New Zealand’s burgeoning tech industry may be dodging some of the systemic issues plaguing traditional corporate culture, but Victoria Crockford discovers it’s also developing within the same structures that resulted in the #MeToo movement. As a kid, I often imagined what would happen if the world was turned upside down and shaken. Animals from the … Read more
Is the freelance dream souring? Victoria Crockford finds insecurity abounds inside the gig economy, and argues we need to make sure rights are not lost with the rise of flexible work. ‘Got Paid’, ‘Went Outside’, ‘Remembered to Eat!!’, cheerfully quipped some of the ‘freelance achievement stickers’ designed by Jeremy Nguyen for the New Yorker recently. … Read more
Victoria Crockford reflects on the way society has changed its view of our collective mothers and each other, and how that impacts all of society. Driving home at 10pm. It’s the coldest night of the year so far: -16°C by the reckoning of the car thermometer. I’m sitting in the passenger seat hugging my coat … Read more
Social enterprise – entrepreneurship that combines business nous with ethical aims – is on the rise. But is it anything more than a placebo effect that makes consumers momentarily feel good? Victoria Crockford finds if you want to remain relevant in 2017, you need to show your social credentials. “Be Here Now” encourages the worthy … Read more
‘If you create the community, then great things will come from it.’ In Hawke’s Bay, a papa kāinga – or community housing development – is providing a blueprint for social housing provision in New Zealand. On a hilltop overlooking the long stretch of Waimarama beach in Hawke’s Bay is a cluster of new houses that … Read more
Lumsden Maternity Centre in rural Southland, where Bill English was born, is in imminent danger of closure. Southerner Victoria Crockford explains why it would be a devastating loss for the community. I must admit, I really questioned myself the day that the pigs broke into a multi-million dollar building site down the road. Pinky and … Read more
There are plenty of drawbacks to living in the back of beyond, but for expectant mothers, at least, there’s one big plus: rural maternity units. Southlander Victoria Crockford explains why giving birth in one is a ‘privilege and a pleasure’ – and why their continued existence is under threat. I’m going to have my second … Read more