I agree with Arthur Taylor, prisons are terrible places. Few staff and even fewer prisoners want to be there, each party doing their time in the hope that better days lay ahead. In my 18 months as an officer, I…
1080 and Water Fluoridation: Opponents who drink from the same anti-science trough
I had a pretty gnarly rental in 2014. Situated in what one might euphemistically label as the economically diverse melting pot of Hamilton East. It had an asbestos ceiling, rotting internal walls* and was nestled within an even less entrancing…
Lauren who? Mr Howard, we’re detaining you on character grounds
This piece was republished by the Sociological Association of Aotearoa / New Zealand. Ask any New Zealander this past week who the racist, anti feminist and immigrant-loathing individuals are bound for our shores and they would probably respond with ‘Lauren Southern’…
Telling Madison Recruitment to go f*** themselves: Census 2018
Trudging off to University on a mid December weekend doesn’t come with all that many highlights. Sweaty, tired and a bit jaded was a pretty fair assessment of myself and the other three PhD students that had sacrificed the beach…
Teenage Parties? Leave it to the Woodstock generation, and their obvious infallibility
An edited version of this story was republished by The Spinoff on November 8th, 2017. I spent an hour chatting with the woman dubbed ‘Momma Doof’, who defied conventional parenting ‘best-practice’ by somehow remembering what it’s like to actually be a teenager.…
Penal Populism in New Zealand: Meandering further down the fairness spiral
This is one of a series of post election pieces i’m writing over the next fortnight, today I look at one of the more absurd reforms suggested for our criminal justice sector which also appeared on the Sociology New Zealand…
Green & Grazed: 18 Consecutive years outside of Government
Enough has already been written about the Metiria Turei debacle that I see no merit canvassing that matter further. It is however worthwhile noting that Turei’s own admission gave the party an initial surge in popularity, and with it a…
Winston’s last stand: Tailoring the Emperor’s New Clothes, again.
Leading into the 2014 election I recall Chris Trotter was feeling pretty optimistic, he even suggested National’s vote could slump to the low 40s and a Labour – Green bloc would therefore have a chance of clinching power. He must…
Negative gearing: More distortion than a shitty dub step track
Have you heard the latest joke? The housing market is cooling off and it’ll be affordable again sometime soon! Heh, that old chestnut. Conveniently popping up in our news feeds every time politicians feel the pressure to address self-made distortions…
Triclosan: Just another chemical (get the f*** over it)
Rachel Southee Heard the one about New Zealand Member of Parliament Jacqui Dean asking a Government Minister to ban Dihydrogen Oxide? It wasn’t her finest hour, but she’s not the only MP around the world to fall victim to a…