Alex Braae 
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Banks under review escape serious sanctions despite spotlight, allegation of police brutality at Defence Expo, and Speaker slammed for rugby junket. The banks have been under the spotlight after the release of a report from the Financial Markets Authority and Reserve Bank. 11 banks were looked at … Read more
Short answer? No. Long answer? Well, maybe. Cricket tragic Alex Braae assesses whether the White Ferns could go all the way in the West Indies. Ah, cricket. Even in that most ugly form of the game – T20 – there’s nothing like a Cricket World Cup to stir up passion and patriotism. And even though … Read more
A new week has dawned, and to start it off, another conversation secretly recorded by Jami-Lee Ross has been leaked to Newshub. So what does it say, and what does it mean? The leader of the opposition goes on all the major TV and radio shows on a Monday morning, and generally the interviews follow … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Labour revels in rare display of party unity at annual conference, we’re buying massive numbers of the wrong cars, and Phil Goff’s mayoralty in focus. For nine of the last ten years, the Labour Party conference has been notorious for factional fights and a general sense of gloom. This year, … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Karel Sroubek case gets even stranger, industrial action rumbles away among court staff, and letting fees to be gone by Christmas. The residency decision on Czech drug dealer Karel Sroubek is starting to look stranger and stranger by the day. The NZ Herald’s Jared Savage has broken the latest: … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Serious clashes between police and protesters in Palmerston North, ANZ banks ludicrously big profit, and gay conversion therapy could be banned. The most heavily protested annual conference of the year is back, this time in the unlikely surroundings of Palmerston North. The Defence Industry Expo – otherwise … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Electric trains to continue on main trunk line, alarm sounded over loss of Auckland tree canopy, and MP Jami-Lee Ross gives proxy vote back to National. The railway network of New Zealand has been given a shot in the arm, which could signal more investment in … Read more
If the future is going to be powered by renewable energy, the world needs to get a lot better at dealing with one very precious element, the Materialise conference on sustainability in Wellington has heard. The argument goes something like this: To fight climate change, the world needs to convert to technology that runs on … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Protest on at parliament today over opening prayer, major changes recommended for biodiversity, and the strange tale of a drug dealer not being deported. To lead off today, we’re going to start with a story that isn’t necessarily the biggest of the day, but is … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Report puts abortion law reform back on the agenda, housing shortage likely to worsen despite Kiwibuild, and are the Taxcinda attacks on Labour fair? A Law Commission report has put abortion law reform firmly back on the agenda. The report outlines three potential approaches to reform, based on the … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: High profile resignation at yet another sports organisation, primary teachers vote for rolling strikes in November, and Colin Craig could have another crack at politics. Former champion triathlete Hamish Carter has offered up his resignation from High Performance Sport NZ, after leaking confidential athlete information. Newshub reports that … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM makes no new regional fuel taxes pledge on the fly, dream of merger over for media companies, and Hager speaks out on JLR saga. Jacinda Ardern has made what could become something of a defining pledge for her career – no new regional fuel taxes … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National party orders internal culture review, international students claim they’re being treated like slaves, and CHCH faces water restrictions or more chlorine. The National Party has ordered a review into its internal culture, focused on ensuring women feel safe within the party, reports the NZ Herald. It follows allegations that … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Bus strikes begin in Auckland and Hamilton, secret party donations stay in the spotlight, and backlog of sex assault cases unassigned by police is rising. In transport news, the week is likely to be dominated by bus driver strikes. Some bus services in Auckland and Hamilton might … Read more
It’s natural to assume that the IT revolution will continue forward at a cracking pace, but what if there are limits on how much energy humanity can actually put towards it? That’s the focus of Professor Michael Fuhrer’s research, who is speaking at the Materialise conference this week in Wellington. The theory is called Moore’s … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. It’s a public holiday, so we’re going to have a slightly different edition of The Bulletin this morning. We’ll cover off a few major world news stories that are worth keeping an eye on, and if possible, what they mean for New Zealand. Don’t worry, normal service of the … Read more
In an astonishing interview on Newstalk ZB, Jami-Lee Ross has taken the principled stance of not resigning to fight a by-election he has no chance of winning. Will Simon Bridges now look to the waka jumping law? Throughout this week, rogue National MP Jami-Lee Ross has shown himself accomplished at the marathon press conference. Tonight, … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Ross saga flies off in half a dozen different directions, Wellington bus drivers vote on indefinite length strike, and a tragedy for DOC. It’s not really clear what you’d call this story any more, because it’s now about half a dozen different stories. That follows another wild … Read more
The brain-melting mind warp of the week in politics has just got even more sordid, with four women speaking to Newsroom on the conduct of rogue MP Jami-Lee Ross. Just how damaged is everyone involved now? There were whispers, there were rumours. On Tuesday, Jami-Lee Ross took them head on, saying he had been falsely … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Secretly recorded tape raises huge questions for National, Austrian company gets oil exploration extension, and govt won’t close ‘back door’ for Nauru refugees. The question was asked yesterday – what fresh horrors await National? Well, we got our answer, with the release of a taped phone conversation … Read more
The developments at parliament yesterday are almost without precedent, as renegade National MP Jami-Lee Ross threw astonishing accusations at his party leader Simon Bridges. In this post drawn from this morning’s Bulletin, the Spinoff’s daily email newsletter, Alex Braae takes on the crucial what-next questions. What did Ross allege? The Botany MP claimed that Simon … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National party knife-fight gets extremely bloody, Naura detainee refugees may be allowed to come to NZ, and a shake-up coming for Māori media. The developments at Parliament yesterday are almost without precedent, as renegade National MP Jami-Lee Ross threw astonishing accusations at his party leader Simon … Read more
So remember how there was a bit of a battle going on between National leader Simon Bridges and Botany MP Jami-Lee Ross? It has just stepped up about 16 million notches. Jami-Lee Ross has gone absolutely all-in against the National party leadership of Simon Bridges, in a way that has no obvious precedent in New … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Brutal day looms for National amid Jami-Lee Ross saga, serious allegations made by Nicky Hager against NZDF, and damning indictment of MSD culture. The National Party has found itself plunged into a crisis over MP Jami-Lee Ross. He was named in a report as the most likely … Read more
In a dramatic turn of events, the National Party expenses leak has suddenly turned about a thousand times more toxic. What the hell is going on? In a series of four tweets, National MP Jami-Lee Ross has detonated a bomb under the leadership of Simon Bridges. Just a few minutes before the National leader began … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Massive increase in overseas teacher recruitment drive, NZ activists reject Israeli court ruling, and the horrible state of Lake Horowhenua is in focus. The government is ramping up efforts to recruit new teachers from overseas, and to lure NZ-trained teachers back home. The numbers being sought are … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Police discuss logistics of legal weed, amount beneficiaries owe to MSD revealed, and a thorough rundown on why houses are unaffordable. With a reeferendum coming by 2020 at the latest, the police are starting to give serious thought to how they will go about their jobs … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Crackdown coming on dodgy lending practices, Fonterra revises forecast down again, and a new twist in the Simon Bridges expense leak tale. The government has launched a long-signalled crackdown on predatory lenders and the interest they’re able to charge, reports Radio NZ. Interest will be capped at … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government secures bigger than expected surplus, NZ not on track to meet climate change targets, and most immigration crime going un-investigated. The government has found itself in possession of a much higher than expected surplus, reports Interest. Not only has tax revenue grown faster than spending, the government … Read more