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Transcript
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SPEAKER 1
Kia ora, I'm Bernard Eke and this is my podcast. I produce a daily email newsletter and podcast called The Kaka. It's all about Aotearoa's political economy around housing, climate and poverty. it's Christmas time or almost Christmas time and every year for the last three
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years I've offered a special deal in the couple of weeks before Christmas I call it our gravy day fortnight and this is because my favorite Christmas song is Making Gravy by Paul Kelly have a listen to get a sense of what it's about it's about redemption and it's about Christmas
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And the thing I like to do is give a special introductory offer of 50% off for a full subscription for the first year for new subscribers. So normally the subscription cost is $19 a month or $190 a year. and this gravy day special is at 50% off.

An experiment and our Christmas offer to subscribe to The Kākā

I’ll be doing solutions interviews daily for The Kākā Project 26/50 for the next 14 days with no paywall. During this ‘Gravy Day fortnight’, we have an introductory offer of 50%-off for the first year
Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The Kākā

It’s that time of the year when we offer 50% off for a year to new subscribers for the next fortnight until December 21, which is ‘Gravy Day’1. It’s our version of a Christmas/Black Monday/Cyber Monday/Singles Day/Boxing Day offer. We call it the ‘Gravy Day Fortnight

New subscribers can claim the offer here. That means a full subscription to The Kākā costs $9.50 a month or $95 per year for the first year, and then reverts to the regular price of $19 a month or $190 a year after a year.

A reminder that we also have special all-year-round offers for full subscriptions for:

  • all under-30s at $3 a month or $30 a year forever2; and,

  • those over-65s who rent at $65 a year for life3.

Also a reminder that we will upgrade anyone on a free subscription to a full paid subscription for free if they’re a student, a teacher, work for a university or polytech, or are on a main benefit.4 Students and teachers are automatically upgraded for free when they register with their ‘.ac.nz’ or ‘.school.nz’ email addresses. For beneficiaries, just write ‘gravy’ in as your second name when you sign up to the free email and we’ll upgrade you automatically.

We also automatically upgrade any free subscribers who work for advocacy groups or political parties or media organisations. We’ll do that automatically by reading your email address relating to your organisation or employer.

I’m trying out opening everything up to all

To mark this ‘Gravy Day Fortnight’ event and to give everyone a clear idea of what your subscription supports, I’ll be doing video interviews with newsmakers and experts daily about solutions to Aotearoa’s problems in housing, climate and poverty for the next 14 days and publishing them in full to all via The Kākā on substack and via YouTube. It will mean I’ll be producing fewer and less detailed Dawn Chorus compilations of curated daily news. It’s an experiment and I welcome feedback.

As an experiment, I’ll also open up everything for everyone in full for these 14 days to see if it increases readership and revenues. I’ve always been sceptic about having completely free access while also asking for a regular contribution, but others doing public interest journalism have found some success asking for subscriptions with a promise to give it all away to the public, even those who can’t pay.

Subscriptions to The Kākā have flattened out and then fallen a little this year for the first time since we turned the paywall on in September 2021. That’s partly due to a couple of publishing hiatuses during the year when I took a mid-winter break and then took some time off when my Mum passed away.

It may also be because of cost-of-living pressures, or because I have been opening up more articles lately after getting over 100 likes. I’m not sure. I have a hunch there is support from paying subscribers to open up all articles and podcasts as long as it is in the public interest. We’ll see. A surge in revenues may convince me to go permanently open.

The fall in revenues we’ve seen, along with an increase in costs, has forced us to tighten our belts a bit, including stopping our weekly climate wrap. We’re very lucky that Cathrine Dyer is able to volunteer to come onto the Hoon to talk about climate regularly, but we can’t afford the weekly wraps anymore.

Wishing you all a safe and happy run-up to Christmas. We appreciate all the support of all subscribers.

Ngā mihi nui

Bernard

The Kākā by Bernard Hickey is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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1

‘Making Gravy’ by Paul Kelly is my favourite Christmas song.

2

We trust you when you say you’re under 30 and it is for life because we don’t think (currently) that things will get much better after 30 for those currently under 30.

3

We trust when you say you’re renting and we know that means you’re both doing it tough and unlikely to be able to own your own home for the rest of your life.

4

The main benefit includes anyone on a jobseeker, supported living, sickness or disability benefit, but not NZ Superannuation.

Discussion about this video

Thanks, Bernard! I’m really looking forward to the 14 days of solution-focused interviews. I hope this experiment (aka testing business models and innovations) not only answers your key questions but also gives you a solid boost in revenue.

Your work through The Kākā and the 26/50 project is so valuable—offering well-considered solutions to some of New Zealand’s most complex and wicked problems. I also really appreciate your commitment to public interest journalism, including the generosity of offering discounted subscriptions for those who need them. It’s inspiring how The Kākā fosters community by encouraging thoughtful contributions that educate, challenge ideas, and spark meaningful conversations.

Keep up the great work, but please make sure Lynn and you also get some break time during the Holiday Season!

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Thanks Paul. Cheers. First solutions interview today is on free solar power for new home builds. Out at midday.

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Love it, and don't even need to read it!

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Brilliant!

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I’m so grateful for your mahi! I’m happy to pay my subscription and don’t begrudge anyone getting something so important free or cheap* - please ensure that you receive an income commensurate with the value of your commentary. *I always wanted to be a philanthropist and my subscription could be my first step…

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Happy to continue subscribing, and fully support your ideas and commitment to getting reliable info out to as many people as possible. It has never been more necessary. You and Lynne are awesome.

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What Alex said, keep up the mahi Bernard, the awards are a good sign the information is getting out there

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Another factor in whether people are willing to pay for this (or any) subscription, is that all news sources and substacks are now subscribed, so we all have to choose what to support. Poor people do not have choices. 16,000+ people who are homeless, may not even have a means to read it.

Personally, I pay to support your work so that everyone has access to real journalism.

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Kia Ora Bernard and Kākā whānau! Really happy to support this work. Sorry to hear that the climate wrap has been pulled from the weekly lineup. But I am sure you will continue pulling on that thread, holding to account and bringing in voices of people who envisage the potential for our future in AoNZ. You got me with that Paul Kelly vid, big big tears! Great Song.

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Love your work Bernard. Happy to pay.

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Looking through my rose tinted nostalgia glasses I can remember when I could get all my news and opinions by subscribing to a newspaper with its team of journalists. Now it seems as traditional news media is struggling to stay afloat to get the same level of information you have to subscribe to numerous individuals Substacks.

I am lucky to be able to support a number of contributors but the cost to do this has exploded. Is there any way in Substack to set up a “combi” subscription to a group of like minded writers?

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Anyone else enjoying the cool change in the weather? Early-summer heatwaves are often short which is not totally bad.

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Love your work Bernard, and I also will continue to subscribe. I also appreciate the transparency around how your grand experiment is going from a business model perspective. If only other businesses were as transparent!

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How to Make Gravy makes me absolutely bawl. I love it, though.

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Oh, and also happy to support your work, as always.

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Open them all up please Bernard. I am happy to continue with full subscription rates as it is all I can do to offset the lying Bullshit of the three headed Taniwha.

You are a rock in a sea of self -

aggrandising misinformation and media failure to ask the right question or any questions often . Perhaps you could join up with Black Rock or a Private Equity firm! Just Joking!

Keep poking them.

Patrick Medlicott

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Sorry to see that Katherine is no longer affordable. I found her explanations of climate issues clear and useful. But hopefully she will be able to keep up her important contribution on the Hoon.

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Looking forward to some nerdy content, Go for it Bernard!

Hope the experiment works well for ya.

Hope for many good things to come your way Mate.

😎👌

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Great update on the reality of running a focused news source and a small business in today’s environment, thanks Team Kaka 😊. The flattening subs are probably a reflection of the plunging economy, including job losses for thousands. Substack is growing rapidly too, I’m among others having to choose where my limited capacity to support writers goes. I suspect I’m typical of te Kaka whānau in cherishing belonging to a group where writers can take time for themselves, grieve as needed without apology. We want more of that for everyone, it’s why we’re here.

One approach used by some writers on Sub stack is to open the main text to all and keep comments/ discussions for paying subscribers, maybe worth a try? I, for one, am happy to subsidise others as much as I can. Your opening up at 100 likes seems a good gauge of subscriber support for specific articles. Please keep exploring.

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I don't have an issue paying the $200. To me I view it as more of a political donation. While I'm still contributing to the productive sector or NZ by being employed and born in NZ. my income and my time are increasingly spent out of NZ. I will not qualify for a pention. Never owned a home in NZ and are part of the first wave of the 90s brain drain. At this point there is little insensitive to working and living in NZ with lower wages, not the most ideal climate and tax on my income overseas.

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No doubt that 'How To Make Gravy' is a great song; one among many brilliant songs written by Paul Kelly. (BTW, Paul Kelly is touring NZ in September 2025. It is a shame we do not get to see Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, who are with Kelly for Australian dates.)

I think, however, the best ever Christmas song is 'Christmas is Awesome' by Reuben - "And if I eat a sprout / You gotta eat a sprout / You gotta suffer too".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH2umxtA_sc

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Good luck with it. I’m a full (over 65 but not renter) subscriber and find it a bill I want to pay. Suspect you need to continue with your course between fully open if enough likes and only subscriber but I’d pay even if you were ‘free’

Sorry for the irrelevance: I couldn’t help but be fascinated by what looked like a bit of bling on a lower tooth! Never spotted that before.

Happy Christmas and thank you.

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PS I hope you’ll do your interviews. I found your exploratory approach - rather than the gotcha approach - really helpful in understanding what politicians and others are thinking. That said, I really appreciate Jack Tame’s rigour on Q&A as well.

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Bernard, So glad to be a paying subscriber, how fortunate I am. When life seems unfair your clarity lifts my day. Love the pics always makes me take notice of just what is outside my door.

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Thank you for that. So shocking re 18,000 no housing. What a heap of balderdash this government is. All spin, spin. Kieran got the better of Bishop on the subject St parliamentary accountability session.

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Love your mahi, Bernard. We get amazing value from the Kākā. You work so hard, and bring such a breadth of knowledge and depth of analysis to it. Thank you, and keep it up!

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Great stuff Bernard. You’ve helped me realise that so many of our issues relate back to lack of housing, and this year I helped form Greater Ōtautahi, an advocacy group of around 20-40 young people that argues for more housing densification, and better public and active transport in Christchurch. We’ve just had a decent win with PC 14 passing, and would love to keep you updated with what’s occurring in the mainland!

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I can finally afford to subscribe. Thank you.

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