The Bulletin: Rain still falling in hard-hit Napier

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Rain still falling in hard-hit Napier, Covid-19 vaccine news comes with a catch, and government’s books in a better shape than expected. It’s still raining heavily in Napier, and the flooding damage has got worse in the last 24 hours. As Stuff reports, hundreds of houses experienced a … Read more

The Bulletin: Benefit increase before Christmas ruled out by PM

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: PM rules out increasing core benefit levels before Christmas, Napier hit with both water restrictions and flooding emergency, and NZ exports to UK under threat over rodeo concerns. The PM has ruled out increasing core benefits before Christmas, disappointing anti-poverty campaigners. Speaking at her post-cabinet press conference (skip … Read more

The Bulletin: Confusion surrounds Trump’s Covid-19 status

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Confusion surrounds Trump’s Covid-19 status, horror fire and bad flooding for lower South Island, and announcement coming on Auckland’s alert level status. It will be impossible to have missed the news that US President Donald Trump, and many in his inner circle, have now tested … Read more

The Bulletin: User-pays managed isolation on its way

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National announces its plan to charge returnees $3,000 and the government indicates a policy is coming soon, Judith Collins’ first weekend as National leader, and Northland reels from flood damage. The days of free hotel stays for all returning New Zealanders appear to be drawing … Read more

Southland braces for more wild weather as ex-tropical cyclone Uesi approaches

Ex-tropical cyclone Uesi is due to reach the west of the South Island this afternoon, bringing further pain to flood-hit Southland. Here’s what you need to know. Ex-tropical, you say. What on earth does that mean?  A tropical cyclone, which is a low-pressure system that forms over warm waters in the tropics, bringing gale force … Read more

Cheat sheet: Just how bad is the big drought getting?

Increasingly large swathes of the country are getting bone dry, and it’s starting to cause serious problems. In today’s cheat sheet, Alex Braae looks into how bad the North Island drought is getting. What’s all this then? If you live in Auckland or further north, have you noticed how it hasn’t really rained all that … Read more

The Bulletin: ‘Red’ weather day down South sparks new warning

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: First ever deployment of new Metservice warning, NZ First Foundation donor identities revealed, and economic fallout from virus spreads. Increasingly serious weather has been hammering the West Coast and Fiordland, causing major problems for several towns. A state of emergency has been declared in Fiordland, reports Stuff. Metservice … Read more

The Bulletin: How electorate changes could change parliament

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Dozens of electorates will have boundary changes, Zespri launches legal action over special kiwifruit, and more tumbles out of NZ First Foundation. Dozens of electorates will see their boundaries change, and a whole new electorate will be created in Auckland, if new proposals go ahead. The Representation … Read more

The Bulletin: What the flood is going on down South?

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Cleanup looms after Southern flooding, National party maintains volume of written questions barrage, and Fletcher shares take a hammering. What the flood is going on in Dunedin? The city and surrounding region is facing a cleanup today, reports the ODT, after heavy rain caused flooding in parts of … Read more

The Bulletin: Flooding causes chaos, Coromandel still cut off

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Wild weather from the weekend isn’t over yet, government abandons police mental health funding plan, and a culture war at DOC is revealed. Heavy flooding around the Upper North island has caused a significant amount of disruption over the weekend, and it’s not over yet. The NZTA’s Journey planner … Read more

Rebuilding flood-stricken Edgecumbe with the Ngāti Awa Volunteer Army

The flooding of the Rangitaiki River left devastation for residents of the small Bay of Plenty town Edgecumbe. To help with the recovery effort local iwi Ngāti Awa put out a call for volunteers. People from across the district and the country answered. Jason Renes joined them  Your shoulders start to get tight after a … Read more

Kiri Allan on standing in the East Coast, where times are hard and the people shine

In her debut candidate diary for the Spinoff, Labour hopeful Kiri Allan explains why she decided to return to the East Coast and stand for parliament, and the devastating impact of flooding on Edgecumbe and the region. Ko Mauao te maunga Ko Tauranga te moana Ko Ngāti Ranginui, ko Ngāi Te Rangi ko Tūwharetoa ngā iwi Ko Kiri … Read more

On Auckland’s typhoid outbreak, the flooding theory, and the ‘homeopathy remedy’

As the number of cases of typhoid in Auckland approaches 20, some people are asking if the outbreak is related to all the heavy rain and flooding we’ve been having. It’s a good question, and the answer is almost certainly no. Dr Siouxsie Wiles explains why. Typhoid is caused by the bacterium Salmonella Typhi (or … Read more