Four festival-goers were admitted to hospital with drug-related issues after Friday’s event at Mt Smart Stadium. A fellow partier shares her experience of the night. As told to Madeleine Chapman. I was hyping up for Schoolboy Q. Figured he’d play some old school tunes, some bangers. Honestly, I didn’t really care much for who was … Read more
In an email to colleagues, Stuart McCutcheon says he acknowledges the ‘very real hurt and sense of threat’ caused by white supremacist materials and says now is not time for a free speech debate. The vice-chancellor of the University of Auckland has responded to an outcry among staff and students over white supremacist materials on … Read more
An extract from Benjamin Kingsbury’s The Dark Island, about the history of the leprosy patient colony on Quail Island, in Lyttelton Harbour. Books editor Catherine Woulfe writes: There are certain passages of Benjamin Kingsbury’s new book The Dark Island that make the reader wince and turn away. But then you turn back again, you can’t … Read more
A recording of a toy store Christmas marketing meeting has been leaked to Emily Writes. Despite the danger involved, she has chosen to release these tapes for the benefit of parents. The following will chill you to the bone. I knew it had to be released when it turned up on my front door wrapped … Read more
The first ever Oral Health Equity Symposium was held on Thursday and Friday last week. Gabrielle Baker went along to see how the best in New Zealand’s dental sector are hoping to tackle inequities in New Zealand’s oral healthcare. It’s no secret that our health system works better for some than it does for others. … Read more
Gemma Bowker Wright pays tribute to the Wellington childcare centre that welcomed her son, and calls on the country to better support the people who care for our children. It’s often the things in life you can’t have you end up wanting most. These were, for me, at five, a unicorn; at 14, to be … Read more
Josie Adams breaks down everything you need to know about Batwoman, the latest caped crusader to take on the batty burden of protecting Gotham. The DC televisual universe that began with the bang of Arrow continues to expand this month, welcoming Batwoman into its gradually unfurling arms. Australian actor Ruby Rose (Orange is the New … Read more
This morning, Wellington is being ‘disrupted’ in a series of protests by global environmental group Extinction Rebellion. Melanie Vautier explains what has brought her to this point. If you are reading this when it’s published on Monday morning, I am currently locked to an Extinction Rebellion-branded car that is blocking a road in the centre … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: How a racist policy ended up being overturned, new report paints grim picture of ‘locked-in’ youth facilities, and Porirua mayor under further spending pressure. This happened on Friday, but it was a long time coming so is worth covering properly. The government has announced that an … Read more
As we approach the end of what Jacinda Ardern called the ‘year of delivery’, and with the next election a year away, Max Rashbrooke examines the state of play with the government’s critical working groups. This research and feature exists thanks to contributions from Spinoff members. To help us produce more quality, public interest journalism … Read more
Distressing evidence from children and young people living in ‘locked-in care’ features in a newly released report from the children’s commissioner, who has repeatedly called for the facilities to be shut down. A new report paints a grim picture of life for children and young people in secure residential care facilities, and has prompted the … Read more
How New Zealand startup myReflection is making bespoke, affordable, mass-produced breast prostheses using 3D printing. In a garage on Auckland’s Te Atatu Peninsula, dozens of 3D printers work mechanically away to a rhythmic, whirring hum. On a nearby table sits an array of white “blobs” – some large, some small, some more spherical than others. … Read more
Tomorrow Wellington will be the first city ‘disrupted’ in a series of protests by global environmental group Extinction Rebellion. Its spokesperson Dr Sea Rotmann explains why they’re choosing disorder. Last week School Strike 4 Climate organised 170,000 people – that’s over 3.5% of Aotearoa’s population – to take to the streets to demand action on … Read more
Keen to expand your general knowledge? Behind on the sexbot craze? Want to know more local history? You could start with these documentaries on TVNZ OnDemand. Forget the latest fad of “books” and set fire to ye olde newspaper, because there’s no better way to discover the mysteries of our weird and wonderful world than … Read more
In his latest book, Fentanyl Inc., journalist Ben Westhoff (The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Playboy, Vice etc) goes deep on the epidemic of ‘legal highs’, including the notorious, deadly fentanyl. There’s an extremely intense bit where he poses as a buyer and infiltrates a Chinese drug lab. It was New Zealander Matt Bowden who invented the … Read more
The great filmmaker Barry Barclay (Ngati, The Kaipara Affair) also wrote books on Māori screen arts and philosophy. Miriama Aoake delved back into Mana Tūturu: Māori Treasures and Intellectual Property Rights, in which he reimagines Captain Cook’s landing in Aotearoa if cameras were present. Two hundred and fifty years ago, a white man from England … Read more
One man set the tone for a nation divided over rugby and apartheid South Africa. Halt All Racist Tours (HART) founder Trevor Richards writes on Muldoon, politics, sport and culture in 1970s New Zealand. Read Trevor Richards on the birth of a movement that divided New Zealand and changed us forever here. For many in … Read more
Tongan New Zealand performance artist Kaisolaite Uhila is the current visiting artist in residence at Dunedin Public Art Gallery. Whether he’s living homeless around the boundary of Auckland Art Gallery for the Walters Prize, or sleeping with pigs in Aotea Square, Uhila uses his body and its labour to start uneasy conversations that break down … Read more
The mind-boggling array of flavours, the suspiciously fat straws, the disconcertingly long queues… for the uninitiated, boarding the bubble tea bandwagon can be a daunting prospect. Fear not: Lucy Zee is here to walk you through it. You see them on Queen Street, wearing rare TNs, the latest Off-White™ jacket and some $320 Travis Scott … Read more
Back in 2007, TV2 aired The Amazing Extraordinary Friends – a charming superhero show and potential cult hit. Twelve years later, it’s nowhere to be found. Felix Walton looks at the changing landscape of archiving our local TV. The Amazing Extraordinary Friends tells the story of Ben Wilson, an unassuming Kiwi teen who finds an … Read more
Forget Cook. The Adventures of Tupaia is much more interested in the famed navigator and priest who shared his formidable indigenous knowledge with Pākehā. The cover tells the story. Stars everywhere. Palm trees in silhouette. And two figures: there’s Tupaia in the foreground, eyes shining, arm raised, pointing the way, generally looking magnificent. And there’s … Read more
The first encounter between Māori and Captain Cook and his crew ended in the murder and brutalising of nine Tūranaga-nui-a-kiwa ancestors. The Ministry of Culture and Heritage’s intention to include Māori history and voyaging traditions in the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of that tragedy has prompted a mixed reception. This feature is made possible … Read more
A footwear company goes into administration, the latest in a string of troubles. Is the industry hanging by a thread? Footwear company Ziera has gone into voluntary administration, leaving the future of its 45 stores uncertain. The family-owned business was founded in 1946 as Kumfs and currently employs 250 people across its stores here and … Read more
Lucy Zee celebrates the little blue powder compact tucked away in every New Zealand makeup bag. You’re at a house party. You’re not quite drunk but tipsy enough to feel emboldened to look through the bathroom cabinet after your pee break. Behind the Korean face masks, Revlon ColourStay foundation, next to the antihistamines and Mario … Read more
Start your Chitty-Chitty Bang Bangs and may the best lady win! Sam Brooks recaps the first episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. I still can’t believe this spin-off actually happened. What a world we live in. My first observation: RuPaul absolutely loves England and finds everything about it hilarious. This show is stuffed with more puns than … 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 Talking to Strangers: what we should know about the people we don’t know by Malcolm Gladwell (Allen Lane, $40) Auckland … Read more
A poem by New Zealand-born writer Rachel Sawaya. It’s That Big my butt is gigantic not in the way that clouds are not a giant peach it doesn’t float like a pair of hot air balloons it’s more of a flatbed truck with a load of timber and a loose tarp or rather, … Read more
Taskmaster is arguably the funniest show on television, and next year a New Zealand version will hit our screens. Tara Ward dives into the caravan of challenges to find out what Taskmaster NZ could look like. We might be drowning in a sea of formulaic television, but Taskmasker is our David Hasselhoff, a beautiful saviour flailing towards us at … Read more
A long-derided refugee policy has been reversed, the government announced today. What’s happening? The government has announced changes to its three-year refugee policy, focusing on the Asia-Pacific region and removing restrictions for some refugees. In announcing the changes, Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway said, “we knew changes needed to be made and today’s announcements reflect … Read more