North & South October 2021
North & South is New Zealand’s premier monthly current affairs and lifestyle magazine, specialising in long-form investigative journalism, delivered by award-winning writers and photographers. North & South also showcases New Zealand ingenuity and creativity, explores the country and profiles its people. It is a touchstone of New Zealand life.
in this issue
from the editor
I’m writing this as Auckland is still in lockdown, sitting outside with my laptop on a sunny day and waiting for the daily Covid briefing. I’ve been struck all over again by the impressive level of public commnication: the simple fact that the government remains a daily, trusted source of information is something of a marvel to many of those who have spent the pandemic elsewhere. But I’ve also been struck by how different the government’s communication strategy for vaccinations has been. Compared to the lockdown briefings, where officials frequently share details of difficulties encountered and adjustments made along the way, our vaccination rollout has been noticeably less transparent. At the outset, the government’s publicly stated rationale for taking our time with vaccinations made sense: since we had no community transmission, we…
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reader letter winner
This month’s best letter wins an Everyday Essentials skincare set worth $91.95 from ManukaRx, plus a $100 gift card to spend on their collection of skin-loving, natural, New Zealand made products. ManukaRx is a sustainable, kiwi company with a firm philosophy focusing on skin health, not cosmetics, resulting in high-quality health products backed by science and the power of nature. The Everyday Essentials set comes packed with their bestselling mānuka oil skincare. Formulated with the unmatched antibacterial power of East Cape mānuka oil, these must-have products provide the perfect gift for treating your, or a loved one’s, skin. Products include 1x Extra Gentle Cleansing Soap, 1x Skin Rescue Ointment, 1x Hand Sanitiser (Alcohol Free), 1x Mānuka Lip Balm, and a Hydrating Hand Cream. Visit manukarx.co.nz to browse their full collection.…
letter of the month
How the Housing Crisis Happened This article (“The Great Divide”, by Rebecca Macfie, September 2021) is a truly stunning piece of research, reporting and writing. Rebecca has encapsulated the whole issue, not just the whinges of certain factions about what they cannot get, or greed of those who have more than enough. I am one of the seniors Rebecca is talking about. After being married young with two children, up came the bootstraps and I started in awful jobs working around the kids. On divorce and knowing I had a brain, I took myself off to varsity. Two student loans later and with grown kids, I had a Master’s degree. Now, looking to downsize my house, I am trapped. I will not get one of anything like the calibre of what I have,…
featured contributors
Madeleine Chapman In this month’s cover story, Madeleine balances the cultural and economic gains of New Zealand’s heavily subsidised film industry against the costs of those subsidies, which run into the hundreds of millions of dollars. This is Madeleine’s final cover for North & South, and we wish her a very fond farewell as well as a load of good luck — she is now the co-editor of online culture magazine The Spinoff, alongside Alex Casey. Having a mid-afternoon kip is not unheard of for Mad, so we hope the Spinoff offices have nice comfy couches. Dede Putra This month’s cover is intended to be reminiscent of a movie poster, and Dede’s clean, realistic but stylised illustrations evoked the mood we wanted perfectly. This is not Dede’s first time working within the world…
four corners
WELLINGTON The Great Walks Conspiracy Some people thought it was bots. Others said the system favoured large companies. And then there was the guy who wrote an email saying the Russian mafia must have had a hand in him not getting a booking for the Milford Track. Demand for New Zealand’s Great Walks has spiked in recent years. Much like places in MIQ, beds in huts on the most popular walks have become a hot commodity. When booking opened in June for the 2021–22 season, thousands got on their computers at the same time. Some who were left empty-handed got angry. They claimed the booking system was skewed. Was it? The man who handles the Department of Conservation’s system is an affable 55-year-old named Ross Shearer. Asked to explain, he goes back to 2012…
