Opinion

The Weekend: Matariki is the perfect time to start afresh

The Weekend: Matariki is the perfect time to start afresh

Having our big holiday and new year celebrations in the summer is like being made to run a marathon without water, only to then be hit with a hose at the finish line.

By Madeleine Chapman | 20th June, 2025

An artist’s impression of councils’ piss-taking apparatus, and Chris Bishop (Photo: Getty Images; design The Spinoff)

The government is fed up with councils taking the piss on housing

They’ve built aqueducts for the piss. A state-of-the-art municipal pipe network purely for transporting the piss.

By Hayden Donnell | 18th June, 2025

Contributing writer

Should apartment buildings be required to provide bike parking spaces? Image: Tina Tiller

Windbag: The little decisions that make a big impact

Two overlooked votes on obscure council policies could make a significant difference to new housing in Wellington.

By Joel MacManus | 18th June, 2025

Wellington editor

The Weekend: Dignity in death shouldn’t be so hard

The Weekend: Dignity in death shouldn’t be so hard

When a friend becomes a stranger.

By Madeleine Chapman | 14th June, 2025

Stop conflating being transgender with being sick

Stop conflating being transgender with being sick

This week, RNZ reported on a tragic death. In the process it perpetuated many harmful messages about young trans people.

By Julia de Bres

& John Fenaughty | 13th June, 2025

Marilyn Waring, top, and some of the members of the people’s select committee on pay equity, from left, Lianne Dalziel, Sue Bradford, Jo Hayes, Steve Chadwick and Nanaia Mahuta (Photos: Getty Images/Supplied; design The Spinoff)

Marilyn Waring: Why I convened the people’s select committee on pay equity

The government chose ideology over evidence. We'll uncover what should have been considered – and make it available to all.

By Marilyn Waring | 12th June, 2025

Image: The Spinoff

With so many parties ‘ruling out’ working with other parties, is MMP losing its way?

Part of the appeal of MMP was that it might constrain some of the worst excesses of the executive. Right now, that is starting to look a little naive.

By Richard Shaw | 11th June, 2025

Early-career researchers involved in Antarctic field work (Photos: Supplied)

Why New Zealand must invest in the next generation of Antarctic researchers

At a time of geopolitical upheaval and uncertainty, it's a critical way to help ensure New Zealand maintains its influence in Antarctic affairs.

By Gabrielle Koerich

& Tamara Pletzer | 10th June, 2025

Image: The Spinoff

The problem with making ‘educational attainment’ the key objective for schools

A bill that proposes to demote the place of te Tiriti in the official objectives for state schools is part of a concerning wider pattern.

By Jessie Moss | 10th June, 2025

Michael Forbes (left) and Rajneel Singh

The Weekend: You don’t know until you know

When a friend becomes a stranger.

By Madeleine Chapman | 7th June, 2025

What was Chris Bishop thinking? An earnest attempt to figure it out

What was Chris Bishop thinking? An earnest attempt to figure it out

It’s an objectively crazy way to behave. But I kind of get it.

By Duncan Greive | 5th June, 2025

Ruth Richardson in 1991, and the badge of the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (Image: Comet Photo AG; design by The Spinoff)

Ruth Richardson’s state honour is a slap in the face for the poor

The architect of 1991's 'mother of all budgets' did immense damage to the country’s most vulnerable.

By Max Rashbrooke | 5th June, 2025

Contributing writer

Image: Supplied/The Spinoff

We need to stop talking about cats and actually do something

Adding feral cats to the Predator Free 2050 target species list would ensure their removal is humane, coordinated and effective.

By Allison Hess | 4th June, 2025

Image: Getty

ME/CFS patient estimates have doubled – but the disease is still ignored

Tens of thousands of New Zealanders are thought to have myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), formerly known as “chronic fatigue syndrome”.

By Louise Thornley | 3rd June, 2025

Design: The Spinoff

Women’s suffrage or He Whakaputanga? Holiday ideas to replace King’s Birthday

Forget the king – here are the public holidays Aotearoa should be celebrating instead.

By Liam Rātana | 2nd June, 2025

The author and her mum

The migrant dream? My mum’s pay equity claim was cancelled and I got a tax cut

'As is the case for many migrant parents, one of Mum’s primary retirement plans is me.'

By Lisa Meto Fox | 31st May, 2025

The Weekend: Might I suggest a walk?

The Weekend: Might I suggest a walk?

Madeleine Chapman reflects on the week that was.

By Madeleine Chapman | 31st May, 2025

Image design: Tina Tiller.

Removing tikanga from legal education is a symptom of a wider disconnection

At its core, this isn’t just a legal debate – it’s a challenge to the legitimacy of Māori worldviews within public institutions.

By Kingi Snelgar | 29th May, 2025

Design: Liam Rātana

Is the KiwiSaver ‘fiscal hole’ a glitch – or the whole point?

The government’s $3bn saving on KiwiSaver changes may come straight out of workers’ future pay – and it’s no accident.

By Tayla Forward | 28th May, 2025

A real photo of the author writing this article* (*not really, AI was involved)

Radical millennial idea: don’t raise the age of superannuation eligibility

Please give the sadsack generation a break.

By Hayden Donnell | 28th May, 2025

Contributing writer