If there’s one takeaway from the donations controversy that sparked the National Party Meltdown, it’s that we ought to start taking such influence campaigns seriously, writes Branko Marcetic To read the Chinese Embassy response, scroll to end. It’s a story about intraparty conflict and political ambition. It’s a story about potential electoral finance lawbreaking. It’s … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Ross saga flies off in half a dozen different directions, Wellington bus drivers vote on indefinite length strike, and a tragedy for DOC. It’s not really clear what you’d call this story any more, because it’s now about half a dozen different stories. That follows another wild … Read more
Allegations raised today by four women about the conduct of rogue MP Jami-Lee Ross, and the response to complaints, send a bleak message to women in Aotearoa, writes Morgan Tait. Remember that time a senior political figure was the subject of a long and sustained pattern of allegations of sexual harassment and abuse of women … Read more
The always hilarious and brilliant Leah McFall, who releases her new book of selected columns this week, pays her respects to five of the most hilarious and brilliant women writers of all time – Jane Austen, Nancy Mitford, Sue Townsend, Erma Bombeck, and Nora Ephron. If humour writing is a craft, then I’m apprenticed to five dead women. … Read more
Alice welcomes the zombie hopocalypse with open arms (and gin), while Henry sups upon a spicy syrah from a Hawke’s Bay OG. EPIC BOILERMAKER Epic Hop Zombie, 8.5%, 500ml, plus Hidden World Oriental Spice Gin, 50ml, 44%, $11.99 from Fine Wine Delivery Co A boilermaker, according to the internet, is a trained craftsperson who produces … Read more
From businesses doing good to charities running businesses and everything in between, social enterprise as an industry is growing up and holding its first national conference. In 1942 the New Zealand poet Allen Curnow wrote: “Simply by sailing in a new direction, you could enlarge the world.” He was talking about the first European explorers … Read more
The mother of Maureen Pugh, the National MP whom Simon Bridges called ‘fucking useless’, has rounded on the party leader, calling him a ‘dumb arse’ in return. Good on her, says Emily Writes: all power to mummy warriors, of all ages. I was at Chipmunks – sometimes it feels like I live there – when … Read more
In episode two of Get It to Te Papa, a Lightbox Original made by The Spinoff, Hayden Donnell goes in search of the animatronic veges that instilled both delight and horror in ’90s kids across the nation. Watch Get It to Te Papa on Lightbox here. My memories of the Big Fresh Animatronic Fruit and Veges … Read more
Jami-Lee Ross’s ever-changing story about the $100,000 donation originating from businessman Zhang Yikun makes it hard to assess precisely what Police would be investigating. Either way, we’re all the poorer for the way it’s played out, writes writes law professor Andrew Geddis When Jami-Lee Ross re-enacted the Joker’s “everything burns” scene from The Dark Knight … Read more
The brain-melting mind warp of the week in politics has just got even more sordid, with four women speaking to Newsroom on the conduct of rogue MP Jami-Lee Ross. Just how damaged is everyone involved now? There were whispers, there were rumours. On Tuesday, Jami-Lee Ross took them head on, saying he had been falsely … Read more
The casual ethnic calculations of National leader Simon Bridges and the rebel MP Jami-Lee Ross are just the latest example of the marginalisation of Kiwi Asian voices in our politics, writes Sudhvir Singh One of the many spectacular revelations from the National Party saga this week is the shameful and tokenistic way Jami-Lee Ross and … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Secretly recorded tape raises huge questions for National, Austrian company gets oil exploration extension, and govt won’t close ‘back door’ for Nauru refugees. The question was asked yesterday – what fresh horrors await National? Well, we got our answer, with the release of a taped phone conversation … Read more
Whatever the truth of the rebel MP’s claims about Simon Bridges, it shines a light on electoral finance laws that are not fit for purpose, argues Leroy Beckett For the past 48 hours our political headlines have been drenched in scandal. A high ranking member of parliament admitted to electoral finance fraud, and claims it … Read more
Jami Lee-Ross’s secret recording may not contain a smoking gun on party donations, but the comments about ethnicity and his own MPs leave National’s leader on shaky ground, writes RNZ’s political editor Go here to read or listen to the recording released by rebel MP Jami-Lee Ross Don’t worry about the allegations about electoral fraud, … Read more
Slam poetry! It’s raw, it’s rough, and it’s also a wildly popular live entertainment, writes Ben Fagan, who is masterminding slam events across the country this month. One of my favourite poetry moments happened a few years ago. I was at a slam in Wellington. It was packed. Someone had just finished performing and there was a … Read more
In a post on Facebook Jami-Lee Ross has published audio which he says “confirms Simon Bridges and I discussing a $100k donation on 25 June. Simon Bridges says I’m lying – this is part of the evidence I gave to police today.” Jami-Lee Ross: Good thanks, buddy, how are you? Simon Bridges: Good, buddy, good. What’ve … Read more
Do you have a terrible boss story? We asked friends and whānau to share their worst for National Boss’s Day*. It’s a fact that a significant portion of bosses are jerks. Many are great**, but a great many are jerks***. Here are the best/worst boss stories we have ever heard. Names have been changed, to … Read more
Every great political moment births a thousand not-so-great political memes. Madeleine Chapman gets the ball rolling on the Ross-Bridges saga Politics is happening! Jami-Lee Ross began his Tuesday as the National MP for Botany and Simon Bridges’ “numbers man”. He ended the day having called Bridges a “corrupt politician”, guilty of criminal activity, and not … Read more
While fakers are playing so-called big budget horror spectacles like Call of Duty Black Ops 4 Zombie mode and Call of Duty Black Ops 4 Black Out, Adam Goodall knows where to find the best and most meaningful scares: a little place called Giraffe Town. Silent Hill 2 has six endings, but the only one I’ve … Read more
Unisex bathrooms, weird homophobia and even weirder visual effects. Sam Rutledge revisits the simultaneously regressive and progressive Ally McBeal. “Men are like gum anyway – after you chew a while they lose their flavour.” Calista Flockhart’s titular Ally McBeal delivers this line in 1997 with all the guts of someone who has had absolutely enough right … Read more
The developments at parliament yesterday are almost without precedent, as renegade National MP Jami-Lee Ross threw astonishing accusations at his party leader Simon Bridges. In this post drawn from this morning’s Bulletin, the Spinoff’s daily email newsletter, Alex Braae takes on the crucial what-next questions. What did Ross allege? The Botany MP claimed that Simon … Read more
To have a hope of surviving the fallout from Jami-Lee Ross’s extraordinary attacks, a lot of things have to go right for the National leader – and they have to go right at the right time, writes RNZ’s Guyon Espiner For Simon Bridges, emerging unscathed from the Jami-Lee Ross saga is the political equivalent of … Read more
Inspired by a weak reality TV brew and The Spinoff’s own teabag tapes, Alex Casey spills the tea on making the perfect cuppa. First published in October 2018. Last week was a huge week for tea disasters. It began on Married at First Sight NZ, where policy analyst and gaming enthusiast Fraser Lee (nee Pearce) … Read more
It’s week three on Married at First Sight NZ, and it’s going downhill faster than Ksenia in a minivan. What a tremendous week on the greatest show on Earth. We got our first visit back to the big old brick commitment ceremony heaven in the sky, we got a lot of seaside drama, and we … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National party knife-fight gets extremely bloody, Naura detainee refugees may be allowed to come to NZ, and a shake-up coming for Māori media. The developments at Parliament yesterday are almost without precedent, as renegade National MP Jami-Lee Ross threw astonishing accusations at his party leader Simon … Read more
The ballistic exchanges at parliament as Jami-Lee Ross took on Simon Bridges left even veteran Press Gallery journalists astonished, writes RNZ political editor Jane Patterson Even the most long serving of Press Gallery reporters say they’ve seen nothing like the extraordinary political events that exploded at parliament yesterday. You’d have to go to back to … Read more
Complete with hard tops and soggy bottoms, The Great Kiwi Bake Off premiered on TVNZ2 tonight. Tara Ward has the power rankings. Inside the grounds of a Mediterranean palace fit for Queen Mary Berry lies a pond with a turtle. Next to that turtle is a building disguised as a tent. Inside that tent is … Read more
We lured an official judge from The Great Kiwi Bake Off into the offices to critique our cakes, and it was an emotional rollercoaster. Here at The Spinoff, reality TV is kind of a big deal. So when a new show comes out, we really put our heart and soul into it. Alex Casey and Sam Brooks … Read more
Welcome back to Waterdeep Mountain High, a Dungeons & Dragons podcast set in a below average school in the mystical land of Faerun. While Kate and Forrest are taking their incredibly invasive biology class, Hillardo and Peng have to deal with a schoolyard bully and uncover a troubling omen. Starring Nic Sampson, Brynley Stent, Ray … Read more