Last year it was reported that deaths caused by drugged driving had overtaken the drink driving toll for the first time. As Roger Brooking writes, that was fake news. In 2017, 378 people died on New Zealand roads. In June last year, the Automobile Association followed up with a media release claiming “we now have more crash … Read more
A reporter for the Daily Mail interviewed some “interiors therapists” who warned her that her home was repelling men. Emily Writes has some advice on how to make your home welcoming to dudes. I knew I had to click the article as soon as I saw it. How to avoid turning your home into a manrepeller: … Read more
The anti-natalism isn’t funny, says Emily Writes. It’s just very sad. Content warning: suicidal thoughts Mumbai businessman Raphael Samuel, 27, should really be a joke right? He’s suing his parents, who are both lawyers, for conceiving him and bringing him into the world. They’re taking it in good humour and there are plenty of easy laughs … Read more
Protester and performance artist Jazmine Rose Phillips talks to Anke Richter about the assault and police inaction which led to her naked protest on Karangahape Road. NB: The following images contain nudity Last week, performance artists Kyah Dove and Jazmine Rose Phillips stood naked and covered in fake blood in front of St Kevin’s Arcade … Read more
Breeds such as pugs and bulldogs are bred to encourage a facial deformity that can significantly impair a dog’s health, welfare and happiness. Vets have a moral obligation not to support such cruelty, write the University of Sydney’s Paul McGreevy and Anne Fawcett. Veterinarians have a professional and moral obligation to reduce or prevent any … Read more
Until New Zealand Cricket addresses the Scott Kuggeleijn situation, Black Caps superfan Michelle Langstone will no longer be watching her beloved team. Here she explains why. A letter to New Zealand Cricket chair Debbie Hockley, and to the board of NZ Cricket – You don’t know me at all, but I’m one of the biggest fans … Read more
As government and business lag behind, the fledgling community-driven housing sector is pursuing alternatives to bypass an unjust system, writes Thomas Nash Is there any hope for the future of housing in New Zealand? Our tax law encourages wealthy landowners to enrich themselves through untaxed revenue (also known as capital gains). The government faces scrutiny … Read more
Vague and antiquated legal language undermines complainants in cases of sexual assault, writes New Zealand Law Journal editor Brenda Midson. One of New Zealand’s most notorious sexual misconduct cases re-emerged recently when a ringleader of the Roast Busters, a group of teenagers who were investigated five years ago for alleged sexual offences against underage girls, gave … Read more
The ongoing strike action by resident medical officers (also known as junior doctors) is putting patient safety at risk, according to some senior doctors. Karen Brown of Radio NZ reports. Some senior doctors are calling for an end to the row between junior doctors and district health boards, saying each strike is more damaging to … Read more
In the fourth part of his pro-wrestling-for-fitness adventure, Mike Kilpatrick aka Irn Bruce climbs to the top ropes and gives it his best shot Sometime after midday last Saturday, near the end of the IPW wrestling tryout that has been the main focus of my weight-loss and fitness goals over the last 18 months or … Read more
Controversy over police insistence on wearing their uniforms led to their withdrawal from today’s Pride Festival march. So imagine Emilie Rākete’s surprise to see officers deployed in casual clothes just three days ago at Waitangi. By now most of us have likely heard about the public debate around police involvement in the Auckland Pride festival. … Read more
In the latest instalment of her series on life as a NZ expat, Elle Hunt recounts the tedious minutiae of flying halfway across the world. Pull down your suitcase from on top of your wardrobe. Not the compact carry-on for long weekends on the continent, but the one that marks you out as high maintenance or a … Read more
When even the ‘woke’ are ignorant about Te Tiriti o Waitangi, it’s clear we need to make teaching its history compulsory in schools, writes Liam Hehir. Sometimes something happens in the news that shakes you out of a bubble. I thought that making New Zealand history a compulsory part of the curriculum was more heavy-handed … Read more
The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read more comics here
The cannabis referendum debate is deeply personal for some people. Nicole Skews-Poole details the agonising role weed played in her father’s life. My earliest childhood memory is opaque and soupy. The more I try and focus on its details, the more they wriggle away. But in my mind’s eye, if I stand back and pretend … Read more
This week Air New Zealand announced that they would be pulling their divisive “It’s Kiwi Safety” video from their in-flight safety briefing. The Spinoff asked Kiwis from all walks of life to pay their respects. A former flight attendant: “I was there in the early stages of Air New Zealand trying to be ‘out there’ … Read more
If burnout is a problem and the promise of self-transformation and self-care aren’t working, then what now? Dr Katie Bruce, chief executive of Volunteering New Zealand, offers an alternative. This New Year, along with everyone else, I found myself watching Tidying Up with Marie Kondo while fawning over Bullet Journaling on Instagram and ordering a ton … Read more
A group of Indian students who were kicked out of New Zealand say their lives are ruined, and that electioneering Labour MPs, including Jacinda Ardern, promised help but went silent after coming to power. This story was originally published on RNZ Few people celebrated Labour’s 2017 return to power more than a broke, unemployed IT … Read more
A Stuff column by ‘millennial’ Jackson Thomas pondered why anyone would work in fencing, but it applies to much of manual labour. With her husband’s permission, Emily Writes shares his story of what an honest living really is. “Fencing sounds like a great way to make an honest living, but you don’t have to be a … Read more
There is a lot of confusion out there at the moment about the right way to take the contraceptive pill. Family Planning doctor Beth Messenger gives us the facts. The Combined Oral Contraceptive Pill has been in the news lately with Britain changing its official pill guidelines to reduce the risks of unplanned pregnancies. The … Read more
Someone Emily Writes knew, or thought she knew, raped a woman in a horrific attack. She asks why she didn’t see the monster within. Someone I knew from high school killed someone many years back. When I was asked what he’d been like in high school I said there had been something “off” about him. … Read more
Alex Casey scours the internet for the top tips to keep your pets cool in this horrendous heatwave. I don’t know about your cats, but mine are pissed off. Zelda in particular. Where her brother Link, cold-blooded Prince of Darkness, spends his blistering summer days lying in the hot water cupboard like the anarchic goth … Read more
Councillor Chris Calvi-Freeman has called for an end to tooting in Wellington’s Mt Vic Tunnel. Over the coming days many will discuss this important issue. But what does the Tunnel think? Emily Writes sat down with them to find out. I’ll say it right now, at this point in my life, I’m a huge fan … Read more
Henry Oliver spends the night at an island bird sanctuary to experience the dawn chorus. This story originally ran in Barker’s 1972 magazine. It starts early. I’d set my alarm for 4.45am, but by four everyone in the DOC bunkhouse is awake whether or not they want to be. The birds are singing. On Tiritiri Matangi, … Read more
Five hundred or so days after a grossly unfit 42-year-old man weighing nearly 144kgs decided he wanted to become a pro-wrestler the moment of truth has finally arrived in part three of Mike Kilpatrick’s journey. Read part one here, and part two here. No longer will I be able to hide behind self-deprecatory social-media posts, … Read more
A stream of overseas visitors has shown me how the NZ tourism industry needs to encourage more environmentally friendly behaviour, writes Jai Breitnauer. “If you don’t want them, I guess just chuck them out,” my friend told me, gesturing to the pile of stuff on the deck. “That’s what we would have had to do … Read more
On Monday night, Joseph Parker, one of a group of young men investigated relating to alleged sexual offences, broke his silence, talking to Newshub five years after The Roast Busters scandal exploded. Many of his survivors were watching. Alex Casey sat down with one of them this week in her Auckland home. Appalled by Parker’s … Read more
The ruling that Mariya Taylor must pay almost $30,000 to her abuser shows just how much our legal system needs to be overhauled. But, asks the director of Otago University’s Legal Issues Centre, what can we do for women like her in the meantime? The costs decision in Taylor v Roper has invoked strong feelings that an … Read more
With the March 29 Brexit deadline bearing down on the country at an alarming speed, it’s hard not to wonder whether staying in Britain is really worth it, writes Elle Hunt in the latest instalment of her series on life as a NZ expat. Greetings from Great Brexit – sorry, Britain. It’s hard to think … Read more