Penny Hulse served as Waitākere deputy mayor before the great amalgamation – and as deputy mayor of the Super City for six years from its inception on November 1, 2010. Here she looks at the ways the new structure helped Aucklanders, and how it let them down. Maybe it is my age, maybe it is … Read more
Will Pukekohe continue to be a food bowl for Auckland and New Zealand, or yet another victim of the Super City’s metropolitan sprawl? Stephen Forbes for interest.co.nz looks at the small rural town at the frontline of the battle between sustainable development and urban encroachment. The ongoing importance of Pukekohe and the need to preserve it was highlighted … Read more
From Close to Home to Shortland Street to Westside, New Zealand has a long and storied history of brilliant TV. Sam Brooks takes a look at the best local shows that you can stream on Lightbox right now. Cheryl West, the cute boy Jay Ryan played on Go Girls, Rita West, Ofa from Supercity. These are … Read more
The super city is broken, says eminent sociologist Ian Shirley – but it doesn’t need another review. It needs the government to fix the problems we already know about. Recently the NZ Herald published an article by Terry Dunleavy, a member of the National Party, under the headline: National’s ‘super city’ for Auckland is not … Read more
A rare experimental edition of On the Rag featuring Laura Daniel and Madeleine Sami, two key players in TV3’s female-driven sketch comedy Funny Girls. In this special edition of On the Rag, Alex Casey chats to Madeleine Sami (director) and Laura Daniel (writer and star) of Funny Girls ahead of the second season. What does it take … Read more
The people in TV shows are all good and well, but won’t someone think of the animals? Alex Casey ranks her favourite pets scurrying around on Lightbox. It’s always the boring old humans that are remembered for their good work. Everyone’s clapping for Tony Soprano, nobody spares a thought for Adriana’s dog, violently killed onscreen … Read more
For My Life in TV this week, Alex Casey talks to Madeleine Sami about creating and starring in Super City, starting out on Shortland Street and how she’s still taking an extended gap year. Madeleine Sami is everywhere if you look hard enough. Just after this interview I popped to a film screening and there … Read more