In George Orwell’s dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, the tyrannical state develops an artificial language called Newspeak to align thought and action with the ideology of the Party. Its aim is to entrench the tyranny of the Party by making other modes of thought impossible. Read more

It is said that if something is not broken you should not try to fix it. Fair enough. Read more

Some of the most admired New Zealanders have achieved success getting high. Many have been addicted to it, and self-confessedly so. Read more

We are all familiar with nightmares. They can be terrifying. Read more

As you read this, our teachers’ unions are preparing for war. For the first time in history they are planning meetings of 60,000 teachers, nationwide, during school hours. Read more

In Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s 1818 classic, Victor Frankenstein claims to have created his monster for the betterment of humankind. Of course, Frankenstein’s undertaking proved more arrogant conceit than utopian undertaking. Read more

Thank goodness for Auckland City’s urban planners. Although the rest of us are unable to see past Auckland’s housing crisis, it is reassuring that they remain committed to a loftier vision. Read more

In New York City, a bottle placed on the curbside for recycling can find its way back into a convenience store, relabeled and refilled, within thirty days. In Auckland City, a bottle’s destiny is not so enduring. Read more

With regulations in Auckland controlling the minimum size of new apartments and requiring all newly built apartments to have balconies, is it time to move outside to the gardens? When more and more junk food is thrust upon us each day, it has never been so important for tenants and home owners alike to have access to fresh fruit and vegetables. Read more

Imagine if the New Zealand Rugby Union’s collective agreement with players mirrored the agreements negotiated by the teachers’ unions. The pay scale for teachers has all teachers starting on more or less the same salary, and stepping up in small increments over seven years or so to a fixed maximum. Read more

Can you remember back to a time when fizzy drinks weren’t maligned, but instead a rare treat? When you and your eagle-eyed siblings watched over the soda pouring ritual with great intent, studiously making sure the levels were equal, and that no one was preferred (by so much as a drop)? Read more

Chances are if you have had any discussions about migration in the past 12 months they have been about foreigners or Kiwis returning from Australia. But foreign migration is not the only cause of human traffic. Read more

Todd Treweek’s had a bad week. As the Herald reported on Wednesday, the Dunedin chef’s just been busted for his tenth parking offence. Read more

Everyone has heard a variant of the story of the student who goes to the guru in India to ask how long it will take to reach enlightenment. The guru says, “It often takes three or four years but, because you are working so hard at it, it will take 10.” There are lessons in this for the Labour Party. Read more

Talk to a teacher at a state school and most will tell you competition is a dirty word. When it comes to relationships between schools, cooperation rules. Read more