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The Best Of

Nigel Farage, Pauline Hanson, Winston Peters and Donald Trump. Images: Getty. Design: Tina Tiller
Opinion

What the surge in populist nationalism means for Winston Peters and NZ First

The serial kingmakers of MMP politics are riding a wave. And they want more.
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By Toby Manhire | 26th February, 2026
Editor-at-large
Nicola Willis.

One MP, One Pint: Nicola Willis on being a mum, a meme and a minister

Asking Grant Robertson about his hole, explaining to her kids why she's been turned into a meme, and taking on the role of 'Doctor No': it's all in a day's work for the finance minister.
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By Lyric Waiwiri-Smith | 25th February, 2026
Politics reporter
Image by Tina Tiller

Puberty blockers ban anxiety grinds on as ‘very, very worried’ children and families look for support

'Ultimately, there's a very real chance that it's going to cost people's lives.'
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By Alex Casey | 25th February, 2026
Senior writer
Some of the members of the People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity, from left, Lianne Dalziel, Sue Bradford, Jo Hayes, Steve Chadwick Nanaia Mahuta and Marilyn Waring (Photos: Getty Images/Supplied; design The Spinoff)

Pay equity ‘select committee’ finds ‘flagrant and significant abuse of power’ 

A group of female former MPs subjected the pay equity overhaul to the scrutiny it should have received before passing into law. Their newly released report is damning.
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By Alice Neville | 24th February, 2026
Deputy editor
Sharon has been on the streets for seven years and has stage four cancer. (Photo: Emma Gleason).

Move-on orders: ‘I’d move on if I had somewhere to go’

Ministers say more powers to clear rough sleepers will make communities feel safer. This is what 'streeties' think of the move.
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By Liam Rātana
Ātea editor
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 & Emma Gleason | 24th February, 2026
Contributing writer
Parts of the red zone have become community spaces (Image: Shanti Mathias)

Revisiting childhood memories in Christchurch’s red zone

Sometimes my childhood memories try to sketch buildings onto the big empty plots in the central city. Am I disoriented, or just rebuilding what used to be there?
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By Shanti Mathias | 22nd February, 2026
Contributing writer
The Kate of 1986 might not have wanted you to read her diary; but the Kate of 2026 is asking you to.

Leather & Chains: excerpts from Kate Camp’s 1986 diary

'In the pantheon of bad teenage writing, this surely rates among the greats.'
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By Kate Camp | 21st February, 2026
Guest writer
State of Origin 1988 and New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon (Image: Getty / The Spinoff)

Fact check: The prime minister’s parents let him stay up late to watch State of Origin

Question for the right honourable Christopher Luxon: name three players.
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By Calum Henderson | 17th February, 2026
Production editor
Who’s responsible for spending all our money on roads that suck?
Opinion

The government’s infrastructure plan points the blame at the government

The National Infrastructure Plan, released today, sets out a vision for a more efficient, affordable future. But is infrastructure minister Chris Bishop willing to accept that he is part of the problem? 
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By Joel MacManus | 17th February, 2026
Senior writer
Christopher Luxon and the umbrella movement. Also pictured: Gary Weiss. Photo by Michael Craig/New Zealand Herald via Getty Images

One man, one instinct, one umbrella: When everything changed for Christopher Luxon

Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they carry umbrellas. 
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By Toby Manhire | 16th February, 2026
Editor-at-large
Iain Lees-Galloway on crashing out of parliament and his new Opportunity 

Iain Lees-Galloway on crashing out of parliament and his new Opportunity 

He went to therapy, grieved the career he torpedoed with an inappropriate relationship, and now the former Labour minister is back in politics with a new party.
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By Veronica Schmidt | 16th February, 2026
Editor
Image: Tina Tiller

How Captain Cook called the cops on me 250 years after his arrival in Aotearoa

'We just want to make sure everyone is safe.'
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By Ben Fagan | 14th February, 2026
Community manager
An amorous kākāpō (Image: Tina Tiller)

Good news: It’s kākāpō fuck season

The world is going to hell in a handbasket but at least the kākāpō are going hog wild.
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By Hayden Donnell | 13th February, 2026
Senior writer
Image by Tina Tiller

Our possums are a problem. Could Selena Gomez be the solution?

How one pop star's limited edition Oreo flavour became a vital weapon in the war against one of Aotearoa's biggest pests.
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By Alex Casey | 12th February, 2026
Senior writer
Two former Poet Laureates launch new collections today.

Uncomplicated pleasures in a complicated world

Two of Aotearoa’s greatest poets are launching new collections today. We review them both.
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By Claire Mabey | 11th February, 2026
Books editor
So much poo. (Image: Tina Tiller)

Holy cow, so much poo is spilling into the sea

It would take you 2,535 years of non-stop shitting to produce as much waste as the Moa Point plant is expelling every day.
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By Hayden Donnell | 11th February, 2026
Senior writer
What it’s like to spend summer on a remote subantarctic island

What it’s like to spend summer on a remote subantarctic island

'It feels like time is flying by, because everything we’re doing is directly in front of us... you can’t ever think too hard about the outside world.'
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By Alex Casey | 10th February, 2026
Senior writer
We’ll soon now whether Te Huia is going off the rails.
Opinion

Idea: Let’s not screw up our train system just as it’s getting good

As Auckland’s rail network finally gets up and running, we're at risk of losing the upper North Island’s only regional train service.
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By Hayden Donnell | 10th February, 2026
Senior writer

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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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