Non-essential business has taken a hit over the past month, but innovative New Zealand companies are finding the silver lining. Restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 lockdown have caused some businesses to consider closing up shop for good. While some have taken this route, others have used the restrictions forced upon them to pivot into areas … Read more
As the countless graphs of Covid-19 cases have shown us, what comes up must invariably come down. Justin Connolly asks if we need to think that way about the economy. There have been many funny posts circulating on social media about life in Covid-19 lockdown. One in particular caught my eye because it was funny, … Read more
Technology has helped Māori assert a strong, independent response to help stop the spread of Covid-19, but the crisis also exposes telecommunications vulnerabilities. The 1918 influenza epidemic hit Māori hard. Around 2,500 died in under two months at a rate of 50 per 1,000 people – eight times that of Europeans. So, when Covid-19 arrived, … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: What it means now that we’re at level three, contact tracing app on the way, and Vic students in halls protest resumption of fees. Well, we made it. The first – and hopefully only – stint of level four restrictions has come to an end, and … Read more
After five weeks in the strict Covid-19 lockdown of alert level four, New Zealand today begins a fortnight – at least – in a less stringent version, alert level three. In a message to New Zealanders, Siouxsie Wiles warns this may be the trickiest phase yet. With illustrations and animations by Toby Morris. The Spinoff’s … Read more
The seriousness of the restrictions we’re living under deserves a much sounder legislative footing, write law professors Andrew Geddis and Claudia Geiringer. They should have a clear, certain basis in law and be imposed through a transparent and accountable process. Let’s start with the good stuff. New Zealand’s “go hard, go early” lockdown approach looks … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level three – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support … Read more
The lockdown shackles loosen as we move from alert level four. What changes under alert level three? Jacinda Ardern has called it a “recovery room”, and “a progression, not a rush to normality”. The goal of shifting down a notch through the alert level system is to keep enough of a thumb over the hose … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia worked with Chris to create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members, with support from the Science Media Centre. These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. … Read more
As casual dealers retreat but both demand and prices surge, one surprising consequence of the lockdown could be the hastened professionalisation of the underground cannabis industry. When New Zealand moved to alert level four, most people had no choice about whether to comply with the lockdown. But for New Zealand’s cannabis dealers, who were watching … Read more
Law professor Dr Claire Charters (Te Arawa) lays out Aotearoa’s dual legal systems and the government’s obligations to both in these uncertain times. The Covid-19 era is like a fast-moving picture which perpetually develops and re-develops. The picture adjusts with ever-changing information on the relevant health-science, the impact on the economy, the need for restrictions … Read more
Separated from her nine year old daughter in Hungary, Daisy Coles is finding solace in video calling – and Disney gifs. Two months after I last saw her, I’m still finding my daughter’s drawings around the house. Precise line drawings of squirrels, lions, foxes in her signature style: thoughtfully considered, executed with an exquisitely sharp … Read more
Just like the rest of us, it turns out our elected representatives have a lot of weird stuff in their homes and offices. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning for the past four weeks, members of the parliamentary Epidemic Response Committee and invited guests have met online for a series of Zoom meetings. Like many … Read more
A survey by Stickybeak for The Spinoff shows a strong majority in support of the timing of the shift to alert level three. Stickybeak’s David Brain breaks down the data from our third poll. See previous polls here and here. At midnight, New Zealand moves out of the strictest lockdown settings and into alert level … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this … Read more
When we emerge from our Covid-19 lockdown will we still listen to the scientists, the statistics and the stories of the past? Will we listen to the lines? An essay by Paul Ward. Nearly 15 years ago, as part of research for a sci-fi film script I got in touch with epidemiologist Dr Michael Baker. … Read more
Business after Covid: The pandemic is causing enormous disruption, but disruption can be an incredibly positive force. We must grasp the chance to reset, writes Cecilia Robinson, founder of My Food Bag, in the fourth of a special business series. Out of every great challenge arises a greater opportunity. And it’s hard to think of … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia worked with Chris to create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members, with support from the Science Media Centre. These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this … Read more
Living with a differently-wired brain is challenging at the best of times – never mind in the midst of a global pandemic. Erin Kavanagh–Hall chats with six neurodivergent New Zealanders who share the obstacles they’ve overcome during the Covid-19 lockdown. ‘I was terrified of being stuck inside’ Cate, 31, Wellington Diagnosis: Autism As a person … Read more
‘I feel like it means something to be a New Zealander in these circumstances, that it means something that we’re all trapped here together, self-isolating at the end of the world.’ On the third Saturday of the lockdown we saw the naked bus driver. We were standing by the road chatting to our neighbour, observing … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia worked with Chris to create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members, with support from the Science Media Centre. These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. … Read more
After these five long weeks without the joy of having a professional whip up dinner for you (unless you have a chef in your bubble), you deserve only the best. Here are our top tips for level three takeaways. As of Tuesday, takeaways are BACK, baby. Yes, that means the usual suspects – KFC and … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level four. The country is shut down, apart from essential services. For updated official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this … Read more
Business after Covid: A return to normal might seem appealing, but as Tim Brown of Allbirds writes as part of a new business series, now is the time to strive for something better. The Covid-19 crisis has yanked our freedoms out from underneath us. Our sense of safety, community, and day-to-day life is no longer … Read more
As New Zealanders await the end of alert level four and the chance to escape their homes, some are in such scenic lockdown refuges they won’t want to leave. Every morning, the 11 residents at the Lake Tekapo Holiday Park wake up to silence. It’s dense and thorough – the kind that presses on your … Read more
Restaurants were already teetering on the edge. If they’re to survive this, the industry must come together and take one crucial step, writes Sophie Gilmour. We’ve heard about “the good old days” in hospitality – apparently, people wanted to work in the industry because they could make a decent living. Working conditions were great, people … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia worked with Chris to create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members, with support from the Science Media Centre. These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. … Read more
Business after Covid: In the second of a series featuring business leaders assessing the world that will rise after Covid-19, consultant Roger Dennis looks at the lessons that can be learned from the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquake. Never waste a crisis. This should be the mantra that guides political decisions for the foreseeable future. … Read more