New Zealand Listener Issue 31, 2022

The Queen’s eventual passing will bring into sharp relief the question of whether New Zealand should become a republic. The head of state is the most important constitutional position in a Western democracy and embodies the “persona” of the nation in a way a politician never can. Queen Elizabeth II has done a brilliant job of representing the United Kingdom in her international activities. But she is absent from our national life and has not visited New Zealand in more than 20 years. Nor will “King Charles III” and his wife be the dynamic duo we need in these difficult times to promote New Zealand in our key markets. This is a key function of a head of state, which New Zealand is currently missing out on. At present, the Governor-General must fulfil…

WINNING CAPTION Margaret Cannon, Palmerston North FINALISTS Prince William, Duke of Cambridge: “Oh no, I forgot to remind Father he’s babysitting today.” – Brian Gore, Tauranga Caption: Duchess of Cambridge delighted to win the first four rounds of “I Spy”. – Bronwen Gunn, Levin PA announcement: “Would the owner of a Range Rover registration HUFRTD please move their vehicle from the main entrance.” – John Carstensen, Tauranga Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge: “Don’t worry, darling, no one will know it was me.” William: “Except, perhaps, the woman in front.” – Kate Highfield, Hastings Catherine: “Next tour’s New Zealand!” – Ann Love, Nelson Catherine: “Game, set, match, love. You get to open the old folks’ home in Hull.” – Vic Evans, Nelson 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 471” in…

Last year, with a day off from my anaesthesia work and free to roam, I reflected on the dire state of Wellington Hospital. I was so concerned that I contacted the office of the Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC). Space and staffing were causing daily compromises with patient care. Like many hospitals, it consistently runs near or over 100% occupancy in all beds, as well as ICU. There were 35 patients waiting in ED, including in corridors. Major surgeries were on hold or cancelled on the day, due to lack of capacity. Sometimes, there isn’t a ward bed for ICU patients, but they need to be pushed out early. These factors are dangerous, cruel and wasteful. Nurses were already stressed and increasingly burnt out. Wellington is not in any way unique in…

“History is a vast early warning system.”– Norman Cousins“Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space.”– Orson Scott Card“I want my 13-year-old to understand how important honesty is but also know that she is 12 when kids eat free.”– Seen on Twitter“That it will never come again is what makes life sweet.”– Emily Dickinson“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.”– Henry David Thoreau“Friendship is always a sweet responsibility, never an opportunity.”– Khalil Gibran“Austerity measures … will only lead to less money being spent in areas like health and education.”– Grant Robertson on the government’s approach to tackling inflation“Luck is a very thin wire between survival and disaster, and not many people can keep their balance on it.”– Hunter S. Thompson“The only love affair I…

1. For what main purpose were retail price tags invented in the late 19th Century? ❑ Simplify accounting❑ Eliminate haggling❑ Reduce shoplifting❑ Improve advertising 2. Which breed of dog is the character Scooby-Doo based on? ❑ Great Dane❑ Irish Wolfhound❑ German Shepherd❑ St Bernard 3. A new, giant species of what kind of plant was recently identified growing in London’s Kew Gardens? ❑ Venus flytrap❑ Monstera❑ Waterlily❑ Pitcher plant 4. In 1915, a woman named Mary Chubb asked her husband, Cecil, to purchase some curtains at an auction. What did he buy instead? ❑ Big Ben❑ Stonehenge❑ Tower of London❑ Canterbury Cathedral 5. Which German city was founded in 1938 to accommodate Volkswagen factory workers and their families? ❑ Berlin❑ Hamburg❑ Munich❑ Wolfsburg 6. Which actress is the voice of Marge, Patty and Selma in The Simpsons? ❑ Yeardley Smith❑ Julie…

The English summer is by tradition a gentle kind of season: mild, green and full of soft, cooling breezes and refreshing showers. Not this year, and certainly not today as I write. The mercury has just gone north of 40⁰C for the first time in these islands’ recorded history. The climate activist group Extinction Rebellion has stormed the offices of News UK, publisher of the Sun, in protest at its upbeat coverage of the heatwave. The grass in the parks is parched brown, like hay; Londoners have been advised to stay at home, and fires have broken out around the city’s edges. The air is so hot it’s sweat-inducing just to walk to the end of the street. Alas, there are very few places in which to find any respite. I was…