The Spinoff

2 days ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Catherine McGregor

The government says its review will help the tribunal navigate the coming decades. Critics say it’s an ideological attack in disguise, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. A half-century check-up…The Waitangi Tribunal is undergoing its first-ever formal review, nearly 50 years after the body was established.

3 days ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Anna Rawhiti-Connell

It’s angry, powerful and shocking, but any reaction to its use is steeped in gender politics. Earlier this year, education minister Erica Stanford allegedly called Labour’s Jan Tinetti a “stupid bitch” in parliament. She apologised, but for a few days after, chat among many women I know focused on why “stupid bitch” has such a nasty sting to it and whether that sting is sharper when it’s a woman saying it about another woman.

3 days ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Anna Rawhiti-Connell

The audacious art of Kalisolaite ‘Uhila’s Mohe. When was the last time you watched someone sleep? I peeked into my niece’s room to check if she was breathing while babysitting last weekend, but I didn’t stay or look at her for long. Occasionally, I stare at my husband sleeping, hoping the intensity will wake him up. He is so unnerved by the green eyes staring at him when he does wake that I reserve this practice for boredom emergencies only.

3 days ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Catherine McGregor

Nationwide protests and a wave of critical commentary have followed the government’s sudden overhaul of pay equity legislation, writes Catherine McGregor in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. Anger spills into the streetsHundreds of people turned out across the country on Friday, and again on Saturday, to protest the government’s fast-tracked changes to pay equity laws.

3 days ago | thespinoff.co.nz | Shanti Mathias

Floods in Christchurch and Banks Peninsula earlier this month closed roads and damaged businesses. Shanti Mathias explores how local authorities have been preparing for extreme weather events, and whether it made any difference. Between April 30 and May 1, Christchurch had its fourth-heaviest day of rainfall on record. More than 140mm fell over three days in unrelenting grey sheets. In the city’s rivers, the water started to rise.