Compiling the best reading of the week from your friendly local website.
Kristina Hard: In defence of Warriena Wright: an open letter to a slut-shaming newspaper columnist
“‘He had made his intentions clear before she set foot in his apartment. She was a willing accomplice‘
She was a willing accomplice in her plan for consensual sex, not in the tragic chain of events that led to her death. Warriena Wright was not the victim of her sexual appetite, she was the victim of a man who should have got her a glass of water and put her to bed; instead he locked her outside, 14 floors up.”
Laura Taylor: A personal plea for a permanent solution to the junior doctors’ dispute – our lives depend on it
“Last week we received notice that his surgery, booked for today, had been cancelled until further notice as post-operative care had been compromised due to the strike and lack of staff. Putting aside that we felt significantly shafted, we realised the surgeon wouldn’t make the call unless there was compelling risk. But more importantly, the doctors wouldn’t strike unless they were desperate for change. The “doctors diary” aired on TVNZ a few weeks back gives evidence of the utter exhaustion young docs endure and ultimately, that patients suffer from wrong calls.”
Duncan Greive: On the Lash with Gilda Kirkpatrick, the realest Housewife of them all
“‘It’s like this: you’re sitting talking to somebody. And all of a sudden that person smacks you in the face. And you’re like ‘what the hell? What did you just do?’ And if the person says they did it because they have a condition, or because they’re nervous – something – then you kind of think ‘OK, I get where you’re coming from’. But if that person says ‘you can take it, it wasn’t that bad’. Then shit really hits the fan.'”
Natasha Johnson: ‘I fear for the future of my family’: A mother of mixed-raced children on why she’s worried about raising them in New Zealand
“I laughed alongside my friends, walking through university campus, who would say ‘Fuck those Indians are everywhere… Oops I forget you’re Indian sometimes, but you know what I mean eh?’
No, I do not know what you mean. Could you explain what you mean by that most ridiculous nonsense comment? And why the hell do I call you a friend? I know there are heaps of Indians at this university – fuck them for wanting to get a tertiary education, right? Fuck them for wanting to get a job and eventually be part of the workforce that contributes to this society – how awful for you that they’re everywhere!”
Duncan Greive: Animals is the best New Zealand TV pilot in years. So why didn’t it get commissioned?
“It’s not perfect and not for everyone. Defenders of the current model and the vast sums expended on Dirty Laundry, currently dying softly on Wednesday nights, will say that a show like Animals is too niche, only relevant to a tiny elitist audience. They might be right – but the ratings of our mega-budget dramas suggest that by trying to go broad and make shows for everyone we end up making them for no one in particular. And that we could and should be making a dozen Animals instead of one big budget flop.”
Toby Manhire: Hillary v Donald from Vegas in five minutes: the third US presidential debate digested
“Wallace: Abortion.
Trump: I am pro-life. We’ll see Roe v Wade get overturned. Sniff. Then back to the states.
Clinton: I support Roe v Wade. I support women. I have met many women.
Trump: If you go with what Hillary’s saying you can rip the baby out of the womb just prior to the birth. That OK? Not OK with me. Rip the baby out, rip it out, on the final day.
Clinton: It doesn’t happen like that. That’s terribly unfortunate. I’ve met a lot of women.”
Toby Manhire: ‘Digging the hole and filling it up forever’: the search for a fix to the homeless crisis
“It’s interesting to see the different groups – yourselves, the City Mission and others –working together. Is that something that happens much?
I think it’s emerging more and more, as we hear from people using our services that actually it would be helpful for them if it was very clear this is what Lifewise does, this is what City Mission does, this is what we do together, if we have a kind of one-door approach. Because otherwise people, as well as just existing without secure housing have to negotiate their way through organisations then that’s just time-wasting and irritating for people. So increasingly we are working together and it’s working out well.”
Donna Eden: A teacher tells you what you need to know about bulk funding
“Well, it will mean bigger classes and fewer teachers. It will mean our kids have less time with their teacher because instead of sharing him or her with 15 other children there will be 30 or more classmates needing the attention of their kaiako. It will mean less support for the kids that need it. It will mean fewer teacher aides for fewer hours.
It will likely mean untrained teachers in the classroom because they will be cheaper to pay.”
Janie Cameron: That obnoxious drunk-driver mayoral candidate? He’s also an Islamophobic, antisemitic trustafarian
“He described himself as ‘absolutely’ anti-Muslim and anti-Jew. (He used the word ‘absolutely’ a lot).
‘Possibly more anti-Jew than anti-Muslim I think.’
Holland’s immigration policy came in the form of the wall he wanted to build, which he said would solve Auckland’s housing crisis.
‘If they’re from Syria, they just can’t live in Auckland … We don’t know who they are – they could just be anti-democracy, anti-west, you know?'”
Hayden Donnell: Tentative ceasefire declared in blood-soaked War for Auckland
“Penny Hulse retained her stranglehold on the lands and territories west of Mt Albert. Bill Cashmore beat his arch-rival “no-one” to win in Franklin. And Phil Goff defeated his arch-rival Chlöe Swarbrick to become mayor. He should rule with at least a 13-8 margin in most big votes.
Does all this mean we should stand on top of Mt Eden shouting “Auckland is ours!”
The answer is yes.
Does it mean Auckland is fixed?
Unfortunately not.”