Ahiahi mārie, welcome to The Spinoff Daily.
Today on The Spinoff: A handy primer for arts spokespeople who know nothing about New Zealand art, how a High Court showdown between two Māori culture giants flared and faded in a day, and a dog shit opinion.
“The coalition agreements for both Act and NZ First were written in ink dipped in the politics of vengeance. They said more about what they hated about the previous government than what form their own would take. It looked more like an opposition than a government, more about what they were against than what they were for.
The latest 1 News Verian poll shows National, Act and NZ First would be out of power if an election were held now, a catastrophic turnaround for a government elected just five months ago. It shows the limits of the politics of vengeance. When you’re in opposition, yelling from the outside about an economic or cultural elite seeking to control, manipulate or harm the country looks like punching up. It doesn’t work so well when you’re in power, especially in New Zealand, where a government’s power is as close to absolute as it gets. It just makes you look mean – or worse, pathetic.”
How a High Court showdown between two Māori culture giants flared and faded in a day
Reality Check Radio is still ‘off-air’. But was it ever really at risk?
If you love a dog, you must also love disposing of its shit
How you can stay informed the year the world votes
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A handy primer for arts spokespeople who know nothing about New Zealand art
Hera Lindsay Bird explains what to say when pesky journalists ask gotcha questions like ‘can you name a single book you’ve ever read?’ and ‘did you read it, or did you just see the movie?’
‘When the ship docks’: Publishing the poetry of the late Schaeffer Lemalu
Moe mai rā: Collected tributes to Vincent O’Sullivan
The cost of being: A ‘semi-unemployed’ house-sitter with dwindling savings