What's going on with the Greens?

A week of poor political behaviour, dog shit and dog food.

Kia ora and welcome to The Weekend with Madeleine Chapman

Mōrena and welcome to a slightly different Weekend newsletter. I’m Madeleine Chapman (mostly known as Mad but I use Madeleine for Serious Stuff). I’m the editor of The Spinoff and your new guide to the best of our work every week. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, The Spinoff’s writers and editors don’t work on the weekend, and through the power of technology we keep the site humming from Friday to Monday. But no more! Starting this very morning, we’ll be publishing our full weekend slate all at once on Saturday morning for you to browse – consider it a true weekend magazine. Which means my job is to point you in the direction of our stellar weekend stories, as well as look back on the best of the week that was. Let’s dive in.

A race to the bottom at the Beehive

Darleen Tana, Julie Anne Genter, Golriz Ghahraman and Elizabeth Kerekere have all faced allegations of inappropriate behaviour in the past 13 months.

This week was packed with political stories, thanks to MPs scrambling for the Most Embarrassing Moment award. And it was a tight race but I’m giving it to Julie Anne Genter, who stormed across the House on Wednesday evening and stood over National MP Matt Doocey, yelling. Disciplinary processes are under way and a further allegation of intimidating behaviour has emerged. Spinoff founder Duncan Greive assessed the latest Greens scandal and asked: Can the Green Party’s holy mission survive its fallible disciples?

Behind the Story

To celebrate our revamped weekend offering across the site, we’ve also launched a brand new podcast, Behind the Story. Each week, I’ll chat to a Spinoff staff writer or contributor about a big story they wrote that week, what inspired it, what they learned, and what never made it to print. This week, Anna Rawhiti-Connell joins me to talk about the power of framing a story so that it actually gets read, specifically when it comes to budgets (boring) and dog shit (thrilling and gross). Which is how she ended up writing: If you love a dog, you must also love disposing of its shit.

Make room for the shroom

BurgerFuel went underground, turned out the lights, left nature to her frenzy and got… The Shroom Shroom. The meatiest meatless burger. Marinated Portobello mushrooms, seared and topped with melty double cheddar, pickles, aioli and Dijon mustard then served up on an artisan bun. It’s mushroom mayhem in a burger.
Get your hands on a Shroom Shroom at your nearest BurgerFuel today. Limited time only. (sponsored)

A new generation of activism

Scenes from the hīkoi to parliament, including Tāme Iti issuing a challenge to politicians, May 5, 2004 (Photos: Getty Images)

Two decades ago this week, a controversial law that attempted to define ownership of the foreshore and seabed prompted a formidable display of outrage and kōtahitanga as 15,000 marched to parliament. Jamie Tahana looks back on the hīkoi and forward to how it continues to impact Aotearoa.

Dan Carter won’t stop kicking

Dan Carter kicked 273 goals in an hour. How many can you do? (Image: Tina Tiller)

Production editor Calum Henderson doesn’t have a lot of time to write these days but when he does, it’s an absolute delight. This week, he wandered down to Eden Park to watch Dan Carter kick goals for an hour. And despite that very basic premise, Calum’s write-up of the event is both hilarious and quite touching. An impressive feat.

Join The Spinoff Members

“With a publication like the Spinoff, you never know quite what excellent journalism you will find. Complement this with the literary wizardry covering all manner of cultural topics, and you are contributing to a very fine publication indeed.”

Julie, Spinoff Member since 2019.

If, like Julie, you enjoy our journalism and want to support us, please consider becoming a member today.

The stories Spinoff readers spent the most time with this week

• Hera Lindsay Bird with a handy primer for arts spokespeople who know nothing about New Zealand art (runner up for the Most Embarrassing Moment award).

• Joel MacManus works out of the press gallery for The Spinoff and has exemplified our approach with this column. He watched Faʻanānā Efeso Collins’ formal commemoration and highlighted something that everyone else overlooked.

• The comments on Asia Martusia King’s story about attempting to cook with dog food instead of meat sum this up better than I ever could.

• Bronwen Newton generously shares her experience of trying (and failing) to get a co-housing project up and running and why she thinks it's still a good idea

• Duncan Greive’s exclusive on how a High Court showdown between two Māori culture giants flared and faded in a day

More recommended reads for your weekend

• My Life in TV: The delightful Dame Susan Devoy

• The Cost of Being: A ‘semi-unemployed’ house-sitter with dwindling savings

• A funny and bleak collection of horrible work stories for May Day

• Books editor Claire Mabey penned a touching tribute to poet and author Sir Vincent O’Sullivan

• Some very funny advice from Gráinne Patterson on how to handle the very specific problem of your therapist looking like your dad

Reader feedback of the week

We recently turned comments back on for Spinoff members. It’s been a good reminder to put our natural journalistic scepticism aside because everything we thought we knew about comments sections has been proven wrong, and it’s a lovely place. We should’ve known better because Spinoff members are good sorts. We also have lively inboxes, so each week I’ll share a piece of reader feedback or comment that has caught my eye.

On Joel’s piece about Faʻanānā Efeso Collins’ formal commemoration

On eating dog food and poss(y)um

Thanks for reading and see you next week,

— Madeleine Chapman