Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Fishing proposals hook controversy from those outside industry, provincial growth fund slow to create jobs, and Waitangi Dildo Thrower hit with trespass notice. A major overhaul of the way New Zealand’s fishing industry works has been proposed in a discussion paper put out by the government. Minister … Read more
As it gears up for as many as three referendums next year, NZ should take care not to ignore the mistakes of Brexit, writes Christian Smith. Brexit is the problem that every other country in the world is glad not to have. For New Zealanders, it may seem a distant curiosity, relevant only to our … Read more
Three years on from making the word ‘dildo’ ubiquitous in respectable New Zealand homes, Josie Butler says ‘f*** you’ to a notice trespassing her from her own ancestral lands. Activist and nurse Josie Butler was served a trespass notice on behalf of the Waitangi National Trust on Friday, trespassing her from the Treaty Grounds, the … Read more
Jack Tapsell is the product of a family dedicated to the health and wellbeing of Māori. The recent University of Otago medical graduate talks to Leonie Hayden about carrying on the legacy of his father and grandfather. As descendants of Phillip Tapsell, a Danish sailor who settled at Maketū near Rotorua in 1830, and Te Arawa … Read more
All week this week we feature tangata whenua writing to mark Waitangi Day on Wednesday. Today: in this extract from a book of essays, Morgan Godfery wonders exactly what the point is of New Zealand bowing to a monarch “of a rain-soaked island off the north-western coast of the European mainland”. One of my earliest memories is, for … Read more
Social media has provided access to more information than ever, but at the same time it’s harder than ever to tell what’s real and what’s fake. InternetNZ policy advisor Nicola Brown looks back at the year Fake News broke the internet. Bad news spreads fast. In 2018 we saw what might be the breaking point of … Read more
Anne Perry: Interiors, currently streaming on TVNZ on Demand, looks into the famous New Zealander’s life after moving to Scotland. But how much can we learn when Perry herself seems incapable of true self-reflection? Anne Perry is a mystery writer based in Scotland. She’s written a lot of books, of which I have read exactly … Read more
The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read more comics here
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Spate of stories show rubbish problem is increasing, Don Brash Waitangi invite sparks boycott call, and bees struggling to get enough to eat. We’re not the tidy Kiwis we like to think we are. A range of recent stories show problems in waste management are mounting in … Read more
The cannabis referendum debate is deeply personal for some people. Nicole Skews-Poole details the agonising role weed played in her father’s life. My earliest childhood memory is opaque and soupy. The more I try and focus on its details, the more they wriggle away. But in my mind’s eye, if I stand back and pretend … Read more
The announcement that Peter Jackson’s latest project is a Beatles documentary is proof the decorated director has finally gone too far, writes Duncan Greive. It seems scarcely credible to suggest at this point, but Peter Jackson used to be cool. He made silly, weird movies about New Zealand – its monsters and its murderers – … Read more
The government has pulled its backing for big irrigation projects, but smaller ones are still getting financial support. RNZ’s Eric Frykberg looks at the balance between keeping farmers and growers in business and improving the quality of water in streams and rivers. This story originally ran on RNZ – Listen to the full Insight documentary here Stu Wright’s … Read more
Catherine Woulfe goes searching for the legacy of one of New Zealand’s first taxidermists. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine under the title Legacies: He Never Quit the Hustle. Birds! In the 1800s they were everywhere. Huia, kōkako, takahē, kākāriki – all clamouring to be shot and stuffed and stuck on a mantle. Into this cornucopia … Read more
When it’s too hot to do more than throw a few ingredients together, this simple, elegant salad fits the bill perfectly. This salad is a celebration of summer and quality ingredients. The star of the show is without a doubt the peach: golden, sweet and slightly perfumed. When paired with the bite of the red … Read more
Bringing you the best weekly reading from your friendly local website. Emily Writes: What does a rapist look like? “I have devoted so much of my life to working to dismantle this culture we live in where we victim blame and apologise for ‘good blokes’ who were just ‘not sure’ whether someone was consenting – and … Read more
A headline grabbing protest against the UN Migration Pact was held in Auckland’s Aotea Square on Saturday, attracting about 100 people. But it was far from the only political expression being put to the public. Alex Braae was there. The most committed came in early. Advertising for the protest against the UN Migration Pact, online … Read more
This week Air New Zealand announced that they would be pulling their divisive “It’s Kiwi Safety” video from their in-flight safety briefing. The Spinoff asked Kiwis from all walks of life to pay their respects. A former flight attendant: “I was there in the early stages of Air New Zealand trying to be ‘out there’ … Read more
Every week on The Primer we ask a local business or product to introduce themselves in eight simple takes. This week we talk to brand strategist James Hurman whose latest venture, Storytech, wants to help small businesses work out their elevator pitch in a single day. ONE: How did Storytech start and what was the inspiration behind … Read more
If burnout is a problem and the promise of self-transformation and self-care aren’t working, then what now? Dr Katie Bruce, chief executive of Volunteering New Zealand, offers an alternative. This New Year, along with everyone else, I found myself watching Tidying Up with Marie Kondo while fawning over Bullet Journaling on Instagram and ordering a ton … Read more
A group of Indian students who were kicked out of New Zealand say their lives are ruined, and that electioneering Labour MPs, including Jacinda Ardern, promised help but went silent after coming to power. This story was originally published on RNZ Few people celebrated Labour’s 2017 return to power more than a broke, unemployed IT … Read more
Are we missing the rise of the far right? Marc Daalder speaks to the angry middle-aged men who want to see nationalism rise in New Zealand. Hundreds of Kiwis have pledged to march today against an obscure UN migration pact today under the guise of a brand-new organisation calling itself NZ Sovereignty. The central issue emphasised … Read more
Spare a thought, please, for the commentators, battling desperately to string together coherent ideas as the mercury hits ridiculous. The weather was hot in New Zealand this week, as documented for posterity by our newspaper of record in cover lines such as “In for a scorcher”, “HEATWAVE”, “Keep your cool, the heat’s here all week” … Read more
The biggest meme generator of 2018, the return of a beloved sitcom favourite and a new Lightbox Original are just some of the new titles coming to Lightbox this month. Sam Brooks and Alex Casey run down the highlights. A Star is Born (movie drops 6 Feb) I’ll tell you something, girl, A Star is … Read more
New poetry by Oscar Upperton. Cross dresser I am a pious woman. I watch as the men leave for war. I rake the garden over with my hands. War visits on the roof of the church. She sits like a great owl, hooting. I turn my face away. I pray, Lord I pray. … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. The dream team is back together to cover all the breaking news topics you need to know this week. Which Aladdin star was spotted at Laneway? Which of our favourite celebrities made cameos in Jane … Read more
The only published and available best-selling book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 best-seller list recorded every week at at Unity Books’ stores in Willis St, Wellington and High St, Auckland. WELLINGTON UNITY 1 Normal People by Sally Rooney (Faber, $33) Let’s all go round to Leah McFall’s house and force her to … 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, with the interview available as both audio and a transcribed excerpt. This week he talks to Mahmood Hikmet, research and development coordinator for … Read more
We devise a genius plan to return the tragically transformed seasonal treats to their former glory. It was this week revealed that corporate choc-monster Cadbury has committed yet another crime against a beloved New Zealand product. In the latest unforgivable act, marshmallow Easter eggs, widely regarded as the best thing about the long, long, long … Read more
Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and Michèle A’Court tackle the past month in women, news and popular culture, with thanks to our friends at The Women’s Bookshop. It began with a Gillette razor and it ended with a whole week of New Zealand rape culture under a microscope. January was a rough one for sure, so join … Read more