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In celebration of Super Saturday, three much-admired whaea from Northland and Waikato share their words of wisdom and encouragement on the Covid-19 vaccine.“This is a māuiui that can’t be taken for granted,” says whaea Ngāpare Hopa (Waikato-Tainui). Whaea Ngāpare is a professor, Tūrangawaewae Marae ruruhi, and also the first Māori woman to gain a PhD […]

Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 16, by Catherine McGregor. Auckland is now at step one of the alert level three pathway, Northland and parts of Waikato are in regular level three. Reach me on catherine@thespinoff.co.nzToday is Super Saturday – find out more, including links to vaccine events and locations in your area, […]

We are facing an uncertain future, says Emily Writes, but at least we’ll have a baby chimp to coo over.  Life is very hard. But Sally the chimp at Wellington Zoo is having a baby. When I saw Sally, my favourite chimp, at Wellington Zoo last weekend she looked so extremely over it all. I […]

She’s been in the media for more than three decades, but only recently scored her dream gig. Now Leah Panapa tells Sam Brooks how she is making Magic Mornings her own. “It was the hardest day of my 35 years,” Leah Panapa says over the phone.Just over a month ago, Panapa was announced as the replacement […]

The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1  The Raffles Affair: A Victoria West Mystery by Vicki Virtue (Penguin Random House, $37)A modern whodunnit set at the glamorous Raffles Hotel […]

A new poem by j. taylor bell.Jimmy Carter’s Peanut Farmor a perfectly intact 2-pack of colgate max fresh patiently waiting for no one at the gaston stop benchwhether or not there’s still radioshack what ever happened anyway to circuit city & when was the last time someone set foot inthe lonely alcoves of a best […]

Having children and some empathetic conversations changed everything for Aaron Hendry.I grew up opposed to vaccines. Genuinely, I thought they were harmful and posed a risk to some kids. It wasn’t until I had my own kid that I was forced to reexamine what I’d previously believed.Leading up to the birth of our firstborn my […]

Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for October 15, by Stewart Sowman-Lund. Auckland is now at step one of the alert level three pathway, Northland and parts of Waikato are in regular level three. Reach me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 4.45 More celebrities announced for tomorrow’s VaxathonConga lines at the ready, more big names have been released […]

The government is rejecting suggestions it has lost control of the Covid response. Watching from Auckland, it doesn’t always feel that way, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund.At the end of yesterday’s 1pm press conference, the deputy prime minister Grant Robertson faced a simple question from Newshub’s Tova O’Brien. “Has the government lost control of the Covid response?”“Absolutely […]

The Covid response and Jacinda Ardern’s personal popularity were the decisive factors, while talk of strategic anti-Green voting appears to have been overblown. Researchers from the University of Auckland and Victoria University of Wellington share the key insights from their survey of 2020 voters.Nine months out from the 2020 election, opinion polls suggested it would […]

Spark Hunter is a story about fairies in Fiordland, and it’s one of the best YA books we’ve read in years. Here, the author explains that it stems from an obsession she’s had since she was a kid.My husband nearly wets himself laughing.“You were such a nerd!” he says.“No I wasn’t! I was …” I […]

Health experts are urging immediate changes to protect inmates, staff and the wider community. Māori, who make up over half of the prison population, are especially vulnerable, reports Charlotte Muru-Lanning.On Monday, the Department of Corrections announced three confirmed Covid-19 cases within Mt Eden prison. While New Zealand has so far avoided any large-scale Covid spread […]