Joel MacManus
@joelmacmanus.bsky.social
Senior Writer at The Spinoff.
I someday hope to quit social media but I'm too addicted
January 27, 2026 at 8:47 PM
I someday hope to quit social media but I'm too addicted
Wellington has two genres of local news story:
1. Beloved local business closes
2. Outrage over the threat of a new business opening
1. Beloved local business closes
2. Outrage over the threat of a new business opening
January 26, 2026 at 11:10 PM
Wellington has two genres of local news story:
1. Beloved local business closes
2. Outrage over the threat of a new business opening
1. Beloved local business closes
2. Outrage over the threat of a new business opening
Reposted by Joel MacManus
Luxon opens election year without a spark
Luxon opens election year without a spark
The prime minister’s state of the nation speech failed to stir his own party faithful....
thespinoff.co.nz
January 19, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Luxon opens election year without a spark
In which I present an in-depth study of New Zealanders named Chris.
thespinoff.co.nz/society/14-0...
thespinoff.co.nz/society/14-0...
Why Chrises run the country
Joel MacManus presents an in-depth study of New Zealanders named Chris.
thespinoff.co.nz
January 13, 2026 at 8:04 PM
In which I present an in-depth study of New Zealanders named Chris.
thespinoff.co.nz/society/14-0...
thespinoff.co.nz/society/14-0...
Bad year to be a retired mayor from the South
January 8, 2026 at 6:16 AM
Bad year to be a retired mayor from the South
Reposted by Joel MacManus
Inside the weirdest trial of the year: Jim Grenon, Julian Batchelor and TVNZ
thespinoff.co.nz/media/19-12-...
thespinoff.co.nz/media/19-12-...
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.
thespinoff.co.nz
December 18, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Inside the weirdest trial of the year: Jim Grenon, Julian Batchelor and TVNZ
thespinoff.co.nz/media/19-12-...
thespinoff.co.nz/media/19-12-...
I spent three days in the Auckland District Court watching the weirdest trial of the year.
Billionaires, secrets, conspiracy theories, denials of racism, contempt of court and twists at every turn. This case had it all.
thespinoff.co.nz/media/19-12-...
Billionaires, secrets, conspiracy theories, denials of racism, contempt of court and twists at every turn. This case had it all.
thespinoff.co.nz/media/19-12-...
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.
thespinoff.co.nz
December 18, 2025 at 7:46 PM
I spent three days in the Auckland District Court watching the weirdest trial of the year.
Billionaires, secrets, conspiracy theories, denials of racism, contempt of court and twists at every turn. This case had it all.
thespinoff.co.nz/media/19-12-...
Billionaires, secrets, conspiracy theories, denials of racism, contempt of court and twists at every turn. This case had it all.
thespinoff.co.nz/media/19-12-...
Unlikely given Bishop Snr is dead
December 10, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Unlikely given Bishop Snr is dead
After two years of major housing, infrastructure and planning reforms, Chris Bishop may have done more for the Abundance Agenda than any other politician on Earth.
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/10-...
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/10-...
The minister for abundance
After two years of major housing, infrastructure and planning reforms, Chris Bishop may have done more for the abundance agenda than any other politician on the planet.
thespinoff.co.nz
December 9, 2025 at 8:50 PM
After two years of major housing, infrastructure and planning reforms, Chris Bishop may have done more for the Abundance Agenda than any other politician on Earth.
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/10-...
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/10-...
Today was the day New Zealand truly became a 40% off deck furniture piss country
December 4, 2025 at 7:51 AM
Today was the day New Zealand truly became a 40% off deck furniture piss country
The butter chicken pie has risen from a niche fusion food to New Zealand’s third-best-selling pie flavour. Who gave the nation this unique culinary taonga?
thespinoff.co.nz/kai/01-12-20...
thespinoff.co.nz/kai/01-12-20...
The pie-oneer: In search of the unsung hero who invented the butter chicken pie
The butter chicken pie has risen from a niche fusion food to New Zealand’s third-best-selling pie flavour. Who gave the nation this unique culinary taonga?
thespinoff.co.nz
November 30, 2025 at 8:31 PM
The butter chicken pie has risen from a niche fusion food to New Zealand’s third-best-selling pie flavour. Who gave the nation this unique culinary taonga?
thespinoff.co.nz/kai/01-12-20...
thespinoff.co.nz/kai/01-12-20...
I assume you're talking about Juggernaut Season 2?
November 27, 2025 at 9:22 AM
I assume you're talking about Juggernaut Season 2?
I think you're exactly right
November 26, 2025 at 10:11 PM
I think you're exactly right
There's a stark contrast between Living Streets Aotearoa in Auckland, a useful advocacy group for pedestrian infrastructure, and Living Streets Aotearoa in Wellington which seems to exist only to complain about e-scooters and has never found a project they actually like.
A Brave New World for Aotearoa as we find the lost art of walking and even cycling again
However as GA have pointed out, our streets (and even roads) are not keeping up for a variety of reasons. Despite walking and cycling contributing to over $1.1b to our GDP IN THE REGIONS (let alone our cities)
However as GA have pointed out, our streets (and even roads) are not keeping up for a variety of reasons. Despite walking and cycling contributing to over $1.1b to our GDP IN THE REGIONS (let alone our cities)
New Zealand is walking again, but our streets aren't keeping up - Greater Auckland
This is a guest post by Tim Jones, President of Living Streets Aotearoa. By profession, Tim is a writer, editor and anthologist, and his latest book is the poetry collection Dracula in the Colonies. N...
www.greaterauckland.org.nz
November 26, 2025 at 9:24 PM
There's a stark contrast between Living Streets Aotearoa in Auckland, a useful advocacy group for pedestrian infrastructure, and Living Streets Aotearoa in Wellington which seems to exist only to complain about e-scooters and has never found a project they actually like.
Reposted by Joel MacManus
If Little takes nothing else away from Joel’s piece, let it at least be “cars are not people”
In his first council meeting as Wellington mayor, Andrew Little gave a big promotion to controversial rival Ray Chung and opened a political rift between Labour and the Greens.
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-...
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-...
Andrew Little buddies up to the right
In his first council meeting as Wellington mayor, Andrew Little opened a political rift between Labour and the Greens.
thespinoff.co.nz
November 25, 2025 at 2:01 AM
If Little takes nothing else away from Joel’s piece, let it at least be “cars are not people”
A quote from the man who just gave Ray Chung a promotion.
November 24, 2025 at 8:43 PM
A quote from the man who just gave Ray Chung a promotion.
While I agree with your point in general, this WCC is the clearest partisan split of any council I've seen. 6 Labour, 4 Greens, and 6 independent conservatives. There are no centrist or weird lefty independents. There are defined lines between the factions.
November 24, 2025 at 7:40 PM
While I agree with your point in general, this WCC is the clearest partisan split of any council I've seen. 6 Labour, 4 Greens, and 6 independent conservatives. There are no centrist or weird lefty independents. There are defined lines between the factions.
In his first council meeting as Wellington mayor, Andrew Little gave a big promotion to controversial rival Ray Chung and opened a political rift between Labour and the Greens.
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-...
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-...
Andrew Little buddies up to the right
In his first council meeting as Wellington mayor, Andrew Little opened a political rift between Labour and the Greens.
thespinoff.co.nz
November 24, 2025 at 6:50 PM
In his first council meeting as Wellington mayor, Andrew Little gave a big promotion to controversial rival Ray Chung and opened a political rift between Labour and the Greens.
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-...
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/25-...
Christopher Luxon wants ‘a more mature conversation’ about selling public assets. Big daddy Spinoff is here to explain the birds and the bees of privatisation.
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/21-...
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/21-...
How to have a ‘mature conversation’ about asset sales
Christopher Luxon wants 'a more mature conversation' about selling public assets. Big daddy Spinoff is here to explain the birds and the bees of privatisation.
thespinoff.co.nz
November 20, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Christopher Luxon wants ‘a more mature conversation’ about selling public assets. Big daddy Spinoff is here to explain the birds and the bees of privatisation.
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/21-...
thespinoff.co.nz/politics/21-...
To save the CBD, stop calling it the CBD.
To succeed in a post-Covid world, city centres need to be more than ‘central business districts’.
thespinoff.co.nz/business/18-...
To succeed in a post-Covid world, city centres need to be more than ‘central business districts’.
thespinoff.co.nz/business/18-...
To save the CBD, stop calling it the CBD
To succeed in a post-Covid world, city centres need to be more than 'central business districts'.
thespinoff.co.nz
November 17, 2025 at 7:04 PM
To save the CBD, stop calling it the CBD.
To succeed in a post-Covid world, city centres need to be more than ‘central business districts’.
thespinoff.co.nz/business/18-...
To succeed in a post-Covid world, city centres need to be more than ‘central business districts’.
thespinoff.co.nz/business/18-...
It's up for review but he's never been supportive of it, so I'm not hopeful.
November 15, 2025 at 4:46 AM
It's up for review but he's never been supportive of it, so I'm not hopeful.
"Make bold plans, small plans have no power to fire the imagination" - Sir Dove-Myer Robinson.
November 15, 2025 at 4:00 AM
"Make bold plans, small plans have no power to fire the imagination" - Sir Dove-Myer Robinson.
Some cities are actively pursuing growth. Others are stuck in a state of managed decline, merely cutting costs for loud existing homeowners while doing nothing to build for the future.
I'm increasingly worried that Wellington is irrevocably stuck in the second category.
I'm increasingly worried that Wellington is irrevocably stuck in the second category.
November 15, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Some cities are actively pursuing growth. Others are stuck in a state of managed decline, merely cutting costs for loud existing homeowners while doing nothing to build for the future.
I'm increasingly worried that Wellington is irrevocably stuck in the second category.
I'm increasingly worried that Wellington is irrevocably stuck in the second category.
The conservative minority on Wellington City Council never had the votes to kill the Golden Mile, so instead they played for time, demanding more reviews and consultation to delay it until a conservative won the mayoralty. Andrew Little has played right into their hands.
November 14, 2025 at 11:27 PM
The conservative minority on Wellington City Council never had the votes to kill the Golden Mile, so instead they played for time, demanding more reviews and consultation to delay it until a conservative won the mayoralty. Andrew Little has played right into their hands.