The Budget’s R&D spend looks less than futuristic, says Grant Thornton’s Greg Thompson. While a chunk of this year’s expenditure naturally focuses on the perennial portfolios of health, education, justice and housing, this Budget aims to adjust the direction of our economy to deliver not just now but in years to come. This has been … Read more
Half sports tournament, half trade show, all technology, all vaguely foreign to him. This is gaming editor’s Sam Brooks’ diary of the Intel Extreme Masters tournament in Sydney. If you don’t need to be convinced that eSports are a thing, skip down to Day One. If you need to be convinced, read on. The Intel … Read more
A new book of translated Māori verse joins Taika Waititi “in his calling out of language laziness”. So why were the authors ignored by a literary festival looking for new voices? An essay by the book’s co-editor, Vana Manasiadis. Tātai Whetū means constellation of stars. It also means tongue twister. In Tātai Whetū: Seven Māori Women … Read more
The Real Pod assembles to dissect the week in New Zealand pop culture and real life, with special thanks to Nando’s. This week on The Real Pod, Alex has only stopped spewing, Duncan has just woken up from a five-day coma, and Jane is trying to get away from both of them. Together they have a … Read more
They’ve left wiggle room for some rainy day expenses, but the Labour-led government more than anything has sought to sell today’s funding announcements as an exercise in cleaning up National’s mess. Rebecca Stevenson reports from Wellington Grant Robertson hammered a few key messages in his budget address today: this is a budget that will lay … Read more
In 2000, Fur Patrol dominated the New Zealand singles chart with ‘Lydia’, a song that merely a year later would be voted the 19th best New Zealand song of all time. And finally, 18 years later, ‘Lydia’ is streaming on Spotify. Tom Augustine pays tribute to a New Zealand classic. Some of the songs that … Read more
The Labour-led government has delivered a restrained and cautious Budget in its first year, keeping money in the kitty instead of a major spend up, writes Craig McCulloch in this summary via RNZ It is investing more money in health, education and housing while also forecasting a more than $3bn surplus this year. Finance Minister Grant … Read more
As of today, there’s a bunch of new ways to Lightbox! Sam Brooks counts them all, including premium subscriptions, movies, downloads and a kids corner. So you’ve got Lightbox. It’s your favourite place to stream The Handmaid’s Tale, Suits, UnReal and a range of other great shows. It sponsors your favourite TV section on the internet. It’s … Read more
In modern sport it’s hard to tell what’s more important: the hi-tech equipment, or the athlete themselves. Ahead of his appearance at Techweek’18, Olympic cyclist and America’s Cup cyclor Simon Van Velthooven talks to Madeleine Chapman about the increasingly important role of technology in sport. When you achieve something as impressive as an Olympic medal, it’s … Read more
The label public-private partnership is a misnomer for approaches that are ill-suited to solve the problems in our public sector, writes Glenn Barclay, national secretary of the NZ Public Service Association A partnership of equals is a truly beautiful thing. Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson. Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Thelma and Louise. It implies complementary … Read more
This weekend marks the release of Dancing With Atoms, veteran filmmaker Shirley Horrocks’ tribute to physicist Sir Paul Callaghan. Don Rowe talks to Horrocks about his life and legacy. According to Professor Shaun Hendy, director of Auckland research centre Te Pūnaha Matatini, in any other country luminary scientist Sir Paul Callaghan would be on everything … Read more
The second season of the teen series 13 Reasons Why will be online tomorrow night. Spinoff Parents editor Emily Writes outlines what you need to know – because your teen will be watching this show. Content warning: This post contains discussions of mental health and suicide. Last year, The Spinoff Parents heard from a number … 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 Little Angels founder Heather Baker whose used her expertise as a postnatal nurse to make healthy, easy-to-prepare food for babies. ONE: How did Little Angels start and what was the inspiration behind … Read more
News that an employment deal for migrant workers in the construction sector made joining a trade union a sackable offence should by rights have generated disgust and protest, but with a few exceptions the union movement was strangely quiet, writes barrister Greg Lloyd. I was disgusted – but not surprised – to see reports that an … Read more
Chris Bramwell of RNZ sets the stage for Grant Robertson’s big day Finance Minister Grant Robertson is pitching today’s Budget as one that will set the foundations for the government’s plan to make the economy more sustainable. Robertson said the government can’t fix everything in one Budget, but health, education, and housing will finally get … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: It’s Budget Day. Also, the issue of unpaid overtime in retail has exploded, and Tauranga’s council is at odds with local MP Simon Bridges over the fuel tax. It’s Budget Day. After the political trench warfare of the last month, it will be good to see what’s … Read more
Alex Casey goes on an odyssey to discover the fate of Auckland’s disposable sanitary waste. Chux cloths. The odd bit of corn. A set of false teeth. It was the worst Generation Game any human had ever played, and I hadn’t even found what I was looking for yet. I was staring into the void … Read more
Elleana Dumper asks the PM about all-ages shows, the problems facing the music industry and whether she ever considered a career in music. This New Zealand Music Month, I’ve really been enjoying the social media chit-chat – it’s that time of the year when everyone’s Kiwi musical sentiments are high, and we get to celebrate … Read more
Amy Goldstein wanted to know what happened to the ordinary people impacted by the GFC. Ahead of her Auckland Writers Festival appearance, chaired by Toby Manhire, she tells Duncan Greive about the extraordinary book she wrote about the fallout after GM shut its oldest manufacturing plant. By June of 2008 the global financial crisis had been … Read more
The finance minister is about to find out just how difficult it is to keep both constituents and political allies happy, writes Massey University’s Grant Duncan. Global media have shown a great deal of interest in New Zealand’s third woman prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, and they eagerly anticipate the imminent arrival of her baby. Less … Read more
On the first ever International Day of Light, Prof David Hutchinson outlines how the science of light is changing the world of computing, manufacturing, agriculture and medicine in New Zealand and around the world. It’s a hidden fact that our modern world runs on light. Every email, every cellphone call, every website is encoded into … Read more
Almost universally, men’s online dating user descriptions are terrible. Madeleine Holden recently launched a modest enterprise to help. A little over a month ago, I launched my latest, semi-serious side hustle: for the princely sum of $25, I will draft men’s Tinder or Bumble bios for them. Soon after I dashed off the tweet that … Read more
Welcome to the Cheat Sheet, a clickable, shareable, bite-sized FAQ on the news of the moment. Today, are minimum wage workers being exploited and underpaid? Ahh, the minimum wage. It can be seen to be either a floor to ensure employers don’t try to pay us for our labour with only the smell of success … Read more
Former YHANZ board member and Opoutere YHA member Mark Ebrey argues that the national board of the Youth Hostel Association is losing touch with the people that really matter – it’s members. All over the country, organisations are losing touch with their stakeholders. The Plunket Society recently taking over local branch funds is just one example of … Read more
The state-owned broadcaster has long resisted public service. Yet with $38m on the table, and the government’s relationship with RNZ rocky, moving Q+A to primetime could be be seen as a deftly timed olive branch The press release, under the headline “TVNZ powers up primetime political coverage”, came out at 3:25pm yesterday afternoon – until … Read more
Competing North Island iwi groups Tauranga Moana and Pare Hauraki were on track to negotiate a tikanga process for Treaty settlement talks – face to face, on the marae, no lawyers. Then the government changed hands and tikanga talks went out the window, writes Graham Cameron. My daughter Hinengākau may have delayed your morning commute … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Another political intervention from new Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr, government considers shared equity for first home buyers, and the best coverage of the hikoi at Parliament. Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr says he “gave up” on trying to invest in the Christchurch rebuild, while he … Read more
‘Mental disorders’ rank as the third-leading cause of health loss for New Zealanders. Kyle MacDonald makes the case for universal, free counselling for all. What if I told you that one of the biggest and most expensive health problems in New Zealand was not only being ignored, but although we had the technology to treat … Read more
The Spinoff Review of Books editor Steve Braunias writes an appreciation of Diana Wichtel, who has just been announced as the winner of the best book of non-fiction at the Ockham New Zealand national book awards. There were a lot of writers who I wanted to meet when I first started composing terrible attempts at … Read more