Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Trevor Mallard under pressure over legal costs, questions over why border testing review is still under wraps, and Massey academics speak out against cuts. Speaker Trevor Mallard is under pressure over the costs of paying out to end a defamation dispute. In the wake of the … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Preparing for a possible return of the pandemic, SFO prevents JLR document release, and stoush over National candidate selection deepens. I say possible in the headline there, because we can’t know for sure that community transmission of Covid-19 absolutely will come back. But at the moment, … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: National dismisses horror poll as a “rogue”, new populist party draws huge crowd in Auckland, and family attempts managed isolation escape to see father’s body. There are two possible explanations for an astonishing political poll that came out last night. Conducted by Reid Research for Newshub, it … Read more
Before Covid-19, it’d take a long flight and half a grand to see Hamilton in the flesh. Now, the biggest musical of the past two decades is available to watch on Disney+. Sam Brooks takes stock of this extraordinary move. Right now, Broadway is a sleeping dragon. New York theatres have been dark for months … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New poll sets tone for election campaign, new testing criteria for Covid-19 outlined, and weirdness occurs around prisoner voting bill. We’re now three months out from the election, and the latest poll has returned to something approaching a balanced state of play. The One News Colmar Brunton survey … Read more
A new survey by Stickybeak for The Spinoff shows more than one in four would like to see Hamilton’s name revert to Kirikiriroa. But a Waikato kaumatua says he’ll continue to push for change. As statues come down around the world and long-venerated slave traders and colonialists have their actions put under the microscope for … Read more
This is not the time to ask for ‘a conversation’ about colonial statues, writes historian Giacomo Lichtner, but a rare opportunity for action. In 1944, when American troops liberated Rome and made their new headquarters in Mussolini’s flagship sports complex – the Foro Italico – they found a vast and hideous mural entitled ‘The Apotheosis … Read more
House on Hood, which was criticised for promoting a deal on Corona beer with reference to the coronavirus, has discontinued the promotion after being contacted by Lion, which distributes Corona in New Zealand. A Hamilton bar’s social media promotion offering a deal on Corona beers as long as the deadly coronavirus continued to spread has … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government ministers and iwi leaders in Waitara for commemoration, open letter to Greens over GE, and Hamilton’s leading public servant calls for election reform. Government ministers, iwi leaders and other dignitaries have gathered in Taranaki this weekend to commemorate a foundational period in New Zealand’s … Read more
Louise Hutt is running for Hamilton mayor on a progressive platform. She talks to Hayden Donnell about her plans to start a political movement that will reshape local politics in the city lovingly known as the Tron. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Covering Climate Now week begins, hate crimes in focus six months after Christchurch attack, and scale of house flipping laid bare. Over the course of this week, you’re going to see a lot of climate change coverage. The Spinoff will be one of the organisations participating … Read more
In our latest local elections 2019 race briefing (read the rest here), Hayden Donnell dips his toe into the extraordinary battle for the Tron. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click here. Where? Hamilton! You know the one: … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. Today, Tara Ward on mouse-dancing theatrical spectacle Disney on Ice. Before you ask, I don’t know why Disney is on ice. It makes no sense, but neither does Aladdin not having nipples, and we all seem to accept that just fine. … Read more
Louise Hutt is running for mayor of Hamilton. This week she found out her landlord is selling her home. My partner and I found out on Friday that the house we rent is going up for sale. We live in a one-year-old townhouse in Frankton – one suburb over from the CBD in Hamilton. You … Read more
The oceans are rising and the ground’s getting shaky – time to move the capital to Hamilton. As hellworld boils and our cities descend into the sea, writhing throngs of climate refugees will soon be forced to head for higher ground, scrambling over one another like a scene from the Old Testament. The effect will … Read more
Thanks to a rapidly increasing population and some savvy young returnees, these days the Tron oozes quiet self-confidence. Follow the motorway south from New Zealand’s biggest city, past the fertile vegetable-growing soils of Pukekohe, the Hampton Downs race track and the historic battle site at Rangiriri, along the mighty Waikato River (where at every bend … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. The Dietary Requirements crew had been anticipating the arrival of Duck Island’s first non-Hamilton shop for months, so when the dreamy ice cream parlour finally opened its doors in Ponsonby, we thought what … Read more
Whether it’s anti-science sentiment or outright bigotry, Hamilton councillors keep making the news for all the wrong reasons. But that’s only part of the story, writes veteran Hamilton councillor Dave Macpherson. Is Hamilton City run by a bunch of rednecks and nutters? If you only judged The Tron and its city council by the off … Read more
James Casson’s comments on refugees and the Christchurch attack have earned him widespread condemnation, but he’s far from the first Hamilton councillor to spout embarrassing rubbish, writes longtime Hamilton Council watcher Angela Cuming. When the tinfoil-hat wearing Hamilton City councillor Siggi Henry was revealed to be an anti-vaxxer loon who believes measles is not deadly … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Bus strikes begin in Auckland and Hamilton, secret party donations stay in the spotlight, and backlog of sex assault cases unassigned by police is rising. In transport news, the week is likely to be dominated by bus driver strikes. Some bus services in Auckland and Hamilton might … Read more
Hamilton Press Club life president Steve Braunias reveals the next guest speaker at the most glamorous social event in New Zealand journalism held in Hamilton. Dr Vincent O’Malley is campaigning to get the New Zealand Wars taught in New Zealand schools. The Hamilton Press Club stands with O’Malley. He will address the subject as our … Read more
The typical Kiwi farmer is swapping their roll of Number 8 wire for a smartphone and robotics. At Fieldays 2018 Angela Cuming discovered the technology and science solving many of the challenges facing the industry. It’s 4am on your average Kiwi dairy farm, a time when most farmers are up and out of bed and … Read more
“God damn, that horse is beautiful.” Townie Ra Pomare heads to the country’s biggest expo of rural life. The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air.
The most underrated city in New Zealand is ready to step up, not just because it’s well situated, sustainable and expandable, but because of its people, writes Tron champion Angela Cuming When Steve Braunias took to the stage at the inaugural Hamilton Press Club on the banks of the mighty Waikato River last month he … Read more
For years, the larger centres in Aotearoa have had a headlock on the competitive gaming scene. But with the Waikato Arena Rampage, that’s all about to change. Horiana Henderson reports. In the ‘80s cool cats toted big square box ghettoblasters around. Nowadays, top dogs of the New Zealand fighting game community carry a big square … Read more
In which Steve Braunias announces the resumption of New Zealand’s most famous free media lunch extravaganza on the banks of the Waikato River in Hamilton. And on the fourth day Press Club rose again. A kind of resurrection story was played out just before Easter. On the Monday, some guy from Wintec phoned me and … Read more
He’s young, he’s relentless, and he claims to care more about the beauty of his creations than the money they make him. Matt Stark is a new generation of property developer, and he’s hopelessly devoted to The Tron. Behind Hamilton’s back doors runs a river, and property developer Matt Stark surveys its twirling eddies with … Read more
Hamilton mayor Andrew King has withdrawn his proposal to rename the council Kirikiriroa City Council after widespread opposition. Proud local Horiana Henderson looks at the history of the name and explains why it’s a missed opportunity. Hamilton city’s mayor, Andrew King, swayed attention from the contentious 10-year plan this week when he asked to explore … Read more
An outcry over the treatment of disabled patrons at Hamilton’s Seddon Park during a recent Blackcaps match could have been avoided with just a bit of prior communication, says sports writer and disabled person Michael Pulman. During last Saturday’s Twenty20 International at Seddon Park, disabled patrons were turned away from their designated seating in order … Read more