John Black
The Death of NZ Culture
When the majority Pākehā culture is spurned and a focus placed on ‘indigenous’ Māori culture and recently imported minorities, the assimilation of immigrants to a national identity becomes impossible.
16 Reasons for Not Letting 16-Year-Olds Vote
Any extension of the franchise should be a matter of mature consideration. Or, as is my preference, a matter of mockery, abuse and hysterical worse-case scenarios.
Are We Living in a Castrated Culture?
It’s not just popular music that has lost its rebellious male mojo. Film and TV are in almost total obeisance to the ‘message’ stifling creativity. The multiplexes are now home to retreads and rethinks and often swap out male energy for the feminine version.
Join the Fun Fight Against Decolonisation
Such guerrilla action is the only way we’ll fight those who want to drag us all back to the era before 1769.
To Make Sense of Left-Wing Foreign Policy
The reaction from the left has been predictably terrible with #IstandwithIran trending on social media. In an attempt to understand this apparent paradox (among others) in lefty foreign policy thinking, I approached an expert.
The Trump-Musk Letters
If only all this had happened in an age of decorum and sobriety, back when people wrote letters…
My Fashion Advice for Politicians
Clothes maketh the woman, but only apparently if they are madeth in the right placeth.
Pay Equity Is Complete C***
Political reporters battle with their keyboards. They also have to battle for attention which is why, late at night after a few too many glasses of cab sav, they can fire off mean little diatribes.
The Trump Blame Game
To prepare you for such an eventuality and smooth your path to social success, I have set out the rules to the game. Drink should be taken of the alcoholic sort: the better to enable participants to vent their anti-Trump animus free of sober restraint.
Hopes for a New Pope
There are 1.4 billion of us Catholics and unlike the world’s Muslims, our doctrines, religious practices and moral priorities are theoretically decided by one man.
We Need an Political Alert System
Can’t we extend this principle and have the government give us warnings of potential catastrophes in other areas of life? The political realm, for example.
Some Economics for Dumb Guys
Tariffs are a way to punish foreigners for making money. And working way too hard. And being way too productive. And efficient. Nerds.
The NZ Green Policies Explained
Regrettably the Greens are very much here and closer to power than you think. We could wake up with Chloë Swarbrick as finance minister. So it will be a salutary move to hold our noses and delve into Green party policy to see just what could be in store for us.
The Power of Kindness
More exclusive excerpts from Jacinda Ardern’s upcoming memoir (part four).
Whom Should New Zealand Deport?
Which of our foreign-born population could we most do without? With more than a quarter of us born overseas, there are a lot to choose from.