Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Auckland moved back to level one, a somber day marked in Christchurch, and new but incomplete child poverty figures out today. Auckland is back to level one again today, after a very brief lockdown relative to the others. As our live updates reports, it follows a solitary new … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Auckland moved back to level one, a somber day marked in Christchurch, and new but incomplete child poverty figures out today. Auckland is back to level one again today, after a very brief lockdown relative to the others. As our live updates reports, it follows a solitary new … Read more
All you need to know about the government’s latest support package for businesses and sole traders affected by the rise in alert levels. What’s all this then? In response to the current – and possibly future – increases in alert levels, the government has introduced a financial support package for affected businesses. Called the Resurgence … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Why the lockdown is being lifted, last NZ troops to leave Afghanistan, and efforts to recover Pike River bodies come to an end. We got the news yesterday that the alert levels will be shifting down to level two for Auckland, and level one for … Read more
If you live in Auckland and your work is closed due to level three restrictions, and you can’t work from home, here’s what you need to know. Three days is a long time to go without trade for most businesses. For a few of them with low margins, it could spell a knockout blow. Because … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: How the latest Covid-19 outbreak is being felt, NZ woman captured on Syrian border on suspicion of being a terrorist, and bipartisan commitment to supporting Saudi war effort revealed. Yesterday was a day of significant developments in the Covid-19 outbreak and third lockdown, and I’ll … Read more
The government faces a tough decision later this week: play it safe and extend the lockdown or relax restrictions. Justin Giovannetti looks at what factors are at play. Aucklanders are likely to learn around midday on Wednesday whether this snap lockdown will be a short blip or another long slog through the alert levels. The … Read more
Three new community cases of Covid-19 and an unknown source have plunged Auckland into lockdown and the rest of the country into alert level two. Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles tackles some of the critical questions we now face. Could we be looking at a situation as worrying as last August in Auckland? Yes. Like in August, … Read more
A surreal anti-lockdown protest took place today outside the Auckland electorate office of the prime minister, who is currently in Wellington. Alex Braae went along. If the anti-lockdown protesters outside Jacinda Ardern’s Mt Albert electorate offices say their voices aren’t being heard, they’re absolutely right. For most of this afternoon they were drowned out by … Read more
Dr Sarb Johal is an expert in emergency management and disaster psychology. His advice has been central to our government’s world-leading Covid-19 response, and he’s helped NZ, the UK and WHO develop psychosocial responses to crises such as H1N1, the Canterbury earthquakes, and the Christchurch mosque attack. This is an extract from his new book … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: 72 hours of lockdown incoming for Auckland, vaccinations of border workers to begin imminently, and hospo businesses facing a difficult week. A new set of three Covid-19 cases in the community has been found, and the alert levels have shifted as a result. The cases are … Read more
Nancy Harris should have been in Auckland tonight for the opening of her play Two Ladies. Instead she’s been chatting with the cast via Zoom from locked-down Ireland, where live theatre is a distant memory. It was a surreal moment in a year of surreal moments. I was sitting in my mother’s living room in … Read more
Houses might be the most popular and inflated purchases in New Zealand, but there are plenty of other products that are seeing soaring demand and prices over the past few months. Here’s a list of what New Zealanders are spending their money on with international travel out of the picture. Used cars (including vans) In … Read more
With new strains of Covid-19 bearing down on our shores, Pattrick Smellie of BusinessDesk looks at the challenges 2021 has in store, and what can be done to prepare. In the three weeks that New Zealanders have been at the beach and ignoring Covid tracer app sign-ins, the threat of Covid-19 has grown exponentially. Where … Read more
Summer reissue: A tape recording in a brown paper bag recently landed in Emily Writes’ letterbox. After thoroughly disinfecting it she was shocked to discover what it contained. First published April 10, 2020. Today was a normal day, day 8,271 of the lockdown, and I saw there was a parcel in the letterbox. Knowing a … Read more
Summer reissue: She’s head girl, a viral star, a poet. But none of those credentials can ever capture the force of nature that is Aigagalefili ‘Fili’ Fepulea’i-Tapua’i. Portraits by Edith Amituanai. First published September 12 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members … Read more
With Britain’s shambolic government locking down London at the last minute, the prospect of Christmas – which had been something to hold on to at the end of a dreary, isolating and distressing year – went up in smoke. “The air feels different,” said my boyfriend as we went for a walk on Sunday, one … Read more
In this cursed annum, when that purest of joys – being fed by someone else – was briefly snatched away from us, we turned in desperation to our lord and saviour, the world wide web. It seems unfathomable now, but for 41 long days across March and April, we had to cook. Remember that? No … Read more
What did we check out during the hellfire year of 2020, and what does it say about us? Tara Ward asks nine libraries around the country. Covid-19 marked a new chapter for New Zealand libraries. As the physical buildings closed during the first lockdown, libraries around the country saw a dramatic increase in online memberships … Read more
With nowhere else to turn, a small business owner issues a plea to the prime minister to level the playing field between tenant and landlord. Dear Ms Ardern, First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your re-election, and your second term in government. I hope it will be a successful three years … Read more
The pandemic has shown us how we can do things differently. When we come out the other side, let’s ensure the 1 billion disabled people worldwide aren’t left behind, writes disability rights commissioner Paula Tesoriero. Worldwide, the response by governments to Covid-19 has emphasised that we are all in this together. It got me thinking … Read more
So much has changed since the UK’s last lockdown earlier this year, writes New Zealander in London George Fenwick – but also, not much at all. My bike got stolen the weekend before Lockdown 2. I’d been enjoying a last hurrah with friends at a local pub, and was three pints deep when we emerged … Read more
Covid-19 is still having a disproportionate impact on employment across the genders. Kiwibank economist Mary Jo Vergara explains the trends, consequences and what could it mean for the gender pay gap. The latest labour market statistics for the September quarter came with few obvious surprises. The unemployment rate increased to a lower-than-expected 5.3%, and the … Read more
Stats NZ has today released its labour market data for the three months to September, which shows an increase inline with most forecasts. What’s all this then? According to Stats NZ’s labour market data released this morning, New Zealand’s official unemployment rate has increased from 4% to 5.3% for the three months from July to … Read more
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today: the lifestyle changes it brought on. This project was made … Read more
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today: From traffic accidents and seasonal flu to heart disease, the … Read more
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today: part two, environmental impacts. This project was made possible thanks … Read more
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic prompted New Zealand and much of the world to undertake something few of us had ever contemplated: a near-total lockdown of society. In this Lockdown legacies series, James Dann explores the impacts of those extraordinary measures, intended and otherwise. Today, part one: the lockdown halt. This project was made possible … Read more
History has repeatedly exposed the dangers of blind conformity, to which former attorney-general and Archibald Baxter Memorial trustee Chris Finlayson asks: where are the dissenters of today? There are many things I admire about Archibald Baxter but what I admire most of all was that he had the courage to dissent. Dissent is what I … Read more