After months trying to get back to her husband and daughter in Hungary, Daisy Coles is finally on her way home. So why is it so hard to say goodbye? In April, I wrote about what happened to my family when Covid-19 came crashing into 2020 like the Kool-Aid Man. Our Hungarian-Kiwi family was split … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 31. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 5.45pm: The day in sum An inquiry found serious failings by the NZ Defence Force in the wake of 2010’s Operation Burnham raid which killed a … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Collins wins and loses in new poll, investigations into managed isolation guards napping on the job, and Heron report damns Walker and Boag. The latest poll for National is much better than how they started the week, but they’re still down in a couple of … Read more
As the global pandemic drags on, an already precarious situation for New Zealand migrants is becoming increasingly fraught, reports Maria Hoyle. Romi Aggarwal speaks softly and calmly, choosing her words with care. Still, her emotion is tangible when she talks about being separated from her family. “Jacinda Ardern recently celebrated her daughter’s second birthday. She … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: For and against a massive new hydro storage scheme, major new report delivered on RMA reforms, and Greens and NZ First at odds over waka-jumping repeal. For a lead story today, a look at some of the benefits and challenges of a major potential infrastructure … Read more
The government has finally announced plans to begin charging some New Zealanders returning to Aotearoa, but the list of exemptions will be long and the money raised won’t come close to covering the cost of managed-isolation. What’s all this then? As New Zealand settled into the freedoms of alert level one over the past two … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 30. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.15pm: The day in sum A new 1 News poll offered slightly better news for National than Sunday night’s bleak Newshub numbers. The leaking of private … Read more
The R number, the classic measure of how easily an infectious disease spreads, is how New Zealand crushed community transmission. But it’s also a clever guide to a much bigger picture, writes Jenny Nicholls. Predicting how the global Covid-19 pandemic will progress can seem impossible, with graphs of cases from other countries beginning to look … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: China furious at NZ over Hong Kong extradition suspension, woman says police haven’t started investigation into sexual assault almost a year later, and patients reportedly refusing Covid-19 tests. A significant update in New Zealand’s relationship with China: Yesterday foreign minister Winston Peters announced that this country … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 29. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.20pm: The day in sum The government revealed its plans to charge some returning Kiwis for isolation. NZ First will support the law change, but Winston Peters … Read more
Last week it looked like fees for managed isolation were going to cover nearly all returnees. Now it looks as though the formula is very different. Political editor Justin Giovannetti explains After over a week of debate in the parties of government and in public, the prime minister has said she’s expecting an imminent announcement … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 28. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.45pm: The day in sum New Zealand’s extradition treaty with Hong Kong was suspended due to China’s controversial national security law. China responded by calling the … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Bailout to stave off crisis in international education sector, return flight bookings freeze extended again, and man selling bleach as Covid cure raided. If it wasn’t already on the cards, the international education sector got a clear message that students would be unlikely to return … Read more
Well over 150 vaccine candidates for Covid-19 are in development, and they take a myriad of forms. Siouxsie Wiles helps make sense of the different approaches, with illustration by Toby Morris. For more Siouxsie-Toby collaborations, see here. With the exciting news that two Covid-19 vaccine candidates (Oxford/AstraZeneca and CanSino Biological Inc/Beijing Institute of Biotechnology) have … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National dismisses horror poll as a “rogue”, new populist party draws huge crowd in Auckland, and family attempts managed isolation escape to see father’s body. There are two possible explanations for an astonishing political poll that came out last night. Conducted by Reid Research for Newshub, it … Read more
The Borrowdale case, which goes before a full bench in the High Court today, demonstrates a society taking its basic governing commitments seriously, writes Andrew Geddis. As time goes by, it becomes ever more apparent that New Zealand’s response to Covid-19 has worked as well as we could hope. We didn’t just flatten the curve, … Read more
The crowd’s attention wasn’t primarily on the ball when political editor Justin Giovannetti went to see his first rugby game. As the parliamentary team faced off against the local Centurions all eyes were on the director general of health, Ashley Bloomfield, starting at openside flanker. People like Ashley Bloomfield just aren’t supposed to exist. To … Read more
The Covid-19 pandemic has seen doctors and nurses cast as heroes battling a villainous virus. It may be well-intentioned, but it’s a narrative that serves no value, writes ICU doctor Alex Kazemi. In a foyer in Southampton General Hospital in the UK hangs a one-metre-square artwork, donated by the street artist Banksy during the time … Read more
Crucially, Australia’s ambition has been suppression, rather than elimination. Back when Aotearoa was in lockdown, many people loudly complained that we should be following Australia’s lead in dealing with the pandemic. While our strategy was to try to eliminate Covid-19, Australia was taking another path. They would try suppressing the virus instead. That meant that … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Why the relationship with China is so complicated, significant new NPS on urban development, and Stats NZ breaks down emissions by region. At long last, there has been a quiet enough day to introduce a more slow-burn topic as a lead story. So today, The Bulletin … Read more
The dancing plague of Strasbourg in 1518 is fertile artistic ground to explore – so much so that two identically titled productions have been released in the same year. Alex Braae reports on why that has left a New Zealand artistic company feeling aggrieved. After more than two years of development, NZ performing arts company … Read more
Due to the ongoing pandemic, this year’s New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) is going predominantly digital for the very first time, replacing nights out at the Civic with nights in-front of the living room TV. Aaron Yap explores both the upsides and downsides to this unprecedented shakeup, and wonders if film festivals in the … Read more
Despite global economic uncertainly, a new report shows New Zealand’s land-based industry exports are humming – with plenty of it still going to the world’s most populous country. What’s all this then? Much of New Zealand’s economy might still be spluttering from the fallout of Covid-19, but exports of meat, dairy and horticulture products have … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM sacks Iain Lees-Galloway, Winston Peters makes stirring contribution to day of chaos, and Tarras locals not thrilled about potential new airport. By now, you’ll probably have heard the news that Labour MP for Palmerston North Iain Lees-Galloway’s political career is over. PM Ardern dismissed him from all … Read more
In the sixth part of a series sharing the stories of families learning from home during lockdown, Arihia Latham reflects on the life lessons her daughters will take into a new future. This month we acknowledged te wā o Matariki me Pūanga, the Māori new year. It’s been a year huh. I have heard people … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 22. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 6.00pm: The day in sum Judith Collins disclosed she’d revealed a tip-off alleging “inappropriate behaviour” about a Labour minister. That minister was later revealed to be Iain … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fallout continues from Falloon scandal, significant damage to Tairāwhiti from storm, and Labour MP Raymond Huo announces retirement. Much more emerged on the scandal around outgoing National MP Andrew Falloon yesterday. The police will now be reopening their inquiries into the matter, after previously finding that … Read more
Results of two vaccine trials are in and the news is encouraging. Siouxsie Wiles explains what it all means, and what happens next. As the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 approaches 15 million, with more than 600,000 deaths around the world, there is at least some positive news on the vaccine front. The results … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for July 21. The latest on New Zealand news, politics and the Covid-19 crisis, updated throughout the day. Get in touch at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.30pm: The day in sum Andrew Falloon resigned, after pressure from leader Judith Collins to do so immediately. Two more women came forward with allegations that Falloon … Read more