Sam Brooks talks to Matthew Goldsworthy, the 20-year-old founder and CEO of Youth Arts New Zealand, about helping young people access the arts both as creatives and as an audience. What’s the point of having a vibrant, robust arts culture if the next generation can’t access it? The old adage of “it’s not what you … 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
From her teenage years through to adulthood, Kris Herbert reflects on her tumultuous mental health journey to share what she’s learnt along the way. It was a crisp December day when I knocked on the door of the international editor of Time magazine in the Brussels suburb of Tervuren. “I’m locked out of my house,” … Read more
Matariki Williams is Te Papa’s Mātauranga Māori curator. In an extract from Te Manu Huna A Tāne, she writes about how honouring the kiwi became a lesson in honouring her own heritage. This essay has been abridged by Williams and its original title is Into the Void. There is a photo on my sideboard. It … Read more
Under Cover is a new series that brings New Zealand musicians together via video link to bond, chat, and play each other’s songs. The third episode features Chelsea Jade and Liz Stokes. Liz Stokes (The Beths) and Chelsea Metcalf (Chelsea Jade) go way back. They were in the same guitar group in high school, just … Read more
It’s a state-of-the-art retail and hospitality centre opening in the jaws of a recession. Michael Andrew takes a look at the hurdles and hopes for the new billion-dollar Commercial Bay. Earlier this week, two days before its official launch, the Commercial Bay development in downtown Auckland opened for a discreet preview. A small group of … Read more
With more than 151,000 members, Wellington’s Vic Deals is one of the largest community Facebook groups in New Zealand. But in the last few days, the group’s team of administrators have landed itself in hot water after being accused of censoring content related to racism, colonisation, and Black Lives Matter. How did this all start? … Read more
With 100 days till polling day, campaigners on both sides of the two big referendums tell RNZ’s Yvette McCullough how their plans have been affected by the recent crisis, and the risks of misinformation in a largely online battle. In 100 days time, New Zealanders will wake up on a Saturday and be asked to … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Billions needed to fix poor state of hospital infrastructure, colonial era statues in the spotlight, and major problems emerge in modem rollout to students. Dozens of hospital buildings are in a poor condition, a new stocktake has found.Radio NZ’s Phil Pennington has a detailed report on … Read more
A peace group has raised furious concerns about the government spending $1.5 billion to buy five new Hercules planes. Do they have a point? Alex Braae argues with himself about it. With defence minister Ron Mark strapped in and leaning out the back of a military plane, the announcement was made that the fleet of … Read more
Only one is really easy, but most of them make sense, in a bleak way. Envious of New Zealand progress in campaigns against things like viruses and armed police forces, Americans have been visiting the Immigration NZ website again, and alighting on enticing official messages on the Immigration NZ website newzealandnow.govt.nz. It turns out these … Read more
The local fashion industry takes another hit with Ingrid Starnes closing its stores after more than a decade. Fashion brand Ingrid Starnes has announced it’s closing the retail arm of its business due to the impacts of Covid-19. Its new store opening in Commercial Bay on Thursday and its current store in Ponsonby will remain … Read more
Visionweek is a not-for-profit web summit with an aim to stimulate a conversation about the future of New Zealand as we emerge from the Covid-19 crisis. We asked participants to give us their big ideas to transform the country. Running June 8-12, the Visionweek online summit features an array of New Zealand’s top business leaders, … 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
The biennial Rimpac military exercises in Hawai’i devastate the environment and disregard the rights of its Indigenous people. New Zealand should not participate, writes Emalani Case. When I was growing up, I learned the 3 Rs. Yes, Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, and lessons in how to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle were part of my school’s … Read more
An urgent excursion to her hoppy homeland shows Alice Neville why brewers and beer drinkers the world over seek out Nelson’s pungent bounty. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, trainloads of working-class London families would temporarily migrate to Kent to work in the hop fields during harvest time. It was the closest thing many … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: How Australia sees the trans-Tasman bubble, police Armed Response Teams scrapped for good, and cheese in the spotlight in Europe trade stoush. Today’s main story comes from a reader suggestion, who had spotted a gap in news coverage. Dan wrote in to ask how Australia was … Read more
Who would leave the safety of Covid-free New Zealand to travel to the US during a pandemic amid escalating racial tensions? Well, I would – but only for three very special reasons. My whakapapa extends from the tangata whenua (people of the land) of Aotearoa and across the Pacific to Samoa, Europe and beyond. I … Read more
Longitudinal studies have a huge amount to teach us about the impacts of using cannabis, writes Joseph M Boden, director of the Christchurch Health and Development Study. In 101 days, New Zealanders will determine whether or not cannabis should be legalised. In making that decision, there is plenty to learn from the Christchurch and Dunedin … Read more
Pip Adam won the country’s biggest fiction prize for her novel The New Animals. Her latest, Nothing to See, releases tomorrow. Books editor Catherine Woulfe: We’ll have a full review of Nothing to See in the next week or so. For now, know that it’s wildly good – a levelling-up from The New Animals, even. … 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
Covid-19 has reset our understanding of the world. From this crisis comes opportunity, and University of Otago professor Merata Kawharu (Ngāti Whātua, Ngāpuhi) believes it’s a chance to apply traditional principles to our new normal. In a really short time, we have become attuned to doing things very differently. In just a few months, Covid-19 … Read more
A Children’s Commission report released this week shows that entrenched attitudes at Oranga Tamariki are still endangering whānau Māori. This is what colonisation looks like, writes former Oranga Tamariki employee Luke Fitzmaurice. Children’s Commissioner Judge Andrew Becroft yesterday released the first of two reports into the removal of Māori babies by the Ministry for Children … Read more
You may snigger, but it’s a serious issue. Emily Writes asked embryologist Emily Wilson why our nation needs more sperm donors. Emily Wilson works at Fertility Plus, the main provider of publicly funded fertility treatment in Auckland. The clinic also sees people who are not eligible for public treatment, including women over the age of … Read more
Five minor parties have joined forces to challenge the big two parties – and the Electoral Commission – about their low allocation of public funding for election broadcasts. Alex Braae reports. A coalition of minor parties has emerged to challenge the allocation of public funding for election broadcasts, the majority of which has been locked … Read more
On March 23 prime minister Jacinda Ardern announced that in 48 hours the country would go into lockdown. New Zealanders had a primal reaction: they called their loved ones. The moment New Zealand was faced with lockdown, adversity did what it always does: acted as a catalyst on some base element of the human psyche, … Read more
Like other viruses, Covid-19 could have health impacts long after a case is declared “recovered”. What those impacts are is only now coming to light. Cases of Covid-19 in New Zealand have mostly been mild. A cough, some aches, a sore throat; symptoms that cleared up within two weeks, enough for many of our 1,154 … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: What comes next after level one move, trade minister takes aim at Europe over deal offer, and harsh report into Oranga Tamariki released. Good morning, and welcome to the strange sense of unbridled freedom that you might have woken up with. The announcement that we would … Read more
Primary schools around New Zealand have asked parents to consider new rules that would prohibit classroom drop-off and pick-up. Some parents think it will hinder communication between parents and teachers, but many teachers believe it helps the children become more independent. “Over the last three weeks our children have developed great self-management skills and independence … Read more