The tale of Ian Swney: The spray-can-wielding wage subsidy avenger

Summer reissue: The story of how a leisurely bike ride around Hawke’s Bay turned into a one-man rampage against perceived corporate privilege. First published October 24 2020 In the early hours of October 10, in a motel in Napier South, Ian Swney, 62, was struggling to sleep. A semi-retired kindergarten teacher, he’d travelled to Napier … Read more

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 tale of Ian Swney: The spray-can-wielding wage subsidy avenger

The story of how a leisurely bike ride around Hawke’s Bay turned into a one-man rampage against perceived corporate privilege. In the early hours of October 10, in a motel in Napier South, Ian Swney, 62, was struggling to sleep. A semi-retired kindergarten teacher, he’d travelled to Napier from his home in Morrinsville to join … Read more

The Bulletin: System springs into action on Port Covid case

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: System springs into action on Port Covid case, Labour opens up initial talks with Greens, and New Zealand travellers creating headaches for Aussie states. A clarification on the new case of Covid-19 announced on Sunday – it was not in fact a case of community … Read more

Ka kite anō au i a koutou: A farewell letter to New Zealand

After months trying to get back to her husband and daughter in Hungary, Daisy Coles is finally on her way home. So why is it so hard to say goodbye? In April, I wrote about what happened to my family when Covid-19 came crashing into 2020 like the Kool-Aid Man. Our Hungarian-Kiwi family was split … Read more

The Bulletin: What impacts will coronavirus have?

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Impacts of coronavirus in focus, claims of NZDF coverup of indecent assaults, and will NZ and Europe get a trade deal this year?  I realise that the lead story in Friday’s Bulletin was also about the coronavirus, so apologies if you feel there is too … Read more

The clothing label that’s built a bond with Kiwi women through online interaction

Napier-based women’s clothing company KILT is a big brand with local charm. Josie Adams finds out how they’ve adapted their boutique strategy to work on a national level. Having grown up in the internet era New Zealand fashion label KILT has developed a unique relationship with its customers via an online connection. Founded in 2003, … Read more

How to have an extremely large weekend in Hawke’s Bay

Hawke’s Bay prides itself on good food and wine, pristine art deco buildings and having two Countdown supermarkets right across the road from each other. Alex Casey spent a weekend in the region to see just how much of it she could see.  As an Aucklander, one of my all-time favourite things to do on … Read more

Maraenui: The suburb swallowed by synthetics

In Napier’s poorest suburb, empty lots sprawl where state housing once sat, unemployment dominates, and, each evening, with few street lamps around, ‘The Nui’ falls into darkness and synthetic cannabis joints are lit. By Anusha Bradley of RNZ. Read the full story here. Children as young as 11 are hooked on synthetic cannabis in the … Read more

Now is the time to spend real money on solving our water quality woes

If regional councils are to use new funding to address water quality, they could do well to start in Hawke’s Bay, where wood mill effluent continues to be an issue 27 years after a damning report into its effects. Never has there been a better time to rethink and refresh the care of our rivers, … Read more