Hirini Kaa, an Anglican minister and historian who’s worked in the health and social services sectors, explains why he’ll be voting no on the End of Life Choice referendum. I’m voting no on the End of Life Choice (EOLC) referendum. I have many concerns about this legislation, including around the technical aspects and operation of … Read more
In 1967 I changed my mind on another referendum, about six o’clock closing, writes Roderick Aldridge. I am an 80-year-old Pākehā male who has never smoked or used cannabis in my life. And I will be voting to legalise cannabis in the coming referendum. This might seem absurd. My instinctive reaction, I expect like most people’s, … Read more
In her final election 2020 column, Laura O’Connell Rapira argues that progressive voters hold more power than they may think. In the recent TVNZ young voters debate, Kiritapu Allan defended Labour’s decision not to implement a capital gains tax by saying that “what New Zealanders want is stability”. In a recent op-ed Labour Party candidate … Read more
Hayden Donnell continues his campaign to lose friends and alienate people with a calumnious review of New Zealand’s great capital city. On my last night in Wellington, I went to see Hollie Fullbrook and Nadia Reid play a show at The Opera House. As the encore wound up, Fullbrook announced they were going to finish … Read more
History has repeatedly exposed the dangers of blind conformity, to which former attorney-general and Archibald Baxter Memorial trustee Chris Finlayson asks: where are the dissenters of today? There are many things I admire about Archibald Baxter but what I admire most of all was that he had the courage to dissent. Dissent is what I … Read more
‘Silence is complicity’, they say. But what do you do when speaking up could irreparably damage the relationships you value most? It was the Facebook post that did it. I normally don’t go there, at least on that social media platform. I go on Facebook for fun, and to keep connections warm. Going political sours … Read more
In the latest instalment of her column about her adventures in online dating, Alie Benge makes a real connection – and wonders why she can’t shake the need for romantic love. A friend told me I seem happy again. “It’s nice to have happy Alie back,” he said. “It’s been a while.” It made me … Read more
Labour’s winning strategy is built on rhetoric that seems to promise real change but never quite delivers, writes Danyl Mclauchlan. Perhaps soon it can give itself permission to do something truly transformational. There is a pit of doom major parties in New Zealand can fall into, when their soft centre supporters abandon them for their … Read more
The Māori electorates hold the key to stronger Māori representation in parliament. Policy adviser and GP Bryn Jones makes the case for voting strategically to get more Māori MPs in the house. The Māori seats were established to improve Māori representation in central government. That’s the main reason why I choose to be on the … Read more
Having been part of the fight for reproductive rights as president of ALRANZ Abortion Rights Aotearoa, Terry Bellamak says she’s struck by the similarities between the struggles for abortion rights and assisted dying. Both prioritise bodily autonomy Both abortion rights and the right to voluntary assisted dying are founded on the idea that our physical … Read more
Significantly reducing poverty in New Zealand needs serious commitment and investment, something which Child Poverty Action Group’s Janet McAllister says she’s yet to see from the party of Jacinda Ardern. “We can’t just tinker with the so-called social welfare system … it’s just not going to cut the mustard.” – Professor Cindy Kiro, chair of … Read more
Each week in the lead-up to the election, The Side Eye cartoonist Toby Morris is going to teach us how to draw a different New Zealand politician. This week, it’s the co-leaders of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand. Click here for the rest of the How to draw series. The Side Eye is a … Read more
What we eat defines our economy, our health, our environment and our culture. That’s why we need a plan for the future of our food systems, writes Angela Clifford, CEO at Eat New Zealand. Eating is the action we do more than anything else. We spend tens of thousands of dollars on food each year. … Read more
A humiliating hour in Ponsonby doesn’t mean National is imploding, just that it’s losing. National voters turned off by the show of disunity might want to consider the alternative, writes Ben Thomas. There’s a persistent myth that the “ordinary people” travellers to North Korea meet during tightly controlled trips into Pyongyang’s underground commuter train or … Read more
The current conversation should prompt all universities to closely examine both how and what they teach, writes Massey University provost Giselle Byrnes. Much has been said lately about structural racism in the New Zealand university system. While these allegations have been specifically raised at the University of Waikato, all eight of the country’s universities have … Read more
In a chaotic 90-minute contest, the crowd made itself heard, writes Justin Giovannetti from Christchurch. At several points I had no idea what the leaders were saying. Hundreds in the Christchuch crowd were cheering on Labour leader Jacinda Ardern while a row of National supporters seated in front of me grumbled. Ardern was making her … Read more
You know who probably takes photos? Green voters. On Newstalk ZB’s Leader’s Breakfast yesterday, famous Christian Judith Collins was asked about NCEA and secondary education. She said, “There are too many photography classes, too much media studies, too much woke stuff”. Obviously this got all the Leftie liberal woke leftists worked up but was it … Read more
It’s unacceptable to shrug off greenhouse gases as someone else’s problem, writes Dr David Galler. In the pressure of the moment people say things they often come to regret. For some it’s the result of a slip of the tongue, a simple mistake; sometimes it’s an attempt to be bullish and occasionally it’s the result … Read more
Sarah Catherall’s mother has suffered from Alzheimer’s for 14 years; it’s been four years since she last recognised her family. Would she want to keep living this way? Mum sleeps with her eyes wide open, snoring. Lying back in her floral patterned bed in the rest home, her grey-blue eyes stare blankly upwards. Her bed … Read more
The Greens’ statement on RMA reform is the first clear, leadership-endorsed sign of what it will and won’t support in a second Labour-Green government, writes Pattrick Smellie for BusinessDesk. Throughout the current parliamentary term, the Greens have been very well-behaved. Co-leader James Shaw’s brief and unhappy attempt to hold ministers to ransom over government funding … Read more
A brisk tour of the 2020 campaign via the time-honoured caboose of the alphabet. A is for Aotearoa, the name by which this country would formally be known under Māori Party policy, providing a timely stimulus to the economy by putting us much higher on the drop-down menu for online shopping, just beneath Angola. A … Read more
In her new book examining the link between nature and wellbeing, environmental historian Dr Catherine Knight explores the benefits of nature experienced by everyday New Zealanders, and argues for more nature in the places where most New Zealanders live – our towns and cities. In New Zealand, we think of ourselves as a country rich … Read more
As we emerged, blinking, from the first lockdown, essa may ranapiri said they might write a response to the wonderful poetry published by Māori writers over that strange time. They did not want the work “dumped in the world and forgotten” – they wanted it seen, held high, lit up. Here is that piece. He … Read more
There are pros, and there are cons, writes US politics expert Timothy J Lynch. With just a month left until the November 3 US presidential election, contracting the virus could have politically positive or negative consequences for President Donald Trump. These will, of course, be contingent on how severe the president’s illness becomes. But we should … Read more
More than 40 years after he first arrived in parliament, Winston Peters is facing, barring a miracle, the end of the line, with his New Zealand First Party polling under 2%. But what a political career it has been. Danyl Mclauchlan traces the life and times of one of the most compelling and enduring characters … Read more
Achieving an effortless “no makeup makeup” look is far more stressful than the old beauty standards ever were, writes Litia Tuiburelevu for Ensemble magazine. My relationship with beauty is complicated. I can look in a mirror and oscillate between utter self-loathing and a delusional God complex all within 10 minutes. Deep down I know that … Read more
Accusations of cultural appropriation in the restaurant world have made headlines in recent months, but why aren’t we talking about the white-owned ‘Asian fusion’ eateries that continue to trade off casual racism? One day, I walked past Auckland restaurant Monsoon Poon. I’ve ambled past the area plenty of times, but never with any real interest; … Read more
After meeting yesterday to address its unpopular policy that called for immigration to be halted, the Māori Party has made some concessions. It still isn’t good enough, writes former candidate Carrie Stoddart-Smith. Like most people who become a core base supporter of a political party, we each have our story of why. Sometimes our story … Read more
She’s been using cannabis for 35 years and has no intention of stopping any time soon – but she’d rather do it legally. I’ll tell you exactly who first got me into smoking dope. It was my friend’s brother’s uncle. Let’s call him Paul. He was a big-time dope grower in the north-east corner of … Read more