Like many other of our rights and liberties, privacy has been upended by Covid-19. Privacy commissioner John Edwards looks at the hard choices we’re about to face. Privacy was described in a seminal 1890 essay as “the right to be let alone”. Now, in April 2020, we find ourselves instead obliged to stay alone. The … Read more
After lockdown, we will need to take a hard look at how we rebuild. ‘Infrastructure’ means a lot more than motorways, writes Dame Anne Salmond. In the wake of Covid-19, as New Zealand gets ready to make a graduated exit from lockdown, ministers, officials and other leaders are thinking hard about how to kickstart the … Read more
At today’s online meeting of the Epidemic Response Committee, media representatives have appeared in the unfamiliar seat of the interviewed rather than the interviewer. Here’s a highlights package. Committee chair Simon Bridges opened by acknowledging the parlous situation the New Zealand media find themselves in. He also noted that representatives of NBR and Māori TV … 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 work, join The Spinoff Members here. On … Read more
The latest in our series of charts, graphics and data visualisations by Chris McDowall. David Garcia helped create today’s charts. This work is entirely funded by the generosity of The Spinoff Members These posts collate the most recent statistics and present them as charts and maps. The Ministry of Health typically publishes data updates in … Read more
We all know we’re spending even more time than usual in front of the TV screen, but what free-to-air shows have New Zealanders turned to during these troubled times? With most New Zealanders stuck at home all day during the lockdown, it makes sense that we’ve turned to ye olde gogglebox in record numbers. The … Read more
With more New Zealanders feeling isolated, anxious and stressed from the Covid-19 effect, the need to take a moment and establish a sense of calm has never been more important. That’s where a new free app can help. In late 2018, when mental health advocate and All Black legend Sir John Kirwan launched his company … Read more
A librarian walks us through all the virtual offerings, and explains why we have to queue for ebooks. Hardly a surprise, but I love public libraries. They exemplify the best of social democracy by providing free resources, services and advice for all members of a community – we have no choice but to stan. Libraries … Read more
When fiction and reality collide, asking ‘What if?’ takes on a new meaning. Read more from the lockdown letters here. Sometimes I find myself thinking, “What if?” It’s the default setting if your job is writing fiction, this insistent “What if?” Back in 2018 I began work on a novel. It was about a cruise … Read more
Worrying about inequality. Excited about electric planes. A huge Jacinda fan. Duncan Greive talks to a rebooted Paul Henry. Rumours have circulated for more than a year that Paul Henry was mulling a return to TV. He left the medium in a huff after his comments were accurately reported in a still-astounding Canvas profile by … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Bleak Treasury scenarios show massive unemployment looming, rest home cluster claims more lives, and students disappointed at support package. The scenarios are in for how Treasury expects Covid-19 to affect GDP and unemployment rates, and they’re pretty bleak. You can read a report on them here, but … Read more
According to a group of academics, the New Zealand response doesn’t match the threat posed by Covid-19 and should be substantially loosened. Siouxsie Wiles unpicks their claims. A group of six New Zealand academics yesterday announced their “vision for a balanced response” to the Covid-19 pandemic. They are calling that vision “Plan B”. They even … Read more
Every pair emits 7kg of carbon. They’re putting it on the shoe so no one can miss it. Allbirds founder Tim Brown tells Duncan Greive why it’s making the move, even in the depths of the Covid-19 crisis. “We’re right in the deep darks at the moment.” Tim Brown, former All Whites footballer and co-founder … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews The Tiger King and I, which does little to rectify the damage and distortion done by the monster Netflix hit. Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness arrived at exactly the right time. People were shutting their doors, washing their hands and turning on their screens, and what was waiting there for them? … Read more
Is Roger alive? Can Marsali predict the future? Will Fraser’s Ridge ever have enough candles? Tara Ward recaps season five, episode eight of Outlander. If you were planning on escaping through the stones to 1771 for some light relief from this mad old world of ours, think again. Turn back, you shall not pass. It … Read more
Itching to pick up the camera even though you’re in lockdown? We’re excited to announce that 48Hours is back this weekend, self-isolation style. So what’s the festival? For the past 18 years, 48Hours has been an annual festival celebrating the best in fast, furious film-making, and even though the country is in lockdown, this year … Read more
In the new series Final Mix, music journalist Yadana Saw chats with local musicians and listens to their latest tracks in the ultimate testing ground: the car. The second episode is with young-gun hip-hop duo Church & AP. Their first big single, ‘Ready or Not’, dropped early last year. Almost immediately, Elijah Manū (Church) and … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews the third season of Killing Eve, which trades a razor-sharp focus for a wide lens and pays the price. Spoilers for the first two seasons of Killing Eve follow. In the space of three years, Killing Eve has turned from unlikely success – a cult pulp series of novels adapted by a … Read more
The low-down on the lockdown educational TV channels, which launch tomorrow. We’re still in lockdown, but term two begins this week. What’s the story with the new TV channels? This week sees the launch of two new television channels dedicated to broadcasting educational programmes for school students during the Covid-19 lockdown. The first is Home … Read more
‘The surf sounded like Eden Park on the end of a try. The gulls were diving. Laughing. Giving us the finger.’ Read more from the lockdown letters here. Dear Jesus It’s good to see you. I suppose it’s been a hell of a weekend for you. Must bring back some pretty shitty memories. I … Read more
A range of scenarios has been released by Treasury, modelling the potential impact of Covid-19 on the economy. How bad could the damage be? Here’s a cheat sheet. What is the starting point for these scenarios? Treasury has looked at several different scenarios for how lockdown measures to fight Covid-19 will affect the economy, and … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Questions over how environmentally friendly Covid-19 recovery will be, consistent daily updates of new cases, and repatriation flights from India organised. There has been an increasing amount of commentary about the state of the environment during and after the pandemic. Air quality in cities has improved dramatically, … 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 work, join The Spinoff Members here. On … Read more
The public health response to Covid-19 showed New Zealand at its best. What will the economic response reveal? Iain White, a professor of environmental planning, on the risks ahead. Crises reveal. They bring the nature of societies to light. From the differing attitude to experts between countries, to who really are the essential workers, to the … Read more
A rom-com thriller? Produced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge? Sign us up. Sam Brooks reviews Run, which arrives on Neon tonight. Picture it: You don’t like your life very much. You have a shitty dead-end job, a husband you’re fond of but no longer love with, and kids to whom you feel obligated but not necessarily devoted. … Read more
The director general of health hosted a Facebook live event this afternoon. It got a little sketchy at times. “I’m not as practised at this as the prime minister,” said Ashley Bloomfield at the start of a Facebook live event, wherein he traded out the press gallery for some moderately screened questions from the public. … Read more
‘Illegal bulletins by Rona and Chips Bailey and cartoons by Max Bollinger continued in spite of police raids and were delivered by people to other people, all of whom knew if they were caught with a copy they’d go to jail.’ Read more from the lockdown letters here. After the fifth listen I went for a … Read more
Let’s meet the brave Australians who threw caution to the wind in search of $250,000 and a free trip around the planet. It’s been yonks since we last took a trip with The Amazing Race, so it’s ironic that the latest season hits our screens during a time when we can’t go anywhere. Who wants … 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 work, join The Spinoff Members here. Today’s … Read more