A few hours before the budget is announced to the public, journalists and other interested parties get a preview in a secure room deep inside the Beehive. This year, Jess McAllen was among them. The night before the budget is released political journalists stock up on lollies. On the day, plates of lamingtons, in red, … Read more
First came the bizarre witch hunt cartoon, and then the indignant tutting. Jess McAllen considers the responses to the #metooNZ investigation launched a fortnight ago by Alison Mau. Mike Hosking called it “tacky and tabloid”. David Cohen asked about a “sense of professional justice – or ideological fantasy”. Tim Beveridge decried a “trial by media”. On Newstalk ZB … Read more
For too long mental health has had awareness campaigns sprinkled out while government action remained pretty much non-existent. Will the mental health and addictions inquiry be another plaster? We need to talk about suicide: this is the phrase you’ll routinely hear in discussions about New Zealand’s mental health crisis. Often it comes alongside well-meaning campaigns … Read more
Dr Barbara Disley tells Jess McAllen we need a call for action, not another review. This story first appeared on The Wireless. Read the rest of the series here. Newspaper headlines from 20 years ago look surprisingly familiar (“Mental Health’s Revolving Door”, “The Depressing State of Mental Health”, “Conveyer Belt to Psychiatric Ruin”). In 1996, after a damning … Read more
While mental health is an easy issue to campaign on, it’s hard to get right, writes Jess McAllen. This story first appeared on The Wireless. Read the rest of the series here. Ten years ago, when Labour was in charge, I was 14 and losing grip with reality fast. My parents took me to a counsellor and … Read more
Mental health workers and suicide prevention strategists tell Jess McAllen that while the public system has its flaws, the unrelenting attention on a ‘broken’ system is dangerous too. This story first appeared on The Wireless. Read the rest of the series here. Six hundred and six pairs of shoes are currently making their way around New Zealand. They … Read more
More needs to be done to help those at risk, so let’s get the facts straight, says Jess McAllen. This story first appeared on The Wireless. Read the rest of the series here. Suicide is a tough issue to talk about. With 606 suicides last year, there’s no doubt more needs to be done to support those most … Read more
Momentum around mental health is gathering. But where are the voices of the people who will be impacted first-hand by any policy change? Jess McAllen investigates. This story first appeared on The Wireless. Read the rest of the series here. On a Friday evening in May, police released a photo of Vincent Clayton. He had escaped from … Read more
Bulls was an unexceptional country town until a chance discovery of a secondhand book of bovine puns changed the course of history. Jess McAllen uncovers the remarka-bull story. Like many great artists, the person who roused the small town of Bulls to paint the streets with puns will never know how iconic his work was. … Read more
This week it was reported that a Wellington youth clinic that offers free doctors’ appointments, mental and sexual health services, and support for homeless teens has closed its books to new patients. The loss will be felt throughout the city, writes Jess McAllen. There’s a scene in the 80s movie Heathers where, following a spate … Read more
Amidst the celebration of last week’s landmark care worker pay settlement came concerns about how future wage discrepancies will affect the mental healthcare sector. Jess McAllen reports. Last Tuesday it was announced that workers in aged and disability residential care and home and community support services will receive pay rises between 15 and 50 per … Read more
The NIMBYs are out in force in Whanganui – though it’s not houses for people the locals are objecting to, but homes for bees. Jess McAllen investigates the apian scandal threatening to engulf the city. It’s been a tough few years for the bees of Whanganui. Last year 375 hives were stolen, in 2015 their … Read more
A report published today highlights what it says are systematic failures in the Family Court. Jess McAllen speaks to Deborah Mackenzie of The Backbone Collective, the organisation which commissioned the report. Women dealing with the Family Court have helped create an independent watchdog report highlighting the system’s failure to keep them and their children safe. … Read more
Jess McAllen takes a tour through the Tenancy Tribunal’s decisions to find bleak scenes of landlords and letting agents running amok. It’s a tale as old as time: treating yourself to a succulent chicken rotisserie from New World on Sunday night and putting the other half in the fridge for Monday sandwiches. But what happens … Read more
Jess McAllen paints the picture from a Unity Books packed with media, activists and more, eager to discover the subject of the new book and the quality of the catering. Hit & Run has dominated NZ headlines since its publication less than 24 hours ago. It contains a very serious allegations of SAS involvement in … Read more
Through tears, Jono Pryor used the final minutes of Jono and Ben last night to shine a light on mental health following the recent suicide of a friend. Jess McAllen discusses the impact of such a raw television moment. The following article contains discussion around mental health and suicide. I’ll let you in on a secret: a … Read more
Māori youth suicide rates are among the highest in the world. Some of the most affected rangatahi and their families talk to Jessica McAllen, while those at the grassroots striving to tackle the problem explain what they’re up to, and the obstacles they confront. It’s summer in Raumanga and the pool is empty. Drained, awaiting … Read more
Journalist Jessica McAllen looks back at the two years since Max Key broke into the nation’s consciousness and wonders: where to now for the fledgling DJ/popstar/internet celebrity? I first laid eyes on Max Key across the dancefloor at Auckland’s 1885 club in 2014. He was 19, I was 22. His friend Joshua Troskie gave me … Read more
2016 has been a breakthrough year for mental health reporting around the country. Yet a draft report leaked to Jess McAllen – herself a mental health reporter – shows that Mental Health Services are anything but welcoming of the scrutiny. An editor once told me mental health stories were “unsexy”. Silky, lacy numbers like car … Read more
Imagine strange cars and weird people hanging around your house. This is the shocking reality for some in this post-Pokémon world. In part two of the Pokémon GO Orgy Week, Jess McAllen interviews a number of unassuming Americans who’ve had uninvited Pokémon hunters turning up on their doorstep. Catch up on Pokémon GO Orgy Week … Read more
From an all-male radio station panel to a bad Paul Henry poll, Jessica McAllen digs through the shittiest New Zealand contributions to International Women’s Day. In case you missed the Beyoncé memes and “go girl” quotes clogging up social media, yesterday was International Women’s Day. In accordance with age-old tradition, many men and corporations marked the day with ill-advised … Read more
News site reports about social media backlash – social media backlash ensues. Ex-churnalist Jess McAllen says this cycle needs breaking. UPDATE: comment from RNZ’s Megan Whelan appended at close. Yesterday Stuff.co.nz published a story largely based on a Facebook post by Old Mout Cider on the 6th of February regarding its decision to pull an … Read more
Jess McAllen writes about a recent story on mental health issues in the teaching profession – troubling, but not for the reasons its author thought. When I applied for a job at Fairfax in 2014 I was faced with the question that all people with mental health conditions dread. “Journalism can be a stressful environment,” … Read more
Jess McAllen says that the #stepforward campaign to end mental health discrimination, while well-intentioned, doesn’t seem likely to actually achieve anything. It’s hard to knock an attempt to open up conversation around destigmatising mental illness. But, as a long-term user of mental health services, #stepforwardnz has been bothering me since it launched in June. I have a lot of … Read more