For decades it has been the policy of NZ courts to send people convicted of Class A drug supply to prison for very long stretches of time, mostly because it was thought to lead to decreased drug supply. A series of cases in the Court of Appeal could change that, bringing the war on drugs … Read more
The NZ Herald today launched a new, wide-scope documentary into the effect methamphetamine has on small town New Zealand. Alex Braae talks to one of the journalists involved, Jared Savage, about the process of getting it made, and how his views on the meth trade have changed over his decade reporting on it. Perceptions of … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Government pushes in two different directions with drug reforms, nitrogen runoff tool has serious flaws, and finance minister outlines ‘wellbeing’ budget. The government has launched a range of drug reforms, which somehow manage to pull in two completely different directions. In general terms, the differences in law … Read more
Howls of indignation over state housing evictions based on spurious meth testing have masked the reality of New Zealand’s two-speed P standard. Veronica Crichton admitted that she and her friends had been smoking meth in their Gate Pa, Tauranga home. She even got her landlord to help her evict one P-affected flatmate. She and another … Read more
New Zealand was poised for drug reform in 2007, but reform never came. Why do we still adhere to drug prohibition, which will be remembered as one of the most arbitrary, barbaric and brutal systems of oppression in human history? ‘Drug’ Prohibition is an archaic system of control conceived in the 1950s that’s had a devastating … Read more
We will also test Housing NZ properties for traces of students, pets and bad vibes, reveals our proud CEO (Boiler Suits Division) Alex Braae The report into the pointlessness of testing houses for meth contamination has come at a very bad time for The Spinoff. All those stories about how if one hit was taken … Read more
High school teacher, counsellor, and mother of three Louisa Woods considers the way we talk about teachers and teenagers in light of the latest ‘school scandal’ which was anything but. In my time as an English teacher I’ve used I don’t know how many texts. Some have been classics, the ones you’d expect: Othello, To … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Health budget feels the strain, National eyes up Green voters, and a gravel shortage looms for big infrastructure projects. Health minister David Clark has been put under the microscope by TVNZ’s Q+A. The theme that ran through the interview was that there simply isn’t enough money to cover … Read more