New Zealand poet laureate Selina Tusitala Marsh marks the very fine and wonderful occasion of the birth of a daughter to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her partner Clarke Gayford. Jacinda and Clarke and the Baby and Us: A Rondeau The baby’s here, the baby’s here! Aotearoa, New Zealand, what a year! Jacinda, our partnered … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Attempt to get foreign buyers ban exemption ruled out, Auckland Council needs volunteers for homeless census, and PM Jacinda Ardern becomes a mother. Speaker Trevor Mallard has intervened on procedural grounds to prevent an exemption to the foreign buyers ban for a single luxury property development, … Read more
From the day the pregnancy was announced, Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford have been showered in advice, and that will only continue now the wee thing has emerged as a discrete human being. In typical adultocentric style, however, the advice has been about, rather than by or for baby. To remedy that, we invited the … Read more
What will they name the New Zealand Royal Baby? It’s one of the hardest decisions parents make, so we at The Spinoff Parents thought we would help. Here are some earnest suggestions for Jacinda and Clarke to help them on their way to choosing the perfect name for their bundle. We have carefully considered personalities, … Read more
The prime minister Jacinda Ardern and her partner Clarke Gayford have just announced the safe arrival of their baby girl. She arrived at 4.45pm, weighing 3.31kg (7.3lb). Our parents editor sends her congratulations to the new parents. Dear Jacinda and Clarke, I know open letters are naff but here we are. As we are a … 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 is joined by Bridget Hawkins, CEO of Regen, an app helping … Read more
GDP came out today, and it was fine – but that’s yesterday’s sales. The real question is, how does business feel about the future? It sounds a bit like one of those earnest startup pitches. Gross domestic product (GDP) provides a snapshot of the performance of the economy. GDP is New Zealand’s official measure of economic growth. GDP … Read more
Is it Normal is the Spinoff Parents advice column. Today we’re looking at poo and we have expert help from toilet training expert Laura Morley. Is it Normal? is The Spinoff Parents’ advice column, a place for parents to ask experts the questions they Google at 2am. Start here if you’ve never read the column before. We’re … Read more
John Summers gets to grips with one of the year’s most popular books, a self-help guide to feeling good, deciding what’s really important in your life, and “banging blondes”: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck. Surely weekends are the most stressful days of the week. The petty anxieties of the workday are nothing … Read more
This week Flight of The Conchords play three nights in a row at the O2 Arena, one of the UK’s biggest covered venues with a capacity of 20,000 people. Gareth Shute determines how they stack up in the history of New Zealand live performers. Back in 2010 it was big news when Flight of the … 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 Steven Korner, co-founder of Method Recycling, whose aim is to encourage better waste disposal habits by making beautifully designed rubbish bins for modern workplaces. ONE: How did Method Recycling start and what … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Winston Peters is now officially acting PM, minister signals big policy shift for kids in state care, and David Seymour wants to abolish some public holidays. In breaking news, PM Jacinda Ardern has gone to hospital to deliver her first child. Deputy PM Winston Peters is … Read more
For the first time drug driving deaths have eclipsed drink drivers. Or have they? Don Rowe looks at the media furore around an AA press release some experts argue is unsubstantiated. Last week news broke that for the first time in New Zealand drug drivers were responsible for more deaths than drink drivers. Stuff, the … Read more
Alex Casey goes for a stroll on the foot-shaped sands of Heartbreak Island, week two. The passion play plus can now take place. The passion play plus can now take place. The passion play plus can now take place. Now that I have summoned the tanned ghost of Mark Dye and we’ve done our drama … Read more
To celebrate Wellington on a Plate’s 10th birthday the capital’s party experts have shared their tips on how to nail your next blowout. Throwing a party, whether for four people around the dinner table at home or for 40,000 people at a festival, is a complicated chess game. All the different pieces have to move … Read more
As the deadline looms for the 2018 Surrey Hotel writers residency award, and entries continue to pour in from published authors and exciting nobodies, 2017 winner Charlotte Graham-McLay files a report on her experience at the Surrey. She danced a lot. During the school holidays, I used to throw tights and leotards and grubby, smelly … Read more
This year’s E3 was quite possibly the gayest E3 ever. Of course, Sony’s naughty kiss was one of the main head-turners, but there was a lot more simmering under the surface during the 2018 expo. E3 takes place in Los Angeles, home of the first ever Pride Parade. Now in its 48th year, the parade … Read more
After the release of an Auckland Transport survey claiming two thirds of Aucklanders support more cycleways, Mike Hosking stepped into the ring to fight Statistics. Madeleine Chapman reports. David v Goliath. Roe v Wade. And now, Mike Hosking v Statistics. These will be the battles oft referenced in classrooms, bars, living rooms, and courtrooms for … Read more
One of the best reasons for lighting the Auckland Harbour Bridge is that it makes diversity impossible to ignore, writes Vector’s Beth Johnson. These days, the words ‘kia ora’ are everywhere: it’s part of our everyday chat throughout New Zealand. It’s how we say hello. In the not-too-distant past greeting customers with a “kia ora” … Read more
Fonterra rejects claims by Chinese media that formula maker Beingmate reportedly failed to check additives came from licensed suppliers. Chinese media have reported that Fonterra’s troubled investment Beingmate failed to check additives in its infant formula came from licensed suppliers, and the additives were certified for use. On Friday 15 June, Chinese authorities announced the … Read more
When the US is ripping children from the arms of their parents and throwing them into cages, we are firmly at the point in history where future generations might ask, ‘what would I have done?’ writes the Greens’ human rights spokesperson Golriz Ghahraman. We live at a moment in global history when the world’s most powerful state … Read more
Deep breaths, in and out: Emily Writes has you. There’s so much advice out there about how to have the perfect birth. There are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of books; many, many blogs by experts whose qualifications are “gave birth once” or “haven’t given birth but have lots of opinions” or my personal … Read more
XXXTentacion, a controversial rapper, was awaiting charges of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman, domestic battery by strangulation, false imprisonment and witness tampering when he was shot and killed yesterday. Excusing his behaviour and showing support for him because he has passed away tells survivors in your life that you don’t care, writes Pearl Little. Content warning: … Read more
Practical steps to take right now if you’re appalled at the news coming out of the United States. From the far side of an ocean, we in Aotearoa are watching, horrified, as human rights abuses unfold in real time on the United States-Mexico border. US President Donald Trump has ordered children to be taken from … Read more
Breakout performer of a hit local film and now award-winning theatre maker, Ana Scotney is the definition of a rising star. She talks to Sam Brooks about her upcoming show The Contours of Heaven. If you’re most people, the first time you saw Ana Scotney (Ngāti Tāwhaki) was in The Breaker-Upperers, in which she plays the take-no-shit … Read more
This World Refugee Day, and always, I hope the portraits and voices of our resettled community in Aotearoa can guide us in our efforts to ensure they feel valued, writes Áine Kelly-Costello. What is cultural pride? It is not pretending that any culture is perfect, or making comparisons between cultures to argue that one is above … Read more
Studies of nanotechnology and advanced materials are becoming ever more crucial as the world adjusts to a more sustainable way of living. Recently appointed co-director of the MacDiarmid Institute Dr. Nicola Gaston’s new role allows her to guide one of New Zealand’s top science institutes to potentially world-leading research. Rising awareness about sustainability is leading … Read more
Has there ever been a good pretend Kiwi accent on screen? Like, ever? Madeleine Chapman searches far and wide for one, just one, decent New Zealand accent. What’s in a name? Not a lot of vowels if the name is New Zealand and spoken with a New Zealand accent. The near absence of vowel sounds … Read more
With up to 80% of faulty indoor electric heaters potentially still in use, is the recall system in need of a major shake-up? UPDATE: As of June 2019, two more heaters have been recalled. An open flue space heater and an open flued gas log fireplace, both for producing potentially high levels of carbon monoxide. … Read more