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Glou Glou on Allen Street (Photos: Supplied)

New and approved: Glou Glou, Wellington

First up in our new series highlighting fresh hospo offerings: a city cafe that now morphs into a wine bar at night.
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By Jean Teng | 2nd June, 2026
Guest writer
Madeleine Sami is the new host of The Traitors NZ (Photo: Three)

Welcome back to The Traitors NZ, the best reality show on New Zealand television

There's no shortage of twists and turns in the new season.
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By Tara Ward | 2nd June, 2026
Staff writer
Chlöe Swarbrick and Chris Bishop.

From Herbs to Head Like a Hole: MPs on their favourite local albums

Five National MPs, three Labourites, three Greenies, a Te Pāti Māori MP and an Act MP reveal their most beloved homegrown records.
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By Lyric Waiwiri-Smith | 31st May, 2026
Politics reporter
We are just a link in the chain, argues Kingi Snelgar. (Design: The Spinoff)
Opinion

We are all ancestors-in-training

The choices we make today determine how our descendants will view us, and the realities that will shape their worlds.
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By Kingi Snelgar | 31st May, 2026
Guest writer
Love, actually, at 32: ‘I miss penetrative sex at times’

Love, actually, at 32: ‘I miss penetrative sex at times’

What it's really like to be in a nearly 10-year relationship while flatting.
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By Love actually | 31st May, 2026
Guest writer
Giulio Sturla foraging in Banks Peninsula (Photo: Jarrard Johnstone)

Where to eat in Lyttelton – an insider’s guide

The top food spots in Lyttelton, from marvellous margaritas to perfect woodfired pizza to a goat curry that’s got the town talking.
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By Charlotte Muru-Lanning | 30th May, 2026
Contributing writer
Rawiri Waititi and David Seymour gave their best Michael Jackson and Eminem impressions. Image: Joel MacManus

From Eminem to Michael Jackson: watching the budget debate

The post-budget debate in parliament had almost as many pop culture references as policy arguments.
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By Joel MacManus | 29th May, 2026
Senior writer
The budget held by finance minister Nicola Willis and her associate ministers Chris Bishop, David Seymour and Shane Jones (Image: The Spinoff)
Opinion

Budget 2026: The great Spinoff hot-take roundtable

Nicola Willis says she's delivered 'a responsible budget to secure New Zealand's future'. But what do the experts think?
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By Group Think | 28th May, 2026
A bunch of people
Photo: Getty Images; additional design The Spinoff

Budget 2026: Nicola Willis shuffles the deck chairs on a drifting Interislander ferry

The government’s economic turnaround job increasingly looks like magical thinking.
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By Joel MacManus | 28th May, 2026
Senior writer
Time for Nicola Willis and Christopher Luxon to deliver a budget in the shadow of a fuel crisis kicked off by Donald Trump’s strikes on Iran. (Photos: Getty. Graphic: The Spinoff)

How will Luxon and Willis sell a 'tough love' budget?

Since there will be no 'backpocket boost' in Budget 2026, National will need to explain how fiscal restraint will help voters in a perpetual cost of living crisis.
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By Dan Brunskill | 28th May, 2026
Guest writer
‘We women always pull through’: Nix Adams on making Celebrity Treasure Island history

‘We women always pull through’: Nix Adams on making Celebrity Treasure Island history

Seven years ago, Nix Adams was sitting in a jail cell. Last night, she won Celebrity Treasure Island.
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By Alex Casey | 28th May, 2026
Senior writer
Jared Novelly cheers on his Illawarra Hawks, in an away game against the Cairns Taipans (Photo: Emily Barker/Getty Images)

US Senate confirms Donald Trump’s pick for ambassador to NZ, billionaire Jared Novelly

Hailing from a Missouri oil family, he is deep in an Australian basketball fight and eager to work with NZ amid China’s ‘destabilising behaviour in the Pacific’.
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By Toby Manhire | 27th May, 2026
Editor-at-large
NZ First MP Andy Foster claimed a taxpayer subsidy on his Karori home. (Graphic: The Spinoff)

NZ First MP Andy Foster claims $36k top-up to stay in home he’s owned for 26 years

The former Wellington mayor says he claims the accommodation subsidy because 'the cost of owning a home in Wellington is not cheap'.
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By Joel MacManus | 27th May, 2026
Senior writer
Dating Files: ‘Men can be interested in older women, but generally they are ageist’

Dating Files: ‘Men can be interested in older women, but generally they are ageist’

A 71-year-old semi-retired woman is looking for a healthy man with a sense of humour.
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By Dating Files | 27th May, 2026
Guest writer
Act MP Parmjeet Parmar and National MP Katie Nimon led the way in acquiring new rental properties this term. Image: Joel MacManus

Government MPs acquired 25 extra investment properties after passing pro-landlord reforms

From new rentals to redevelopments, some coalition MPs have been upping their ownership of residential properties.
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By Joel MacManus | 27th May, 2026
Senior writer
Photo: Getty Images; design The Spinoff
Opinion

A clock has started ticking – for people who have nowhere else to go

The government's latest reform risks dismantling the very conditions that make social housing more than just a roof.
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By Greg Foster | 27th May, 2026
Guest writer
Review: Ready Gamer Mum does a disservice to NZ mothers

Review: Ready Gamer Mum does a disservice to NZ mothers

Ready Gamer Mum has all the hallmarks of wholesome, family entertainment – apart from one important thing.
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By Tara Ward | 26th May, 2026
Staff writer
Henry Oliver

Former Metro editor Henry Oliver joins The Spinoff

Catherine McGregor, the outgoing Bulletin editor, has been prevented from leaving The Spinoff, despite her best attempts, and will take up a new role.
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By The Spinoff | 26th May, 2026
Staff writers
Design: Tina Tiller

Which streaming services do you really need in 2026?

Here's every streaming service in NZ - sorted by price and range.
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By Tara Ward | 25th May, 2026
Staff writer
Peters, Luxon and Seymour have all upped the ante on immigration this month (Airport photo by Mark Tantrum/Wellington International Airport via Getty Images)

Our politicians are really fired up on immigration. But what about voters?

Polling shows voters may have a different view of immigration than recent political rhetoric would suggest.
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By Toby Manhire | 25th May, 2026
Editor-at-large

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The Spinoff is subject to NZ Media Council procedures. A complaint must be first directed in writing, within one month of publication, to info@thespinoff.co.nz. If not satisfied with the response, the complaint may be referred to the online complaint form at www.presscouncil.org.nz along with a link to the relevant story and all correspondence with the publication.

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