When the National Party talks about renewal, their East Coast candidate Tania Tapsell (Te Arawa) is a potent symbol. Alex Braae went to Whakatāne to find out what drives her to push so hard for political success. She was the youngest person in the room by far. Admittedly, that room was the Whakatāne Bridge Club … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New case amid capacity concerns at isolation facilities, police mourn colleague who was killed, and vibrant weekend of party politics as election nears. Quarantine and managed isolation facilities are continuing to dominate the news, after a weekend of new developments. The news broke last night on Radio … Read more
Māori food systems are rich with potential, and whānau-based food producers across the country are looking to traditional ways to ensure their communities thrive in the future. Alice Neville reports from the Eat New Zealand Food Hui. In recent years there has been much talk – in food business, hospitality, tourism and food media circles … Read more
A lion escapes from the zoo and kills a Rotorua poodle. Weird story, but how did it actually happen? Jean Sergent watches Who Killed Lucy The Poodle?, a TVNZ documentary that attempts to get to the bottom of the legendary affair. For some reason, this story makes perfect sense to me. The premise of Who … Read more
Russell Brown travels to Rotorua, Whakatāne and Gisborne to see what data is doing in the regions. For 650 years, people have been hushed by the sunsets of Ohinemutu. The hills to the west of Rotorua, as if gently parted by hand, let the light stay longer and lower here. It sends a blush up … Read more
Mike Hosking’s Newstalk ZB breakfast show rates highly in every city and region in the country except Rotorua. Madeleine Chapman investigates. At 5:59am every weekday morning, as Kate Hawkesby is saying her goodbyes and Mike Hosking prepares to start his popular breakfast radio show, the city of Rotorua changes the channel. The ratings monster of … Read more
The expectant royals are here for five days – plenty of time to sample some of Aotearoa’s finest cuisine. As we excitement-starved colony-dwellers eagerly anticipated the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, attention naturally turned to the New Zealand delicacies their Royal Highnesses might be treated to during their five-day visit. Some details … Read more
Every two years Te Hui Ahurei a Tūhoe invites Ngāi Tūhoe descendents to come together and celebrate their unique reo and culture. But how do urban Tūhoe express their Tūhoetanga when they live away from the lands of their tīpuna? Jason Renes attended this year’s festival to find out. There is mist around Rotorua on … Read more
Craig Marriner was a nobody who won the 2002 book of the year award with his first novel Stonedogs, a raw, rough, street-wise tale of bogan life. His second novel sank without trace – and so did Marriner, who disappeared. He returns after a long absence with an evocation of life and literature in his … Read more
It’s survival of the fittest in the NZ tourism industry, where some regions struggle for visitors while our biggest hotspots can hardly cope – all while our government resolutely rejects a tourist tax to help fix the places worst affected by the visitor onslaught. Little wonder New Zealanders increasingly feel that tourism is getting out … Read more