
Mowing the lawn: the colonial ghosts haunting our suburban ritual
In this extract from his newly published essay collection, the author traces the imperial British origins of a quintessential Kiwi chore.
Independent Analysis and Reportage

In this extract from his newly published essay collection, the author traces the imperial British origins of a quintessential Kiwi chore.

By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk The French National Assembly has voted to allow “native” voters to take part in New Caledonia’s local provincial elections scheduled for next month. However, the French parliament’s Lower House also refused to include their “spouses”, just like the Senate did two days earlier. Amid debates in

Research shows the most effective leaders are good listeners and aware of their own biases. Above all, people must believe they are ‘one of us’.
Source: Radio New Zealand Census data between 2018 and 2023 period showed a 37 percent increase of people living without shelter in Aotearoa New Zealand. RNZ / Nick Monro The move-on orders legislation has passed its first reading, following a heated debate at Parliament. Around 80 people were sat in the public gallery to watch…
Source: Radio New Zealand Central Hawke’s Bay mayor Will Foley and Hastings mayor Wendy Schollum will be meeting with McCain representatives to discuss the reasons for the company’s closure. LDR Hawke’s Bay mayors have written to McCain asking the international company to pause its closure of the Hastings processing plant. More than 100 growers are…
Source: Radio New Zealand New Zealand First’s Winston Peters and ACT’s David Seymour. RNZ Analysis – Much like every other political party in Parliament, New Zealand First isn’t really planning to use taxpayer money to buy back BNZ. The idea is a bold and bizarre one given the potential price tag of anywhere between $7…
Source: Radio New Zealand Auckland FC coach Steve Corica. Shane Wenzlick / Photosport.nz Steve Corica has won the biggest prize in the A-League five times before and should he do it a sixth time it will be a piece of history that brings his journey in the competition full circle. The Auckland FC coach has…
Source: Radio New Zealand Heart of the City chief executive Viv Beck Supplied/ Heart of the City Auckland’s Heart of the City has been ordered by the Employment Relations Authority to reinstate chief executive Viv Beck on an interim basis. Heart of the City (HOTC) represents more than 15,000 businesses in Auckland’s CBD and receives…
Source: Radio New Zealand Labour leader Chris Hipkins. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The opposition says the government’s social housing shake-up is “cruel” and will lead to more evictions of public housing tenants who will be “driven deeper into poverty”. But the finance minister has defended the move, saying it’s about fixing an unfairness where those…
Source: Radio New Zealand A My Food Bag box. RNZ Meal-kit company My Food Bag has posted higher full-year profit and revenue as it focused on operational delivery and paying down debt. Key numbers for the year ended March compared with a year ago: Net profit $6.7million vs $6.3m Revenue $170.2m vs $162.1m Underlying profit…
Source: Radio New Zealand Wayne Brown. NZME Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown is considering coming to the rescue of Kaitāia’s beleaguered timber mills – but in his capacity as a private businessman. The Japanese company that owns the two mills, Juken NZ, has said it will close them down, with the loss of about 200 jobs,…
Source: Radio New Zealand CFOTO via AFP Nvidia, the world’s largest listed company and a critical bellwether on the health of the AI sector, posted record first-quarter earnings on Thursday of more than NZ$136 billion. That’s up 85 percent on a year ago, with forecasts for the next quarter of over NZ$153 billion. The world’s…