I am out walking with our dog Sasha. “Kia ora!” I say cheerily to a woman approaching me. She notices me with a slight double-take, removes her ear buds. “Sorry – what was that?’ she asks. “Um – just hello – lovely day” I say lamely. “Oh. Hi” she says, reinserting the ear buds. “Sorry…
Continue reading →Many if not most of us tangata Tiriti understand that Te Tiriti o Waitangi is our founding document which provides aframework for us all to belong here – see why Te Tiriti is important to me here. And, many if not most of us tangata Tiriti are also unhappy about the many backward steps currently…
Continue reading →Have you read “Thunder”, the glorious, bitter-sweet short story by acclaimed author Patricia Grace? If not, make yourself a cuppa and click the link above to have a read – it will take less than 10 minutes. Then come back for a discussion about what this story tells us about the bubbles we live in,…
Continue reading →Last year I signed this Open Letter on Tax, calling for wealthy people to be taxed more. But this year, instead of paying more tax, rich and middle income people will be paying less. For me, my tax cut will buy me four or five loaves of bread per week. I don’t want or need…
Continue reading →If we are donating money, whether it is $5 or $5 million, whether as individuals or foundations, we all need to answer the same, deceptively simple question. Which is this: “where should we give our money?” Common responses include funding causes which have affected us personally, funding on an ad hoc basis to those who…
Continue reading →Recently a group of us had the privilege of seeing mana motuhake [Māori self determination] first hand. And it was beautiful. Let’s start with this term “mana motuhake” – what does it really mean? Te Aka online dictionary defines it as “separate identity, autonomy, self-government, self-determination, independence, sovereignty, authority – mana through self-determination and control…
Continue reading →Aotearoa New Zealand’s founding document, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, (also referred to as the Treaty of Waitangi), is a hot topic currently. Te Tiriti is very important to me as a Pākehā New Zealander, and here, in seven sentences, is why. Te Tiriti is the agreement signed in 1840 which sets out a peaceful relationship…
Continue reading →Here are some reflections prompted by the Philanthropy NZ conference earlier this month: 1. Positive change is normal and happens all the time: When I was growing up, way back in the 1970s, these things were true: Smoking was everywhere, even in planes and restaurants. Children were regularly smacked, strapped and caned in homes and…
Continue reading →“What is the crucial work we must be doing as Pākehā to be part of Te Tiriti justice and decolonisation?” That was the question posed to 14 of us who were invited by the wonderful Emily Beausoleil to contribute to this year’s Joan Cook Memorial Essay, an annual offering set up in memory of Treaty…
Continue reading →I’m in a Wellington cafe, at a coffee meeting with a colleague from Ngāti Kahungunu. We are both born in Hastings, so that is a nice start. Then after a while he says, “Actually, I am not really from Hastings, I am from Flaxmere.” And I say, “Actually I am not really from Hastings either,…
Continue reading →