It makes sense to focus on our unique selling points as a country during the post-Covid rebuild. But we also have to live the values we market to the world, writes Jessica Desmond. Earlier this week ‘future of food’ expert Rosie Bosworth wrote that to turbo-boost our Covid recovery, New Zealand should capitalise on our … Read more
Two years ago, her genre-busting show Nanette broke the internet. Now Hannah Gadsby has released a new stand-up special, and expectations are sky high. So how does Douglas hold up? “If you’re here because of Nanette, why?” The elephant in the room is quickly addressed in Hannah Gadsby’s new Netflix special named after her dog, … 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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The … Read more
A week ago, New Zealand launched its official contact tracing app to help in the fight against Covid-19. How does it compare to some of those overseas? NZ COVID Tracer has been live for less than a week and so far it’s been downloaded by more than 400,000 users. The current version of the app … Read more
Here’s The Spinoff’s weekly round-up of data tracking the effects and response of Covid-19 around the world – and how New Zealand stacks up. Our weekly summaries of data and visualisations use Our World in Data’s work on the Covid-19 pandemic, which is freely available for re-use. Not all data is complete: measurement techniques vary … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Political divisions rage as election looms, economic forecasts considered too optimistic, and travel routes start to move again. They had all been doing so well at getting along, but that’s all over now. A cross-party consensus is emerging that it’s time to get back to the … Read more
Still unsure about what you need to do in restaurants and bars under level two? You’re not alone, according to a new Spinoff-commissioned survey. Ongoing confusion around the use of mobile apps for contact tracing and social distancing in restaurants means New Zealanders and business owners still have work to do to correctly follow Covid-19 … Read more
How many hours you can and should work each week depends on the mode of thinking your job requires, writes Simon Hertnon. Our national discussion about a four-day week has jumped out of first gear, thanks to last week’s Facebook live video by prime minister Jacinda Ardern. In the video, which quickly garnered global media … Read more
One in three households are in financial difficulty and a greater number still at risk of tipping into hardship following the Covid crisis, finds a Commission for Financial Capability report. The Commission for Financial Capability has this morning published findings on the financial vulnerability of New Zealanders following the Covid crisis. And it makes for … Read more
In the fifth part of a new series that shares the stories of families learning from home during lockdown, Emily Writes puts faith in her community as her son returns to school. He knew school would be opening the following week and we’re not quite sure how. Maybe the excitement and anxiety of the neighbourhood’s … 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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
Could a taiao values approach to our economy be the key to bridging the gap between protecting our environment and prospering as people? Dr Amanda Black from the Bio-Protection Research Centre explains how. Aotearoa has been economically dependent on our primary sector for generations. But in this new Covid-19-framed world, that dependence will be magnified. … Read more
When Stuff’s parent company Nine sold up in a management buyout, the sale price for the whole business was $1. So what does it actually mean when businesses are sold for a buck? When local media giant Stuff was sold earlier this week to CEO Sinead Boucher, one of the biggest talking points was the … 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 second episode features Nadia Reid and Reb Fountain. In this episode of Under Cover, produced in collaboration with RNZ Music, Nadia Reid and Reb Fountain discuss changing career trajectories in a … Read more
Over lockdown, school, home and the office all merged into one place, affecting how we worked and when. The NZIER public good team explains why we need to rethink how we measure productivity. How productive was your lockdown? Now we’re in level two, it’s the perfect time to pause and reflect on the stuff we … Read more
A tax-free payment of $490 a week would be life-changing for people like me, writes beneficiary Eamonn Marra. The government’s decision to give those made redundant by Covid-19 $490 tax free a week for 12 weeks is a good one. When you lose your job your income stops but your bills continue; you have to … Read more
The chief propagandist of rage against the privileged Westminster elite has proved himself the epitome of the privileged Westminster elite, writes Elle Hunt from London. He is the prime minister’s top adviser, he unambiguously broke the rules around lockdown, and people have already been fired for less. But I never really thought that Dominic Cummings … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Criticism over new ‘two-tier’ welfare payments, National announces reshuffle, and a day of differing fortunes in the media world. The government has announced a brand new income support scheme for those who have lost work – but in many ways, it immediately became notable more … Read more
There’s more to the finance minister’s controversial move than meets the eye, argues Max Rashbrooke. If you’re a current beneficiary, I can see how it looks like a slap in the face. Finance minister Grant Robertson yesterday announced that people rendered unemployed by the coronavirus will receive a 12-week benefit of $490 a week, nearly … Read more
National has a new leader and it could upend parts of the political map that previously looked much more stable. So how could things change as a result? Under Simon Bridges, National needed to get exceptionally lucky to win the next election. While the party’s polling at the start of the year was strong enough … Read more
The big media companies just want to get married. Duncan Greive makes the case for dozens of divorces instead. For the last few years, all the talk in New Zealand’s media has been of a need for consolidation. That our big for-profit media companies – TVNZ, Sky, MediaWorks, NZME and Stuff – all needed to … 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 two – read The Spinoff’s giant explainer about what that means here. For official government advice, see here. The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by The Spinoff Members. To support this work, join The Spinoff Members … Read more
The world will always need food, and New Zealand is enviably positioned to capitalise on this, writes future foods expert Rosie Bosworth – but we need to take a few big steps first. It’s a bittersweet moment for New Zealand. As a nation we’ve collectively worked hard to successfully flatten the curve (for now). But … Read more
An Australian technology expert looks at the pros and cons of New Zealand’s contact tracing app, and compares it with the Australian version, COVIDSafe. New Zealanders finally have access to the government’s new tracing app to help people monitor their movements as lockdown continues to ease. As businesses can now open, the NZ COVID Tracer … Read more
Duncan Greive assesses an extraordinary morning for New Zealand’s media. In the space of a tumultuous half hour New Zealand’s media landscape has been utterly transformed, with Stuff CEO Sinead Boucher completing an audacious management buyout from its Australian owners Nine, while hundreds of staff are about to be laid off at MediaWorks. The two … Read more
As Covid-19 continues to force an immense shift toward online shopping, the kind of authentic, face-to-face experience offered at one Auckland bike shop is becoming all the more valuable. When you walk into T. White’s Bikes on central Auckland’s Symonds St, you’re left in no doubt that bike riding is a serious business. Above every … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Muller settles into National leadership after brutal coup, government issues concern over Hong Kong, and parties reveal election candidates. National has rolled the dice on changing their leader several months out from an election. Our political editor Justin Giovannetti arrived in Wellington just in time to see it … Read more
Will the door be open to a new National leadership, and does the party need to flex its muscle to get noticed in the coming months? Suddenly it’s election year again. The National Party has jettisoned Simon Bridges in favour of Todd Muller, a sensible man with a firm handshake. Over the weekend Jacinda Ardern … Read more
From international relations to climate change to world trade, New Zealand has an opportunity to affect the post-pandemic world for the better, writes Robert G Patman in this paper for the SSANSE Commission for a Post-Covid Future at the University of Canterbury The Covid-19 crisis has confirmed the near breakdown of an international rules-based order … Read more