Alex Braae 
Crowdfunding platform PledgeMe has been overwhelmed by demand from investors into a medicinal cannabis company. How? Why? Find out in today’s cheat sheet. What’s all this then? PledgeMe, the crowdfunding website where you can donate to a band’s debut record, or help get an artisanal homemade coffee roaster off the ground, has a new big … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Super Fund makes play for Auckland light rail, enthusiasm for cannabis investment crashes crowdfunding site, and Anglicans take step towards same sex marriage recognition. The NZ Super Fund will put in a bid to own, operate and build Auckland’s light rail network, reports Stuff. The Super Fund, … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Kiwifruit workers debate and divide deepens, an admission that Kiwibuild might not involve actually building so many houses, and Trump pulls out of Iran deal. The shortage of fruit pickers and packhouse staff has morphed into a debate on migrant workers and unemployment in Parliament. One … Read more
The Football Ferns are about to get equal pay to the male All Whites when they represent New Zealand. It’s a huge step for the sport, but will it lead to genuine equality across football? Read on in today’s cheat sheet. What’s all this then? For what is believed to be the first time in … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Greens and Labour at odds over compulsory te reo in schools, petrol prices hit high, and farmers facing big mycoplasma bovis bill. The government won’t yet back a Green Party push for compulsory te reo Māori in schools, reports Newshub. New Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson is … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Curbs on cow numbers likely to come, the education minister is pointing to a billion dollar shortfall, and we’ve got an exclusive story about so-called ethical fashion label World. The government might be about to put curbs on further dairy intensification, in order to raise … Read more
The biggest global player in broadcast production has bought up a New Zealand company specialising in exactly that. What does that mean for those already here? The company that does the filming and broadcast production of the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the FIFA World Cup and plenty more besides has quietly made a move to … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Greens urged to bail out of waka–jumping bill, midwives go marching, and governance weirdness at Canterbury DHB comes to light. Submissions have continued on the controversial waka-jumping bill, with huge opposition to the proposal. The bill would mean a party would have the right to remove and … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Meth pamphlet at high school sparks furious debate, historical police inaction on sexual assault revealed, and NZ misses out on steel tariff exemption. Massey High School in Auckland has come under fire, for distributing a meth education pamphlet that some parents believe condones drug use. The NZ Herald reports … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Prisoners complain guards are assaulting and abusing them, there’s a severe shortage of tradies, and the SkyCity Convention Centre suffers another delay. Allegations of sexual abuse and serious assault by Corrections staff have been made by dozens of prisoners. One News has revealed that between 2012-2016, 16 … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: The government’s month of hell begins, BP under pressure over fuel price manipulation, and Amazon tax coming on online shopping. Government ministers and staffers are facing what could feel like the longest month of their lives. They’ve got four sitting weeks of Parliament to get through starting … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Health budget feels the strain, National eyes up Green voters, and a gravel shortage looms for big infrastructure projects. Health minister David Clark has been put under the microscope by TVNZ’s Q+A. The theme that ran through the interview was that there simply isn’t enough money to cover … Read more
Last night North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean president Moon Jae-in met for the first time, pledging a new era of friendship between the two countries. In today’s Cheat Sheet: is peace finally about to come for the people of Korea? What’s all this about then? The leaders of North and … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A huge sack of cash for Auckland’s transport, a damning new child poverty report, and jailhouse snitches in the spotlight. The government and council will put $28 billion dollars towards a major plan to fix Auckland’s transport woes. Here’s a handy key facts story from Stuff, because there … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Shane Jones wants more power over public servants, NZ banks insist they’re not dodgy, and a former Counties DHB member hits back. Shane Jones wants ministers to have more control over the public sector, including being able to appoint enforcers in top roles, reports Stuff. The regional development minister … Read more
Two very different ANZAC commemorations took place around mid-morning at the Auckland Domain. Alex Braae went to both of them. I arrived in time for the wreath laying. There were still hundreds, if not thousands of people surrounding the cenotaph, a huge contingent on the hill in front of the looming War Memorial Museum. As … Read more
Good morning, and welcome the The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major welfare changes coming, more funding for soldiers with PTSD, and Eric Murray won’t have a beer after all. A major overhaul of the welfare system is coming, in line with Labour and Green election campaign promises, reports Newshub. PM Jacinda Ardern indicated that could include the scrapping … Read more
The Spinoff’s royals correspondent Alex Braae has been camped outside a London hospital for the past three weeks, waiting eagerly for the name of the new royal baby. In the meantime, these are his predictions. Another royal baby has been born, another barrier has been placed in the way of Prince Harry one day becoming … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Food grant stats show poverty in NZ is getting worse, woman’s benefit wrongly cut off by WINZ over dates, and the budget responsibility rules are set to be bent. The number of New Zealanders using food grants continues to rise, reports Newshub. Almost 150,000 New Zealanders accessed … Read more
Will humans ever have a colony on Mars? If we do, some cutting edge technology of today could help us get there. If humans ever want to achieve the outlandish, science fiction sounding goal of a colony on Mars, our species will get there in part thanks to virtual reality. That’s one of the goals … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Australian banking scandal described as a wake up call for NZ, Commonwealth wide free trade deal being talked up, and nurses union voting on strike opens. Scandalous banking misconduct in Australia is being described as a wake up call for New Zealand, reports Radio NZ. A … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New Zealand’s land is in bad shape, medicinal cannabis submitters warned, and a symbolic day for Pike River families. New Zealand is losing 192 million tonnes of soil every year, according to a new environmental report. Radio NZ reports a bit under half of that soil loss is … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today: why the government is looking into public private partnerships to build infrastructure – and what the other parties think. What’s this all about then? The government are pushing for public private partnerships to fund big transport infrastructure projects, … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Free trade with Britain moves closer, police and government at odds over drug driver testing, and EQC checks may be recalled. The PM is in London reassuring Britain that New Zealand is very keen on a post-Brexit free trade deal. The meeting between Ardern and Britain’s Theresa … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin: In today’s edition: Spies in the spotlight, support from freight CEO for government’s rail strategy, and Housing NZ lose same tenancy tribunal case twice. The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security Cheryl Gwyn has put together a reference group for oversight of NZ’s spy agencies, reports Stuff. Their job will be … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A new poll is out, the government is considering public-private partnerships, and rents are rising rapidly. A new 1 News Colmar Brunton poll shows a drop for Labour, but government parties still comfortably ahead of the National party. It’s being reported by 1 News as the ‘end of the … Read more
It might seem like New Zealand didn’t top the medal table at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, but actually, we were the real winners. Alex Braae explains how. It is tough being the small player on the world stage. New Zealand, by any measure, is tiny. Some would argue that it’s bred a cultural desire for … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Candidates have been selected for the Northcote by-election, dark web booming for drug trafficking, and attacks on DOC rangers getting more frequent. The candidates are in for what should be an intriguing by-election contest in Northcote. Nationals’ Dan Bidois will defend the seat after being the clear favourite … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Australia plays politics with NZ’s refugee offer, National vows to reverse govt’s stance on oil exploration, and dentists warn against getting teeth done overseas. Behind closed doors, Australia asked New Zealand to keep a rejected offer to take refugees interred on Manus Island on the table, … Read more