A statement from The Opportunities Party, supplied by its communications director Sean Plunket, responding to Mike Joy’s assertion that he did not endorse TOP. Mike Joy has since accepted this version of events, and we have updated his story to reflect this. Let us start by saying we have enormous respect for Dr Mike Joy and … Read more
Ready for the last weekend of the Film Festival in Auckland? Chris Davis introduces his movie about Maungakiekie (One Tree Hill) and chooses another film he also wants to see. Part seven of our filmmaker’s choice series. A friend recently told me about a conversation she overheard. Three women were debating the significance of Mike … Read more
Philippa Campbell introduces the second series of Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake and Hugh Macdonald gets outdoors in a different way. Part six of our Film Festival filmmaker’s choice series. Producer Philippa Campbell on Top of the Lake: China Girl and her recommended movie, We Don’t Need a Map Top of the Lake: China Girl screened … Read more
Director Annie Goldson introduces her Dotcom documentary and the one she calls its antithesis; and Julian Boshier talks about working with Wellington band Head Like a Hole for 15 years. Welcome to part five of our Film Festival filmmaker’s choice series. Kim Dotcom director Annie Goldson recommends Waru I’m really keen to see Waru, possibly because it’s … Read more
Who doesn’t like a bracingly funny bit of satirical social politics? Who doesn’t admire an arts troupe that astounds its audience show after show? With the Film Festival upon us we asked filmmakers to choose a favourite movie from the lineup and also tell us about their own films in the festival. Here’s the fourth … Read more
We asked filmmakers to choose a favourite from the Film Festival lineup and also tell us about their own films. This third instalment of the series features Gaylene Preston, Renae Maihi, Paul Oremland and Jackie van Beek. Gaylene Preston, director of My Year with Helen, recommends Faces Places Faces Places is the film I most want … Read more
We asked filmmakers to choose a favourite from the Film Festival lineup and also tell us about their own films in the festival. In this second instalment of the series, Florian Habicht explains his scary movie with ‘more heart than horror’, Nic Gorman ties his sub-Antarctic thriller to the dystopian Russian classic Stalker and Simon … Read more
With the Film Festival now underway we asked we asked a whole bunch of filmmakers to tell us about a film they’re specially keen to see, and about their own film too. Here’s the first instalment: Paul Wolffram, Katie Wolfe and Robin Greenberg. What Lies That Way director Paul Wolffram recommends Maliglutit I’m looking forward to … Read more
We reproduce in full and with permission the email Fairfax’s central region editor Bernadette Courtney sent to the Wellington City Council’s Kevin Lavery yesterday, in response to the WCC’s disputing the Dominion Post’s coverage of a campervan story. Dear Kevin, I am disappointed that I have to write to you to voice my concerns about … Read more
Two women teachers who were sexually harassed by male students have resigned following ‘considerable distress’. Here a parent writes of her dismay at the way the college has dealt with the incident and the message it sends to young men. Two women teachers at St Patrick’s Silverstream who were sexually harassed by male students who … Read more
To conclude our week-long series on Greymouth writer Peter Hooper: two poems by his former student Jeffrey Paparoa Holman, from his new collection of verse, Blood Ties. Poem for John Pule: the last days of Peter Hooper Stoned on Waiheke on Pule’s grass that was a surprise: “Well, yes and no, Jeff, … Read more
The politicking and partisanship around how to solve society’s problems can start to look a bit like a comedy show at times. The Green Effect Comedy Show flips this on its head and lets comedians apply their unique approach to finding solutions for the world’s ills. Kirstie MacDiarmid threw a few questions at Brendon Green, creator … Read more
You could be forgiven for thinking support for a Universal Basic Income comes only from Gareth Morgan and the more radical parts of the left. But as financial adviser Michael Warrington points out, the UBI has a lot to recommend it whatever your political outlook. Gareth Morgan’s proposals around tax and the Universal Basic Income (UBI) … Read more
Myles Thomas of the Coalition for Better Broadcasting explains why they teamed up with Action Station to launch the People’s Commission on Public Broadcasting and Media, which has a workshop in Auckland on Sunday March 26. Godwin’s law is a pretty well-known internet meme which states “as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of … Read more
Hundreds of NZ women are told every year that their request for an abortion is ‘not justified’. One woman describes the response she encountered, and why she feels betrayed by a system that continues to view women seeking termination through a lens of criminality Are you not with the father? Were you ever together? Had … Read more
A Black woman living in New Zealand talks about this year’s infamous episode of Real Housewives, and why it’s indicative of a broader racist culture in New Zealand we still refuse to acknowledge. Originally posted September 23, 2016 This week’s episode of Real Housewives has left many people shocked. They cannot believe that there are … Read more
Tsunami scientists have returned from Canterbury, where they found at least one spot of severe damage from the tsunami that followed the Kaikoura earthquake, and it’s a powerful reminder that you shouldn’t wait for a formal evacuation, explains Caroline Little of GNS In the days since the earthquake, much of the focus at GNS Science … Read more
GeoNet have published their latest future scenarios and aftershock forecasts following the M7.8 quake that struck early on Monday morning. Their advice follows … To help understand the earthquakes and what to do about them, many people what to know what will happen next? While we can’t predict earthquakes we can provide some forecasts of … Read more
The Kaikoura earthquake lifted long strips of coast out of the sea on Monday morning, in parts as high as two metres. Ursula Cochran and Kate Clark of GNS Science and Sharyn Goldstein of the University of Canterbury explain what’s going on. Much of the northeastern coast of the South Island was uplifted during the … Read more
Geonet has released newly calculated aftershock probabilities that put the chance of one or more M6-6.9 quake in the next day at 37%. Rapid field reconnaissance indicates that multiple faults have ruptured: Kekerengu Fault at the coast – appears to have had up to 10m of slip Newly identified fault at Waipapa Bay Hope Fault … Read more
A massive, magnitude-7.5 quake centred near Hanmer has led to at least two deaths, caused widespread damage and triggered tsunami alerts. Sara McBride of GNS explains what we know about the science behind the disaster, and what to expect next. A more recent update is here. What do we know so far? This earthquake was the … Read more
Kevin Keepa went from busking for loose change on Wellington’s Lambton Quay to winning fans’ hearts on The Voice Australia. To mark the release of the Koi Boys’ debut album, he tells his story. As told to Mana magazine‘s Leonie Hayden. I was born in Taranaki, but my mum and my dad moved us down … Read more
Three American prison experts were in NZ when Judith Collins announced a $1bn boost to the corrections department and 1,800 more jail beds. Expansion of an approach that even Bill English calls a ‘moral and fiscal failure’ is a huge mistake, write Erica Meiners, Isaac Ontiveros and Rachel Herzing. And, below, a statement from the … Read more
A Black woman living in New Zealand talks about this week’s episode of Real Housewives, and why it’s indicative of a broader racist culture in New Zealand we still refuse to acknowledge. This week’s episode of Real Housewives has left many people shocked. They cannot believe that there are white people who think it’s okay … Read more
The 100th episode of Jono and Ben airs tonight on TV3, so we asked the cast and writers to share their favourite sketches from the last 99 shows. JONO PRYOR: Robbie Magasiva in NeXt Actor, the segment involves us controlling a celebrity through an earpiece while they pretend to work in a store. The first … Read more
The Spinoff wrangled a real-life mystery religious person to dissect the depiction of faith in The Path, a drama following members of a fictional cult. My husband and I sat down and watched an episode of The Path the other night. When you both work and have an eight month old child, sitting down and … Read more
As the Auckland Art Fair wraps up for another year, our anonymous art world insider looks back at the festival’s highs and lows. The easiest way to describe the Auckland Art Fair, at The Cloud until today, is to say it is basically a trade fair – one large hall, many small booths, many traders … Read more
Last week the advertising world came together for its annual night of backslapping at the Viaduct Events Centre. But the Axis Awards are more than just an excuse for a booze-up, says an anonymous creative director – they can make or break careers. The Axis Awards show: the night when advertising creatives swap their Chuck Taylors … Read more
A lavish new book of photographs by artist Fiona Pardington. “Taking a photograph is like tilting at windmills. It’s taking on the universe,” says Fiona Pardington. Yes, that sounds like a load of pretentious and boring old tosh to us, too, but she’s a pretty amazing artist and her exquisitely produced new book Fiona Pardington: A Beautiful Hesitation … Read more