Yesterday, I had a picnic lunch with a friend. We’d picked up a couple of spinach and feta borek on Karangahape Road in Auckland and walked a short way to a table in nearby Western Park. It was a warm sunny day, and we chatted away and laughed in the…

What the west needs to do now Putin has invaded Ukraine As if the world didn’t have enough to deal with, we now have a war going on in Ukraine. I’m sure like many people, I hoped that the buildup of Russian forces on the border with Ukraine was just posturing by that thug in the Kremlin, but one thing we…

The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill is a proposed New Zealand law that if passed will ban conversion practices that seek to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. This week, the bill passed its second reading, which means that it can now go back…

I’ve been talking to some liberal, Labour voting friends in the past few days, and it seems we are all fed up. Fed up with three months of lockdown, and it seems fed up with our government. What a difference from this time last year. The Labour Party under PM…

Today, I tried to finish an opinion piece on how New Year can be a time for contemplating our lives and perhaps setting new goals. I’m not talking about the notion of ‘resolutions’ or even a bucket list, but how an honest reflection on our personal values and what is…

The other day I was talking with a friend of mine about the UK roll-out of a vaccine for Covid-19. We both agreed it was wonderful news but she expressed some concern about taking it herself, if and when, it becomes available in New Zealand. She said she’s definitely not…

I don’t mind admitting that I’m an emotional chap and I often react to things in a visceral way — sometimes positively and sometimes negatively. Over the years, I’ve developed enough patience to not always outwardly react to things, but internally, I can often be a seething mass of emotion…

Yesterday, two headlines caught my eye as I scanned the news. The first was about Playboy Mexico putting a transgender model on the cover for the first time in its history. It’s a stunning picture and Victoria Volkova looks beautiful and powerful. On Instagram the magazine stated “Playboy Mexico is…

After four years of the Trump Show, I honestly expected a Biden landslide, but on election night that wasn’t to be. Of course, there are still millions of votes yet to be counted so at this stage the result hangs in the balance. This morning (New Zealand time) Biden has…