Trust me, I know: I’ve been living in a damp, violent hotel in central Auckland for six months and counting. I get it, Minister. I really do. You want us out of emergency housing. And believe me, so do we. I have been living in emergency accommodation in a hotel in central Auckland for six months and counting. That’s despite the fact that, as a disabled person with children who recently fled violence, my need for social housing is classified by MSD as the highest priority possible. I consider myself one of the lucky ones, though: a grandmother I met recently has been waiting in a motel with h ..read more

Metlink is warning Wellington commuters to expect buses to replace trains on weekends for the next 10-15 years. But there are a few things to look forward to while we wait. Thomas Nash is a Greater Wellington Regional Councillor. Ten to fifteen years. Four little words that sparked a mini media storm. Metlink manager Fiona Abbot told councillors buses are likely to replace trains on many weekends and public holidays for 10-15 years while Wellington’s rail infrastructure is brought up to standard. That spicy soundbite was picked up by Newstalk ZB’s Azaria Howell and quickly became national new ..read more

The latest in a semi-regular series that breaks down a poem to analyse what it’s really trying to tell us. In this edition of How to Read a Poem, Vaughan Rapatahana reads All day on Ma’uke by Rob Hack, published in a new anthology called Katūīvei: Contemporary Pasifika poetry from Aotearoa New Zealand, co-edited by Rapatahana, David Eggleton and Mere Taito. All day on Ma‘uke Reading notes: Let’s start with the title: All day on Ma’uke. Where is Ma’uke? For those who do not know, Ma’uke is one of the 15 islands that make up the Cook Islands, and is located quite some way from Rarotonga, the la ..read more

Our laws are leaving many veterans who served after 1974 out in the cold. I know, because I’m one of them. The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand. As I write this story, I am in constant pain. My hands shake with adrenaline, and the muscles in my back have tensed up. It is the fight or flight response kicking in. I am not exactly sure what has triggered it this time, as it is quiet here, and apart from the birds, there is nobody around. But the hyper-vigilance of post-traumatic stress disorder isn’t logical. It’s a distortion of the body’s na ..read more

Emmas Hislop, Sidnam and Wehipeihana discuss what’s in a name. Emma Sidnam: Hello Emmas! Thank you so much for agreeing to do this with me. My first question for you is related to what’s been on my mind for a while. It’s very important. You see we’ve recently had some famous Emma action. There was the Netflix sensation One Day with the wonderfully relatable Emma Morley played by Ambika Mod. Then there’s the always incredible Emma Stone who won Best Actress for her role in Poor Things. So . . . who is your favourite fictional Emma and who is your favourite celebrity Emma?  Emma Hislop: Ki ..read more

Josh Thomson on the 80s milk ad jingle he can’t stop singing, the beauty of The Simpsons, why Jersey Shore is as good as Shakespeare and more.  For someone who spends a lot of time on our screens, popping up in everything from 7 Days to Taskmaster, Educators to Good Grief, Josh Thomson doesn’t have a lot of time to watch TV. “I’ve got two little kids and I’ve also got a bad habit of building stuff with my hands,” he says, explaining that his latest project is an intricate toadstool fairy cake for his daughter’s birthday. “I’m also morally obligated to watch stuff that my friends are in ..read more

From the unstable and drippy to the hi-tech and pretty, here’s our ranking of all the tunnels you can drive through in this country. The first tunnel seems to have been built in 2200BC in Babylonia, kicking off a global phenomenon for digging holes in order to get places more easily that Aotearoa is fully on board with. While enthusiasm for tunnels has been demonstrated most recently and notably by New Zealand’s transport minister Simeon Brown, it’s a passion that has a long history in this country. By our count there are 28 tunnels you can drive through in New Zealand, and we have ranked the ..read more

Lucinda Bennett on the art of being greedy but resourceful. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. When I picture the market, it is always this time of year. Crisp air, dripping nose, counting coins with cold fingers. Sunlight pale, filtered through specks of dew still suspended in the cool morning. Summer’s bounty of berries may have disappeared from the stalls, but there are still a few taut glossy plums, sugar baby watermelons stacked like bowling balls, troughs of dusky late season tomatoes and aubergines the size of newborns dark and glistening like a puddl ..read more

A new poem by Evangeline Riddiford Graham. Mitochondrial Problem I. It was long drive to Kansas for the man and his dog but you have to understand he said She doesn’t fly. Which calls to mind not carsick shitting barking or whining but a dog who chooses not to as well as all the dogs who do fly maybe what they’re dreaming of when they lie on carpet or grass limbs spread ready to at any moment levitate like that figure in Florine Stettheimer’s painting of a birthday picnic for Marcel Duchamp a suited man who lies face -down in yellow lawn with the flat determination of one about to lift off ..read more

The Ministry of Health has delayed the release of its evidence brief on the safety, reversibility and mental health and wellbeing outcomes for puberty blockers. While we wait, Julia de Bres speaks to those with firsthand experience. Best practice gender-affirming healthcare is based on trans people’s self-determination and agency. The Māori health framework Te Pae Mahutonga terms this Te Mana Whakahaere: autonomy. As The Professional Association for Transgender Health Aotearoa (PATHA) explains, this principle encompasses “people’s autonomy over their own bodies, represented by healthcare prov ..read more