Should Dunedin Impose Higher Flatting Standards?

Posted 3:50pm Sunday 4th August 2013

Aaron HawkinsEveryone deserves to live with dignity in a warm and healthy home. For the tens of thousands of Dunedin people living in flats, from students in the north end to families in the south, this means putting together minimum standards for rentals across the city. This will save tenants Read more...

Saying No to the GCSB and TICS | Opinion

Posted 3:50pm Sunday 4th August 2013

As a member of a party that has offered its support to a Government that wishes to expand the surveillance powers of intelligence agencies, I am often asked a very obvious question: do I support the GCSB or TICS Bills? No, I don’t. I’m not an expert, either, in the fields that these bills Read more...

Rebooting the Politics of Poverty | Opinion

Posted 4:45pm Sunday 28th July 2013

Having been on the left, and now being on what I call the liberal right, I have detected a deficiency in the way poverty is addressed. Poverty is, of course, a broad problem, and it is obvious then that the issue of where to start is possibly the most intimidating part. But for the sake of getting Read more...

VSM: A New, Stronger OUSA | Opinion

Posted 3:59pm Sunday 21st July 2013

Critic editor Sam McChesney refreshes some fond memories of mine in his editorial of 15 July. It was about that old political hatchet of yesteryear: Voluntary Student Membership. His “where are they now” analysis of students’ associations since VSM reminds me that a lot was left unsaid, or at least Read more...

A Labour of Equality | Opinion

Posted 8:23pm Sunday 14th July 2013

The Labour Party wants the option of banning men from standing in certain electorates – a bizarre stunt to give life to the wearied governing parties. What becomes obvious, sadly, is that Labour is not so sure what equality is, or what is actually more important. It also gives me a reason to Read more...

Liberty: How to Spot the Fakers

Posted 6:05pm Sunday 7th July 2013

I love liberty. And we all enjoy the benefits of it. As it turns out, whether or not you have a job you can still pay for all the basics even if you do find yourself struggling. And because of liberty, life is more than what you can do from your wallet: in New Zealand you have the freedom to be Read more...