The statements of Stanford student athlete and rapist Brock Turner’s family and friends point to the poisoned atmosphere which helps prominent men believe they are entitled to rape, says Madeleine Holden. Trigger warning: this opinion piece addresses rape and sexual violence. On January 17, 2015, Stanford student athlete Brock Turner raped an unconscious women behind a dumpster. In … Read more
Tens gathered outside Queen Street McDonald’s this morning for a chance at a cheap feed. Don Rowe feeds at the corporate teat and reports. “Oh my God. No way. Oh. My. God.” These were not the words of some Pentecostal in the throes of religious ecstasy, wrapped in snakes and screaming at the roof, but a real reaction … Read more
Better late than never, host Alex Casey is joined by comedian and writer Michele A’Court and Mana magazine editor Leonie Hayden to talk about what May held for women in New Zealand and around the world. That is to say the growth of women’s swim nights, ball dress controversies, abortion laws and the ideal way to … Read more
Heather du Plessis-Allan sparked controversy this week with a column calling the Waikato town ‘rotting’. In fact, Ngāruawāhia is the epitome of uplifting small-town NZ, writes former resident Tainui Stephens. In 1998 I fled Herne Bay in Auckland to live in Ngāruawāhia. It was one of the best things I ever did. I lived there … Read more
As the Auckland Art Fair wraps up for another year, our anonymous art world insider looks back at the festival’s highs and lows. The easiest way to describe the Auckland Art Fair, at The Cloud until today, is to say it is basically a trade fair – one large hall, many small booths, many traders … Read more
It’s currently Tourette’s awareness month in New Zealand. Madeleine Holden talks to two writers, Lorena and Beth, on living with the misunderstood syndrome. Tourette’s awareness month is from May 15 to June 15, which is as good a time as any to chip away at the common misconceptions surrounding Tourette Syndrome (or TS). Tourette’s is … Read more
Workplace equality still has a long way to go in this country. But while we fight on, let’s celebrate the businesswomen who are already crushing it says Laura Platts, author of a career advice blog for young women. The New Zealand Herald recently revealed the pay packets of the CEOs of our top 50 publicly … Read more
Believe it or not, it is possible that Helen Clark is both the best option for the job of Secretary General, and that she is an important candidate because she is female The first thing I heard on Tuesday morning: “Helen Clark is not running to be Secretary General of the UN because she is … Read more
Opinion: An illicit market has emerged for on-selling plane tickets, but instead of suffocating the idea, the airlines should be running it themselves, writes Wellington student Jack Close. My time as a student away from home at the University of Otago can be summarised simply: $500 return flights. Motivated by the “beauty of the price … Read more
On the final day of the Tripartite Economic Summit, Tim Murphy discovers how a talk fest can get real-world results – and gets a lesson in American-style positive thinking. Read Tim’s recap of day one of the summit here. The United States Ambassador to New Zealand, His Excellency Mark Gilbert, has a three word family … Read more
Michael Field, whose book The Catch helped expose the labour and human rights abuses in New Zealand’s fishing industry, says a report out today reveals a decades-long abuse of our much-vaunted quota system, with more than twice as many fish caught as declared. New Zealanders know the power of national utterances; we live by “clean and green” … Read more
Opinion: Publishing the names of thousands of people who have dealt with Mossack Fonseca irrespective of wrongdoing is reckless, unfair, and worthy of Kafka’s The Trial, argues Ben Thomas. The internet loves lists. “The 28 Most Unfortunate Names In Sport”; “23 Friends Quotes That Never Stop Being Funny”, “17 Delicious Salads You Should Pack For … Read more
Opinion: The government wants more electric vehicles on NZ roads. But the plan to let them drive in bus lanes can only throw improvements in bus services into reverse, writes Matt Lowrie. The government wants to boost the currently dismal uptake of electric vehicles, increasing the numbers on our roads from about 1,200 to 64,000 … Read more
Opinion: By issuing a blanket ban because an age restriction would be “impracticable”, the Office of Film and Literature Classification has dangerously overdone it, putting drivers of the vans on a par with child sex offenders, writes Graeme Edgeler. Last week, the Office of Film and Literature Classification declared three Wicked Campers vans “objectionable” because … Read more
Is my broker the asshole? His advice seemed utterly outrageous, but at the same time completely rational, writes Jesse Mulligan. I had journalist Matt Nippert on my RNZ show this week. He’d done some calculations based on house price inflation and Lotto first-division inflation and worked out that by the year 2039, if you correctly … Read more
A huge global drug summit has just wrapped up at the United Nations. Was it the turning point that many hoped for? The NZ Drug Foundation’s Cameron Price was there. In 1998, member states of the United Nations gathered in New York and ambitiously declared a commitment to achieving a drug free world by 2008. … Read more
Opinion: Last month’s early-morning street brawl has renewed police calls for earlier closing times in the Auckland CBD and beyond. That’s precisely the sort of overreaction that has decimated the nightlife industry over the ditch, says Tom McGuinness. At around 4:30am on Sunday 20th March, a street brawl erupted on Fort Street in Auckland’s CBD. … Read more
Earlier this year several women spoke out on social media about their experiences with Andrew Tidball, founder of Cheese on Toast and a prominent member of the New Zealand music community. Alex Casey and Duncan Greive spent two months interviewing those women, along with their friends and family. The interviews, along with emails and chat logs, are the … Read more
The day after the Brussels bombings, Auckland’s War Memorial Museum released a bizarre statement on history, terror and good vs evil. What on earth were they thinking, asks Janet McAllister. Who said it: George W Bush or Auckland Museum? 1. “Terror only wins if we flinch.” 2. “Terrorists commit atrocities because they want the civilized … Read more
Opinion: Five years ago, many mocked a speech calling for liberalised drug laws. Today, such a position is becoming mainstream, writes former ACT leader Don Brash. It is astonishing how rapidly attitudes towards marijuana are changing. Less than five years ago, most politicians thought I had lost my mind (indeed, perhaps had been smoking pot … Read more
Opinion: Are we really living in an era of “social media menace”? Jessica Williams doesn’t think so. In these confused and dangerous times, where headlines and front pages scream about a “social menace”, spare a thought for the most marginalised group of all. A group that is hurting. The target of hate speech, harassment, constant … Read more
Opinion: the minister’s tough-on-crime agenda is at odds with much of the wider direction on justice and corrections, writes Di White. “Explaining” is not a mode politicians tend to enjoy. Following the release of new figures that show the prison population at a record high, the recently reappointed Minister of Corrections, Judith Collins, went into … Read more
As cannabis decriminalisation finally looms as a political possibility, Don Rowe tracks down an ex-dealer to get a look into the black economy – and asks whether they’d consider going legit. A wheezy sigh of relief was heard yesterday as Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne indicated the possibility of finally loosening his bow-tie stranglehold on the … Read more
Illegal fishing, much of it by China, is costing some of the world’s smallest and poorest nations hundreds of millions of dollars. Why isn’t New Zealand doing more about the blatant theft in its backyard, asks Michael Field. It would have been a tense moment or two for Captain Wang Chang Fu when, in the … Read more
A select committee review into assisted dying is coming up, and all signs point to a foregone conclusion. Former caregiver Talia Marshall recalls her time working in a rest home, where the debate has a very different meaning. I remember trying to a watch a VHS copy of Anne of Green Gables with my grandparents in my grandads … Read more
Opinion: The forthcoming select committee review into assisted dying should represent a welcome opportunity for reasoned debate on an important issue. It’s unfortunate then, says Gareth Morgan, that the committee’s chair has already made up his mind. After the much publicised struggle and death of Lecretia Seales, former MP Maryan Street presented a petition to Parliament … Read more
What’s the difference between a “normal” name and a “bogan” one? A few hundred years and many thousand dollars in household income, says Madeleine Holden. The best bogan baby names of 2016 have been revealed, with “best” here meaning “most likely to provoke a satisfyingly superior smirk”. The bogan baby names list is an annual … Read more
The Beauty Spot is Zoe Scheltema’s weekly column that dissects the world of beauty and fashion. This week she delves into the gendered double standards of appearing ‘professional’. I have a friend who works for a large Auckland advertising agency that recently gave their staff reviews. It went well, but there was one area in which she was told … Read more
