ICYMI: Thanks, brave men of #TurnArdern, for proving the point of my Jacinda book
9 December – 16 December
12 months of upheaval, pain and pride: on watching New Zealand from afar. From the most recent tragedy on Whakaari to the devastation of the Christchurch terror attacks, it’s hard to remember a year in which New Zealand was so repeatedly in global headlines, wrote Kamahl Santamaria, a Kiwi journalist based in Doha working as a news presenter for Al Jazeera English. “I haven’t lived in New Zealand for nearly 20 years. But let me tell you, I’m still damn proud to be a Kiwi,” he wrote. “And every event which has thrust the country onto the world stage this past year – even the ones which have left us hurt, confused, or desperate – has made me even prouder, because of the way people have responded.”
Leading us through loss. Throughout all these tragedies, the leadership shown by tangata whenua has been a particular source of strength for all New Zealanders – leadership that deserves to be recognised and honoured by us all, wrote Catherine Delahunty. “Tangata whenua bring their spirituality, their aroha and their rituals to help everyone, to honour everyone and to uplift the unthinkable into a collective moment of love,” she wrote. “This is more than generosity, this is the authority of the people of the land whose obligations to both place and people are maintained to everyone’s benefit.”
Thanks, brave men of #TurnArdern, for proving the point of my Jacinda book. Apparently, a group of National Party supporters, mostly adult men, have been spending their spare time visiting bookstores to turn/hide copies of books and magazines with Jacinda Ardern’s face on their covers. So what did the author of one such book, Michelle Duff, think about the whole thing? “I was having the time of my life. Aside from the fact this was excellent publicity for my book – which seven weeks on the bestseller list suggested #TurnArdern had failed to impact – it utterly validated the fact that a book about women in power is important,” she wrote, concluding that “the knee-jerk response to a book about Ardern wasn’t about me. It wasn’t even really about Ardern. It was about all women.”
Why giving beneficiaries meal kits is the wrong approach. “The Ministry of Social Development stresses that the food box is optional and only a trial at this point. But the very concept is in conflict with the ideas that underpin the right to food: an understanding of autonomy and self-determination,” criticised Rebekah Graham in light of Work and Income’s Bargain Box experiment. “Individuals and groups need to be able to determine for themselves what foods they will source, prepare and consume… The right to food and to autonomy over one’s meals holds true irrespective of a person’s income level, or whether or not they are in receipt of welfare.”
Just quickly, a brief word from Emily Writes, parents editor at The Spinoff:
Stories for and about parenting often lack humanity. They generally treat new mothers in particular as if they can no longer think for themselves. I’m proud to be part of a media organisation that encourages us to see each other and celebrate our differences as new parents, rather than pit us against each other for ‘engagement’ in imaginary ‘mommy wars’. If you want to support writing that pushes boundaries and encourages seeing the world in a less insular way, then please support The Spinoff by joining as a member.
Rhodes Scholars are meant to serve humanity. Crimson Education wanted them to tutor wealthy students. Business editor Maria Slade continues her coverage of Crimson Education as controversy over a $10m lawsuit and ‘ghost’ offices continue to swirl around the company. In this piece co-authored with contributor Ollie Neas, co-founder Jamie Beaton’s fellow Rhodes scholars have slammed Beaton for trying to recruit them as Crimson tutors. One American scholar, who’d grown up in a low-income family relying on social services and attending Philadelphia public schools, even confronted Beaton in a WhatsApp group, kicking off a lengthy debate among members.
‘I’m not a single bit cynical’: The Spinoff meets Simon Bridges. As another general election looms in 2020, Alex Braae sat down with National Party leader Simon Bridges for a wide-ranging conversation on crime, political rhetoric, and his thoughts on NZ First. “The stuff I see from Shane Jones slagging off business doesn’t impress me. It doesn’t make it more likely we’d go with them. Some of Winston Peters’ recent behaviour, and the donations scandal, is in the same sort of category,” Bridges said. “But to have a clear position today to rule out NZ First, I think it would give the old crocodile oxygen before Christmas that he doesn’t deserve, and to go back to the start of all of this, it could breed a whole lot of fake news and conspiracies. Let’s let everyone know where things are at in election year.”
Where are the McDonald’s Young Entertainers now? Cited as one of the greatest shows to ever air on New Zealand telly had a tenure of just three tragically short years. For Kristin Hall, who was raised in a religious household, McDonald’s Young Entertainers was a saving grace, “a show so wholesome that no parent could ever protest it. A televisual beacon of goodness where the world’s wrongs could be righted with a headset microphone or some top-shelf yodelling.” So where are they now? Kristin Hall went and tracked them down.
‘Tinder for jobs’ platform gives bosses the upper hand. While job searching on Seek, Ben Martley noticed a number of jobs from an employer called Sidekicker promising opportunities with little experience required. He soon found out these weren’t actual jobs so much as ads recruiting casual workers for the Sidekicker platform, and the roles advertised were available only to “sidekicks” (casual employees of Sidekicker). After looking into Sidekicker’s policies further, he ultimately decided that “working for them would have been a sad waste of time. I sensed something dystopian about this new work model and wanted no part in it.”
The Spinoff Weekly is written by staff writer Jihee Junn.