A pioneering New Zealand voice, a neighbour, and not finished yet. Ahead of the 20-year anniversary concert for his great album, Michelle Langstone talks to Che ‘Fu’ Ness. Portraits by Edith Amituanai. I lived next door to Che Fu for a year when I was a Uni student. It was in between his breakthrough debut … 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
New Zealand’s supply of vaccines to the Pacific may cap a critical role in the region’s rising geopolitical tensions, writes Pattrick Smellie of BusinessDesk. Last week’s announcement New Zealand has secured enough vaccinations not only for its own population, but for Pacific Island “neighbour” nations, is significant for more than just the fact that we have a … Read more
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
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. The sky above Aorere College is a brilliant blue. Sunlight gets into every corner of the campus, and music spills out into the morning from a … Read more
Jean M Allen, a New Zealand-born Tongan/Pālangi health educator, reflects on how she negotiates discussions about sex and pornography with her children. The recent Keep it Real Online campaign ads feature two porn stars knocking on the door of a Pākehā family’s home to talk to a mother about what her son has been up … Read more
After three decades in existence, Tautai Contemporary Pacific Arts Trust has launched its own gallery on Auckland’s Karangahape Road. The first thing that hits you entering Tautai Gallery’s inaugural exhibition, Moana Legacy, is the range of works on show. On one huge wall is a mural of black humanoid crocodiles on a pink background by … Read more
The health arguments are sound, and the economic and cultural imperatives are clear. The Pacific islands need to be prioritised post-Covid over the trans-Tasman bubble, writes public health expert Collin Tukuitonga. Much has been made about the need to open a trans-Tasman travel bubble as a priority. This is despite the fact that Australia continues … Read more
Emerging Māori and Pacific academics are already severely underrepresented at universities. Now they’re in jeopardy of being the first ones to go. As the impacts of Covid-19 bite, universities are looking for ways to cut budgets. There’s a serious danger that in doing so, they erase a generation of Māori and Pacific researchers. The pandemic … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Spotlight on the Pacific and Covid-19, health minister in yet another spot of bother, and schools reopening to very limited numbers. For a lead today, I thought it would be useful to check in on our nation’s neighbours in the Pacific, and how they are … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Suspected case of Covid-19 in Samoa, MFAT urges NZers overseas to come home, and aviation support package to be announced today. A suspected case of Covid-19 is currently being tested in Samoa, bringing to light concerns that the coronavirus could be devastating in the Pacific. Stuff reports … Read more
Western companies trademarking culturally significant words and phrases? It’s not as uncommon as you think. Here are just four examples from the past year. Air New Zealand & Kia Ora No word in te reo has had more mainstream cut through than our national greeting. Now, Air New Zealand is attempting to go one step … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Law changes likely over prison mail system, sharp drops in Northland vaccinations, and PM still has no plans to visit Ihumātao. Law changes are looking likely over what mail prisoners can send and receive. One News has reported on the announcement made by PM Jacinda Ardern, which … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Climate change battles loom at Pacific forum, Corrections fails to stop Christchurch accused getting propaganda out, and details on Winston’s racing industry boost. A fractious Pacific Leaders Forum is shaping up in Tuvalu, with sharp conflicts emerging between attendees. The interests of Australia and New Zealand … Read more
Climate change and a warming ocean are putting immense stress on coral reefs in the Pacific. But some locals are refusing to passively accept the death of such vital ecosystems, reports Radio NZ Pacific’s Jamie Tahana. Listen to more on this story on Dateline Pacific here. When Kristine Zipfel jumped into the sea off Mo’orea, … Read more
Twenty years on from the release of his debut album 2b S.Pacific, RNZ Music‘s Sam Wicks speaks to Che Fu about how getting kicked out of Supergroove lit the fire that helped him create his landmark album. In October 1998, BMG New Zealand released the debut solo project from Che-Fu (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Whakatere), an … Read more
For 15 years Unitec has been working with the New Zealand Police to help diversify its intake of students. Jihee Junn looks at how Unitec’s ‘pre-police’ course is changing the demographics and culture of the police service. On a dreary, rainy Monday evening in Mount Albert, Sergeant John Brown is delivering a speech in front … Read more
When the n-word slipped out of former National MP Tau Henare’s mouth on national television last Sunday, Ātea editor Leonie Hayden realised she’d been harbouring a guilty secret. I saw a video on Twitter a couple of weeks ago where Kendrick Lamar, who is playing here this week, stopped a white fan from rapping along … Read more
Henry Oliver explores the corridors and changes happening at Auckland Museum, and what they say about Tāmaki Makaurau. Cities change. It’s part of their essential nature. A product of their population, cities are constantly transforming as they attract new people and lose others. While the hills and the water and sky remain, essentially, unchanged, everything … Read more
After talking to author and scholar Damon Salesa, Madeleine Chapman wonders why we don’t see more Pacific players in New Zealand cricket. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. It doesn’t make sense. Rugby, league, netball, basketball. All have a large number of Pacific athletes representing New Zealand at the highest level and all have … Read more
After an impressive Kickstarter campaign last year, makeup brand and social enterprise Indigo & Iris have returned with the launch of its much anticipated online store last week. Jihee Junn talks to Indigo & Iris CEO Hannah Duder about its Levitate mascara, how it’s helping to end avoidable blindness in the Pacific, and the challenges of being a … Read more
Good morning and welcome to the first ever edition of The Bulletin, a round up the best and most important NZ news of the day. Sign up here to get The Bulletin direct to your inbox every single morning. Another National heavyweight is bowing out, a report into referrals of kids to protection services is … Read more
Rent Week 2018: Māori and Pacific kids are sick of cold, damp, crowded houses. So when are we going to start treating poor quality housing as the health crisis it is, asks general practitioner Bryn Jones. This week Simon Bridges acknowledged that the National government might not have “shown it was doing enough on housing” … Read more
In the past three years the Pacific Island nations have experienced the three most intense tropical cyclones on record. It’s our duty as tangata whenua and whanaunga to take a stand on climate change, for their sake, argues Graham Cameron. As our Pacific Islands cousins face the unprecendented impacts of climate change, they are looking … Read more
New Zealand’s new government plans to create the world’s first humanitarian visa for climate refugees. If the policy goes ahead, 100 Pacific Islanders could be granted access to New Zealand on the basis that their lives are at risk from rising seas. Nina Hall writes that the commitment to tackle climate injustice should be applauded, … Read more
After moving to New Zealand to study, Julia Soares returned to her New Caledonia home eight years later with her Wellington band in tow, ready to show them ‘an island that vibrates with music’. You can hear the joy in Julia Soares voice as she recounts her homecoming set at New Caledonia’s once-in-a-lifetime music festival … Read more
Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. The Spinoff is devoting a week of coverage to the issue, its advocates, complexities, and solutions. Today, former President of Kiribati Anote Tong says that while the rest of the world ignores the gradual onset of climate change, the lives of Pacific peoples are already being … Read more
‘My mind exploded. No joke, the feeling was like I had a crush!’ Three rangatahi talk about discovering their passion for science at MacDiarmid DiscoveryCamp. DiscoveryCamp is a fun, hands-on programme designed for year 12 or 13 Māori and Pasifika secondary pupils with an interest in science. Students are chosen from all around the country … Read more