Matt Nippert
@mattnippert.bsky.social
đ€ 1709
đ„ 176
đ 360
Digger for Herald Business and ICIJ. Disclaimer: Views my own yadda yadda. Signal 64211931011
As the Avatar marketing budget starts to render everything blue, a reminder that in 2013 Steven Joyce signed a deal allowing James Cameron to make unlimited Avatar sequels underwritten with a 25% govt subsidy. One big win for Joyce was the inclusion of NZ tourism ads on DVD releases.
1 day ago
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The history of nuclear weapons development during the Cold War is fascinating/horrifying. They were loaded onto: depth-charges to deep-fry submarines; anti-air missiles for atmospheric blasts to shoot down planes; and even issued man-portable versions lobbed by recoilless rifle a km or two.
1 day ago
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Allegedly I have 10k followers on The Site Formerly Known as Twitter, and only 1.7k here. Hereâs an A/B test with identical content. Despite 1/6th the ostensible audience, here it generates four times the engagement (and no trolls).
1 day ago
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The most wholesome story of the true New Zealand is immigrant bakers - mostly refugees - dominating pie awards and becoming beloved regional icons.
2 days ago
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reposted by
Matt Nippert
Kirsty Johnston
3 days ago
Fossil fuel companies were given confidential drafts of legislation during their (successful) two-year campaign to weaken oil and gas regulation and overturn the offshore exploration ban - new reporting from me via the OIA
www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...
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How the oil and gas industry helped rewrite New Zealandâs drilling rules
A paper trail shows just how far ministers went to accommodate the oil and gas industry's wishlist.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/579888/how-the-oil-and-gas-industry-helped-rewrite-new-zealand-s-drilling-rules
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The Cook Islands allowed over a hundred shadow fleet tankers trafficking sanctioned Russian and Iranian oil. A Big Read from me looking at the curious case of Maritime Cook Islands with an investigation employing big data analysis and fieldwork in Raro.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
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The dark fleet hiding in our own backyard: How the Cook Islands sold its flag to Moscow and Tehran
SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: How shadow fleets made the Cook Islands flag inconvienent.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/freight-logistics/the-dark-fleet-hiding-in-our-own-backyard-how-the-cook-islands-sold-their-flag-to-moscow-and-tehran/premium/APVST6AXKRFINABSFQEOVUQFGE/
3 days ago
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What do you mean I can't idly search the Companies Office for filing updates on a Monday evening? What does MBIE expect me to do instead? Enjoy a drink and presitge television? This is an outrage.
3 days ago
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Extremely fun story tomorrow.
4 days ago
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Never picked the Fugees as the hardest-core hip hop group of the 90s. Lauryn Hill did years for tax evasion, and now this.
pitchfork.com/news/fugees-...
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Fugeesâ Pras Michel Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison on Conspiracy Charges
The rapper was found guilty of criminal conspiracy and illegal foreign lobbying in 2023
https://pitchfork.com/news/fugees-pras-michel-sentenced-to-14-years-in-prison-on-conspiracy-charges/
6 days ago
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Elon Musk to Grok engineers rn:
6 days ago
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Lessons from the McSkimming affair: Cover-ups can be worse than the crime/misconduct; No suprise does not mean trying to bury suprises with suppression orders; It's not rotten apples we should be talking about, it's fish who decompose from the head down.
15 days ago
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New Zealander of the Year: McSkimming's complainant.
16 days ago
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Fatherhood summed up in one image:
20 days ago
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I'll say two things about SPG funding boost announced today: 1) No mention of likely costs to the government, 2) The removal of caps on above-the-line-spending on leading actors/directors was largely in response to criticism of SPG subsidising 20% of ScarJo's $25m fee to apper in Ghost in the Shell.
20 days ago
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reposted by
Matt Nippert
Chris Knox
22 days ago
BusinessDesk has a fantastic (and rare) for a data journalist in New Zealand. The Herald and BusinessDesk are separate publications, but whoever is in this role will work with me on projects like Budget day visualisations 1/2
careers.nzme.co.nz/jobs/6697721...
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Data Journalist - BusinessDesk - NZME
Join BusinessDesk as a Data Journalistâbreak market-moving stories, visualise insights, and set the global benchmark for data-driven reporting.
https://careers.nzme.co.nz/jobs/6697721-data-journalist-businessdesk
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Think I'm working on my best story since Citizen Thiel. So good I don't even mind writing on the weekend. 3000 words in and it feels like I might be half-way? Just 200 more pages of OIAs, three hours of interview transcripts, and several dense pages of legalese to sythenise and I'm g2g.
26 days ago
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In memorandum of the burning down of Palmie's The Fitz, here's my first (and only, really) piece of gonzo journalism for Salient in 2003 about the Worst Pub in the World. CW: Piss and vomit.
@jgreenbrookheld.bsky.social
26 days ago
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Had panicked today and worked like a demon thinking it was a short week and I only had one more day before the weekend to finish a long-brewing project. I came home, frazzled and barely holding it together, and my wife told me today was Wednesday, not Thursday.
29 days ago
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Thai E-Sarn (refugee from Food Alley RIP) on Hobson St might be the best Thai joint in the city. Beef salad 10/10 no notes.
about 1 month ago
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Watercareâs fault reporting service has all the charm of a back-end spreadsheet, but a minor leak in our meter box got sorted <24 hours so AG.
about 1 month ago
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More Talley's v TVNZ: This time with bonus minister talking of a 'culture of fear' at the company.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
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âCulture of fearâ: Former minister details WorkSafe concerns at Talleyâs
Former minister says Talley's had 'serious deficencies' and a 'culture of fear'.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/agribusiness/talleys-defamation-trial-former-workplace-safety-minister-michael-wood-backs-tvnz/KZB3VG5PFVFBRPD4WL22BST65U/
about 2 months ago
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Goddamn (allergic?) eczema outbreak on my eyelids. My eyes are gonna be swollen shut by morning. Spring is whack.
about 2 months ago
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Talleys v TVNZ defamation trial reaches a crescendo.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
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âI have never seen anything like the fear I sawâ: TVNZ reporter explains anonymous sources in defamation defence
TVNZ's Christchurch reporter Thomas Mead defends his investigation into Talley's.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/media-marketing/tvnz-reporter-defends-anonymous-sources-as-talleys-alleges-defamation/I5E35U35INFUHLVRRAVCMJALWA/
about 2 months ago
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Objectively, nothing tops chorizo-fried bacon, right?
2 months ago
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Pickup sticks âtil â26.
2 months ago
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Out in Titirangi we have lots of power outages. Some water outages. But the most insidious and debilitating is a fibre outage, now ticking into its 30th hour.
2 months ago
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My final story from the epic/tragic/comic Zuru nappy trial. Feat: Reflections on the startup exit stories we tell ourselves, competition issues raised for for supermarkets and suppliers, and a hand-scrawled note where the Taylor family are schooled about FAANGT.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
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âTreasures ends tomorrow. Or itâs onâ: How a dispute over diapers erupted into âall out warâ
The protagonists, the arguments, and a joke than cannot be repeated.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/retail/zuru-nappy-trial-how-a-dispute-over-diapers-erupted-into-all-out-war/6UN7B6HWRNDZ3PQSA5RF4HOSEA/
3 months ago
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The Zuru nappy trial hearing, just concluded after four long weeks, keeps bringing the tea. (Honestly, the most bonkers civil case I've ever covered.)
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
3 months ago
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Week three of the Zuru nappy trial and it somehow becomes even more absorbing.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/zur...
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'I had lost both my business and my mates': Witness tears up at Zuru nappy trial over soured friendship
Former friend of Nick Mowbray tells of relationship meltdown and alleged strong-arming.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/zuru-nappy-trial-grant-taylor-testifies-on-deleted-emails-settling-under-duress-and-whether-40m-buys-happiness/DEENULZSRBBDJM7HMVRBU2N3QQ/
3 months ago
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The NYT is categorically wrong to describe closing Alien: Earth ep2 with Stinkfist as a "mistep". It is glorious and proof that the content-creating algorithms are perfectly datamining my long-gestating preferences and long may that - and this show - continue.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/a...
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âAlien: Earthâ Episodes 1 and 2 Recap: Gross Encounters
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/arts/television/alien-earth-recap-episodes-1-and-2.html
3 months ago
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The trial that keeps on giving:
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
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'Hobson's choice': Ex cop sobs recounting nappy deal with Zuru and Mowbrays
Nappy dispute case hears of alleged hostile takeover and supermarket-driven restraints.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/retail/zuru-nappy-trial-ex-cop-keith-taylor-sobs-recounting-fallout-from-mowbrays-hobsons-choice/LG5YBFIZJNFFXJPJHXSBV5BBKI/
3 months ago
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Absolute scenes at the Zuru nappy trial.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/zur...
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Zuru nappy trial: The billionaire, the basketballer and the secret recording
Mowbray is claiming breach of restraint terms.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/zuru-nappy-trial-the-billionaire-the-basketballer-and-the-secret-recording/4QTQU5L2CNH5TIZEWARV2EMIGA/
4 months ago
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I spent all day at the High Court hearing about the intricacies of nappy production and how Zuru operates.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
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Zuru nappy trial: Former business partner settles before court showdown
The court suppressed details of Rascal's pricing, factories, and marketing.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/retail/nick-mowbrays-former-business-partner-grant-taylor-settles-in-zuru-nappy-trial/QRCINGKCM5A5VB375B2LV6GOFQ/
4 months ago
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Exciting developments in the Nippert household. Am jazzing up my kombu tsuyu udon soup recipe with fish tofu and frozen fish balls (mirin-drenched oyster mushrooms warming in oven).
4 months ago
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TFW you're the first guy to publicly call out an obvious con, get threatened with multiple lawsuits and see two football teams change hands in the aftershock, and finally - after 14 years! - see my original reporting proven in court with prison resulting.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
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Notorious conman behind bars after 14-year manhunt
Ahsan Ali Syed finally faces justice for his elaborate advance-fee fraud.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/banking-finance/notorious-conman-finally-behind-bars-after-14-year-manhunt/YGUFJWTKHZCYHD3HEOKYTG5FK4/
4 months ago
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Back to dreading the weather. Gonna have to rip up my deck to see where stormwater is pooling, as panicking every time the daily level hits 50ml and engages overflow seepage is doing my head in.
4 months ago
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Buy for a dollar, sell for two is great advice from very savvy businessman Prop Joe. Not buy for $23.5m, tip in tens of millions more, then sell for a dollar. Looking at you, Discovery.
4 months ago
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I love wikipedia.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_t...
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Space toilet - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_toilet
4 months ago
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Whether itâs the economy turning, or dubious targeting, the entity formerly known as the Provincial Growth Fund has experienced a sudden deterioration in the quality of its loan book.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
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More than half of Crown Regional Holdings' loan book flagged as 'at risk'
Three companies which received Government loans have gone into liquidation.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/more-than-half-crown-regional-holdingsprovincial-growth-fund-loan-book-at-risk/X4CJ7VS53NGUTDYIDR26MOK2N4/
4 months ago
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Watching delayed. Barely half-time. Ardie Savea is surely due another world player of year nom.
5 months ago
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FFS: Seepage into the office again. First since Gabrielle. Once more I reinvent myself as a crawlspace hydrology engineer.
5 months ago
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The latest on Waipareira Trust v Charities Registration Board:
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/wai...
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Waipareira Trust battles deregistration in High Court over charity status
The High Court heard Waipareira's judicial review in May; a ruling is pending.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/waipareira-trust-goes-to-court-to-block-charity-deregistration/55YHGM2IQFBN7BU3IP3OY3VBAE/
5 months ago
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reposted by
Matt Nippert
Tim Onion
5 months ago
Just to accurately lay out the course of events, people were yelling at him because his auto-responding robot that was trained on Twitterâs userbase still displayed â against all odds â a modicum of empathy. He then made the robot speak like him and within hours it was calling itself Mechahitler.
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Once more I ask why I, a journalist based in Auckland, has better access to courts filing in Wisconsin (through PACER) than those in Wellington.
5 months ago
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That one time a Chinese military officer baller went rogue and purchased the hulk of a decommissioned aircraft carrier during a bender, with a cover story as it being floating casino, and ended up bootstrapping the PRC navy into C21 second place in CAGs.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese...
5 months ago
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Open letter to open letter writers: Get a blog.
5 months ago
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I built a corporate rich list, then hand-scraped tax info from cashflow and income statements to rank New Zealandâs biggest taxpayers and assess how well ETRs and CTRs match the statutory company rate.
www.nzherald.co.nz/business/com...
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NZâs largest taxpayers revealed - does big business play fair?
Thirteen companies each pay more than $100m in annual income taxes.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/companies/nzs-largest-taxpayers-revealed-banks-dominate-with-25b-contribution/ISJ5GK6SOBGYTLQMBUUBFDKEJY/
5 months ago
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The joys of waking to a power outage: Dark, cold, no coffee, having to wriggle through a hatch in the garage to liberate vehicles from a dead electric door.
5 months ago
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Immagonna start a Laotian food truck and call it Rocket Larb.
5 months ago
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Sound the international reference klaxon, kiwis! (Heat, 1995.)
5 months ago
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