The Bulletin: Wild Wellington Council meeting sparks controversy

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Wild Wellington Council meeting sparks controversy, managed isolation cleaners being paid minimum wage, and major new report on tourism’s environmental footprint released. The Wellington City Council has made a dramatic series of votes, in a bid to come to grips with their current budget crisis. Many … Read more

Why an answer to Māngere’s empty cycleways may be just around the corner

The fate of Māngere’s much-maligned cycle path network has become something of an obsession for Justin Latif. Now, he writes, solutions are being proposed – but not all are being welcomed by the community. I have the strange honour of having written several thousands of words about Māngere’s Te Ara Mua Future Streets cycleways for … Read more

Beyond the hype: Why is no one riding Māngere’s award-winning cycleways?

South Auckland’s multimillion-dollar bike paths set a new gold standard, but getting locals on track with council’s grand plan has proved an uphill battle. A scene from the 1962 film The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner often plays through my mind as I ride along the relatively new multimillion-dollar award-winning cycleways around Māngere.  The … Read more

The Bulletin: How Australia sees the trans-Tasman bubble

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

The Bulletin: Harrowing allegations against Labour and staffer revealed

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: The Bulletin: Harrowing allegations against Labour and staffer revealed, solo mums on benefit facing terrible choices, and millions put towards Northland rail upgrade. A woman who says she was subject of a sustained sexual assault by a Labour staffer has for the first time described … Read more

Crash, cry and carry on: The often grim reality of riding a bike in Auckland

On the good days, riding a bike is the best. But in Auckland there aren’t nearly enough of those days, and unless decision makers take urgent action, that’s not going to change. This piece originally appeared on Bike Auckland My first bike crash in central Auckland happened on Symonds Street. I was biking downhill towards … Read more

How to change Auckland without making everyone mad

Auckland is going through a period of rapid change. Hayden Donnell talks to an urban design advisor about whether it’s possible to transform the city without riling everyone up. With local body elections less than three months away, Auckland is divided in two. On one side are people who want to continue reshaping the city … Read more

The case for ending the generational monopoly over local government

There is an increasing class division in Auckland, defined by access to the democratic system. Where does this leave our young people in the future, asks Shehara Farik?   This is a condensed version of an extremely long story about democracy. I want to show how the history of democracy has defined the crisis we are … Read more

The suburb at the crossroads of Auckland’s future

Mt Albert is a town at a crossroads. The pressures of growth are set to radically reshape the area, but so far change has left some of its residents and business owners pining for the past. Hayden Donnell travels to the suburb to talk to locals about the way forward. It’s 4pm on a Tuesday … Read more

Is OpenTheBooks right for you? A comprehensive guide to Auckland’s newest transport lobby

You may have seen the picture, but do you know the people and the policies behind it? Hayden Donnell takes a trip inside Auckland’s newest lobby group, OpenTheBooks. Read Clive Matthew-Wilson’s response to this article here Have you ever looked at Auckland’s sclerotic roads, its traffic jams stretching to the horizon, and thought: “You know … Read more

The Bulletin: Nightmare dangers for nurses

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Dangers faced by nurses explodes into focus, teachers look to the Middle East for better money, and new research backs benefits of cycleways. A couple of high profile examples have put the threats faced by health workers into focus. It’s a deeply serious issue that has been … Read more

If you think cycleways are financially disastrous, wait till you hear about roads

Cycleways are under fire this week following an incredibly misleading Herald story. Hayden Donnell goes in search of some transport projects to actually get angry about. A peloton of bullshit rode forth from NZME headquarters this week. Its journey began with a story by the Herald’s supercity reporter Bernard Orsman on Monday, which claimed several … Read more