My Dominion Post column today exposes the most insidious tactic in New Zealand's imported culture wars – accusation-in-a-mirror. While Winston Peters and allies directly transplant Britain's anti-transgender rhetoric into our politics, they simultaneously accuse others of importing "woke leftist" ideology. This propaganda technique – perfected by
I was 13 when I first encountered Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat major, Op. 106—the "Große Sonate für das Hammerklavier." It wasn't merely listening to music; it was a cognitive expansion, as if my consciousness had suddenly stretched to new dimensions.
Sunday 27 April 2025 Professor Jan Thomas Vice-Chancellor, Massey University Via email (cc: Dr Gerald Hamilton, Secretary Ethics Committee 3, Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research – Professor Jo Cuillane) Tēnā koe Professor Thomas, Re: Formal complaint regarding Dr Carol Hamilton's inappropriate public statements I am writing to express my grave concern
A Good Time to Repost This With this week’s revelations about incoming Chief Human Rights Commissioner Dr Stephen Rainbow—who described Muslim immigration as a “threat to Jewish communities”—now is a timely moment to revisit my judicial review challenge. The media release about it is below. Last November,
queer rights
I’ve published two new opinion pieces addressing how fear, bigotry, and bad law are being used to target queer and trans people in Aotearoa. In the New Zealand Herald, I argue that the vilification of Green MP Benjamin Doyle is not a scandal—it’s a moral panic. The
Christopher Hogwood remains a prominent figure in the world of historically informed performance practice, and his interpretation of Handel’s Messiah—specifically the Foundling Hospital Version—stands as a transformative moment for the work. This recording goes beyond simply playing the notes; it offers an experience that reshapes how we
Dr Parmjeet Parmar’s proposed Education and Training (Equal Treatment) Amendment Bill is not just legally flawed—it’s a fundamental misreading of Aotearoa’s human rights framework and constitutional principles. The bill, which seeks to prohibit tertiary institutions from conferring benefits “on the basis of race or ethnic origin,
The White House’s recently issued executive order, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, is a manifesto for racial pseudoscience. At its core is a sinister attempt to revive the long-discredited notion that race is a biological reality rather than a social construct. This is not about “truth” or
(This is the last article I will write about the FSU in general. They jumped the shark last week with their post on X about Dr Samantha Bailey. I will focus on promoting the universal human rights model going forward.) The debate over rights in Aotearoa is reaching a critical
It is well known, at least among those who know such things, that pianists can be divided into two categories: the Titans and the Mystics. The Titans approach the piano as one might approach a battleground, summoning forces of nature, shaking the very foundations of the earth with their roaring
Introduction: The Fight is Here Let's be unequivocally clear: Aotearoa is witnessing a calculated assault on fundamental human rights, orchestrated by a coalition government that treats legal safeguards and human dignity as inconvenient obstacles to its ideological agenda. The pretence that this nation remains a global leader in
Last year, in a submission to the Law Commission’s Ia Tangata project, I argued that Aotearoa was shifting from a human rights framework based on biological sex to one grounded in gender identity. At the time, I believed that this transition itself was the primary source of tension, particularly