What happens when your work is the victim of attempted sabotage by a group of slow-moving middle-aged men? Author and journalist Michelle Duff reveals all. Initially, it was kind of unclear what I was looking at. The disembodied hand loomed from the shaky first-person footage, flipping the cover of the book around. I’d been sent … Read more
The greatest show to ever air on New Zealand TV screens, and arguably any screens ever, had a tenure of just three tragically short years. It was on air from March 1997 to September 1999. It had an ensemble of impossibly jazzy New Zealand children and a live studio audience. It was McDonald’s Young Entertainers, … Read more
Toby Manhire gazes back at the last almost-10 years in New Zealand politics, leadership and tragedy. When I returned to New Zealand after 11 years away in 2010, John Key had been prime minister for a couple of years and it felt like he’d been prime minister forever. He was a fixture of familiarity and … Read more
Looking back on 10 years which saw New Zealand’s media transform from a position of near-limitless power and influence to the deeply humbled reality of today. At the end of 2009 I had resigned from my first good job, convinced that print media was finished. The good job was as editor of Real Groove, a … Read more
Stuck for gift ideas? We got you. The great news is: you’re spoiled for choice this year. The sheer number of high quality products being made or produced by Māori and Pasifika creators in Aotearoa means it’s easy to buy beautiful and local for friends and whānau this Christmas (and beyond). The bad news is, … Read more
I know the humanity of New Zealanders is far greater than the zero empathy of a cartoonist and his bosses at a newspaper I will never bother reading again. But it still hurts, writes Christine Ammunson. There’s one thing about going home to Sāmoa you can’t get away from and that’s the beautiful babies. They … Read more
Books editor Catherine Woulfe on the much-anticipated first thriller by New Zealander and New York Times bestseller, Nalini Singh. I finished A Madness of Sunshine five days ago. At first I was furious, then disappointed and deeply sad. It’s still eating me up more than any Christmas-release “compulsive thriller” should. The cultural moment no doubt … Read more
It’s a way of living that is often mistaken for either a ‘hippy commune’ or a boarding house, but cohousing is slowly becoming a viable solution to New Zealand’s growing housing needs. It’s also a way of fighting the isolation and loneliness that is harming our collective wellbeing. The quarter acre section is a legacy … Read more
The release of an anonymous lab report that found massive 1080 concentrations prompts Dave Hansford to ask: is history repeating itself? The last week has seen a great deal of discussion about claims made by the anti-1080 front group, Flora and Fauna Aotearoa (F&F), in relation to the deaths of hundreds of rats and other … Read more
They have a storied history, from Waitangi Tribunal triumphs to bitter infighting, but the current NZ Māori Council are reinvigorated and ready to make big changes on behalf of Māori in Aotearoa. However some people are asking questions about its new leader. At the start of the year, after what felt like years of media … Read more
It’s accepted wisdom that a box of assorted chocolates is the perfect Christmas gift for one and all. But now Roses are rubbish, what to choose? Amanda Thompson is here to help. Approximately one million clickbaits ago I spread this wisdom throughout a grateful New Zealand, with a completely factual article about how buying Cadbury … Read more
The anti-1080 lobby last week released ‘lab tests’ purporting to find the poison in the vermin that washed up in Westport. But do their claims stand up to scrutiny, asks Dave Hansford. For the anti-1080 movement, it was supposed to be the turning of a rather putrid tide. On November 15, Flora and Fauna of … Read more
By changing the logo, the Super Rugby side is admitting that the brand is problematic – but they haven’t actually changed the crucially problematic bit, writes Jamie Wall. OK, so there’s finally been a bit of movement in one of the biggest rugby issues of the year. The only problem is it hasn’t gone very … Read more
Body Mass Index (BMI) is particularly flawed as an indicator of health in children and ethnic minorities. So why do we still use it? In a new comment piece published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, registered dietician Lucy Carey argues that the use of the Body Mass Index in assessing children’s health is both … Read more
The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. Read the rest of the series here.
The ‘rough sex gone wrong’ defence is on the rise in the UK – and, alarmingly, it sometimes works, writes Louse Perry of the We Can’t Consent To This campaign, which documents such cases Millions of people around the world now know the most intimate details about Grace Millane’s life and death, but we still … Read more
The world is more connected than ever and hundreds of racist attitudes are just a click away. From well-meaning to outright hateful, when you’re a young Māori journalist working in the mainstream media, the sheer volume can be overwhelming. My alarm goes off. Still half asleep, I rummage around the side of my bed until … Read more
A jury at the Auckland High Court has this evening unanimously agreed a guilty verdict against the 27-year-old charged with the murder of Grace Millane. He is remanded in custody until sentencing on February 21 next year. The decision brings justice for Grace’s family. But in the course of the trial, and the laying out … Read more
Don’t get sucked in by the jovial banter and the sausage sizzle with Jacinda Ardern. Stephen Colbert is an international criminal mastermind who must be stopped. New Zealand is fizzing today with the exciting news that someone from another country has noticed that we exist. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert aired the first part … Read more
Leaks of NZ First Foundation records raise big questions about the party’s funding, and there’s every chance of more to come. A glance at history suggests the scale of the problem. An early election may not be a bad idea at all, suggests Danyl Mclauchlan It’s happening. During its time in government New Zealand First … Read more
It was meant to ‘draw a line under the whole episode’. So how did it turn into an unmitigated PR disaster, asks former Edelman executive David Brain. The thing about the Royal Family is that everything they do is PR really. I mean in the old sense of image and spin. There’s no product or … Read more
Ten thousand years ago, roasted hares and figs were flat-layed on Levantine flax leaves. Now, we drape prosciutto over strawberries on computer desks. Josie Adams mourns the death of the platter. Three days ago I stumbled on an accidental recreation of a 1950s platter: a giant ham, a cake that was mostly icing, and pickled … Read more
An untimely leak to RNZ brought some clarity to the government’s plans for its media assets – yet left many questions unanswered. Duncan Greive analyses the latest revelations. RNZ’s flagship Morning Report programme today led its prime 7.10am slot with a bombshell about Radio New Zealand itself. Political editor Jane Patterson had the scoop on … Read more
In the second part of our parenting series What They Don’t Tell You, Catherine Woulfe welcomes the daughter she fought for. The extremely strange thing about a planned c-section is that you get a text from the hospital booking in the birth, like it’s a dentist appointment. Text YES to confirm. Then you sit in … Read more
It’s setting up a high school and John Key is an investor, but leaked documents show the $380m education startup locks parents into tough contracts worth tens of thousands of dollars. A tutoring company with former prime minister John Key on its board is charging parents as much as $60,000 to chase the dream of … Read more
One journalist’s quest for a silly answer leads to a desperate search for the truth behind the most bizarre news story. A woman was reading a book, her husband was driving, and their son was asleep in the back seat when an axe flew through the windscreen. The short-handled axe – otherwise known as a … Read more
A protest against the felling of non-native trees on one of Auckland’s maunga has erupted this week. Ben Thomas says they’re behaving like brats and ignoring the rights of iwi. Letting go can be hard, even if it’s for the best. This is not to say that a few dozen angry residents of Mt Albert, … Read more
The candidates to tackle Donald Trump are very keen on the New Zealand prime minister. It could be because Vogue called her “the anti-Trump”. It could be the desperate shortage of tolerable left-leaning leaders in the Anglosphere. Or it could be because everyone knows it’s illegal to be mean about people from New Zealand. Whatever … Read more
A combination of bad demographics, financial pressure and a decade’s old bill coming due make the new NZ Rugby CEO’s job infinitely harder than that of the next All Blacks coach, writes Duncan Greive. Thirty years ago, the CEO of what was then known as the NZRFU had perhaps the greatest sports administration role in … Read more