Joel MacManus

1 week ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Joel MacManus

The political supergroup’s event about Wellington’s art scene involved lots of CEOs and very few artists. Windbag is The Spinoff’s Wellington issues column, written by Wellington editor Joel MacManus. Subscribe to the Windbag newsletter to receive columns early. I’ve been pretty sceptical about Vision for Wellington, the supergroup of wealthy and powerful Wellingtonians, ever since it launched with a glowing front page in The Post.

2 weeks ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Joel MacManus

Speaker Gerry Brownlee made Tē Pāti Māori’s co-leader rephrase his question again, and again, and again. Te Pāti Māori has always had a healthy disrespect for the rules of parliament. They see it as a stuffy, colonial institution rooted in traditions that exist only for the sake of tradition. By rejecting the shackles of convention, they’re free to disrupt the house with a haka and openly defy the privileges committee. Often, that attitude is good politics.

2 weeks ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Joel MacManus

It lays out a new framework for how Wellington can address a trio of socio-ecological crises. But what’s missing? Windbag is The Spinoff’s Wellington issues column, written by Wellington editor Joel MacManus. Subscribe to the Windbag newsletter to receive columns early. My theory of the 2022 local body election was that most voters sensed the city was in a malaise.

3 weeks ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Joel MacManus

Politicsabout 13 hours agoHealthcare dominated the debate in an unusually sober and serious question time. “Hey David!” a group of high school students in the public gallery called out as Act leader David Seymour entered the debating chamber. Standing in the middle of the floor, before any other MPs had arrived, he happily chit-chatted back: “I hope you guys really enjoy this and I hope that afterwards you believe in democracy at least as much as before.”Whether they enjoyed it is doubtful.

3 weeks ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Joel MacManus

Wellingtonians are so used to negative media narratives that celebrating their city feels like a radical act. In that context, CubaDupa’s ‘communal joy’ theme made perfect sense, write Joel MacManus and Lyric Waiwiri-Smith. The theme of this year’s CubaDupa was “communal joy”. At first glance, it’s an eye-roller; less of a theme than the general vibe of a street fair. On the ground, though, amid the chaos and the colour, festival organiser Bianca Bailey’s vision made perfect sense.