Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Greens push to lower voting age on climate strike day, latest IPCC report unpacked, and analysis of Fonterra’s tough annual results day. On a day when many 16 year olds will be out protesting against climate change inaction, the Greens have announced a push to … Read more
The School Strike 4 Climate has been widened to a general nationwide strike. Ten of thousands of New Zealanders are expected to skip work and classes today. Here is your guide to what’s going on, and where. What and when? The School Strike 4 Climate movement has invited people of all ages to a nationwide … Read more
She was recently named by Time as one of the 15 women leading the fight against climate change. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim tells Kera Sherwood-O’Regan about the effects of the changing climate on the village she grew up in in Chad, especially on women and girls, and what spurred her to action. As a young indigenous … Read more
Dougal Austin (Kāti Māmoe, Kāi Tahu, Waitaha) is senior curator Matauranga Māori at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa. Here he writes about his first book, Te Hei Tiki: an enduring treasure in a cultural continuum, which has just been published by Te Papa Press. I probably first encountered pounamu when crawling around … Read more
Penny Hulse made a call for collaboration and unity in the final meeting of her 27-year council career today. Will her plea be granted? Hayden Donnell delivers a grim assessment. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click here. Penny … Read more
Fonterra has unveiled its new pared-back ambitions along with its dismal 2019 result. Business editor Maria Slade analyses what it all means. Kāpiti cheese no longer made on the Kāpiti Coast. On any normal day, this would be grim news. But on the day that Fonterra announces a $605 million loss and calls time on … 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 Shaun Edlin, CEO of Dotterel, and Richard Quin, Callaghan Innovation Group Manager. This week’s podcast is a little … Read more
OPINION: In the fourth part of the series with our partners at Flick Electric Co to help you make better energy choices, Flick’s Nikki Cockburn explains how the national grid works. Roughly 80% of the electricity generated in New Zealand is renewable, so it’s easy to get complacent about reducing our carbon impact. But the … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Don Rowe heads to Queenstown to see if a Fergburger lives up to the hype. It doesn’t take much to become an institution in New Zealand. Cast adrift at the bottom of the Earth, we cling to whatever collective … Read more
Tech companies are stepping up their efforts around the Christchurch Call to action against online extremism. Ross Young, head of Public Policy and Government Affairs for Google New Zealand, outlines what his organisation plans to do. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern rallied the world after the atrocity of the Christchurch terror attack using compassion, ambition and … Read more
From tennis champions to dance craze inventors, Scratched celebrates New Zealand sporting heroes who never got their due – but whose legacies deserve to be in lights. This month, quadruple Commonwealth Games medal winner, Chunli Li. Chunli Li moved to New Zealand in 1987 to retire from table tennis, aged 25. Instead, she was asked … Read more
From declaring a climate emergency to setting a 1.5 degree regional target, Auckland Council has repeatedly emphasised its commitment to doing its bit to tackle climate change. The question is, how exactly does it plan to do that? Acting chief sustainability officer Alec Tang explains. The Spinoff: Tell me about the key areas Auckland Council … Read more
The number of uncontested races has been one of the talking points of these local elections. But the headlines still haven’t conveyed the true extent of the problem. Hayden Donnell reports. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click here. … Read more
Two years on from her open letter to Andrew Little on his vow to slash immigration numbers, Israeli-born Yael Shochat, who owns Ima Cuisine in Auckland, writes about the harm the changes to the work-to-residence visa will do to the hospitality industry. Last week I, like many who employ immigrants, received an email from Immigration … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: International battle lines drawn up over mānuka honey, shocking case of neglect in prison revealed, and Jetstar to pull out of five regional routes. To lead us off today, a story which has been rumbling away for a while which has all kicked off this … Read more
Next year former National MP Chester Borrows will be voting “yes” on the referendum to legalise personal cannabis. He spoke to Teuila Fuatai about his ideological journey. Chester Borrows tells a good yarn. Tales from his cop days and salt-of-the-earth banter are part of his appeal. He even uses phrases like “just nuts”, “bonkers” and … Read more
New Zealanders are disproportionately affected by section 501 of Australia’s Migration Act, which allows foreigners to be deported if they’re deemed to pose a threat to the nation. Julie Hill spoke to three ‘501s’ about life in detention and after deportation. Anya Weta is Māori, but she knows little about New Zealand, having moved with … Read more
The big boys are here and they want to make it clear: they do not like young women raising their voices. Josie Adams on Mike Hosking and Duncan Garner’s visceral reactions to a tearful 16-year-old telling them to emit less. Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg’s global reprimand at the UN this week was delivered in … Read more
Moves to finally outlaw the exploitation of dependent contractors is vindication for a pair who battled for years on their behalf. A former truckie and a high-profile lawyer who have spent a decade fighting for the little guy are claiming victory following the government’s announcement it will change the law to protect small operators. Peter … Read more
On Saturday, South African fans sang loudly over the top of the All Blacks’ haka in the opening round of the Rugby World Cup. Opposing sides and crowds can do what they want, writes Louisa Tipene Opetaia, but they should heed the lessons of the past. Four years of build-ups culminated in the highly anticipated … Read more
Sustainability is no longer just a ‘nice to have’ for businesses – it’s as pivotal as profit to their long term survival. For as long as any of us can remember, sustainability and profit have been at odds with one another. Profit means efficiencies and efficiencies mean doing whatever it takes to do things faster, … Read more
An investigation has been launched after an epileptic inmate was left in a soiled cell following a seizure over the weekend. An inmate was left traumatised and covered in excrement overnight following an epileptic seizure at Christchurch Men’s Prison. The man, who The Spinoff has chosen not to name, collapsed in his cell around 10.30pm … Read more
For the ageing episode of On the Rag, Michèle A’Court decided to take herself along to a plastic surgeon to see what needed sprucing up. The results may shock you. I’m not as young as I used to be. I know this because a) I have a mirror and b) people mention it. It’s a … Read more
Britain’s supreme court has unanimously slapped down Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament. It’s just the latest in the disaster zone that is UK politics, and Tony Burton reckons New Zealanders have good cause to feel smug. Just when you thought Brexit could not get more weird, it did. It is hard to exaggerate … Read more
Having just returned from a trip to Spain, Avondale resident Maria Slade wonders what New Zealand can do to create more spaces for locals to gather and hang out. The Spanish have a thing they call la hora de paseo – literally, the hour to walk. It occurs after the strangely quiet time of the … Read more
After years of calls to do so, Democrats in the US Congress are finally having a go at impeaching Donald Trump. But why now? What’s all this then? US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, one of the most powerful Democrats, has announced the launch of a formal inquiry of impeachment into one Donald J. … Read more
Every three years, veteran election candidate Tubby Hansen releases major new literary works in the form of his Christchurch voting booklet blurbs. Often they go unappreciated. Not this time. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism, click here. Tubby Hansen … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: How electorate boundaries could change, plans to bring agriculture into the ETS stall, and another scandal hits state care abuse Royal Commission. Electorate boundary changes look set to make a few of Labour’s South Island strongholds a little less safe, reports Elena McPhee of the ODT. Both … Read more
The Christchurch Call initially seemed more like vague platitudes than a plan. Might the government’s diplomatic efforts actually result in something concrete emerging? Alex Braae assesses the latest developments. The Christchurch Call was born out of tragedy. Footage of the March 15 attacks on worshippers at two Christchurch mosques was beamed around the world instantly … Read more