The insider: Three decades of amazing Michelle Boag headlines

Summer reissue: Has Michelle Boag finally gone too far? It won’t be the first time the question has been asked of New Zealand’s infamous right-wing PR consultant. First published on July 9, 2020 Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here … Read more

The Bulletin: Collins wins and loses in latest poll

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Collins wins and loses in new poll, investigations into managed isolation guards napping on the job, and Heron report damns Walker and Boag. The latest poll for National is much better than how they started the week, but they’re still down in a couple of … Read more

The Bulletin: Did Todd Muller lie about Boag and Woodhouse?

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Self-inflicted story puts National on the defensive, another escape attempt from managed isolation, and a series of party events ahead of election. There’s a convention in journalism called Betteridge’s law of headlines. Basically what it means is that headlines that end in a question mark can … Read more

The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending July 10

The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1  Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo (Penguin Classics, $24) Joint winner of the 2019 Booker prize. That was in October … Read more

The Bulletin: Changes coming in managed isolation after 2nd escape

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Changes coming in managed isolation after 2nd escape, Hamish Walker’s political career over, and expert advice released ahead of cannabis referendum. Changes are being made to the way managed isolation facilities are run, after it emerged that a resident went for a wander around Auckland – and … Read more

The insider: Three decades of amazing Michelle Boag headlines

Has Michelle Boag finally gone too far? It won’t be the first time the question has been asked of New Zealand’s infamous right-wing PR consultant. On Tuesday night, news broke that Michelle Boag had provided private Covid-19 patient information to National MP Hamish Walker, who in turn leaked it to the media. She had apparently … Read more

The Bulletin: Hamish Walker, former Nat president in disgrace after Covid leak

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Scandal for MP after leaking confidential Covid data, new bookings for return to country put on hold, and Islamic Women’s Council release evidence of being ignored. We now know exactly how the leak of private information of all active Covid-19 patients happened. National MP Hamish Walker, representative … Read more

Boag and Walker have admitted a terrible privacy breach. And it won’t end there

The leak, we discovered last night, was the work of a first-term MP and a veteran National Party operator. What does it mean for the pair, and for the party, asks Ben Thomas. The latest whodunit in New Zealand politics was solved last night in a flurry of releases, as National’s Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker … Read more

National MP Hamish Walker admits leaking personal Covid-19 details

The admissions by Walker and veteran spin doctor Michelle Boag follow the government’s announcement yesterday of a sweeping inquiry to find the source of the leak. National MP Hamish Walker has disclosed that he engineered a privacy breach over the weekend when he purposefully released the personal details of Covid-19 patients at the country’s border … Read more