Alex Braae 
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Serious Fraud Office announces investigation into donations made to Labour, deportations from Australia to resume, and retail businesses up against it on rent. In a short statement released yesterday afternoon, the Serious Fraud Office made it clear that donations to the Labour Party in 2017 … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Self-inflicted story puts National on the defensive, another escape attempt from managed isolation, and a series of party events ahead of election. There’s a convention in journalism called Betteridge’s law of headlines. Basically what it means is that headlines that end in a question mark can … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major implications from Tiwai Pt closure, diplomatic rift over Hong Kong deepens, and grim new approach to managed isolation. The story of Rio Tinto pulling out of the Tiwai Point smelter is one that shows the deep connections between regional stories and the rest of … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Changes coming in managed isolation after 2nd escape, Hamish Walker’s political career over, and expert advice released ahead of cannabis referendum. Changes are being made to the way managed isolation facilities are run, after it emerged that a resident went for a wander around Auckland – and … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Scandal for MP after leaking confidential Covid data, new bookings for return to country put on hold, and Islamic Women’s Council release evidence of being ignored. We now know exactly how the leak of private information of all active Covid-19 patients happened. National MP Hamish Walker, representative … Read more
In the 90s, the so-called information superhighway was more of a dirt road. Now it’s a multi-lane motorway. Vodafone NZ’s Sharina Nisha explains the technology that makes it all possible. They used to call it the information superhighway. Back in the heady days of the 1990s, the term was used to describe the burgeoning potential … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Problems looming for temporary visa holders, state house waiting list balloons again, and US ban could hit NZ seafood exports. There are some real problems looming for temporary visa holders and their employers, with thousands set to expire all once, reports Nona Pelletier for Radio NZ. Automatic … Read more
The biggest news site in New Zealand, and the country’s fifth biggest site overall, Stuff has embarked on an experiment in dropping the use of Facebook and Instagram. It has been launched ‘in the context of the international Boycott Facebook movement’, according to a memo leaked to The Spinoff. A leaked internal communication from Stuff’s … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Stories raise themes of political accountability, investigation launched after active case details leaked, and frustrating infrastructure failures hurt Auckland water system. There have been several stories involving the theme of political accountability for mistakes in recent days. So for a lead today, we’re going to pick … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. Clark out and Bridges back in, Chinese embassy warns NZ politicians to not speak out on Hong Kong, and terrible new revelations about Oranga Tamariki culture. It has been a day of reshuffling at parliament, with both major parties making significant moves. We’ll start with Labour, because theirs involves … Read more
Beleaguered Labour MP David Clark resigned as health minister during a press conference at parliament this morning. Alex Braae reports. With just 78 days to go before the 2020 election, health minister David Clark has resigned from the position of health minister. He will also be resigning from all of his cabinet roles. At a … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Agreement reached in principle for Auckland to take Waikato water, beneficiary debt to MSD balloons, and Opportunities Party lose candidate in key seat. An agreement has been reached in principle for Auckland to take water from the Waikato River. As Radio NZ’s Jordan Bond reports, it is an … Read more
The Opportunities Party is going into the election enthusiastic about its prospects of getting a Universal Basic Income on the table. But internal division once again threatens to overshadow the campaign. Alex Braae reports. Sometimes it’s tough at the TOP. Just as the party was starting to gain momentum on its policy platform built around … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New benefits and new taxes in effect from today, questions raised over whether a leading Brexiteer is getting into NZ politics, and contrasting polls on cannabis legalisation. Today is a big day for New Zealand, with a whole lot of previously announced policies coming into … Read more
The country’s biggest electricity generator has been found to have distorted the market, costing both electricity retailers and the environment. Alex Braae reports. A furious electricity retailer says the biggest generator in the country has cut against its claims of being environmentally friendly by deliberately spilling water from hydro dams and causing fossil fuel plants … Read more
In a curious election year development, the NZ First leader has hit out at a Newshub report for its ‘sensationalist, wilful misrepresentation of the facts’, many hours before it is broadcast. New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has provided Newshub with a dream promotion for their 6pm news bulletin tonight. In a furious press release, … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Battle over whether opening the borders is tenable, Christchurch mosque shooter interview concerns, and Paula Bennett leaves politics. The first thing to note about the opening of the borders is that it is unlikely to happen any time soon. The PM declared yesterday afternoon that the prospect was … Read more
One of National’s most prominent MPs has pulled the pin on her career just months before the 2020 election. Alex Braae was there to see Paula Bennett say farewell. In the end, it was a somewhat muted departure for an MP who spent 15 years demanding to be heard. Paula Bennett, former deputy PM, former … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fears for paramedic service after pay boost scrapped, rapid report into managed isolation system released, and Greens release sweeping new welfare and tax policy. We’re going back to last week for today’s lead story, but it’s a deeply important one with wide implications for the … Read more
The government has proactively released a whole bunch of Covid-19-related documents. Alex Braae has been trawling through them to bring you the highlights. The last time a whole lot of Covid-19 papers were released, it was controversial. They came out late on Friday afternoon, and seemed to be a case of overwhelming the nation’s journalists … Read more
Driving around with an expired warrant of fitness after the deadline was extended in March? You may want to get that looked at if you want your insurance to pay out. What’s all this then? When New Zealand went into lockdown and all non-essential business had to stop, a lot of motorists were suddenly left … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New poll sets tone for election campaign, new testing criteria for Covid-19 outlined, and weirdness occurs around prisoner voting bill. We’re now three months out from the election, and the latest poll has returned to something approaching a balanced state of play. The One News Colmar Brunton survey … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Questions over stability of the government, health minister throws top official under the bus, and concerns raised over dolphin protection plan. After several days of frantically knifing each other at parliament, you’d be forgiven for thinking the coalition government is on the verge of collapse. The … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New testing strategy unveiled by minister, Otago Regional Councillors preparing for leadership showdown, and PM dismisses Ihumātao reports. Every person known to have Covid-19 right now is in quarantine, including the two new cases at the border yesterday. With that said, Radio NZ’s Rowan Quinn reports the new … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Auckland drought leads to fears of severe water restrictions, exclusive new poll results on government’s Covid-19 response, and is a resolution coming at Ihumātao? The Auckland water crisis isn’t getting any better, and the city’s leaders are getting extremely nervous about the coming months. That is … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New case amid capacity concerns at isolation facilities, police mourn colleague who was killed, and vibrant weekend of party politics as election nears. Quarantine and managed isolation facilities are continuing to dominate the news, after a weekend of new developments. The news broke last night on Radio … Read more
In the 2020 election, first term MP Chlöe Swarbrick will be one of just two Greens explicitly running to win an electorate. She spoke to Alex Braae about how she rates her chances of taking down National’s deputy leader. After four frantic years in politics, Chlöe Swarbrick has finally been forced to slow down. Since … Read more
The Mana Movement has effectively ceased to exist as an independent party as it turns all its resources over to the Māori Party. But in a strange twist, Mana could still be on the ballot. One of the most decisive political rifts over the last decade has finally come to an end with Mana Movement … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fallout continues from quarantine system failures, new GDP figures released show first quarter drop, and ACC pouring millions into acupuncture treatments. It was another difficult day for the government yesterday, with new developments and assurances that problems would be fixed. Our political editor filed a report … Read more