New Zealand Listener Issue 20, 2022

Farewelling a loved one is tough at the best of times. But during level 4 Covid lockdowns, farewells were made immeasurably tougher when funerals for an estimated 5000 New Zealanders were taken away from their loved ones. The profound grief, uncertainty and, at times, outrage this caused has been captured brilliantly in Sarah Catherall’s “Mourning from afar” article in this issue. But there’s another roughly 5000 Kiwi families who each year also miss out or have severely restricted farewell choices. This is the average number who receive a Work and Income Funeral Grant. This hardship grant is available to very low-income New Zealanders. It is asset tested and granted on behalf of the deceased. Excluding consumer price index adjustments, it has not been increased since 2003. This has led to a significant…

WINNING CAPTION Dean Donoghue, Papamoa Beach FINALISTS Kiwi: “Mum told us there would be lots of blokes looking for birds.” – Brian Farrant, Blenheim Jacinda Ardern: “I hope you kiwis only have the OE variant!” – Paul Kelly, Palmerston North Ardern: “Again, this is absolutely my fancy dress.” – Philip Lynch, Upper Hutt Ardern: “I chose to come as a kiwifruit.” – Mike Lynch, Upper Hutt Caption: Jacinda Ardern admires new Air NZ cabin crew outfits. – Robert Morey, Dunedin Ardern: “So were you the pilot or cabin crew”? – Alan Belcher, Christchurch Caption Competition {listenercaption@aremedia.co.nz} TO ENTER Send your captions for the photo at right to listenercaption@aremedia.co.nz, with “Caption Competition No 460” in the subject line. Alternatively, entries can be posted to “Caption Competition No 460”, NZ Listener, PO Box 52122, Kingsland, Auckland 1352. Entries must be received by noon, Tuesday, May…

Professor Innes Asher’s picture of families too close to the breadline to save themselves from falling further into the chasm of poverty (Upfront, May 7) is yet another reminder of the poverty so many children experience. She concludes with the words, “Our children are waiting.” But the reality is children can’t wait because childhood doesn’t wait. Children have, let’s say, 15-18 years in which to grow, either to flourish or be scarred for the remainder of their lives. Every single year matters for every single child. We, the adults in charge, have control over the quality of childhood. Some progress has been made for some children in poverty over the past couple of years, but why are we still failing to face reality and enable all parents to provide good permanent homes,…

“No love stronger than a dad and the pet he vowed he didn’t want.”– Heard in the Are Media offices“Everything that happens on Twitter from now on is up to him. And also whatever strain his weed guy gives him that day.”– Trevor Noah on Elon Musk’s Twitter purchase“There’s a great power in words, if you don’t hitch too many of them together.”– Josh Billings“My mom has a podcast but you can only hear it if you have the password to my voicemail.”– Seen on Twitter“We cannot help but be interested in the stories of people that history pushes aside so thoughtlessly.”– Min Jin Lee, Pachinko“Comedy doesn’t change the world, but it’s a bellwether. We’re the banana peel in the coal mine.”– Jon Stewart, on receiving the Mark Twain Prize…

1. When are domestic cats generally most active? ❑ Only after sunrise❑ Late at night❑ Dawn and dusk❑ Only after sunset 2. Which of these musicians never hit the US top 40 singles chart in their lifetime? ❑ Jim Morrison❑ Bob Marley❑ Janis Joplin❑ Jimi Hendrix 3. Which of these is NOT one of the three parts of Dante Alighieri’s narrative poem Divine Comedy? ❑ Paradiso❑ Inferno❑ Purgatorio❑ Diablo 4. True or false? Commercial popcorn is made from a different variety of corn to sweet corn. ❑ True❑ False 5. What is an imprimatur? ❑ Government clerk❑ Bookshelf ladder❑ Official sanction❑ Early copying machine 6. Which of these TV sitcoms was NOT a spin-off from the series Happy Days? ❑ The Facts of Life❑ Laverne & Shirley❑ Joanie Loves Chachi❑ Mork & Mindy 7. Which of these historical figures has a tomb…

After this war in Europe, nothing will be the same. That was the message from Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Union’s decision-making body, after she held a video conference with China’s President Xi Jinping last month. The Europeans were trying to convince China that supporting Russia in its two-and-a-half-month-old invasion of Ukraine was a bad idea. Despite the EU being China’s biggest trading partner – the two did €586 billion worth of business last year – it’s unclear whether Beijing will see it Brussels’ way. Gradually, many Europeans are coming to see the Ukraine war as the beginning of a new kind of ideological battle, a global fight between democracy and autocracy. So what they want to know is this: whose side are the Chinese really on? The Germans don’t…