Welcome to the Bulletin World Weekly. Normally, this will be an email exclusively for and supported by Spinoff Members, but just this once it’ll be free for all. If you want to sign up for membership, all the details are here. One of the most fascinating things about weather reports is the use of context. … Read more
AliExpo 2019 proved New Zealand’s ‘clean, green’ image remains as strong as ever, reports Jihee Junn. At Alibaba’s e-commerce expo on Friday, ‘brand New Zealand’ was at its sales-pitch best. There were face masks, eye masks, hand creams and serums made from the most natural of ingredients this side of the world had to offer. … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: NZ Herald digital subscriber numbers reach first major milestone, Forest and Bird drop two major stories, and maternity wards lacking overnight cover. An exciting story broke yesterday for those who follow news about news. The NZ Herald put this one outside the paywall – releasing that the company had … Read more
The Court of Appeal has decided that China’s criminal justice system is so flawed that a murder suspect living in New Zealand should not be extradited there. That’s an extraordinary development in the already strained NZ-China relationship, writes law professor Andrew Geddis. I am fortunate enough to be a citizen of three countries – New … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. Eid Mubarak to all. In today’s edition: Digital services tax takes shape, Corrections makes unexpected money out of prison canteens, and infant formula industry takes hit on China moves. We’re getting a much better idea of what the digital services tax is going to look like, after the release … Read more
On the eve of the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre, New Zealand Chinese writer Tze Ming Mok writes a beautiful, bitter letter to an old friend in Xinjiang, grappling with matters of conscience, community survival, and Anne-Marie Brady’s ‘Magic Weapons’ paper. Originally published in the new collection Life on Volcanoes: Contemporary Essays But where were we? You … Read more
Sam Brooks reviews Total War: Three Kingdoms and finally finds the definitive Romance of the Three Kingdoms game. My road to Total War: Three Kingdoms was an unusual one. While for most it’s the latest in the critically-acclaimed, much-beloved Total War series, for me it’s the latest in a long line of Romance of the Three Kingdoms games. But what … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Focus put on airports around Southern Lakes, deal appears to have been reached on climate change law, and leadership crisis in National appears to have abated. The Southern Lakes area, including the tourist drawcards of Queenstown and Wanaka, face some huge decisions over airport infrastructure. It’s a … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Simon Bridges puts up bill with major tax system changes, social media crackdown call unpacked, and lower crowd numbers at main Auckland ANZAC services. This happened earlier in the week, but is worth unpacking because it would be quite a big change to the tax system. Newshub reports … Read more
Might PM Jacinda Ardern’s visit to Beijing have meant more to China than we in New Zealand realise? Former Washington Post Beijing bureau chief John Pomfret, who is currently visiting New Zealand, thinks we have misunderstood the importance of the trip. The recent tensions between China and New Zealand were almost always framed in terms … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Landfills in focus after pair of disasters, new firearms laws to be streamlined through Parliament, and generational conflict over climate change in Thames. A pair of recent stories have shown that what gets put in landfills doesn’t ever really go away. Over and above the widely-covered crisis in recycling, … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM’s visit to China finally confirmed, privacy commissioner heaps criticism on Facebook, and police minister indicates support for gun register. PM Jacinda Ardern will be visiting China after all, she announced to reporters yesterday afternoon. The NZ Herald reported her saying the visit, to formally open the new embassy, … Read more
The period of benign relations between New Zealand and China appears to be drawing to a close, writes Massey University’s David Belgrave. Until recently, New Zealand’s relationship with China has been easy and at little cost to Wellington. But those days are probably over. New Zealand’s decision to block Huawei from its 5G cellular networks … Read more
As commentary and speculation swirls around the state of NZ relations with China, it’s a good time to take a breath and focus instead on the way forward, writes Bethan Greener. Commentary is swirling over Sino-Kiwi relations. Warnings to tourists, the turning back of an Air New Zealand plane from Shanghai, and New Zealand’s refusal … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Social housing list balloons amid heavy demand, bizarre development in NZ-China relations takes in former PM, and another species of foreign fruit fly found. The social housing waiting list has cracked 10,000, and is steadily rising all the time. Newshub reports that is an increase of 73% on … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tax on tech giants proposed but doesn’t go far, peace may be breaking out in China stoush, and the incredible story of two brothers vs the Avondale Business Association. The government has made a big announcement on taxing internet giants, but there are a lot of … Read more
As long as New Zealand is a member of the US-dominated Five Eyes spying network we will keep getting into trouble with China, argues former Green Party defence spokesperson Keith Locke Last November my heart sank when I heard our government had blocked Huawei from helping Spark set up a 5G network. Didn’t our prime … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: No good solutions for financial crisis at Eden Park, sharp response to NZ-China tourism stories, and Devonport fruit store owner faces heavy fruit fly costs. The biggest stadium in New Zealand is under severe, ruinous financial pressure. The full extent of Eden Park’s strife has been revealed, … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Wild rental inflation hits Wellington, an end to tenure review system has been announced, and confirmation comes of Chinese squeeze on tourism. Wellington is experiencing a wild spell of rent inflation at the moment, reports One News. Average rents in the city are now $45 a week more … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: China conundrum deepens for New Zealand’s diplomats, massive shakeup for polytechs signalled, and seagulls under serious threat. The relationship between the New Zealand and Chinese governments appears to be particularly strained right now. Over the course of this week, there have been a range of individual reports … Read more
As China sends abstract signals about its unhappiness with New Zealand, there are some concrete steps that Jacinda Ardern’s government can take, writes Robert Ayson of the Victoria University of Wellington Centre for Strategic Studies. At the height of the Cold War, western intelligence agencies overanalysed who was standing next to whom at Red Square parades … Read more
In the last week China has acted and sent a message it believes we have aligned too far to the west, argues Mike Rehu With the concerns deepening of a cold war type conflict between the US and China, will New Zealand have to choose between the two powers? That question underpins much of this … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: First published poll of the year spells disaster for National, China-NZ tourism promotion yanked, and rural firefighters struggling to find water. Hey, remember how I said the other day that National were having a good start to their year? Well, according to the first poll of it, they’re absolutely … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Pride events take place over weekend in Auckland, analysis of why the Air NZ flight was turned back from China, and working groups abound on mental health. In the end, it wasn’t the disaster that many had predicted. The Auckland Pride march still went ahead, heading from … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Spate of stories show rubbish problem is increasing, Don Brash Waitangi invite sparks boycott call, and bees struggling to get enough to eat. We’re not the tidy Kiwis we like to think we are. A range of recent stories show problems in waste management are mounting in … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National gets year underway with reshuffle and red meat, judge rules union is allowed to be rude during negotiations, and investigation into CHCH crypto hack. With a reshuffle and a few whiffs of red meat, National has set out a few points where they intend to … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to the last edition of The Bulletin for 2018. Well, crikey. It’s the end of the year. I’ve got some thoughts on that down the other end of the page, but you’re here for the news and there’s still heaps to get through here. I thought what might help people out the … Read more
From an academic suspecting foul play to the spooks blocking Huawei gear in the new broadband roll-out, China is suddenly in a lot of headlines. Don Rowe rounds it all up. “China’s covert, corrupting, and coercive political influence activities in New Zealand are now at a critical level.” So began Dr Anne-Marie Brady’s 2017 policy … Read more
When it comes to tension between the US and China, National and Labour are on the same side – the fence. Guyon Espiner examines a foreign policy that tries to have it both ways. We have the Five Eyes alliance with the US but have no free trade agreement with them. We have the FTA … Read more