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 →If we are lucky enough to live comfortably, why wouldn’t we share some of what we have? Two key ways of sharing financial resources are through philanthropy and taxation, and I frequently blog about philanthropy, but this time let’s talk about tax. Personally I see tax as a good thing, and I am willing to…
Continue reading →Ending Homelessness – we thought it couldn’t be done. Then along came COVID-19, and, thanks to a significant collaborative effort, a large proportion of the homeless population had some kind of roof over their head at last. It wasn’t perfect, and it isn’t a permanent solution, but it happened. So how do we build from…
Continue reading →How can we best respond to online racism and hate? Social media is the “new village square,” and is increasingly the place where everyday racism is amplified. In extreme cases, it is also where white-supremacist-leaning people are radicalised and turn to violence, as we saw with the horrific murders of 51 people in Christchurch mosques…
Continue reading →The Philanthropy Summit, held in Wellington from May 15 – 17 and created by Philanthropy New Zealand, was one of the best learning opportunities I have had in a long time. Here are the top four things I learned: There is a curious and delightful parallel between dental health and a racism-free world. One of…
Continue reading →Weird story number 1: Last week I was in Los Angeles visiting family. Walking back from the beach there was a strong smell of burning plastic – on the steps of the overbridge was a young couple, apparently homeless, trying to barbecue pig trotters inside a plastic-coated supermarket trolley. I considered pointing out the carcinogenic…
Continue reading →When someone, particularly a politician, does something wrong, why is it that we sometimes judge their actions harshly, and sometimes leniently? It seems to me that passing judgement implicitly involves considering questions like “is the action legal?”, “is the action socially acceptable?” and “is the action fair and morally justifiable?” And then we overlay an…
Continue reading →On International Women’s Day I spoke on a panel with Dame Susan Devoy and Melissa Clark-Reynolds on the topic “being the best we can be” at a function hosted by Kapiti Chamber of Commerce and Kapiti Rotary . Here is my speech: Ki ngā maunga, ngā awa, me ngā tāngata whenua hoki o te rohe…
Continue reading →If you are eligible to vote in the US elections, please vote for Hillary Clinton on Tuesday – because the stability of the whole world may depend on it. I don’t usually make party-political statements, not in my own country of New Zealand nor globally, however, like many non-Americans, I am feeling worried and somewhat…
Continue reading →Where does philanthropy end and dirty self-promotion begin? This was the question posed at the recent and fabulous Auckland Writer’s Festival to British philosopher Julian Baggini, economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan and me by Radio NZ presenter Wallace Chapman. Here’s how we answered this question – plus a few other key points: Philanthropy ends when…
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