The Māori response to the Covid-19 crisis has been swift and strong. It’s not the first time (nor will it be the last) that Māori have stepped up in a national emergency, writes historian Aroha Harris. In recent weeks I’ve been pondering the iwi Māori capacity to mobilise and noticing how quickly and efficiently Māori … Read more
Nursing historian Pamela Wood looks at the near-impossible task facing nurses at the height of the Spanish flu pandemic. At the heart of nursing is the belief that all those who need medical care should have it, but in many overwhelmed health systems around the world it’s become necessary to triage patient care due to … Read more
Nurses are the first people you’ll meet if you think you have Covid-19. Here, one of our frontline workers describes the rapid changes both healthcare workers and the public are facing. As told to Josie Adams. I was working at an urgent care clinic in East Auckland when the first reports of Covid-19 came out … Read more
New Zealand painter-poet Gregory O’Brien has just published a new collection of essays and art; pitched as a “field notebook … my whale survey”, Always Song in the Water drifts from his own front lawn in Hataitai, up to Northland and way, way across the Pacific. It’s the sort of book that slows you down, … Read more
Healthcare workers experience more violence than any other job in New Zealand. A nurse writes about her experiences in ED wards around the country, and what needs to change. I don’t work as an ED nurse to be assaulted. I go to work to help people. Unfortunately, the two currently seem inseparable. Violence and aggression towards … Read more