I’m nervous as hell about sharing this, but I’ll put it out there in the hope it brings comfort to somebody else. I promise you it has a happy ending. My thought process always went this way.    Was...

Please take care. This post touches on issues of violence, sexual abuse and trauma. It was Kirsty Johnston, one of the more tenacious journalists for Stuff, who broke the story in 2021. It had been a...

Baxter has fought battles for you, now he has one of his own and needs your help!

Please take care. This post touches on issues of violence, sexual abuse and trauma. It was Kirsty Johnston, one of the more tenacious journalists for Stuff, who broke the story in 2021. It had been a...

Please take care. This post touches on issues of violence, sexual abuse and trauma. It was Kirsty Johnston, one of the more tenacious journalists for Stuff, who broke the story in 2021. It had been a...

Like a lot of people, I've watched the tragedy of Jason Arday with horror – wondering if I had anything useful to say, especially when others, including people of colour, are writing so articulately. ...

Like a lot of people, I've watched the tragedy of Jason Arday with horror – wondering if I had anything useful to say, especially when others, including people of colour, are writing so articulately. ...

This was sparked by a thoughtful comment from a reader which I’ll respond to with thanks. If there’s anyone who deserves to be pissed off, it’s Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa of Otago University. Despite that,...

This was sparked by a thoughtful comment from a reader which I’ll respond to with thanks. If there’s anyone who deserves to be pissed off, it’s Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa of Otago University. Despite that,...

I discovered a dismal sequel to my last piece. Enjoy. We all have our quirks, and here’s one of mine: when I’m in a shitty, I make a spreadsheet. I figure out the structure, label the columns, and be...

To be clear, I’m not accusing anyone of wrongdoing – but I believe I’ve stumbled into a system problem, and there’s nowhere to take it. For privacy and safety reasons, I’ve only given people’s names w...

This piece builds on some cracker reporting by The Spinoff. If you can, consider supporting them financially. In the year of Our Lord 2025, for reasons I couldn’t quite put my finger on at the time, ...

Today was family fun day. That meant me, my two sons, and my older son’s partner. My sons are known affectionately as Big Boy and Small Boy. Not long ago, Small Boy caused a kerfuffle by growing tall...

This post includes a vote of thanks to Lani, Hugh and Aaron of Pukerua Bay’s Escarpment Domes, who offer a residency programme to writers and artists – including very lucky me. The picture you see abo...

This opinion piece talks about extremist and offensive content. It owes a debt to some excellent reporting by a range of organisations. Judy is coy about her background. Last year, when Michael Laws...

This opinion piece talks about extremist and offensive content. It owes a debt to some excellent reporting by a range of organisations. Judy is coy about her background. Last year, when Michael Laws...

I thought these few days couldn't break my heart any more until I read the story of an elderly couple, both disabled. When the water came for them in the middle of last night, they never stood a chan...

I've been watching the news - what can I say, I'm old - and saw a short interview with a swaggering guy, sipping his beer in some campground up north, saying he's not worried about the warning. He reckons he'll spend Cyclone Vaianu with a hangover. Panic doesn't help, of

Today, e hoa mā, I’m going to tell you a light-hearted story. It began in January, when a business-strategist-writer guy got in touch with me. He’s running an interview project on insight, and a read...

You think I’m reviewing the movie a week late – but I’m also reviewing the book 178 years late. No real spoilers, I promise. Teenagers feel stuff acutely, especially girls. I remember reading Wuther...

We all need a bit of light relief right now. I found some today, and I'm going to share it with you. This morning, I drove from Upper Hutt to Lower Hutt for an appointment. Most of the destruction fr...

Over the long weekend, I read 'No words for this' by Ali Mau. It was profound, and it's helping me process the world right now. Tricky themes lie ahead, so read with care. It's been a while since I w...

Before I got sick I was reasonably fit, but never much of a runner. I liked the mental health benefits of getting outside, and so I’d plod a loop around Te Awa Kairangi, the Hutt river; but that was w...

We are bound to each other. This is not a popular thing to say, but it's true. The tradies who were passing and pulled up their truck, took out their tools, rushed to climb the mud and debris barefo...

A warning that this post is about the tragedy at Waitārere Beach. I want to write with compassion for all involved, but also be loud and clear: it's time to stop promoting harmful ideas about violence...

Be aware this post talks about troubling current and historical events, so might not be timed right if you’re feeling fragile. Thank you to my lovely paid subscribers for your initial feedback. Somet...

This story was subject to reporting errors at the time, and speculation continues to this day. Where sources are in conflict, I've chosen the ones I've judged the most reliable. Be aware that some of ...

This story was subject to reporting errors at the time, and speculation continues to this day. Where sources are in conflict, I've chosen the ones I've judged the most reliable. Be aware that some of ...

Please note this piece talks briefly about animal cruelty. It's the job of any generation to care for the ones that follow. My kids are big now, the younger having finished secondary a year ago, but...

Some people have a gift for technology, and I'm not one of them.

Kia ora friends!

This is for Malachi and children like him. I've changed some details so the people I talk about aren't identifiable. Be aware: the discussion of family violence isn't graphic but is still distressing.

It’s done and dusted.

What is not handed down must be found some other way; and so my mum, who is retired in Invercargill, spends her days uncovering our whakapapa from libraries and archives and genealogical sites.

What is not handed down must be found some other way; and so my mum, who is retired in Invercargill, spends her days uncovering our whakapapa from libraries and archives and genealogical sites.

Content warning for harassment and misogyny. May cause existential despair.

I took art history for approximately three weeks in 1993, at the beginning of my seventh form year.

When the tantalising details run out, the breathless headlines are exhausted and the camera turns away, kids could still be in danger. Now is the time to call for an inquiry. This cannot happen again.

It's a faffy, faffy thing, going au naturel.

I'm not watching the Loafer's Lodge trial.

Here's a curious thing.

The year was 1991.

Some people in this life have their shit together naturally.

It was Ray Chung who pushed me over the edge.

Fuelled by grumpiness, I set out to explore claims that Māori have special electoral privileges. I discovered privilege, alright - but it's not for Māori.