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The Best Of

All illustrations by Talisker Scott Hunter

Inside the dying industry of cargo ship travel

Until 2020, it was possible to book a voyage on a cargo ship. Today, it's virtually impossible, despite being a greener, languid alternative to air travel.
By Talisker Scott Hunter | 26th December, 2025
Guest writer
Malls a Christmas – what a delight
Opinion

I can’t cope with shoppers reversing into mall carparks at this time of year

It might be safer and his friends might disagree with him, but Tom Augustine is stuck behind reverse parkers and is struggling.
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By Tom Augustine | 23rd December, 2025
Guest writer
Jim Grenon (left) and Julian Batchelor (right) are suing TVNZ for defamation.

Inside the weirdest trial of the year: Jim Grenon, Julian Batchelor and TVNZ

Billionaires, secrets, conspiracy theories, denials of racism, contempt of court and twists at every turn. This case had it all.
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By Joel MacManus | 19th December, 2025
Senior writer
Staff said extra waste will go to landfill as a result of councillors’ decision on Tuesday.

The great idea that almost everyone absolutely hates

It would save 25,000 tonnes of carbon emissions a year and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by half. There’s just one issue.
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By Hayden Donnell | 18th December, 2025
Senior writer
Workers in a textile factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 2015 (Photo: Frédéric Soltan /Corbis via Getty Images; additional design The Spinoff)
Opinion

The problem with productivity

By focusing on how hard or how smart we work, all this talk about productivity is completely missing the point.
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By Sebastiaan Bierema | 17th December, 2025
Guest writer
The pedestal is not included in any of the prizes. And neither is the jandal. (Image: Tina Tiller)

The 2025 Golden Jandals for conspicuous contributions to NZ politics

The most coveted and glamorous footwear-themed political prizes in the southern hemisphere are back.
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By Toby Manhire
Editor-at-large
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 & Ben McKay | 17th December, 2025
Guest writer
Julian Batchelor, left, is suing TVNZ with the financial backing of Jim Grenon, right

Billionaire NZME director funding defamation lawsuit against TVNZ, court told

Jim Grenon suggested to controversial evangelist Julian Batchelor that he should sue TVNZ, according to evidence given in court.
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By Joel MacManus | 16th December, 2025
Senior writer
Five of the prime suspects (Image: The Spinoff)

All the things that have been blamed for New Zealand’s productivity problem

The lengthy Christmas shutdown period is just the latest in a long line of suspects.
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By Alice Neville | 11th December, 2025
Deputy editor
Meet the ‘brown Karen’ who keeps taking Apple to the Disputes Tribunal – and winning

The 'brown Karen’ who keeps taking Apple to the Disputes Tribunal – and winning

Thirty hours on the phone, four pairs of headphones, two laptops, three Disputes Tribunal hearings, and one giant victory for consumers everywhere.
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By Alex Casey | 11th December, 2025
Senior writer
We asked tech consultancy director Ben Reid, minister of finance Nicola Willis and economist Shamubeel Eaqub to peer into the future.

The impact on NZ if the AI bubble bursts

There will be financial and technological implications for us if the whole thing blows up.
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By Duncan Greive | 11th December, 2025
Founder
Just some of the titles that have made it into this year’s best-of list.

An A to Z of The Spinoff’s best books of 2025

The year's best reads, as chosen by our panel of experts.
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By The Spinoff Review of Books | 10th December, 2025
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Every hydroslide at Christchurch’s record-breaking new aquatic centre, ranked

Every hydroslide at Christchurch’s record-breaking new aquatic centre, ranked

The Parakiore hydroslides are a very late contender for 2025’s best thing.
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By Alex Casey | 10th December, 2025
Senior writer
The Papatoetoe-Ōtara Action Team didn’t just win, they dominated.

Did NZ’s most brazen electoral fraud just take place in Papatoetoe? 

In court, they opened up 53 wrongfully cast ballots. Fifty of them had gone to the winning side.
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By Hayden Donnell | 10th December, 2025
Senior writer
Ruth Richardson and Nicola Willis in budget mode. (Images: Getty; Parliament TV. Design: Tina Tiller)

Ruth Richardson v Nicola Willis: the mother of all epochal debates

Two National finance ministers, three decades apart, are locking horns. But just how different is the political environment of today to the time of the juggernaut?
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By Toby Manhire | 10th December, 2025
Editor-at-large
Christopher Luxon at the opening of Ikea on Thursday, December 4 (Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images)
Opinion

Why Christopher Luxon thinks Ikea could win him the election

National’s strategy in 2026 will be all about grand openings and major events.
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By Joel MacManus | 9th December, 2025
Senior writer
(Screengrab)

What Christopher Luxon did last week while saying no to Q+A

Look, prime minister, we get it. Nobody wants to get up early on a Sunday morning.
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By Tara Ward | 8th December, 2025
Staff writer
Pōneke’s dating pool feels more like a paddling pool (Image: The Spinoff)

‘Wait, you hooked up with them too?’ Tales from Wellington’s scarily tiny dating pool 

Welcome to the cursed reality of looking for love in the capital.
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By Jessie Davidson | 8th December, 2025
Guest writer
Scotty Stevenson has apologised – and it was a good apology.
Opinion

Scotty Stevenson, ‘syrup suckers’ and the teen bombs hidden within us all

A whole arsenal of offensive stuff we rarely think of or examine sits in our brains, and sometimes it goes kaboom.
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By Greg Bruce | 8th December, 2025
Guest 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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