ICYMI: I complained to Labour of a sexual assault. Then I read about it in the news.
2 December – 9 December
I thought NZ had changed. Then I saw the cartoon making fun of our Sāmoan babies’ deaths. Sāmoa has been devastated by a lethal measles outbreak in the last few weeks, the death toll now rising to 70 people. More than 60 of those were children under the age of four, so when the Otago Daily Times published a cartoon making a joke about the measles epidemic last week (more than 50 people had already been reported dead at the time), there was an understandable onslaught of rage and fury, not least from Samoan New Zealanders like Christine L Ammunson. “I know the humanity of New Zealanders is far greater than the zero empathy of a cartoonist and his bosses at a newspaper I will never bother reading again,” she wrote last week. “But it still hurts. And my Facebook is still full of photos of our beautiful babies.”
Grace Millane’s killer went on a date while her body lay on his floor. That date was with me. “In the bizarre sequence of events after she was murdered, I somehow ended up opposite this man at Revelry Bar in Ponsonby, drinking a beer on a Sunday afternoon as if nothing had ever happened,” writes a woman who went on a Tinder date with the man who murdered Grace Millane. “My instincts told me something was not right with this man and, while it took me a long time to write this, I want to share my experience so other women can remove themselves from situations they feel unsafe in.”
I complained to Labour of a sexual assault. Then I read about it in the news. As the Labour party prepares to release the findings of an investigation into its handling of sexual assault allegations, another ex-volunteer – who approached The Spinoff after the publication of Sarah’s story – has shared her experience: “I was heading home from work in March, 2016 when I saw my sexual assault in the news. The headline popped up on my phone when I was on the bus – no heads-up, no warning, nothing. To say that I wasn’t prepared for my story to play out in the media would be an understatement. I felt disgusting.”
Kris Faafoi, Jason Kerrison and the ministerial Opportunity Shop. “The best case scenario from here for Faafoi and therefore for Ardern is that a thorough examination of the files reveals a few words of assurance were as far as it went,” editor Toby Manhire wrote after it emerged that cabinet minister Kris Faafoi had been involved in some questionable discussions with Opshop’s Jason Kerrison in relation to an immigration case. “That he was simply telling his old friend what he wanted to hear, and never had any intention of sticking his nose in beyond alerting the relevant constituency MP. Assuming that’s the sum of it, the issue will melt into the summer. But all the same, you’d expect Ardern to publicly rap her star minister over the knuckles: to say that even a whiff, an appearance of inappropriate involvement is unacceptable, and she expects better.”
Just quickly, a brief word from Alex Casey, senior writer at The Spinoff:
I love everything that I do at The Spinoff, but the stories that matter the most to me are those which expose the insipid culture around sexual violence in New Zealand. Whether it’s the political volunteer who found herself vomiting at the sight of her attacker in Parliament, or a Roastbusters survivor reflecting on her trauma five years on, I am constantly in awe of the bravery and the trust that is placed in The Spinoff to tell these stories right.
These stories are very resource-intensive, from hours of interviewing and corroborating, to travel costs, to the significant legal fees. Which is where you come in. If you support The Spinoff Members, you are directly funding this most time-intensive work. And believe me, there is much, much more work to be done.
A tribute to The Lettering Book, which turned school kids into graphic designers. “Hundreds of years and thousands of Chocoades later, The Lettering Book‘s iconic cover still evokes an immediate reaction from those who loved it,” wrote Tara Ward in her loving tribute to the graphic design totem that made every school project sing (hands up if your school projects looked cool as hell thanks to this book!!!) “The Lettering Book introduced us to a world of style and grace. It showed us how to space words properly and how to draw a 3D shadow effect, a skill that should go straight to your CV.”
Shush: Libraries are saving New Zealand book culture, not dismantling it. In response to an essay by novelist Lloyd Jones on New Zealand’s broken reading and writing ecosystem, Alie Benge responded with this passionate defence of the modern NZ library. “Jones argues that people should join social clubs if they want community. Again, these things cost money. They’re also structured around hobbies or interests, so what if your hobby is reading?”
Oh, the humanity! What you need to know about living to 100. Apparently, young people today need more information to plan for their retirement so that they might live comfortably until the age of 100 (life expectancy in NZ is currently 81, but that’s likely to rise). Not sure what you need to do could get sorted? Fear not, Alex Braae has some practical financial advice, peppered with plenty of speculation of what the year might look like by the year 2100 (spoiler alert: you’ll probably be foraging and living in a bunker due to climate change-related collapse).
Kirihimete gift guide 2019: supporting Māori and Pasifika businesses and creators. It’s that time of the year again, and if you’re like me, you’re probably stuck for ideas on what to get this Christmas. Luckily, Ātea editor Leonie Hayden has compiled this handy list of high quality products being made or produced by Māori and Pasifika creators in Aotearoa. From art and stationery to clothes and books, there’s a little something for everyone this Kirihimete.
The Spinoff Weekly is written by staff writer Jihee Junn.