Commute week: In the second of his new 5 people series, Toby Morris sizes up the lord guardian of the extra seat, and other passengers we love to hate. Jay Barker, bag-dozer Jay’s got a bag full of textbooks and his head in an essay that’s due on Wednesday morning that he hasn’t started. … Read more
Marion McLeod reviews the new memoir by English novelist Rose Tremain, who summons up memories of a girls’ boarding school smelling of “unwashed armpits, dirty hair and menstrual blood.” It’s not strictly relevant, I know, but 10 years ago I interviewed Rose Tremain at her flat in Tufnell Park. I liked her enormously, and not only because she … 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 Glen Herud about sustainability in the dairy industry and … Read more
There’s some huge Coronation Street news: New Zealand is in for a hardcore catch up. A shaken Tara Ward explains what’s happening. Hold the phone, stop the runaway tram, throw your wobbly trifle at the wall. Mark this day down in television history, for it’s the day that TVNZ made an announcement that will make Coronation … Read more
Commute week: You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, unless perhaps it’s a human placenta or a cello. We present the most bizarre items left behind on public transport. Amid the seething mass of humanity who drag themselves from light-polluted sleep to the various cars, coaches and carriages which deliver us to work … Read more
Erena Shingade talks to singer and big band leader Sal Valentine about originality, not fitting in, and his forthcoming album, This Party Blows. Plus – a video premiere! When we meet in St Kevin’s Arcade on a Sunday afternoon, Sal Valentine is a vision in monochrome. He wears a grey beanie, grey t-shirt (sleeves rolled … Read more
High school teacher Amy Paulussen says that paying part-time teachers less for equivalent work than their full-time counterparts is evidence of how the gender pay gap has sneaked into the state sector. I recently returned to teaching. I’m not going to lie, with all the teacher-shortage and work-load-untenable news stories, I was daunted. And I’ve … Read more
Commute week: Statistics released under official information legislation reveal a tiny group of 100 Supergold card holders hoover up over $200,000 worth of free trips to Waiheke Island every year. If you were looking out at a map of New Zealand and wondering where its most privileged citizens lived, it’s likely that Waiheke would be … Read more
Trams are almost certainly returning to Auckland, backed by the government, the council, and now even the Super Fund eager to invest. But is it really the answer to the city’s transport challenges, asks former National Party cabinet minister Wayne Mapp There are four key elements in the government’s new transport plan for Auckland. They … Read more
How could it be Commute Week without an ode to New Zealand’s favourite mode of transport? Public transport is definitely on the rise but for many Kiwis the car is king for a couple of vital reasons: it runs to your schedule and you don’t have to share it with anyone else. Oh, and it … Read more
Companies in New Zealand make a lot of claims about their environmental values and support of local communities – but is it all a greenwashed dream? Jenny Keown lifts the lid on ethical consumerism. Picture this: you’re a mum rushing through the supermarket, wailing child in tow, headache forming and needing to make a split … Read more
Crowdfunding platform PledgeMe has been overwhelmed by demand from investors into a medicinal cannabis company. How? Why? Find out in today’s cheat sheet. What’s all this then? PledgeMe, the crowdfunding website where you can donate to a band’s debut record, or help get an artisanal homemade coffee roaster off the ground, has a new big … Read more
Matt Lowrie thinks and writes about transport in Auckland a lot. Here the Greater Auckland director describes a daily commute that takes him from West Auckland to Takapuna, and looks to the direction of travel for public transport in NZ’s biggest city. As Auckland continues to grow and options for getting around the city without … Read more
Commute Week: When Julian Ostling moved to Warkworth six years ago, he was surprised to find there was no way to bus into the city. Fast-forward to today and Ostling’s private bus company – the Mahu City Express – runs from Warkworth to the CBD six times a day, five days a week. Theoretically, getting … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Super Fund makes play for Auckland light rail, enthusiasm for cannabis investment crashes crowdfunding site, and Anglicans take step towards same sex marriage recognition. The NZ Super Fund will put in a bid to own, operate and build Auckland’s light rail network, reports Stuff. The Super Fund, … Read more
Commute Week: Musician Anthonie Tonnon spends a lot of time on the road – his latest tour finished up just last night – so he knows a thing or two about travelling smarter. Here he shares one of his favourite money-saving hacks. After seven years spent in Auckland, I realised only last year that you … Read more
Ahead of the premiere of a new documentary on the life and work of Sir Paul Callaghan, a few of his friends and colleagues – including Anne Salmond, Bill Manhire, Nicola Gaston and Shaun Hendy – share their memories of the great man. New Zealander of the Year, founding director of the MacDiarmid Institute, coiner … Read more
For many, Mother’s Day isn’t a day of celebration. Here, a mother explains why she finds Mother’s Day so tough. Every year it rolls around and my anxiety increases. The countdown begins, mailers and emails are full of “Love Your Mother” sentiments. All over social media people celebrate their mothers. If they’re mothers themselves they’ll … Read more
The fifth – and final – instalment of Peter Wells’ diary of life with cancer, republished from his private Facebook with permission. Read part one here, part two here, part three here and part four here. April 12, 2:39am I’m back from the dead. The thought struck me today with almost a physical force when I … Read more
Our story about the mislabelling of clothing produced by ‘Made in New Zealand’ brand WORLD has prompted a renewed conversation on the aspirations – and limits – of so-called ethical fashion. So what can consumers do to ensure the people who made their clothes are treated fairly? It wasn’t until recently that I started to … Read more
Commute Week: If you’re tired of scrolling through your bleak Facebook feed or your even bleaker Twitter roll, Adam Goodall has a few ideas to distract you from the mindless grind that is your commute. Look, I know. It’s hard to play Pokémon Go on public transport. You’re sitting on your Link bus going 50 … Read more
Square Dance Discotheque, a silent disco presented by Spark and Spotify, is set to be the hottest dancefloor in Auckland this weekend – and certainly the most interactive. So you’re not completely unprepared, here are five guaranteed bangers from David Dallas and Shapeshifter’s playlists. One hand raised vertically, the other placed horizontally on top, together … Read more
Hurricanes winger Ben Lam has been a revelation this season, but looks unlikely to be in the All Black’s thinking for June. Scotty Stevenson discusses the reasons why, and what it says about how tough it is to make the team. In Wellington, at least, they love him. Ben Lam, the big winger on the end of a … Read more
Nicky Elliott loves her daily commute from Wairarapa to Wellington. It’s the heart of her social life, and she’s already on to her second train husband. My train journeys started about nine years ago when my husband was offered a job in the Wairarapa. I didn’t even know where that was; I had married a … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Kiwifruit workers debate and divide deepens, an admission that Kiwibuild might not involve actually building so many houses, and Trump pulls out of Iran deal. The shortage of fruit pickers and packhouse staff has morphed into a debate on migrant workers and unemployment in Parliament. One … Read more
As we grapple with futuristic questions about driverless cars, mobility on demand, and end-to-end trips, is the two-wheeled answer right under our noses? Jolisa Gracewood and Sam Finnemore of Bike Auckland make the case Faster than walking and peak hour driving, cheaper than a private car or a taxi or Zoomy or Uber, the bicycle joins … Read more
Mike Hosking argues that kindy teachers don’t deserve to be paid like high school teachers. But does he have any idea what an early childhood educator actually does? So, it seems a bit redundant to write a piece about Mike Hosking’s latest “Mike’s Minute” or whatever it is he actually does. It’s all just grist … Read more
It’s New Zealand Music Month, an event started in part to encourage local radio to play local music. Did it work? Is it still working? We assigned Gareth Shute to take a sample of the most popular stations to find out. The battle to get homegrown music on local radio goes back a long way, … Read more
It’s getting cold and, errrr, winter is coming. As part of our budgeting series brought to you by the awesome folks at Flick Electric, here’s everything you need to know about keeping your family warm. These tips from New Zealand parents have been curated by Emily Writes, editor of The Spinoff Parents. It’s freezing. I … Read more