Nicky Hager describes how police targeted his daughter's mobile number and even his TradeMe records of tadpole purchases in their hunt for the sources behind "Dirty Politics". He explains the chilling effect of the police raid and why it should never happen again. I was in Auckland to give a university lecture about my new … Continue reading Nicky Hager: What an attack on journalism feels like
Escaping the clutches of the Taliban to becoming head boy at Pakuranga College, the story of 17-year-old Mortaza "Taza" Sahar is awe-inspiring. Taza and his family belong to the Shia Muslim community known as Hazaras, a minority group in the mostly Sunni Muslim occupied Afghanistan. They have been targeted by the Taliban, infamously known for their extremist Muslim … Continue reading Eastern Courier: Refugee from war-torn country gives back to ethnic community in New Zealand
Bold legislation to drive emissions down to zero would come with massive implications - ranging from slower-growing household incomes to major impacts on industry. The most ambitious of three options tabled this afternoon - achieving a net-zero 2050 across all emissions, not just carbon dioxide - would mean a 10th of New Zealand would need … Continue reading NZ Herald: NZ’s bold new climate bill: four big ways it matters
The shocking story of a woman who went to the police to complain of rape and ended up charged with having underage sex with her alleged assailant. A Wellington woman who found herself on trial after alleging that she’d been raped by a teenage boy says she has lost all faith in the police. The … Continue reading Listener: How a woman’s rape complaint led to her arrest for underage sex
The Aotearoa New Zealand Human Rights Foundation today signed an open letter along with over 200 New Zealand businesses, community organisations and leaders, which we together delivered to climate minister James Shaw. The open letter was coordinated by WWF-New Zealand and Generation Zero. The letter congratulates the government on setting “a new, bold, ambitious goal of … Continue reading Two hundred businesses, communities and Kiwi leaders call for climate action
Must be that time again. Time for the Independent Police Complaints Authority (IPCA) to produce yet another review of the high speed pursuit policy, which the Police will no doubt ignore, and shelve alongside all the others. They’re consistent like that. This week, the Police were saying the pursuit policy was ‘fit for purpose.’ Flashback … Continue reading Werewolf: Gordon Campbell on the carnage being caused by Police pursuits
This week I attended a seminar at Parihaka, probably the most significant site of colonial racism anywhere in New Zealand. Despite an agreement between Crown and Maori, land was taken and sold by the Crown without purchase from Maori to local settlers who set up farms. They just pinched it, so Maori asserted their ownership … Continue reading NZ Herald: Chester Borrows: Learn your history, no matter how unpalatable it might be
Police's "cops and robber" approach to pursuits is a failure and the government needs to ban them unless there is a serious crime happening, a lawyer says. Yesterday, national road policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally told Morning Report the pursuit policy was fit for purpose. He made the remark after a 15-year-old boy being chased by officers in Palmerston … Continue reading Radio NZ: ‘Police need to be adults’ on police chases – lawyer
This week it was announced that Dame Susan Devoy will not be seeking another term as Race Relations Commissioner. Here she pays tribute to her colleagues at the Human Rights Commission, and calls on those who failed staff in relation to sexual harassment allegations to do the right thing and step aside. People who are … Continue reading Spinoff: Susan Devoy: How the Human Rights Commission can rebuild trust
Concerns about bigotry and harassment in New Zealand are ongoing, or even rising. Yet the primary state agency that deals with these issues – the Human Rights Commission – has been discredited and is in turmoil. The latest ministerial report is incredibly damning, illustrating that the Commission is not living the values it wants everyone … Continue reading Bryce Edwards: Political Roundup: Can the Human Rights Commission be fixed?
