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The Best OfJune 28, 2019

The Side Eye: The receiving end

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The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read more comics here.

Mark’s statistics can be viewed in more detail here.

The National Party’s 2026 general election candidates (most of them) at the party’s annual conference (Photo: Lyric Waiwiri-Smith)

Does National’s new Kiwisaver policy sound familiar?

Winston Peters and 2014 Labour would certainly think so.

By Madeleine Chapman | 22nd June, 2026

Contributing editor

Image: The Spinoff

Nicola Willis’s magic money tree and other go-to spending metaphors in NZ politics

Unfurl the money hose and fire up the cash bazooka: it's time for a brief history of parliament's favourite fiscal figures of speech.

By Alice Neville | 22nd June, 2026

Winston Peters, Nicola Willis, Christopher Luxon (Images: Getty Images/The Spinoff)

Who’s your daddy? National’s family meeting has a coalition problem

National wants to be the daddy state, but it can't get rid of the kids.

By Lyric Waiwiri-Smith | 22nd June, 2026

Politics reporter

The man who brought fish and chips to New Zealand

The man who brought fish and chips to New Zealand

Meet James Henry Pomeroy: inventor, fishmonger, and the man responsible for deep fried blue cod on a southern beach.

By Joel MacManus | 21st June, 2026

Veronica at the Barbara. Note, that the Barbara is smiling even though Veronica didn’t come in for ~14 weeks.

I hate the hairdresser’s, so I’ll invent the barber for women

I will obviously call this invention the Barbara.

By Veronica Schmidt | 21st June, 2026

Love, actually, at 25: ‘Even the idea of catching a long haul flight with him is exciting’

Love, actually, at 25: ‘Even the idea of catching a long haul flight with him is exciting’

A 25-year-old in her first relationship is in it for the life.

By Love actually | 21st June, 2026

Lisa Penketh shares her favourite Nelson spots (Portrait: supplied)

Where to eat in Nelson – an insider’s guide

The top food spots in Nelson, from early-morning pies to low-lit whisky bars.

By Charlotte Muru-Lanning | 20th June, 2026

Contributing writer

Kate Langdon and her wife’s wedding invitation, along with symbols of their ‘modern family’. (Design: The Spinoff)

Yes, we’re lady gays with kids, but please stop calling us a ‘modern family’

We have a 10-year-old daughter together and this has led to a whole barrage of questions.

By Kate Langdon | 20th June, 2026

Amber Esau and Coco Solid discuss Hungus, Esau’s new collection of poetry (Photo: Tokerau Brown)

‘She’s out there vibing’: Amber Esau and Coco Solid in conversation

'We’re just Venn Diagramming our ways to where the parts of our wakas overlap.'

& Coco Solid | 20th June, 2026

The Best Of

Matthew Hooton, incoming editor of The Post. Photo: Tina Tiller

The greatest hits of Matthew Hooton, the new editor of The Post

Who is the new editor of Wellington's newspaper? He is many, many, many things.

By Toby Manhire | 15th June, 2026

Editor-at-large

One of the Waitematā players takes a hit-up during the game. (Photo: Liam Rātana).

The rugby league club where reo Māori is spoken first

Accessing mainstream sports competitions can be difficult for players with te reo Māori as their first language. In the depths of West Auckland, one club is going against the grain.

By Liam Rātana | 15th June, 2026

Image by Tina Tiller

Why you can pry my VHS collection from my cold dead hands

It's the most cumbersome, fallible format available on the market – and I can't get enough.

By Alex Casey | 14th June, 2026