Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Nelson fires give glimpse of climate change future, mystery over Air NZ flight seems to be solved, and working class suburbs experience house price boom. The conversation around the Nelson fires, which have caused so much disruption and angst, has shifted to the future. There’s been a … Read more
Until New Zealand Cricket addresses the Scott Kuggeleijn situation, Black Caps superfan Michelle Langstone will no longer be watching her beloved team. Here she explains why. A letter to New Zealand Cricket chair Debbie Hockley, and to the board of NZ Cricket – You don’t know me at all, but I’m one of the biggest fans … Read more
The only plausible explanation for the Radio Sport host’s diatribe against my colleague is an elaborate attempt at performance art – the alternative is heroic incoherence and worse, writes Toby Manhire It was a belter of a night at Eden Park on Friday. A sell-out crowd. A sea of mostly Indian flags; drumming and chanting. … Read more
When cricketer Scott Kuggeleijn took to the pitch for the Black Caps last Friday there was no mention of his two trials for raping a woman in 2016, for which he was ultimately found not guilty. Asks Jessie Dennis, is silence really the best NZ Cricket can do? Content warning: details of sexual violence. On … Read more
Following local actor Rene Naufahu’s guilty plea to charges of indecent assault, Madeleine Holden looks at the pattern that occurs when prominent men are accused of sexual abuse, and the role that both the media and the public play in perpetuating rape culture. Lee Rene Naufahu, of “ambulance driver Sam from Shortland Street” fame, pled … Read more
Alex Casey interviews Eleanor Bishop, a theatre-maker whose new work reimagines the rugby classic Foreskin’s Lament in the world of Tony Veitch and the Chiefs stripper scandal. If a phone case is a window to the soul, the pink “well behaved women seldom make history” emblazoned on theatre-maker star Eleanor Bishop’s pretty much nails it. … Read more
Host Alex Casey is joined by comedian/writer Michele A’Court and Mana magazine editor Leonie Hayden to discuss what happened in the world of women over the past month, with help from their legendary sponsors at BON tampons. With a delicious box of Munchkins in the safety of The Spinoff podcast studio, the On the Rag team huddle together to … Read more
Regardless of today’s verdict, the assumptions made and line of questioning pursued by Kuggeleijn’s lawyer Philip Morgan over the course of two trials were extremely troubling, writes Madeleine Chapman. A jury of six men and six women has found Scott Kuggeleijn not guilty of raping a woman in May 2015. Many have expressed relief at … Read more
The Scott Kuggeleijn case is but the latest example in a long history of damaging misconceptions about consent in this country. Lawyer Madeleine Holden says we need to improve that conversation, and fast. Content warning: This essay concerns the topic of sexual assault which may be triggering to survivors. Recently, the jury in the rape trial of Scott … Read more