Despite two unsuccessful appeals against his convictions for child sex abuse, doubts around the reliability of the evidence against Peter Ellis have hung heavy for almost three decades. Yesterday it was announced that the Supreme Court would give him an opportunity to clear his name. What’s all this then? Peter Ellis, a convicted child sex … Read more
In Mrs Krishnan’s Party, Kalyani Nagarajan plays the lead role and cooks the audience dinner to boot. What could possibly go wrong? The idea of cooking for more than 100 people would fill most of us with terror. How about cooking for more than 100 people within a constrained time limit while on stage acting … Read more
In the second episode of Actually Interesting, The Spinoff’s new monthly podcast exploring the effect AI has on our lives, Russell Brown explores how aware machines really are. Subscribe to Actually Interesting via iTunes or listen on the player below. To download this episode right click and save. Here’s a thing to understand: artificial intelligence isn’t magic and machines … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Massive bill looms for water overhaul, Five Eyes countries discuss backdoors for encrypted apps, and could Ihumātao lead to Māori politics reorganisation? Central government is set to take significantly more power over the water systems of New Zealand. The measures announced by minister for local government Nanaia … Read more
The launch of satellites for private companies that sell data to spy agencies raises fresh concerns about New Zealand’s fledgling space industry, Ollie Neas writes. A satellite on board Rocket Lab’s most recent mission will collect data for US spy agencies, among other customers. The satellite belongs to US private intelligence company BlackSky and raises … Read more
One thing that has set the fight for Ihumātao apart is the confidence with which multi-media digital communication has been deployed to spread the message far and wide. Peter McKenzie looks at the new tools of the revolution. The message was sparse. “Tomorrow, midday, Wellington Cenotaph, there is a rally against the confiscation of land … Read more
Public health campaigns constantly encourage parents to have their children walk to school. Yet when the unthinkable happened, a coroner pointed the finger at the parents. Dion and Fiona Neems have been through every parent’s worst nightmare. Their precious child Carla was killed by a rubbish truck outside her home. A tragic accident like this … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month, we’re joined by comedian Pax Assadi to discuss the merits (or lack thereof) of white people food. Growing up in Auckland with an Iranian dad and a Pakistani mum, Pax Assadi … Read more
Annabelle Lee-Mather, Toby Manhire and Ben Thomas feast on the political morsels of the month. including the National Party conference and a challenge to Jacinda Ardern over Ihumātao. Plus: a new jingle. The Gone By Lunchtime team look at Simon Bridges’ efforts to firm up his leadership with just over a year to the election, … Read more
Featuring a New Zealand supergroup, a Spanish superstar, Canadian’s finest super-lesbians (just go with it) and more. International ‘Milionària’ by ROSALÍA Not gonna lie, I’ve had this on repeat all month. ROSALIA continues her reign of triumphant, major-key yet low-key, hits with ‘Millionara’. The song is a tribute to extreme wealth, in the same way … Read more
Londoner Dorian Lynskey usually writes about music for big mastheads like the Guardian and GQ. His latest project, The Ministry of Truth, is something completely different – and fascinating, writes Orwell fan Mark Broatch. In the months leading up to the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four in June of 1949, George Orwell talked down his novel. … Read more
The dispute over land at Ihumātao in southwest Auckland dates back to the wars of 1863, and has been characterised as New Zealand’s ‘trail of tears’. Since 2016 an occupation has been in place at Kaitiaki Village as part of an effort to protect the land from development by Fletcher Residential, who want to build … Read more
Claire Duncan chats with experimental sound artist Betty Apple about her upcoming New Zealand tour, and where her work fits within the international noise music scene. My video chat with Betty Apple is postponed multiple times. In lieu of conversation, she sends me a barrage of material: pdfs, video documentation of her shows. It feels … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: More deportations of NZers loom with proposed Australian law, authorities not probing root causes of truck crashes, and AUT under fire for Tiananmen Square event not going ahead. The deportation of New Zealanders from Australia could intensify under new, tighter visa laws being proposed. Radio NZ reports … Read more
The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read more comics here.
Authorities are failing to probe the root causes of truck accidents despite a rise in crash fatalities, writes business editor Maria Slade. Police did not have the authority to investigate possible health and safety causes of commercial truck crashes for two-and-a-half years thanks to a hole in the regulations. From April 2016 to October 2018, … Read more
With the last parliamentary vote on David Seymour’s End of Life Choice bill ahead of him, the ACT leader has put up what he’s hoping will be the finishing touches on the euthanasia law. So what does it all mean? Alex Braae explains. What’s all this then? ACT leader David Seymour has announced a series … Read more
OPINION: Our new series with our partner Flick is all about helping you make better electricity choices. In this instalment, Flick’s Nikki Cockburn explains the difference between fixed rates and spot prices. Unless you’re a power company or a big boss business in New Zealand, traditionally you were only able to pay for power in … Read more
Forget 1080 – these days 5G is the conspiracy theory that everyone is freaking out about. But is there any basis for the scare stories? Emily Writes tries to unravel fact from fiction. Have you heard the news about 5G? Folks are absolutely frothing over it in conspiracy groups on Facebook. They’re absolutely convinced that … Read more
The modern zeal for eating this cruciferous crap must count among the most ridiculous food fads of our time, says Amanda Thompson. I bought a lush salad the other day, not a ‘I really should eat a salad or I might get scurvy’ grudge salad, but an expensive, delicious-looking salad, one I really wanted, full … Read more
For the month of July, Josie Adams is taking on the challenge of being low-waste. That means minimising plastics, emissions, and even recyclables. Each week we release her diary. This is week three. Read week one here, and week two here. This week began with a tragedy: I lost my ability to Lime after my … Read more
Fire Emblem: Three Houses perfectly splits difference between staying true to its core while reinventing itself to appeal to a broader audience, writes Sam Brooks. Against all odds, Fire Emblem has become a stalwart gaming franchise. Created by Japanese developers Intelligent Systems, Fire Emblem‘s success is especially surprising considering its first English-language release, in 2003/4, … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Swine fever boosts meat export figures, SOUL whānau vote to stay put at Ihumātao, and National has another good poll. The threat of swine fever has also provided an opportunity for New Zealand meat farmers. The NZ Herald reports meat exports are up as a result of the disease … Read more
How do Wish products fare in real life? Jihee Junn buys and tries a bunch of random goods. If you’ve ever wondered what an online version of a $2 store would look like, it’d probably look a lot like Wish – cheap, disjointed, riddled with poor English, and stocked with a ridiculously vast array of … Read more
The tax department is currently chasing millions from so-called ‘High Wealth Individuals’ who won’t pay up. But when inequality is spiralling, why not set a maximum level of wealth, and simply take the rest for the betterment of all, asks Alex Braae. Drive into Omaha and you’ll barely notice the road. The tarmac throughout the … Read more
Tired of his tropes and infatuations, Michelle Langstone writes about her waning love for the writings of Japanese author Haruki Murakami. I left you behind with a note that said “Free to a good home. No longer wanted.” Blunt, perhaps, but that’s how it is when love runs out. There isn’t room for sensitivity when … Read more
The rise of the machines will radically transform the way we work. Jobs will disappear. New ones will emerge. But what if the perceived threat of technology is really an opportunity to be more human? The machines are coming for our jobs, but we don’t need to freak out about it. Because, let’s face it, … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews the final season of Orange is the New Black and finds a fitting end to the series’ tremendous legacy. Light spoilers for the final season of Orange is the New Black. “It was maybe four percent of my life, but it was enough to change absolutely everything, and I have no idea … Read more
OPINION: With several high profile government objectives in the spotlight, a single ministry could drive better outcomes across them all. Robyn Holdaway, senior policy advisor at Vector, makes the case for a Ministry for Energy. When the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment was created in 2012 it replaced not one but four full ministry-level … Read more