The Royal Commission report makes it clear that foreign intelligence partners and domestic intelligence agencies saw right-wing extremism as a low-priority local law enforcement issue, not a pressing national security threat, writes Paul G Buchanan. If one phrase sums up the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s Report on the Christchurch terrorist attacks, it is “systemic failure”. … Read more
The government has accepted the Royal Commission’s recommendations, but the job is far from done, says Abbas Nazari – we underestimate the threat of white supremacy at our peril. With the government making an “in-principle” commitment to all 44 of the recommendations made by the Royal Commission, no doubt the response to the Christchurch mosque … Read more
More than a year after justice minister Andrew Little described New Zealand’s hate speech laws as ‘woefully inadequate’, nothing has come of the legislative reform that was promised. Warning: contains descriptions of racism, racist violence and racist images. Yesterday, the white supremacist terrorist who carried out the Christchurch mosque attacks was sentenced to life imprisonment … Read more
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington. AUCKLAND 1 White Fragility: Why it’s so hard for white people to talk about racism by Robin DiAngelo (Penguin Random House, $28) … Read more
‘I could’ve drawn a big penis on it, you know, but that’s really unoriginal.’ If you were charging through the mean streets of Newmarket last week, to the mall or to work or the train, you might have noticed a couple of A4 posters at eyeball level on the traffic light poles at the corner … Read more
The increased presence of anti-trans and white supremacist stickers around the University of Auckland campus is proof that inaction is enabling hate groups, write Anisha Sankar and Max Whitehurst. Anisha Sankar is a Chennai-born, Te Awakairangi-raised, South Indian Tamil studying at the University of Auckland. Max Whitehurst is a transgender Pākehā student at the University … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Early childhood educators plan action to raise pay, many councils reporting low election turnout, and Defence Industry forum cancelled. A new phase of industrial action in the education sector looms, with early childhood teachers calling for a huge pay jolt. Radio NZ reports it was one of … Read more
‘Racism and white supremacy have no place at the University of Auckland’, reads the letter, signed by many of the university’s most senior academics. A large and growing group of staff at the University of Auckland have spoken out over the re-emergence of white supremacist propaganda on campus in an open letter. The staff members, … Read more
Members of the university community on the re-emergence of white supremacist posters and stickers on campus, and the response from the vice-chancellor. A university is a shared idea. We are not simply an institution with policies and processes, or an employer with employees. We are a community dedicated to the creation, preservation and sharing of … Read more
University of Auckland vice-chancellor Stuart McCutcheon says a new batch of posters from a white supremacist group is ‘unfortunate’ but the university will not remove or condemn them, reports Daniel Meech. This story was first published on September 29 in Craccum, the University of Auckland student magazine. The University of Auckland’s campus has played host … Read more
The white supremacist terrorist who killed 20 people in El Paso over the weekend claimed direct inspiration from the Christchurch mosque shootings. Don Rowe explores how our darkest day became an aspirational target for the far right. Scrolling 8chan after another white supremacist terrorist attack was foreshadowed on the site over the weekend I flicked … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Avalanche of new migrant worker exploitation stories, National disavows bizarre Luxon-advocating ad, and Afterpay throws tantrum over possible regulation. In the space of this year alone, a staggering number of cases of migrant worker exploitation have been exposed or prosecuted. There are unifying themes to them … Read more
A hui at the University of Auckland today revealed the tip of the iceberg of the institute’s problem with racism and discrimination. Update 02.05.19: Vice Chancellor Stuart McCutcheon has responded to The Spinoff’s request for comment. His response is below. The University of Auckland’s vice-chancellor was absent from a hui addressing harassment and discrimination at … Read more
Paula Simpson dissects why the most privileged group in our society also appears to be the angriest. In the wake of the Christchurch shootings, social media is awash with articles. And in the comments under each article there are incredibly angry people. And they seem to mostly be white men. Before the hate starts: no, … Read more
There is a ‘climate of fear’ and a rising white supremacist movement on campus, say a group of students at the University of Auckland. Don Rowe reports. Students at the University of Auckland met last night to discuss what they say is a growing white supremacist movement on campus, and their concerns the university is dragging … Read more
When we arrived to live in New Zealand we were shocked to discover how tolerant many people were of flagrant expression of neo-Nazism, writes Anke Richter When we migrated to New Zealand 16 years ago as a family, many things were different to our old life. Bus drivers were friendly. “North facing” meant sunny and … Read more
March 15 was a horrific reminder that white supremacist ideologies put all minorities in danger, writes Ali Nissenbaum. 1997: We’re window shopping at Christchurch’s Mid-City Markets. Between the incense holders and Kurt Cobain T-shirts we come across a stand selling Nazi jewellery. My friend Yasmin, who’s much braver than I am, confronts the saleswoman: “That’s … Read more
I implore New Zealanders to centre the victims, to examine our past, to understand that for many of us, this attack was more of a ‘when’ than an ‘if’, writes Shamim Aslani An act of unspeakable horror seared itself into our collective consciousness as New Zealanders on March 15. We lost 50 lives in an … Read more
The myth of white genocide in South Africa has fuelled far-right violence the world over, including the attack on Christchurch’s mosques. Ross Webb calls on his fellow South Africans to stop helping those who perpetuate the myth and who use South Africa to support their deluded fantasies. Lusaka, 1986 In 1986, a New Zealand man … Read more
Yesterday it emerged that 10 years of public documents from NZ spy agencies contained zero mentions of rightwing extremism. Yet narratives invoking racialised fears and myths of Pakeha superiority run deep, writes criminologist Elizabeth Stanley We have officially experienced two acts of terrorism in New Zealand. The first was the bombing of the Greenpeace Rainbow … Read more
In 10 years of public documents from both the SIS and the GCSB, there are zero mentions of right wing extremism, writes Jane Patterson for RNZ. There is not one specific mention of the threat posed by white supremacists or right-wing nationalism in 10 years of public documents from the Security Intelligence Service or the GCSB. … Read more
The killer was an Australian. But New Zealand has a long history of white supremacist ideology, writes Scott Hamilton. Content warning: this article contains descriptions of racist behaviour and quotes racist language. The young man wandered the world. By the time he arrived in New Zealand he was obsessed. He tried to warn his fellow … Read more
The warning signs for yesterday’s atrocity were everywhere, if only we’d looked – or listened to New Zealand’s Muslim community, writes former race relations commissioner Susan Devoy. A few weeks ago a good friend rang me to say her family and friends had once again been threatened by racist, anonymous strangers. The fear in her … Read more
A Friday night meeting in response to the Christchurch shootings discussed demonstrations and plans to stand guard outside New Zealand mosques for Friday prayers. Alex Braae reports. Within hours of the devastating acts of terrorism in Christchurch, plans were already being made in Auckland for a staunch response. At least 49 people were killed in … Read more