Kia ora and welcome to The Weekend, brought to you by Coffee Supreme. I greatly enjoyed my colleague Alex Casey’s story about corporate jargon, which taught me the meaning of the phrase “trimming the fat”, which I’ve never understood (it must be a meat thing — I’m vegetarian). The story is worth reading for the last line alone (media jargon moment: the last line is called a kicker). It’s amazing how easy it is to keep saying “circling back” in your emails. Part of this is the expectation of politeness, says Andreea Calude, a linguistics lecturer Casey speaks to for the article. Luckily this newsletter isn’t interested in corporate politeness. Instead, we use precious words to direct your attention to important topics like how much tax gets paid by the rich, how to fill an elevator with (fake) blood, and determining New Zealand’s best streaming service.
Horror is having a moment, and some of the most talked-about scary movies, like M3GAN, X and Pearl, were shot in Aotearoa. Senior writer Alex Casey has a great yarn this morning about Evil Dead Rise, which used Auckland’s Sylvia Park as a filming location. Here’s Alex explaining how one memorable scene inspired her to find out more: “Last week I had the absolute joy of sitting in Alice in Videoland's cosy little cinema and cackling my way through the blood-soaked demon fest Evil Dead Rise. There's one scene involving a plummeting elevator and 6500L of blood that even horror maestro himself Stephen King was floored by. As soon as I got out of the cinema, I needed answers. Thankfully, special effects supervisor Brendon Durey and production designer Nick Bassett were more than willing to share how they pulled it off, right down to how to keep blood just the right temperature to be fully submerged in. We also discussed why our country's unique splatter history makes us well-primed for making new horror films.”
Introducing the Coffee Supreme Iced Coffee range. Roasted for flavour, cold-brewed for taste and canned for convenience —good times by the can are here. Perfect for those rushed mornings, sunny arvos or when you’re packing the chilly bin. Available online by the 4-pack now or by the can at your local cafe who uses Supreme. Grab yours.
Clean car upgrades, plastic bottle deposits and biofuels — all climate-friendly policies — disappeared from the government agenda over the last month, with the prime minister focusing instead on reducing inflation and the cost of living as the October election looms ever closer. But it’s possible to take action that addresses our most urgent global crisis along with the painful reality of high day-to-day costs, says former Green MP Gareth Hughes. He has a few suggestions: an Inflation Reduction Act targeted at clean energy, as has been implemented in the US, for one; making use of, and expanding, coastal shipping and rail options for transport is another. Lots of other ideas in there too if you want to start some spicy policy conversations this weekend!
The full list of policies incinerated on the policy bonfire
This weeka new study from IRDrevealed that New Zealanders with assets and wealth over $20 million have an effective tax rateof 10.8% – because much of that wealth is gained through increases in the value of businesses or properties, rather than taxed normally through salaries. A speech by revenue minister David Parker sparked a few hours of breathless speculation that the government was going to announce a new tax policy, and inequality researcher Max Rashbrookewrote that the research should spur concrete action on our “unfair” tax system. But like a sniper in a movieI haven’t seen, Chris Hipkins swiftly ended that idea, announcing the budget won’t have any tax changes and will remain “no frills”.
When The Facts Change talks to minister of revenue David Parker about Aotearoa’s tax system
A message from Alex Casey, senior writer and host of The Real Pod.
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Auckland Transport is not popular. Like, it’s really not popular. I apologise to readers of this newsletter who do not live in Auckland, although chances are good you have beef with your local transport authority too, because who doesn’t? But for Dean Kimpton, the new CEO of Auckland Transport, people’s frustration with services is something that’s possible to change. “There’s hope and opportunity here,” he tellsHayden Donnell. Kimpton is interested in implementing the city’s Transport Emissions Reduction Pathway, and he wants to increase cycling, scooting, and the use of public transport. Along the way, he’ll have to confront some of his harshest critics: fervent car lovers and mayor Wayne Brown. Kimpton has ideas on how to consult better, how to remove barriers that stop people using public and active transport — and he’s looking for the time and budget that might help him start implementing them.
I’ve cancelled my Amazon Prime account. I’ve cancelled my Netflix account. I browse AroVision then don’t rent anything. I aspire to watching many more movies and TV shows than I actually manage to open and pay attention to. Maybe I needed this excellent ranking of New Zealand’s streaming services from my colleague Chris Schulz, whose ability to keep up with music and TV and movies awes me, and is assiduously documented in his newsletter
. In his comprehensive ranking, Schulz considers each service's price, functionality and availability of local content. Even if you are up with television, you might be surprised at how many streaming services are out there. So, did TVNZ+ deserve its impressive placing in the final list?
Two perspectives from the “war on weeds”: from Aotearoa and Australia
Sophie Jackson is done resisting the magic of the mullet. Her new haircut feels just great.
New essay collection Ithaca is “precise” – so why does it feel so disjointed, asks Sam Brooks
Following on from the tax conversation, an excellent interactive about how economic systems produce ultra-wealthy people and how much redistribution can change it
Lovedthis short extract about protests, small classrooms and radical theatre at university in Nigeria in the 90s.
Love your work Shanti, thanks for the great roundup. Especially enjoyed that profile on Desley Simpson.