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PoliticsAugust 24, 2018

Good Week, Bad Week: 24 August

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It was a very good week to feel quietly smug about living on this side of the ditch, says editor Toby Manhire.

The Spinoff TV, 10.45pm Fridays on THREE

Charlisse Leger-Walker (Photo: Getty Images)

We should have known Charlisse Leger-Walker’s name before this

Get your Connecticut Sun merch because a New Zealander has made it into the WNBA! But you know why we'd never heard of her until this month, eh?

By Zoe George | 15th April, 2026

Will Lyons-Bowman grew up in the Riccarton area and vouches for its food offerings

Where to eat in Riccarton, Christchurch – an insider’s guide

Chef and winemaker Will Lyons-Bowman’s top edible picks, from tasty scallion pancakes to fish and chip institutions to superlative soft serve.

By Charlotte Muru-Lanning | 15th April, 2026

Contributing writer

The Dunstan Mountains near Cromwell, Central Otago. (Photo: Antonina Kraakman/Getty Images)

The plan to dig a 300-metre-deep goldmine into the Central Otago hills

The proposed Bendigo-Ophir goldmine has drawn opposition from Sam Neill, Helen Clark, and now the government's own environment watchdog.

By Catherine McGregor | 15th April, 2026

Contributing writer

More New Zealanders are getting on the bus or train due to rising fuel costs. But should they be free during the fuel crisis?

The arguments for and against making NZ public transport free during the fuel crisis

Across the ditch they're making public transport free. Should we join them?

By Emma Gleason | 15th April, 2026

Contributing writer

Simeon Brown and Christopher Luxon want to make the 2026 election about Covid-19.

NZ is about to have its third Covid election

Remember the pandemic? Well you’re going to – if Simeon Brown and Christopher Luxon have anything to do with it.

By Joel MacManus | 15th April, 2026

Liam Dann (left) and Corin Dann (Photos: Liam Dann and RNZ / Design: Emily Wong)

Corin, Liam and the family business of being a Dann

How two 'bogan' Christchurch brothers become journalists obsessed with the economy.

By Tara Ward | 14th April, 2026

The St James Theatre has had an uncertain future for years

‘It’s a no-brainer’: Inside the St James Theatre’s surprise second venue

Plot twist: the renovated Auckland theatre is becoming TWO separate venues.

By Chris Schulz | 14th April, 2026

The cost of being: A ‘recluse’ in response to the economy

The cost of being: A ‘recluse’ in response to the economy

'The only child I am responsible for is myself.'

By The Cost of Being | 14th April, 2026

With the US now threatening to block the few oil tankers currently making it through the Strait of Hormuz, the cost of NZ’s fuel dependence is impossible to ignore. (Photo: Getty Images)

One more chance for New Zealand to kick its oil habit

Could reframing energy independence as a national security issue, rather than a climate one, be our best chance to go electric?

By Catherine McGregor | 14th April, 2026

Contributing writer

Politics

Gone By Lunchtime (Image: Tina Tiller)

Gone By Lunchtime: The force majeure election

Wars, cyclones and mayhem everywhere.

By The Spinoff | 9th April, 2026

Two people stand at separate wooden podiums with official crests, speaking or listening, against a blue background featuring a repeating gas pump icon pattern.

The many ways our government is failing in its response to the fuel crisis

The opportunity is here for a cultural reset. Why won’t the government take it?

By Simon Wilson | 9th April, 2026

Should Winston Peters have spoken up in Washington?

Anna Fifield on a fragile pause in the Middle East conflict, and New Zealand's stance on genocidal rhetoric from Donald Trump.

By The Spinoff | 8th April, 2026

One MP, One Pint: Reuben Davidson on perfecting What Now’s gunge recipe

Before he got into politics, the Labour MP poured his blood, sweat and tears into making green goo for children's television.

By Lyric Waiwiri-Smith | 8th April, 2026

Can Simeon Brown run a Luxon campaign that Chris Bishop can’t?

For the role once likened to 'conductor of the orchestra', Christopher Luxon has swapped his most socially liberal minister for his most conservative.

By Toby Manhire | 7th April, 2026