Max Rashbrooke on how to make government more open
New Zealand scores well on many international rankings of openness… those surveys have also pinpointed major weaknesses.
Feature
The Maverick on Moloka’i
Hawai’i’s pro-Bernie, Assad-dealing Congresswoman meets her public
John Pilger, and making war on China
Why is New Zealand taking part in military war games aimed at our main trading partner?
Land of the Long White Egalitarian Myth
It isn’t only foreigners who buy into the myth of New Zealand as an equal opportunity Paradise
Frightened Rabbit: On Liking Music That Harms You
Society teaches people that admitting to bad behaviour means accepting punishment and giving up support, which is why most people will try deny it.
New Zealand Is Pro-choice on Abortion
New Zealanders support greater availability of abortion than the current law allows.
Gordon Campbell on the Fairfax/NZME merger
Elsewhere in the world, media cutbacks and consolidation haven’t exactly ushered in a bright new era of more diverse, more substantial news coverage.
Safe Landings
Wellington Airport’s runway extension faces another legal challenge, on safety grounds
Living with Rio’s Olympic Ruins
Even as they were being built, Rio’s Olympic projects were already starting to collapse…
Brando, Peckinpah and Billy The Kid
An obsessive tale of two Westerns
Flying Blind
Why won’t airlines abandon (or upgrade) the black box system?
Getting Roasted, Kiwi Style
Marketing coffee can be a mug’s game…
Tour of Duty
Taking the “guilt” tour in Auckland Art Gallery
Britain on The Brink
What leaving the EU might mean for Britain
From Taboo To Empowerment
Menstruation is a pivotal issue in gender equality and human rights
Apocalypticism
The changes in the global climate are as extreme as the US presidential season
The Defence Pretence
Why keep spending billions on defence, when there’s no discernible threat?
Adoption At A Standstill
When will the Government dare to reform our sixty year old laws on adoption?
Alone Again, Naturally
Singing the praises of your own company…
Strangers In Our Midst
Shakespeare has relevant words for how the world should be responding to refugees and migrants
Obsolete, At Birth
Already, the European Commission wants to scrap the TPP’s investor-state dispute mechanisms
Killing For A Living
The human cost of the ‘killing animals for food’ industry
The Great Financial Crisis Still To Come
An interview with Financial Times columnist John Kay
He’s Not Here
David Bowie never endorsed Velvet Goldmine but it has become the ideal tribute film.
Corresponding To Life
Writing – and getting – letters is still something to treasure
Tom Petty : Keeping Hard Promises
A terrific new biography of Tom Petty rekindles the love for one of music’s most under-rated stars.
The Cult of Cuteness
How the Japanese concept of kawaii exalts female vulnerability
David Bowie Meets Laurence Aberhart
Revisiting a 1978 photo shoot encounter with The Thin White Duke….
No Climate For Change
The Paris conference will deliver only paper promises on global warming
America, The Gated
Immigration has become a polarising issue in the 2016 US election campaign