#The Spinoff

"THE TANIWHA IN A SUIT: How Corporate Defendants Bribed a Government With Its Own Law — And the Prime Minister Shredded the Receipts" - 3 June 2026

While Fonterra's lawyers drafted the legislation that killed your right to sue them, Christopher Luxon's chief policy adviser deleted the email that proved it — and called the cover-up a "teachable mo…

Climate case briefing against major emitters sent to former Beehive staffer’s private emailChristopher Luxon says he’s taking it “very seriously”, but Labour leader Chris Hipkins says it “stinks to high heaven”.RNZLillian HanlyLabour questions whether disappearing climate briefing note deliberate cover-upBut minister Louise Upston insists the debacle in the PM’s office is an “isolated incident” and says it is “disingenuous” to say otherwise.RNZCraig Mcculloch, Morningreport“THE DEFENDANTS WROTE THE LAW THAT KILLED THEIR OWN CASE — AND THE PRIME MINISTER HELPED THEM HIDE IT” - 25 May 2026When Fonterra and Z Energy walked briefing notes into the Beehive by hand, the whenua burned, the wai rose, and a Māori elder’s right to justice was erased by the same government that swore to uphold it. This is not climate policy. This is organised corruption dressed in parliamentary robes.The Māori Green LanternIvor Jones The Māori Green LanternClimate Rights Database

"THE CROWN'S CONVEYOR BELT: How the 2026 King's Birthday Honours Subsumes Every Soul Into the Neoliberal Machine" - 1 June 2026

The function of Knights and Dames is to protect the Throne. The function of everyone else on the list is to make that protection look democratic.

King’s-Birthday-Honours-2026-The-full-list-–-knights-dames-and-all-other-recipients-NZ-Herald-06-01-2026_07_59_PMKing’s-Birthday-Honours-2026-The-full-list-–-knights-dames-and-all-other-recipients-NZ-Herald-06-01-2026_07_59_PM.pdf6 MBdownload-circleGoogle Scholar profileAotearoa Liberation League"In Defence of Democracy"

"THE LANDLORD PARLIAMENT: HOW AOTEAROA'S RULING CLASS VOTED ITSELF RICH WHILE WHĀNAU SLEPT IN CARS" - 28 May 2026

They passed the laws. They bought the houses. Our people paid the rent, paid the tax, paid the trauma — and this white supremacist neoliberal government called it "fairness." This is not policy. This …

The Comfortable Thief“THE COMFORTABLE THIEF” - 28 May 2026How Louise Upston Robs Whānau Blind with a Smile, a Mortgage-Free Apartment, and $52,000 of Your Money — While She Cuts the Floor from Under the PoorThe Māori Green LanternIvor Jones The Māori Green LanternGovernment MPs acquired 25 extra investment properties after passing pro-landlord reformsA New Zealand site covering pop culture, politics and social life through features, criticism, interviews, videos and podcasts.The SpinoffJoel MacManusThe Spinoff

"THE COMFORTABLE THIEF" - 28 May 2026

How Louise Upston Robs Whānau Blind with a Smile, a Mortgage-Free Apartment, and $52,000 of Your Money — While She Cuts the Floor from Under the Poor

Louise Upston ‘comfortable’ with rules allowing her to collect $1000 a week to live in own apartmentUpston is the minister responsible for lifting the eligibility threshold for homeowners claiming an accommodation supplement.RNZJo MoirRNZ and reported across multiple outletsPaula Bennett: The Architect of Systemic BetrayalScoop documented and named bluntly in 2012

"THE TOLL GATE ON STOLEN GROUND: How National and NZ First Sold the Fast-Track Queue to the Highest Bidder While Māori Paid in Land, Water, and Whakapapa" - 27 May 2026

They called it infrastructure. We call it what it is: a bribe machine disguised as law, operated by a white supremacist neoliberal government that sold the keys to Aotearoa to the donor class — and ch…

$1m in political donations from entities linked to fast track applications revealedPeople and businesses asking for fast track approval of their projects have donated almost exclusively to National and NZ First.RNZFarah HancockRNZ's Farah HancockFast-track Approvals Act 2024RNZ

"THE LOTTO LIE: How Nicola Willis Calls Survival a Jackpot While She Burns Whānau Homes to the Ground" - 27 May 2026

They handed landlords a flamethrower, poured accelerant on the housing waitlist, watched whānau burn — and now Nicola Willis shows up with a clipboard and calls it "fairness."

RNZLabour and Greens say social housing shake-up will see public housing tenants evictedThe finance minister says she “reached for the wrong metaphor” when asked about the social housing shake-up.RNZLillian Hanly, Russell PalmerWork and Income announcementLabour's Chris Hipkins confirmed

"THE DEFENDANTS WROTE THE LAW THAT KILLED THEIR OWN CASE — AND THE PRIME MINISTER HELPED THEM HIDE IT" - 25 May 2026

When Fonterra and Z Energy walked briefing notes into the Beehive by hand, the whenua burned, the wai rose, and a Māori elder's right to justice was erased by the same government that swore to uphold …

Trojan Horse in our education systemfossil fuel lobbyists hijacking our climate governance‘A co-ordinated campaign of secret lobbying’ - climate activistMike Smith says government changes to climate law have “exposed” what appears to be a “deliberate effort” to conceal lobbying.RNZLillian HanlyRNZ's Lillian Hanly

"While They Poisoned the Pātaka, I Picked Up the Taiaha: How a White Supremacist Neoliberal Government Declared War on Māori Truth — and Lost" - 17 May 2026

They demolished the watchdog, bought the newsroom, starved the tamariki, and came for my platform — and I kept publishing. Over 1,000 essays later, the taiaha has not been laid down.

The Māori Green Lantern8 November 2025PSA's analysis of the Atlas Network18,000 interested parties called the Regulatory Standards Bill "constitutional warfare"