Is New Zealand about to return to the world stage?
After six years of Labour party rule in New Zealand, the country’s foreign policy brings to mind the line about…
Are rock music critics extinct?
We used to be able to tell you what was worth listening to
Has New Zealand found the key to the UK’s housing crisis?
It may be difficult to imagine a housing crisis more dismal than the one Britain is experiencing right now, but…
New Zealand has much to learn from the treatment of Posie Parker
A promotional clip for New Zealand uploaded to social media the other day looked like the usual decorous fare churned…
Kiwi life
To be an award-winning commentator, the late Alexander Cockburn held, you really need to have a bit of a thing…
Rock of ages
Rock dinosaurs wake up to woke with a religious zeal
New Zealand’s PM is a welcome change from Jacinda Ardern
Chris Hipkins can afford to feel pleased with his first days in office as Prime Minister of New Zealand. In…
Jacinda Ardern’s tattered legacy
Wellington, New Zealand Jacinda Ardern has announced she will be stepping down as the prime minister of New Zealand, saying…
Do the coloured girls still go ‘Doo, doo-doo’?
Remembering the moment rock was transformed
Why does this university want to bin Queen Victoria?
Spare a thought for New Zealand’s Victoria university. For years now, this Kiwi institution of higher learning has been pulling…
Aussie Life
‘Give it up for the band!’ cried Van Morrison from the stage at King John’s castle in Limerick the other…
New Zealand's Maori language obsession is baffling Kiwis
New Zealand’s borders have finally reopened after a two-year Covid shutdown. But those who travel down under are in for…
Hope I die – but not before I get really, really old
Rock dinosaurs still not knockin’ on heaven’s door
How New Zealand's zero Covid strategy fell apart
The biggest thing in the political rock world returns to the international stage this spring with a one-off appearance at…
Could New Zealand's property bubble bring down Jacinda Ardern?
The news this week that the price of an average UK home has hit £260,000 came as a bit of…
Last laugh
Vale PJ
In Fortress New Zealand, faith in Saint Jacinda is starting to fade
Faith in ‘Saint Jacinda’ is starting to fade
Kiwi life
Of the making of many books, the Bible says, ‘there is no end’. It’s starting to feel a bit like…
Kiwi Life
Lorde vs Lana People who live in glass houses really shouldn’t get changed with the lights on. Doubly so, one…
Imagine no ‘Imagine’ (I wonder if you can?)
It’s nearly 50 years since the world’s greatest ‘woke’ anthem was released. But who’s listening to it now?
180,000 people go missing every year in Britain – my father was one of them
What happens to a family when a parent disappears?
Jive talkin’
Now the Isle of Man is claiming the Bee Gees? How dare they!
Kiwi Life
One of my goals over the coming months is to watch an entire rugby game for the first time in…
Kiwi Life
Of the various little stories about the rather wonderful Joni Mitchell in her early years, my favourite concerns Leonard Cohen.…
You’re gonna make us lonesome when you go
It’s Dylan’s 80th birthday
