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When we let housing prices drive people out of cities, it has a ripple effect on all parts of our social and economic fabric, writes economist Rosie Collins.Many well-meaning people stand in the way of more houses for the young, poor, or future generations. That’s not how they would put it, of course. Instead, they […]

New data shows hundreds of New Zealanders have been victims of recent cyber attacks. In the latest instalment of IRL, Dylan Reeve explores how you can avoid becoming one of them. After a balmy day lounging with her husband on a secluded Portuguese beach during a three week holiday in 2019, Sharon, an Auckland office manager […]

It’s a shocking week in paradise, as our favourite celebrities continue to battle it out to raise money for charity. Tara Ward power ranks. Get in here you lot, because week three of Celebrity Treasure Island was an absolute pearler. The tides of change washed ashore and three teams merged into two, and after nine days […]

A View from Afar – LIVE @ MIDDAY Thursday: In this week’s podcast, Paul G. Buchanan and Selwyn Manning will analyse the AUKUS Alliance and will deep-dive into: What is the AUKUS Alliance’s strategic Anglophone intentions? What does China do now? How will Australia assert itself as the Southern Hemisphere’s military great power? How does […]

With the pressure on to increase Auckland’s vaccination rates, Justin Latif checked out a new bus service taking the jab to the people.As a karakia was being uttered to mark the unveiling of the Shot Cuz vaccination bus, Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp says tears began welling up in her eyes. “This is what our community has […]

A late night excursion for fried food in level three.The neighbours have been warned. On a quiet residential strip between Morningside and St Lukes, with only one food vendor, nights are supposed to be silent and dark. But at 11:50pm, cars line the street waiting for Tipene’s Takeaways to begin service. Music plays over the […]

Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 22, by Stewart Sowman-Lund. Say hello at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz.Today’s numbers There are 23 new community cases of Covid-19, all in Auckland. Of these, just one has not yet been epidemiologically linked. 80% of eligible Aucklanders have now had at least one vaccine dose. Yesterday, 54,000 doses were given […]

There’s some confusion around what ‘elimination’ means in tackling an outbreak. But to abandon the approach while so many remain unvaccinated would be to put vulnerable people at unconscionable risk, write Siouxsie Wiles. Illustrations and animations by Toby Morris.The Spinoff’s ongoing Covid coverage depends on support from members. Learn more here.So here we are. Auckland has […]

Tāmaki Makaurau rapper Melodownz tells us about his first gig, first car, a short-lived pet goldfish and more in this week’s episode of FIRST. Melodownz is an acclaimed Avondale artist / MC / poet who you might have seen interviewing the likes of John Campbell and Paddy Gower over a bowl of kava in his YouTube […]

This lockdown, Hilary Barry spent half an hour every afternoon on Facebook, reading Pride and Prejudice to the nation. Adoring listener Pam Jones responds. Dear Hilary,Firstly, a weird disclaimer from one about to wax excitedly about your readings to the plebs: I didn’t listen to you all of the time. In fact, as I’d already read […]

The return of takeaways has become a national shorthand for the shift from level four to level three, taking on a symbolism that goes beyond the food in the box, writes Charlotte Muru-Lanning.Apart from my habitual weekend flat white at my favourite cafe on Auckland’s Dominion Road, buying coffee made by a barista isn’t a […]

In the wake of the government’s decision to move Auckland down to alert level three, Hayden Donnell rises to the challenge that faces him, a human with a byline, to issue an opinion on elimination, lockdowns, and whether it’s possible to contain a delta outbreak.It’s official. The government has or hasn’t scrapped its elimination strategy. […]