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Andrew Little (Getty Images)
Andrew Little (Getty Images)

The BulletinJuly 20, 2021

The Bulletin: NZ throws in with Five Eyes, alleging Chinese hacking

Andrew Little (Getty Images)
Andrew Little (Getty Images)

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: NZ joins allies in alleging Chinese hacking, stats on inflation show big rise, and immigration tribunal rejects deportation to India on Covid grounds.

In a release late last night, GCSB minister Andrew Little said the agency had established links between a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group and malicious activity in NZ. Radio NZ reports the group – Advanced Persistent Threat 40 – also stands accused of attacks in Britain. “We call for an end to this type of malicious activity, which undermines global stability and security, and we urge China to take appropriate action in relation to such activity emanating from its territory,” said Little. The statement was coordinated alongside one from US president Joe Biden, other Five Eyes countries, the European Union, and Japan.

This appears to be a pretty significant moment in the direction of travel for New Zealand’s international relations. Richard Harman at Politik speculated in a report that knowledge this was coming up is what led the government to warn exporters they could face trade disruption, similar to what is being experienced by Australian exporters at the moment. The bind NZ is now in was illustrated in this recent Radio NZ story about export growth to China, in which a foreign policy expert said it had been clear for at least a decade that a moment like this was coming.


The stats on inflation came out on Friday, and they show it running ahead of any time over the past decade. As the NZ Herald reports, a lot of that was driven by increased housing and petrol costs. The spike increases the chance the Reserve Bank will start moving interest rates up earlier – perhaps as soon as next month. Some are also seeing the risks of “stagflation” developing. As Interest’s David Hargreaves writes, “there is a risk then that our economy could rapidly lose heat and impetus, but prices would stay up. And that would be horrid. That would be stagflation.”


The Immigration and Protection Tribunal has ruled an Indian man cannot be deported right now, because it would be inhumane to send him back to a country ravaged by Covid. Stuff’s Steve Kilgallon reports former immigration minister Tuariki Delamere believes this could be a precedent-setter, making deportations generally much less likely. Immigration NZ has rejected this, saying the ruling will not make them change their approach.


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A big shipment of the Covid-19 vaccine arrived early yesterday, putting the rollout on somewhat safer footing. Our live updates reports 370k Pfizer doses were delivered two days ahead of schedule, which Covid minister Chris Hipkins said was the result of “dedicated work”. Meanwhile, the drug used against RSV is in short supply after the spate of cases.Radio NZ reports demand for Prednisolone is near twice that of normal, which will primarily affect those trying to get the drug from pharmacies. Pharmac is currently trying to get more stocks delivered.


When will the much delayed Transmission Gully actually open? It’s meant to be at the end of September, but as this analysis from the NZ Herald’s Georgina Campbell notes, confidence in that appears to be slipping. There’s still plenty of work needing to be done, in wintry conditions not necessarily suitable for construction, and regulators will need to sign it all off at the end.


About a quarter of Westport residents still can’t go back to their homes, and some could be waiting months, reports Newshub after the flooding through the town. Emergency shelters are currently being used, and authorities are still working through what the medium-term housing options look like. Michael Andrew spoke to a local business owner, who talked about the fact that Westport is in a particularly vulnerable location, and questions needed to be asked about whether it would be safe in the future.

On the subject, I want to add a bit of weight to a comment made in yesterday’s Bulletin, about the spate of floods and climate change. The Science Media Centre collected reaction from the scientific community to the event, emailing them out to journalists, and this particular comment from Dr Judy Lawrence of the Climate Change Research Institute jumped out:

“We seem deaf and blind to the science and the tools and methods for planning that we have available to address these risks. How much disruption can communities take before planning kicks in to reduce risks and plan for more of the extreme events and ongoing changes like sea level rise, which exacerbate hazards already being felt?


Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz

Right now on The Spinoff: David Farrier writes about going to the US for work, and now spending every day refreshing the MIQ booking page to get a booking home. Emma Vitz looks at the data showing renting New Zealanders are spending much more for increasingly poor homes. Justin Latif reports on the tactics used to get Ōtara a new playground. Peter McKenzie writes about a New Zealand photographer making actual money from NFTs. Alex Casey sits down and scrolls through the Mad Butcher’s remarkable breakfast selection on Instagram. And I review the first four hours of the new sports radio station SENZ.


For a feature today, another piece from one of the better Substacks about ideas, media and the internet. Australian journalist James Hennessey has written on The Terminal about the declining art of arguing on the internet, and how such arguments have become a lot less enjoyable to watch play out. Here’s an excerpt:

Nowhere was this more obvious than the debate about Sweden, which set itself apart early in the pandemic by avoiding hard lockdowns. As such, it instantly became fodder for endless arguments, with people online (very few of whom either lived in Sweden or in a country much comparable to it) picking apart every single update or death count to find ammunition to bolster their argument in some Covid argument or another. Both sides of the lockdown debate had at various points reason to invoke the Swedish example, and then, when the data had become too cloudy and the situation too complex to really extract any truly meaningful conclusion, it was dispensed with entirely.

You got the overwhelming sense that few really believed there were necessarily actionable policy lessons from the Swedish example for their own country, or that those lessons would ever be implemented in their own countries — just that it was something that could be fed into the online culture war thresher with minimal resistance. It is argument as a numbers game — a sport, but not one where anyone’s having a good time.


The playoffs are sorted for the ANZ Premiership, and the previously dominant Northern Stars have been bundled out. Stuff reports they lost to the Steel in a brutally close game, which meant that despite the Stars being top of the table for most of the season, they lost their place when it mattered. The elimination final will now be a South Island derby between the Tactix and the Steel, with the winners to play the Northern Mystics in the grand final.


That’s it for The Bulletin. If you want to support the work we do at The Spinoff, please check out our membership programme.

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The army visiting flooded homes in the Buller region after floods in 2021 (Photo: Supplied, NZDF)
The army visiting flooded homes in the Buller region after floods in 2021 (Photo: Supplied, NZDF)

The BulletinJuly 19, 2021

The Bulletin: West Coast bears brunt in season of flooding

The army visiting flooded homes in the Buller region after floods in 2021 (Photo: Supplied, NZDF)
The army visiting flooded homes in the Buller region after floods in 2021 (Photo: Supplied, NZDF)

Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: West Coast bears brunt in season of flooding, dozens of farmer protests take place, and Biden nominates new NZ ambassador.

Bad flooding has swept the country this weekend, and the damage is expected to linger for weeks. Westport was particularly hard hit – as of yesterday afternoon about 1000 people were still unable to go home. A team of Stuff reporters covered the story, and noted Kāinga Ora housing had been hammered, which will compound the town’s accommodation problems. Aerial footage from One News showed the scale. Hundreds of people also had to leave their homes in Marlborough, reports Radio NZ. Support funding has been unlocked after the storm was declared a “medium-scale adverse event”.

The Wellington region also suffered, with the infrastructure struggling under the deluge. The Dominion Post had pictures of cars underwater in Ngaio, and huge slips in Newlands. For a while, the motorway was effectively cut. The city’s hilly geography can make this kind of rainfall particularly dangerous.

You might have noticed that terrifying flooding is also taking place in Europe at the moment, alongside a brutal heat wave and drought in the US. This is almost certainly related to climate change. New Zealand’s spate of flooding this year (both the East Coast of the North Island and the Canterbury region were monstered in different events) is part of the same global picture, and we will increasingly see the sorts of weather pattern disruption that leads to these disasters in the coming years.


Farmer protests took place in more than fifty spots around the country on Friday, with a range of issues on the table. As I discovered in Dargaville, the so-called “ute tax” has been a major spark for them, with rural protesters saying the policy aimed at decarbonising the transport fleet will impose unfair costs on them. People also brought up to me the Significant Natural Area rules, freshwater quality rules, and the local Western Sharks rugby team, who were about to play their first premier rugby final in a decade – the Sharks won 10-7.

In the main, the protests were peaceful and respectful, but there were some ugly incidents to note. Plenty of anti-Māori culture signs were seen circulating on social media, along with others that made sexist comments about the PM. In Dunedin, Critic Te Arohi reported on a counter-protester who was accosted and had a sign ripped off her, an action that was condemned by the protest’s organiser.


US president Joe Biden has nominated a former senator and “green new deal” proponent to be the next ambassador to New Zealand. Politico has a story about Tom Udall, a brief bio, and some of the other ambassadorial moves the US government is making. Over here, the NZUS Council put out a statement in support of the nomination for Udall, who will also be responsible for the country’s relationship with Sāmoa.


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A public laneway in Christchurch has been overrun with motorists, and nobody is doing anything to stop them, writes Oliver Lewis for The Spinoff. Instead of being a space dominated by walkers and cyclists, it has now become free parking. Despite hundreds of cars parking there against the rules every day, just 13 infringement notices have been handed out to drivers since April.


The carbon price is rapidly approaching a $50 per tonne cap, which could result in more carbon credits being released onto the market. Newsroom’s Marc Daalder has broken down this rather technical aspect of the emissions trading scheme, and how New Zealand’s market differs to the wider world market. But the worrying part is that it could effectively make it more likely the government will blow past carbon budgets under the zero carbon act, thus reducing the effectiveness of the ETS in slowing the emissions that cause climate change.


Historic sex work convictions will not be expunged, despite political pressure being raised on the matter. The NZ Herald’s Katie Harris reports both Act and the Greens have come out in favour, but the government has said it has no plans to do so. Sex work was decriminalised in 2003, but dozens of people are still suffering the effects of historic convictions.


A ban on exporting pounamu has been extended indefinitely by the government, reports Ian Llewellyn for (paywalled) Business Desk. This isn’t in and of itself a huge surprise, given the ban has been in place for decades, but the law is due to be reviewed in 2024. The continuation of the ban was made after talks with Ngāi Tahu, who act as the kaitiaki for the stone.


Got some feedback about The Bulletin, or anything in the news? Get in touch with me at thebulletin@thespinoff.co.nz

Right now on The Spinoff: Venetia Sherson writes about the extreme and unhealthy levels athletes push their bodies to, and the mental health effects that can have. Mirjam Guesgen reports on an antibody test that could serve as something of a Covid immunity passport. David Brain writes about travel in the Covid era, and feeling like a “national liability”. Bruce Kidd writes about the financial cost of eating a more environmentally healthy diet. And Josie Adams meets an emoji designer to talk about the way communication is changing online.


For a feature today, a piece from a few weeks ago that outlines how a harsh and cruel piece of Australian telly was made. The NZ Herald’s (paywalled) David Fisher has secured emails between the Australian Border Force and a tabloid TV journalist about the infamous “taking out the trash” story on 501 deportees. It revealed a rather cosy relationship with the government agency and a friendly media outlet. Here’s an excerpt:

After the Channel 9 broadcast, ABF Commissioner Michael Outram was grilled at an Australian parliamentary committee about the presence of Fabris on the runway. He said: “I would say it was a one-off incident where a fairly inexperienced officer gave permission for something to happen that I would prefer had not happened”.

One of the senators that grilled Outram, Greens spokesman for immigration and citizenship Nick McKim told the Herald the email trail showed the Channel 9 story wasn’t just the work of a “junior media officer”.

“Far from just the actions of a junior media officer, the emails show that this was worked on by multiple officers across the department. It was an institutional stitch-up.

“The department owed these people a duty of care and has been caught out egregiously and wilfully breaching their privacy.”


In sport, we’ll wait and see what happens with the Olympics until tomorrow. In the meantime, the big news this morning is the launch of new radio station SENZ, which is the local arm of an Australian sports media empire. So far 75 minutes into the life of the station it sounds a bit ropey, but at the same time, there are people on the radio talking about sport again – how good.


That’s it for The Bulletin. If you want to support the work we do at The Spinoff, please check out our membership programme.