Two New Opinion Pieces: Moral Panics, Legal Fabrications, and the Politics of Dehumanisation
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 attacks are fuelled by anonymous inquisitors, media amplification, and anti-LGBTQIA+ rhetoric. Doyle has done nothing wrong. What we’re witnessing is a politically motivated campaign to paint queer people as inherently suspicious.
In The Spinoff, I examine NZ First’s push to adopt the UK’s regressive definition of “woman” into New Zealand law. It’s legally incoherent, rooted in essentialism, and erases trans people by design. We already have a robust legal framework in place to protect rights—this proposed change would undermine it.
These attacks—legal, rhetorical, cultural—are connected. And they must be confronted with clarity, principle, and courage.
