Alice Webb-Liddall 
Ehara i te mea kua whakaturehia te kawenga kia aro ki Te Tiriti o Waitangi i te rāngai tūmataiti pēnei tonu i te rāngai tūmatanui. Heoi anō rā, e rongo ana te ao pakihi i ngā kura mātauranga ka hua ake i te tika o te mahi ngātahi ki te Māori. Read the English language … Read more
Engaging with Te Tiriti o Waitangi isn’t mandated in the private sector like it is in the public sector. But businesses are discovering the wealth of knowledge to be found through meaningful engagement with Māori. Read the Māori language version of this story here. Embracing te ao Māori represents an opportunity for New Zealand businesses … Read more
Waikato University has started an internal inquiry after a number of senior Māori staff alleged structural racism from the institution. One former and one current staff member say the issue’s been bubbling away for years. In 2018, staff and students of the University of Waikato’s Māori and Indigenous Studies faculty fought to stop the faculty … Read more
Each year thousands of tonnes of zinc and acid are dumped into landfill as by-products from galvanising. This year’s winner of the Callaghan Innovation C-Prize challenge, Zincovery, is trying to solve that problem with its innovative recycling technology. It’s almost impossible to go a day without using a galvanised product of some kind. Every time … Read more
Since the late 1990s, suicide rates among young men in New Zealand have increased by almost 50%. ‘Zero Suicide Aotearoa’, the latest report from a cross-party mental health group, is looking to address these dismal suicide rates. After New Zealand placed 35th out of 41 OECD countries for our child wellbeing in the Unicef 2020 … Read more
Of the 41 developed countries included in the latest Unicef Innocenti Report Card, New Zealand ranks 35th overall for our child wellbeing, dragged down by a number of poor scores for mental and physical health care. But Jacinda Ardern says the report misses a lot of the child wellbeing gains New Zealand has made over … Read more
A multi-million dollar funding boost will help to build ‘phase two’ of the private Taranaki Green School, which costs up to $43,000 a year to attend. But not everyone’s happy with the news. Green co-leader James Shaw’s announcement of an injection of funds into a private Taranaki school as part of the Covid-19 Response and … Read more
The first time around, lockdown birthed a wave of artisan bread makers and K-Fry truthers. This time, it’s the craftspeople’s turn. If you live in Auckland, the likelihood is you’ve been spending a lot more time inside than you usually do. Not only because the city has been placed into a level three lockdown, but … Read more
Officially, Auckland playgrounds are closed, but people are still using them because poor signage is making it hard to tell if they’re out of bounds or not. Last time New Zealand went into level three lockdown, playgrounds were one of the first public areas that were closed to the public. Not only were they closed, … Read more
They’ve been through it all before, so how are Auckland students and teachers coping with the second move into level three? And how are other schools preparing for the possibility they’ll soon be doing the same? Last time the country went into level three lockdown, on March 24, schools had less than a day to … Read more
Ngāti Tūwharetoa has just become the first iwi to be approved under the Resource Management Act to take over certain council duties. Here’s why that matters. In 1991, the Resource Management Act (RMA) allowed councils to transfer any of their functions to local iwi. Now, almost 30 years after that act was passed, the first … Read more
Buying secondhand clothing is one of the best ways to refresh a wardrobe without spending wads of money or contributing to the wasteful fast fashion industry. But there’s a fine art to finding pieces that are worth your time. I’ve never been hunting but I imagine, in a lot of ways, it’s similar to shopping … Read more
As more businesses focus on e-commerce, the risk of cybercrime increases too. Visa’s Sam Gianniotis offers guidance on how businesses can protect their customers – and themselves – when operating online. With New Zealanders retreating into their homes as lockdown took hold, businesses realised that to stay open they’d need to adapt to an online-first … Read more
Two days before alert level four lockdown, Unity Studios was meant to open its doors for the very first time. First-time business owners Caitlin Day and Sophie Lax were forced to quickly become a virtual studio hosting classes and consults online. If you’ve never been on a Pilates reformer, the large machines look a bit … Read more
Despite changes made to original plans to ‘avoid’ the Hua o te Atua Urupā, an iwi group says the Waikato Regional Theatre is still set to be built on their burial ground. A group of rangatahi from Kirikiriroa iwi Ngāti Wairere says a big part of the community wasn’t consulted on the Waikato Regional Theatre … Read more
Mistrust in the government and generational trauma mean Māori communities are more at risk of falling victim to conspiracies relating to the 5G spectrum. Alice Webb-Liddall finds out what needs to be done to combat this dangerous misinformation. The real danger of conspiracy theories can sometimes be hard to grasp. When comments on Facebook link … Read more
Crowd entertainment at sports games is a hard task, but please let’s stick to T-shirt cannons and on-field japes instead of watching strangers smooch, eh? Funny kiss cam footage is a key element of any viral fail video compilation. A “she’s my sister” sign pulled out of a pocket as the camera accidentally pans to … Read more
The support and guidance for this year’s Callaghan Innovation C-Prize finalists proved invaluable as Covid-19 turned the challenge on its head. Starting a business in the midst of a global pandemic could seem like a really bad idea. But as businesses across the country battled the effects of Covid-19, the Callaghan Innovation C-Prize organisers were … Read more
As we face what seems to be the tail end of the first (and hopefully final) wave of Covid-19 in Aotearoa, research is being done to examine whether people of different ethnic and socio-economic statuses have the same ability to respond to the crisis. New Zealand’s response to Covid-19 has been heralded all over the … Read more
Primary schools around New Zealand have asked parents to consider new rules that would prohibit classroom drop-off and pick-up. Some parents think it will hinder communication between parents and teachers, but many teachers believe it helps the children become more independent. “Over the last three weeks our children have developed great self-management skills and independence … Read more
With his play Shot Bro: Confessions of a Depressed Bullet, actor Rob Mokaraka has been helping people from all over New Zealand to open up about mental health struggles. A new documentary explores his journey. Content warning: This story contains descriptions of suicide, violence and abuse, which may be triggering to survivors. In late July, … Read more
As we transition out of a Covid-focused world and prepare for what comes next, New Zealand’s ICT industry is gearing towards growth. From app development helping track the Covid-19 virus to website engineering keeping businesses in touch and online, ICT knowledge has been crucial to keeping New Zealand working over the last few months. But … Read more
Being shot by police had a profound, transformational effect on Rob Mokaraka’s life in more ways than you’d expect. A new documentary, airing on Māori TV at 7.30pm on Sunday, explores the work he’s done to heal his own mind and to ensure nobody has to go through the same pain he did. Content warning: … Read more
The British Tribe Next Door attracted over 60 complaints of racist themes from viewers when it first aired in the UK. Now TVNZ is airing it on Wednesday nights, attracting concerns from members of Aotearoa’s African community and a letter from race relations commissioner Meng Foon. When The British Tribe Next Door was released in … Read more
While many areas of the workforce have been shaken by the effects of Covid-19, a Ngāi Tahu futures lab has been working to give rangatahi Māori the opportunity to decide their own futures. Futurists have thought up myriad strategies for how the world should look post-Covid. For all its hurt, the global pandemic is offering … Read more
Amid the budget hype on Thursday, the New Zealand Teaching Council announced it would be increasing teacher registration fees twofold. Teachers and teaching groups say the decision shows their opinions aren’t valued. The Teaching Council’s move to more than double registration fees is “unacceptable” and amplifies teachers’ mistrust in their professional body, Post Primary Teachers’ … Read more
Talks about the future of men’s rugby have dominated rugby news during the Covid crisis, but ex-Black Fern Melodie Robinson says it’s crucial New Zealand Rugby starts considering how the women’s game will fare with equal urgency. Sports organisations around the world are scrambling to figure out ways their codes can viably continue into the … Read more
In the midst of tragedy, it’s important that we look to those striving to build better futures. The YWCA’s new initiative Y25 is highlighting 25 young New Zealand wāhine going above and beyond to improve their communities. Over the last 12 months, a group of young female leaders have taken on some of the world’s … Read more
All Black and Hurricanes halfback TJ Perenara says professional players should have more opportunities to play at club level, in The Spinoff’s new video series Rugby Unwrapped with Scotty Stevenson. The future of professional sports is in a precarious position. With international and national games and competitions off the table for the time being, organisations … Read more