Sending in armed police is exactly how not to defuse a situation where a person is highly distressed and suicidal, writes someone who has been in a similar situation herself. Last week a man was shot by police. There’d been a call for help – he was suicidal, had a weapon – the police responded, … Read more
Welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Death toll from Whakaari eruption likely to rise, cabinet agrees Auckland port must move, and expensive Christchurch stadium details released. UPDATE – 7.07am: More information on the number of people on the island at the time of the eruption has been released. 47 people were there at the … Read more
Commercial media, a business that requires public trust and goodwill, is in a tough financial position right now. Gaurav Sharma says that’s in part because of its poor job of reaching immigrant communities, in the first of a new monthly column for The Spinoff. Let’s start with a test, about references to Indian people in … Read more
We don’t normally see these eruptions coming, no matter how much we would like to. Many systems are already ‘primed’ for such events, but the triggers are poorly understood, writes Shane Cronin of the University of Auckland. As of Monday night five people have been confirmed dead, 18 had been rescued and injured, some seriously, … Read more
Five people are dead, a number unaccounted for and up to 20 injured, some critically, after a volcano erupted in the Bay of Plenty this afternoon. Update 9.16pm: Police have confirmed that five people are dead following this afternoon’s Whakaari/White Island eruption. Deputy commissioner John Tims said it was too early to confirm nationalities but … Read more
OPINION: In the fifth part of the series with our partners at Flick Electric Co to help you make better energy choices, Flick’s Nikki Cockburn breaks down the sources of our electricity. So we know that regardless of which power company we’re with, the electricity we use is at the mercy of the National Grid. … Read more
Auckland Council recently announced a citywide food scrap collection scheme that will be kicking off in 2021. Most of us already know the main gist of composting, but what’s happening to this waste? What will I have to pay? And can I opt out if I don’t need it? New Zealanders waste enough food every … Read more
Cindy Baxter is at COP25 – her 17th climate change conference – and for the first time, New Zealand is one of the good guys. But are we? As we head into the second week of the climate talks in Madrid, I’ve been reflecting over the first week, and the strange position many of us … Read more
You’ve probably never heard of him, but an artist called Cavetown is coming to Auckland in January for a show that’s already sold out. We explain where he came from, how this happened, and why you should be listening. What, pray tell, is a Cavetown? Cavetown is the stage name of Robin Skinner, a 20-year-old … Read more
A truly ambitious solution would keep jobs in Southland, delivering on the promise of the Zero Carbon Act to make NZ all but carbon neutral by 2050, writes Nicola Gaston in a post co-authored with Sally Brooker, Justin Hodgkiss and David Williams of The MacDiarmid Institute. Tiwai Point is in the news, again. Jeanette Fitzsimons, … Read more
It’s been a Sunday morning staple for Kiwi kids for decades, but What Now may be facing new challenges in the era of social media. New Zealand children’s show What Now has utilised many different ways of engaging with its young audience over the past 38 years. Whether it was getting kids to write in … Read more
We may be called fuckwits. We may be called idiots. But the optimism keeps on, writes Chris Cessford. As spring lurches into summer, Wellington wakes up to another day of a crazy-making gusty northerly gale. Or, as we cyclists in the southern suburbs call it, a head wind. I fasten my helmet tightly and grit … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Long term consequences from heavy weekend weather, hospitality giant apologises for many mishandled complaints, and Auckland traffic chaos looms. There will be long term consequences from the weather that hammered the country over the weekend. Chief among them is a massive slip cutting State Highway 6, … Read more
Liam Hehir makes a plea to education minister Chris Hipkins not to discriminate against integrated schools when it comes to school funding. The government’s announcement of a big maintenance funding boost for schools was greeted warmly by many principals, teachers and parents. Excluded from the assistance, however, are about 300 schools and the more than … Read more
In the wake of the OFLC report Breaking Down Porn, an academic studying the gendered influence of pornography urges people not to panic, but to be aware of when – and why – pornography becomes problematic. Contemporary pornography is immensely popular, accessible and mostly free via pornographic ‘tube’ sites such as Pornhub, Xvideos, Youporn and … Read more
The government will start phasing out polystyrene packaging and beverage containers in response to a major new report calling for a nationwide rethink on plastics in New Zealand, PM Jacinda Ardern announced today. Here’s what you need to know about the announcement, and the Rethinking Plastics in Aotearoa report. For much of the year, a … Read more
The Absolute Book is one of our picks of the year and you should buy it for someone you love for Christmas. A story that sticks like a biddi-bid, Elizabeth Knox said on Twitter the other day. Here, she writes about the books that stuck in her own psyche – the books she was given … Read more
The government would argue it’s on track to reduce child poverty significantly by the next reporting round, and culture change is well underway at Work and Income. But change at WINZ is a slow-moving process. Pip Colgan is an advocate at Auckland Action Against Poverty (AAAP), which means she spends a lot of her life at … Read more
Frozen 2 is out, but more importantly the soundtrack is available for your kids to play on repeat. Sam Brooks ranks the songs by how likely it is that they’ll sing them into your face for the foreseeable future. Parents and caregivers, get your loins girded because Frozen 2 is here. The film came out last Thursday … Read more
Five New Zealanders from across cultural spaces explain what it is they love about basketball. Historically, basketball has always held a relatively small but special in Aotearoa’s sporting landscape. The NBL was established in 1981, giving provinces the chance to duke it out for national supremacy. In 2002 the Tall Blacks shocked the basketball world … Read more
Everything you need to know about the suspension of buses in Auckland and the industrial action standoff that it springs from. What’s going on? Yesterday saw the cancellation of thousands of bus trips and a lot of people standing around at Auckland bus stops looking puzzled after services operated by NZ Bus – Auckland’s biggest … Read more
Hell’s bells it’s Gone By Lunchtime, with Annabelle Lee, Ben Thomas and Toby Manhire shooting the breeze on Kris Faafoi, Jason Kerrison, Winston Peters, NZ First donations, a cannabis referendum, and the year to come. Just when you thought politics was tucking under the duvet for Christmas, along comes the guy from bloody Opshop bringing … Read more
Tis the season for hangovers, so we convinced some of New Zealand’s most experienced consumers of food and/or drink (OK, Spinoff staff and a bunch of chefs/hospo people) to share their tried-and-true culinary remedies. A hangover is a very individual thing. For some, it manifests as a splitting headache and extreme tiredness. Others are gripped … Read more
Before Britain’s Got Talent: Champions hits our screens tonight, let’s take a fond look back at some of the show’s weirdest and most wonderful acts. Place your hands on your Golden Buzzer, because Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions kicks off this weekend. Champions is BGT bigger and better than it’s been before, an international extravaganza featuring … Read more
Following the raging success of the 2018 non-goat ethical Christmas gift guide, here for you today – responsibly wrapped in reusable gift wrap – is the 2019 list of ethical, sustainable, socially conscious, or charitable gift ideas to satisfy all kinds of family members and budgets. Budget Category: ‘Can we pay you in exposure?’ Cookies … Read more
Lime brought e-scooters to Auckland and changed the way we travel in less than a year. Now, the council is replacing it and Wave with three new contenders. Josie Adams goes to the Lime warehouse to say goodbye to the original scooters. In a warehouse in Eden Terrace, almost a thousand Limes hibernate. More than … Read more
A historic referendum on independence has been completed in Bougainville. Johnny Blades of RNZ was there. People in the autonomous Papua New Guinea region of Bougainville have voted in an historic independence referendum. The long-anticipated referendum is the ultimate provision of 2001’s Bougainville Peace Agreement, which followed a brutal, protracted civil war. As the start of … Read more
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 We Are Here: An Atlas of Aotearoa by Chris McDowall & Tim Denee (Massey University Press, $70) Superlative superlative superlative. … Read more
It’s that time of year again when, for the third year running, a new A Christmas Prince movie is released. Sam Brooks was in front of a TV screen for the latest instalment’s debut on Netflix last night, and here catalogues the many stupid, wild, and wildly stupid things he witnessed. Another Christmas, another slew … Read more