It’s a seemingly age old question: why do Auckland’s beaches become unswimmable after every single downpour? Stewart Sowman-Lund investigates. Ah, the beach. A staple of the New Zealand summer. Unless, of course, you’re based in Auckland and it’s raining. The start of 2021 has been a lot like every other New Year: headlines flooding in … Read more
As Auckland suffers its worst drought in 27 years, many of the city’s self-service car washes are doing a roaring trade. Michael Andrew finds out how these businesses are getting around the strict water restrictions. Car washing may seem like a wasteful luxury in the middle of a drought, but take a weekend drive out … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Agreement reached in principle for Auckland to take Waikato water, beneficiary debt to MSD balloons, and Opportunities Party lose candidate in key seat. An agreement has been reached in principle for Auckland to take water from the Waikato River. As Radio NZ’s Jordan Bond reports, it is an … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: New poll sets tone for election campaign, new testing criteria for Covid-19 outlined, and weirdness occurs around prisoner voting bill. We’re now three months out from the election, and the latest poll has returned to something approaching a balanced state of play. The One News Colmar Brunton survey … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Auckland drought leads to fears of severe water restrictions, exclusive new poll results on government’s Covid-19 response, and is a resolution coming at Ihumātao? The Auckland water crisis isn’t getting any better, and the city’s leaders are getting extremely nervous about the coming months. That is … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: List of infrastructure projects for fast-tracking announced, Labour releases list for election, and concerns raised about police firearms vetting process. Get your shovels out – 11 projects have been announced to start imminently after being included in an infrastructure fast-tracking bill. As Stuff reports, the inclusion is aimed … Read more
A severe drought has forced Auckland Council to impose water restrictions for the first time in 25 years. Simon Day spoke to Watercare CEO Raveen Jaduram about why saving water this winter is essential. Over the past five months, when I pause on my (almost) daily run with my dog to take in the view … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Questions swirling about legality of lockdown, Microsoft moves towards much bigger presence in NZ, and Transmission Gully in turmoil. On one level, it’s quite a bizarre question – was it legal for the whole country to be ordered to go into lockdown? The question feels strange … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Dire warnings about water levels, tentative good news on Covid-19 case numbers, and local government struggles for funding. The seriousness of this issue has largely gone unnoticed amid everything else, but if we don’t address it now things could get pretty bad. The state of water … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: What PM Boris Johnson could mean for NZ, Uyghur refugee in NZ fears long arm of Chinese law, and govt sets out on path towards RMA reform. There was a huge amount of interest yesterday in Boris Johnson becoming PM of Britain, so today we’ll … Read more
The Resource Management Act is getting another facelift this year, but will it be in time to give Auckland’s kauri a fighting chance? Watercare recently lodged a resource management application in order to begin construction of a replacement water treatment plant in the heart of Titirangi, adding to the powderkeg of tension between locals and … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Tamihere makes a splash with Watercare policy announcement, wind power set to boom, and breakthrough in efforts to reduce cow methane. With the election only a few months away now, it’s a good time to check back in with the state of the Auckland mayoralty … Read more
A new report from Engineering New Zealand focuses on how to respond to two key infrastructure challenges: seismic resilience and water supply. Introducing the report, the organisation’s CEO argues that everyone has a stake in a more resilient country. Engineers prefer practical action to the media spotlight but this week they’re stepping outside their comfort … Read more
Because what your Friday night really needs is Duncan Greive getting beaten up in a cow costume. Let’s face it: it’s been a hard week. Judith Collins has tweeted fake news, landlords want to rifle through your bank statements and Clarke Gayford’s beard isn’t going anywhere. Why not unwind at 10.45pm on Three with a … Read more
Mayor Phil Goff has announced the results of his first round of spending cuts and, as Simon Wilson explains, they’re full of surprises – not least for him. Phil Goff is not going to slash and burn the council’s spending on promoting Auckland to the world. That’s despite a good deal of gnashing of teeth … Read more
The Herald says communications spending at Auckland Council is out of control, but is that true? Simon Wilson looks at what council comms should be doing and why. The water went off in parts of Auckland yesterday. But Watercare didn’t post anything about it on its website and it put out no information on social … Read more
It was a dank but not very stormy night. The school hall was filled with people, and home baking. And some politicians. Simon Wilson was also there. There are things you can say in Titirangi that you wouldn’t dream of in some other parts of the city. Deborah Russell, Labour candidate for New Lynn, which … Read more