The latest idiotic tweet by a politician comes courtesy of the National Party’s Jo Hayes, who launched an unprovoked attack on a Labour supporter, calling him ‘ugly’. You know how it is. It’s just before 11pm on a Friday night. It’s been a long week. All there is left to do is log on to … Read more
Lily Richards takes an epic trip to the setting of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – the book that saved her from herself. It takes 23 hours to journey from Auckland to Cephalonia, Greece, island home of the fictional Captain Corelli, Dr Iannis, and his daughter Pelagia. For those 23 hours I was filled with a deep … Read more
In the first instalment in a three-part series on the Great Journeys of New Zealand, Madeleine Chapman travels from Auckland to Wellington on the Northern Explorer. I watched a cow give birth. The cow, standing alone on a hillside, was facing away from me when it happened. She looked like every other cow, and as … Read more
A te reo Christmas song, 2019’s favourite mumbler and music’s coolest sisters are all part of our songs of the month for November. International ‘Everything I Wanted’ by Billie Eilish I run hot-and-cold on Eilish as an artist. I think her album has a few great songs – ‘bad guy’ especially – but it feels … Read more
Lessons in life and art from Samoan New Zealand artist Yuki Kihara, Aotearoa’s representative at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2021. When Yuki Kihara was announced as New Zealand’s next representative at the Venice Biennale, it marked a number of firsts. Not only will Kihara be the first person of Pacific descent to represent New … Read more
The anti-1080 lobby last week released ‘lab tests’ purporting to find the poison in the vermin that washed up in Westport. But do their claims stand up to scrutiny, asks Dave Hansford. For the anti-1080 movement, it was supposed to be the turning of a rather putrid tide. On November 15, Flora and Fauna of … Read more
Every week over 8,000 primary school students around the country are doing science experiments in their classrooms, many in te reo Māori thanks to an initiative started in Tauranga. Chris Duggan explains why she felt compelled to start House of Science. After 15 years of teaching secondary science, I was horrified at the lack of … Read more
Clean tech could be a man-made solution to the man-made problem of climate change. Callaghan Innovation is encouraging local innovators to develop their ideas for a lower-emissions planet, with their 2019 C-Prize challenge. In New Zealand, far away from the rest of the world, we often forget that our knack for innovation is highly regarded. … Read more
By changing the logo, the Super Rugby side is admitting that the brand is problematic – but they haven’t actually changed the crucially problematic bit, writes Jamie Wall. OK, so there’s finally been a bit of movement in one of the biggest rugby issues of the year. The only problem is it hasn’t gone very … Read more
Our writers confess their guiltiest streaming pleasures on TVNZ OnDemand. But is it really guilty when the pleasure is this good? We’ve all been there. You get home after a long day at work, you pop your feet up on the couch and you can’t do anything but look at the television screen. You don’t … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in reality television and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. Join us in the church of reality television for our latest sermon, including some great goss about Zac and Erin’s wedding rings, Alex and Duncan getting owned at the TV awards and Naz getting called out on … Read more
She’s been a stalwart on our screens and airwaves for two decades and could easily rest on her laurels, but the indefatigable Stacey Morrison is all about giving back to her community. Across Auckland on any given weekday, you’ll find a free te reo Māori class being taught, from Unitec and AUT’s popular classes to … Read more
A new poem by Kai Tahu writer and musician Ruby Solly. Six Feet For a Single, Eight Feet For a Double My father leaves school to dig graves. The first break is the hardest. The pressure of foot on steel, the smell of earth rising. Koia koia, e tau e koia. The men … 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 Family Instructions Upon Release by Elizabeth Kirby-McLeod (The Cuba Press, $25) “Elizabeth’s father took his own life in 2012. Unable … Read more
Body Mass Index (BMI) is particularly flawed as an indicator of health in children and ethnic minorities. So why do we still use it? In a new comment piece published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, registered dietician Lucy Carey argues that the use of the Body Mass Index in assessing children’s health is both … Read more
Tom Scott, otherwise known as Avantdale Bowling Club, has leaked his collaboration with producer choicevaughan, shortly after winning album of the year at the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. Avantdale Bowling Club’s first, eponymous album propelled Auckland-based rapper Tom Scott to new heights. After working in groups Home Brew and Average Rap Band earlier in … Read more
In a sure sign of impending doom, we’re in the grips of a bread shortage. Here’s why you should learn how to make your own. In case you haven’t heard, we’re in crisis mode up here in the upper North Island. Supermarkets are running out of bread. Bread! The staff of life! What did we … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fletcher Building holds AGM at crucial time for company, chances of Manus Island refugees being settled in NZ increases, and more NZ First Foundation documents emerge. To lead us off today, a look at the AGM of a hugely important company. Ihumātao has been forced onto … Read more
Sustainable clothing maker Little Yellow Bird is poised to burst onto the school uniform market as awareness of where our wardrobe comes from grows. They just received the supreme award at the NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards for their work. If Samantha Jones has her way, every child in New Zealand will know where their … Read more
Squawk Squad is at the forefront of the predator control and pest trapping movement, and co-founder Fraser McConnell has just won a Sustainable Business Award for its work. He spoke to Alex Braae about why he sees that work as so important for the future. Fittingly for someone who has just been crowned as a … Read more
Critics call it a rightwing conspiracy, or attempt to attack the messenger, but they overlook what a new Sustainable NZ Party can offer, writes its leader. Politics is a contest of ideas and the promise of MMP was that we’d have a greater diversity of ideas leading to increased quality of solutions and decision making. … Read more
Closing it down entirely isn’t the answer, but neither is letting it run as before. Jeanette Fitzsimons has a compromise plan. An asset or a liability? Actually, Tiwai is both, but the liability could be turned into an asset with some creative thinking. A structural change in New Zealand’s relationship with the aluminium industry could … Read more
Fletcher Building has finally addressed the elephant in the room and it has caused no more than a ripple among its conservative shareholder base, writes business editor Maria Slade. Pania Newton, shareholder, and protector at Ihumātao, is now close to an old hand at Fletcher Building annual meetings. When she rose to ask a question … Read more
In the third part of our parenting series What They Don’t Tell You, Jane Yee discovers nothing can prepare you for twins. I’ve had a good many ultrasounds in my life. Most have been exciting, a couple have been devastating, but regardless of the extreme emotion tied to each of those appointments, I couldn’t tell … Read more
The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has issued a ‘whole-hearted and wide reaching’ apology for the decisions taken by Air New Zealand and the government in the aftermath of the tragedy on the slopes of Mt Erebus. Her apology was echoed by Dame Therese Walsh, the current chair of Air New Zealand. Below we publish edited … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews the latest season of Nailed It!, the cooking show that celebrates enthusiasm over talent or edibility. “Urggggh, I’m so mad! I’m so mad that this is in my mouth! I’ve never been angrier about something in my mouth! I am floored.” There’s only one show that can elicit that torrent of bewildered frustration from … 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 Jeff Xu, CEO, and Ollie McDermot, co-founder and designer of Micropod. At over $60 for one kg, microgreens … Read more
Nutty buckwheat pairs beautifully with those delicious green spears for a light lunch or addition to a spring dinner spread. Asparagus season is well and truly upon us, and it can be enjoyed many ways – lightly steamed, grilled on the barbecue wrapped in bacon, in salads, with egg for breakfast. In this recipe the … Read more
On the 40th anniversary of the Erebus disaster, a poem by Bill Manhire. Erebus Voices The Mountain I am here beside my brother, Terror. I am the place of human error. I am beauty and cloud, and I am sorrow; I am tears which you will weep tomorrow. I am the sky and … Read more