Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Changes proposed for the process of voting in 2020, govt approves coal exploration despite climate change rhetoric, and Hager responds to new Hit and Run news. The way people vote in 2020 could be very different to previous elections, after the proposals of a range … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Indifference from major players looms over Christchurch call summit, big changes coming for NCEA, and Peters savages Fonterra’s decision to sell Tip-Top. The Prime Minister is in the spotlight at the Christchurch Call summit on stopping extremism spreading on social media in Paris. It comes at an … Read more
Reducing food waste is a win-win solution for everyone as less food goes to landfill and more food goes to those who need it. So what’s being done to make this a reality? And what can you do to help? In 2020, New Zealand will vote in a general election with poverty and climate change … Read more
The person who fired an airgun outside Devonport New World yesterday, injuring a woman, is yet to be found. A woman was injured in an airgun incident outside an Auckland supermarket yesterday. Police and an ambulance were called to the New World carpark at Devonport on the North Shore at about 5.15pm after airgun pellets … Read more
Choosing ethically produced meat and eggs at the supermarket is now a no-brainer for many of us, but not so long ago it wasn’t even an option. Like many people, Gregor Fyfe loves bacon. Always has. What he doesn’t love is not knowing how and where the pig that provided his bacon was raised. But … Read more
A select committee has proposed limiting the kinds of products the Consumers’ Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill will apply to, and plenty of folk ain’t happy about it. What’s the story? Back in 2016, then Green MP Steffan Browning introduced a member’s bill that proposed mandatory country-of-origin labelling (CoOL) on all … Read more
One third of all food produced is thrown away, at the same time as one billion people go hungry. Simon Day met some of the people trying to fix our broken food system. On Monday evenings, when most Auckland restaurants rest, Gemmayze St is consistently host to more than 200 customers. While the award winning … Read more
Our two supermarket chains have agreed to get rid of plastic bags by the end of this year. Does this mean the end of the seemingly humble plastic bag? Rebecca Stevenson caught up with Wellington City Council’s Roderick Boys to find out why we need to say goodbye to them, for good. Plastic bags were … Read more
Just living and breathing seems to cost money now. But don’t worry, we got you. We asked around the office and compiled the Spinoff’s tips for living a premium economy lifestyle on a discount economy income. DO Shop at Reduced To Clear. Make sure to ask them what day their cans arrive and get there … Read more
The price of kumara has soared in the past two years, so maybe it’s better to buy spuds? Data scientist Aaron Schiff was tired of trying to figure out how to get the best deals, so he built an app. This post was first published on November 3, 2017. At the supermarket (toddler in tow) … Read more
In our video series Kiwis of Snapchat, comedian Tom Sainsbury sources exclusive Snapchat footage of Kiwi citizens and luminaries making the news. Today, voiceover artist Maria has a very special client. Click here for all our Kiwis of Snapchat videos
A petition signed by more than 16,000 Kiwis prodded parliament to look into single use plastic bags last year. Now our two major supermarket retailers are going toe-to-toe to clamp down on them – and that’s good news for all of us, writes Rebecca Stevenson. Spare a thought for New World. It was only a … Read more
Nearly half our mayors have signed a letter calling for a compulsory charge on plastic bags, and surveys show strong public support for the idea. Still the government remains staunchly opposed. If other countries can do it, why can’t we, wonders Kristin Hall. Update, 10 August 2018: PM Jacinda Ardern has announced that New Zealand … Read more
To finally get to our dream jobs at The Spinoff, our staff have been through some pretty terrible employment. From flagrant sexism to gagging on fur balls from beard clippings, we at The Spinoff were exploited and used by our former employers. But now you don’t have to suffer the indignity that we endured, because … Read more
Looking back on 1990s supermarket chain Big Fresh, it seems scarcely believable. A food shopping Disneyland with live country music, a TV room for the kids and giant animatronic vegetables swaying in the rafters? Did that actually happen? But for 15 glorious years the Big Fresh supermarket chain really did exist. Kristin Hall met the … Read more
The star of a confrontational new television commercial explains why she felt compelled to help save hens from the cruelty of battery cages. Update: Late last week, in apparent response to the upcoming SAFE ad, Countdown supermarkets announced they will remove battery-caged and colony-caged eggs from their own-brand range by 2022, the same year battery … Read more
We review the entire country and culture of New Zealand, one thing at a time. There once was a Countdown in central Hamilton. It lost it’s ‘o’, and became C-untdown. How we laughed. That laughter, and the store in question, are dust in the winds of time. Judging by the quality of their wares, Countdown … Read more