A bottle of the (former) PM’s Pinot All Noir came into our correspondent’s possession via a shady route of backdoor deals and dirty politics… but no ponytails were harmed. This weekend, I sat in my rented Grey Lynn villa as the wind blew literal puddles of rain through the huge gap under the front door, … 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 Simon talks to Sam Stuchbury, the only Kiwi who made this year’s Forbes … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Environmentalists stack submissions up on Zero Carbon bill, courier driver conditions laid bare, and refugee quota increase on hold. Here’s an important update on the Zero Carbon bill – methane is almost certain to be included, reports the NBR. Climate change minister James Shaw says that’s the clear … Read more
If our adult mental health system needs to be restructured, our youth mental health system needs to be completely obliterated and rebuilt from the ground up. This content discusses suicide and may be triggering for some people, if you need help please see a list of helplines at the bottom of this article I’ve been … Read more
Whangārei architect Jade Kake has made a career changing behaviour through design, decolonising Māori thought patterns and outcomes through altering the environment in which they take place. But her next project at Te Rewarewa is by far the most ambitious yet. Don Rowe reports. There are few living arrangements as seemingly distant from te ao … Read more
Exhausted parents of children with severe allergies have been verbally beaten up on Facebook after sensational articles about birthday cake bans at pre-schools whipped some Stuff commenters into a frenzy. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes spoke to Malena Penney, a mum of children with allergies. It seems like such a bizarre thing to get worked … Read more
Anthony Byrt reviews an exciting new study of Pablo Picasso, genius and visionary, who comedian Hannah Gadsby called out as a disgusting #metoo pig. One way to measure Picasso’s greatness is that he’s never far beneath the surface of our collective cultural consciousness. His monumental anti-fascist statement Guernica, for example – his second-most important painting … Read more
In resetting targets for health, the challenge is to identify and articulate the underlying map, writes Paul Duignan Will health targets end up on target? Imagine that you are talking to an Air Force chief in a war somewhere. You have the job of working out whether the targets they have selected for bombing are … Read more
Almost 30% of organic waste goes straight to landfill, sparking two leading businesses in the composting sector – Innocent Packaging and We Compost – to team up and launch The Full Package, the first citywide compost collection of its kind in New Zealand. On December 31, 2017, China decided that enough was enough. Sick of … Read more
The editor of Dunedin’s student magazine may not like it, but the University of Otago’s hunt for Nessie was science communication at its finest, argues Ellen Rykers. In a recent column, Critic Te Arohi editor Joel MacManus lambasted the Loch Ness “monster hunt”, calling the scientific project and the University of Otago’s promotion of it … Read more
Whether you’re mining bitcoin or Googling yourself, you’re creating a lot of heat somewhere. A group of New Zealand scientists have found a way to take the heat off data centres. Each time you Google something, a data centre responds. This data centre – a repository for masses of information – is one of many … Read more
Here’s everything you need to know about the very chilled-out, extremely popular tropical house DJ. Hang on a minute – I thought ‘tropical house’ was something they have at the botanical gardens. What is it? You know that Ed Sheeran song that goes “I’m in love with your body / I’m in love with the … Read more
The latest Broadcasting Standards Authority survey on offensive language is out, and it shows as a nation we’re becoming more progressive and nuanced about how and why we take offence. Some strong language to follow. Alas for broadcasters, that the word considered most offensive by the general public is also one of the easiest to … Read more
The road to health is long and winding but should it be paved with vitamin supplements? Madeleine Chapman dives into the world of monthly vitamin subscriptions. Seven-minute abs, that one trick for a slim waist, and the perfect fruit to get rid of cellulite. They all promise a better you with little to no effort. … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Court action over Southern-Molyneux speech proceeds, courier work conditions exposed, and Northland activists target P-pipe stores. Legal action against Phil Goff and Auckland Council has gone ahead over the Southern-Molyneux venue banning, reports the NZ Herald. The Free Speech Coalition have filed papers to force Auckland Council … Read more
A new strain of ryegrass developed in NZ promises to reduce water demands and curb emissions. But it’s genetically modified, and no matter how settled the science, the politics may be unpalatable, writes Bob Edlin of the Point of Order blog, where this post first appeared. Environmentalists should be encouraging New Zealand’s development of ryegrass with … Read more
Ahoy there mateys and welcome back to The Block NZ, where tempers flared like an over-primed diesel heater and emotions flowed down the broken downpipe of hopes and dreams. Tara Ward recaps. Week two gave us drama aplenty as we witnessed teams fight like feral cats, Mark Richardson wave his umbrella around willy-nilly, and The … Read more
Submissions to the Zero Carbon Bill close on Thursday July 19. Laura Somerset, a Wellington-based convener of Generation Zero, looks back on the early days of the climate action movement. At 16, I unwittingly became a climate activist because I wanted to skip English class. The year was 2016. Selfie sticks were emerging and global … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. On this week’s Real Pod, the dream team are back together after a mad week and there is much to discuss from telly land. Heartbreak Island has come to an extremely poetic end, Survivor NZ … Read more
In a beautiful personal essay, Neesha Bremner writes of her grandmother’s past and her journey to the place she was happiest. In my carry on luggage is a little grey plastic box. On that little grey plastic box is a name. That name is my grandmother’s. The little grey box is filled with her ashes. … Read more
Nadine Anne Hura (Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi) is one of six writers who have been selected for Te Papa Tupu 2018, a writing programme developed by the Māori Literature Trust and organised by Huia Publishers. We asked her to write about what it means for her as a Māori writer. In 2013 a friend rang to offer me … Read more
‘Nothing about us without us’ is becoming a popular catch cry of indigenous people the world over. Now the University of Otago is asking for Māori perspectives only on Māori incarceration. Earlier this year, the government announced it will spend $750 million to expand Waikeria prison by 500 beds; build 976 more beds at five different … Read more
This school holiday Danyl Mclauchlan caught the bus to Wellington Zoo. It was not fun. Update 19/07: This post has been amended to include a response from Greater Wellington Regional Council, which oversees Wellington’s bus network. “Please,” I pleaded, standing in the door of a bus at Wellington’s Railway Station, my six-year old daughter’s tiny … Read more
Film critic David Larsen admits his strategy to urge audiences to see Hunger failed, and pleads you to see another movie called Hunger, without recourse to hammer analogies I once opened a film review by suggesting that instead of investing fifteen dollars in the price of a ticket, readers could spend the same amount on … Read more
Hamilton Press Club life president Steve Braunias reveals the next guest speaker at the most glamorous social event in New Zealand journalism held in Hamilton. Dr Vincent O’Malley is campaigning to get the New Zealand Wars taught in New Zealand schools. The Hamilton Press Club stands with O’Malley. He will address the subject as our … Read more
In a time of shifting consumer tastes, mounting health trends, environmental issues and the rise of alternative proteins, meat-eating farm boy Daniel Eb looks to a vegan future. For many Kiwi food producers, the future of meat is hard to stomach. Two recent events underscore the anxiety of a nation grappling with disruptive technology – … Read more
Season eight of Suits starts dropping on Lightbox tomorrow – and Katherine Heigl is coming along with it. Sam Brooks details where the former TV princess has been up to since her heyday. Katherine Heigl has had a strange career, you guys. First up, she had Roswell. You know, that show about aliens starring the guy with … Read more
A journey through toasted lizards, Indian feasts, plain spaghetti and service-station pies. Stage 1 When I was 12, I accidentally cooked a lizard in the toaster at my dad’s house in Fiji. I was home alone watching a Zoey 101 marathon on TV, and a metallic rattling from the kitchen tore me away from Jamie … Read more
Yesterday, the Pop-Up Globe announced their new season of work, with #metoo and #timesup hashtags flying wild in their marketing. Penny Ashton responds. “Scarce can I speak, my choler is so great: O, I could hew up rocks and fight with flint, I am so angry.” Mate. Just like York in Shakespeare’s Henry VI right now … Read more