Some great journalism from David Fisher here: www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/racism-cl...

New novel alert! U.X.O. is my ninth novel, set in Jaffna during the IPKF era of the Sri Lankan Civil War (1987-1990). It’s a book that looks at how we can hold people to account for war crimes when institutions and power are indifferent. Will be out later in the year through Lawrence & Gibson

A selection from speeches from the debates on the Births, Deaths, Marriages and Relationships Recognition Act 2021. Any journos reading this feel free to ask any of the speakers whether they stand by these comments made less than five years ago. At the second reading: Nicola Grigg:

This subsidy has made a big difference to my life - particularly because it means I can risk going out while knowing I have an option to get home if my health starts playing uo. Others use it for all journeys. The current limit had already become too low. I'm so angry and frustrated.

The thing that’s striking about Te Ara Tupua is how much of that space has been reclaimed by the public - dogs, kids, cyclists, runners, walkers. It’s wonderful

new (unreleased from 2016) Disasteradio track on this great star-studded fundraiser for aid in Lebanon out now and #4 on bFM charts! flockforfunds.bandcamp.com/album/full-f...

That $70m Major Events and Tourism package, btw, is more than the annual budget for Creative NZ. You know, the outfit that actually funds local artists.

It's a growing problem in political discourse in NZ that our right-leaning politicians will borrow talking points from overseas regardless of how irrelevant those talking points are to our reality. We can't have serious discussions if one side wants to make things up.

When politicians resort to bashing immigrants

Gonna just say it, this book is iconic and you should buy it. So proud to have been a part of this.

h/t @dreddieclark.bsky.social for that Poll Tax comparison

#indianelections2026 and why this was very bad. Modi & BJP (ruling party in the Indian federal govt) used the federal election commission to remove ~2.7M eligible voters from rolls & add another ~7M right before the election, with no explanation & sanctioned by Indian Supreme Court./1

Racism aside, it's... interesting that ACT's policies are going to piss off everyone who rely on visa workers: more red tape for accredited employers, more hoops to jump through on the English language requirement, and more costs for everybody.

I see we’re in a “we’re all out of ideas, so we’ll just blame immigrants” election campaign

“Oh Yeah” Disasteradio “A New Career in a New Town” Bowie “Be My Baby” Ronettes “Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence” Sakamoto “Renegade” Zodiacs “Laisse Tomber Les Filles” Gall “New Year’s Eve” Sisamouth & Sothea “Kare Nanhasi” Hallelujah Chicken Run Band “Aikea-Guinea” Cocteau Twins “Hyperballad” Bjork

My 10 faves, also right this second: The Mother and the Whore Melody for a Street Organ A Brighter Summer Day Daisies My Neighbour Totoro A Day of Wrath Sambizanga Imitation of Life (Sirk) A City of Sadness Jeanne Dielmann

For some New Zealanders, not all immigrants are made equal

There are only two days left to sign the petition by Migrants Against the Acceptable Standard of Health Aotearoa to remove the archaic and eugenicist rules that have seen so many disabled and chronically ill migrants deported form the country, including children. Please, please, PLEASE sign this.

My friend Manisha Bhikha calling for us to get our shit together. When she says "This is the first time I can remember seeing anti-Indian hate expressed with this level of visibility and confidence" be aware that *she's been in govt counterterror & preventing violent extremism for decades*.

There is an insane and disturbing amount of vile Anti-Indian sentiment about and parties need to respond to it. They can respond by trying to capitalize on it like NZF, or they can reject it. Ignoring it and hoping for the best only rewards those capitalising on it. It's also moral cowardice.

Just as the impacts of climate change are really starting to bite, AoNZ as a nation is busy 'deprioritising' research funding into it. You can probably tell from some of the quotes how chill I'm feeling about this.

I don't read polls. I rely on traditional ways to know if a prime minister is embattled.

There’s an argument to be made that Shane Jones has been the most useless Cabinet Minister in NZ in the 21st Century

I think some people mistakenly read Kartik Popat as a cynical book, when it was actually an earnest book about cynical people. South Asians who cosy up to white supremacism will absolutely be eaten up by it

It continues to blow my mind that this Western wave of increasingly violent anti-Indian sentiment was all started by an intra-MAGA turf war between the tech nazi faction and the Laura Loomer nativist faction after the 2024 US presidential election. All this just to own Vivek Ramaswamy.

Some lessons for Aotearoa in here, too, in this piece by McKenzie Wark www.frieze.com/article/scap...

Evolving US view of Hormuz: -The Strait is open. -Iran closing the Strait is a breach of international law. -The Strait is open if you're not a wuss. -Please help me reopen the Strait. -We started this war to keep the Strait open. -We are now blockading the Strait.

Man Who Threw Molotov Cocktail At Sam Altman’s Home Claims He Was Following ChatGPT Recipe For Risotto https://theonion.com/man-who-threw-molotov-cocktail-at-sam-altmans-home-claims-he-was-following-chatgpt-recipe-for-risotto/

a question that should be asked of the current editorial departments and owners of every establishment media outlet in the country, because let’s be honest, Peters is certainly incapable of pitching *himself* that way without across the board narrative support - particularly due to his history

The thing that pisses me off is that NZF / Peters gets to present himself as some outsider when Peters has been part of every single government since fucking Muldoon, bar two (the 4th Labour Gvt and the Key / English Gvt, and even then English tried to negotiate with him). He’s establishment af

a “ceasefire” that lasted 17 hours and killed 254 people in lebanon is not a ceasefire and referring to it as one is inaccurate

400 dead so far, over 1000 injured, dozens and dozens missing. This is one hour into the massacre. I have no idea what the death toll will be in the end. Also, they have announced “another wave” of attacks coming

Bears mentioning that everything everyone on this site feared Trump would do to Iran yesterday, Israel is doing to Lebanon today.

My second book is officially out today! Many people helped me get it to this point and I love them all. In all good bookshops in Aus and NZ 🎉🍎💚🐦‍⬛ here’s a handy link to where you can get it from indie NZ shops bookhub.co.nz/p/the-raven-...

I guess we're just waiting around to see if this demented psychopath kills everyone: defector.com/i-guess-were...

All but three (!) of the 1,651 refugees admitted into the United States in the three most recent months we have data are white South Africans. For comparison, in 2024, the U.S. admitted 100,060 refugees. It's an explicit white supremacist project. www.rpc.state.gov/documents/Re...

Anyone shocked that Winston Peters is leaning hard into transphobic attention/vote-seeking bullshit, keep in mind that he's the only MP who's been around long enough to vote against Homosexual Law Reform in 1986, the Human Rights Amendment Act in 1993 and marriage equality in 2013, #nzpol

So what this describes is ethnic cleansing www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/w...

I don't think it's out of year but The Life and Opinions of Kartik Popat deserves a election year reissue regardless. One of Brannavan's best and most bruising satires that feels less and less satirical and more and more like reportage with every passing month

Nancy Lu should have read The Life and Opinions of Kartik Popat to realise how inevitably dispensable she was going to be www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/...

It is good that the entire US economy comes with the same disclaimer as horoscopes

Thread. Israel passed a law allowing the death penalty exclusively for Palestinians. It was written by the fascist Ben Gvir. Israel is institutionalising genocide.

Red Cross Levin is looking for FIVE sewing machines for former refugees. If you're in the lower North Island, could you please put out some feelers ? We can help with transport and checking machines, so please make any offers to us at [email protected] Thank you! Please share!

I don’t ever talk about work on here, but it’s been a genuine privilege to have worked on Te Kahu and Te Rua Archives New Zealand, & for this incredible new space to be open to the public in Pōneke. With Te Matapihi’s recent opening, it’s awesome to celebrate some cultural institutions in the city

It's a specific new global far-right target, from what I can tell mainly radiating out from US trends.

The current strategy appears to be a classic combo of we’ll show up to your events so we can get your vote, but say absolutely nothing when people are racist on our pages or Coalition partners say racist things, because we need their votes too

My friend and colleague Vinod Bal has just published their amazing research on LGBTQIA rights in NZ. The first of its kind! A significant resource for those interested in law and rights, with important recommendations. #nzpol www.adhikaaraotearoa.co.nz/lgbti-rights...

Probably not the best time to spend a billion dollars on LNG being our dry weather backup

Countdown to a half-arse apology from the government of the day in about 40 years, for the misuse of this power