Murdoch Stephens

Guest writer

Murdoch Stephens is the editor of publishing collective Lawrence & Gibson. He has a PhD on critical theory and climate change from Massey University, and was the driving force behind the double the refugee quota campaign, which is now government policy. Murdoch was born in Balclutha in 1981.

The author, way back in the mists of time (Photo: Supplied; Design: Archi Banal)

Reads like teen spirit: Murdoch Stephens introduces his new novel

The story of a novel written in the long shadow of Sprigs.

By Murdoch Stephens | 7th June, 2022

Murdoch Stephens with his novel Rat King Landlord (Photo: Hannah Beattie)

Meros is dead. Long live Murdoch

I had a damned good time, says the satirist formerly known as Richard Meros.

By Murdoch Stephens | 14th July, 2020

An Amnesty International demonstration outside the Beehive, 2015

A short history of New Zealand’s racist refugee policy

By Murdoch Stephens | 28th May, 2019

Jacinda Ardern, Marama Davidson, and Grant Robertson pledge support for doubling the refugee quota

The Monday Extract: how to get the refugee quota increased

Murdoch Stevens details how to use and get around the Zuckerberg Empire in his attempts to spread public awareness about increasing the quota of refugees into New Zealand.

By Murdoch Stephens | 3rd September, 2018

Crosses mark murdered farmers in Ysterberg., South Africa. Photo: GULSHAN KHAN/AFP/Getty Images

Why New Zealand can’t accept South African farmers in the refugee quota

The new government needs to roll back a policy that stops Africans claiming refugee status – and undermines the human rights at the foundation of our refugee policy, argues Murdoch Stephens.

By Murdoch Stephens | 22nd May, 2018

Press shot: Lucy Li

Go, Brannavan, go: The novelist from Naenae nominated for an Ockham award

Murdoch Stephens from the anarchist publishing firm Lawrence & Gibson,on working with Brannavan Gnanalingam, a finalist in tonight's Ockham New Zealand national book awards.

By Murdoch Stephens | 15th May, 2018

How to listen to Mount Eerie, the saddest musician in the world

How to listen to Mount Eerie, the saddest musician in the world

Murdoch Stephens saw Mount Eerie play in Krakow, visited Auschwitz, and wrote about how to listen to songs of unimaginable tragedy.

By Murdoch Stephens | 15th January, 2018

Is our refugee quota really all that bad? Yup, it’s Trump-level bad

Is our refugee quota really all that bad? Yup, it’s Trump-level bad

When you crunch the numbers, the feebleness of NZ’s intake becomes shamefully clear, argues Murdoch Stephens, head of the campaign to double the quota

By Murdoch Stephens | 12th May, 2017

A Syrian Kurdish woman wait with her daughter near the Syria/Turkey border on October 2, 2014. (BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

The situation in Syria is bleaker than ever. Here’s what you can do to help

Yesterday's horrific chemical bombing in northern Syria left up to 100 people dead, many of them children. With no end to the brutal six-year war in sight, it's easy to despair. But don't give up, says Murdoch Stephens – there are steps you can take right now to help those in desperate need.

By Murdoch Stephens | 5th April, 2017

Demonstrators block traffic at the San Francisco Airport international arrival terminal as they protest against the Muslim immigration ban on January 28, 2017. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday that suspends entry of all refugees for 120 days, indefinitely suspends the entries of all Syrian refugees, as well as barring entries from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering for 90 days. (Photo by Stephen Lam/Getty Images)

Trump’s refugee ban is a moral outrage that shames America. When will PM Bill English say so?

The US President's executive order banning all immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries has drawn global condemnation. Now, more than ever, it's time for New Zealand to step up and do what's right for refugees, says Murdoch Stephens.

By Murdoch Stephens | 29th January, 2017