Set to deliver 100,000 homes in the next 10 years, Kiwibuild is the government’s ambitious $2 billion plan targeting first-home buyers. But how is it changing Auckland’s wider landscape? Read more: Eye in the sky: a visual guide to Auckland’s housing boom This week, more than 85 potential first-home buyers will be holding their breath to … Read more
Pallas Hupé Cotter took a part time role helping women transition from welfare dependence to paid employment. She says participants loved the course, and it seemed to be working. So why did the government cancel it? It’s not often I’m moved to tears by helping people write their CV or LinkedIn profile. But when I … Read more
Alex Casey spends an afternoon with Astar, morning television superstar turned Youtube extraordinaire. Astar is digging through her garden bin with a Scream mask in one hand and a vape wedged under her arm. She emerges, coiffed hair and red lipstick still perfect, clutching a bunch of old twigs. “Halloween,” she explains, holding the foliage … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Crackdown coming on dodgy lending practices, Fonterra revises forecast down again, and a new twist in the Simon Bridges expense leak tale. The government has launched a long-signalled crackdown on predatory lenders and the interest they’re able to charge, reports Radio NZ. Interest will be capped at … Read more
The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read more comics here For more on drug law reform in Portugal read Max Harris’s reporting for The Spinoff here The Bulletin is The Spinoff’s acclaimed, free daily curated digest of all the most important stories from … Read more
We’ve lost our Sunshine, our Cassie, and a lot of other girls whose names we can’t remember, but we’ve made it to our top three. Miriam Moore recaps the final episode of this season’s The Bachelor Australia. We begin with Nick doing parkour on an oversized Australian tree, proving it’s not just girls, but also … Read more
Our two favourite frenemies still have a lot of shit to work through. Watch round 1 here.
The 2019 Man Booker prize is announced next week. Brannavan Gnanalingam reviews two of the shortlisted novels, Washington Black by Esi Edugyan and The Mars Room by Rachel Kushner. Previously in Man Booker Prize Fight Week: Philip Matthews on Robin Robertson and Richard Powers This year’s Bookers shortlist contained a few surprises – including the … Read more
This week New Zealanders of all backgrounds rallied around compatriots who found themselves disenfranchised and humiliated after being denied the birthright of every ordinary hardworking Kiwi: entry into the Koru Lounge. The Spinoff is proud to publish this harrowing and brave first-person account from a Koru Club member, whose identity we have agreed to protect. … Read more
Politicians have been ignoring pleas to control the wild west property management industry for over a decade, including the latest lobbying effort. The housing minister is unmoved by calls from a coalition of 26 organisations to regulate rental property managers. Social change agency Anglican Advocacy is leading a lobby to rein in the uncontrolled property … Read more
Last month the government committed to increase New Zealand’s refugee quota to 1500. Now New Zealand must accept more refugees from Africa and the Middle East, writes South Sudanese-Kiwi and former refugee Clench Enoka. I was born in a refugee camp in Kenya. I had no country to call home. My parents were born in South … Read more
The government will welcome the unexpectedly large surplus, but it brings with it a heap of extra pressure from all sides, writes RNZ political editor Jane Patterson It’s the political curse of finance ministers past – deliver a bumper surplus and immediately come under pressure to spend up large. As Grant Robertson stood and delivered … Read more
In her first post for Te Puna Kōrero, a new blogging platform for Māori education and kaupapa, Māori research expert Linda Tuhiwai Smith takes stock of how far we’ve come, and at what cost. It’s 2018. We’ve had almost 30 years of Māori education resurgence with specific and innovative developments led by Kōhanga Reo, Kura … Read more
Recipes from the NZ Rugby Stars Cookbook by Ardie Savea, Sonny Bill Williams and Damian McKenzie. Did you correctly match the rugby stars to their recipes? If so, good. If not, go do it now. Right now, you hear? Read no further. When you’re done, come back here. Did you do it? Good. Now you … Read more
Simon Day sat down for fish tacos, beers and yarns with spearo Ant Broadhead. Ascension Island is a chunk of volcanic rock in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. It’s 2,250km from the coast of South America and 1,600km from Africa. Other than the island and its British air force base, there’s almost nothing anywhere … Read more
Just about every Aucklander has at some point shaken a fist to the sky after being kept awake by the hovering police helicopter – one man has made more than 150 complaints. Dylan Reeve’s curiosity prompted him to seek a night in the air, to find out whether it was all worth the whirry bother … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government secures bigger than expected surplus, NZ not on track to meet climate change targets, and most immigration crime going un-investigated. The government has found itself in possession of a much higher than expected surplus, reports Interest. Not only has tax revenue grown faster than spending, the government … Read more
An anti-corruption student media start-up says there’s an ugly underbelly to building a new life in Aotearoa. Leo Shao is an unlikely caped crusader. The softly spoken 20-something looks like any other student striding around Auckland’s CBD in his dark duffle coat, takeaway cup in hand. Yet behind this understated exterior lies an alter ego. Shao … Read more
It’s week two on Married at First Sight NZ, and several of our couples have lost their rose-tinted glasses already. Green up those boogie board bags, pack your versatile sarongs and make sure you say hi to Cat from The Bachelor Australia: we’re off to bloody Bali this week! With the final weddings taking place … Read more
Wellington resident-cum-vandal Hunter Macdonald claims he was bored out of his mind when he came across Len Lye’s Water Whirler sculpture and broke it. Madeleine Chapman and Sam Brooks discuss. Madeleine Chapman Hunter Macdonald had a day off yesterday. So like all 28 year old adults, he decided to climb a piece of art in public. That … Read more
Preliminary calculations based on the tally conducted last month point to about 800 people living without shelter in NZ’s biggest city. Initial results from Ira Mata, Ira Tangata: Auckland’s Homeless Count have this afternoon been published. The first region-wide “point in time” survey estimated that 800 people are living without shelter – a figure extrapolated … Read more
The 2018 Man Booker prize is announced next week. Philip Matthews reviews two of the shortlisted novels, The Long Take by Robin Robertson and The Overstory by Richard Powers. I can’t promise that everyone would necessarily enjoy Robin Robertson’s The Long Take, but you will remain haunted by it. You may have heard it described as the … Read more
Alias is mostly remembered as the show that launched Jennifer Garner’s career. But it deserves more kudos for being a genuinely groundbreaking show, writes Sam Brooks. “My name is Sydney. Seven years ago I was recruited by a secret branch of the CIA called SD-6. I was sworn to secrecy, but I couldn’t keep it … Read more
A new study reveals self-confidence among people in Australia can significantly differ because of their month of birth, and it’s down to when you start at school. Researchers Lionel Page, Dipanwita Sarkar and Juliana Silva Goncalves explain their findings (Spinoff editor’s note: In New Zealand, children start school between the age of five and six, typically following … Read more
Despair is understandable. So is shouting about the facts. But to effect real change we need to appeal to values, to deploy effective story-telling and psychological techniques, writes Jess Berentson-Shaw The latest report for the IPCC is out and the singular message is we need to pull finger on climate action. For many people the … Read more
Kate Aschoff began university with high hopes for her future. A year later she had dropped out, unable to cope with the stresses of university study while navigating her mental illness. I started studying at Victoria University of Wellington in March 2017. I was planning to complete a BA majoring in Sociology with a minor … Read more
Tonight in the Auckland CBD you might stumble across a tequila-soaked glamour queen and a T-Rex with no head — but don’t worry, you won’t go hungry. What links a headless dinosaur and a vegan fried chicken burger? Art, that’s what. StreetArtDego, now in its third year, teams artists with purveyors of street food, with each … Read more
The New Zealand head of accounting success story Xero talks to Maria Slade about battling his demons, and helping Kiwi businesses through their own dark days. Many people would think Craig Hudson has it all – sporting talent, good looks, a lovely wife and four children, and a great job as New Zealand managing director … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Climate change report says it’s now or never for action, legislation aimed at anti-competitive markets prioritised, and Chorus contractors under scrutiny. The latest report from the intergovernmental panel on climate change has been released, and it’s a brutally stark warning. Radio NZ reports that it calls for “unprecedented … Read more