ICYMI: The bizarre story of the dead rats, the mystery lab and the 1080 activists
25 November – 2 December
The Side Eye: The Trap Life. In the steep gully between Brooklyn, Te Aro and Highbury in Wellington, a small band of wildlife lovers are getting out and doing their bit: killing animals. The animals are pests, of course, and the trappers are the Polhill Protectors who – along with a whole heap of other suburban trapping gangs – are a key part of Wellington’s war on egg-eating rodents. In the latest Side Eye, comic artist Toby Morris heads out to meet trapper Paul Ward, who tells him that in the Wellington he grew up in, “it would’ve been amazing to see a tui. Now they’ve got kākā, tūī, kererū, kārearea (falcons), even bloody tīeke (saddlebacks) in their backyards!”
The Crusaders had a chance to make a clean break. They flunked it. In the days after the March 15 attacks, the disquiet over The Crusaders’ name (and logo) boiled over into outrage that a name associated with religious massacre was still being used in 2019. After admitting the problem, and committing to a brand review, Super Rugby has taken eight months to announce… a new logo. But simply doing the bare minimum isn’t going to cut it, writes Jamie Wall – and has actually made the problem worse.
The strange story of the dead rats, a mystery lab, and the very curious antics of the anti-1080 lobby. It’s a bizarre tale that seems tailor made for a David Farrier-style documentary: Hundreds of rat carcasses are found washed up on a Westport beach, with no obvious sign of death. When the government says there’s no evidence they died from 1080 poisoning, activists take matters into their own hands, commissioning their own, damning toxicology report. Just one problem: all available evidence points to that report being bogus. Dave Hansford explains how he smelt a rat.
Raising twins is a privilege. And it’s hard as hell. “I was cocky when we decided to go for a second kid,” writes Jane Yee, one third of The Spinoff’s Real Pod podcast crew. “Then the twins happened. Suddenly, every helpful thing I’d learnt about bringing up babies jumped on a bus and headed for Huntly.” In the third part of our parenting series What They Don’t Tell You, Yee looks back on the exhausting reality of newborn twins. One of the worst parts? Your boobs are out “almost constantly”.
Just quickly, a brief word from Toby Manhire, editor of The Spinoff:
“As you probably know, it’s one hell of a turbulent media market out there. If you like The Spinoff and want to help us survive the storm, please consider becoming a Spinoff member. Contributions allow us to keep making homegrown and independent journalism that’s free to all. Our coverage of local elections, the Policy voting tool and a bunch of important and innovative climate change journalism, for example, would have been impossible without the generosity of members. But wait, there’s more: if you do sign up, you can contribute any amount you like, but give $8 a month or more and you’ll get a free copy of a Spinoff tea towel designed by Toby Morris. And a tote bag.”
Anything but Roses! The best (and worst) chocolate boxes to give this Christmas. It’s a truth universally acknowledged that a box of chocolates is the perfect low-effort gift for everyone from school teachers to distant relatives. But with Roses now a box of plastic-pouch rubbish, what’s a stressed-out gift-giver to do? Enter our extensively researched guide to New Zealand’s best and worst boxed chocolate assortments from not-Cadbury.
It’s time to get rid of the BMI test once and for all. A person’s BMI percentage is found by taking a person’s height squared and dividing it by their weight. BMI is how many kilograms per metre squared. If the number is outside the “healthy weight” range, it’s time to lose (or gain) some weight. Sounds simple enough, but as Madeleine Chapman found out, there are all kinds of grey areas that make BMI hugely problematic, especially for young children and Māori, Pacific and Asian people. And it’s having devastating real-world effects.
The one golden rule for politicians on Twitter. Just before 11pm on Friday night, Christchurch-based National MP Jo Hayes picked up her phone and sent a tweet. And not just any tweet, but a very strange, vicious and utterly unprovoked attack on a Labour supporter. What prompted this drive-by outburst? Does Hayes have form when it comes to bad tweets? And what does a leaked National Party guide to social media use have to say about such behaviour? Toby Manhire goes digging – and offers some free advice.
The most bonkers moments of Mihi Forbes’ interview with Lisa Prager. What to make of Auckland Nimby activist Lisa Prager? She’s certainly passionate about her pet issues (most of which involve keeping Auckland exactly as it is, forever), but she’s got a penchant for saying some truly cuckoo stuff. Like? She’s Pākehā, but also mana whenua, because she “came here in a waka like everybody else”. And there’s plenty more where that came from. Ātea editor Leonie Hayden reviews the ‘highlights’ of Prager’s remarkable recent interview with The Hui’s Mihi Forbes.
The Spinoff Weekly is written this week by Catherine McGregor, filling in for staff writer Jihee Junn.