Society

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Yes, they're better for the environment. No, that's not a good enough reason for me to use them. 

Hear me out: You can shove your reusable period products

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Student advocates are calling for 'drastic measures' to force the university to take their concerns seriously.

Auckland uni students threaten rent strike over rising accommodation fees

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They pressured me to have children, and I had two. Now they won't lift a finger. 

Help Me Hera: My parents won’t help out with my kids

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A big lipped, dark eyed, slimy limp fish. A juicy, elongated orb with 16 little legs, four bouncing from its topside and a mouth pouting with stubby tentacles. A pale, ghost-like squid with maroon markings. Many new friends for you.

Introducing some of our 100 new sea friends

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This common respiratory virus hospitalises hundreds of New Zealand babies a year, but preventative drugs used overseas aren't funded here.

Why aren’t vulnerable babies being protected from RSV in Aotearoa?

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My most expensive clothing purchase in the last year? A $22 pack of Kmart undies.

The cost of being: A skint student waiting anxiously to start a new job

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Uncovering the strange and knotty past – and inadequate present – of a grassy hill that sits above Wellington CBD.

A flagpole, a failed space, and a confused history of white fragility

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Remakes are never as good as the originals, and that goes for plates too.

Briscoes’ new ‘retro’ collection looks awfully familiar

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Shortsightedness in kids is skyrocketing overseas. Is New Zealand next?

Staring down the ‘silent epidemic’ of myopia in children

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The legal and moral debate around New Zealand's best unofficial road rule.

Flashing your lights to warn other drivers of a speed camera – is it legal?

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For some people, I sound too Malaysian. For others, not Malaysian enough. 

The Sunday Essay: On code switching and finding my voice

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A commentator recently suggested laid-off public servants should move into frontline work. My response: I can't.

No, I can’t just get a frontline job

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Their relationship strikes me as unhealthy and it's making me angry. What should I do?

Help Me Hera: I set up two of my closest friends and bitterly regret it

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People in Gaza have been reusing single-use pads and using scraps of tent fabric as period products. Soon, 5,000 will receive a pack of period undies, a washing bag and drying bag.

A shipment of 20,000 period undies is heading to Gaza thanks to NZ enterprise

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Eyebrow wigs, oil spills, or Facebook Marketplace: where your cut hair ends up is anyone's guess. 

Do you know where your hair goes after it’s cut?

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Last week, Gymnastics New Zealand announced an overhaul of their competition attire rules. Now, let's make shorts the universal uniform.

Let everyone wear shorts for sports

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'I feel tight with everything at the moment, every dollar feels scrutinised. So boring.'

The cost of being: A single parent with dreams of building generational wealth

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It's been 50 years since ACC was founded, and thousands of disabled people are still waiting for the coverage they were promised.

Happy birthday, ACC. Now can we all join the party?

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Calculating the true cost of public transport with half-price fares ending this month.

Will tax cuts make up for the end of cheap public transport?

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I watch the surface of the Hauraki Gulf swarm with signs of life, but a struggle for survival is taking place underneath.

The Sunday Essay: Piercing the living waters

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The government's plan to get 50,000 people off jobseeker support by 2030 has had a rocky start.

20,000 more on jobseeker benefits than this time last year

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Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best? 

All of the Raglan Roast cafes in Wellington, ranked from worst to best

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A new novel set in Wellington is a narrative of grief, and an ode to beautiful food writing. 

A love letter to Wellington: when i open the shop by romesh dissanayake, reviewed

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The government has made it well known it expects departments to cut roles. We break down the numbers as they currently stand.

An updated tally of the public sector job cuts

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Of course I wind down my window at the lights to profess my love to the strangers in the black De Tomaso Pantera. And of course they accommodate me with amused grins.

Confessions of an unlikely petrolhead

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I was one of hundreds of people who lost my government job this week. Here's exactly how it played out.

What it’s like to be made redundant by the Ministry of Education

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Job cut proposals from the Ministry of Education and Oranga Tamariki added another 1000 roles to the public service job loss tally.

Over 3,000 public service jobs now proposed to go

Enough with the lifestyle tweaks and good intentions, or the ‘could be worse’ attitude. This is climate change, and we need serious action, now. 

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The Side Eye is a monthly non-fiction comic by Toby Morris, supported by NZ On Air. 

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Lifestyle tweaks and good intentions aren't enough. The events of the last few weeks are a reality check, and we need serious change now.

The Spinoff

SocietyFebruary 24, 2023

The Side Eye: A climate change reality check

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