As Auckland examines how to make its roads safer and more functional, one city has already shown us how it’s done. Teuila Fuatai looks at how slowing down changes the way a city works. On the other side of the world, one Swedish city’s dedication to driving down road deaths and serious injuries (DSI) has … Read more
After living and working for years in London alongside his band, The Veils, Finn Andrews returned to Auckland last year. Gareth Shute caught up with him between performances at WOMAD to find out about his heartbreak-inflected new album, One Piece At A Time. The impressive achievements of The Veils have often been overlooked. After all, … Read more
Growing up in the south of the South Island, Paula Simpson’s world was quiet, conservative and very white. And then she moved to India… Here she speaks to fellow Pākehā New Zealanders about prejudice and preconceptions. Content warning: racist language It’s hard to know you’re racist when you’re surrounded by people like yourself. I’m a … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM’s visit to China finally confirmed, privacy commissioner heaps criticism on Facebook, and police minister indicates support for gun register. PM Jacinda Ardern will be visiting China after all, she announced to reporters yesterday afternoon. The NZ Herald reported her saying the visit, to formally open the new embassy, … Read more
The product used to broadcast the murder of 50 innocents is one of Facebook’s least popular and least profitable. What makes it so special that it can’t just hit pause? In the days since a terrorist opened fire in Christchurch, in part motivated by his ability to break new ground in very literally weaponising social … Read more
Tim Ashton was one of the police officers who shot dead Aramoana gunman David Gray. The Christchurch mosque shooting has hardened his resolve to effect meaningful gun control reform. Until 10 days ago the 1990 Aramoana tragedy in which 13 innocent people died was New Zealand’s worst mass shooting. Tim Ashton was one of the … Read more
Two years ago Augusta Grayson was working in advertising, now she’s running her own dog training business. James Borrowdale met Augusta (and Frank the dachshund) to learn about Unitec’s Certificate in Animal Management. Frank surveyed the park, narrow face framed by red-gold locks, his eyes following the active-wear-adorned man strolling through the gully on this overcast … Read more
The Monday Excerpt: Joanne Drayton’s biography of Hudson and Halls has been shortlisted for the 2019 Ockham New Zealand national book awards. In this extract, Drayton recounts their life in 1960s Parnell, Auckland. When Peter Hudson had first arrived back in New Zealand he stayed in David’s flat in St Stephens Avenue. Then they bought … Read more
In episode two of the Good Ancestors podcast, John Daniell and Noelle McCarthy look at the role of mātauranga Māori in conservation in New Zealand, and as an education tool at Auckland Zoo. The interconnectedness of everything is an essential concept in the Māori understanding of the world. Mātauranga Māori – the knowledge, and understanding of … Read more
Proceeds from the sales of a new cookbook that shares recipes and stories from people from refugee and migrant backgrounds will go towards funding a new scholarship. Sakina Ewazi, a visual arts graduate originally from Afghanistan, weeps quietly during the minute’s silence. We’re at Ōtāhuhu library in south Auckland for the launch of Tastes of … Read more
The prolific and acclaimed country singer-songwriter Brandy Clark performs in Auckland tomorrow. Sam Brooks talked to her ahead of her performance. “I hate stripes, and orange ain’t my colour. If I squeeze that trigger tonight, I’ll be wearing one or other. There ain’t no crime of passion worth a crime of fashion The only thing … Read more
The world needs more kindness, clearly. Thalia Kehoe Rowden reviews Kiri and Lou, a new musical comedy show about kindness and feelings – made for children, but a tonic for adults too. What if you could make a home-grown kids’ TV show that combined the endearing quirkiness of The Muppets, the deadpan hilarity of Flight … Read more
Following the Christchurch terror attacks parents around the world have been concerned about what their children might see online and how they might cope with the immense tragedy of the events. Emily Writes spoke to the author of Keeping Your Children Safe Online, John Parsons, about what parents should know. I met John Parsons at an … Read more
After seeing three shows in the Auckland Arts Festival this week, Sam Brooks reflects on the place of art in the wake of national tragedy. After a week of self-inflicted Wellington time, it felt a little strange to come back to the Auckland Arts Festival. After the events of 15/3, even more so. There were … Read more
It’s all relative, sure, but New Zealand’s media has clearly done a far better job at holding the line against Islamophobia than their UK and Australian counterparts, writes Elle Hunt from London. The danger of speaking relatively about race relations is that it risks excusing wrongdoings already being committed and in doing so allowing them … Read more
In the first part of a series in which The Spinoff gets to know who, what, where and how our food gets to our plate, Jihee Junn learns about cherries. The bright lights and smooth floors of the supermarket are a world away from the soil and sun, the plants, animals and humans which have toiled … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. A brief note to start today’s edition: The aftermath of the Christchurch mosque attacks will always be an important set of stories to tell. Further down in today’s edition are the most important developments on that from the weekend. However, many other stories from last week need to be caught … Read more
I implore New Zealanders to centre the victims, to examine our past, to understand that for many of us, this attack was more of a ‘when’ than an ‘if’, writes Shamim Aslani An act of unspeakable horror seared itself into our collective consciousness as New Zealanders on March 15. We lost 50 lives in an … Read more
In the latest in the Frame documentary series produced for The Spinoff by Wrestler and funded by NZ on Air, we meet the wāhine behind Hikurangi Enterprises, a cannabis co-op looking to revitalise Ruatōria. In Ruatōria the dead are watching. They stare down from the walls of the Kapohanga a Rangi wharenui on Hiruharama Marae: … Read more
The upcoming trial of a man accused of carrying out the Christchurch mosque shootings will be unprecedented in New Zealand law. To get your head around the process, legal expert Graeme Edgeler casts his eyes over some of the most pressing questions New Zealanders are asking about how it will happen. What charges will the … Read more
I have been encouraged by those who have started to reflect. I hope we can take that love, and can learn to listen, writes Marama Davidson On Friday I went to the Masjid Al-Maktoum to share the nationwide two-minute silence with other New Zealanders. It was beautiful, and sad, and loving. Some people arrived in … Read more
The myth of white genocide in South Africa has fuelled far-right violence the world over, including the attack on Christchurch’s mosques. Ross Webb calls on his fellow South Africans to stop helping those who perpetuate the myth and who use South Africa to support their deluded fantasies. Lusaka, 1986 In 1986, a New Zealand man … Read more
Neighbours Day Aotearoa, the annual celebration of neighbourhoods and the power of human connection, starts this weekend. It’s a timely reminder of the big rewards that can come from small gestures, writes Sarah Lang. I have a confession to make. I don’t know the names of my next-door neighbours on the left-hand side. I do … Read more
Will a large scale gun buyback and subsequent arms control help prevent future massacres? We can look to Australia for inspiration, writes University of South Australia professor Rick Sarre. As she foreshadowed in the aftermath of the Christchurch massacre last Friday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has just announced a ban in that country on … Read more
With 30 years’ hindsight, the failed Neon Picnic festival of January 1988 can be seen as the Fyre festival of its day, writes Chris Bourke. This piece was originally published on Audioculture. It was a flawed concept that captured the spirit of the times. The organisers envisaged something more evolved than the contemporary rock bands and … Read more
The media needs to take some responsibility for the prejudice that Muslims and other minorities have faced in New Zealand, writes Shilo Kino. I became a journalist for all the wrong reasons. Honestly, I just wanted to interview famous people. As a kid I would cut out faces of the Backstreet Boys and stick them … Read more
While we’re learning to listen to the younger generations on other things, it’s time to prioritise tamariki voices about our smokefree future too. In a traditional whānau unit, kaumātua and grandparents hold the greatest responsibility for the learning and development of our young. In talking to one kaumātua recently, he shared that mokopuna, when broken … Read more
New Zealand has lagged behind the rest of the world in its attitude to hemp, but now innovative businesses are tapping into the nutritional benefits of this ancient crop. A pharmacist and a banker selling hemp? It sounds like some kind of dodgy drug deal. It’s not though: it’s the leading edge of the hemp … Read more
The only published and available best-selling 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 John Scott Works by David Straight (Massey University Press, $70) Gorgeous tome celebrating the career of one of our most influential architects. … Read more