Russell Brown

Russell Brown is journalist, music writer and media commentator. He is the owner of the Public Address community of blogs, and writes the blog Hard News.

Music
Feb 15, 2019

bFM is turning 50 and other radio stations are still shit

This week the Auckland radio station 95bFM celebrates its 50th anniversary. Russell Brown looks back at the station's history, the hurdles it's overcome, and why it thrived.

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Politics
Jan 23, 2019

As National's drug czar, will Paula Bennett show good faith, or scaremonger?

The National Party has underscored the importance of the drug law reform debate by appointing its deputy leader to a new role devoted to the issue

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Business
Jan 8, 2019

Summer Reissue: A newbie's guide to buying your first e-bike

The number of e-bikes sold in New Zealand continued to rocket in 2018. So how do you buy one, and what do you need to know before you invest? Russell Brown has the lowdown.

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Auckland
Sep 6, 2018

‘We’re not here to judge your lifestyle, we’re here to make sure you’re housed’

Housing First is designed to get the most vulnerable homeless people into stable accommodation irrespective of mental or physical wellbeing or any history of substance abuse

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Politics
Jul 25, 2018

National’s medicinal cannabis bill is far better than Labour’s

The medicinal cannabis bill filed today in the name of National's Whangarei MP Shane Reti is vastly better-conceived than the government bill it seeks to supplant. But it's not perfect.

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Business
Jul 9, 2018

The new Hawaiki cable is doing what Sam Morgan and Peter Thiel could not

Next week, a new trans-Pacific fibre-optic cable connecting New Zealand to Australia, the Pacific and onto the United States will light up, changing the way data travels around the Pacific.

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Business
Jun 5, 2018

The terrible human cost of the meth testing scandal just keeps escalating

 It's an unfurling scandal which saw tenants evicted and millions spent on cleaning homes. Now it appears a tenant was kicked out after seeking help for his addictions, writes Russell Brown.  

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Business
May 12, 2018

Bike-curious: A novice’s guide to buying your first e-bike

Last year New Zealand imported a massive 20,000 e-bikes and that number is likely to grow exponentially. But what do you need to know before you buy one? Russell Brown has the lowdown.

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Business
Apr 4, 2018

Another Way to Pay: How AWOP annexed the summer festival experience

It traces its origins to R&V, and has taken a chunk of the festival payments industry across the Tasman too. Russell Brown discovers the company behind summer fun is getting serious to find new markets.

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Business
Mar 12, 2018

The collectivist plan to revive Ruatoria

A social enterprise on the East Coast has been set up to capitalise on a global trend towards natural health products and bring economic recovery, Russell Brown reports.

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Business
Jan 26, 2018

What’s happening in the PM’s Auckland suburb is a sign of things to come

As Housing NZ prepares to develop the corner near Russell Brown's house in Point Chevalier, he muses on the redevelopment, gentrification and spiralling growth in real estate values of the Auckland suburb he calls home.

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Politics
Aug 21, 2017

Peter Dunne, the flawed reformer

He leaves office largely unloved, but Peter Dunne did more than most New Zealanders realise. Russell Brown goes in to bat for the undercover drug reformer.

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Music
Nov 8, 2016

Criticising the critics: what happened when musicians got to answer back to reviewers

Last night's LATE at Auckland Museum panel discussion delved into the relationship between artists, audiences and critics. Russell Brown reports on what went down – including some surprising revelations about how musicians respond to their harshest reviews.

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