Last week, Dame Fiona Kidman won the 2019 Acorn Foundation Fiction Prize for her eleventh novel. Her first, A Breed of Women, was published 40 years ago in 1979. Here, you can read the opening chapter. A Breed of Women is a frank portrayal of what it was like to be a woman in small-town New … Read more
Enough of those inoffensive, latte-sippin’ jams selected purely to appease the baby boomers: the most memorable places to dine use music as just one more way to express themselves. If you’ve worked in a restaurant or café in the past 20 years – even if you’ve dined out a whole lot – you’ll likely be familiar … Read more
Alex Casey talks to the woman behind @trademebae, the Instagram account archiving the most bizarre items that Trade Me has to offer. Every detail is somehow funnier than the last. “Sex noveltys” the listing reads. $1 reserve. Condition: Used. Description: As is. Pick-up: Invercargill. Pictured: dildos, vibrators, a butt plug and various other “noveltys”, opaque … Read more
The Green MP has been given extra security following threats of violence. She tells the Spinoff about the ‘barrage of hate’ she confronts. Green MP Golriz Ghahraman has described the “barrage of hate” she has received since becoming a member of parliament, and its impact on her life and employment. In an interview with Leonie … Read more
LEGO Masters Australia is a new show that will grab you by the heart with its extendable Technic arm and never let go. Before LEGO Masters, Lego was nothing to me. It was an evil beast that gave me the shits when I stood on it in bare feet at 3am, and I took great … Read more
Now that we know what the Wellbeing Budget is, the question is how we can create the right political and social environment to support it, says Grant Thornton’s Barry Baker. Growing up in Southland in a single-parent home, my family relied on the Domestic Purposes Benefit and the generosity of charities like Birthright. During that … Read more
ANZ has been placed on the banking naughty step for potentially lending to New Zealanders without enough capital to protect deposits. How did this happen? Any journalist will tell you that Friday is a great time to issue an embarrassing press release. Journalists are humans with an eye on the weekend too, so they can … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Brian Tamaki announces launch of Destiny party, whopping share of PGF money going to govt departments, and Auckland Harbour Bridge bike plans released. Christian political parties are like Wellington buses – you wait for ages and then two turn up at the same time. Bishop Brian Tamaki … Read more
On Saturday night, Australia defied the pollsters and re-elected its widely despised right wing government. Is it any wonder that Sydney resident Nick Snelling is feeling pretty devvo right now? Dear New Zealand, We’re really sorry. It wasn’t meant to go down like this, promise. Thanks for your ongoing patience, particularly when it comes to … Read more
Rather than stacking up policy wins, an overtly conservative Christian party seems more likely to lead to the complete political marginalisation of conservative Christianity within New Zealand politics, writes Liam Hehir There is talk about National MP Alfred Ngaro breaking away to form some kind of Christian political party. A new party along these lines … Read more
Neil Miller was sceptical about the value of Dave’s direct action on climate change. But when he joined him in a London court room, he changed his mind. Dave is 25 and he’s a bit of a worry. He’s been arrested several times in London protests. I’ve told him that getting arrested is no solution … Read more
The addition of terrorism to the litany of charges facing the Christchurch gunman will make no difference to the severity of his sentence. It still matters, writes criminologist Keiran Hardy. On Tuesday, the gunman in the Christchurch mosque shootings was charged with committing a terrorist act. The new charge came more than two months after … Read more
Petition for superfreak Scarlett Cayford to judge the Women’s Prize for Fiction next year: she read her way through the entire 2019 longlist, for fun. Here are her reckons on the top six. Sally Rooney’s Normal People, which has been subject to unremitting praise, didn’t make the cut while Anna Burns’ Booker Prize-winning Milkman scored … Read more
What happened with the polls, and what does the shock Coalition victory tell us about attitudes to climate change and the power of vested interests? Political analyst and pollster Stephen Mills writes The re-election of the Australian Coalition government was a shock to pundits, pollsters and the parties themselves. A triumphant returning prime minister, Scott Morrison, … Read more
Most labels for bigger people aren’t plus-size enough and the larger price tags that go them are “bullshit”, a new Wellington business owner says. A Wellington fashion entrepreneur says the “fat tax” charged on larger sizes is one of the drivers propelling her to build her own plus-size clothing line. House of Boom is Joanna … Read more
The six members of City of Souls previously played in some of NZ’s heaviest and most beloved guitar bands – Blindspott, Blacklistt, and 8 Foot Sativa, to name a few. Guitarist Trajan Schwencke tells Gareth Shute why they’re just as focused on melody as they are on riffs and why in this case, three guitars … Read more
Is this the Harbour Bridge crossing breakthrough Auckland has been waiting for? And what does it mean for SkyPath? This post was first published on Bike Auckland. Today the NZ Transport Agency unveiled its preferred design for a walking and biking pathway across the Auckland Harbour Bridge, breaking the silence around the project since the government … Read more
SkyCity has entered the online gambling fray, announcing a deal to open an online casino later this year. SkyCity has signed a landmark deal to offer online gambling to New Zealanders, partnering with a Malta-based company just weeks after minister for internal affairs Tracey Martin said she was “disappointed” SkyCity would forge ahead. The online … Read more
Think rice is nothing special? Try tahdig, the golden, crispy rice crust that’s a way of life for Iranians. As Iranians, we are obsessed with the crunchy bits. The oily, crispy bits. The layers upon layers of starch. True love is at the bottom of a non-stick Persian rice cooker. Have you always thought of rice … Read more
Creative professionals struggle to make a living in New Zealand, according to new research by Creative New Zealand and NZ On Air. Is it hurting the country’s creative future? Just two months after releasing his critically-acclaimed album Avantdale Bowling Club, Auckland rapper Tom Scott tweeted that he might not be staying in the music industry. … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Major milestone reached in Pike River story, report paints damning picture of parliamentary bullying, and Alfred Ngaro builds profile with abortion comments. For the families of those men killed in the Pike River mine explosion, yesterday was a culmination of years of hard work. Almost nine years … Read more
Public transport in Auckland looks set to hit an all-time of 100 million passengers this year. Patrick Reynolds looks back at how we got here and what next to expect for the future of transport. There’s a quiet revolution underway in Auckland, slowly but relentlessly transforming the city. It began early in the century – … Read more
Panicking and changing KiwiSaver funds when the market goes through a bad patch is precisely the wrong thing to do, writes Martin Hawes. Annual KiwiSaver statements are hitting people’s inboxes about now, and there may be a few gasps from those who don’t generally pay much attention to the business news. Thanks to turbulence on … Read more
The authorised biography of New Zealand’s longest-serving female MP was co-written by her former press secretary. Unsurprising, then, that it focuses on her triumphs, says longtime Labour activist Shane Te Pou. If you’re like me, and admire Dame Annette King the person and politician, you’ll enjoy this authorised biography. It offers an entertaining guided tour … Read more
Welcome back to Papercuts, our monthly books podcast hosted by Louisa Kasza, Jenna Todd and Kiran Dass. As always, you can email us at papercutspod@gmail.com and follow us on Twitter and Instagram: @papercutspod and a big thanks to The Spinoff and the Mātātuhi Foundation for their support. To listen use the player below or download this … Read more
Megan Dunn looks back on this year’s Auckland Art Fair and what the fair means to New Zealand art galleries, buyers and artists. A curator friend recently said to me, “everyone loves to hate art fairs.” True, but only because everyone loves to go to them. In 2018 there were over 260 art fairs in … Read more
A report into bullying and harassment has exposed allegations of sexual assault and huge problems with parliament’s culture and reporting systems. The Francis Report, presented by Speaker Trevor Mallard and independent external reviewer Debbie Francis this morning, established that bullying and harassment are “systemic in the parliamentary workplace”. It took into account individual anonymous stories … Read more
While KFC staff are desperately trying to draw attention to their terrible working conditions, people are losing their shit over a chicken burger. Over the weekend, as their staff begged them for better working conditions, KFC sent out an email to influencers and media inviting them to a party. KFC relaunched their Double Down burger … Read more
What is your landlord entitled to ask you? According to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, a lot less than you think, reports Dan Satherley for Newshub. Next time you’re looking at a rental and the property manager asks to see a bank statement, feel free to decline. It’s one of several questions that are … Read more