Author Archive
Aussie Minister shows guts, foresight and concern; ours… not so much
Written By: - Date published: 2:11 pm, October 25th, 2009 - 31 comments
Australia’s Federal Industry Minister Kim Carr has criticized Bridgestone’s closure of its Australian and New Zealand operations and the 1000 redundancies it’ll bring. Carr is looking at ways to alleviate some of the unemployment problems for the laid-off aussie workers but criticizes Bridgestone for pulling out (and no doubt relocating to countries where workers get […]
John Key, Edication Espert
Written By: - Date published: 11:40 am, October 24th, 2009 - 69 comments
Well what a fiasco yesterday’s launch of National’s brave new $36 million education policy was. Despite Key claiming the plan was one of the most important steps his Government would ever take, teachers and principals boycotted the event in droves. Even the government’s education policy advisor Prof John Hattie said the new policy was potentially […]
One of these things is not like the other VIII
Written By: - Date published: 2:35 pm, October 23rd, 2009 - 30 comments
One of these things is not like the other, One of these things is not quite the same… Can you guess which one is not like the other, Can you tell me before I finish the game?
Who is John Key?
Written By: - Date published: 3:14 pm, October 21st, 2009 - 40 comments
OK, so this might be only slightly more intellectual than the usual quality of political analysis in our msm, and obviously it could never match the informative value of asking which politician would help an old lady across the street, but a few days back there was some speculation about which Simpsons character best personifies […]
Talk about politics
Written By: - Date published: 11:21 pm, October 19th, 2009 - 8 comments
On RNZ’s Nine to Noon today Andrew Campbell rips the shit out of National‘s grotesque mismanagement of the Rugby World Cup fiasco and laments the lack of talent in the PM’s staff, all the while Matthew Hooton gently weeps. There’s also talk about how despite the ongoing cock-ups of this Government the polls are still […]
Ned Flanders without the moustache
Written By: - Date published: 12:21 pm, October 17th, 2009 - 24 comments
Last night on TV3’s 7 Days panelist Jeremy Elwood described John Key as “New Zealand’s very own Ned Flanders without a moustache.” Ned’s a pretty complex character, with quite a lot of suppressed rage and a dark side that makes his hyper-cheerful niceness actually more of a necessary coping device than an optional expression of […]
Talk about politics. And nutters
Written By: - Date published: 1:54 pm, October 4th, 2009 - 3 comments
Today’s mediawatch on RNZ covers problems with the reportage of the tsunami warnings, the politics of climate change reporting, and features an interview with Mike King about his life and new Sunday night Radio Live show focusing on psychological issues and mental illness. Although it’s entitled The Nutter’s Club, the show’s got the potential to […]
LKJ: If I was a Top-notch Poet
Written By: - Date published: 11:25 am, October 2nd, 2009 - Comments Off on LKJ: If I was a Top-notch Poet
For my old mate Mercurius. I hope things are looking up.
Talk about politics
Written By: - Date published: 8:47 pm, September 29th, 2009 - 28 comments
RNZ’s Kathryn Ryan talks to Matthew Hooton and Andrew Campbell about the failures of Key’s trip to NYC, English’s terminal status and contenders to replace him, and Green leadership. Hooton’s dispirited ‘defences’ of Key and English speak volumes. From yesterday but still relevant for a while yet.
Bomber’s War on News
Written By: - Date published: 12:05 pm, September 29th, 2009 - 5 comments
If you haven’t been able to see it yet or can’t get Triangle/Stratos, here’s a link to recent episodes of Bomber Bradbury’s War on News. It’s entertaining, accurate and educational all at once. Kind of like PBS only a bit more ‘informal’. It’s also pretty funny in parts and Bomber comes across as genuine and […]
Billalice in Wonderwelly
Written By: - Date published: 8:04 am, September 27th, 2009 - 4 comments
Things must be getting decidedly trippy for Deputy PM Bill English about now, and not in a good way. While his glorious leader is off overseas playing the Jester Statesman, back home Bill’s future is looking gloomier by the day. With the Auditor General looking into English‘s Krishna-like claims of being able to exist in […]
Reverse Midas Touch
Written By: - Date published: 1:41 pm, September 26th, 2009 - 14 comments
And so ends a great day’s trading under the erstwhile eye of Mr Key. Looks like they won’t be inviting John back to give the opening bell at the NYSE.
Understanding political behaviour
Written By: - Date published: 11:30 am, September 22nd, 2009 - 34 comments
It seems political scientists could learn a thing or two from anthropologists after all. “Neanderthals were not the gentle, almost-human creatures portrayed in the media over the last 50 years…“ No surprises there mate.
A long time between drinks
Written By: - Date published: 8:20 am, September 21st, 2009 - 22 comments
The latest Roy Morgan poll puts National down 5% and Labour up 4%. Still a big gap, but it seems at last New Zealanders’ patience is waning over this Government’s competence and honesty issues.
One of these things is not like the other VII
Written By: - Date published: 2:30 pm, September 20th, 2009 - 39 comments
One of these things is not the other, One of these things is not quite the same… Can you guess which one is not like the other, Can you tell me before I finish the game?
Our Political Blogosphere
Written By: - Date published: 3:45 pm, August 25th, 2009 - 11 comments
Denis Welch educating the broader public about the New Zealand political blogosphere on RNZ’s 9 to Noon today with Lynn Freeman. A pretty fair synopsis and well worth a quick listen. (9:19 mins total)
Worth the Bill
Written By: - Date published: 7:05 am, August 5th, 2009 - 35 comments
What would you call it when you collect $900 a week by false pretenses? What would you call it when you tell the Electoral Commission and Ministerial Services that you live somewhere other than where you, your partner and your children actually live and work? And if you did those things while holding an office presumably subject […]
One of these things is not like the other VI
Written By: - Date published: 7:44 am, August 4th, 2009 - 48 comments
One of these things is not like the other One of these things is not quite the same. Can you guess which one is not like the other Can you tell me before I finish the game?
Linton Kwesi Johnson: FITE DEM BACK
Written By: - Date published: 12:15 pm, August 1st, 2009 - 6 comments
Edwards and Latta
Written By: - Date published: 2:18 pm, July 19th, 2009 - 14 comments
There’s an interesting discussion that’s broken out on brianedwardsmedia between Brian Edwards, who writes a fairly excoriating piece on Nigel Latta’s Politically Incorrect Parenting Show), and Latta who responds at length in the comments. The show’s title, which frames a recurrent theme, always did strike me as shameless populist exploitation that’s more about vacuous, dog-whistle marketing […]
Cool Cat
Written By: - Date published: 8:25 pm, July 16th, 2009 - 16 comments
Courtsey of Chairman Meow. Obey the Kitteh!
A brave man
Written By: - Date published: 12:59 pm, July 15th, 2009 - 70 comments
Looking at the centre photo above of John Key gave me pause for thought; I realised that much as I dislike his politics, he is a brave man. Brave because he really does appear to be consistently out of his depth, yet despite being half-dead with a cold or exhaustion, he soldiers on. I somehow doubt […]
Toast
Written By: - Date published: 3:00 pm, July 12th, 2009 - 34 comments
What a horrifying sight today’s Q+A interview with Minister of Food Safety Kate Wilkinson made. It was a shameful performance from a media point of view, with Wilkinson looking ineffectual, implausible and well out of her depth. But from a political point of view it was gobsmacking. Wilkinson enthusiastically admitted that she didn’t agree with new […]
National’s successes
Written By: - Date published: 3:30 pm, June 27th, 2009 - 72 comments
National’s 2008 election victory was undoubtedly a great success for the Party. Just two terms after humiliating defeat under the leadership of Bill English, National rose from the ashes to claim a convincing win. Forming a broad coalition that brought the Maori Party into the fold, thus simultaneously broadening National’s coalition options and lessening the necessity to […]
National’s growing silence explained
Written By: - Date published: 6:08 pm, June 23rd, 2009 - 23 comments
Judy Callingham (partner of Brian Edwards) has a new post, one of a series of media tips they write on. The latest tip might suggest National are slowly learning the hang of managing the media and explains why National are already clamming up and failing to front on so many important issues. Yet while Callingham […]
- Mining lobby: Fast-track bill’s ministerial powers ‘not unusual’
Ministers make the final decision in many areas, but the ability to control the front and back end of the process would be unique The post Mining lobby: Fast-track bill’s ministerial powers ‘not unusual’ appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago - Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 13 MayLoading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp'); Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. The post Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 13 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Daily crossword, Monday 13 MayThe post Daily crossword, Monday 13 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Job seekers feel the pressure as labour market softens againBusiness & investing: All regions recorded an annual double-digit percentage decline in job ads The post Job seekers feel the pressure as labour market softens again appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- No need to shock with a fake crisisOpinion: The cold weather and spikes in power demand have been well handled by the electricity system The post No need to shock with a fake crisis appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Auckland’s gravity-defying debt swallows the airport share millionsAuckland’s debt remains stubbornly high, despite a large airport share sale, but the Watercare deal and new limits might start to tame the beast The post Auckland’s gravity-defying debt swallows the airport share millions appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Explainer: Why new school attendance data doesn’t match the rhetoricAnalysis: The Government has launched its crackdown on truancy, with daily attendance data reporting The post Explainer: Why new school attendance data doesn’t match the rhetoric appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters meets with new Solomon Islands PM
The foreign affairs minister has landed in Solomon Islands for the first leg of his Pacific tour, and an audience with the newly elected Prime Minister. ...1 week ago - Season two of The Boy in the WaterOn an unusually hot night in January 2019, a little boy’s lifeless body was found face up in a small town’s sewage oxidation pond. To the police, it was an open and shut case: three-year-old Lachlan Jones had run away from his home in the Southland town of Gore, climbed ...1 week ago
- Pre-budget teasers increase exposure – and scrutinyMediawatch looks at how one pre-Budget announcement played well for a minister last week - but this week, one was badly botched. ...1 week ago
- An Ode to .. SeymourGrub Street King Luxon rode through the streets Of King’s Landing, and was troubled By the sight of hungry urchins in the mud. “Who would be the best of my Lords To deal with this negative optic?” He pondered. The answer came to him instantly. “Seymour!” he said to himself. ...1 week ago
- Fast Track Bill Should Be Withdrawn
“The Bill does not provide environmental protection, good quality decision making, certainty, public participation or speed. It should be withdrawn.” ...1 week ago - Fast-track Approvals Bill: Chief Ombudsman calls for accountability by lawDemocracy will be the "loser" if sweeping executive powers are granted to ministers under the new bill, the Chief Ombudsman warns. ...1 week ago
- Australian Strategic Policy Institute warns AUKUS could 'crush' its defence industryAn Australian Strategic Policy Institute report says Pillar Two could raise the industry to state of the art capability - or "crush" it "under the weight of the globe's biggest player". ...1 week ago
- UN vote: NZ supports 'enhancing Palestine's status' – PetersNew Zealand has voted in favour of a resolution to broaden the Palestinian role at the United Nations General Assembly. ...1 week ago
- Cold houses to blame for people needing to 'blast the heater' – Green Building Counc...New Zealand's housing building standards are decades behind most other countries in the OECD, green building advocates say. ...1 week ago
- Austerity For Everyone Except Weapons Dealers“Instead of following along countries that are investing in death and better ways of killing people faster, we need to invest in life and in making Aotearoa a fair, just and equitable place where everyone has what they need for a dignified life.” ...1 week ago
- The Secret Diary of .. Te Pāti MāoriMARIAMENO KAPA-KINGI, TPM MP FOR TAI TOKERAU This Government will not waver in its mission to exterminate Māori. CHRISTOPHER LUXON Oh well look you know I don’t think that hard-working Kiwis want to hear language like that. It’s just really unhelpful rhetoric. My Government is genuinely committed to advancing outcomes ...1 week ago
- When body positivity morphs into toxic masculinityThe body positivity movement started with women confronting the unrealistic expectations and unrepresentative portrayals of them in media and advertising. Men weren’t part of it … their bodies hadn’t been sexualised to the same extremes and they didn’t really need it. But now that’s changed. And in a warped sort ...1 week ago
- ‘A curse and a blessing’: Ginette McDonald on how Lyn of Tawa changed her life
The New Zealand comedy legend takes us through her life in television, including the time she hugged Elton John and the unshakeable legacy of a girl named Lyn. In 1981, Ginette McDonald stood on the stage of Auckland’s St James Theatre and directly addressed Queen Elizabeth II. It was a ...1 week ago - ‘Mothering looked beautiful but also chaotic and stifling’: On flatting with a newbornAn essay by Lily Duval from the just-released anthology Otherhood: Essays on being childless, childfree and child adjacent. I was 22 when my friend Alice gave birth in the living room of our pokey Addington flat. She laboured in the blow-up pool for hours. Garish fish swam along the inflated ...1 week ago
- Motherhood: A reading journeyElla Borrie on the best books about motherhood she’s come across so far. Over the past few years I’ve been drawn to books about motherhood. I’m fascinated by the joys and horrors of becoming a parent. The question of children also feels more pressing than it used to. It’s like ...1 week ago
- The Steve Awards 2024: Honouring the year’s worst Mother’s Day marketingOut of gift ideas for mum? You can’t go wrong with a bottle of toilet cleaner and a new squeegee. Emily Writes is the writer and editor of Emily Writes Weekly. This week marks five years since I published a post on The Spinoff about Mother’s Day marketing titled ‘A ...1 week ago
- The Sunday Essay: A buzzy yearMy husband is posted overseas for 12 months and I’m armed with an expensive, newfangled vibrator. Will I miss him? The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. A few days after my husband leaves, a new sex toy arrives at the front door. Nestled ...1 week ago
- Tracing four decades of Wellington street artJaimie Baird’s new book Here Today Gone Tomorrow is a record of four decades of graffiti and street art in Wellington, told through more than 1,200 photographs. He spoke with Joel MacManus about what inspired the book. How did you first get interested in photographing street art? I remember ...1 week ago
- The Weekend: How the woke sausage is madeEditor Madeleine Chapman looks back at a busy week where food of all political leanings dominated. Sometimes you’re just going about your week thinking you’ve got a good handle on what might be coming as far as news topics and then someone (usually a politician) says something so ridiculous that ...1 week ago
- The Boy in the Water: Police caught in ‘zone of uncertainty’ In a week of cold rain and frost, the climate in courtroom four upstairs at the Invercargill courthouse was simmering with restrained indignation. At times it felt like the famous Mexican standoff scene from Reservoir Dogs, or, as someone watching the proceedings described it, there was so much throwing of ...1 week ago
- Short story: Message me, by Lucy O’ConnorA banner notification alerts me to the fact that I’ve received an Instagram message from @felicity.loves. She always comments on my posts. I shouldn’t have opened the message, but clicked on the notification before rationalising this. OMG! Are you in Wellys? X I debate not replying, but Instagram will inform ...1 week ago
- Callum Donaldson has his head in the gameIn Melbourne’s hardscrabble western suburbs where AFL – Aussie rules football – is a state religion, Callum Donaldson has been quietly grafting away, four months into an odyssey that he hopes will take him to another promised land: the NRL. It was a solid 2023 for the softly spoken 20-year-old ...1 week ago
- Back in Black: Aldora’s year gets even betterAldora Itunu is back in the Black Ferns squad after a three-year absence. The last of her 24 internationals was an underwhelming loss to France (7-29) in Castres to conclude the disastrous 2021 Northern Tour. The powerhouse prop won a Rugby World Cup in 2017 and thought she was done. ...2 weeks ago
- ‘Who’s actually governing this city?’The fight to control major transport policy and projects in Auckland has burst into the open again, with councillors rejecting Mayor Wayne Brown’s latest attempt to steer things more under his influence. Councillors from the left and right broke ranks on the mayor’s bid to control Auckland Transport more directly ...2 weeks ago
- The return of .. Raw PoliticsExhausted by the general election campaign, horrified by the twilight zone of coalition negotiations, distracted by the silly season and waiting for the honeymoon to begin, Raw Politics has been in hibernation since October. From today, we’re back. Our weekly political video show and podcast returns for ...2 weeks ago
- Committee Silences Majority Of Submitters On Fast-track Bill350 Aotearoa is calling the Environment Select Committee’s decision to allow oral submissions from just 40% of individual, unique submitters who asked to speak to the committee ‘a disgraceful blight to democracy’. ...2 weeks ago
- Labour Up, Greens Down But Centre-Right Remains AheadThis is the first time since February that voters have had a net positive view of the country direction. ...2 weeks ago
- RNZAF Hercules, NZDF Personnel Arrive In Papua New Guinea To Help Distribute Relief SuppliesPapua New Guinea experienced a significant earthquake on 24 March in East Sepik and there has also been recent flooding there and in surrounding provinces. ...2 weeks ago
- Community Groups Furious That Government Silencing Hundreds In Fast-Track HearingsThe Environment Select Committee has just announced that 60 percent of individuals who asked to speak at the hearings will not be heard. This equates to almost 700 people who made individual submissions and more than 1000 more who made a form submission. ...2 weeks ago
- Review: Swan Lake is a reminder of how much work it takes to look effortlessThe Royal New Zealand Ballet is performing Swan Lake around the country. What kind of dream does the ballet sell? Before going to see the Royal New Zealand Ballet perform Swan Lake, I had about as much familiarity with the plot of this ballet as could be expected from having ...2 weeks ago
- The Friday Poem: ‘High Tide at Local Maxima’ by Eamonn TeeA new poem by Auckland poet Eamonn Tee. High Tide at Local Maxima It is only going to get worse. The streams will be narrow and fickle. The week will bend and buckle like a pot-bellied waist. You will make it to the weekend with one ...2 weeks ago
- The plastic-heavy drinks industry is in for a shake-upThe New Zealand entrepreneur behind beauty business Ethique is gearing up to launch a new eco-venture. This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. Our thirst for a tasty bevvy is insatiable, but it comes with a hefty plastic price for the planet: 580 billion ...2 weeks ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending May 10The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 James by Percival Everett (Mantle, $38) A retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from ...2 weeks ago
- Downsizing Of ERO Inconsistent With Govt Priority Of Lifting Student AchievementThe PSA is concerned that Government spending cuts have forced ERO to downsize at a time when student achievement is a significant challenge. ...2 weeks ago
- This new TVNZ anthology is Motherhood as you’ve never seen it beforeTara Ward previews a new local TV series offering alternative visions of motherhood. This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. A woman is clambering up the side of her two-story house, clinging desperately to a drainpipe. Nearby, her child is perched on the ...2 weeks ago
- LGNZ Supportive Of Cross-party Approach To Climate AdaptationLocal Government New Zealand (LGNZ) is supportive of the cross-party approach to climate adaptation announced by the Minister of Climate Change today. ...2 weeks ago
- SBC And CLC Welcome Bipartisan Climate Adaptation InquiryThe Sustainable Business Council (SBC) and Climate Leaders Coalition (CLC) welcome today’s announcement from Government around a bipartisan inquiry into an enduring climate adaptation framework for New Zealand. ...2 weeks ago
- Another Victory For Free Speech: DIA Abandons Proposals For Online CensorshipThe Free Speech Union welcomes the decision by the Department of Internal Affairs, and Minister Brooke Van Velden, to abandon proposals to further regulate online speech. ...2 weeks ago
- Consensus WelcomedBusinessNZ is congratulating the Minister of Climate Change for his work in achieving cross-party consensus for a way forward on climate adaptation. ...2 weeks ago
- How many lives is that tax cut worth?Recent research reveals the repeal of smokefree measures is not only bad for our health, but also the economy. The Government has repealed various smokefree measures to ensure it keeps collecting $1.2 billion a year in tobacco taxes, in order to pay for tax cuts already being delivered to ...2 weeks ago
- How the Phoenix went from wooden spoon favourites to title contendersThe club’s surprisingly good season is built on the desire to prove a random A-League YouTuber wrong… and a few other factors. “There’s no way that Wellington Phoenix play finals this year. I can’t see it happening at all.” Those are the words of Lachlan Raeside, an Australian football content ...2 weeks ago
- It’s time to ditch Berhampore Golf CourseThe under-utilised course is a waste of space, and with a little political will, it could be turned into something better. For the duration of her stay in Wellington, my long-suffering cousin listened to me rant about golf courses. They’re bad for the environment: water intensive and pesticide heavy. They ...2 weeks ago
- Could you be about to lose your power?New Zealanders have been asked to conserve energy this morning to combat a possible electricity shortfall, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A call to conserve power New Zealand is facing a possible electricity shortfall, with people up ...2 weeks ago
- What actually are the Ockhams?Writer Rebecca K Reilly breaks down the national book awards. What are the Ockhams? The Ockham New Zealand Book Awards are our annual national awards for books published for adults, and have existed in this form since 2016. There are four categories: Fiction, Poetry, General Non-fiction and Illustrated Non-fiction. There ...2 weeks ago
- Selling Wellington Airport would be colossally carelessWellington City Council should keep its 34% ownership share in Wellington International Airport, argue Unions Wellington spokespeople Finn Cordwell and Ashok Jacob. Insanity, as the saying goes, is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Wellington City Council (WCC) is yet again proposing to dispose ...2 weeks ago
- Two senior publishers axed at Penguin Random House amid major restructureNew Zealand’s largest book publisher has undergone drastic changes this week, leaving its future role in local publishing uncertain. Two of the most recognisable local publishers in New Zealand are among those restructured out of Penguin Random House, it was announced this week. Head of publishing Claire Murdoch will leave ...2 weeks ago
- All trained up and nowhere to writeIn 2021 the Public Interest Journalism Fund launched the Te Rito Journalism project, a $2.4 million initiative to boost diversity in New Zealand’s newsrooms. The initiative was in response to the decades-long shortage of Māori and Pacific journalists in the media industry. It was billed as New Zealand’s ...2 weeks ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 10 MayThe post Daily crossword, Friday 10 May appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 weeks ago
- Black Ferns Sevens: The greatest team of allThe Black Ferns Sevens appeared to be a mile behind Australia at the halfway point of the 2023-24 SVNS international circuit. Winless in three tournaments, a cup quarter-final exit in Perth was one of their worst results. To add insult to injury, talismanic skipper Sarah Hirini had been ruled out ...2 weeks ago
- Government To Respond To 259 Human Rights RecommendationsActing Chief Human Rights Commissioner Saunoamaali’i Dr Karanina Sumeo says, “Addressing violence and abuse remains New Zealand’s most significant human rights issue affecting women. ...2 weeks ago
- Glaring Hole Exposed In Government’s Single Use Plastics BanJust Earth Papers has challenged the Ministry for Environment to follow its own guidance on the phase out and ban of single-use plastics. ...2 weeks ago
- Please let me watch the horny tennis movie at a reasonable timeOne woman’s quest to watch Challengers without ruining her body clock. Every Saturday morning, I wake up with a screaming demon inside my head urging me to “Do. Something. This. Weekend.” I run through the possibilities in my head in a defensive mental crouch, reminiscent of that one time I ...2 weeks ago
- ACC Job Cuts Will Mean More Accidents And InjuriesThe PSA is alarmed that ACC is proposing to shed 309 jobs including 29 dedicated injury prevention jobs at a time when the number and cost of injuries is rising. ...2 weeks ago
- Help Me Hera: Are my friend’s compliments of our other mate designed to terrorise me?She doesn’t have a single kind word for me and it’s getting under my skin. Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz Dear Hera, I have two amazing friends that I absolutely adore. Grace (all names have been changed) and I lived together across 2023 and Olivia moved in with us this ...2 weeks ago
- How mana whenua lead the way in revolutionising environmental healingCan Western science and Māori science work together to support our well-being? The Te Ohu Mō Papatūānuku (TOMP) Trials Project was a landmark case for healing the land and people with the guidance of Māori science and leadership. This is what happened when Papatūānuku (Earth) was contaminated by toxic discharge, ...2 weeks ago
- Wellington’s new District Plan can be the path forward out of the city’s malaiseThe District Plan is a blueprint for a bigger, better Wellington, through tens of thousands of new apartments and townhouses and a new approach to urban growth. Joel MacManus lays out the vision. The process of putting together Wellington’s new District Plan has been long and excruciating. As a city, ...2 weeks ago
- Why Trust Is A MustThe Acumen Edelman Trust barometer reported that New Zealand’s political trust score now sits below the global average, a topic explored in a recent discussion paper by Maxim Institute. ...2 weeks ago
- Protest March Against Fast-track Bill Announced For AucklandGreenpeace Aotearoa executive director Russel Norman says, "The Fast-Track Bill is the most damaging piece of environmental legislation any Government has introduced in living memory. People are angry, and it’s time to march." ...2 weeks ago
- A busy week at school for David SeymourThe school lunches programme has been retained – and will be extended to some preschoolers. So how is it going to cost $107 million less? To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. The minister with many hats David Seymour wears a number of hats, but this week ...2 weeks ago
- Tikanga is the first law of AotearoaA senior lawyer has filed a complaint about tikanga becoming a required law school module. Law lecturer Carwyn Jones explains what he’s getting wrong. “…the first law of Aotearoa, a law that served the needs of tangata whenua for a thousand years before the arrival of tauiwi.” – Ani Mikaere ...2 weeks ago
- ‘Your agency is taken away’: When endometriosis treatment changes without your consentIn 2019, an Auckland woman woke up from surgery to find that she had undergone a treatment she didn’t consent to. She tells Alex Casey about her experience. From her very first period at the age of 14, Laura experienced “debilitating” levels of pain that forced her to withdraw from ...2 weeks ago
- NZCTU Launch Project To Set Out Alternative Vision For AotearoaA long-term project that will set out an alternative vision for Aotearoa that looks beyond the narrow confines of the policy straight jacket adopted by successive governments. ...2 weeks ago
- A definitive list of woke and non-woke foodsIn announcing changes to the school lunches programme, David Seymour said kids would no longer be served ‘woke’ foods. To clear up any confusion, The Spinoff has compiled a guide to the wokeness levels of some common food items. Apple = NOT WOKE Avocado = WOKE Avocado, smashed = EVEN ...2 weeks ago
- NCSC Briefs IPAC Representatives On Response To Malicious Cyber ActivityThe Minister Responsible for GCSB and the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security have been notified of this review, and have been provided a finalised Terms of Reference. ...2 weeks ago
- Modernising Census – Stats NZFrom today, members of the public can have their say on what Aotearoa New Zealand’s census could look like in the future. ...2 weeks ago
- ‘I do love a good funnysad novel’: Jane Arthur on her favourite booksWelcome to The Spinoff Bookseller Confessional, in which we get to know Aotearoa’s booksellers. This week: Jane Arthur, author of Brown Bird, and former bookseller at Good Books. The book I wish I’d written I have been working on not comparing myself to others. On accepting that what I can ...2 weeks ago
- War for Wellington: Minister approves sweeping upzoning, rejects heritage changesThe final decision on the Wellington District Plan makes it official: High-density housing is legal across most of Wellington. Housing minister Chris Bishop has announced his decision on the Wellington District Plan, approving a series of amendments to radically upzone most of Wellington, allowing tens of thousands of new townhouses ...2 weeks ago
- Why we’re fighting to save Te Huia, the Hamilton-Auckland trainWith funding set to be scrapped for the Hamilton-Auckland commuter train, Te Huia enthusiast Georgie Dansey argues for it to be thrown a lifeline. It’s 5.45am and the chain of my crappy old bike falls off slugging up the one hill in Hamilton. I contemplate yeeting the bike into the ...2 weeks ago
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