Kiwi Life
Kiwi life
New Zealand’s overwhelmingly left-wing news media remain in a collective sulk over last year’s election of the centre-right government led…
Kiwi life
New Zealand in crisis Given the destruction the previous Labour government inflicted on this country, and the damage caused by…
Kiwi life
Is it possible to be simultaneously entertained and depressed? Well, yes. Just try living in New Zealand in 2024. The…
Is New Zealand past the point of no return?
Given that New Zealand has now entered into a recession, in spite of record migration levels and population growth, many…
Kiwi life
Given the UK’s Rishi Sunak sacking Suella Braverman for saying what many others would feel – that the police were…
Kiwi life
It’s almost a cliché to say that 15 March, 2019 was a black day in New Zealand’s history; in fact…
Kiwi life
Elections are always hard fought. But for most New Zealanders to be so desperate to throw out Jacinda Ardern’s original…
Kiwi life
They closed the schools for several days recently in the small New Zealand town of Opotiki. A gang leader had…
Language
A Speccie reader has asked me for the origin of the expression ‘mumbo jumbo’ – and there turns out to…
Kiwi life
Climate catastrophe? Follow the money Because of the importance of the claim that CO2 has the potential to cause considerable…
Language
Australian journalist Miranda Devine (currently working on the New York Post) has drawn our attention to a new word ‘totting’.…
Language
When US President Joe Biden addressed Congress and gave his ‘State of the Union’ address he was (at times) greeted…
Kiwi life
To be an award-winning commentator, the late Alexander Cockburn held, you really need to have a bit of a thing…
Kiwi life
The long march reaches its destination. Looking back, we can see that things seemingly happening overnight were part of that…
Language
It’s that time of year again – when dictionaries around the world start announcing their ‘Word of the Year’. And…
Kiwi Life
A government in jackboots A recent headline echoes the current mood of this now fed-up country, with Sir Russell Coutts,…
Kiwi Life
Lorde vs Lana People who live in glass houses really shouldn’t get changed with the lights on. Doubly so, one…
Kiwi Life
A crisis by design It is increasingly sad, so many New Zealanders saying they would leave – if they could…
Kiwi Language
A tech company claims that anti-vax and anti-lockdown rallies have been ‘astroturfed’. Which means? Well, ‘AstroTurf’ was the world’s first…
Kiwi Life
One of my goals over the coming months is to watch an entire rugby game for the first time in…
Kiwi Life
Of the various little stories about the rather wonderful Joni Mitchell in her early years, my favourite concerns Leonard Cohen.…
Kiwi Language
A friend of mine recently sent me a notice from a big law firm announcing the introduction of ‘Gender Affirmation…
Kiwi Life
Dear Australia, I would like to formally offer an apology on behalf of New Zealand. I have no authority to…
Kiwi Life
When I dice a chilled cucumber along with a couple of tomatoes, toss them together in a bowl with a…
Aussie Lingo
Have we flogged the word ‘spirit’ to death? Or, rather have politicians, emptied it of all meaning and turned it…
