In the final episode of this season of Bad News, Alice is joined by Billy T award winner Kura Forrester to look at how well we’re honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 2020. As Taika Waititi once said, New Zealand is racist as fuck. To find out what he meant, Alice and Kura (Ngāti Porou) … Read more
As the election campaign cycle grinds on, José Barbosa reaches into the occult ether and delivers a complete and accurate forecast of the October 17 election. As I write there are still 45 days until the New Zealand general election. This is terrible news. That means there’s another month and a half left to endure … Read more
For most businesses, applying for capital can mean a mountain of paperwork and precious time spent, so Kiwibank has provided a quicker way to do it instead. The idea of a business doing so well that it’s expanding seems bizarre in this day and age. It flies in the face of the economic climate and … Read more
The global trophy cabinet swells for the NZ prime minister with a silver in the UK magazine Prospect’s ranking. While you might not guess it by listening to, say, Mike Hosking, the star of Jacinda Ardern continues to shine bright in the international firmament. Not only has the Nobel winning economist Joe Stiglitz judged the … Read more
A recent column by the director of New Zealand’s Suicide Prevention Office argued that ‘normalising talking about suicide’ doesn’t help. Linda Collins, the author of a forthcoming book about losing a child to suicide, wonders how silence can ever be a solution. Just this week, a friend who helps maintain a suicide prevention website messaged … Read more
Of the 41 developed countries included in the latest Unicef Innocenti Report Card, New Zealand ranks 35th overall for our child wellbeing, dragged down by a number of poor scores for mental and physical health care. But Jacinda Ardern says the report misses a lot of the child wellbeing gains New Zealand has made over … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Alert level one still a long way away, parliament once again closes for the term, and thousands of primary health workers to strike today. Alert level one could still be a long way away, according to the country’s top health official. Dr Ashley Bloomfield fronted the … Read more
Is there a colony of copperhead snakes living in the remote West Coast bush? Yes, say some locals. Possibly – but probably not, says one government report. Charlie O’Mannin set off on a cross-country journey to uncover the truth. It’s 1990 and a gold prospector is working in a secluded West Coast valley. On one … Read more
It’s one of the most remarkable political documentaries ever made, and it was produced with a single camera and next to no budget. More than two decades on, it was a key reference point for the Spinoff series Youth Wings. The Spinoff speaks to director Tony Sutorius about the legacy and message of Campaign, and … Read more
Mahuru/September marks the beginning of spring as well as the summer phases. It’s time to get planting! September is known as Mahuru, the start of spring. The name Mahuru is a shortened version of ‘Te ahunga o uruao’ which means the new generation of whitebait. Guess what the tohu is this month? The whitebait which … Read more
If a face mask is now part of your daily life, you may have noticed that not all are created equal. Epidemiologist and mask enthusiast Lucy Telfar Barnard is here to simplify the mind-boggling variety of fabrics, fits, layers and patterns on offer. This isn’t about why you need to wear a mask – lots … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 2, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and the Covid-19 pandemic. The whole country is now in alert level two, with extra restrictions in Auckland. Official information here. Contact me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 6.15pm: The day in sum There are another five cases of Covid-19 today, … Read more
The son of a Mongrel Mob president, former professional boxer Dave Letele is now helping South Aucklanders get jobs, get fit and get fed. Reiná Vaai meets the ‘Brown Buttabean’ at his Manukau HQ. “I should’ve been in prison or dead by now,” says Dave Letele, also known as Brown Buttabean. In his early 20s … Read more
Merv was not alone. Marcus Lush has, once again, been doing God’s work: confronting the nation’s late night racists one by one. Newstalk ZB late host Marcus Lush was last night confronted by Judith, who called up demanding answers to one of the biggest questions of our time. Why are Albatross chicks always given a … Read more
Former Auckland mayoral candidate John Palino has joined a fledgling party in a bid to make it into parliament, 13,000 km away from his current home, reports Alex Braae. Former Auckland restaurateur and mayoral candidate John Palino is mounting a bid for parliament this year, from the unlikely campaign base of the US state of … Read more
The Green School balls-up is another brutal political lesson for a party leader who already knows just how ruthless this coalition government can get, writes Ben Thomas. Students at the Taranaki Green School are going to have to plant a lot more crystals to absorb all the bad vibes coming off Greens co-leader James Shaw’s … Read more
Once you start noticing how rigorously the status quo is maintained, you start to notice it everywhere – and it always seems to be the same people who are worst affected. Watch Alice Snedden’s Bad News – Prisoner Voting Rights and other episodes in the series here. I think that, politically, I’m an optimist. I … Read more
In the second episode of Conversations that Count – Ngā Kōrero Whai Take we examine and discuss the detail and implications of the upcoming cannabis legalisation and control referendum. The debate around whether or not cannabis should be legalised for recreational use in this country is a long-running one, and one which remains contentious. Barely … Read more
Facebook’s threat to pull out of news in Australia is the latest salvo in an increasingly bitter battle over who owns the news – and who should fund its production, writes former MediaWorks news boss Hal Crawford from Sydney. The struggle between the Australian government and Facebook and Google over news is surely close to … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Green school controversy drags on for James Shaw, head of volunteer firefighters association being investigated, and wharfies speak out after worker death. I’ll be honest, I really thought this story would be basically wrapped up by the weekend. And yet somehow it’s Wednesday, and it’s still … Read more
Shane Reti has emerged in recent weeks as the opposition’s most capable communicator in the age of Covid-19. Justin Giovannetti speaks with ‘Dr Shane’ about the changes he’s brought to National and how he’d seek to improve New Zealand’s response to the coronavirus. The National Party’s path to effective opposition on Covid-19 has been anything … Read more
Uncertainty over alert level rules in Auckland has seen a rest home open its doors to visitors for just one day, before shutting them again. As Stewart Sowman-Lund reports, care homes across the city are taking very different approaches to alert level two. All 14 Bupa care homes in Auckland shut their doors yesterday, keeping … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for September 1, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and the Covid-19 pandemic. The whole country is now in alert level two, with extra restrictions in Auckland. Official information here. Contact me at stewart@thespinoff.co.nz 7.10pm: The day in sum There were 14 new cases of Covid-19, with … Read more
Aucklander and Triple J veteran Ollie Wards has landed a role as Tiktok’s first director of music for Australia and New Zealand. He talked to The Spinoff about what’s in store. TikTok is looking unstoppable. Trump wants to ban it, Microsoft wants to buy it, and the Chinese government is allegedly using it for propaganda. … Read more
The Tahitian leader has refused to stop fighting against nuclear testing and its effects on his people. New Zealanders must do the same, writes Jenny Te Paa-Daniels. For those with memories of Mururoa, the name Oscar Temaru ought to be synonymous with the atoll and the protest against French nuclear testing in the Pacific. For … Read more
Deep in the wops, three children are caught in a pastoral New Zealand nightmare. The Tally Stick begins like a waking dream, a horrifying free fall where time stretches out before snapping sickeningly back into place. The car containing the four sleeping children left the earth … It’s April 1978. It’s dark, and the weather … Read more
Listening and hanging out are small acts that make a huge difference for young people facing challenges. Dietrich Soakai has 15 years’ experience working in youth services, and doesn’t think children are our future leaders… he thinks they’re leaders in their own right, here and now. “I genuinely believe in young people. I believe in … Read more
Prisoner voting rights are something that few in government seem particularly motivated to do anything about. Could a catchy charity single help draw attention to the issue? The right to vote in Aotearoa is currently denied to anyone imprisoned for over three years. To figure out if this is fair or not, Alice meets with … Read more
What are you going to be watching in September? The Spinoff rounds up everything that’s coming to streaming services this month, including Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, Apple TV+, Neon and TVNZ OnDemand. The biggies Shrill (on Neon now) It’s the superhero show we need right now: a woman who decides she’s had enough of everyone … Read more