No doubt cannabis can cause harm, but for some of us, it helps. A regulated market would allow us to use it in a less haphazard and more informed way, writes Jenifer*. Before my foray into psychosis – that is to say, before being depressed and traumatised to the point of breaking out in psychotic … Read more
The two week jail sentence handed out to the woman who breached isolation with her grieving children is an abomination, writes Leonie Hayden. In a week where New Zealanders are celebrating the prison sentence of a monster who murdered 51 people, we all need to think hard about what we’re celebrating. I choose to leave … Read more
More than a year after justice minister Andrew Little described New Zealand’s hate speech laws as ‘woefully inadequate’, nothing has come of the legislative reform that was promised. Warning: contains descriptions of racism, racist violence and racist images. Yesterday, the white supremacist terrorist who carried out the Christchurch mosque attacks was sentenced to life imprisonment … Read more
We’re all going to die – but should we get a say in how? For Alice Snedden, like many of us, this year’s euthanasia referendum is the first time she’s had to consider the possibilities. Watch Alice Snedden’s Bad News – Euthanasia and other episodes in the series here. I’m afraid of dying. It just … Read more
An audit of Team NZ and America’s Cup Events – companies both run by Grant Dalton – has found no evidence of financial wrongdoing. Still, Dalton emerges from the matter far from spotless, writes Pattrick Smellie of BusinessDesk. Grant Dalton has a strange take on the meaning of “vindication”. That’s what he says the summary … Read more
New Zealand’s response to the pandemic has won global plaudits – but there is still much room for improvement, write a trio of University of Otago public health experts. This week marks six months since New Zealand’s first Covid-19 case was identified on February 26. So far New Zealand has been largely in reactive mode, … Read more
Let us hope the sentence of life without parole handed down today allows the victims and their families to breathe a little easier. Their courage should inspire us to rise to the challenge that faces us now, writes Abbas Nazari. March 15, 2019 is a day I’ll remember forever. I remember reading about how our … Read more
Tesla has delighted investors and stunned rivals with its meteoric rise to the top of the car industry. With the right Kiwisaver fund, New Zealanders have the chance to back a winning and renewable horse, writes Pathfinder CEO John Berry. Tesla’s share price is three times higher than at the start of this year. With … Read more
A man in his 30s turned up at hospital on Friday with symptoms. He’s now in ICU. Nobody knows how he contracted the virus. Amid the daily rush of numbers as Auckland’s tally of active Covid-19 tops 110, one new infection has given Ashley Bloomfield particular pause for concern. It’s another indication that the growing … Read more
Different countries are pursuing different strategies for taking on Covid-19. Despite the re-emergence of the virus, and the sacrifices our response demands, it remains absolutely the best approach for us, writes Siouxsie Wiles. Here in Aotearoa, we’re playing Covid-19 in “elimination” mode. Some countries are trying “suppression” mode, while others are running with what seems … Read more
A push for greater digital access in schools can have its positives and also its negatives, as Julie Cullen explains. Recent articles in The Spinoff have examined digital inequality, and highlighted an initiative to increase digital access in a Māngere primary school. These articles raise valid points. Technology is used for so many activities now, … Read more
How can we help people realise they’ve made a mistake without falling into the ‘callout culture’ trap? This post was originally published in Emily’s newsletter: Emily Writes Weekly. Subscribe here. As soon as I saw the black squares on Instagram for Black Out Tuesday, I thought a feed covered in black squares would be helpful. … Read more
We must not squander this wake-up call. We must take action now to avert a climate catastrophe, write Dr Mike Joy and Dr Catherine Knight of the Better Futures Forum. Many New Zealanders will likely be feeling very uneasy about the resurgence of the coronavirus in our community. Just when we thought we were out … Read more
It is a scandal in plain sight: our education system is racist and the outcomes people get vary substantially depending on ethnicity, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira. Avondale rapper Tom Scott recently took to Instagram to point out that the real conspiracy in this country is that education is for the rich. “Rich kids get private … Read more
What are the criteria and the scenarios, and when will the alert level decision be announced? On day 13 of Auckland’s alert level three lockdown and the rest of New Zealand’s level two restrictions, Jacinda Ardern and her cabinet meet today to make important decisions about when those statuses will change – and to what. … Read more
A trip to the bookshop ends in calamity – and an encounter with the calm, candid and kind medical staff of North Shore Hospital. As a great admirer of Hilary Mantel’s writing, I looked forward to reading the final novel in her trilogy set in Tudor England, The Mirror & the Light. I drove down … Read more
New Zealand’s first commercial bioenergy facility has been lauded as a sustainable way to deal with the nation’s food waste. It’s anything but, says community composter Kate Walmsley. A couple of weeks ago, it was announced that construction was starting on Aotearoa’s first commercial bioenergy facility, owned by Ecogas. Many people might see this as … Read more
If we want to address family violence in Aotearoa, we need to change the way we act and think about shame, writes Leilani Tamu. The following includes discussion of child abuse and trauma. When I was six years old, my mother’s boyfriend told me to eat on the floor with his dog, a German shepherd, … Read more
Paying tax is one of the easiest and most useful ways to contribute to society, but a centuries-old law means churches don’t have to do it. In the latest episode of Bad News, Alice Snedden asks: is it time that law be reconsidered? Watch Alice Snedden’s Bad News – Churches and Charity and other episodes … Read more
In choosing to lead with the threat that Covid-19 poses the High Court makes it abundantly clear that it is going to cut the government a lot of slack when reviewing the overall legality of its actions in response, writes Andrew Geddis. Probably the most famous opening to a court judgment is to be found … Read more
Focusing only on tech solutions to New Zealand’s contact tracing challenges ignores the needs of the fifth of the population who are digitally excluded, write Anna and Kelly Pendergrast. This month’s outbreak of Covid-19 after more than 100 days without any recorded community spread has suddenly focused attention on the need for effective contact tracing. … Read more
To stamp out rampant rumours, we must turn to fearless and fastidious scholarship – and writers, says Jared Davidson. On a spring morning in March 1906, people making their way to work along Oxford Street in central London were alarmed to see well-built men wearing Prussian army uniforms prowling up and down the pavement. From … Read more
With the shine starting to come off the government’s Covid response, the opposition must abandon baseless speculation for a laser focus on failure and accountability, argues Ben Thomas. The fresh outbreak of Covid-19 in Auckland last week was a shock to the public. But it should have been manna from heaven for political parties campaigning … Read more
In all my dealings with the healthcare system I’ve received incredible service – so why isn’t this the case for all New Zealanders? Watch Alice Snedden’s Bad News – Healthcare Inequity and other episodes in the series here. When I was in primary school one of my great brags was that I’d never been to … Read more
All it would take is for New Zealand to enact a law that is already common in other countries, writes law professor Alexander Gillespie. There is no death penalty in New Zealand, unlike the United States. But the Christchurch terrorist, due for sentencing next week, will be going to jail for a very long time. … Read more
Books editor Catherine Woulfe emerges from her Twilight reverie just long enough to write a review. Twilight has me in a lasting swoon. It is a cup of sweet tea, to be dispensed in times of shock and sadness. Big stuff, like miscarriages, and terminal diagnoses, and on the eve of level four. I resent … Read more
The election delay means 17-year-old Gina Dao-McLay will have the right to vote this year. She’s excited – but says thousands more people like her deserve the same chance to have their voices heard. I turn 18 on September 27 – a grand total of eight days after the original election date of September 19. … Read more
Our communities need us to listen to the people who have dedicated their lives to making ours better – not those who only want to exploit our fears, writes Christine Ammunson. One in five Sāmoans died when the 1918 pandemic hit our homes. Through whispers I remember elderly aunts recalling the horror of watching the … Read more
Despite Judith Collins’ claim, the caretaker convention – the understanding that in certain circumstances significant governing decisions should have a parliamentary majority, or be consulted on by the opposition – does not apply in the pre-election period. And for some perfectly good reasons, writes law professor Claudia Geiringer. In July 1984, the Muldoon government was … Read more