Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Health worker representatives outline string of problems, millions more going to food banks, and mayoral pay in the spotlight. If you were watching the Epidemic Response Committee yesterday, one thing would have become very clear, very quickly. The health sector is in serious trouble, viewed from … Read more
February 2020 is never coming back. In part one of a two part series, Duncan Greive looks at which industries will be smashed post-lockdown – and how elimination might provide unexpected opportunities to recover. As we turn to face the end of lockdown, the precise shape of which is necessarily still being determined, there’s an … Read more
The loss of a loved one can be difficult in the best of times. But it’s even more painful when the planes are grounded. Late on Saturday night, three days into New Zealand’s level four lockdown, Harish got a call from his sister in India telling him that his father had died. In bed and … Read more
National carrier Air New Zealand has been shattered by Covid-19, and it will likely be years before it recovers. Alex Braae reports on a sobering letter from the CEO. What’s the latest? Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran has been in the job for a matter of months, but already he is being forced to … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Border closed to all non-NZers with limited exceptions, facing the economic implications of that decision, and new rules on gatherings released. As of midnight last night, the border of New Zealand is closed to those who aren’t permanent residents or citizens, with very limited exceptions. In … Read more
On Monday, the government warned that tourists could be deported or detained if they failed to self-isolate on arrival. One problem for all those who want to comply by the rules: there aren’t many places they can do so. The Spinoff’s coverage of Covid-19 is funded by Spinoff Members. To support this work, join Spinoff Members … Read more
Tourism and hospitality industries are buckling under the weight of the Covid-19 response. With the government set to announce a relief package, small businesses on Auckland’s Dominion Road describe just how needed it is. At a small travel brokerage on Dominion Road, five or six staff members sit at their desks taking calls. The phone … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New travel restrictions make Covid-19 recession all but certain, further cases of the virus confirmed, and March 15 commemoration called off. Major new travel restrictions were announced over the weekend, making a recession this year all but certain to happen. Toby Manhire has put together the essential … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Creative accounting around the ETS explored, Ardern goes to ground on Peters, and ACT criticised for keeping donation from extremist. Often when reporting on technical and thorny pieces of legislation, it helps to have a specialist reporter looking into it. Stuff’s Charlie Mitchell has come out with … Read more
As the world’s second-largest economy rushes to contain the deadly coronavirus which has killed more than 360 people, what effects will it have on some of New Zealand’s key industries in the short term? Aviation From Monday, foreigners arriving from or transiting through China will be refused entry into New Zealand in an attempt to … Read more
Turns out that a lot of people are very mad at a lot of our iconic tourist attractions. This summer will go down in history as the first time that I stood in the shadow of the mighty L&P bottle in Paeroa. The rumours are true – I have never seen a botty so big. … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Complainants respond to report on former Labour staffer allegations, prominent businessman arrested in Australia, and worrying new report into tourism’s environmental impacts. Complainants in the fresh inquiry into the conduct of a former Labour staffer have responded to the QC findings. The Spinoff reports that the inquiry … Read more
The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s report is very clear – our tourism industry is contributing to serious environmental degradation in its current form. So what does that mean? What’s all this then? Tourism in this country has a huge problem. It is heavily dependent on the image of New Zealand as clean and green. … Read more
Welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Death toll from Whakaari eruption likely to rise, cabinet agrees Auckland port must move, and expensive Christchurch stadium details released. UPDATE – 7.07am: More information on the number of people on the island at the time of the eruption has been released. 47 people were there at the … Read more
‘Kids’ board games are bad. Pretending to be pirates or whatever is bad. Crafts are bad.’ Emily Writes finds a kindred spirit in the parenting memoir of Slate editor Dan Kois. I knew I wanted to read Dan Kois’ book about family life before it had even been written. I’d met him in Wellington. He’d … Read more
From golden beaches to lush kauri bush, a visit to Te Tai Tokerau offers a true showcase of New Zealand’s natural splendour. We’ve put together a list of all you need to know before you explore the Far North this summer. If you’ve got friends or relatives visiting Aotearoa, top of their list should be … Read more
A wild, hilly spear studded with brilliant beaches and thrilling bush, the Coromandel Peninsula is a magic geographical cul-de-sac. Here’s how to explore this stunning part of our backyard. If you’ve got friends or relatives visiting Aotearoa, top of their list should be sorting out their NZeTA (New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority). Head to the Immigration … Read more
Covering Climate Now: Saying climate change is important is one thing. So why are we so incapable of having a real conversation about what actually addressing it will mean? Sam McGlennon investigates. The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is made possible thanks to Spinoff Members. Join us here! Up until a week ago, I often wondered … Read more
Over the course of the local elections period, The Spinoff will be publishing primers on some of the most interesting races around the country. Today, Alex Braae casts his eyes over the race for the Waitaki District mayoralty. The Spinoff local election coverage is entirely funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Nervousness about latest batch of tourist numbers, Waitangi Tribunal hammers prisoner voting ban, and more refugees heading for smaller provincial centres. The tourism industry is showing definite signs of a wobble, with arrival number growth looking flat and certain key markets dropping away. Despite 2019 being … Read more
Outsized economic growth is becoming more of a threat than an opportunity in the Mediterranean tourist Mecca and New Zealand should take note, writes financial planner Chris Lee. Any business – indeed, any country – that does not carefully consider ‘right sizing’ is at risk of failure caused by inappropriate, unsustainable growth. Ask former Fletcher … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Skifield snowmaking a sign of the future, vaccination rates fall alarmingly, and construction industry encouraged to lower emissions. Snowmaking has saved the ski industry from disaster this year, after the weather didn’t create the desired winter wonderland. The ODT reports that South Island mountains have seen very little … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: NZ Herald digital subscriber numbers reach first major milestone, Forest and Bird drop two major stories, and maternity wards lacking overnight cover. An exciting story broke yesterday for those who follow news about news. The NZ Herald put this one outside the paywall – releasing that the company had … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Flashpoint looms for disastrous census, a deep dive on emissions from tourism, and minister promises hard look at unsafe landfills. The debacle around the 2018 census is set for a major flashpoint this week, with parliament demanding data Stats NZ doesn’t yet want to provide. Radio NZ reports … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Queenstown to hold referendum on visitor levy, Willie Apiata VC says he got no support for PTSD, and Rugby World Cup concerns for rural households. It turns out that announcement about Queenstown that was teased yesterday was actually pretty important. Local mayor Jim Boult says there will … Read more
Two decades on since ‘100% Pure’ New Zealand is slipping behind in environmental innovation. We need to act now to preserve our hard-won global image, writes James Araci. This year will be the 20th anniversary of New Zealand’s ‘100% Pure’ tourism campaign. Whatever you think of that slogan, there’s no doubt it has created billions of … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Wild rental inflation hits Wellington, an end to tenure review system has been announced, and confirmation comes of Chinese squeeze on tourism. Wellington is experiencing a wild spell of rent inflation at the moment, reports One News. Average rents in the city are now $45 a week more … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: First published poll of the year spells disaster for National, China-NZ tourism promotion yanked, and rural firefighters struggling to find water. Hey, remember how I said the other day that National were having a good start to their year? Well, according to the first poll of it, they’re absolutely … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Two major threats loom for the tourism industry, fair pay agreement working group comes back, and Shane Jones and Russel Norman go to war over trawling. For two major of reasons, the tourism industry could be about to hit some severe headwinds. It’s an enormous sector of … Read more