A background checks backgrounder
Every National MP gets one
Kia ora and welcome to The Weekend. I had the thrilling experience of filling out some forms to renew my Indian documentation this week and found myself nervous, as I always am, about having to check boxes confirming I hadn’t committed any crimes or human rights violations. What if I’ve been involved in drug trafficking without knowing it?, I thought, my heartbeat quickening. While I’m pretty sure I’m in the clear, one way to be certain would be to get a background check, a process every MP in the National Party is going through after the Sam Uffindell fiasco. But what is a background check? Sam Brooks looks into it. Elsewhere, Alex Casey investigates new a historical allegation of sexual abuse by music teacher David Adlam. Plus: kapa haka is both vital and underfunded, and young people running for local elections are full of hope for the future. Brew some Coffee Supreme and settle in.
-Shanti Mathias, staff writer
Ending the silence
In April, Alex Casey published an investigation into how music teacher David Adlam’s relationship with his 16 year old student shaped the rest of her life. Reading the story, Sarah (name changed) approached Alex to discuss her own relationship with him 30 years earlier. Sarah was Adlam’s student, and says that his treatment of her, which included multiple alleged instances of sexual assault and led to her getting an abortion, created profound trauma and impacted her relationships for decades to come. Adlam denies the allegations. While the story is harrowing, it’s also compassionately and thoughtfully reported. Read it here.
What do we need? More politicians’ books. When do we want them? Now.
Henry Cooke, former chief political reporter at Stuff, loves a juicy political memoir. They’re an important counter to the breathless pace of political news, he argues. “Giving a politician the space they will never get in an interview or a press release to really explain their decision-making, with the wisdom of hindsight… can yield results that should be interesting in the present and to future historians,” he says, exhorting New Zealand politicians to write more about the time they were in office. The books might not be good — not every politician is a decent writer — but they can still add substance to our political history and reveal the thinking behind decisions that continue to shape Aotearoa today.
‘I’m more of an on-the-record sort of a chap’: Chris Finlayson on his life in politics, and his new memoir
Why kapa haka is so important
Across Aotearoa, kapa haka brings together thousands of people of all ages, giving audiences and performers the opportunity to honour their whakapapa and connect to the people who came before. This is great for communities: the social connection that kapa haka provides boosts individual and communal health, as well as building connection to te reo Māori and improving economic outcomes. But despite the huge audiences and dedicated performers, kapa haka receives less than half as much funding as the Royal New Zealand Ballet. The process of colonisation attempts to take away the power and connection of arts, says Carl Ross, CEO of kapa haka festival Te Matatini. “One thing they haven’t been able to do is take kapa away, the essence of kapa and what it means to our people.” This feature, produced in partnership with Māori research centre Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, explores the holistic benefits kapa haka provides to thousands of New Zealanders.
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Number of the week: 5 under 30
People under the age of 40 are twice as likely not to vote in local elections as those over 40. In part, this is because most candidates for councils and local boards are older, too. But in 2019 more young people were elected to local bodies than ever before; some members of this “youthquake” are running again, and others are joining them. Reweti Kohere talks to five of these younger candidates running for election across the country, asking them how their first terms were, and what they’re hoping for the future.
Why do so few people vote in local elections, and what makes someone more likely to bother? A new set of data visualisations by Emma Vitz has some answers.
What the love of personalising says about mass manufacture
I’ve ordered more than one personalised mug to give as a gift to friends. A few weeks ago, at one of the weird PR events journalists get invited to a lot, I got to try personalising a mug myself, using a technology that requires special tools to fuse ink into treated ceramic. I was not very good at this, but lots of people do it professionally, mostly small businesses with home machines and Instagram profiles for marketing. But the love of personalisation is a bigger story, too, about the human love of owning stuff, and how most of what we have and buy now is produced by anonymous, cheap labour in places we will never visit. Sometimes journalism is just a con you can use to talk to people with cool jobs: I asked an archeologist about how people relate to possessions and what footprint mass manufacture will leave for object historians in the future.
Auckland’s Costco is nearly ready to open. But is Auckland ready for Costco? Stewart Sowman-Lund takes a preview tour.
Everything else
Contestants on upcoming show Celebrity Treasure Island told Alex Casey their favourite chip flavours, then she asked our Spinoff chip experts to analyse them
The appeal of bubbling tallow on TikTok (I love this series about niche things people enjoy on the internet)
Aotearoa has a new poet laureate, the brilliant Chris Tse. The literary community celebrates.
What does the new Manti Te’o documentary tell us about journalism?
How does a brain injury shape your life afterwards?
A pilot programme at Auckland University provides people with ACC care based in rongoa Māori
Reporting from the political donations case at the Auckland High Court
Hunting for a credible carbon credit
Indigenous knowledge in Chad is crucial for climate resilience
YouTube videos are getting long. Like, eight hours long.
Setting aside some time this weekend to watch House of Dragon, the new Game of Thrones show? Catherine McGregor is a fan.
“There was a fire and people were furious”: the response to the new Stuff documentary about the parliamentary occupation
Consumer spending has increased; what does this mean for the economy?
Vanessa Mei Crofskey writes a hilarious letter to her unfinished manuscript that made me feel some solidarity for all my incompletely executed creative ideas
Auckland is a “spongy city”. As climate change increases flooding, more cities need to think about how to absorb water.
And finally, reality show The Block NZ had a slam poetry contest this week, with the best performance winning $10,000. Is this the biggest poetry prize in New Zealand? And are the poems any good?
