwiSaver policy could be the answer.

By Joel MacManus | 26th November, 2025

The central suburbs of Auckland are dying while the rest grow. (Image: Statistics NZ)

Why Auckland’s traffic is bad, in one map

Hint: it’s not because we didn’t build enough motorway lanes.

By Hayden Donnell | 19th November, 2025

Police commissioner Richard Chambers and police minister Mark Mitchell. (Photo: Mark Mitchell /New Zealand Herald via Getty Images)

All the systems that failed in the police’s non-systemic failure

The police commissioner says the handling of serious complaints against Jevon McSkimming wasn’t a ‘systemic failure’. That doesn’t explain all the systems that failed.

By Hayden Donnell | 13th November, 2025

Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, on reset day.

A month on from its reset, what exactly has Te Pāti Māori changed?

Four weeks on, and the only thing reset is the reset itself.

By Lyric Waiwiri-Smith | 5th November, 2025

Politics reporter

The Pacifica apartments in Auckland are an example of houses that people live in.

What new population data reveals about why some cities are growing and others aren’t

Detailed data analysis by The Spinoff reveals an incredible true fact: people live in houses.

By Joel MacManus | 5th November, 2025

Some of Wellington’s council-owned social houses.

The trickiest problem for Wellington’s next mayor

Once water reform is out of the way, all eyes will turn to the complex, expensive quagmire of the council's social housing.

By Joel MacManus | 29th September, 2025

Aue indeed.

The good, bad and auē of the Tāmaki Makaurau byelection debate

Oriini Kaipara got her facts wrong, Peeni Henare declared ours the worst government in the world and Julian Wilcox talked at the speed of light again.

By Lyric Waiwiri-Smith | 27th August, 2025

Politics reporter

Beat the Bish, a flash game by Live Wellington

Windbag: Beating the Bish and the strange, shifting politics of housing

A deep dive into the unintentional political commentary of a weird internet game made by an anti-density activist group.

By Joel MacManus | 26th August, 2025

Several homelessness charities have reported an increase in rough sleeping over the past year. Image: David Jensen/Tina Tiller

Why homelessness is worse under this government: a story in 10 graphs

There are more public houses, shorter housing waitlists and fewer people in emergency housing – so why are more people sleeping rough?

By Joel MacManus | 14th August, 2025

Wellington City Council rejected a proposal to build these fences on the waterfront.

Windbag: The waterfront fences debate isn’t really about fences

What looks like a fight about safety, cost and aesthetics is really about something bigger.

By Joel MacManus | 12th August, 2025

Wellington mayoral candidate Alex Baker is campaigning on a switch to land value rates

Windbag: Why the Taxpayers’ Union endorsed this Green Party policy

They say politics makes strange bedfellows, and there are few stranger pairings than this.

By Joel MacManus | 29th July, 2025

Should apartment buildings be required to provide bike parking spaces? Image: Tina Tiller

Windbag: The little decisions that make a big impact

Two overlooked votes on obscure council policies could make a significant difference to new housing in Wellington.

By Joel MacManus | 18th June, 2025

Character housing goes to court: Will Wellington’s new District Plan survive?

Character housing goes to court: Will Wellington’s new District Plan survive?

A character housing group is suing to stop new housing from going up in Wellington's character suburbs. Do they have any chance?

By Joel MacManus | 12th June, 2024

Explainer: What’s the deal with Auckland’s new water deal?

Explainer: What’s the deal with Auckland’s new water deal?

Simeon Brown, Chris Luxon and Wayne Brown climbed into a hole and announced a plan to solve Auckland's water woes. This is how it'll work.

By Joel MacManus | 8th May, 2024

Chantelle Baker, Rodney Hide, Paul Brennan and Peter Williams are among the names headlining Reality Check Radio (Image: Tina Tiller)

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?

By Joel MacManus | 30th April, 2024

Image: Tina Tiller

Revealed: All the changes councillors want to make to Wellington’s District Plan

If these amendments pass, it will be a major step forward for housing capacity and density in the capital.

By Joel MacManus | 14th March, 2024