Justice | Issue 22

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J U S T I C E vol.77 issue.22

the justice issue

I S

B L I N D

editor@salient.org.nz

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contents weekly content 4. Letters 6. News 3 0 . C r e at i v e 36. VUWSA 39. Arts 45. Odds & Ends

features 18. Barred Ballots 2 2 . ( I f ) Th e y D i d I t 26. An Interview with the Chief Justice

columns 14. Sports Banter 15. Bone Zone with Cupie Hoodwink 1 6 . R a m b l i n g s o f a Fa l l e n H a c k 3 3 . We i r d I n t e r n e t S h i t 33. Conspiracy Corner 34. Food 3 5 . B e i n g We l l 3 5 . M Ä o r i M at t e r s 3 7 . H i s t o r y Th a t H a s n ’ t H a p p e n e d Y e t 37. Shirt & Sweet with Eleanor Merton

online content w w w. s a l i e n t . o r g . n z

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53 per cent of all crime is committed by 17–29-year-olds. 88 per cent of youth offenders will be reconvicted in five years. That’s fucked.

C

rime is one of those things that we don’t think about that much, until it happens to us. Then we think about it a lot. Crime strikes at the heart of your ability to live your life in the way you want.

Feeling safe is key; it’s something you only notice when you don’t have it. It’s an issue that is deeply personal and emotional, and people rightly have very strong views on it.

Unfortunately, the debate is too often dominated by two opposite sides. They’re both so emotionally invested in the issue that solutions which work are drowned out.

The reality is there is truth on both sides.

We don’t want to live in a world with a policeman on every corner, but we also don’t want to live in

a world where no one answers when you dial 111. Some crimes could be treated as a health issue and have no sentence attached; some particularly grievous crimes could have harsher minimum sentences. A ‘criminal’ who murdered someone is completely different to a ‘criminal’ who stole bread to survive.

There’s a disconnect between how we view crime and the reality of it. If you ask most people if there should be harsher punishments for criminals, they might say yes. Then they’d complain if we sent them to prison for speeding.

Say the word ‘drug dealer’, and people think of a shady Māori guy wearing a hoodie in the ghetto, when the reality is it’s the unassuming white guy on Cuba St. We humans are too quick to generalise when what’s actually

needed is specificity.

Handily, the New Zealand justice system is pretty good compared to the rest of the world. But compared to perfection, it’s seriously lacking. There’s room for improvement in a lot of areas: the system is racist in that Māori and Pasifika are disproportionately locked up. There is a need for more rehabilitation and support for offenders when they transition back into the community. Over half of all offenders offend again after getting out of prison. That statistic is an indictment on our nation.

This week, resident feature writer Phil focusses on our treatment of prisoners. The lowest voter turnout this election was among prisoners. Zero per cent voted because our archaic system bars

them from voting. Philip says this is a gross breach of their human rights, and we can’t help but agree.

Penny looks at other miscarriages of justice in New Zealand. She explores the Lundy, Bain and Pora cases and asks whether there is a problem with our justice system that needs fixing.

Finally this week, we interviewed the Chief Justice, Sian Elias. She was surprisingly frank about the changes that need to be made. As she points out, blame should not be targeted solely at the courts or the police or the government. It is a social problem that so many Māori, Pasifika and youth are ending up behind bars.

Justice is a tricky issue. Fuck the police.

Love ,

Du nc an & Cam

editor@salient.org.nz

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Letters Letter of the Week Dear Editor, The past to weeks I have read your views on New Zealand politics and been unimpressed. This week you accused all political parties of being racist, thereby implying everyone that voted is racist also, which I am sure the vast majority are not.

Your lobbying of free immigration is bemusing, and at best a waste of paper. We are very privileged to live in this country and no doubt many people around the globe would love to join us but it is unrealistic to think that opening our borders would be good for the current residents.

People have been “toiling in the fields” for thousands of years and I envy those doing so to some degree rather than sitting at a computer as I am. You have shown a lack of respect and understanding for the way of life millions of people live everyday, clearly thinking that your lifestyle is the best and that everyone wants to live like you.

Regards Someone with a cool plan

Doubt it mate

Didn’t you know you can’t cite Wikipedia at university?

In response to your editorial last week: http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/2005_French_riots

Cool story dude (it’s a pun) Dear Salient Your international issue last week got me thinking about some serious international issues myself, namely climate

change and Tony Abbotts hardline immigration policies. It seems to me that the polar opposites of a warming planet and Abbotts cold heart could cancel one another out, here’s why.

Australia is about 70% outback and would be unideal for settling new arrivals. Yet if enough rain fell in the outback it could potentially become cooler and more suitable for habitation. Where would this rain come from?

Well we could dump it in Australia’s deserts, which would evaporate and form rain producing clouds.

Not using precious fresh water, but sea water instead!

FREE COFFEE! Are you angry, elated or apathetic about Salient? Send us a letter of less than 250 words to editor@salient.org.nz. Pseudonyms are fine, but all letters must include your real name, address and telephone number. These will not be printed. Letters will not be corrected for spelling or grammar.

The Editors reserve the right to edit, abridge or decline any letters. The letter of the week wins a coffee from Vic Books.

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When the water we dump evaporates, huge salt deposits will be left behind. This will give Australia another unsustainable resource to exploit like they did mining, which will temporarily boost their economy.

The world currently has a surplus of seawater due to global warming, which has led to rising oceans and could potentially devastate coastal areas (most of Australia’s cities are coastal as it happens). So putting this surplus to good use in the Australian outback just makes sense. Come on Australia, do a nationwide ice bucket challenge, save your economy and help save the planet.

We are the 52% Dear 2014 election voters, What the fuck were you all thinking? Voting that bunch of dropkicks in for the third time! Just what has John Key and his elitist friends done for 90% of the country (and particularly students)? You will all regret it in the future, when you don’t have any assets left, or when the TPPA screws us all over. Enjoy being shit on by American intelligence.

And as for some of their allies…

ACT: Out of touch with the people, plus Jamie Whyte is a complete cunt.

United Future: You know no-one likes you when the Aoteoroa Legalise Cannabis Party gets double your votes.

One positive note: at least that lunatic Colin Craig didn’t get his 5% (or seat).

Ha ha ha.

Have a nice three years,

suckers Arthas Menethil

Call Us, Maybe: 04 463 6766 Hi Salient, I love you. I’m so alone and you’re so accepting and caring and you talk about your emotions and you look so damn good every single day of the week and you’re smart and funny and cool. Marry me.

Yours (and I really mean that), Secret Admirer

Poetry slam Dear Shitlient, There once was a student magazine, Which for years was too scene, So they tried to be cool, But were actually fools, And ended up being too mainstream Yours, Liam Merrick

That’s Just Something I’ll Never Understand “There’s only one thing to do when the crash becomes inevitable: step on the gas.”

-Hunter S. Thompson said something that.

Sadly, I did not recall those words with the barrier fast approaching, the on coming traffic stopping well out of reach. The perfect rubbernecking distance.

“What an idiot,” the father

Espe-rant-o Querida saliente Kio estas la punkto en havante Internacia Issue? Ni devas ekstermi ĉiujn limojn kaj brakumi la gloro de la tutmonda lingvo, esperanto!

Esperanto finos ĉiu milito , ĉiuj malriĉeco , ĉiu speco de internacia malegaleco!

Mi skribas tion ĉar mi jam faris por skribi leteron por elstaraĵo. Likanta nudaj fotoj de famuloj estas malbona.

La ĝemelaj turoj estis interna laboro, kaj mi ne zorgas kiu scias ĝin. Mi ŝatas mian kafon nigra, mia muziko laŭta kaj mia vesto interno post unu tago de surhavas ĝin. Ankoraŭ freŝa. La elekto estis falsita kaj ĉiuj lin scias, bona afero mi tradukis ĉi en

Esperanton aŭ alian a. Krom se ili havas Google translate.

Tiam mi bone kaj vere ŝraŭbita. Kaj kial diable tio neniu parolas en Polari?

Mi opinias tiun leteron aspektas sufiĉe longe. Helpo mi kaptita en fabriko sen elirejo. Bonvole sendu helpon.

Sincere, Esperanto por Vivo!

Found in translation Querida saliente What is the point in having an International Issue ?

We have to destroy all the boundaries and embrace the glory of the global language, Esperanto ! English will end all war , all the poverty, all kind of international inequality !

I am writing this because I ‘ve done it to write a letter to outgoing . Leaking nude photos of celebrities are bad. The twin towers were internal work, and I do not care who knows it. I like my coffee black, my music loud and my underwear after one day of wearing it. Still fresh.

The election was rigged , and everyone knows it , good thing I have translated this into Esperanto or another ‘s . Unless they have a Google translation . Then I well and truly screwed . And why the hell is no one talking in Polari ?

I think this letter looks long enough . Help me trapped in a factory with no way out .

Please send help. sincerely, English for Life !

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Justice Quiz

1. Which African country shares its name with a notorious maximum-security prison in Louisiana, USA? 2. What is the name of the controversial English referee who STOLE the 2007 Rugby World Cup from the All Blacks in the quarterfinal against France?

3. What is the combination of the drugs sodium thiopental, pancuronium bromide and potassium chloride usually used for?

4. Which New Zealand TV show featured a police-officer character called Constable Bababiba?

5. South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius was acquitted of murder, but found guilty of what other, less serious offence several weeks ago?

6. What non-acting role did actresses Rita Hayworth and Raquel Welch play in the 1994 prison film The Shawshank Redemption?

7. Which Kendrick Lamar song, released in 2012 and featuring Drake, samples a Janet Jackson song?

8. True or false: no one has ever been executed for treason in New Zealand.

9. Since 1960, the US had enforced a trade embargo, condemned as illegal by the UN, on which Caribbean island nation?

10. Lawyer Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson against a false rape charge in which novel you probably studied at high school?

1. Angola 2. Wayne Barnes 3. Lethal injection (as a method of execution) 4. bro’Town 5. Culpable homicide 6. They appeared on the posters Andy Dufresne put on the wall of his cell. 7. ‘Poetic Justice’ 8. False (In 1869, Māori soldier Hamiora Pere was convicted and executed for treason after a sham trial). 9. Cuba 10. To Kill a Mockingbird

exclaims to the wide eyed family, who do not know of his solo driving efforts.

If I had recalled HST’s words, perhaps the car would have corrected. A different story for the father to tell, as my rear end comes close, but doesn’t quite collect his front bumper. The revs in the red of his ears. Still: “what an idiot.”

Perhaps. Or perhaps it would be a different story again, the barrier only able to take so many newtons. But that was HST’s point.

Anyway, the cop said he’d let me off without even a warning. He didn’t. I got fined for dangerous driving, with the boxes ticked on the letter three weeks later.

Which is shitty. I deserved it. But I deserved to be told about it square on. It’s the little things with the cops, ain’t it? They are easy to hate, even when they’re just doing their job and I’m the idiot.

editor@salient.org.nz

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PERSON OF LAST WEEK

BY THE NUMBERS

AFTER THE CRAZIEST ELECTION CAMPAIGN NEW ZEALAND HAS PERHAPS EVER HAD, ONE MAN CAME OUT THE CLEAR VICTOR: JOHN KEY. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE MMP ERA, ONE PARTY GARNERED ENOUGH VOTES TO GOVERN ALONE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER 100 YEARS, THE GOVERNMENT INCREASED ITS SHARE OF THE VOTE FOR THE THIRD ELECTION IN A ROW. OVER A MILLION PEOPLE VOTED FOR HIM (ALTHOUGH IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT ALMOST A MILLION DIDN’T VOTE). AND SO, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE, NINE OF OUR FORMATIVE YEARS WILL BE SPENT UNDER THE REIGN OF JOHN PHILLIP KEY.

565 M THE DEPTH AN EMPEROR PENGUIN CAN DIVE TO, DEEPER THAN ANY OTHER BIRD AND DEEPER THAN THE OPERATIONAL RANGE OF MOST SUBMARINES.

1 IN 20 THE PROPORTION OF NEW ZEALANDERS WHO DIE OF ALCOHOLRELATED ILLNESS OR INJURY.

50% PERCENTAGE OF THE PRISON POPULATION WHICH IS MAORI, COMPARED TO 14 PER CENT OF THE GENERAL POPULATION.

8597 THE NUMBER OF NEW ZEALANDERS IN PRISON

70% THE PERCENTAGE OF NEW ZEALAND’S ELECTRICITY THAT IS GENERATED FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES.

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NEWS KEEN EYE FOR NEWS? SEND ANY TIPS, LEADS OR GOSSIP TO NEWS@SALIENT.ORG.NZ

VUWSA WITHDRAWS FROM NZUSA STUDENTS SAVE 45K

by Sophie Boot

V

UWSA has unanimously voted to withdraw from NZUSA, citing the union’s failure to reform and general poor performance.

The withdrawal could be the death knell for NZUSA, which has narrowly clung on to disillusioned students’ associations for the past few years.

NZUSA is the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations, with 14 students’-association members. Each students’

association pays an annual fee to NZUSA which is based on the size and financial viability of the association. This year, VUWSA’s contribution was $45,000.

In 2013, VUWSA ran a student-initiated referendum on whether it should continue its membership of NZUSA. The question read, “That VUWSA stay in NZUSA”, with “Yes, but only with reforms” and “No” being the answers available to students. The referendum was not binding. 63 per cent of VUWSA members voted for VUWSA to stay, with 37 per cent voting to withdraw.

“I THINK IT REFLECTS THE EXTREME FINANCIAL HARDSHIP THAT STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATIONS ARE NOW FACING. I ALSO THINK IT’S IMPORTANT THAT ORGANISATIONS REVIEW THEMSELVES AND ARE CRITICAL OF THEIR PERFORMANCE, AND THAT’S WHAT THIS IS.”

VUWSA President Sonya Clark said that the promised reforms had not occurred, and there were better uses for the money VUWSA was spending on NZUSA membership.

“Students gave us the mandate to stay if there were significant reforms. There haven’t been.

Now what’s important is having the conversation to make sure there’s a strong national voice on student issues, in a more effective use of $45,000 student dollars. We take our fiduciary responsibility with students’ money seriously.”

Incoming VUWSA President Rick Zwaan said VUWSA had had ongoing concerns with NZUSA “for years now”, and VUWSA could now decide how to spend the $45,000 levy “to effectively ensure student issues are on the agenda.”

“VUWSA has a history of standing up for student issues.

We’re excited to see how we can

continue to work locally and nationally,” Zwaan said.

Daniel Haines, President of NZUSA, said he was “disappointed but not surprised” with VUWSA’s decision.

“I think it reflects the extreme financial hardship that students’ associations are now facing. I also think it’s important that organisations review themselves and are critical of their performance, and that’s what this is.”

“VUWSA is one of our founding members, and hopefully we can continue to work with them going forward.”

Haines said he felt that NZUSA had delivered reforms, but it was clear VUWSA did not feel that way.

Nick Cross, who requested last year’s VUWSA referendum and is Policy Chair for the Young Nats, said VUWSA had acted

editor@salient.org.nz

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News

VUW Students

Sonya Clark, VUWSA President

Daniel Haines, NZUSA President

Nick Cross, referendum initiator

In 2013, 63 per cent of students voted in favour of staying “only with reforms”, while 37 per cent voted to leave.

“Students gave us the mandate to stay if there were significant reforms.

There haven’t been.”

“VUWSA is one of our founding members, and hopefully we can continue to work with them going forward.”

“NZUSA never delivered advocacy that represented value for money. Student advocacy will emerge stronger as a result of this.”

after the University of Otago told OUSA that their $45,000 NZUSA membership levy could not come from Service Level Agreement funds, and that OUSA needed to find the money from somewhere else.

By 2012, NZUSA had lost a third of its revenue, as associations could not afford to pay as much in levies as they had pre-VSM. Students’ associations began to voice their dissatisfaction with the organisation, questioning the relevance and usefulness to students of what Hodkinson was doing. In 2012’s round of elections, Hodkinson lost to ‘No Confidence’, but was eventually re-elected after crying.

for campaigns and lobbying.

McCourt claimed that Hodkinson had “struggled to straddle that divide,” and did not share VUWSA’s vision.

Rick Zwaan, incoming VUWSA President “VUWSA has a history of standing up for student issues. We’re excited to see how we can continue to work locally and nationally.”

in students’ best interests, and NZUSA had “never delivered advocacy that represented value for money.”

“The sooner it is accepted that NZUSA is dying, the sooner we can collectively have a discussion about alternative models for student advocacy on a national level.”

VUWSA’s withdrawal comes

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OUSA’s Finance Officer, Paul Hunt, said this was because NZUSA services “only really benefit Executive members rather than students being directly involved.”

H I STO RY NZUSA has been in trouble since the implementation of Voluntary Student Membership in late 2011, where it lost its guaranteed revenue stream.

Following VSM, NZUSA reformed to include polytech students’ associations, and Pete Hodkinson, former president of Auckland polytech Unitec, was elected NZUSA President.

NZUSA’s troubles continued in 2013, as students’-association unhappiness increased and was brought to public attention.

Then VUWSA President Rory McCourt openly criticised NZUSA in Salient, saying that NZUSA was failing to balance the needs of university members with those of polytech members.

Polytech associations tended to require basic core support from NZUSA, while larger associations like OUSA, VUWSA and AUSA wanted NZUSA to provide a national voice and be a focal point

The Waikato Students’ Union (WSU) threatened to pull out of NZUSA and has not paid levies since, and both VUWSA and the Otago University Student’s Association (OUSA) held referenda on their continued membership. OUSA members overwhelmingly voted to remain a part of NZUSA “if it implements reforms that enhance its campaigning capacity”, with 84 per cent of students in favour.

Both the OUSA and VUWSA referenda were criticised for phrasing which was biased towards a vote in favour of remaining in NZUSA. Both association presidents at the time – Francisco Hernandez at OUSA, and McCourt at VUWSA – planned to run for NZUSA president the following year. That ambition would have been compromised had either association withdrawn.

News

4000 SHEEPLE WAKE UP EARLY

CAMPUS DIGEST

STUDENTS ADVANCE VOTE ON CAMPUS

By Simon Dennis

N

early 4000 students advance-voted on campus prior to this year’s election, though it is unknown who they voted for.

A total of 3710 people voted on campus over nine days before the official election day. Constituents of Wellington Central totalled 1452, Te Tai Tonga was 70, total votes for other local electorates were 953, and special votes numbered 1225.

for each electorate will be released on 4 October.

717,000 advance votes around the country helped to increase the voter turnout last week, more than double the number of advance votes in 2011.

More than 2.4 million people turned out to vote in total, or 77.04 per cent, which was an increase on the historically low 2011 number of 74.21 per cent.

One student who cast an advance vote stated their reason for doing so was to do with timing.

University of Otago political scientist Bryce Edwards said that compared to 2011, the number “could only go up from there.”

“Working around university work means that it was easier for me to vote while I was already on campus, instead of going out on Saturday to a polling booth.”

“It would be astonishing if the turnout hadn’t gone up… this has been the most colourful, engaging and loud campaign that we’ve seen in living memory.”

“Unlike the last two election campaigns of 2008 and 2011, this was far from boring and bland: it seemed that it was highly competitive and gripping.”

Another student said “this early in the year I have so many other commitments with university, work and sports, so the weekend isn’t really an option for me.”

VUWSA Engagement Officer Declan Doherty-Ramsay said the turnout showed students weren’t apathetic about politics.

“I think to double what the Electoral Commission expected for Victoria really shows how interested and engaged students here are, and also how successful the campaign VUWSA ran was.”

The official results of the election

Mr Edwards stated, however, that the improved numbers did not mean an end to the problem of low voter turnout for future elections.

“It shouldn’t really give politicians and the political parties a sense that the problems of New Zealand elections and connecting with people, particularly youth, are now over.”

NEW DEPUTY VICECHANCELLOR The University has appointed Professor Frazer Allan as the new Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Engagement). The role is new, and the University says it will cover alumni and development, communications and marketing, relationship management, Victoria University Press, Adam Art Gallery, and the Centre for Lifelong Learning. Professor Grant Guilford says the University wants to become a world-leading capital-city university. “Victoria is focussed on increasing engagement with our communities of interest and doubling the size of our student population in the next 20 to 30 years, and this role has an important part to play in achieving those goals.” Professor Allan is currently the head of Massey’s Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences.

ROBOT WARS Victoria hasn’t managed to maintain its 2013 winning streak at the Australasian National Instruments Autonomous Robotics Competition (NIARC). A team from Victoria’s School of Engineering and Computer Science, lead by student Robby Lopez, created Bolt! to compete in the competition, which was eventually won by Team AMCAT from the University of New South Wales.

The theme for this year’s competition was agriculture, with the robots competing in farming-inspired challenges including collecting seeds and depositing them in the planting area and navigating through farming obstacles. Bolt! was designed to be very fast, and so was intensively redesigned from Michelangelo, the autonomous mining robot which won it for Victoria in 2013.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS GRANT GUILFORD? Everyone’s favourite vice-chancellor is roaming the world, and was last spotted in among the 350,000-strong ‘People’s Climate March’ in New York, held ahead of this week’s United Nations climate summit. Professor Guilford is attending alumni functions and meetings with key University supporters in New York, and has a strong environmental interest. Victoria is New Zealand’s only signatory of the Talloires Declaration, a declaration of sustainability signed by more than 400 universities and colleges around the world.

editor@salient.org.nz

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UNI COUNCIL ELECTION: MEET THE CANDIDATES The voting for 2015’s student representative on University Council takes place from Wednesday 8–15 October.

The University Council is the governing body of the University, and currently has 20 members, two of whom are student representatives – one elected by students, and one from VUWSA. Steven Joyce’s reforms to the makeup of university councils may shrink the Council to 12, and the University has indicated one student-elected representative would remain. The Council decides on University planning, budgets, student consultation and, importantly, it sets your fees every year. The student University Council representative is one of the most important links between students and University management: vote wisely!

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Stella Blake-Kelly Occupation: Student Qualifications: 2009–2012, 2014 – BSc majoring in Geography and Environmental Studies Kia ora – I’m Stella. I’m currently finishing my BSc in Geography and Environmental Studies, and I’d love to be your Student Representative on University Council in 2015.

I have the knowledge and experience necessary to be a strong advocate and voice for all students on Council. As a News Editor and last year a Co-Editor at Salient, I spent three years observing and reporting on University Council meetings. I’ve seen and understand the way that Council operates, and, if elected, will build on my existing relationships and institutional knowledge in order to be an effective representative from day one.

Over 90 per cent of Victoria’s community is students, yet less than ten per cent of voices at the top table actually pay to be here. It’s important our student representatives are informed, vocal, and can work constructively with the University – ensuring that students are the priority when it comes to making decisions about our University’s future.

This is especially important next year, with changes to Council size and the removal of the legal requirement for student representation. I will work constructively with the University to ensure there continues to be a strong student voice at Victoria well into the future.

Ben Mrowinski Occupation: Student Qualifications: 2012– 2015 – BA / Major in Education I am standing for the University Council to help enhance our student

atmosphere here at the Uni. Through working on designating more funding to clubs and social groups, we can help maintain a balance between study and life outside of uni. Other issues that I would like to address on the Council are the ever rising university fees year after year, as well as printing costs for all students. I aim to lower the cost of both of these. Let’s remember that the University needs our money as a significant source of income, so it’s essential that we all get our money’s worth through what we need in order to be successful and have a good time here at VUW. Through a good student voice and student backing, we can achieve these things and continue to enjoy life inside as well as out of uni.

Elijah Pue

EYE ON EXEC

Occupation: Student Bachelor of Commerce / Accountancy, Bachelor of Arts / Maori Studies

Kia ora – my name is Elijah Pue, and I believe that it is time that Victoria University of Wellington students had a say at University Council. A say that matters to students most. I believe that with an upfront, honest and reliable attitude, I will be able to carry out the representation of students best. I think that students need someone that they can rely on, can trust, and who is approachable. I want to be this person. I will establish and continue a working relationship with key representative groups on campus, including VUWSA, Ngāi Tauira, the PGSA, the PSC, the Women’s Group, and UniQ – to name a few. Diverse representation is needed with such a diverse culture at Vic. What comes with such a diverse culture is the ability to represent everyone, from all walks of life. I believe that I am this person, and able to carry out the hard task of representing all students at the forefront of the issues.

I’m not a person to stand back and let things slip away before me. I will consult with students, be their voice, and be there when they need me most.

Tēnā koutou katoa. Ko Elijah Pue tōku ingoa. Kua tae ki te wā kia tū he māngai Māori mo te Kaunihera Matua o tēnei whare wānanga. Kei āu ngā pukenga katoa hei whakakī i te tūru nei, he pukumahi, he ngākau mahaki, he waiaro hīkaka hoki tāku. Koianei taku oati ki tēnei tūranga, ka tūhonotia e au ki ngā roopū māngai a te whare wānanga pērā ki VUWSA, Ngāi Tauira, te PGSA, te PSC, te Roopū Wahine, me UniQ – me ērā atu. Ko tāku he whakanui i ngā tini āhuatanga o te whare wānanga kia puawai te ahurea o Wikitoria. Kaore i kō atu, kaore i kō mai i au, hei māngai mā tātou ngā tauira nā runga i taku manawanui ki te kimi hua hei whakatau i ngā take ahakoa te aha.

Ko au te kōwhiringa tika, i te mea ahakoa ngā tini wero ka ahu mai ki runga i taku ara ka eke panuku, ka eke Tangaroa. Hei whakakapi, ka kōrero ngātahi nei au ki ngā tauira, ka tū hoki au hei mātanga hāpai, heoi ko te mea nui ka noho au hei reo māngai mā ngā tauira katoa o te whare wānanga.

T

he most recent Exec meeting was the most decisive of the year. The meeting began with President Sonya Clark’s report, which outlined her continued work winding down the VBC (nearly there, guys!) – the next step is to list the VBC’s assets and replace their computer, which is currently incapable of running Spotify or recording any shows.

Discussion then turned to Salient, with the cost of the team travelling to ASPAs (Aotearoa Student Press Association Awards) approved, along with Salient going somewhat over its print budget. Sonya also talked about the interviewing process for next year’s editors, the first round of which took place last week.

Next was the issue of Reclaim Vic. VUWSA was unsure about endorsing the group’s protest march, citing concerns about clarity of message and the involvement of Joel Cosgrove.

Members generally thought the messages Reclaim Vic had were positive, and hoped to engage in further consultation with the group.

Next, the issue of withdrawal from NZUSA, which is covered in full on pages 7 and 8. Engagement VP Declan DohertyRamsay said it was sad the situation had come to this point, but he supported withdrawal. Academic VP Rāwinia Thompson said she hoped the VUWSA Exec would continue to meet and work with other students’-association representatives. Welfare VP Rick Zwaan said he fully supported leaving, and he felt that VUWSA had demonstrated they could run campaigns through their successes with Fairer Fares and voting campaigns during the general election. The Executive unanimously voted to withdraw, though Toby Cooper and Caroline Thirsk were not present at the meeting.

Campaigns Officer Alasdair Keating gave an update on the election and campaigns, which was generally agreed to be a huge success. Keating and the Engagement team put in a huge amount of work, and the Executive were very happy with the results.

Next was discussion of VUWSA’s Annual General Meeting, which will take place on 1 October in the Hub. VUWSA have changed their constitutional requirements so students don’t need to re-sign up every year. Following the AGM there will be a SGM, where a second student rep for Publications Committee will be elected. There will also be pizza. We all know what the drawcard is. See you there!

editor@salient.org.nz

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News

SLOW NEWS WEEK

NEW ZEALAND TO BE ELECTED TO UN SECURITY COUNCIL FOR 2015-16.

45%

HELEN CLARK TO BE APPOINTED NEXT UN SECRETARY GENERAL.

33%

NEXT NZ GENERAL ELECTION TO BE HELD IN 2017

92%

NEXT NZ GENERAL ELECTION TO BE HELD IN 2016.

4%

PAUL HUNT TO BE ELECTED PRESIDENT OF OUSA FOR 2015.

98% iPredict is a market-based political and economic prediction market owned and operated by Victoria University of Wellington. Visit www.ipredict.co.nz to get involved.

Probabilities are correct at time of publication.

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NEWS OF THE WORLD LITERALLY STICK YOUR IPHONE TO YOUR FACE, GOD FORBID YOU EXPERIENCE ACTUAL HUMAN INTERACTION AirVR is a Kickstarter project seeking $20,000 in funding from backers to create an headset to convert your iPad mini or iPhone 6 Plus into a portable virtual-reality viewer.

It works as you might expect: slide the iPad mini or iPhone 6 Plus into a bulky headset with two lenses displaying left-eye and right-eye imagery, respectively. Metatecture says it’s already developed some initial apps for the product, and points out that the headset also leaves all the ports on your iOS device open, so you can attach other potentially useful peripherals like a game controller. If successful, the company plans to begin selling its AirVR headsets for just $49 a pop in early 2015.

CAN’T WAIT FOR DRONE-DELIVERY PIZZA DHL is using a drone to fly parcels to the German island of Juist, in what it says is the first time an unmanned aircraft has been authorised to deliver goods in Europe. The company, owned by Germany’s Deutsche Post, joins the likes of Amazon and Google in testing the potential for drones to deliver parcels and packages.

Its drone – the “parcelcopter” – can fly at up to 65 km (40 miles) an hour. It will deliver medication and other urgently needed goods to the car-free island of Juist, off Germany’s northern coast, at times when other modes of transport such as flights or ferries are not operating.

The craft has four rotors, weighs around 5 kg and can carry loads of up to 1.2 kg. Its flight is completely automated, although it will be monitored from the ground and, depending on weather conditions, the 12 km trip to Juist will take 15–30 minutes.

WORLD MEDIA MAKE TITS OF THEMSELVES Jasmine Tridevil, original name Alisha Hessler, proved once again none of us ever leave Freud’s first stage by sending the world’s media gaga through apparently having a third breast implanted. Doubts were raised about the validity of her story by medical professionals, who said no ethical surgeon would perform the procedure.

According to one report, Jasmine’s third breast was fake – not just implant-fake, but prosthetic-fake. This was discovered after her bag was stolen at an airport, and when recovered, found to contain a three-breast prosthesis.

Booooo(b).

editor@salient.org.nz

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Sports

Sports Banter

Wells Takes Opportunity But Lions Can’t Convert… Again

by Ollie Ritchie

Jason Woodward suspension provided the perfect opportunity for Andrew Wells to stake a claim for the Ricoh Wellington Lions’ number-15 jersey in front of just over 3000 home fans at Westpac Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

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Having only previously played out of position on the wing, Wells was looking to take the opportunity to start at his preferred fullback position with both hands, something that would’ve been made easier had his side been on the front foot.

“It would’ve been nice to be out there as part of a winning side, but despite that, it was really good to get a start in my preferred position and it gave me an opportunity to try and put my hand up for the jersey,” Wells said.

After making the shift from firstfive, where he played at school, Wells’ limited opportunities for the Lions came mainly on the wing, but this is something Wells believes helped him get used to the step up to ITM Cup rugby.

“From the first couple of games I’ve played [of ITM Cup rugby], it’s a lot faster than club rugby, so I’ve got to work a lot harder off

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the ball, and just being out on the field in any position has certainly helped me adjust to that.”

Wells’ opportunities from the back were limited in the early stages of the match, with Tasman controlling most of the possession and territory in the first half and Wells forced to scramble in defence, but he was unable to shut out the Tasman attack as the visitors went ahead 21–6 at the break.

Poor discipline and missed first-up tackles proved costly for the Lions, as the boot of Marty Banks helped ensure Tasman’s lead kept growing, something Wells admits was frustrating standing at the back.

“It’s really frustrating not being able to get our hands on the ball and hold onto the ball for long periods of time.

You’re going to struggle to win games if you can’t get the ball in your hands,” said Wells of the lack of attack from Wellington.

And it was much of the same in the second half for Wellington, as they couldn’t seem to bring any flow into their game and spent most of the time scrambling back

on defence.

game 42–20.

In terms of games to stand out in, this wasn’t one of them. Wells had the perfect opportunity to show what he could do from the back by being handed the start, but unfortunately, he spent most of his 50-minute cameo returning kicks and scrambling to make tackles as the front line of defence seemingly disappeared.

So, it’s now official. The Lions’ season is an absolute disaster.

It’s hard to imagine how this season could get much worse for Wellington who seem destined to be relegated from the Premiership in what would be a huge blow to the pride of a proud province.

“We just couldn’t hold onto the ball tonight, and we were making silly mistakes and turning the ball over far too easily, and I suppose that’s what cost us.”

A try to prop Tolu Fahamokioa and replacement Eric Sione late in the game gave the home fans something to cheer about, but a runaway try after a clean strip in the tackle to Tasman flanker Pete Samu made sure any celebrations were short-lived as the visitors ran away with the

Coach Boyd has had to juggle an enormous player turnover from last year’s squad and a horror injury toll this season, but he could still call upon ten players with Super Rugby experience in his match-day 22 for the last game.

However, in two weeks, the Lions get a chance to have a crack at coveted Log o’ Wood.

All they need is a win away from home against Hawke’s Bay and the Lions will bring some sort of joy to an otherwise incredibly miserable season.

Sex

The BoneZone With Cupie Hoodwink

e’ve all got one, we W all use it every day, but when it comes to sex, a whole lot of us act as if we don’t have a butt at all. Which seems surprising when, for a huge number of people, booty – whether you’re licking it, fingering it, plugging it, pegging it, or fucking it – is a veritable pleasure palace.

So why are some of us so anal when it comes to anal? For some, it’s fear of pain; for others, of pooping all over our partner.

For the most part, I suspect, it’s because there’s an outdated and misguided cultural taboo when it comes to bum-plundering, which our formal sex education does absolutely nothing to rebut.

Indeed, as 14-year-olds, our health class was taught, in no uncertain terms, that things were only meant to come out – not go into – of “that hole”.

I am certainly guilty of having once uttered the words “I’ll try everything, but…” Yet with age comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes the realisation that for far too many of us – regardless of our gender, sexual orientation, or the tools we’ve got to work with in our pants – butts are an untapped resource when it comes to the search for orgasmic gold. There’s no way The Bone Zone could finish the year having covered everything but, so this week, I’m doing everything butt.

Your Butt and You: One of the biggest hurdles for most people when it comes to anal is the unknown. Most of us were never taught about our butts in a sexual context, and aside from a daily dump, it’s a part of our body that we don’t think about or look at very often.

As a sexual organ, butts are pretty unique; knowing the basics will help to ensure a much more enjoyable time.

The entry to all butts consists of two rings of muscle (known as sphincters) located fairly close together. The outer ring is the one you’ll be familiar with, which you can consciously clench and unclench. The inner sphincter is not voluntarily controlled, but staying relaxed, taking deep breaths, and moving very, very slowly (whether with a finger, toy or dick) will ensure that passage past the second sphincter is just as comfortable as the first.

The flesh inside your bum (known as your rectum) is quite delicate, and tears more easily than a vagina, for example.

For this reason, it’s incredibly important that you ensure your fingernails are kept short, with absolutely no sharp edges before you finger yourself or your partner. Butts are also home to a different colony of bacteria than other areas of your body, so remember to wash your hands and change your condom

if you’re – to put it crudely – changing holes.

All of this makes butts seem pretty high-maintenance – and you’re right – but with it comes high reward. From a physical perspective, butts have got the goods. If you’re someone with a dick, then your prostate – the male equivalent to the G-spot – is buried about 5 cm inside your butt, towards the front of the body. If you’re searching for this, you’ll know you’ve arrived when your partner releases an involuntary, guttural moan.

Even if you don’t have a prostate, your butt’s a sensitive place with a whole lot of nerve endings, which give you quite a different sensation to your garden-variety vaginal penetration. On the psychological side of things, anal can be both thrilling in that you’re saying a big FU to the taboo, and rewarding in that you and your partner trust each other enough to navigate new humping horizons together.

Prepping Your Perineum: While butt stuff can feel great and be really enjoyable for both partners, it won’t be if you’re not ready, comfortable and relaxed.

If you’ve ever had a wayward dick bunt against your butt when you’re changing positions, you’ll know that’s not a tight spot one can simply accidentally find themselves in. If it’s your first time getting down with the brown, make like a scout and be prepared.

The best first step you can take is to do a little self-exploration beforehand. This is best achieved when you’re turned on anyway, as you’ll be more open to a little butt-broaching than in the cold light of day. Start small, by simply stroking the ring and the skin around it, before slowly edging a lubed-up finger in. This way, you can get used to the new sensations and get a better idea of what’s going on down there at your own pace.

From there, getting used to each other’s bodies should be a gradual process – try out and get comfortable with fingering or licking each other’s butts before jumping straight into sticking a dick or a dildo in there.

Alternatively, experimenting with a butt plug – worn while you’re doing or receiving other sexy things – can help get you and your body used to bum fun.

Unlike a vagina or a mouth, butts aren’t self-lubricating, which means that if you’re going to put anything anywhere near your booty, make sure everything is covered in a whole lot of lube.

To that end, silicone-based lubes are best as they stay slipperier for longer. You’ll find the best variety of lubes at your local sex store, and the lovely staff there can advise what best suits your needs.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly to many detractors’ minds, will you shit everywhere?

The short answer: no. Unless you’re pinching the loaf when you take a trip to booty town, you’re unlikely to land yourself in a Code Brown situation.

Doing a poo a couple of hours beforehand, and keeping a towel on hand just in case, the worst you’re likely to encounter is a little bit of discolouration or a tiny bit of poop on the condom. You may feel like you need to poo at first, but this is just a natural reflex – in fact, pushing out slightly as if you are taking a dump is likely to relax your inner sphincter. At the end of the day, it pays not to worry about it too much. Our bodies do really gross things all the time, but we manage. When in doubt, think of the happy poo emoji.

Bootyliciously yours, Cupie PS: For more info on butt plugs or pegging, here’s something I prepared earlier: salient.org.nz/columns/cupiehoodwinks-guide-to-sex-toys and salient. org.nz/columns/the-bone-zone-6

editor@salient.org.nz

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Politics

Ramblings of a Fallen Hack

By Jade D’Hack

Labour and Desserts t last we’d found our fight. We’ve longed for politics to be the battling of ideas, but it isn’t, not normally.

Decades of elections have been contested by incrementalism and managerial competencies. MMP has asphyxiated our radicalism with its consensus coalitions and the boredom of the majority.

Not since 1984 have we elected a government with the guts to actually change this country.

For those who long for change, that hurts. But this election was different. This time, Labour had found something to fight.

The Labour Party’s manifesto was not more of the same.

Collectivised wage-setting with a much higher minimum rate, taxes on capital gains, centrally controlled electricity pricing and that grand apology on behalf of the patriarchy – Labour presented a narrative in which

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our country was ill. We were sick from socioeconomic inequality, and health required fundamental social change. For once, the challenge to the status quo was real.

But Labour lost and our radicalism resigned. Labour, we sighed, must mumble back to the middle. They must acquiesce to the median voter, to that boring old man from Tawa who didn’t want taxes on his rental property.

As David Shearer explained last Sunday, “You have to have the centre – this is 101 politics. If you don’t hold the centre, you don’t win.”

Politics isn’t a horizontal beam on which politicians balance, wrestling left to right.

Politics is an expression of tribal identity rooted in complex social narratives. The demographics suggest Labour lost because they lost the support of working-

class blokes. Working-class blokes don’t like being told to stand shoulder to shoulder on a balancing beam.

Labour’s story about haves and have-nots allowed the academic left their sociological conceit: it made intellectuals the hero who would save us from social illness.

But in doing so, it told the working poor that their struggles mattered only in aggregate – that it wasn’t their individual aspirations which mattered but only the social order those aspirations produced. Labour never spoke to the struggles that a working family sees.

Consider wages. National insists that wages reward hard work. You give a boss labour hours, he gives you wages that reflect those hours’ worth. In response, Labour muttered, “Aw yeah, sure, your income reflects your economic worth, but, like, we need to also think about the social.” That doesn’t speak to the fast-food teller waking at 4 am for a double shift on minimum wage. When a worker sees his boss making six figures, it isn’t an abstract inequality that pisses him off – it’s that his boss gets a salary which the worker thinks the boss doesn’t deserve.

Labour won’t find a solution in the centre. Stumbling away from real politics will solve nothing.

The solution lies in a truer left.

They must stop expropriating struggle into abstract inequalities.

They must recognise struggle in its own terms. They must abandon their grand social illness. They need to start talking about social injustice.

Political Tidbits

by Jordan McCluskey “I will lead a government that will govern for all New Zealanders” — Prime Minister John Key, upon winning a third term in which National’s vote increased, allowing it to govern alone. Unprecedented under MMP. Election Winners and Losers Winners

1. John Key. Being able to govern alone is incredible.

2. Labour in the Māori electorates. They have won back six of the seven seats.

3. Winston Peters. NZ First grew its vote and got three more MPs. 4. Grant Robertson. The Labour Party will now unify, then follow a leader who actually has competence and gravitas.

Losers

1. David Cunliffe. He had one shot and he missed his chance to blow. Gone by Christmas.

2. The Greens. They expected to grow their vote and it shrank.

3. Hone Harawira. Lost his seat.

A radical voice who had the respect of many, which he lost when he partnered up with Kim Dotcom.

The strangest election ever?

A Nicky Hager book, right-wing blogs outed as working with the Government, a front-bench Minister sacked just weeks before E-day, a Moment of Truth, and to top it off…

Eminem suing the National Party. Thank God it only happens once every three years.

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tistic efforts send us your ar rg.nz editor@salient.o

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The Belief Issue

editor@salient.org.nz

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BARRED BALLOTS

BY PHILIP MCSWEENEY

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D

uring the election coverage of 2008, TV3 gave local comedian Raybon Kan reign over the ‘light’ segments. His brief tenure included the observation that “a recent poll showed 93 per cent of people want harsher sentences on prisoners” before deadpanning “this means that even prisoners themselves want harsher sentences”. It turned out to be the most astute observation of the entire debacle. The New Zealand justice system loves it some sweet incarceration. We have the eighth-highest imprisonment rate in the OECD, with 8618 people currently servin’ the time for doin’ the crime (about 1500 prisoners away from breaching maximum capacity).

Last Saturday, none of these 8000odd citizens of New Zealand were allowed to vote.

Three years ago, in circumstances that can charitably described as ‘unusual’, the National-led government passed a member’s bill, the Electoral (Disqualification of Sentenced Prisoners) Amendment Act, that repealed section 80(1)(d) of the Electoral Act 1993. In layman’s terms? The contract allowing prisoners their right to vote was dissolved, and a cornerstone of New Zealand democracy was lost. Orange may be the new black, but the little orange man, it seems, is most definitely not.

Prisoners can, under this law, no longer vote, despite the fact that of the 61 submissions to the select committee, only two were in favour. One of these submissions was from the MP who proposed the bill in the first place. Equally as concerning: the Act flagrantly contravenes the Bill of Rights,

which states in no uncertain terms that “every New Zealand citizen who is over the age of 18 years has the right to vote and stand in genuine periodic elections of members of the House of Representatives” under conditions of universal, and not selective, suffrage. Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission has this to say: “While prisoners no longer enjoy freedom of movement, they retain the majority of their human rights and can complain if they believe these rights have been breached”. Ruh-roh.

like opting for a polemic voice is fine: New Zealand is denying its prisoners fundamental human rights essential to democracy. This is beyond fucked. Something is wrong.

A bit of sleuthing revealed that actually, this act, though atrocious, was only an extension on a punitive measure that has been part of New Zealand’s law for a long time. Prisoners serving a sentence of three years or longer have always been disenfranchised; the 2010 amendment just went a bit further and placed a blanket ban on prisoners’ voting rights.

Though legal action has been taken by multiple prisoners to try to rectify this measure, none have borne fruit or gained traction.

In the most recent case taken to court, just days before the election, Justice Ellis expressed sympathy to prisoners, and voiced criticism of the Bill, but ultimately conceded there was nothing she could do within the parameters of the law. Despite the obvious injustice of the situation, mainstream media outlets whose purview covers issues of this sort – think The Listener, Metro – won’t touch the issue with a ten-foot pole, for reasons that I’ll touch on later.

1) Retribution – The punishment

Usually, I write my articles under a guise, at least, of impartiality, and I make a genuine attempt to cover ‘both sides’, but this case is so cut-and-dry, and made me so furious and heart-rendered while I researched it, that I feel

No one would ever mistake me for a Law student, but I know enough to confidently say that incarceration serves a fourpronged purpose. The reason we send people to prison, and segregate them from society at large, are as follows:

part. In order to deny them certain privileges and remove them from the community, as well as appeasing their victim(s) and their family members.

2) Incapacitation – They are imprisoned to prevent them from being able to commit the same crime again.

3) Deterrence – Prison sentences also serve (no pun intended) as a warning to those who are considering committing a crime.

In theory, prison also deters offenders from breaking the law again, for fear of facing the same recrimination.

4) Rehabilitation – The fourth, often-neglected reason for incarceration is that of producing personal reform in prisoners; helping them to understand their crimes and their ramifications, and providing means for them to become productive citizens after their stint in prison.

The New Zealand justice system has, in recent years, taken measures to reify the first three of these principles, but has largely ignored the latter. You could be forgiven for noting that New Zealand seems a bit short on the ‘clemency and mercy’ thing. In 2010, the same year prisoners were denied the right to vote,

the Government introduced legislation spearheaded by the misnomic ‘Sensible Sentencing Trust’ popularly called the ‘Three Strikes Act’. This Act denies offenders who commit one of 40 “serious offences” the chance for parole on the second strike, and legally forces a judge to give the maximum sentence for a third. While it seems to make a modicum of intuitive sense, its implementation both negates the ‘rehabilitation’ aspect of justice and functions as the proverbial ambulance stationed at the bottom of a cliff. This Act is encoded within the principles of deterrence and retribution, but fails to work in conjunction with substantive rehabilitation services – or even analyse why New Zealand’s attempts at rehabilitation are failing.

The most recently discussed policy that affects prisoners is one which would have them performing forced labour for 60 cents an hour (a third of which would go to ‘board’ costs). The policy is likely to be implemented as it has cross-party support, with Labour and the Greens supporting the bill on the grounds of rehabilitation.

In truth, the pittance they are paid seems less ‘rehabilitation’ than ‘slave labour’, especially given our justice system’s most insidious failing. Māori, Pasifika and mentally unwell people comprise most of our prisoners, and it is not a stretch to say that some are incarcerated unfairly (New Zealand cops racially profile: they’re four times as likely to prosecute you for things like drugs if you’re brown). If the system itself discriminates against certain maligned groups, if the system doesn’t offer comprehensive rehabilitation pathways, if the system is broke; how can forced labour be considered just?

editor@salient.org.nz

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If we consider prisoners’ voting rights against this framework, it becomes clear that prisoners have a pretty rough time of it. They are barred a voice in the machinations they’re implicated in. But perhaps this is for good reason?

A common argument voiced by proponents of not allowing prisoners to vote is that by committing a crime, prisoners are tacitly renouncing their rights by tarnishing a social contract. They are denied their freedom, and for good reason; isn’t voting just a manifestation of that freedom?

It’s a slippery-slope argument, but not an entirely uncompelling one; for participating in behaviour that is poor for the community, they are duly excluded from community processes. It’s almost mathematics – as commenter ‘Kelsey’ puts it on one forum,

“you don’t play by the rules of a country but want to be involved in a country…” Historically, this has its foundation in notions of ‘civic death’. You are permitted to live, but are alienated entirely from your community as penance.

Another argument is that a criminal history is proof that any vote cast by a prisoner would go against what is good for the community, although this is quite rightly spurned by opponents as infringing upon freedom of speech and belief. There is the claim that by removing voting as a civil liberty, former convicts and parolees come to appreciate this right more, and gain insight into how to wield it responsibly.

It performs a deterrent as well as retributive function.

I observe, however, that the Supreme Court of Canada, the European Court of Human

THINGS I LEARNT FROM AN EX-PRISONER I MET AND LIKED •

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Fanta is nicknamed ‘Nazi-Cola’ because, during WWII, Germany banned American imports and symbols, so created their own soft drink: Fanta. [uncorroborated] If you’re in prison and you’re jonesing for a cigarette, there is a solution: brew some tea leaves with some of the nicotine patches they give you free, wait for the liquid to evaporate, use a page of the Bible every inmate is given upon arrival as a paper and a filter. Voilà!

The worst thing about prison is the interminable, crushing boredom; second only to the food.

The penalty for mildly assaulting a Police Officer is much harsher than if you assault a white person or grievously injure a Māori person.

There are some really cool programmes in prison; my correspondent favoured the ‘musical rehabilitation’ one.

Most guards are power-tripping dicks.

The policy that would get most support from prisoners is legalising marijuana.

“Only white prisoners would vote National.”

Some people really don’t deserve to be there. Some people really really do.

Prisoners unanimously think they deserve the right to vote.

The Justice Issue

Rights, the Constitutional Court of South Africa and the High Court of Australia have all held that measures that remove the right of all prisoners to vote are unjustifiable breaches of the prisoners’ rights. 18 European states allow prisoners to vote without restriction.

These conclusions are formed because disenfranchisement is at odds with democratic process and is a breach of fundamental human rights. Prisoners have rights to bathe, shelter and adequate nutrition, and only hardliners would wish to deprive them of these rights. The right to vote is as essential a right as these. They have a right under the law to have an equal vote to the rest of a country’s citizenry. It becomes a breach of a country’s most excluded and vulnerable citizens’ humanity when this is removed.

This is why, over in England, the National Council for Civil Liberties believes “full enfranchisement to be right in principle and in practice”. Closer to home, JustSpeak, a New Zealand legal organisation whose detailed reports recommend comprehensive overhaul of the legal system, notes that prisoner disenfranchisement “deprives a sector of society the right to be represented”*. I spoke to a JustSpeak representative on the phone, who noted that many prisoners have families and children whose wellbeing they care for, making their vote necessary. They are also cognisant that Māori comprise over half of prisoners; Māori disillusionment with the political system is high enough as it is, without over 5000

being expressly prohibited.

It is also actively harmful to prospects of rehabilitation and reintegration into society following the conclusion of their sentence. A Canadian court noted that in practical terms, “disenfranchisement is more likely to become a self-fulfilling prophecy than a spur to reintegration”, while the converse encourages engagement with the community and affairs outside the prison.

This is a tremendous boon in reintegration and a crucial step for the rehabilitative component of a prisoner’s sentence.

Complicating these findings, however, is the emotive intensity surrounding conversations regarding prisoners’ rights. When I hear of particularly heinous crimes being committed – think violence or sexual assault against children, mass murder, gang rape – my first thought is not “I wonder what measures need to be taken to ensure these people can readapt” so much as it is “bring back the death penalty”. If an impartial bystander feels sickened and enraged, the emotions felt by the victims – or the victims’ families – must plumb unimaginable depths.

It is perhaps these people’s anguish that spurs harsh and parochial measures taken against convicted criminals. Last year, when Arthur Taylor mounted a legal challenge attempting to win an inmate’s right to vote back, the Sensible Sentencing Trust released the following statement: “The Bill of Rights should consider the victims’ rights first and prisoners should

*At least when it comes to prisoners serving three years or fewer – they stressed their focus on “short-term prisoners”, and, when asked if they supported complete franchisement of prisoners, were evasive and audibly uncomfortable, saying “ideally yes, but…”

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have considered those rights.

They’ve committed the crime”.

While you can accuse the SST of emotional manipulation and lack of logic, in a way, it’s a simplistic view. In cases such as sexual assault and coming to terms with racism, our society is tentatively embracing integration of experiential knowledge into the framework of cold hard logic. This is, for the most part, a step in the right direction.

So who is to tell the grieving parents of a murder victim, the psychologically distraught survivor/ victim of rape, that their views hewn by experience are irrational, counterproductive, stupid? You can’t. They’re not. There is also a widespread cry, highlighted by last year’s Roast Busters incident, for harsher, more punitive sentences for crimes of rape; how do we reconcile this with wanting an amendment of our prison system to focus less on punishment, more on reform?

The answer might be that compassion isn’t a one-way street.

We can, and we must, extend it to the grieving and hurt as well as the vulnerable. In a way, framing prisoners’ right to vote merely in terms of rehabilitative success is wayward: some prisoners are serving life sentences, ruling reintegration out. Some may prove to be renitent. Some may be in custody their entire lives. Some have committed serious enough crimes to warrant a custodial sentence.

They are people too. Convicts are permitted convictions. They are in the state’s care, and deserve to have their say in it if only because they are, at some level, affected by what goes on in government.

They remain a subject of New Zealand, afforded the benefits and the obligations such a status entails. They deserved a fair trial,

they deserve safety and dignity, and they deserve the right to vote too.

It is when we extend fundamental human rights to the people least palatable to give them to that they become their most essential – and

most enshrined. Get on the right side of history. Let prisoners vote without restriction. Our humanity need not be compromised in administering justice.

T HE Y ARE P EO P L E TO O. C O N V I C TS ARE P ER MITTED CO N V I C T IO NS. THE Y ARE I N T H E STATE ’ S CARE , A N D DE SER V E TO HAV E T HE I R SAY IN IT IF ON LY B E C A U S E THE Y ARE , AT S O ME L EV E L , AFFE CTE D B Y W HA T GOES ON IN G O V ERN ME N T. editor@salient.org.nz

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THEY IF

DID IT B Y P E N N Y G A U LT

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I F YO U ’ R E G O I N G TO P U T S O M E O N E IN PRISON FOR THE REST OF THEIR L I F E , YO U WA N T T O B E S U R E T H E Y ’ R E RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CRIME OF WHICH T H E Y ’ R E ACC U S E D. B U T H OW C A N YO U E V E R B E S U R E ? A N D W H AT H A P P E N S I F YO U G E T I T W R O N G?

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doubt anyone would turn down a game of Never Have I Ever with David Bain.

Despite the fact that the result would have little effect on most, I’d bet good money that more people have an opinion on Mark Lundy’s guilt than on who leads our government. Law student or not, there’s something deeply intriguing about criminal cases; we can never really know what’s happened for sure – often coming down to a matter of he said, she said. Criminal cases have to be proved “beyond reasonable doubt”, but of course, there’s always doubt. How much there is seems to depend on a lawyer’s power of imagination. While this is all very interesting for us watching trials unfold on the news, it’s a real issue for New Zealand’s justice system. For all you know, it could be your problem if you get called up for jury service tomorrow.

There’s a multitude of philosophical and theoretical interpretations of miscarriages of justice. Given New Zealand’s pragmatic approach to, well, everything, the best way to tell if a miscarriage has occurred is ask whether the verdict is ‘satisfactory’ – are the facts accurate, has proper procedure been followed, was the jury’s decision morally sound?

As Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias

mentioned in her interview with Salient, “there have always been miscarriages of justice… we [just] didn’t hear about them, because people were executed.” But now we are, and we’re hearing about them a lot.

New Zealand’s most famous miscarriage-of-justice case, and perhaps case full-stop, is that of David Bain. I’m sure we’re all familiar with the story, but let’s indulge in revision for a moment.

Bain was convicted in 1995 of the murder of his parents and siblings early one morning in Dunedin.

At trial, the unsuccessful defence was that Robin, David’s father, had killed the others and then committed suicide while David was out on his paper run. After 13.5 years of a life sentence, Bain successfully appealed his conviction to the Privy Council and a retrial was ordered on the basis that a substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred. At the second trial, Bain was acquitted.

After a year’s investigation into Bain’s case to determine whether Bain should be awarded compensation for his wrongful conviction, retired Canadian Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie reported Dunedin police had made “egregious errors”, and that the evidence showed “the miscarriage of justice was the direct result of a police investigation characterised by carelessness and lack of due diligence”. The Crown failed to preserve the evidence, instead allowing the family home, the scene of the crime, to be burned down.

Under the royal-prerogativeof-mercy system, people who feel they have been wrongfully convicted can apply to the Governor-General to have their case reopened – usually when new evidence has come to light after trial. But lately, these pardons have been thin on the ground.

Availability doesn’t necessarily mean effectiveness. Despite the Binnie Report declaring that David Bain is innocent, Bain has not been granted a pardon, nor financial compensation for the time he spent in prison. This demonstrates that serious crime is not just a judicial problem, but a political one. Canterbury University criminologist Dr Greg Newbold says “politicians… have the power. They can, they have, and they should intervene in cases where it is clear injustices have taken place… The Minister [of Justice] could do it, anyone with guts could do it.” But with political pressure from groups like the Sensible Sentencing Trust, and a wary voting public with strong opinions, awarding Bain millions of dollars’worth of compensation is not something a politician would choose to do lightly. And this is an issue.

Political favour shouldn’t be a factor in declaring an individual’s guilt or innocence.

The Bain case raises a lot of questions. Are our police and prosecutorial system equipped to deal with serious crime? Is New Zealand’s criminal-justice system seriously flawed?

In response to public pressure from groups like the Sensible

AS CHIEF JUSTICE DAME SIAN ELIAS MENTIONED IN HER INTERVIEW WITH S A L I E N T , “ T H E R E H AV E A LWAY S B E E N MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICE… WE [JUST] DIDN’T HEAR ABOUT THEM, BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE EXECUTED.” BUT NOW WE ARE, AND WE’RE HEARING ABOUT THEM A L O T. editor@salient.org.nz

23

Feature

IF WE’RE GOING TO BE MORE PUNITIVE, W E A L S O H AV E T O B E P R E PA R E D T O I N V E S T M O R E I N R E H A B I L I TAT I O N , AND PROVIDE AN ACCESSIBLE MEANS OF REVIEWING CASES WHERE THE P R O S E C U T I O N M AY H AV E G O T I T W R O N G .

IT DOESN’T SEEM AS IF WE’VE LEARNT ANYTHING FROM THE BAIN CASE. Sentencing Trust, the National Government has taken an increasingly punitive approach to criminal justice, imposing harsher sentences and sharpening focus on the rights of victims.

Of course, victims’ rights are an important consideration, but we need to be sure that we’re equipped to cope with such involvement and not forget that those accused of crimes are still human beings. If we’re going to be more punitive, we also have to be prepared to invest more in rehabilitation, and provide an accessible means of reviewing cases where the prosecution may have got it wrong. It doesn’t seem as if we’ve learnt anything from the Bain case.

Susan Burdett was raped and murdered in her home in 1992. A year later, Teina Pora was arrested on other charges, and confessed to the rape and murder of Burdett.

Pora was held by police for four days, and questioned about the Burdett case for 14 hours without a lawyer present. The Police Association officially called for a review of Pora’s conviction following concern among some senior detectives. Award-winning criminal profiler Dave Henwood believes convict Malcolm Rewa is responsible for Burdett’s rape and murder. In April this year, after 20 years in prison, Pora was released on parole awaiting his appeal to the Privy Council. The case has been the subject of immense 24

The Justice Issue

public discussion – how could the police seemingly have got it so wrong? While it’s reassuring that senior detectives voiced concerns, with so many questioning the correctness of Pora’s confession and conviction, one can’t help but wonder why nothing was done sooner. Why has he had to wait so long? What’s more, Pora’s appeal is being funded by legal aid – but what if it wasn’t?

If someone’s subjected to the power of our justice system, their ability to challenge its operation shouldn’t be a matter of being able to afford it.

In 2005, Sir Thomas Thorp, a retired High Court judge, compared New Zealand’s system of dealing with claimed miscarriages of justice with systems in England and Scotland. Thorp estimated at least 20 innocent people were imprisoned in New Zealand.

He recommended that an independent specialist body be established to identify miscarriages of justice and put them up for consideration. This would replace the current system, which leaves it to individuals to make their own appeals.

One of the benefits of an independent review body is the reduction of the ‘ethnic imbalance’ of claimants. Most high-profile miscarriage cases have been those of white men – David Bain, Mark Lundy, Peter Ellis,

body could be given investigative powers beyond the judiciary’s current scope.

Arthur Allan Thomas. Thorp’s report observed New Zealand has a relatively low proportion of claims for miscarriage. Rather than the result of prosecutions being flawlessly carried out, Thorp suggests the low rate of claims is due to the fact that Māori and Pasifika inmates, who make up over 60 per cent of New Zealand’s prison population, rarely made claims. The low proportion of claims brought

by Māori and Pasifika inmates could be attributed to lack of understanding about the appeal process, or not enough money to fund appeals.

Thorp identified the essential causes of miscarriages of justice as problems with investigation, evidence at trial, legal representation of the accused, the trial process, or perhaps a faulty appeal. Especially where an accused is reliant on legal aid (and therefore has little choice as to who will represent them), they have little control over these elements of the criminal-justice process they’re subjected to. A balance must be struck between New Zealand’s punitive streak and increasing emphasis on victim’s rights, and the rights of the accused to a fair trial. What’s more, as has been demonstrated time and again, it’s extremely difficult to proceed with an appeal, even with an immense body of evidence suggesting your trial was plagued by some pretty fundamental errors.

The most common bar to claims of miscarriage of justice is money.

Court cases are expensive, and it’s not as if everyone has a savings account for ‘just in case I get prosecuted for something I didn’t do’. Queen’s Counsel Nigel Hampton said New Zealand’s appeal system rests on “white knights” who are prepared to work for little, if any, payment – like barrister Jonathan Krebs, who represents Teina Pora alongside private detective Tim McKinnel.

An independent review body, which receives, investigates and considers cases of claimed wrongful conviction, would ideally be more accessible than the current appeal process, and ensure all claimants are afforded the same investigative resources. It would also be well-placed to determine whether someone should be compensated for wrongful conviction, removing political pressures that are currently placed on those who get to decide.

Another serious issue that needs to be addressed is the difficulty for appellate courts to reconsider evidence that is not directly in front of them, but rather recorded in words on paper. In most cases of miscarriage of justice, it’s these facts and witness testimonies that really matter. An independent

This is not at all to say that our justice system is seriously flawed – we’re all human, after all, and some error is inevitable. We have systems in place to address that, but it seems they could be better. But hey, at least we’re not executing people anymore. l

Feature

PORA’S APPEAL IS BEING FUNDED BY LEGAL AID – BUT WHAT IF IT WASN’T? IF SOMEONE’S SUBJECTED TO THE POWER OF OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM, THEIR ABILITY TO CHALLENGE ITS OPERATION SHOULDN’T BE A MATTER OF BEING ABLE TO AFFORD IT. editor@salient.org.nz

25

Interview

A N

I N T E R V I E W

W I T H

The Chief Working from her office above the Supreme Court sits Dame Sian Elias, the Chief Justice of New Zealand.

Sian Elias was appointed as the Chief Justice in 1999 and was the first woman in New Zealand history to be given that title. Since the creation of the New Zealand Supreme Court in 2005, she has worked, as its head, to develop the court into being an important part of our constitutional framework. The Chief is calmly assertive in her opinions. She seems relaxed and at ease throughout the interview. Salient sat down with her to talk about New Zealand’s justice system and what needs to be done to improve it.

Let’s start big: what do you think the role of the judiciary is in the constitutional system of New Zealand?

It is the maintenance of the rule of law. And the determination of disputes civilly and, in the criminal jurisdiction, determining responsibility. But the constitutional role is principally exercised through the supervisory function of judicial review1 to check arbitrary power.

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The Justice Issue

In the past, you have said that there may be certain instances where in order to protect the rule of law, you would interpret laws in ways which may be contrary to what Parliament wanted. Would you explain that?

because the judiciary really acts to protect the laws established

by Parliament. But there is a controversy about whether in interpreting legislation, which is the judicial responsibility, the

Judicial review is how individuals bring claims against the government or public bodies for misuse of their powers under the law. E.g. if the government had the power to cut people’s hair but they used that power to cut people’s heads off, an individual affected would be able to bring a legal claim in court to stop the government from cutting people’s heads off.

2 Classic legal concept that Parliament is supreme and is the only body that can make laws in New Zealand. The executive (like the Cabinet in NZ) and the judiciary (the judges) can’t make laws.

1

I don’t see that there is a clash between parliamentary sovereignty2 and judicial authority or judicial responsibility. I do think that the tensions in the political system are more between the judiciary and the executive,

aim is to try to work out what the intent of Parliament is, or whether one looks at the text of the statute and tries to work out the purpose of the statute. And in some respects, trying to work out what Parliament intended is often not a very worthwhile exercise, because it is very difficult to ascertain that. Parliament, of course, always has the final word, because if it doesn’t like the interpretation, it can change the legislation.

Interview

Justice Sometimes, there are laws that definitely exist on the books but aren’t applied equally or fairly.

For example, there are certain statistics that suggest that Police haven’t been prosecuting for possession of marijuana as strictly as they had in the past. Do you think that use of discretion is appropriate?

have the authority to supervise it. So if a discretion is exercised arbitrarily or unreasonably or exceeds the power and latitude of the discretion that has been conferred, then of course the courts will hold that it has been invalidly exercised.

We have always had discretion.

We have to have discretion in all fields of executive action, including Police, but no discretion is unlimited.

The role of the courts is to maintain discretion within proper boundaries. The courts have been very reluctant to supervise prosecutorial discretion, which is what you are talking about, but they do

Yup.

Through judicial review…

There has been a lot of focus lately on Youth Courts3 and whether they are “too secret” because they happen behind closed doors; do you see a value in maintaining the Youth Court system?

The criticism is that it happens behind closed doors?

Yeah.

Well, that’s protection. And that’s in accordance with international standards that youths are to be protected. We know a lot about the development of the human brain, and know that that impulse is actually based on some sound scientific fact that people do grow out of the impetuous behaviour which is behind an awful lot of youth crime. That protective impulse is quite sound.

I think it is a disgrace that women are not represented in the higher echelons of the profession.

Over the last ten years, there have been quite a few high-profile criminal cases (Lundy, Bain, Pora, Allan Thomas) where, to the average person, it seems that there have been miscarriages of justice, where evidence has to be reheard or the person who is found guilty is perhaps not guilty.

Do you think that connections can be drawn between those cases?

What needs to be changed?

Well, there have always been miscarriages of justice. In an earlier age, we didn’t hear about them, because people were executed. You always have to have systems for correcting injustice.

There are proposals to set up a criminal-review system, and I think there is sound reason to that, because when you want to reopen a case, often the courts aren’t very well situated to examine all the material. I sat on the Lundy case in the Privy Council, and that was a

The ACT Party supports the media being able to access and report on judgments of the Youth Court, which they currently can’t.

4 Sir Thomas Thorp is a retired judge of the NZ High Court. In 2005, he published a paper that examined high-profile criminal cases in New Zealand. He found that an independent criminal-review commission should be set up to review cases where there have been allegations of miscarriages of justice.

3

editor@salient.org.nz

27

Interview

hugely complex factual matter for an appellate court to come to grips with, so I think that the suggestions that have been made

by Sir Thomas Thorp4 and others have a lot of merit to them, and I hope one day they will be picked up.

higher positions?

help this?

Yes.

So there will be a separate way of dealing with criminal appeals?

Not just New Zealand’s legal system, everywhere.

No, not appeals. If something has gone wrong in the trial, then there must be a system of judicial correction by the appellate process5. But there are some cases where there is a risk that miscarriages of justice haven’t come to light in the criminaljustice process, and there has to be an ability to reopen those cases, particularly because we have DNA testing and things like that. It is done on an ad hoc basis now, on petition to the Governor-General for the Governor-General’s reference, but it would be better, I think, if we had more of a system.

Yep, totally. Do you think our current laws to protect privacy are sufficient?

Yeah, agreed. 70 per cent of law graduates are women, but only probably about 12 per cent of partners6 in law firms are women.

Is that a structural problem, and what needs to be changed?

Maori and Pasifika are overrepresented in crime and prison stats in New Zealand.

What do we need to be doing as a country to improve that area?]

I think the criminal-justice system can perhaps be more accommodating of difference.

Although I think there is a limit to that. I am very much in favour of the dispassionate, neutral administration of justice as far as that can be achieved. I mean, I do think the unequal effects of apparently equal laws are a constant challenge, and that challenge shouldn’t be minimised, but I do believe in the dispassionate administration of justice. I think there are limits to accommodations within the criminal-justice system. And I don’t see the criminal-justice system as the cause. I think it could help a lot more. I think it would help a lot more if we put more resources into rehabilitation and probation and all of those areas. We have a fairly punitive streak, which I don’t think necessarily helps in rehabilitation.

I do think that we have to look at ourselves as a society about where we are going with criminal justice, because I think we are loading too much into it, than it can really reasonably take. I have spoken publicly on things like the policies that put victims at centre stage in the criminaljustice process, because while it is entirely understandable,

I think it is partly structural, but I think it’s cultural as much as anything. And I think it is a disgrace that women are not represented in the higher echelons of the profession. It’s not just in the senior ranks of the big law firms; it’s also at the bar7. I think that the idea that a lot of people have had that with increasing numbers that that would be broken down, I’m not sure that it will, because I think it is a cultural thing and I think it is going to require more direct positive action.

So like specific mandates in law firms to take more women in 28

The Justice Issue

Obviously, lately, the issue of privacy has really been the hot topic in New Zealand. Do you think our current…

The law is pretty embryonic in those areas. Although we have had one tort of privacy8 recognised, that’s one Court of Appeal decision really, so I think that this is probably the trickiest problem for the courts at the moment, and it crops up also in the criminal-justice area as well because of the technological capacity for surveillance and investigation, and all jurisdictions are grappling with that too. I think we will see the law evolve.

I think that there should be changes to the criminal-justice process itself, but you can’t expect too much from the criminaljustice system. You’ve already failed as a society when you have people coming through into the system in the numbers that we have, and the overrepresentation of Māori, in particular, is something that we simply have to address. But the causes are not in criminal justice. The causes are social challenges that have to be addressed.

But you think looking into alternatives for criminal justice, incorporating more Maori perspectives, would be a way to

I think it has to be recognised that they are transforming what happens in our courts. And I am not sure that that is going to be sustainable, and I am not sure it really helps victims to keep them enthralled to the criminal-justice system. I think it would be much better to address the needs of victims directly.

Sorry, you were asking about Māori. All sorts of efforts are being made. Not so much in the jurisdictions that I am most closely associated with, because in this court and formerly when I was in the High Court, we were dealing with really serious crime in which your opportunities to be responsive to the individual are pretty circumscribed. But in the District Court, in the Youth Court, in the Alcohol and Drug Court, you are seeing initiatives being taken too, which I think are creative and extremely worthwhile. My worry is that because they are generally pilot schemes or they are not available throughout the country, we are getting uneven application of justice, and that bothers me.

Because I think equal treatment under law is absolutely critical to the rule of law, so I think we should put our money where our mouth is a bit more. If we think that the drug-and-alcohol courts

The appellate system refers to the hierarchy of our court system. If a case has been heard in the High Court, it can be appealed to the Court of Appeal and then the Supreme Court. Appeals are generally only on matters of law, and not disputes as to the evidence in a case.

6 Top-dog positions in a corporate law firm.

7 Legal-speak for those lawyers who argue in court rather than just working in a law firm where you rarely actually appear in court. ‘The bar’ has a very literal derivation. In courtrooms, there is a bar beyond which only practising lawyers (who have to sit ‘the bar exam’) can go. Members of the public, or, as lawyers say ‘laymen’, can’t cross the bar. Guts for us.

8 The current vibe of the law is that you can bring a claim against someone who publishes something (of which you have a reasonable expectation of privacy) about you against your consent, “the publication of which would be highly offensive to an objective reasonable person”. Whatever that all means.

9 In NZ, the highest court for appeals used to be the Privy Council, which was in England. That changed in 2004 with the creation of the Supreme Court.

5

Interview

You’ve already failed as a society when you have people coming through into the system in the numbers that we have, and the overrepresentation of Maori, in particular, is something that we simply have to address. But the causes are not in criminal justice. The causes are social challenges that have to be addressed. are working, then we should make them available nationwide.

But those do take huge amounts of resources. The problem is that if these problems are not addressed, they also consume huge amounts of resources.

Now, you have been on the Supreme Court for ten years now; what do you want your legacy to be – when, in a million years’ time, you retire from the Court, what do you want people to remember you for?

Well, I think the setting up of the Supreme Court9 is a great thing for NZ’s legal system, because when we had appeals to the Privy Council, very few cases were able to go. They tended to be not terrifically exciting cases, mainly with a lot of money

involved, but didn’t generally establish important points of legal principles, and there were huge areas of NZ law of direct concern to the lives of New Zealanders that never got a second-tier appellate look. I think a court doesn’t get established overnight.

I think getting it started was a huge achievement, and I think seizing the moment when there was the opportunity, and I think that it’s something that I am very pleased to have been part of. But the setting up of a court takes a long time to become an institution that is really valued in a community, and you can see that with all the great courts in the world. The High Court of Australia took a long time to really hit its straps and so too did the Supreme Court of Canada.

But those institutions are highly

respected institutions within their jurisdictions, and I look to the NZ Supreme Court for filling a similar role in NZ. But it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process.

What key advice would you give to a Law student wanting to make it in the area of the law?

I think you have to be adaptable, because things change very fast, and if anyone of my age looks back on their careers, it is so different now. They have to be adaptable. You have to take the work that comes your way, and any work is intrinsically interesting if you throw yourself into it. I think that it’s a mistake to be mesmerised by top-end work. I think all work well done is worthwhile. And I think that there are huge unmet legal needs.

So there is a lot of work to be done out there if you are not too narrow in your focus. So I always encourage people to think a little bit outside the square. To consider going to the provinces for different legal experiences. I think it’s a mistake to specialise too soon, but if you do specialise, I think it’s absolutely critical to keep sense of the scope and reach of the whole law, because no speciality is isolated from it.

You can miss currents that will swamp you. So, for example, if you are interested in resourcemanagement law, you have got to understand about general administrative law and the directions it’s taking, because otherwise, you know, just doing it the way you do it here, you will be sandbagged.

Thank you so much for your time. editor@salient.org.nz

29

Alcatraz

by Cavaan Wild

Alcatraz isn’t a penitentiary, but his dad might be in one.

He’s a boy from Marfell who doesn’t talk to strangers and has an eye infection.

Wise not to talk to strangers, he shouldn’t trust people. He’s right not to. Has a right not to.

Alcatraz is wary because he needs to be. Quick on his feet, dodging puddles barefeet amidst the mid-winter, a heavy hand or two. Who’s judging?

I don’t know if Alcatraz daydreams much. This isn’t a reflection of a lack of imagination, rather if your reality is real enough to warrant never closing an eye till you’re in class or you’re bleary, teary-eyed and hungry, losing focus isn’t worth it. His lunch would probably be stolen anyway, assuming he has some today. But I can’t back up all this talking, because Alcatraz never talked to strangers. Avoids them. Sensible. But it’s breakfast time. He has no breakfast, so he’s at school.

It is truly heartbreaking to see kids as young as five at eight in the morning with frowns on their faces. The day is ruined, and it’s only gonna get worse. But my guilt never helped anybody, and it’s not going to help Alcatraz.

I gave him jam toast in a silent transaction. Breakfast In Schools because we won’t give these kids anything else but Weetbix and white bread. He doesn’t trust my smile. He doesn’t trust the food. I’m inadequate. Weighed, measured, and found wanting because what I have he won’t ever get. One eyed, seeing one side of people.

Anger was in the other eye. I chose not to ask why.

Alcatraz has an eye infection because his mum had to choose between taking him to the doctor, buying groceries or filling the car.

That’s one hell of a decision to be faced with. Got to make it though.

I don’t know what she chose, but Alcatraz’s eye was swollen shut, weeping and raw when I saw him.

If one was to keep both eyes open on a June drive down Alcatraz’s street, it would be hard to miss him. Barefooted amongst mini lakes. A barelegged boy for all seasons.

But would they want to see him anyway? Would they lift their eyes above a little stranger?

See the bare feet, brown skin, swallow hard and avert their eyes to a phone screen, or a windscreen, or a computer screen, transition lenses to shield their pupils from that childish emotion of guilt.

Would they love a sniffling boy with a weeping eye?

They don’t know. They won’t tell me when I ask. It’s a strange concept to them.

I wonder if Alcatraz knows the choice his mum had to make she knows all about it.

I doubt he knows his dad.

I wonder if he realises these might be the happiest days of his life, and I worry that with that eye he won’t see them anyway.

He wouldn’t tell me if I asked. He doesn’t talk to strangers.

— CKW.

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The Justice Issue

Columns

Conspiracy Corner “Incognito Montoya vs. The World”

By Incognito Montoya

ay it please the court, the case of Conspiracy vs. Reality.

For the defence, Incognito Montoya, who argues that justice is a fiction. Present your evidence in whatever order you will.

M

Thank you, Your Honour.

Weird Internet Shit

By Philip McSweeney

ello readers! Without getting too selfreferential and shit, this is my last dispatch from my outpost deep in the hinterlands of obscure internet* (there’s not much traffic, but the service is appalling!) (I’m so sorry). And instead of going my usual route of ‘irreverent take on a bizarre website’, today’s theme is going

H

EXHIBIT A! The real-life superhero!

tights.

EXHIBIT B! The CSI effect!

Sometimes, ordinary lawenforcement is not enough to bring villains to justice. Sometimes, people just want to be Batman. In any case, the ‘real-life superhero’ movement takes place all over the globe (shout out to Christchurch’s ‘Flat Man’), but most originate from the Mecca of the superhero, the USA. The most famous being Phoenix Jones, who for a time actually did deal out mixed martial arts and pepper-spray-flavoured justice on the criminals of Seattle, until he was arrested in October 2011. The police called him a “deeply troubled individual” (code for “misunderstood guy, too cool to live”) and claimed he and the characters he inspires had to be removed for obstructing justice and interfering with police investigation (code for “down with tights, up with badges”). Justice is a power fantasy, whether in uniform or

No, this isn’t the ‘YEEEEEEEEEEEAH!’ that occurs when you put on sunglasses after making a pun. The reason behind CSI’s immense popularity was that the notion that science could be used to solve crimes was a relatively unexplored concept, and audiences ate it up, to the point of indigestion. Subsequent juries were disappointed that their court days were not like the show, full of swabs and carpet-fibre matches and DNA evidence (all of which are more difficult to procure in real life). Consequently, criminals were believed to have grown more careful after the show’s inception, believing that one stray hair, fingerprint or scuffed rug would send them straight to jail. Justice is science: it aims at truth, but falls short.

to be more ‘serious’ and ‘topical’.

Your patience will be rewarded with a treat at the end though.

Promise.

In the meantime: let’s talk about those hacks that happened last month. For those of you not clued in, a bunch of salacious photos of celebrities were disseminated by users of 4chan and reddit, having been taken illegally from their owner’s iCloud previously. Victims included Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. All were female. All were understandably distraught.

It was a disgusting breach of their privacy and dignity, and there has been a ‘round 2’ in recent days, with threats of ‘You’re next’ targeting Emma Watson after she outed herself as being fundamentally opposed to misogyny and neckbeardism.

The leaks were widely condemned and then promptly forgot about – fortunately, most people are becoming inured to the fact that people get naked

sometimes and that some people have pleasant-looking derrières and décolletages but That Doesn’t Give You The Right To Look At Them Without Permission Even If You’re Just Curious – except on reddit and 4chan, where people “didn’t sleep for 72 hours” in case there was another leak in what reddit charmingly titled “the fappening”.

4chan’s involvement should come as no surprise; it’s commonly considered the depths of the internet where morals go to die, and for good and obvious reasons. It’s reddit that’s the dark horse. It’s popular (I’ll bet that a bunch of you reading this are ‘redditors’, and are probably even decent-good people!), addictive and engaging. It is also run by asscockroaches.

In a way, reddit is the inverse of 4chan. The userbase of 4chan are awful while the people who run it aren’t totally terrible – posting pictures of the leak was immediately made a bannable offence that won’t make it past their photo-screening security, as is discussing it. The userbase

* Henry’s back next week though, don’t despair yet!

EXHIBIT C! Journalism, the

doing of justice to real-life events, is fiction.

Justice is considered synonymous with objectivity; Hunter S. Thompson (to whom this column owes a great deal of inspiration) once attested that the reason that politics is able to remain corrupt is because the news outlets insist on being objective.

Thus, journalism has become a sort of fiction. News conceals: it doesn’t reveal, it doesn’t hold up the travesties and triumphs of the world as something of note but as something that ‘happened’, and doesn’t encourage the public to think critically about them. It is written by robots for robots. When news does have a ‘side’, it is used to prop-up politicians. News gets to us quicker thanks to the internet, but it is not mulled over: just discarded in time for a new story to hit.

News becomes a product and not a service.

Justice is whatever you think.

Justice is whatever you need. Justice is whatever you want it to be. of reddit is mostly alright.

But its moderators? Only closed down the subreddit r/ thefappening a week after the leaks first appeared. Was their reason that they didn’t want to be complicit in the denigration and objectification of female sexuality and non-consensual picture sharing?

Like fuck it was. The “workload of dealing with (the posts) had become too much”. Those with elephantine memories will note that this isn’t the first time this has happened.

Two years ago, reddit refused to shut down r/creepshots, or a page dedicated to sharing posts of underage teenagers’ wardrobe malfunctions taken without their knowledge, on the basis of ‘free speech’.

So basically, this has been a PSA. While 4chan deserves all the flak it cops and more, redditors should stop acting like yo’ shit don’t stink. Lean a little bit closer and you’ll see what reprehensible perverted libertarian ideals really smell like.

Ooh-ooh-ooh. editor@salient.org.nz

33

Food

The Sweet Scoop

In Review:

Loretta

Black-and-White Brownie

by Julia Wells ull apologies for another brownie recipe. But once you try this, I think you’ll want it in your life as much as I do. Normal brownies are good, but black-andwhite brownie is even better. Soft, sweet, chocolate-chip-filled brownie topped with a chewy cheesecake layer?

Yes please.

F

This recipe is very adaptable. If you like your baking on the sweet side, put plenty of icing sugar into the cheesecake topping, while if you don’t, keep it plainer. If you have a favourite brownie recipe, then use that instead of the base I’ve given.

Method: Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Cream the butter and sugar, then add eggs and vanilla essence. Mix well, then add dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix cream cheese, icing sugar, flour and egg, and beat until smooth. Pour ¾ of the chocolate mixture into a greased tin, and top with the cream-cheese mix. Drop spoonfuls of the remaining chocolate mixture on top of the cream cheese, scattered across the brownie’s surface. Bake until the cream cheese is slightly golden and the brownie pulls away from the edge of the tin.

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The Justice Issue

Recipe: 140 g butter

Scant 1 cup sugar 2 eggs

¾ cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

¾ cup chocolate drops

¾ cup cream cheese

2/3 cup icing sugar

2 tablespoons flour 1 egg

oretta, upper Cuba St, is owned and run by the same people as Floriditas, a veritable Wellington institution a little further down Cuba St. I love Floriditas for their eggs and the brown-sugar pavlova they often have on the menu. Floriditas’ dinner menu is out of my price range, but, luckily for me, it’s Dad’s favourite restaurant, so I go with him when he’s in town.

Loretta opened earlier this year to much fanfare: everyone knew it was coming from the same people that do Floriditas, so it’s been pretty popular. The wait times have been kept to a minimum, presumably due to the sheer size of the joint.

Seating runs all the way down to the back of the building with windows looking out onto Swan Lane.

Like Floriditas, it is clear lots of thought has gone into the aesthetic: the Nordic décor is tasteful and clean, with a lot of wood and clean lines softened with interesting light fittings and rustic pottery. The Paul Melser earthenware alone is worth the visit (for me, at least: I’m pretty passionate about nice crockery): you can even buy his stuff at Loretta.

Like all my favourite places to eat in Wellington, the menu

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changes frequently and makes the most of fresh produce. The menu is healthy and filled with grains and pulses: I wouldn’t recommend a salad if you’re only after a fatty indulgence, but the salads are extremely popular and tasty. When I first tried Loretta, the week after it opened, the wait time for food was long and the pasta I had wasn’t anything I couldn’t cook myself.

However, the excellent coffee alone was enough to tempt me back. I’m a fan of the Ethiopia Yirgacheffe drip coffee. The menu seems to have improved, and the service is efficient and friendly. Word from the inside is that the green eggs and bacon, as well as the croque madame, are consistently popular favourites.

I normally prefer savoury food over sweet food at brunch, but I’m prepared to put that aside for the delicious waffles that are currently on offer.

Loretta is the place to go if you’re after somewhere for a tasty brunch that isn’t dripping with grease or hideously expensive.

I’m yet to try their dinner menu yet, but I’ve heard it’s particularly popular on Friday and Saturday nights, so I’m picking it’d be a good place to try for a Thursday date night.

Columns

Being Well New Zealand’s Failure Co-authored by Kent Smith, Counsellor, Student Counselling Service & Kaitlyn Smith, BA Honours Student, Victoria University

ew Zealand is in an inequality crisis, and that is not just – it is injustice personified by all of us, and it affects all of us. We are living in one of the worst countries in the world for inequality of wealth distribution and income distribution, and this directly contributes to our cultural inequalities, gender inequality, child abuse and

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Māori Matters

Nā Tyson Hullena ustice has no direct J translation in Te Reo Māori. This idea of justice in Māoridom goes further than the weight a single word can give it. The themes of justice that exist throughout Te Ao Māori are woven into tikanga Māori – a system by which correctness, rightness or justice is maintained.

Tikanga is an old idea. It dates back to when Kupe came,

child poverty, and the impact of these real-life experiences will/ does affect us all: every single one of us. Economic inequality matters – it affects the health and the wellbeing of everyone living in this society! “High levels of … inequality dramatically increase what is known as psychosocial stress: the psychological and physical effects of comparing ourselves to others and feeling inferior” (Rashbrooke, 2013, p 12). The injustice of inequality can lead to feeling angry, humiliated and alienated, which undermines personal dignity, philosopher Nayef Al-Rodhan (2009) argues, and this can be the cause of civil unrest, as Bob Marley sang in his seminal ‘Them Belly Full (But We Hungry)’: “a hungry mob is an angry mob” (1974). Economic inequality is a very harmful form of inequality. Wilkinson and Pickett (2010) find that there is a correlation between health and social problems and income inequality, including issues such

as anxiety, depression, chronic illness, and stress. The health and social outcomes for more unequal countries are substantially worse on every count, and New Zealand is at the most unequal end of the international scale.

bringing with him lore from Hawaiki that, with time, evolved to become what Māori know as tikanga today. Tikanga embodies a set of beliefs and practices, that help to organise behaviour and provide a framework to traditional Māori gatherings. Tikanga, based on whanaungatanga or kinship, has built-in rules of ethical and social value, that help to govern right and wrong.

total population of New Zealand, to represent over half of the prison population is one statistic to be ashamed of. Surely though, such disproportionate statistics point to a systemic problem. Our legal (and hence justice) system is inherently not Māori and does not uphold Māori values or thought patterns. It is not adequately equipped to deal with Māori issues and the conflict between tikanga and common law. How, then, can tikanga be emphasised in the justice system today?

Some time after tikanga was established as the legal system in Aotearoa, Māori inherited another legal system, the Common Law. Justice in the Common Law is focussed on the individual, holding them liable for the harm caused. This has been the dominant form of law in New Zealand since its introduction in 1840.

Māori crime statistics are abhorrent. For a group making up approximately 15 per cent of the

So where to from here? This is a very hard issue to address, but you can contribute now!

The perception of how people are treated can be used to judge a society (Shaw, 2013). This extends to how the least-advantaged members of society are valued and supported, and how those in power view distribution of income and resources among society. You, as a leader and a privileged individual, because of your educational opportunity, have enormous potential to consider these factors and do something about them – you, the future leaders in business, economics, law, politics, health, policy, education, and as the

The issue is not only with the law itself, but with those who deal with the law on a daily basis. Lawyers, judges and other legal professionals undergo no mandatory tikanga training in the course of their careers. How can they be adequately equipped to deal with problems stemming from Māori origins without some knowledge of tikanga?

thinkers of our nation’s future – you can contribute to everyone’s wellbeing by doing something to reduce inequality and injustice in New Zealand. Positive wellbeing is linked to human dignity which is linked to our sense of living in a just society. We all must make sure that there is dialogue promoting justice, engaging in debate which takes account of all the voices in our society, fair treatment for all, and accountability for decisionmakers. New Zealand’s failure could be addressed by you, and by doing this, you will not only positively affect your personal wellbeing and that of your family, but you will positively affect the wellbeing of a nation! So, contribute to reducing the income gap between the poorest and the wealthiest in New Zealand, and be proud of what could be your most important contribution New Zealand’s wellbeing. “The future is what we choose to develop as well as what we choose to ignore” (Tuhiwai Smith, 2013, p 228).

Justice Joe Williams covered such topics in his presentation ‘Lex Aotearoa’. Most notable were the themes evident in the Environment Court regarding kaitiakitanga and the preservation of native land. Progress is being made in the Family Court with the introduction of the Family Group Conference and Rangatahi Courts. These emphasise whanaungatanga, a central part of tikanga.

A viable solution would be the mandatory education of our future lawyers, judges and legal workers in tikanga, something that is currently overlooked. This may help to bridge the gap that exists between tikanga and the legal (and hence justice) system. This will allow Aotearoa to move away from monocultural strangulation and towards a pluralistic system, where tikanga exists within the law. A justice system for all.

editor@salient.org.nz

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Your students’ association

Sonya Says

by Sonya Clark VUWSA President Withdrawal from NZUSA t Tuesday’s Executive meeting, the VUWSA Executive decided to give notice to withdraw its membership from the New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA).

This decision has not come easily, but has been made after consideration of the long-term concerns that VUWSA has held with NZUSA. There have been concerns for a long time about NZUSA’s lack of performance and visibility on student issues, for the $45,000 of student money that funds it. We want to look at more effective uses of that money to ensure students have a voice at a government level.

We feel accountable to the referendum in which students voted in 2013. Last year, students voted to stay in NZUSA if the organisation undertook reforms.

These reforms were outlined

by AUSA (Auckland), OUSA (Otago) and VUWSA at the time, and required NZUSA to run visible, active campaigns on national student issues to restore students’ faith in the organisation.

The Executive believes this has not happened, and that lack of funding and other systemic issues mean this is highly unlikely to occur in future.

There are major concerns about value for money in what is a very tight fiscal environment. For the past few years, VUWSA has funded the NZUSA levy out of its financial reserves (savings); an unsustainable

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The Justice Issue

arrangement, especially when the Association was running major deficits. Last year, VUWSA ran an operational deficit of $136,000 (not accounting for VUWSA Trust support – which we should not be dipping into unless we have to).

While in 2014, VUWSA’s finances are more stable, our financial future is still uncertain – especially with the University holding the purse strings. The Executive feels it is unwise to continue funding NZUSA when there is little tangible benefit for Victoria students at high cost.

Some of you may wonder why this has happened now. The NZUSA constitution requires an entire year’s notice for withdrawing, which is why the Executive has acted now. This is not a hasty process, and in the next year, the Executive will work to ensure Victoria students have a voice on national issues – the shape and form this will take is up for debate.

If NZUSA is to undertake activities or campaigns that students value, VUWSA may be open to contribute to specific projects. We remain committed to a strong student voice on national issues, but the time has come to draw the line on an organisation that has talked of change for a very long time.

Since 2011, the Voluntary Student Membership environment has demanded that Students’ Associations adapt and change, something that this year’s Executive has taken very seriously. On a related note, check your inboxes this week for a ten-question survey from us – it’s about VUWSA and what you want us to do differently to work for you.

If you have any questions, concerns, or want to share your ideas about how we should progress, please give me a line.

In service, Sonya Clark VUWSA President M: 027 563 6986 | DDI: (04) 463 6986 | E: sonya.clark@vuw.ac.nz | W: www. vuwsa.org.nz

Exec Column Caroline Thirsk

Education Officer s a Law student, I usually think about justice in the wee hours of the day when I’m tackling my readings. In my youth, I was drip-fed stories of underdog heroes like Frodo Baggins or Tommy Pickles. Small in stature but big in heart, these underdogs would overcome insurmountable obstacles in the name of the greater good.

So it’s no surprise that in reading through court cases, I transform into a cheerleader for the little guy.

Whichever party is in the weaker position deserves victory. Why? Because I say so. That’s all that matters. Insert silly tongue-poke emoticon here.

Building these emotional narratives about court cases has been my way of determining right from wrong. Funnily enough, the law isn’t all that interested in rewarding the underdog because of their inherent underdog status.

Some might call this a logical, reasoned approach, in contrast to the naivety of my own thinking.

I call this a difference of opinion.

We should not readily accept pre-existing definitions of justice.

Let’s say for a moment that you lived in the parallel universe where the Justice Lords (as opposed to the Justice League) were in charge of protecting mankind. Justice is in the goddamn name, so they must be good guys, right? Well, the Justice Lords seized control of the world’s governments, suppressed

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free speech, and got all triggerhappy with their powers to perform lobotomies. Is this what you’d call justice?

To you, justice might mean getting an essay mark that reflects all the late nights and Red Bulls you invested. Justice might mean that your landlord doesn’t crash your flatwarming party unannounced or that your manager doesn’t overly pressure you into working extra hours. Whatever concerns or worries pop up in your life, VUWSA can ensure that you are treated justly and respectfully.

VUWSA offers all students access to a free, professional and confidential Advocacy Service, which is 100 per cent independent from the University. The service is primarily provided by the amazing Jackie Anderson, your Student Advocate. Whatever your issue, Jackie will listen to you, explore options and risks, and support, coach, and work alongside you towards a solution which is in your best interests.

Jackie has many years’ experience in youth advocacy and can assist you with most things. She can provide you with information and advice, explain University regulations and processes, suggest options, attend meetings with you, advocate on your behalf, facilitate communication, mediate disputes, debrief with you, or simply refer you to other services that might be able to help.

Having worked with Jackie this year, I can honestly say that she is one of the most kind and knowledgeable people I have ever met. She can be contacted at advocate@vuwsa.org.nz.

As the Beatles say (to the tune of ‘Let It Be’): “When you find yourself in times of trouble Your Student Advocate is here for free Speaking words of justice See Jackie!”

Columns

How to be a successful vigilante superhero

Shirt & Sweet with Eleanor Merton

Your weekly column on how to be annoyed but still cute

ustice provides a unique J avenue for exploring the perfect synthesis of the sweet and the shirty.

As is evident in the tradition of many superheroes, you can kick alllll the butt while also helping and supporting those in need.

Thus, we will today be looking at:

History That Hasn’t Happened Yet Guest column by Joe Morris Have a sad wank, Chris Lynch: I’m trying to make my history just.

here is a programme on Christchurch TV called Lynched. (For non-CTV viewers, I’m serious.)

It’s an unjust title. So much so, it is only just for me to tell the host to have a sad one. I shouldn’t be surprised: Lynch is just aligning with his ‘classic talkback’ (racist)

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We must start here in the same place as all great heroes have their beginning: with lycra.

Your costume will be the first thing people notice about you, the first thing that makes your hero brand clear to others. It is vital that you cultivate it properly. The more metallic you can get in, the better. Dark lilac-grey is a nice place to start.

And it better fit you like a skin.

You will also need a cape. It will probably be best if your cape is actually a blanket, like one of those woollen ones with the silky bits around the edges.

Just because, y’know. It can get cold in the dark corners of the world where evil and injustice lurk, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting. Also, flying is cold.

opinions. For people who have been through unspeakable pain at the hands of extralegal ‘justice’ in the name of white supremacy, the play on words is unfunny and shit. This isn’t making fun of Jesus Christ, the superstar. This is the death of 4742 people in America between 1882 and 1968.

We are constantly referring to the past, and using history in our attempts to achieve a just society.

It is the reason legal precedents hold such an important place within modern justice systems.

Or why the Archives attempts to hold the future’s history. It is also why events of extreme suffering should not be appropriated in ignorant programme titles.

Beyond referencing the past in legal and official worlds, it is all the more important on individual, personal levels. How you situate yourself within history, within your own lifespan and beyond, will dictate how you conceive what justice is, and how

Write a manifesto of your personal code of ethics. Print it on nice paper and sell it at Zinefest. Cultivate a psychic connection with some kind of animal. Perhaps wolves or panthers. Use this power to summon vicious allies to you in the heat of battle and to tame pets at house parties.

You are dressed in your metallic lilac lycra suit. You have a satchel filled with your ethicalmanifesto zines. Your jewellery is on point. You have your animal friends on standby. you have an app downloaded that alerts you to nearby incidents of injustice. You have three notifications. One of them is right behind you. You whip around with quite-fast-butstill-human speed. And there they are. The Injustice League.

You straighten your spine, flick your cape-blanket behind you you conduct yourself towards achieving some sort of justness.

Take the memorialisation of so many people lynched in America. Starting in 2005, a reenactment has taken place every July, remembering a lynching at Moore’s Ford Bridge in 1946 of four African-Americans, one a woman seven months pregnant.

It is an explicit and emotive act of public remembering. (YouTube “lynching reenactment”.) A group of white men – ten-gallon hats, cowboy boots and all – violently drag several black people along the bridge, rifles at heads – “Nigger get down!” Voices howl hymns as the four victims are shot at with blanks. Tarps catch the fallen bodies and imagined, remembered blood. It is over the top, though not far beyond historic reality.

Reenactments are a foreign image to New Zealand’s culture of memorialisation. I thought of reenactments as trivial. Though

and run through your possible dramatic lines. You reject “You know what I’m sick of? People like you walking the streets of my city,” and “If you commit injustice near me again, I will sew you up through all your orifices using your fist as the needle and your arm as the thread,” in favour of “How about you come to my house, and I will serve you up a beautiful home-cooked meal followed by… justice.” It was the option with the potential for most effective use of dramatic pause, a consideration vital for your role. You are true to your word, delivering both a delicious meal and justice. You sleep deeply that night.

You awake remembering that justice is the only quantified, objective and verifiable truth outside of your own mind. You justice, therefore you are. how much more trivial than a 100-gun salute, or an ANZAC poppy, it is hard to say. Upon watching the video, I realised my ignorance. One of the reenactors makes the point: “I do this every year to bring attention to the disparities that we are facing in life, and young people need to know the truth: this is why I do what I do.”

To know truth is to know justice. Beyond highlighting the freedom of Ku Klux Klan members who have never been subject to justice, the reenactment serves the members of that community outside Athens, Georgia, to serve their own kind of justice through remembrance and collaboration between once disparate peoples. Though unlikely, there are lessons to be learned here by Chris Lynch.

And, more hopefully, by our wider culture of remembering. #WW100.

editor@salient.org.nz

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Friday afternoons from 3pm - close

Arts

If you want to write about the arts, or think there is something we should review, email arts@salient.org.nz.

Music Feature

Interpol – El Pintor Albumreview reviewby byHugh HughHaworth Haworth Album

Restraint drew me to Interpol. Amid the mess of rock uncertainty in the early 2000s, Interpol found their sound, a synthesis between the sparsity of Joy Division and the danceability of Franz Ferdinand.

The songwriting and voice of frontman Paul Banks shined through a sparse rhythm section; vocal melodies and clever lyrics cut between trebly guitars and captivating drum beats. There was a gripping subtlety to Interpol which set them apart.

So how does the 2014 effort compare with Interpol’s creative peak? Their self-titled 2010

release sounded like a hollow reiteration of the band’s sound without the substance of strong lyricism. El Pintor is a definite improvement on Interpol.

Sonically, the album is powerful.

Rock veteran Alan Moulder mixed El Pintor, but with vocals and guitars drenched in reverb, it sounds like it was mixed by an ambient producer. Many of the songs crescendo into gigantic layered cathedral-guitar ballads.

The listener is treated to the grooves of Sam Fogarino, whose drumming cuts through the loose texture and proves himself again an essential asset to Interpol’s sound. Strong points come when

Aphex Twin – SYRO

Albumreview reviewby byHugh Henry Cooke Album Haworth

When Aphex Twin’s last album came out, the world had just fallen apart. I’m not going to pretend that I remember October 2001 all that well, but drukQs probably suited the moment somewhat, a mixture of subtle melancholy and pure chaos. SYRO isn’t as ambitious as anything from Richard’s prime, but it’s still an Aphex Twin album through and through – intricate, unique, and almost organic, like a computer growing flesh.

Most of the album is ‘drummy’ Aphex, beats colliding and intertwining around some very ’90s-sounding synths. You probably couldn’t really **dance**

to this, not without holding an exposed wire, nor could you fall into the kind of introspective trance that Selected Ambient Works Volume II brings on – but while it gets pretty messy, it never really gets scary, not as scary as Richard can go.

I’m struggling to write about it without referring to his other work, which is a shame. While each track is its own, the lack of vocals and general chaotic consistency between tracks means songs don’t really jump out at you.

Opener ‘minipops 67 [120.2] (source field mix)’ starts with drums that propel urgency, but swiftly mellows itself out with

the album expands its harmonic palette – the jazzy chords in the intro of ‘Same Town, New Story’ and the key-changes in ‘Tidal Wave’ both do well to break up riffs which would otherwise seem monotonous.

But once again, Paul Banks disappoints with his lyricism and his failure to match up to the catchy hooks on Turn on the Bright Lights and Antics. He sings “The Ocean, I could go anywhere! I could go anywhere!

So free, my place in the sun, I could go anywhere!” in the chorus to ‘Anywhere’. Maybe these lyrics are ‘deceptively

simple’, but to me, they sound like the poetry of an inspired 14-year-old. The vocals almost seem an afterthought when the instrumentation sounds so huge and haunting. Did Banks set himself too much work when he decided to cover bass duties after Carlos Dengler quit the band?

Overall, the album is extremely listenable and contains an energy not present in Interpol’s last few albums, but as the band tries to develop this new reverb-drenched sound, it fails to give us another ‘Evil’. If you haven’t listened to Interpol before, I suggest you return to Antics.

pitch-shifted nonsense and a very comforting synth or four. No movement really stays around long enough to get comfortable, and no time signature present seems remotely playable, at least until the beautiful last track, ‘aisatsana [102]’, a hauntingly minimal piano piece, played of course by a robot-piano (when playing live, he swings it from the ceiling) rather than Richard himself.

Five songs John Key has on his ‘#threemoreyears’ playlist:

According to his first interview in many years, robotic instruments feature on quite a large amount of the album, as he really likes the idea of taking computerised sounds out into the real world and back in again. Why sample a snare hit when you can make a robot hit a snare whenever you want?

Rustie – ‘Raptor’ Thy Slaughter – ‘Bronze’ Wavves – ‘Post Acid’ Tunji Ige – ‘Day2Day (Remix) [ft. Michael Christmas and iLoveMakonnen]’ Perfect Pussy – ‘I’

SYRO is a worthy addition to the Aphex canon, and a whole lot of fun. With any luck, we’ll have Selected Ambient Works Volume III before the decade is out.

Grouper – ‘Call Across Rooms’ Modern Baseball – ‘Your Graduation’ Waxahatchee – ‘Lively’ Vampire Weekend – ‘Obvious Bicycle’ Now, Now – ‘School Friends’

Royalty-free MIDI tunes – ‘Victorythemed (four bars)’ Eminem – ‘Sing for the Moment’ Coldplay – ‘Fix You’ The Feelers – ‘As Good As It Gets’ Jeff Beal – ‘House of Cards (Intro theme)’

Five songs for your ‘Yay, uni is almost over!’ playlist:

Five songs for your ‘Oh God, uni is almost over’ playlist:

editor@salient.org.nz

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Feature Arts

Film

play his role, a natural at naïve pursuance of power. Bruce Willis was a phenomenal ghost; he had even me fooled, initially. We are also blessed with the surprise appearance of a pop genius that bolsters the film’s representation of bad romances.

A Neo-Noir Wunderkind Film review Doyle Album reviewby byCharlotte Hugh Haworth

Only true film connoisseurs could grasp the beauty of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. A journey into neo-noir, the postmodern contemporaneous form of film noir. ‘Noir’ meaning ‘black’ in français.

‘Black’ meaning ‘dark and dangerous’. ‘Dangerous’ meaning ‘treacherous’.

‘Treacherous’ meaning ‘the repulsively enigmatic Sin City where everyone is enslaved to the temptation of their inner monster’. “Death is life in Sin City: it always wins.” It’s deep.

Let me launch into a panegyric.

Replete with abhorrent nuances, the film sweeps you into twisted reconnaissance. Riddled with complicated symbolism hinting at overarching themes such as revenge, unreciprocated love and power balances, it took even me some ponderous post-film reflection to realise its profoundness. It brilliantly avoided being histrionic and overheated. Dense with graphic detail and dynamic cinematography, Jessica Alba’s confused inner turmoil truly lept out at you from the screen (possibly facilitated by the presence of 3D glasses).

The black-and-white visual commitment was positively resplendent.

Eva Green is an illustriously seductive femme fatale with successful sultry cajolery of besotted vulnerable men using those bewitching emerald eyes.

The men were tripping on lust with her every husky word and nudist rendezvous. The unfortunate circumstance of editing meant these scenes were short and sharp. Mickey Rourke, a fantastical embodiment of the city’s twisted brutality. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was born to

It brilliantly avoided being histrionic and overheated. Dense with graphic detail and dynamic cinematography, Jessica Alba’s confused inner turmoil truly lept out at you from the screen (possibly facilitated by the presence of 3D glasses).

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The Justice Issue

People may say this film fails to live up to its predecessor; however, this is simply farcical.

The vile corruption of this violence-ridden city continues to overwhelm, with the audience swept away by the monochrome form of this visual spectacle. “Sin City’s where you go in with your eyes open, or you don’t come out at all.”

The The Italian Italian Film Film Festival Festival

The Italian Film Festival comes to Wellington on 9 October, and will run until the end of the month at the Embassy theatre. The programme contains many prolific, critically acclaimed films. Particularly recommended is Honey (Miele) (director Valeria Golino), which collected a variety of prizes at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013. It intimately explores the work of Irene, who helps those with terminal illness to ‘pass on’ outside the law, and the challenges posed to her rigid compliance with a personal set of ethics when a client is suffering from depression rather than life-threatening illness. Others to watch out for are A Special Day (Un giorno speciale) and The Unlikely Prince (Il principe abusivo).

Arts

Books

The Red Queen Bookreview reviewby byHugh Nina Haworth Powles Album

I kept looking out my bedroom window as I finished The Red Queen. I live in Kelburn, where the final story in the book is set. Outside my window, there’s this enormous kowhai tree. A spring gale was throwing the little yellow buds against the glass. It was getting dark, but through the branches of the kowhai tree I could make out all the jagged, narrow streets of Kelburn, the same streets where many characters in The Red Queen happen to live.

It’s not a familiar feeling. A lot of people tend to shy away from books and stories set at home, around the corner, up the coast, or in the dense New Zealand bush.

But it’s also the best feeling. The Red Queen is a beautiful book of short stories. Its close proximity to all the places you know, the places where you grew up and went on long car trips with your mum and dad, is startling at first. “Oh – wait, I walk past there every day,” is not something I can say about James Joyce, or Hemingway, or Woolf. It’s refreshing.

This is Gemma BowkerWright’s first collection of short stories. She lives in Wellington (she’d have to – you can tell she knows it by heart) and did her MA at Victoria. Her stories take us all over New Zealand, usually by car, mapping a constellation

of points of memory (for her characters, and for us – multiple stories reminded me of driving around the South Island in the rain with my parents when I was little) from Greymouth to the Sounds, across the Cook Strait Ferry, up the Kapiti Coast, up through volcano country. The native bush, or the New Zealand ecosystem, is always looming.

Some characters skim through this landscape on the open road. Some venture deep inside it at night, collecting giant wetas and putting them in boxes. It’s not surprising, then, that Bowker-Wright also has a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Science. Threads of intricate scientific detail run through the book. Passages of visual, textual description are precise and palpable as if pricked alive by electric shocks: in one story, the horizon is “cutting hills into halfmoons”, and one character thinks the Tongariro Crossing is just like “walking across the moon”.

Not every story is quite so alive, if that’s not a wanky way of describing it. The opening story, for instance, didn’t gel with me. Neither did a couple of ‘love stories’ (for lack of a better category). The protagonists sometimes lost me in their unwillingness to open up to the reader. But other stories struck me speechless, even ones that were

slow to get going: like ‘Cowboy’ with its painfully vivid characters, the texture of the landscape in ‘Rock Formations’ and ‘The Takahe’, the chilling ending of ‘Missing’. (After I read ‘Missing’, I blinked rapidly, then had to go back and read it, put it down, and do some breathing exercises).

In ‘Endangered’, insidious male violence in a small-town community rushes very suddenly to the story’s surface. It’s like something that’s been buried, suddenly dug up by accident, then shoved back below ground where it wrecks lives from beneath the surface.

In ‘Back to the Sea’, BowkerWright’s prose unravels slightly.

Not in a bad way. It unrolls like a wave uncoiling, loosening and expanding to fit the mythical stories told to the child by his great-grandmother. When told to remember them, the boy says he’ll try but it feels impossible, “like holding back a mountain of water with my arms.” Somehow, there are stories in this book where characters can’t say the things they mean and everything is tightly wound, coming to the surface in quick, precise bursts – and then stories that are like “a mountain of water”, expanding and contracting at the same time.

I don’t know how to pin down this writer’s brilliance. There’s a new brilliant thing cropping up in each story. There’s this final passage of the final story, ‘Katherine’, where the character goes outside at midnight and looks around.

The garden seems to come alive.

It’s so poetic and so lyrical but so precise, lucid: “The verandah awnings look like petrified lace in the darkness.” Petrified lace – goddamn. Moments like these remind me of something out of a Mansfield story, perhaps one set in Karori. Moments like these make this debut collection truly striking.

Amazon.com Amazon.com Users Review Review Users Really Famous Famous Really Novels Novels Ulysses, James Joyce “Great experience. def do biz here again.”

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald “a self-involved, negative wank fest.”

The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir “I, a young white man, read this book last week. It contained almost nothing I had not read before.”

To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf “Meaningless to the average person, of interest to an in-bred few.”

On the Road, Jack Kerouac “Hubristic Trash” Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë “pride and prejudice is decent but this is garbage.”

Moby Dick, Herman Melville “WHY WOULD U PUT AN ORCA ON THE COVER OF MOBY DICK?” For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway “Great characters and story. I felt like I was on the mountainside in a cave. It was awesome.”

editor@salient.org.nz

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Arts Feature

Visual Arts

Objects Breaking Apart An interview withreview Dr Gerald SmithHaworth

by Simon Gennard Album

by Hugh

T

he story goes like this.

During exile on Saint Helena, Napoleon lived in a lodge lined with a particular kind of green wallpaper. The dye used in the wallpaper contained arsenic which reacted to the humid conditions of the island and contributed to the illness which eventually killed him.

The story is false. The amount of arsenic in the wallpaper was comparatively low by contemporary standards. In 2008, researchers analysed samples of Napoleon’s hair from throughout his life and found levels had remained relatively high since childhood. It is more likely that he died of a combination of a peptic ulcer and gastric cancer.

The story was told to me by Dr Gerald Smith, not in an attempt to convince me of its substance, but to demonstrate the ways in which materials can react in certain atmospheres. Dr Smith directs the master’s programme in Heritage Materials Science at Victoria University, which teaches students to identify fundamental chemical processes in the degradation of cultural artefacts, and the ways in which materials can be stabilised and objects preserved.

Dr Smith, whose research focus is on the chemical makeup of dyes and pigments, initially got involved with heritage sciences after an invitation from a colleague at the British Museum who was

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preparing to mount an exhibition of taonga.

“I started out there looking at the degradation of Māori flax that had been dyed with a traditional black dye,’ he tells me, ‘whenever this dye has been used, it degrades the substrate: in this case, the flax fibres.”

The degradation, he discovered, was the result of the production of acetic acid in the mud-based dye.

Some things we know by sight: van Gogh’s reds are faded, van Dyck’s browns are smudged, Rembrandt’s whites are darkened and cracked.

Understanding the chemical processes behind these degradations can aid conservators in treatment. Van Gogh, for instance, used a red lake dye, derived from the roots of madder plant. The pigment is translucent and, when used in combination with a darker, more opaque pigment, creates a deep, rich tone.

Lake pigments are also unstable under light. The longer they’re exposed to light, the higher the likelihood the molecules in the pigment will break apart, resulting in the fading of colour.

“There’s a famous pigment called van Dyck brown,” Dr Smith explains, “which is obtained by charcoal, but it also contains other substances that prevent the drying oil from drying, so those brown pigments tend to bleed.”

As for Rembrandt, on the surface of The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp, there appeared a number of red-orange protrusions.

These protrusions are called lead soaps, and are caused by the reaction between the lead white paint, linseed-oil binder, and sulfur in the atmosphere.

The ethical considerations of conservation are fraught. The question of cleaning lead soaps, for instance, is incredibly contentious.

“When you’ve got protrusions like that occurring, abrasion during cleaning could easily upset [the surface].”

Another issue that emerges is the authenticity of artworks.

Our conversation returns to Rembrandt. In 1968, a group of art historians embarked on a 40-year project to assess the 420 known works attributed to Rembrandt across various public and private collections. The aim was to apply exactly the same methods and scrutiny to each work to assess whether they were the product of the artist himself.

The plan was contentious: some public and private institutions were reluctant to present their works for analysis. A removal of attribution could knock tens of millions of dollars off the painting’s value.

One of the most obvious ways chemical analysis of pigments aids in the authentication of works is in its ability to help date the work.

Dr Smith tells me the story of the Vinland map:

“It’s purported to be a map of a pre-Columbian map of North America, and it was bought for a considerable amount of money... but there have been analyses done on some of the pigment, and it’s claimed they’ve used a substance that is synthetic, and was only available post-1950.”

Authentication is not always so simple. Using synthetic materials is an obvious trap to fall into, he tells me. For works produced in Rembrandt’s studio, their proximity, in terms of their intimacy with the artist and the distance of 300 years, makes authentication a difficult task. “I’ve heard it said,” Smith says, “that it’s impossible to actually prove something’s authentic: the best you can do is to say sometimes that it’s not.”

The conservator operates in the realm of uncertainty. The decision to intervene means navigating not just the degradation of the material but a range of economic (Is funding for ongoing restoration available? How will restoration affect the monetary value of a work?), ethical (How to ensure alterations are reversible?) and practical considerations of restoration. Analysis of the chemical makeup of the materials can never amount to the elimination of doubt; it can, however, reduce it.

Arts

Feature Theatre

An Unauthorised Audio Tour of Te Papa Review by by David Williams Album review Hugh Haworth

B

inge Culture are well known among Wellington theatre circles for producing unorthodox yet thoroughly entertaining theatre. Comprised of Rachel Baker, Joel Baxendale, Simon Haren, Fiona McNamara, Claire O’Loughlin and Ralph Upton, they are currently aiming to raise enough money to take some of their work to a New Zealand performance festival in New York next year.

The work Binge Culture makes often subverts what one would expect when they see theatre. The passive element of simply sitting back and watching a story unfold in front of you vanishes. Their theatre is interactive, challenging, and requires a certain amount of

confidence to really enjoy what you’re both watching and, in a lot of cases, interacting with. In Whales, one of their most wellknown works, they require the audience members to actually bathe the ‘whales’ to keep them alive.

This time, Joel and Ralph have created an alternative piece of theatre called An Unauthorised Audio Tour of Te Papa. It requires the participant to do all of the work. They narrate the listener through a 40-minute walking tour of floors four, five and six of the national museum. The great part about this work is Joel and Ralph have subverted what one would expect with an audio tour – to passively stroll around, match up the required listening

That is what is required with most of Binge Culture’s work. If you’re too afraid of what people will think or doing it wrong, it detracts from the experience.

to the corresponding exhibitions and nod if you find something interesting.

The listener doesn’t focus their attention on the actual exhibitions, but instead towards the more mundane aspects of the museum. That may not sound like something that would be funny, but it really is. Joel and Ralph’s wonderfully deadpan commentary guided me through the tour. I found myself doing things that I would have never have contemplated if I wasn’t obeying their instructions.

I found myself laughing out loud as I walked through Te Papa on a Tuesday morning, with the café full of parents and senior citizens, and the lobby full of children. I wasn’t even near any of the works and exhibitions. In fact, I was completely ignoring what they had on display. I must have looked like a fool to anyone who was watching me. However, at that point, I didn’t care. I was enjoying the audio tour too much to care if anyone found me strange for laughing out loud in random spaces. That is what is required with most of Binge Culture’s work. If you’re too afraid of what people will think or doing it wrong, it detracts from the experience.

As I said before, a large amount of confidence is required to really appreciate Binge Culture’s

work. They push the boundaries of theatrical production and audience interaction and throw the audience members out of any perceived comfort zone they place themselves in when watching a show. They require you to participate and experience theatre rather than simply observe it. If you are going to download and take their unauthorised tour of Te Papa, be prepared to run around the exhibitions, stare at the tiles on the observation deck and take more interest in the facilities than the content of the museum. But if you do, An Unauthorised Audio Tour of Te Papa is hilarious and brilliant.

Binge once again prove why they are worthy of their many awards and accolades by creating a piece of interactive theatre that requires the participant to do all the work, yet gain the most enjoyment out of it.

Like all of Binge’s work, don’t be afraid to take part. The experience is far more enjoyable if you do.

Don’t forget: if you see something on the ground, pick it up. And watch out for the red shirts.

To download the Unauthorised Audio Tour of Te Papa, visit Binge Culture’s website. The suggested koha donation is $10. If you want to help get New Zealand theatre all the way to New York, visit http://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/ new-performance-new-york and donate.

editor@salient.org.nz

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What’s On Feature

Music: Claude Rains Thu 2 Oct, 8 pm Meow, $10

Mulholland Thu 2 Oct, 8.30 pm Moon, $15 ScHoolBoy Q Oh. Luxury.

Fri 3 Oct, 8 pm James Cabaret, $75 Shapeshifter (DJ Set), The Upbeats, DJ Tiki Sat 4 Oct, 8 pm James Cabaret, $50 Theatre: Everything is Surrounded by Water BEST SOLO – New Zealand Fringe 2014 “Riveting and moving” – The Capital Times “This is intense. But I get it.” – Theatreview 30 September – 4 October 9 pm at BATS Theatre

Vic students: stand up against human trafficking The United Nations estimates that 20.9 million people worldwide are victims of forced labour, and many of them are trafficked. 58 per cent of trafficking victims are forced into the sex industry. Most of these are women and children. Support the fight against this atrocity by participating in the Live Below the Line initiative.

Wellington’s Fight Against Human Trafficking is a studentled campaign established at VUW in conjunction with TEAR Fund New Zealand to raise awareness of the fastest-growing form of crime. The challenge is to live five days under the poverty line – just $2.25 a day here in New Zealand. TEAR Fund’s cookbook – One Helping – will help guide you through this challenge by showcasing recipes from top Kiwi chefs that cost just 75 cents per helping.

All funds raised go directly towards TEAR Fund’s partner NVader, an anti-trafficking 44

The International Justice IssueIssue

GOD-BELLY An existential romp that ricochets between a 13thcentury French abbey and a student flat in 21st-century Auckland. Catherine, a subversive nun, and Jude, a BA student, hunger for salvation in worlds apart, but as they push their bodies to breaking point, their worlds begin to collapse on one another.

30 September – 4 October 6.30 pm at BATS Theatre

An Unseasonable Fall of Snow Written 15 years ago by 2013 Playmarket Award recipient Gary Henderson, the themes interwoven throughout the play are as relevant now as then, with issues faced by those marginalised in modern society prevalent in the media along with IT whizz kids and whistleblowers bringing down the credibility of corporates and political regimes and the global economy in decline.

24 September – 4 October at organisation which works to rescue and rehabilitate sextrafficking victims in Southeast Asia. Last year, NVader rescued 40 victims of sex trafficking and prosecuted 14 offenders.

Extreme poverty in Southeast Asia fuels the multi-billion-dollar sex-trafficking industry, as it makes women and children vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking. Action must be taken to dismantle the environment that helps perpetuate this crime.

We are not immune to this injustice in New Zealand either: last month, the first humantrafficking charges were laid in this country. New Zealand is a destination country for traffickers to exploit the most vulnerable and violate their basic human rights.

We encourage you to Live Below the Line to ensure victims are supported and gain access to justice. We hope that together we can see the perpetuators of sex trafficking prosecuted and empower those who have been so disempowered.

Circa Theatre Tuesday to Saturday, 7.30 pm Sunday 4.30 pm Books: Spring Poetry Evening: Listen to English and Chinese poetry read by leading translators and scholars. Members of the public also welcome to read their poetry (spaces limited).

Wednesday 1 October, 6–7.30 pm Wellington City Library. Free entry.

Film: Wellington Film Society Bamako – 29 September: examines the financial effects of globalisation on Africa.

The Man Who Fell to Earth – 6 October: science-fiction film starring David Bowie.

Releases Dracula Untold – 2 October Gone Girl – 2 October The Film Archive Farewell – mediagallery

exhibition ‘In the Shadow of War’ British/French/German Film Festival: 1–4 October – Free Joyeux Noël – Wednesday 1 October. 6 pm. 116 mins.

Un long dimanche de fiançailles (A very long engagement) – Thursday 2 October, 6 pm, 133 mins.

Die Manner der Emden (Odyssey of Heroes) – Friday 3 October, 6 pm, 144 mins.

Oh! What a Lovely War – Saturday 4 October, 6 pm, 116 mins.

Visual Arts: Ebbing Tagaloa Paula Schaafhausen with Suzanne Tamaki Enjoy (1–23 October). Opening 1 October, 5.30 pm.

Simon Denny: The Personal Effects of Kim Dotcom The first museum-scale solo exhibition in New Zealand by the Berlin-based artist.

Adam Art Gallery (4 October – 19 December)

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notices Vic OE – Vic Student Exchange Programme Deadline for Tri 2, 2015 exchanges is 1 December.

Why not study overseas as part of your degree?!

Study in English, warn Vic credit, get StudyLink and grants, explore the world!

Weekly seminars on Wednesdays, Level 2, Easterfield Building, 12.50 pm Website: ttp://victoria.ac.nz/ exchange Visit us: Level 2, Easterfield Building Drop-in hours: Mon–Wed 1–3 pm, Thurs & Fri 10 am – 12 pm Careers and Jobs Applications closing soon…

Organisations: Closing Date Hewlett Packard: 29 Sep MetService: 29 Sep Communication Agencies Association of NZ: 30 Sep EcoGecko Consultants: 30 Sep Skope Industries: 30 Sep New Zealand Law Society: 30 Sep Unleashed Software: 30 Sep Wynyard Group: 30 Sep Abiliquip: 2 Oct AgResearch – Māori Studentships: 3 Oct Asia New Zealand Foundation: 3 Oct Compac Sorting Equipment: 3 Oct Powerco: 3 Oct Vynco Industries: 3 Oct Allen + Clarke Policy and Regulatory Specialists: 5 Oct Department of Conservation: 6 Oct EY: 6 Oct Izon Science: 6 Oct New Zealand Productivity

Commission: 8 Oct Ossis: 10 Oct Spark Dental Technology : 10 Oct Westpac Group: 10 Oct Heinz Wattie’s: 12 Oct Bluelab Corporation: 15 Oct Check details on CareerHub: www.victoria.ac.nz/careerhub Business and Investment Club The Business and Investment Club (BIC, www.bic.org. nz) invites you to the next guest-speaker event: ‘Digital entrepreneurship’ by Shane Bartle, co-founder and CEO of Smallfish, a cloud solution company that creates online shops. He created his first software company while at high school. This didn’t help him get a girlfriend, but was the start of a long love affair with making people‑friendly software. So, what brought him to the idea of creating a business that will allow people with no IT skills to launch their own online shop?

What is his approach to digital entrepreneurship and what is the future of Smallfish? Come find out and learn how you can create your own online store. The event takes place on Monday 6 October, 4 pm @ RWW501 (5th level of Railway West Wing building, Pipitea Campus).

VicIDS VicIDS Speaker event today (Monday 29 Sep!) 5 pm in Room 304 of the Cotton Building, Kelburn There will be food and drink =) “So you want to work in the developing world? Knowing your motivations and having what it takes.” — Dr Sheena Hudson Volunteer development work is increasingly common and

is a potentially life‐changing experience, but research on it is very limited. Dr Sheena Hudson, through her work with Volunteer Service Abroad (VSA) and her PhD research, is an expert in development programmes. Dr Hudson will speak about her

research on why people work in development. This will shed light on the selection process for programmes like VSA and the outcome these volunteer projects have on the developing area and the volunteers themselves.

Council Elections 2014 Election by the students ELECTION OF ONE MEMBER OF THE UNIVERSITY COUNCIL BY THE STUDENTS Nominations for the election of a student member to the University Council closed on Wednesday 24 September at 5pm. Four nominations were received.

THE CANDIDATES FOR THIS ELECTION ARE: Stella BLAKE-KELLY

Ben MROWINSKY

Elijah PUE

An election will be conducted electronically and the candidates will be elected according to the votes cast by the single transferable vote (STV) system.

All students are included on the Student Roll and are eligible to vote in the election.

The Student Roll will close at 5 pm on Thursday 2 October.

Profiles for the candidates are available on the University Website www.victoria.ac.nz/about/governance/council/elections

ELECTRONIC VOTING Voting instructions will be sent in early October to students at their preferred University email address. Students are invited to cast their votes once they receive voting documents, before the closing of the polls.

The polls will close at 5pm on Wednesday 15 October 2014.

The voting site is an external site on a secure server owned by electionz.com, which the University has contracted to handle the voting process. Voters will be able to view profiles of the candidates and information on the voting procedure on the Electionz.com website before submitting their vote.

Read about the Council on the University’s website at www.victoria.ac.nz/about/governance/council These elections are governed by the Council Election Statute.

For more information contact: Caroline Ward Secretary to Council and Returning Officer caroline.ward@vuw.ac.nz 04-463 5196

giveaways COMEDY TICKETS PlayShop LIVE is Wellingtons late–night improv comedy show.

Every Friday, 10 pm at Paramount Cinemas, it brings the laughs with a troupe of trained performers transforming any suggestion to life on stage. If you like Whose Line is it Anyway? you’ll love this show. A rotating cast of 39 members means every week is different.

Send us your favourite joke to win a double pass valued at $26 to next week’s show!

If you want a notice in Salient, email us at editor@salient.org.nz. Notices must be sent to us by Wednesday 5 pm for the following week’s issue, and must be fewer than 100 words in length.

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contributors editors: Duncan McLachlan & Cameron Price d e s i g n e r : I m o g e n Te m m news editor: Sophie Boot c r e at i v e e d i t o r : C h l o e Dav i e s c h i e f s u b - e d i t o r : N i c k Fa r g h e r distributor: Joe Morris f e at u r e w r i t e r : P h i l i p M c S w e e n e y ( c h i e f ) , P e n n y G a u lt , w e b e d i t o r : D e x t e r E d wa r d s n e w s i n t e r n s : S i m o n D e n n i s , S t e p h Tr e n g r o v e

arts editors: Nina Powles (Books), Charlotte Doyle (Film), H e n r y C o o k e ( M u s i c ) , D a v i d W i l l i a m s ( Th e a t r e ) , S i m o n G e n n a r d ( V i s u a l A r t s ) , M i c h a e l G r a h a m ( Te l e v i s i o n ) C o lu m n I l lu s t r at i o n s : P h o e b e M o r r i s general contributors: S t e l l a B l a k e - K e l l y , S o n y a C l a r k , To b y C o o p e r , A v r i l G i l l a n , H u g h H aw o r t h , Ty s o n H u l l e n a , E v e K e n n e d y , M o l l y M c C a r t h y , Jordan McCluskey, Eleanor Merton, Gus Mitchell, Joe M o r r i s , B e n M row i n s k i , E l i j a h P u e , O l l i e R i tc h i e , K a i t ly n S m i t h , K e n t S m i t h , J o a n n a Te n n a n t , W i l b u r To w n s e n d , J u l i a We l l s , C ava a n Wi l d

contributor of the week C h l o e Dav i e s Advertising Manager Tim Wilson sales@vuwsa.org.nz (04) 463 6982

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