‘It pisses me off hard out’: Brooke Stanley Pao on poverty and the power of protest

Auckland Action Against Poverty director, Brooke Stanley Pao.

Born into one of New Zealand rugby’s royal families, Brooke Stanley Pao is a daughter of privilege. Now she’s the face of the fight against poverty in Auckland.  Every Tuesday and Thursday just before 10am, a small queue forms on an Onehunga street corner, waiting for the glass doors to slide open on hope. These … Read more

A short history of New Zealand talkback hosts disgracing themselves

John Banks’ racist exchange with a Magic Talk listener on Tuesday was the latest in nearly 50 years of talkback scandals involving the hosts of radio talkback shows. Donna Chisholm has the receipts. John Banks axed over Māori ‘stone age culture’ comments on Magic Talk 1972:  On Radio I, sports talkback host Tim Bickerstaff launches … Read more

Doubts cast over claims of culture change at Work and Income NZ

A former case manager says that his experience working with beneficiaries suggests claims of a ‘complete shift’ in the service’s approach are laughable. A former Work and Income case manager who now works with beneficiaries engaging with the service has spoken out on a “toxic” culture which he says denies beneficiaries payments they’re entitled to, … Read more

‘I physically felt like I was going to die’: Clare Curran opens up on politics, toxicity and trauma

Sacked cabinet minister Clare Curran speaks for the first time about the brutal end to her political career – and what she calls the toxicity and bullying that marked her years in parliament. By Donna Chisholm. Of all the humiliations – often self-inflicted – that Clare Curran endured during her 12-year parliamentary career, the one … Read more