For almost four years, a thriving cannabis smoking lounge operated within walking distance of a police station. Michael Andrew looks back at his one and only visit to The Daktory, and asks the founder what it meant for New Zealand’s movement to legalise cannabis. It was a muggy summer afternoon in early 2009 when a … Read more
New Zealand’s housing market is going ballistic, defying economic forecasts and historic trends. Michael Andrew asks the experts what’s causing the clamour and what it means long term. Six months after Covid-19 first reached our shores, New Zealand’s economy has officially moved into recession. GDP is down 12.2% – the largest drop on record – … Read more
Esther Ng is the most successful New Zealand designer you’ve never heard of. Her label, Prix, has been seen on celebrities like Ariana Grande and Kylie Jenner, she has over 150,000 Instagram followers and she’s currently working from her bedroom. On any regular weekday you’d likely find Esther Ng playing games on her PC. Streaming … Read more
Covid-19 and its economic impacts have wreaked havoc on New Zealanders’ mental health – especially in the workplace. But amid all the chaos and noise, there are small ways to keep yourself present and calm. It’s been nearly a year since Covid-19 first emerged into our lives, and the devastating mental health effects of living … Read more
New Zealand’s economy is officially in a recession, with statistics released today revealing a record 12.2% decline in GDP. But as Jarrod Kerr of Kiwi Economics writes, it’s now time to focus on recovery. As economists, we love trawling through data. But we’ve never seen anything like this. This is traumatic. Service exports were stonewalled, … Read more
The uncertainty of Covid-19 has resulted in an explosion of online and phone-based scams. Here’s what the experts recommend to identify and defend yourself against these insidious rackets. It begins with a phone call. A tech support expert from your bank is on the line, urgently informing you there’s been a security breach with your … Read more
Hundreds of millions of dollars in wage subsidies have been paid out to profitable companies and their shareholders. Nick Mowbray, Zuru co-founder and one of NZ’s most successful entrepreneurs, urges them to do the right thing and pay the money back. Last month, Summerset Group Holdings, an NZX50-listed company and one of the country’s largest … Read more
The tweak to the top tax rate was hardly a surprise given NZ voters’ continuing acceptance of a distortionary system that leaves capital gains largely exempt, writes Geof Nightingale. Labour tax policy, announced last week, was pretty brief: a new 39% marginal tax rate on income over $180,000 to raise $550m of new tax revenue. … Read more
They’re two cities with identical amenities, identical schools and equally beautiful hinterlands. So why don’t more people choose the one where houses are half the price? A friend with a young family just bought a house. It was old, and needed a bit of work, but it was in a good school zone. It cost … Read more
He’s fostered an image as an enigmatic underdog who proved his doubters wrong. But Robett Hollis has spent an extraordinary life trying to avoid being put in a box. Robett Hollis wears the same outfit everyday: a plain black shirt, a black fitted cap, and a pair of Nikes. It’s his uniform, he says. When … Read more
Political leaders from the main parties gathered in Auckland today to address the business community and answer the question: ‘What is your party’s plan for economic growth?’ Here’s what they had to say. As the leaders of five main parties gathered today, the results of a Deloitte and Chapman Tripp election survey revealed some telling … Read more
Two lockdowns have meant businesses in a beloved central Auckland food court have struggled to pay their rent. They’re getting no relief from their former soap star landlord. Struggling businesses in the Elliot Stables building in central Auckland have been served Property Law Act notices from their landlord, demanding that they pay the shortfall in … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Jonathan Ring, CEO of C-Prize winning company Zincovery. Considering how important steel is to so much of the … Read more
With live shows and events at the mercy of a mercurial virus, the New Zealand music business has been warped into a frustrating limbo. So how are local musicians dealing with it all? Alongside Covid-19, 2020 will be forever known as the year of “the pivot”; that dreaded term that was once isolated to the … Read more
It’s results season for many of New Zealand’s biggest corporates, which find themselves awkwardly announcing large profits, with the wage subsidy helping them get there. We’re now approaching six months since the dread of late March, when over the course of a few fearsome days New Zealand closed its borders, locked its population inside and … Read more
We’ve long lamented the loss of New Zealand’s best and brightest. Now that the ‘brain drain’ has the potential to be reversed, let’s not squander the opportunity, writes Toni Truslove. When Robert Muldoon famously quipped to a journalist that New Zealanders who migrated to Australia “raised the IQ of both countries”, his response diminished the … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Stacy Gregg, author of Pony Club Secrets and The Princess and the Foal. After building a successful career … Read more
For most businesses, applying for capital can mean a mountain of paperwork and precious time spent, so Kiwibank has provided a quicker way to do it instead. The idea of a business doing so well that it’s expanding seems bizarre in this day and age. It flies in the face of the economic climate and … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 1, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and the Covid-19 pandemic. The whole country is now in alert level two, with extra restrictions in Auckland. Official information here. Contact me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.10pm: The day in sum There were 14 new cases of Covid-19, with … Read more
The move to ‘level 2.5’ means retailers are allowed to reopen from today. Still, some have decided they’re not ready to return to normal trading. Michael Andrew reports. Despite the end of alert level three and the relaxing of restrictions, at least one Auckland retailer has decided to keep its physical store closed as an … Read more
After 27 years, Unitec is vacating the iconic Auckland building previously known as Carrington Psychiatric Hospital. Now a local social enterprise trust wants to give it a new life as a hub of education, art and community. The door to the basement was locked. For nearly two hours we’d been guided through the countless halls … Read more
After decades worrying about the ‘brain drain’, thousands of high-achieving New Zealanders are coming home at once. Duncan Greive looks at what they’re bringing with them – and the potential they have to help our imperilled economy. Originally published in August, this story has now become the five part podcast, Coming Home. In Coming Home, … Read more
New Zealand’s Covid-19 lockdowns triggered intense panic buying of flour, toilet paper and canned foods. In response, one of our largest grocery companies decided to cut its product range, writes Rebecca Stevenson for BusinessDesk. Foodstuffs’ store owners have narrowed the range of products sold as a result of the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown. Foodstuffs North Island … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to the founders of new fashion website Ensemble. When Bauer Media announced the closure of its operations in April, … Read more
Tesla has delighted investors and stunned rivals with its meteoric rise to the top of the car industry. With the right Kiwisaver fund, New Zealanders have the chance to back a winning and renewable horse, writes Pathfinder CEO John Berry. Tesla’s share price is three times higher than at the start of this year. With … Read more
The NZX was taken offline yesterday and today in response to cyber attacks – potentially from Russian gangs. What’s all this then? For the second time in two days, the New Zealand stock exchange NZX was taken offline late this morning in response to offshore cyber attacks. The exchange went down around 11.20am this morning … Read more
Cold, damp and mouldy homes are devastating to human heath. But Covid-19 has illuminated the true danger of our national problem. Is there anything more quintessentially Kiwi than a cold, damp home? The black mould on the windowsills, the musty odour in the wardrobe, the sore throat in the morning: they’ve all become the common … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 25, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and Covid-19 as it returns to the community. Auckland is now in alert level three and the rest of NZ is in level two. More details here. Official information here. Get me on stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.00pm: The day in sum There … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 23, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and Covid-19 as it returns to the community. Auckland is now in alert level three and the rest of NZ is in level two. More details here. Official information here. 6.00pm: The day in sum There was only one … Read more