Crown rejects Dunedin bus hub stabber’s self-defence plea

https://www.effectiveratecpm.com/xdvtd6yxqb?key=9554404018c26e6f076623874c1aa864 Enere Taana-McLaren, 16, died after he was stabbed at a bus stop in Dunedin in May last year. Photo: Facebook screenshot Enere Taana-McLaren, 16, was stabbed at Dunedin’s bus hub on 23 May 2024 A then 13-year-old boy, who has interim name suppression, was charged with his murder, and has pleaded not guilty The … Read more

Echo Chamber: Christopher Luxon and the merry gang of frickin’ lame-os

Another day in the House, where questions mostly revolved around ‘how could xyz possibly get worse?’ Echo Chamber is The Spinoff’s dispatch from the press gallery, recapping sessions in the House. Columns are written by politics reporter Lyric Waiwiri-Smith and Wellington editor Joel MacManus. There’s a restless air that flows through parliament on the Tuesday … Read more

HOKA shoes uses a Māori name. Why don’t they say so?

https://www.effectiveratecpm.com/xdvtd6yxqb?key=9554404018c26e6f076623874c1aa864 HOKA shoes at a store in Poland. Photo: JAKUB PORZYCKI/AFP HOKA is a French American sneaker brand seen on the feet of celebrities such as Britney Spears and Gwyneth Paltrow, and exploding in global popularity. The name HOKA is a Māori word meaning “to fly,” but you’re unlikely to know that. The company, which … Read more

Neil Finn is quietly turning a ridiculous idea into a musical colossus

More than two decades after his first foray into livestreaming, Finn’s Infinity Sessions are beaming extraordinary collisions from Roundhead Studios to the world. Ahead of the latest installation, Toby Manhire catches up with the Crowded House frontman at Studio A.  Win 2 x tickets to Neil Finn’s Infinity Session live from Roundhead Studios in Auckland, … Read more

PM joins NZ First’s war on woke

Winston Peters wants to scrub the ‘woke DEI’ from our public service. Christopher Luxon says he may have a point, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Peters has a point on diversity, equity and inclusion, says PM Christopher Luxon has thrown his … Read more

Wellington Water is begging to be put out of its misery

The leaders of Wellington’s under-fire water service provider defended their own jobs, but admitted the organisation is doomed to fail. “I’m sorry that we are here today,” Wellington Water chief executive Pat Dougherty said, sitting beside board chair Nick Leggett, as the pair fronted up to mayors and councillors from around the Wellington region on … Read more

Behind the wheel of a ‘political hot potato’: Meet New Zealand’s anti-Musk Tesla drivers

As Elon Musk becomes an increasingly powerful figure in Trump’s America, some Tesla owners in Aotearoa are finding ways to distance themselves from the brand with which he’s synonymous. Will it save them from being targeted? There’s a single fresh sticker on Sam’s rear bumper. The Auckland EV owner stuck it on his 2021 Tesla … Read more

Dick Frizzell: ‘I had my own private world all to myself that no one could enter’

https://www.effectiveratecpm.com/xdvtd6yxqb?key=9554404018c26e6f076623874c1aa864 Photo: supplied Iconic New Zealand artist Dick Frizzell grew up as one of six kids, in a small town, where there was only room for one arty one, as he puts it. His “staunch engineer” father wasn’t into the idea of his creative future, but his mum had his back. “I was kind of … Read more

Police name man killed at Christchurch property

https://www.effectiveratecpm.com/xdvtd6yxqb?key=9554404018c26e6f076623874c1aa864 Emergency services were called to a social housing complex on Innes Road in Mairehau at about 9.15pm Sunday. Photo: RNZ/Anna Sargent The man who died at a Christchurch property on Sunday night, triggering a homicide investigation, has been named. Emergency services were called to a social housing complex on Innes Road in Mairehau at … Read more