Summer reissue: Merv Lee-Mather, Merv Thomas and Merv Manhire gather to discuss the most pressing issues of election 2020. First published August 11, 2020. Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its members – click here to learn more about how you can support us from as … Read more
Merv Lee-Mather, Merv Thomas and Merv Manhire gather to discuss the most pressing issues of election 2020. With 39 days to go until New Zealand goes to the polls, talkback caller “Merv” has lit up the election campaign, delivering a deeply unmellow curtain-raiser to the National Party’s Auckland Central candidate selection. That’s top of the … Read more
The Provincial Growth Fund is meant to fund… growth… in the provinces. So why is it building a huge new racetrack in one of New Zealand’s biggest cities? Because the racing industry seems to get whatever it wants, argues Duncan Greive. Yesterday morning saw a blazing RNZ report that the Provincial Growth Fund has allocated … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: IPCA and police at odds over decision not to charge officer, Canterbury DHB in crisis, and Shane Jones job creation claims disputed. The Independent Police Conduct Authority has issued a call for charges for an officer who used excessive force in the course of a … Read more
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
Mahesh Bindra has been a loyal member of NZ First for almost 15 years. But as an Indian-New Zealander, what does he make of members of his party attacking his community? Multicultural Times editor Gaurav Sharma reports. Winston Peters, deputy prime minister and leader of New Zealand First, likes to say that his party is … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Shane Jones confirms run in the crucial seat of Northland, Kiwifruit sales soar amid global pandemic, and questions on colonial monuments erupt around the world. The course of politics over the last five years was arguably set during the tumultuous Northland by-election of 2015. After the … Read more
New Zealand’s fishing boats were all supposed to carry cameras by the end of the month. And then they weren’t. With Greenpeace pointing fingers at NZ First for the delay, MP Shane Jones says he won’t accept criticism from the ‘green blowfish’ anymore. The government’s decision to delay the installation of monitoring cameras on fishing … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government unveils fast-tracking of RMA for infrastructure, shape of cannabis law reform announced, and Fish and Game in disarray. In what seems like one of the most unlikely headlines of the year, the government has made RMA changes that are broadly palatable to the other … Read more
In an interview with the editor of the Indian Weekender, Sandeep Singh, the prime minister has her harshest words yet for Shane Jones over his comments about Indian students. Below, the interview in full. See also: NZ Indian community leaders respond to Jacinda Ardern. Sandeep Singh: One of the most pressing issues that our community is … Read more
Ben Thomas, Annabelle Lee-Mather and Toby Manhire are not medical doctors or, in fact, doctors of any kind, but here they overcome this minor impediment and solve coronavirus. The Gone By Lunchtime trio look at the political and economic implications of the outbreak, weigh up Jacinda Ardern’s “don’t deport your problems” broadside at Scott Morrison … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Warnings about waterways in mass eel deaths, government funding approved for Christchurch stadium, and two Covid-19 tests come back negative. Frankly, this is one of the most visually horrifying environmental stories I’ve ever seen. Farah Hancock at Newsroom has looked at the extreme pressure being put on waterways … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Threats made against Al-Noor mosque worshippers, two more being checked for possible coronavirus, and PM criticises but doesn’t sanction Shane Jones. Almost a year after the disgusting terror attack of March 15, a new threat has been made against worshippers at the Al-Noor mosque in … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: The latest on the coronavirus in NZ, political donations in the spotlight, and overhaul of fossil fuel investment in default Kiwisaver funds. To start today, an update to the story that has dominated conversations all weekend. At the time of writing, one person has been confirmed … Read more
The New Zealand First MP’s attack on ‘students that have come from India’ comes as another prominent New Zealander completes a visit to India embracing, well, students that have come from India. This morning on Newshub Nation, the minister for the regions and verbal jukebox Shane Jones took aim at Indian students, and their impact … Read more
In today’s edition: plant-based diets add a new item to the rural-urban tension menu, Genesis plans NZ’s biggest solar farm and a major regulatory push on vaping. The Sunday Star-Times devoted its whole cover to a dramatic image under the headline ‘Is meat for the chop?’, while inside a Colmar Brunton report put the proportion … Read more
Plant-based food producers ‘stigmatise and demonise’ traditional agriculture, according to Jones, but those working in the new industry say it should be seen as an opportunity, not a threat. NZ First minister Shane Jones’ suggestion that plant-based food must be “stopped in its tracks” has been labelled concerning, negligent and anti-competitive by proponents of the … Read more
The president of the Māori Women’s Welfare League, the oldest national Māori organisation still in existence, has a few words on the misogynistic comments made by Shane Jones at Rātana. In July 2019 the minister for women, Julie Anne Genter, announced with some pride the allocation by the government of $6.2m to put together a … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: False alarm sparks tsunami alert concerns, new development in story haunting NZ First, and unaffordable housing problem getting worse. A false alarm tsunami alert has resulted in changes to fix mistakes in the warning systems. Radio NZ reports a siren sounded on the Bay of Plenty coast, … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Capacity constraints loom large in spending stimulus, pilot speaks out about slow Whakaari recovery efforts, and carbon monoxide levels are high. The fundamentally conservative approach of finance minister Grant Robertson has continued, even as he has moved to loosen the purse strings. The top lines of … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Port move decision rapidly approaching, yet more pressure looms for NZ First party, and a big day for consumer banks and their capital holdings. It’s all happening this week on the port, and whether and where it will move away from downtown Auckland. Cabinet discussions are … Read more
Leaks of NZ First Foundation records raise big questions about the party’s funding, and there’s every chance of more to come. A glance at history suggests the scale of the problem. An early election may not be a bad idea at all, suggests Danyl Mclauchlan It’s happening. During its time in government New Zealand First … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Farmers square off with Shane Jones at parliament, tax rebates for Chinese propaganda film criticised, and ructions over future shape of public media. Now first of all, I just want to make it clear rednecks isn’t the term I’d use. But it was certainly the term used … Read more
Shane Jones’ inflammatory comments last week failed to understand the complexity of arranged marriage, serving only to repeat deeply entrenched racist colonial stereotypes, writes Josephine Varghese. Last night I, an Indian immigrant, was having dinner at a small Vietnamese BYO in Christchurch (run by Vietnamese immigrants), happily savouring the lemongrass flavour in my favourite dish. … Read more
Shane Jones’ inflammatory remarks on arranged marriages have caused outrage, frustration and hurt among the New Zealand-Indian community, writes Gaurav Sharma. Let’s start with a story. The story of my wife and me – a scientist and a journalist, young and professional, contributing members of a society. Also, an Indian couple. We moved to New … Read more
Documents and correspondence dripping out of NZ First paint a picture of a party in turmoil and invite questions about the mysterious foundation which funds it, writes Danyl McLauchlan. The email landed in the very early hours of Thursday morning, sent by an anonymous account, addressed to a handful of senior rightwing politicians and newsrooms … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Port study comes back saying Auckland operations should go north, EV sales finally ticking up, and NZ First loses party president for “moral reasons.” A study into the structure of the upper North Island port system has come back recommending many aspects of Auckland’s port … Read more
The prime minister says her misbehaving coalition cabinet minister is taking the Cabinet Manual away to study. Is it the perfect page-turner beach read? Madeleine Chapman finds out. This story was published in October 2019. Is there anything better than reading a trashy thriller while on holiday? For Shane Jones, only one thing: Threatening political … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: School holiday fears of measles spread, pressure on Northland public health system, and logger who criticised Shane Jones goes public. The measles outbreak is approaching a potentially dangerous phase, with school holidays underway. Warnings were issued last week that cases could spread further around the country, as the … Read more