Some people seem like they’ll never be persuaded, but don’t give up. Here are some effective strategies for convincing the sceptics in your life. The cannabis referendum is likely to be a nail-biter, with polls and campaigners predicting a very close vote. With the election approaching, cannabis campaigners are working to get the word out … Read more
New Zealand’s only comprehensive pan-media audience survey comes just once every two years – and the latest has just been released by NZ on Air. Duncan Greive picks out the 10 most interesting conclusions. Measuring what audiences really do is notoriously fraught. Most surveys are done on behalf of the client – ie the platform … Read more
Himalayan tahr were introduced to New Zealand more than a century ago for sport, and they remain a popular target for hunters today. But hunting hasn’t stopped tahr numbers ballooning to an estimated 35,000 on public conservation land – far too many for the fragile ecosystem to take, writes DOC’s threatened species ambassador, Erica Wilkinson. … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Reports show diverging outcomes from Covid-relief benefit, Aucklanders head off at end of lockdown, and police quietly setting up facial recognition system. We’re starting to see a wide divergence in outcomes from the Covid-19 Income Relief Payment benefit, introduced at the start of the pandemic. At … Read more
Too much news? Welcome to the only round-up you need. Which would you prefer: accidentally telling 500,000 people to get Covid tests immediately, or approving $11.7m to a private school that hosts conspiracy theorists? You don’t even have to choose because both happened last week. Congratulations. James Shaw – NO James Shaw was doing so … Read more
A landmark High Court decision means Greenpeace can finally have charity status. But what happens when it’s granted to political advocates you might disagree with? Many people might be surprised to learn that until a few weeks ago, Greenpeace wasn’t actually classified as a charity. That’s because our charity law – relying on English court … Read more
The second instalment of Patrick Gower’s On… series is about the one issue that has touched all of us this year. But the documentary seems almost as fascinated by Gower himself, writes Sam Brooks It seems strange, on the day that Auckland comes out of a lockdown, its second, to be watching a documentary about … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 31, 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 7pm: The day in sum Auckland has moved to join the rest of … Read more
Love her or hate her, US musician Amanda Palmer has no plans to leave New Zealand anytime soon. She opens up to Stewart Sowman-Lund about her new life in Havelock North and the moment she was left alone in a foreign country during a pandemic. Amanda Palmer has been in the country since just before … Read more
Over most of last week, the NZX had to pause because of persistent cyber attacks. Similar attacks have today been reported against news websites. So how did they come through basically unscathed? The NZX stock exchange is a critical piece of financial infrastructure, yet persistent cyber attacks have caused website crashes that led to trading … Read more
What is OnlyFans and why are sex workers upset about celebrities using it? I heard about OnlyFans at the beginning of the year when friends who were sex workers started using the platform during the first Covid-19 lockdown. Back in March, few people outside of sex workers and their supporters understood or used the platform. … Read more
It’s not a binary choice of one or the other, writes Brian Cox, who says the two technologies can work together for the good of the environment. In an opinion piece titled “Why industrial anaerobic digestion is not the answer to food waste”, Kate Walmsley argued that composting provides better environmental and societal outcomes than … Read more
In the aftermath of the 2019 Christchurch terror attacks, Guled Mire found himself a reluctant spokesperson for the New Zealand Muslim community. His experiences in the year that followed are the subject of new Loading Docs documentary short One Year On. Even as we approach a year and a half since that day, I struggle … Read more
The move to ‘level 2.5’ means retailers are allowed to reopen from today. Still, some have decided they’re not ready to return to normal trading. Michael Andrew reports. Despite the end of alert level three and the relaxing of restrictions, at least one Auckland retailer has decided to keep its physical store closed as an … Read more
This government came to power promising a new, aggressive approach to the climate crisis – and then let the dairy industry carry on as before. Will the next government be any different, asks Greenpeace agriculture campaigner Gen Toop. It’s hard to ignore the effects of the climate crisis: from the haze that covered New Zealand … Read more
In the latest episode of Final Mix, Yadana Saw and The Phoenix Foundation’s Samuel Flynn Scott road test new songs from the band’s forthcoming album Friend Ship. Samuel Flynn Scott originally wanted to call The Phoenix Foundation’s new album Anxiety. “Everything comes back to anxiety on this record,” the songwriter says in the latest episode … Read more
With the past few weeks yielding some serious government botch-ups, the lead up to the election is going to be fraught with blame, frustration and needless cries of conspiracy, writes Pattrick Smellie of BusinessDesk. As of this morning, Monday August 31, there are just under seven weeks to go to polling day, assuming the election … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Auckland drops down to alert level two, poor government communications create huge queues for testing, and eyebrows raised at US ambassador dodging quarantine facilities. Ready or not, the country’s largest city is as of this morning at alert level two. It’s fair enough to ask whether … Read more
The problem with the Taranaki Green School isn’t just that’s an expensive private institution, says Laura Rapira O’Connell. It’s that funding it does little to address the environmental challenges faced by ordinary New Zealanders and their children. James Shaw came under fire last week for approving an $11.7m government grant to a private ‘Green School’ … Read more
The cannabis referendum is not just about creating a fairer Aotearoa, writes the Drug Foundation’s Ross Bell. It’s also another chance to prove to the world that we know how to lead on progressive, health-based policy. Since Auckland moved back into level three more than a fortnight ago we’ve been reminded how fearful the coronavirus … Read more
Because there’s no time like now to catch up on the best the small screen can offer. Picture this scenario: it’s the end of the workday, you’ve just got home (or if you’re working from home, transformed your work-couch into your rest-couch) and you hit up your streaming services. Instantly, you’re bombarded with choices across … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 30, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and Covid-19 as it returns to the community. Auckland is now in alert level three and the rest of NZ is in level two. More details here. Official information here. Contact me at catherine@thespinoff.co.nz 7.15pm: The day in sum … Read more
Brown bananas ruining the aesthetic of your fruit bowl? Turn ’em into these healthy-ish biscuits to fill the tins. We have been away for the past few days, so the prep I would normally do at the weekend in anticipation of filling the week’s lunchboxes didn’t get done. Thankfully, we all woke early this morning … Read more
The Aotearoa-born, Los Angeles-based producer of What We Do in the Shadows and Jojo Rabbit is back home to direct her own film – and reconnect with the culture that made her, she tells Stacey Morrison. This story first appeared in Ensemble magazine Styling by Karen Inderbitzen-Waller Photography by Karen Inderbitzen-Waller and Delphine Avril Planqueel … Read more
The Silence of Snow has a rare and aching truth to it, writes books editor Catherine Woulfe. I could pick Eileen Merriman’s writing anywhere, especially the way she’s been writing lately. She has struck on a particular minor key that rings across each page, clear and sharp and quick. It makes you want to listen … Read more
People aren’t the only ones who can partake in pot. Mirjam Guesgen delves into the world of weed for pets. What’s a weed pet product? Medicines, supplements and foods for pets (mostly dogs and cats) made from parts of the cannabis plant. What do they look like? There’s a veritable bounty of weed products for … Read more
After 27 years, Unitec is vacating the iconic Auckland building previously known as Carrington Psychiatric Hospital. Now a local social enterprise trust wants to give it a new life as a hub of education, art and community. The door to the basement was locked. For nearly two hours we’d been guided through the countless halls … Read more
With over 24 million confirmed cases and more than 820,000 people dead, Covid-19 is playing out differently in various parts of the world. To understand this a little better, Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris walk you through the Covid-19 ‘triangle’. Since this pandemic started, I’ve been getting lots of messages from people and hearing an … Read more
Welcome to The Spinoff’s live updates for August 21, bringing you the latest on New Zealand news and Covid-19 as it returns to the community. Auckland is now in alert level three and the rest of NZ is in level two. More details here. Official information here. Contact me at jihee@thespinoff.co.nz 7pm: The day in sum There are … Read more