News that the word ‘trivial’ had stumped students taking an NCEA history exam has prompted worldwide ridicule and much handwringing about the state of New Zealand education. But is that really the right reaction, asks high school teacher and author Bernard Beckett. Trawling through the comments section of news sites, like driving on this country’s … Read more
In an attempt to unwind the country’s gun regulations, Australia’s version of the NRA knows that state governments are as good a place as any to start. One of the more noticeable ad campaigns in the upcoming Victoria state election comes from a seemingly unlikely source. The Shooting Industry Foundation of Australia (SIFA) seeks to … Read more
Holding up a fish in your Tinder profile is one thing, but what about firearms? Hannah Reid finds concerning meaning behind the dating profile trend. Yet another mass shooting in the United States. More conversations about how lucky we are to live in New Zealand, with our Arms Act 1983 and no pesky second amendment … Read more
LOOK AT ITS FACE AND EARS WHAT ABOUT ITS NOSE. THIS LIL SHEP IS A Swiss Valais Blacknose BUT YOU CAN CALL IT FLOOFY SAMWHICH POODLE BOI. Wairarapa farmer Christine Reed told Radio NZ that along with several business partners formed Valais Blacknose NZ and imported the breed as embryos from the UK about a year and … Read more
A new survey of 1,025 New Zealand women found that 82% had experienced either sexual violence or harassment. Compelling evidence – but will men ever believe it, asks Emily Writes. Content warning: This column describes instances of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment. I read in resigned horror about Bauer Media’s survey of sexual violence against … Read more
Treating the types of conditions and injuries which present in this era requires doctors to become advocates as well as healers, writes Dr Jin Russell. Last Thursday, the National Rifle Association (NRA) posted a deeply provocative and surprisingly idiotic tweet about doctors in the United States. This move was a retaliation against an email from … Read more
A decision to ban uniformed police officers from marching in the Auckland Pride Parade has proven controversial. In a column first published on RNZ, activist Laura O’Connell Rapira explains why the thinking behind the decision matters so much. The Auckland Pride Board have banned police from marching in uniform next year because police uniforms represent oppression and … Read more
A message to parents from Feilding Intermediate School principal Diane Crate, first published on the school’s Facebook page and republished with permission. It is with some sadness that I read and listened to media reports about the latest offer presented to teachers. Much of the reporting is, in my view, skewed to sound much better … Read more
When doctors, teachers, police and care workers take advantage of society’s most vulnerable, the results can be devastating. But how are public employers responding to reports of sexual assault and harassment? Not well enough, writes researcher Carrie Buckmaster, who offers some recommendations for change. November 7 2018 was New Zealand’s first ‘Public Service Day’: a … Read more
If you happen to be a comedian who isn’t male, the road home isn’t so simple. Ahead of a special one-off fundraising gig on December 9, comedian Amanda Kennedy writes about the dangers of simply getting home – and what’s being done to solve it. Content warning: Article discusses the impact of physical and sexual … Read more
One hundred years to the day from the end of WWI, Sir Peter Jackson has released They Shall Not Grow Old, a groundbreaking restoration of footage from The Great War. “The first world war is still being fought,” says Sir Peter Jackson, 100 years to the day since the closing shots on the Western Front. “It could … Read more
The first in a series for The Spinoff, Mike Kilpatrick shares how his weight loss journey began with a single tweet. Only an idiot would use some off-handed Twitter comments as a signal to transform their life. Only an idiot would decide to try and become a wrestler at nearly 43-years-old while being massively overweight … Read more
Today people all over the world will come together to think about World War I and those who fought in it. How could we remember better? And what can we do with remembering? An essay by Andrew Johnston 1. The driver picked me up from the station at Bailleul, a sleepy town with one of those … Read more
The Olympic women’s marathon was first held in 1984, largely thanks to one woman and her historic run 16 years earlier. On February 7 1984, two men walked untethered in space for the first time. Six months later on Earth, women were allowed to run the marathon at the Olympic Games for the first time. … Read more
Our new series produced by the New Zealand Red Cross profiles people from refugee backgrounds who now call New Zealand home. Our third Kiwi Legend: Mitchell Pham, who escaped alone from Vietnam as a 12-year-old, and went on to create a hugely successful NZ software company. Mitchel Pham has fond memories of his early childhood … Read more
Almost every Kiwi who moves to London tries to soften the blow to family and friends by claiming they’ll regularly return. But, writes Elle Hunt in her regular Elleswhere column about life as an expat New Zealander, such hopes are rarely borne out. Just before I left New Zealand again, my mother told the rest … Read more
Yesterday corporate boxer Kain Parsons succumbed to a brain injury sustained in a charity bout on Saturday night. He won’t be the last, writes Don Rowe. Content warning: suicide In November 1982, Korean boxer Duk Koo Kim was killed in his championship bout with Ray ‘Boom Boom’ Mancini after collapsing in the 10th round. Four … Read more
Has remembrance of Anzac become too commodified? Australian historian Dr Jo Hawkins spoke to Alex Braae about what commercialised commemoration of Anzac means, and whether it has gone too far. At Anzac Day commemorations in Auckland earlier this year, the drummers were sponsored by casino SkyCity. It was just a small moment, but one that … Read more
The benefits of a package of drug law reform measures will outweigh the costs – by tens of millions of dollars, finds Shamubeel Eaqub in a new report commissioned by the NZ Drug Foundation. Below, an excerpt from the economist’s findings. Our current criminal-justice approach to drugs is not working. Drug use remains widespread and, crucially, the … Read more
Hundreds of millions of dollars are lost by punters at the TAB every year. Where does it go, asks Don Rowe. It’s the biggest day of the racing year and all around the country hopeful punters are throwing fistfuls of cash at the TAB. Here, the Melbourne Cup and New Zealand’s state-controlled gambling operator are … Read more
Family Planning chief executive Jackie Edmond debunks some of the myths and misinformation around abortion law reform in New Zealand and the changes proposed by the Law Commission. It’s important to have accurate information to decide how you feel about changing the law on abortion. The problem is, that isn’t always possible online. At Family … Read more
Alex Casey dissects a destructive obsession with discount pharmacy Chemist Warehouse. Within the four walls of the Chemist Warehouse, a malevolent force commandeers my mind, body and soul. I walk in a confident, independent woman in charge of a small shopping list (SPF moisturiser, dry shampoo, mascara) and I leave a gormless, penniless drone, lobotomised … Read more
Were a group of Māori men from Parihaka in Taranaki really held in a Dunedin cave in the late 1800s? New research by museum curator Seán Brosnahan seems to have finally revealed the truth. Shore Street, on the Dunedin harbour, marks the turning point of two different worlds. On one side, the busy machinations of … Read more
Earlier this year David Farrier captured video footage of a man engaging in a musical performance in front of two dogs who were in the act of making love. So Farrier went in search of the New Zealand hero who played the ukulele to two horned up doggos. In early May, I was showing a … Read more
On Monday, a UK journalist published a piece in a national newspaper about her experience of ‘free bleeding’ – and a whole pile of men told her exactly what they thought about it. Free bleeding, if you don’t know (and I didn’t until this week), is the practice of not using any devices like tampons … Read more
Emily Writes is mad as hell and not going to take it (fireworks) any more. Guy Fawkes Night sucks. This is a fact. As the giant hypocrite that I am, despite last week encouraging people to just not take part in Halloween if they don’t like it, I’m going to go full hog today and … Read more
If you’re into the latest royal tour, that’s terrific. But what about the small matters of the thousands we’re paying to make it happen, and the constitutional anachronism, writes Sarah Paterson-Hamlin Yes, I’m going to be that person. The one who can’t just sit back and enjoy the pretty pageantry of this royal tour and … Read more
Alex Casey spends a few hours with some rainbow volunteers shining a light on the trans community. It’s a sunny Friday on Karangahape Road, and rainbow activists Sam Orchard and Toni Duder are nervously waiting outside adult store Peaches and Cream. “Can you do the talking?” Orchard asks. “Sure,” says Duder. Wielding armfuls of colourful … Read more
I love my job, writes midwife Lucy Kelly. But love can’t make up for a wage I can barely survive on. On Wednesday the 19th of September we celebrated 125 years of women’s suffrage in Aotearoa. I found it hard to celebrate. It feels like we’re riding on the wake of a landmark success of … Read more