The impact of forestry on the East Coast came to the fore last month as Tolaga Bay was deluged with offcuts. How did it come to this, asks Michael Smith Satellite images show how the disaster in the forests at Tolaga Bay on New Zealand’s was a long time in the making. The length of … Read more
The High Court has slammed the MSD after it ‘misconceived’ the rules around beneficiaries borrowing money. It should now halt all High Court debt recovery, says Catriona MacLennan In what parallel universe would the agency charged with assisting our most vulnerable citizens cut a mother’s benefit because she borrowed money from her family and her … Read more
We take great pride in Sir Peter Jackson’s reputation as a filmmaker, but The Great War Exhibition is soaking up millions of public dollars that might have funded so much more, and not just in Wellington, writes military historian Dr Stephen Clarke. Ten years ago I drove the founding director of the new Canadian War … Read more
David Farrier loves a good awards ceremony, especially one for which he’s nominated. But what are the New Zealand LGBTI Awards? On April 30, I was nominated for an LGBTI award. I learned this via a tweet from The New Zealand LGBTI Awards’ Twitter account, which described the awards as “Rewarding those who make a … Read more
New Zealand Geographic editor Rebekah White examines the public spaces that connect us. Our towns and cities are lacking something important, and I was reminded of this during a recent visit to Hong Kong. There, senior citizens fill the social niche that teenagers do in Auckland. They loiter in the local square with their mates, … Read more
The politics of fear has seen successive NZ governments incarcerate people at increasing rates. In the latest Side Eye, Toby Morris explores the crisis of a mindless criminal justice system
If New Zealand is to crack the problems of unaffordable housing, the government must look seriously at how the better parts of America finance infrastructure, argues Eric Crampton, This seems about the worst possible month to be suggesting that anybody should try to emulate anything going on in America. The place seems to be going … Read more
Listen to Alex Casey, Leonie Hayden and Michele A’Court tackle the past month in women, news and popular culture, with thanks to our friends at The Women’s Bookshop. This month on On the Rag, we are reunited in the bowels of Mediaworks for another hour of shrill women’s chat. Alex and Leonie unpack their first experience being … Read more
Online gaming is broadly illegal to operate in NZ, so how come government controlled Lotto NZ is running virtual betting with games like Texas Hold’Em and Lucky Falls, asks Branko Marcetic Ever finished dusting off the grimy shavings of another unsuccessful Instant Kiwi scratchie and thought, “I wish I could buy another of these while … Read more
A 17-year-old New Zealander is being detained in an Australian immigration detention centre for adults, in direct contravention of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. New Zealander Rebekah Holt, the only journalist to have spoken to him, tells how she uncovered his story. Watch last night’s Newshub story about this case here. … Read more
New research shows women ask for rises as much as men, but just don’t get them, and it’s an indictment of all that ‘bootstrap’ bluster about equality, writes Madeleine Holden In an interesting development for anyone with skin in the game, new research shows that female employees ask for raises as often as their male … Read more
James Roque is a man in Frickin Dangerous Bro (the others are Jamaine Ross and Pax Assadi). Together they present Frickin Dangerous Bro Review White People Things. Episode One: bath bombs. Kia ora! I’m James, one third of Frickin Dangerous Bro (aka the brownest, funniest and cockiest sketch group in New Zealand). We reckon brown people … Read more
From meeting other former foster kids I know that I was one of the lucky ones. Today we have to put survivors front and centre of the inquiry into abuse in state care, writes Christine L Ammunson I suspect that only people who have been in state care or foster care know what it’s like … Read more
Black Sheep is a RNZ series about the shady, controversial and sometimes downright villainous characters of New Zealand history, presented by William Ray. Here he introduces Roy Courlander, a NZ Army Private who volunteered to join Nazi Germany’s infamous Waffen SS. Roy Courlander’s early years are hard to trace. He was born in London in … Read more
High profile escort Lisa Lewis has published an open letter denouncing the NZ Prostitutes’ Collective for its advocacy for migrant sex workers in New Zealand. A Wellington sex worker responds. I’ve been a sex worker in Wellington for the past two years, both as an independent operator and an agency escort, and I was prompted … Read more
From the day the pregnancy was announced, Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford have been showered in advice, and that will only continue now the wee thing has emerged as a discrete human being. In typical adultocentric style, however, the advice has been about, rather than by or for baby. To remedy that, we invited the … Read more
Practical steps to take right now if you’re appalled at the news coming out of the United States. From the far side of an ocean, we in Aotearoa are watching, horrified, as human rights abuses unfold in real time on the United States-Mexico border. US President Donald Trump has ordered children to be taken from … Read more
Our Climate, Your Say is the government’s invitation for public input on its Zero Carbon Bill. Climate campaigner (and former Green Party co-leader) Jeanette Fizsimons explains what she’ll be telling them. The government is seeking input to its ground-breaking Zero Carbon Bill which will set a target for emissions, appoint a commission to advise it, … Read more
“God damn, that horse is beautiful.” Townie Ra Pomare heads to the country’s biggest expo of rural life. The Spinoff TV screens Fridays at 9.45pm from June 22nd on THREE. Thanks to NZ on Air.
Community activists and charity groups staged a hikoi in Tauranga today, outraged at a bylaw prohibiting beggars and rough sleepers in the CBD. But the hikoi is also about restoring mana and hope, explains Kai Aroha founder Tania Lewis-Rickard Two years ago I started our charity Kai Aroha because of the obvious growth of poverty … Read more
Last month a former YHA board member argued that closure of the Opoutere hostel showed the organisation had stopped listening to its membership. That’s a misleading characterisation, counters YHA head Mark Wells. In mid-February YHA’s national board confirmed the closure of a hostel at Opoutere in the Coromandel. The hostel was a very special location … Read more
The rape and murder of Melbourne woman Eurydice Dixon has reignited the conversation about women’s role in protecting themselves from stranger danger. Criminologist Bianca Fileborn explains the problem with ‘stay safe’ advice. This week, a man allegedly raped and murdered a young woman – emerging comedian Eurydice Dixon – as she walked home from a … Read more
Hosted by Jake Millar and the multi-millionaire Mowbray siblings, New Zealand’s new, young entrepreneurial elite gathered at the famed Dotcom/Toy Mansion for a night of tuxedos, evening gowns, and abundant champagne. Jihee Junn reluctantly went along. The first thing you see are the lights in the sky – two white beams dancing in the pitch … Read more
Former Auckland Grammar headmaster John Morris recently warned that ‘genuine education’ is in danger of being replaced by reforms amounting to ‘social engineering’. School principal Marama Stewart responds. As demonstrated by the intense competition to live in certain Auckland neighbourhoods, New Zealand continues to place great value on a traditional education. Auckland Grammar is still … Read more
As the government is forced into retreat over its planned repeal of the three strikes law, it’s worth remembering just why it needs to go. The government’s plan to repeal the three strikes law may be dead (for now), but as long as it stays on the books, the reasons for the initial impetus to … Read more
In today’s Cheat Sheet, what exactly turns a prison into a mega-prison? And how do the just-announced plans for Waikeria Prison fit in? What’s all this then? Plans have finally been released for what’s going to happen at Waikeria Prison, the lockup near Ōtorohanga in the middle of the North Island. Under the previous government’s … Read more
The NZ Police have apologised to journalist Nicky Hager over their tactics in seeking to identify Rawshark following the publication of Dirty Politics. And it must never happen again, writes Otago law professor Andrew Geddis Readers able to remember events of more than a fortnight ago (or, events prior to Fortnite, for that matter) will … Read more
Harassment in the legal profession doesn’t exclusively affect women, writes Auckland lawyer Jason Cooper. It affects us all – and all of us have a responsibility to speak up. It’s been a few months since the allegations of sexual misconduct in the legal profession were reported. Since then, many victims of sexual harassment in the … Read more
‘I could fucking nail you up against the wall,’ says NZ novelist at Northcote appearance in support of candidate Shanan Halbert Novelist and outspoken commentator Alan Duff has unleashed a tirade at a Spinoff camera operator following an event on Wednesday evening at which he was the feature guest in support of Labour’s candidate in … Read more