Alex Braae 
Was the SkyCity Convention Centre construction site at higher risk of fire than any other construction site or building? Alex Braae asks the experts. A fire at the SkyCity Convention Centre construction site has continued to burn this morning, after a night of lighting up the Auckland CBD sky. The fire, which unconfirmed media reports … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: In today’s edition: Serious ramifications likely from SkyCity fire, dozens of partnership visas being denied, and yet another police pursuit death. The fire at the SkyCity Convention Centre construction site has continued to burn overnight. Fire crews were forced to abandon the roof, in an attempt to … Read more
After an unusually nasty campaign for their country, Canada has gone to the polls. They’ve decided that Justin Trudeau will continue as prime minister, but just like in New Zealand, he’ll have to work with coalition politics. What’s happened? After a brutal and at times humiliating campaign, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has won another term. … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Wellington’s new mayor faces difficult three years, Zero Carbon bill select committee report comes back, and extremist preacher barred from NZ Partly because it was a widely unexpected result, the opening days of Wellington mayor Andy Foster’s tenure have been gripping. He has inherited a Council … Read more
The troubled Auckland Light Rail project is back in the news again, and not for good reasons. So what does it all mean for transport and traffic congestion in New Zealand’s biggest city? What’s all this then? It seemed like such a good plan at the time. Over the course of 10 years between 2018 … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: NZ First holds crucial party conference, roving AOS trial sparks concerns, and Mediaworks facing dramatic days ahead. The most pivotal political party in the country right now has held their annual conference, a year out from what will be a make or break election. NZ First … Read more
News broke this morning that MediaWorks is seeking to sell off, and even contemplating closing, its TV division. What might that mean for journalism? For journalism in New Zealand, the loss of Three’s TV division is a devastating blow. It is not yet known whether any of the news properties will be continuing. People often … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Clayton Mitchell denies accusations around a night out, food insecurity on the rise, and UK PM Boris Johnson secures deal with dubious prospects. NZ First MP Clayton Mitchell has got himself in a spot of late night bother in a Tauranga pub. Newshub’s Tova O’Brien reports he was … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Alex Braae reviews a night spent on the Intercity overnight sleeper bus getting from Wellington to Auckland. The most important thing to understand about long haul bus travel is that it’s all about getting exactly what you pay for, … Read more
The actions of New Zealanders on land are increasingly harming the ocean’s ability to sustain life. Alex Braae looks at a worrying new government paper on the marine environment. What’s all this then? A new report from the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ has sounded alarming warning about state of the massive area … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Prefab housing factory opened amid huge need, worrying new measles developments, and public shows common sense on drug testing. A new factory has been opened to produce building materials, which if scaled up could have a significant impact on construction time and costs. Anne Gibson at … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pressure on government from unions, mosque attack victim widows turned down for residency, and another Nat eyes safe Botany seat nomination. Pressure is being put on the government to deliver on one of their major promises to the union movement, reports the NZ Herald (paywalled.) It relates to … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Analysis that hits the mark after a big weekend of local elections, new party poll released, and Dunedinites turn out to clean up in honour of killed student. By now, you probably know whether or not you have a new local representative. If not, you might … Read more
In one of the biggest surprises of the local elections, Andy Foster has seized the Wellington mayoralty from Justin Lester. In this cheat sheet, we answer some of the big questions about Andy Foster, such as ‘who is Andy Foster?’ The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about … Read more
A festival of democracy is playing out around the country today, as voting closes in our local elections and preliminary results trickle out. Alex Braae, Hayden Donnell, and miscellaneous The Spinoff staff bring you live updates. Keep refreshing the page for more. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Former Air NZ boss confirms he’ll go for National’s Botany nomination, apology tour to Nicky Hager continues, and beneficiaries turn to sharks to pay MSD debt. So it’s official now: Former Air New Zealand boss Christopher Luxon has confirmed he will go for the National … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Changes coming at NZTA over road safety failures, half a billion to be paid out to health workers, and Blue Belt proposal revived in Wellington. An independent report into the NZTA has concluded that it failed in its duty to keep people safe on New … Read more
At the Horowhenua District council, the last three years have been a tale of two mates against the world. Alex Braae goes inside the friendship of mayor Michael Feyen and councillor Ross Campbell. The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Local election turnout in focus, NZ First hit with massive data leak, and finance minister unveils whopping surplus. By now it seems apparent that turnout in local body elections is going to be dire. Postal voting effectively finished yesterday, which means anyone who hasn’t yet returned … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Meth prices drop to record lows, dozens of arrests at Extinction Rebellion protests, and an excellent data dive into land sales to overseas forestry interests. In a worrying sign for wellbeing, the price of meth in many parts of the country has plunged to new … Read more
In the final week of the local election campaign, Porirua mayor Mike Tana has been embroiled in yet another brouhaha around how he has spent public money. What’s the latest, and what will it mean for the race? The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a … Read more
Among the hundreds of Extinction Rebellion activists who blockaded a street in Wellington today, there was a teenager who got temporarily kicked out of his school for protesting too much. Alex Braae reports. “My mother, when she first found out, was a little enraged that I was skipping classes to go and hang out with … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: How a racist policy ended up being overturned, new report paints grim picture of ‘locked-in’ youth facilities, and Porirua mayor under further spending pressure. This happened on Friday, but it was a long time coming so is worth covering properly. The government has announced that an … Read more
If you data nerds thought the census was fun, wait until you get a load of this. Alex Braae picks out some of the most interesting data points from the 2017 NZ Election Study, released yesterday. They say there’s only one poll that matters – the one that takes place on election day. They’re wrong. … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Port study comes back saying Auckland operations should go north, EV sales finally ticking up, and NZ First loses party president for “moral reasons.” A study into the structure of the upper North Island port system has come back recommending many aspects of Auckland’s port … Read more
In a city that is a microcosm of the growth challenges New Zealand is facing, an engrossing and sometimes nasty race for the mayoral chains is unfolding. The winner will preside over three years that could be defining for decades. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about … Read more
In the depths of Unitec’s School of Architecture, teams of second-year students are preparing to put their first tangible projects in front of the public. Alex Braae went to meet one of the teams who will be transforming Devonport’s Windsor Reserve for GLOW@Artweek. Stepping into the room where all the creativity is being done, Unitec … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Early childhood educators plan action to raise pay, many councils reporting low election turnout, and Defence Industry forum cancelled. A new phase of industrial action in the education sector looms, with early childhood teachers calling for a huge pay jolt. Radio NZ reports it was one of … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: School holiday fears of measles spread, pressure on Northland public health system, and logger who criticised Shane Jones goes public. The measles outbreak is approaching a potentially dangerous phase, with school holidays underway. Warnings were issued last week that cases could spread further around the country, as the … Read more