Last month a group of wāhine Māori gathered in solidarity after a Māori woman reported she was racially abused on Ōwairaka in Auckland. Indigenous human rights experts Tina Ngata, Dr Arama Rata and Dilwin Santos outline the foundations of racism in Aotearoa, and the structural changes needed. Warning: the following article contains racist language. Under … Read more
Mainstream news has a history of not always being the safest or most representative space for Black and indigenous people and other people of colour (BIPOC). Many have created their own spaces to address the imbalance, but some Māori media professionals say it’s time for everyone to get on the bi-cultural waka. Among the things … Read more
Four New Zealand food writers share their thoughts on being non-white in a very white industry – and suggest what they think needs to change. Recently, The Spinoff published a piece by Jean Teng and Charlotte Muru-Lanning about the lack of diversity in New Zealand’s food media scene. It provoked much discussion among those in … Read more
The race relations commissioner, Meng Foon, has just sent the following letter to leaders of New Zealand political parties. Tēnā koe, Talofa, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Kia orana, 你好, Namaste. My role as Race Relations Commissioner is to promote and enhance harmonious communities in our diverse nation. As the leader of a political party who manages … Read more
Mahesh Bindra has been a loyal member of NZ First for almost 15 years. But as an Indian-New Zealander, what does he make of members of his party attacking his community? Multicultural Times editor Gaurav Sharma reports. Winston Peters, deputy prime minister and leader of New Zealand First, likes to say that his party is … Read more
While the pandemic has certainly exacerbated anti-Asian sentiment, New Zealand has a long history of turning a blind eye to racism of this kind. The culture of silence is maintained by both sides, says Liang Cui, but she knows first hand the importance of speaking out. When the first case of Covid-19 was discovered in … Read more
A new survey by Stickybeak for The Spinoff shows more than one in four would like to see Hamilton’s name revert to Kirikiriroa. But a Waikato kaumatua says he’ll continue to push for change. As statues come down around the world and long-venerated slave traders and colonialists have their actions put under the microscope for … Read more
Leonie Hayden talks to three young leaders of New Zealand’s Black Lives Matter movement about colonialism and justice – and why anti-Black racism isn’t just ‘an American problem’. I start all interviews by asking “Nō hea koe, where are you from?” In a Māori context it’s a whakapapa question that places people on a familial … Read more
The force that underpins the oppression of African Americans is the same force that underpins the oppression of Māori and Pasifika, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira. In honour of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and every other Black and brown life that has been taken from us by racism and racist institutions, hundreds of thousands of people … Read more
Last night the new police commissioner, Andrew Coster, spoke at a vigil for George Floyd held at St Peter’s Church in Wellington. The events of the past few weeks have given us all opportunity to reflect on our own community, on our own lives. As a father, as a police officer, I find the events … Read more
With more than 151,000 members, Wellington’s Vic Deals is one of the largest community Facebook groups in New Zealand. But in the last few days, the group’s team of administrators have landed itself in hot water after being accused of censoring content related to racism, colonisation, and Black Lives Matter. How did this all start? … Read more
Intensive care specialist David Galler remembers the time he tried and failed to save a New Zealander restrained in the same way that caused the death of American man George Floyd. Content warning: This article contains distressing descriptions of police violence and death. Thirty years ago, soon after I started my intensive care career, I was … Read more
Thousands of New Zealanders took to the streets on Queen’s Birthday to express solidarity with the US response to the killing of George Floyd. Here’s what went down. Despite it being announced with less than 24 hours’ notice, huge crowds gathered at Auckland’s Aotea Square on Queen’s Birthday to march in solidarity with the Black … Read more
History warns that we should be wary of the misuse of power in the name of public health, writes Scott Hamilton. Content warning: This feature contains distressing descriptions of racism against Māori. In the winter of 1913 a group of Māori appeared in the office of Arthur Manning, the mayor of Hamilton. The visitors had … Read more
Dr Hamimah Tuyan, the widow of Zekeriya Tuyan, the 51st victim of the Christchurch mosque attacks, was to speak at the remembrance service in Christchurch today. This is what she was planning to say. Kia ora. Peace be upon you. Assalamu alaikum. Last March the world witnessed a phenomenal show of your solidarity. You defied … Read more
Mahvash Ali writes about growing up in Pakistan, why she can never move back, and how her mindset changed with March 15. If I had a dollar for each time I’ve been told to go back to where I came from, I would be there right now fixing the problems that made us leave in … Read more
Research released by justice advocacy group JustSpeak shows that racist, structural bias is still a huge problem in New Zealand Police. We have the tools to make things better, writes Laura O’Connell Rapira. Last week lawyer, children’s rights advocate, and my go-to karaoke friend, Julia Whaipooti, delivered a hard and heartbreaking truth on national television: … Read more
The New Zealand First MP’s attack on ‘students that have come from India’ comes as another prominent New Zealander completes a visit to India embracing, well, students that have come from India. This morning on Newshub Nation, the minister for the regions and verbal jukebox Shane Jones took aim at Indian students, and their impact … Read more
Art schools are seen by many as beacons of liberalism. But is this the reality? Former student Anna McAllister recounts her fraught journey through art school. This piece was first published on The Pantograph Punch. In high school, the only subjects I was remotely good at were the practical arts. I stayed in the art block … Read more
No matter how you measure it, science remains systematically biased against women – and ethnically diverse women even more so, writes Dr Hinemoa Elder. Women and girls in science, this is a public health announcement. You are entering unfriendly territory. Kia mataara, be vigilant. Keep your wits about you. There is irrefutable data that discrimination … Read more
The conversation around how we prepare for coronavirus here needs to be guided by a sense of our common humanity, write Ruth Cunningham, Charlotte Paul, Andrew Moore, Ayesha Verrall of the University of Otago. Borders have been closed, arrivals from Wuhan are in quarantine, and New Zealanders who have travelled from China are being asked … Read more
A secretive group excavating a cave near Huntly believe it’s filled with a race of pre-Polynesian giants’ skeletons, but iwi and archaeologists have serious concerns, reports RNZ’s Susan Strongman. Archaeologists say a group of people tunnelling into the side of a country road in search of a race of pre-Polynesian giants’ skeletons could be damaging … Read more
The high-profile case at the Wellington High Court has come to an early halt after lawyers for Bob Jones, who was suing writer and director Renae Maihi, announced they will no longer continue. Sir Bob Jones was suing Renae Maihi for defamation after she presented a petition to parliament in 2018 to strip Jones of … Read more
As the mother of an immunocompromised child, Kiki Van Newton has more excuse than most to worry about the coronavirus outbreak. But racist reactions – and panicked border closures – aren’t the answer, she writes. When my baby was eight weeks old she was in hospital. Each day a physiotherapist would put on a mask … Read more
As both negotiate the complexities of being part memorial, part protest and part celebration, an empathetic allegiance between Waitangi Day and the Auckland Pride Festival has the potential of collective empowerment, writes Richard Orjis. Waitangi Day falls in the middle of this year’s Auckland Pride Festival. Rather than being strange bedfellows in the summer cultural … Read more
It’s estimated that as many as half a million Papuans have been killed at the hands of Indonesian security forces over the past 50 years. Not holidaying in Indonesia is an easy way to say you’re not OK with that, writes Morgan Godfery. Would you have gone on holiday in apartheid South Africa? I suspect … Read more
Looking back on 10 years of wild, weird and wonderful food stories in Aotearoa. It’s been a hell of a decade for food here in New Zealand. Sure, there have been tedious trends aplenty – the rise of bloody kale, bloody coconut oil, bloody poké bowls – but the following list is not about fads; … Read more
The ruling from the broadcasting regulator on a plainly anti-Semitic comment is unacceptable and suggests we have failed to learn the lessons of March 15, writes Juliet Moses of the NZ Jewish Council. Yesterday a ruling came out from the Broadcasting Standards Authority, otherwise known as the BSA, that was, frankly, BS. It considered whether … 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