Based on the latest Kiwi Economics data, Kiwibank senior economist Jeremy Couchman explores what fresh economic shoots could be growing in the fertile ground left by Covid-19. New Zealand has done extremely well to crush the Covid-19 curve and allow the rapid reopening of the economy. At Kiwibank we have been pleasantly surprised at the … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Todd Muller makes pitch for the middle, further BLM protests take place, and two pieces to illustrate the importance of science in public life. The opposition leader gets precious few chances to try and define themselves in the public eye, and Todd Muller has had … Read more
For four years running, at the exact same time of year, New Zealand has been savaged by gangs of avocado thieves. Hayden Donnell sounds the alarm about the country’s most predictable crisis. They come every year like clockwork. As winter starts to bite, and our summer produce hits its peak price point, the thieves rouse … Read more
In most of the world, the idea of gathering with thousands of strangers in a stadium is completely unthinkable. Many forests have been lost to internal reviews and newspaper columns diagnosing the plight of the Blues, and how to reinvigorate the fan base, but not one of them included “appalling global pandemic”. That 43,000 filled … Read more
Streaming services Neon and Lightbox will merge next month. So what does this mean for your favourite shows? Tara Ward finds out. What’s happening to Neon and Lightbox? In December 2019, Sky announced the purchase of Lightbox, the entertainment subscription service formerly owned by Spark. Sky’s plan was to merge Lightbox with its own streaming … Read more
A centuries-old māra kai site at risk from a housing development in Ngāruawāhia is a vital part of the town’s identity, protesters say, and the fight to save it has united generations. The peaceful protest at Ngāruawāhia starts at 10am each day with a karakia. Each day ends with one too. It’s clear that tikanga … Read more
For all The Spinoff’s latest coverage of Covid-19 see here. Read Siouxsie Wiles’s work here. New Zealand is currently in alert level one – read about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is made possible thanks to donations from Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
Over lockdown, the daily Covid-19 update became appointment viewing. As the country returns to normality, Fiona Rae looks back on how the 1pm briefing became a nationwide ritual. It was a low-budget show that screened every day at lunchtime. There were only two starring roles and about the same number of camera angles. The scripts … Read more
While undoubtedly a challenging time, for many of the capital’s most marginalised people, the Covid-19 crisis provided the motivation they needed to move into a home – and showed how well government, social and community agencies can work together to help. When the call came to go home and stay home because of the threat … Read more
Covid-19 led to a shift for a New Zealand family into the heart of the Irish capital. Julia Mahony on her new view of the city. I was in the kitchen at the convent of the Sisters of Charity in Dublin, when Ireland’s taoiseach (prime minister) announced on the radio that schools would close due … Read more
As some sense of normality returns to the streets of the US capital, the focus has shifted to political action – but this protest movement is not over, writes Abbas Nazari. When 17-year-old Darnella Frazier began filming the arrest and subsequent death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers, she could not … Read more
Tulia Thompson talks to Paparoa painter Jack Trolove and considers his new body of work, on show in Auckland from Sunday. After painting all day, Jack Trolove walks along the mangrove coastline. It is dusk, as the day is turning, dark gathering, the mangroves becoming more shadowy. The way places you love slip into your consciousness, like … Read more
Sam Brooks interviews Walter Iuzzolino, the man behind TVNZ’s new curated algorithm-free channel, Walter Presents. When you sign onto any given streaming platform, you’re likely to be bombarded with several shows before you get to the one you want or even get an idea of what you’re looking for. Some of them are shows that … Read more
The Bay of Plenty is synonymous with kiwifruit. With a large contingent of new workers moving in this season from Covid-displaced industries, Josie Adams asked what life is like for those who’ve been there for years. Under a very heavy tree in Tom French’s orchard waits a very heavy hedgehog. About a metre above the … Read more
The health arguments are sound, and the economic and cultural imperatives are clear. The Pacific islands need to be prioritised post-Covid over the trans-Tasman bubble, writes public health expert Collin Tukuitonga. Much has been made about the need to open a trans-Tasman travel bubble as a priority. This is despite the fact that Australia continues … Read more
As the American media giant comes under fire for its treatment of POC contributors, it’s time to talk about the whiteness of food media in Aotearoa, say Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning. A wave of consciousness around racism is sweeping the globe at the moment. Protests that started in response to the death of George … Read more
The greatness of The Last of Us Part II lies not in the gameplay, but for the conversations it will start, writes Sam Brooks. Major spoilers for The Last of Us follow, but no spoilers for The Last of Us Part II. In the seven years since the release of The Last of Us, the … Read more
Down in the polls and facing the risk of oblivion, New Zealand First has had a very busy Friday. Justin Giovannetti looks at the start of an NZ First electoral strategy focused on being tough. There’s no surer sign that it’s election time than the blitz of news coming out of New Zealand First. With … Read more
Following a lengthy review, a government review of the Māori media sector has recommended news be centralised at Māori Television. Many in the sector are deeply troubled by the idea, writes Duncan Greive. A proposal to amalgamate all the diverse Māori news media into a single entity has drawn a furious reaction, with several industry … Read more
New work by Wellington poet Jackson Nieuwland. I am a tree. I spend most of my time standing in the forest with my family. They love nothing more than to stand absolutely still like a plank of wood, only waving their arms every now and then to make sure there’s enough wind for the birds … Read more
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 Auē by Becky Manawatu (Mākaro Press, $35) Winner of the 2020 Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction. You can watch … Read more
Our elected representatives are being worryingly complacent about the Public Service Bill, writes Tony Burton, but it’s part of a trend that should concern them. Public management systems determine what really happens when governments make policy decisions. It’s the boring, process-between-bureaucrats bit, of issues like education and health. Despite the Public Service Bill proposing to … Read more
After 31 years on air, the American police television show Cops was finally cancelled on Wednesday. Is it time for New Zealand to do the same to Police Ten 7? After 32 seasons, Cops is over. And good riddance. It has been a long time since the controversial US show was on New Zealand television … Read more
For the first time this year, your KiwiSaver statement will let you know how much money you can expect to have in retirement. Gillian Boyes from the FMA gives a glimpse into what that might look like, and how contributing just a few per cent more from your salary each week can make all the … Read more
As we face what seems to be the tail end of the first (and hopefully final) wave of Covid-19 in Aotearoa, research is being done to examine whether people of different ethnic and socio-economic statuses have the same ability to respond to the crisis. New Zealand’s response to Covid-19 has been heralded all over the … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Review finds rest home with Covid outbreak breached care obligations, Coster clarifies rubber bullet comments, and Otago University forecasts heavy losses. Something slightly different today: Rather than a lead story with lots of detail, today’s Bulletin will be about rounding up a whole lot of news … Read more
In January a US spy satellite was launched from New Zealand for the first time. Ahead of the launch of another three satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office, Ollie Neas investigates the ever deepening ties between Rocket Lab, NZ authorities and America’s most secret military and intelligence agencies. This investigation is made possible by Spinoff … Read more
Around the world, statues, monuments and place names forged in colonialism and racism are coming under scrutiny. The police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked a wave of protests around the world, and in turn a targeting of colonial and racist statues, such as the tribute to 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston, which was … 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. This week he talks to Dr Gaetano Dedual and Jacob Kohn, co-founders of Futurity. It’s possible that in the future, we might just … Read more