Did a group of plucky young New Zealanders really save the Pacific from nuclear testing with some boats, bravery and beer? Not quite, write Sylvia Frain and Rebecca H. Hogue. Who doesn’t love a beautifully made commercial that makes us feel good about New Zealand and our place in the world? The latest in this … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Massive workforce boost for horticulture sector, wild opening day at parliament, and dwindling specialist doctor workforce raises burnout fears. Two announcements from the government this morning will give the horticulture sector a major workforce boost. As the NZ Herald’s Derek Cheng reports, 2000 places in managed isolation will … Read more
A new sketch show on Comedy Central has heralded a new era for Pacific voices. But it’s not all big laughs and dick jokes – it’s much more sophisticated than that. The trailer for new comedy sketch show Sis, released in late June, is bloody funny. As a good trailer should, it takes some of … Read more
With Ardern and New Zealand in headlines for what promises to be a successful elimination strategy, we have an opportunity to use that influence in international relations, write Nina Hall, Max Harris, Evelyn Marsters, Thomas Nash and Arama Rata of New Zealand Alternative. The international praise of Jacinda Ardern’s response to Covid-19 means that New … Read more
Widespread community transmission of Covid-19 would be calamitous in the Pacific Islands, where health infrastructure is limited. What steps are they taking to fend it off? The Spinoff’s coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members here. Update 19/03, 2:45pm: Fiji has confirmed its first case of … Read more
To give the Pacific a fighting chance Australia and NZ need to take a stand, writes a Fijian litigator and activist. Climate change is now an everyday reality for the Pacific. Its impact on our countries is undeniable. To remain within our own borders in years to come, we need radical global and collective transitions. … Read more
John Summers is inspired by a dreamer who ended up living as a kind of Robinson Crusoe on a Cook Islands atoll ‘where there truly was no sound beyond the waves, the birds and whatever noise you made yourself’. Some of the happiest hours of my primary school education were those spent sitting on the mat, listening to … Read more
The recent killing of an American by a North Sentinel tribe has put the isolated island on the map. But there are three myths about the North Sentinelese that have been regurgitated in media. Scott Hamilton sheds some light. It was a story from another century. A young man landed on a small island, with a … Read more
The Single Object is a series exploring our material culture, examining the meaning and influence of the objects that surround us in everyday life. Lakiloko Keakea is the first Tuvaluan artist to have a solo exhibition, now showing at Objectspace, Madeleine Chapman explores the beauty and purpose of Tuvalu art. Like a lot of artists, Lakiloko … Read more
Nearly a quarter of players at the last Rugby World Cup were of Pacific Island descent. But, 23 years since the game turned professional, players born in Fiji, Samoa and Tonga still have to leave home to make a living from the sport. For Insight, RNZ Pacific’s Sports Editor Vinnie Wylie asks whether a Pacific Super Rugby … Read more
Last Monday we ran a piece by Joan Druett on her new biography of 19th century sea captain William ‘Bully’ Hayes, who roamed the Pacific and New Zealand. Michael Field was among those who were concerned that it failed to properly address Hayes’s involvement in ‘blackbirding’; we asked him to write an essay in response … Read more