The Bulletin: Winter grazing in the spotlight

Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Winter grazing in the spotlight, teens smoking much less weed than they used to, and stats show big acceleration in Auckland house building. To lead us off today, a look at a relatively long running farming issue which has burst into the spotlight in recent … Read more

The Bulletin: More money for those with less

Good morning, and welcome back to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: The minimum wage has gone up, a rāhui on the Waitakere ranges is being violated, and New Zealand’s future food security is in focus.  More money for those with less from this weekend, with the minimum wage rising, and the accommodation supplement being boosted. The minimum … Read more

Auckland Council vote ‘āe’ on the rāhui

Yesterday Auckland Council voted unanimously to endorse the rāhui placed by local iwi Te Kawerau ā Maki on the Waitākere Regional Park, and close all walking tracks to help fight the spread of the deadly kauri dieback disease. Edward Ashby, the executive manager of Te Kawerau ā Maki, explains what it’s all for. New Zealand … Read more

Does Auckland Council respect the rāhui, or reject the rāhui?

A Facebook post by the Auckland Council’s tourism arm encouraging people to hike in the Waitākere Ranges is another example of the council’s mixed messaging on the kauri dieback. Waitangi Day: the annual acknowledgement of the partnership Māori and the Crown entered in 1840. On the same day, the Auckland Council did its best to … Read more

Why aren’t people listening? Māori scientists on why rāhui are important

Why are people ignoring the rāhui on the Waitakere Ranges? Māori researchers Melanie Mark-Shadbolt and Dr James Ataria spoke to a number of kaumatua and kaitiaki around the North Island to discuss what can be done to protect our taonga. In a desperate effort to stop the spread of kauri dieback in their forests, local … Read more

Intrepid summer road trip: Auckland’s caves, beaches, and waterfalls

In the first part of a four piece series exploring the surrounding environments of Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch by road trip, Spinoff writers Simon Day and Don Rowe head north, east and west from Auckland’s central city. Exploring New Zealand’s glorious natural beauty by car is a rite of passage for any Kiwi. The great … Read more

The kauri, the Waitakere and the rāhui

What exactly, asks Simon Wilson, has the council decided to do about kauri dieback? Why did the Māori board members contradict themselves and which trails have been closed? The Auckland Council voted on Monday to substantially increase spending on the environment, including the fight against kauri dieback. Surprisingly, that’s a first. But it turned down … Read more

Has the council done enough to save the Waitakere Ranges kauri?

The council has voted to close tracks in the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park and spend a lot more money trying to stop the spread of kauri dieback. But, asks Simon Wilson, is it enough? It’s quite good to think of kauri dieback the way you think of Alien, or The Walking Dead, or any other … Read more