Politics

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The Spinoff Members

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With less than six months to go, it’s time to start paying attention to what could be the most consequential election of our lifetimes. 

Trump vs Biden round two: The 2024 US presidential election, explained

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Why worry about accurate messaging around gangs when you can throw out some scary numbers instead?

The police minister loves numbers. Except when he’s asked about lowering them

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We won’t be violent, but we will organise and do everything in our power to prevent further degradation of our taiao.

Why Ngāti Toa is standing up against the fast-track bill

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David Seymour’s announcement has reignited a long-held debate in education<br />


What are charter schools, and why are they so controversial?

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From big gay rainbows to toilet fines, the words of those in power matter.

NZ First’s toilet bill is designed to outrage but that doesn’t mean we can ignore it

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Kāinga Ora's debt problem is serious – but so is the urgent need for more affordable homes.

Why public housing is under threat from the debt narrative

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Big business is pouring eye-watering sums into parties on the political right. What is it getting in return?

A record-breaking year for political donations is no cause for celebration

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David Seymour says a well-known charity is doing it for $2. The reality is not so simple. 

Can you really provide meals for teens for $3 a pop? And will they eat it?

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Found yourself nodding along to what you thought was a conversation about military orcas? You might need this cheat sheet.

I don’t know what Aukus is and at this point I’m afraid to ask

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The under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better.

It’s time to ditch Berhampore Golf Course

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It's a blueprint for a bigger, better Wellington, through a new approach to urban growth.

Wellington’s new District Plan can be the path forward out of the city’s malaise

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Teaching Māori law in law schools is hardly new. For students, a grounding in tikanga is only becoming more valuable.

Tikanga is the first law of Aotearoa

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Unsure if your snack gets the David Seymour tick? This will clear things up.

A definitive list of woke and non-woke foods

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The final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington.

War for Wellington: Minister approves sweeping upzoning, rejects heritage changes

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Stories from the tenancy trenches, featuring spider infestations, cupboard rats and same-sex discrimination.

Rules for property managers are scrapped. But what’s the worst that could happen?

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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.

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

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Double votes, missing ballot boxes, tired tech and stressed staff: how tick-tallying went astray at last year’s election. 

Six telling tidbits from the review of vote-counting errors at the 2023 election

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Game recognises game after a press conference from Christopher Luxon and Mark Mitchell.

Luxon and Mitchell weren’t mixed up, they were using girl maths

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It would simply make the implicit explicit, but it's suddenly controversial.

Adding gender to the Human Rights Act – what’s the big deal?

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The national bird has caused a national economic crisis that only the National coalition government can fix.

At last! The kiwi is getting its comeuppance 

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Editor Madeleine Chapman looks back at the week and shines a light on some increasingly rare longform journalism.

The Weekend: A landmark case for trans rights in Aotearoa

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'You're trying to keep in the zone... but then someone will go ‘oh, I loved you in Eagle vs Shark'.'

‘Stop laughing, I’m trying to kill someone’: Cohen Holloway on playing a serial murderer

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When he died, my friend Doug got no media obituary. Hardly anyone outside his tiny rural community knew him. But everyone inside that community did.

A life story

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They were among the first people in the country to have their photo taken. Now their identities are a mystery.

Do you recognise anybody in these 150-year-old photographs?

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Since its founding almost a decade ago, Featherston Booktown has grown into one of the country's most interesting and idiosyncratic literary events.

The indie books fest bringing big ideas to small town Wairarapa

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A stunning essay on the spiritual, familial and personal struggle of receiving a tatau.

Enduring the voyage of the tatau

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The Friday Poem: ‘Xiāng’ by Hannah Patterson

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‘Cycling Works’ aims to show business support for citywide cycle infrastructure.

Cycle lanes are good for business, actually

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In which the memoir of a diplomat and a manifesto against hustle culture beat out a plethora of 2024's hottest novels. 

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending May 17

In the first leaders’ debate of the 2023 election, Chris Hipkins and Chris Luxon… fell in love?

Last night, more than one million New Zealanders watched Labour leader Hipkins and National leader Luxon speak admirably of each other’s qualities, agree on many issues and smile a lot. Is this the beginning of a wonderful friendship? It sure looks like it.

Chris & Chris: A Love Story | Election 2023 | The Spinoff

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Watch: In the first leaders’ debate of the 2023 election, Chris Hipkins and Chris Luxon… fell in love?

The Spinoff

PoliticsSeptember 20, 2023

Chris and Chris: A love story

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