All roads lead to Auckland Airport

A sudden spate of controversies have thrust the airport into the media spotlight.

Mōrena and welcome to The Bulletin for Friday, June 9, by Catherine McGregor. Presented in partnership with Z Energy.

In today’s edition: “More babies” joke lands Luxon in hot water; why the upcoming plastic bag ban may cost you at the checkout; and is AI enhancing efficiency or encroaching on humanity? But first, a stressful day for comms staff at our biggest travel hub.

Michael Wood and Wayne Brown (Image: Getty/The Spinoff)

Michael Wood divests at last

After 25 years and 12 reminders to sell, Michael Wood is officially free of the handful of Auckland airport shares that have cost him his job, at least temporarily. His shares were sold for around $16,400, the proceeds to be donated to Anglican Trust for Women and Children… and that should be the end of that. But of course the saga is still not over. Parliament’s registrar of pecuniary interests has launched an inquiry into Wood’s failure to properly disclose the shares, and Newsroom’s Jonathan Milne has resurfaced reporting from 2021 in which Wood baldly stated he hadn’t left anything off the registrar for that year. It was, writes Milne, “more than an error of omission; he directly and explicitly told me he had no other pecuniary interests. That was simply untrue.” Meanwhile it seems some green ink and a badly positioned cursor helped contribute to Wood’s declaration woes, reports Newshub’s Lloyd Burr. 

‘Unforced, amateur errors’

Wood wasn’t the only government minister in the spotlight. Education minister Jan Tinetti appeared before the privileges committee (here’s a good explainer on why) where she expressed regret but said she had “absolutely no intention to mislead the House”. “There were two ministers heads down in the naughty seats on Thursday,” writes Jenna Lynch of Newshub, who says Tinetti and Wood's “political crimes are unforced, amateur errors” which have left PM Chris Hipkins looking like he’s “steering a rickety rookie ship”. Stuff’s Luke Malpass notes that while Wood is only suspended as transport minister, Hipkins has learnt some tough lessons from the Stuart Nash saga. The PM “doesn’t want to give National a scalp here. But equally, he cannot afford for this to drag on”. It’s an election year after all, and perception is paramount. Toby Manhire reports this morning on a new Ipsos poll that reveals the public’s trust in Labour is slipping, with an increasing number of voters believing National is better placed to handle top issues including law and order and housing.

Auckland councillor reveals $3 million airport shareholding

As Anna Rawhiti-Connell noted in yesterday’s Bulletin, the debate over the proposed sale of Auckland Council’s airport shares had already prompted councillors Chris Darby and Julie Fairey (Wood’s wife) to declare their spouses’ shareholdings. On Thursday, Albany councillor Wayne Walker gazumped them both with the revelation that he is the beneficiary of a $3 million shareholding in the airport held in the estate of his late father. It was another twist in the ongoing debate over the council’s proposed budget, which may drag on into next week. Mayor Wayne Brown failed to win over councillors on a complete sale of the council’s airport shares and now is proposing a partial sale, leaving a budget hole that will require a small increase to the proposed average rates rise, and larger spending cuts.

Airlines roast $4 billion airport upgrade

Think that’s all the Auckland Airport news we have for you? Think again. The country’s major air travel hub was back in the news when its two biggest customers – Air New Zealand and Qantas – joined forces to oppose its planned $3.9 billion upgrade. It’s “an enormous spend over a short period of time that adds almost no additional capacity” said Air NZ CEO Greg Foran, who argued that the only guaranteed result would be “more costs for everyone”, including passengers. As The Spinoff’s Stewart Sowman-Lund wryly notes, Thursday was a stressful day to be Auckland Airport.

Reclaiming Rutene: a photographer's journey into his whakapapa

After ditching his ingoa Māori at the beginning of his career, photographer Zico O'Neill-Rutene is now in a process of reclaiming that part of his whakapapa – the Rutene name, and all the mana that comes with it.
But over the years, he's realised there was more emotion behind his decision to get rid of "Rutene" than he thought at the time.

Read Zico's full story, created in partnership with Te Taura Whiri i Te Reo Māori, on The Spinoff now. (sponsored)

Luxon’s ‘more babies’ line causes minor drama

Just when it looked like National leader Christopher Luxon was going to go a day without making news, he made a flippant comment about New Zealanders needing to have more babies and set off a small kerfuffle on Twitter. Luxon may be personally opposed to abortion but his comment was clearly a joke, writes Jack Tame on 1News, to whom Luxon was responding at the time. “​​It’s disingenuous to totally miscontextualise comments from a political leader for the sake of playing into unease over his personal values,” says Tame. Whether he meant to or not, Luxon’s joke made an important point about New Zealand’s birth rate, which has hit record lows in recent years, writes Bridie Witton on Stuff, who explores what a rapidly ageing population may mean for our economy.

A warning over hidden costs of plastic bag ban

Did you remember that single-use plastic bags for fresh produce and other loose items will be banned from July 1? I’d totally forgotten, so thank you Stuff for this article on why the end of the ubiquitous roll of bags could end up costing you more at the supermarket checkout. Countdown says it plans to set its “tare weight” – the weight deducted from loose items to account for packaging – at just 10g, a lot lower than the weight of many of the reusable bags shoppers will need to use from next month. The difference may not be huge for heavy, relatively inexpensive produce – a bag of potatoes, say – but if you’re buying bulbs of NZ garlic you’re best off removing them from the bag before setting them on the scales. 

Support independent media

The Spinoff's independent, homegrown journalism is only possible because of the support of our members. Their generous donations power all our work and help keep it freely available to all. Support The Spinoff by becoming a member, making a new donation or encouraging your organisation to donate.

Is AI enhancing efficiency or encroaching on humanity?

AI is gearing to be as much of a cultural revolution as the birth of the iPhone, but it’s still yet to be seen how its implementation in the workplace will impact everything from efficiency to recruitment. In this week’s episode of When the Facts Change, Bernard Hickey talks to CK Lee, founder of receipt scanning app Taggun, about how he uses AI in his business and as a tool to improve his thinking.

Click and collect

• An energy drink part-owned by celebrity influencer Logan Paul is being sold under the counter to children, despite being banned for containing dangerous levels of caffeine. 

• Rotorua mayor Tania Tapsell has given birth to a baby girl, making her the second mayor in New Zealand history to give birth while in office.

• The noxious cloud of smoke that has hung over New York City due to wildfires in Canada is now spreading west and south over much of the United States (New York Times, soft paywall).

• Russia has been accused of shelling civilians during evacuations following the devastating floods caused by the collapse of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine.

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

If you liked what you read today, share The Bulletin with friends, family and colleagues.

Right now on The Spinoff

TVNZ is launching a new free-to-access sports platform, and Duncan Greive asks what it could mean for the public broadcaster's digital transition. Alex Casey discovers how a spooky water tank inspired the special effects in a new locally made horror movie. Hera Lindsay Bird's latest column has advice for a writer who fears they’ll never publish a second book. And Tara Ward pens an ode to a special, glamourous New Zealander – a potato named Desirèe.

Sporting snippets

• The Crusaders’ Oli Jager really regrets playing on with a deep gash on his leg that became badly infected. 

• Every one of the 732 players at next month’s Fifa Women's World Cup will get at least $49,000 for their troubles. 

• Lionel Messi is going to Miami.

It’s Friday, and….

… this flying squirrel is all of us.