New Zealand Listener Issue 48, 2025

Editor Kirsty Cameron Chief Subeditor Geoff Cumming Managing Editor  Ruth Brown  Art Director  Derek Ward  Books Editor  Mark Broatch  Entertainment & Arts Editor  Russell Baillie  Digital Editor  Dionne Christian  Content Producer  Louise Barnes  Subeditors  Richard Betts, Bevan Rapson  Senior Designer Richard Kingsford Editorial contact listener@aremedia.co.nz Contributors this issue: Andrew Anthony, Peter Bale, Jennifer Bowden, Steve Braunias, Russell Brown, Jane Clifton, Michael Cooper, Anthony Ellison, Peter Griffin, Charlotte Grimshaw, Michele Hewitson, Danyl McLauchlan, Lise Moody, Ann Packer, Karl Puschmann, Graham Reid, Nicholas Reid, Alex Scott, Sarah Watt, Marc Wilson Chief Executive Officer  Jane Huxley  General Manager  Stuart Dick  Editorial Director  Sarah Henry  Head of Digital  Melissa Walsh  Senior Digital Content Producer  Katie Delany  Sales Director Claire Chisholm  Senior Account Managers  Amy Madden Amy.Madden@aremedia.co.nz Chloe Jordan Chloe.Jordan@aremedia.co.nz  Classified Sales  Kim Chapman classifieds@xtra.co.nz…

As a mental health nurse with more than 30 years’ clinical experience, I’ve never seen so many clients who say they or their children have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or are waiting on a diagnosis. One parent was GETTY IMAGES convinced her teenager had ADHD because they were “too sensitive and empathetic” – but isn’t that a good thing? Another parent reported they did not like to put boundaries on their teenager as they had an ADHD diagnosis and rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD). This teen was swearing at her mother and throwing things around the room with no consequences. These diagnoses don’t excuse bad behaviour, and what does “rejection sensitivity” mean? Most of us dislike rejection and would be sensitive to it. Questions that look at all the contributing…

Eric Frykberg (“Breaking the piggy bank, November 29) portrays the aborted compulsory superannuation scheme as the biggest mistake Muldoon ever made. He suggests if the scheme had continued, we would be rolling in a trillion-plus dollars of retirement wealth. Yeah, right. Sure, some people would have done well personally, but even if there was extra saving there’s no guarantee it would have equated to greater real investment in New Zealand’s social and economic assets. Look no further than the NZ Super Fund, where the large pot of paper assets largely represents investment in other countries’ sharemarkets. Before National Superannuation in 1977, there was growing elder poverty especially for women. Some of us remember the campaigns to provide food parcels to pensioners. At 60, women might receive a jointly means-tested old…

For Competition No 121, we asked for a modern proverb about the prospect of asset sales. FINALISTS: All that glitters should not be sold ‒ Philippa Jamieson, Ōhope A government and its assets are soon parted ‒ David Hicks, Raumati Beach Where there’s a Willis, there’s a way to dispose of assets ‒ Paul Kelly, Palmerston North The road to sell is paved with good objections ‒ Henry Buchanan, Lower Hutt When the debt gets tough the assets get going ‒ Tina Williams, Tasman WINNER: It’s a goose that kills the golden eggs ‒ Steve Godsiff, Timaru For the next Bright Lines challenge, we have the Limerick Competition. Please write a limerick in the traditional style on highlights and lowlights of Christmas. Don’t forget to include your address with entries.…

“He is a great minister, he’s a good friend, and he’s doing an awesome job.” – Prime Minister Christopher Luxon responds to talk of a leadership coup involving Housing Minister Chris Bishop “We have had green overreach, we have had hapū over-consumption and we have stifled growth. I believe the vast majority of Kiwis in regional New Zealand agree with me.” – Regional Development Minister Shane Jones on axing regional councils “This is not just tinkering with local government, this could rewrite who has power over our water, our whenua, our climate resilience, and our future.” – Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer “We haven’t ruled out repealing it either.” – Finance Minister Nicola Willis on the Regulatory Standards Act “[Auckland’s City Rail Link] is not going to be the game-changer,…

1. How many of the country’s 42 prime ministers were born in NZ? ❑ 38 ❑ 32 ❑ 25 ❑ 20 2. Strike and Ellacott are investigators in a book series written by who? ❑ Stieg Larsson ❑ Michael Connelly ❑ Val McDermid ❑ Robert Galbraith 3. Who said: “The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses …” ❑ Muhammad Ali ❑ Emmeline Pankhurst ❑ Margaret Thatcher ❑ Rocky Balboa 4. What is a vicuña? ❑ Political group ❑ Mammal ❑ Fish ❑ Cell body 5. In which musical film is there a character called Joe Gideon? ❑ All That Jazz ❑ Chicago ❑ Cabaret ❑ A Hard Day’s Night 6. Martin Luther King won the Nobel Peace Prize. ❑ True ❑ False 7. Mary Westmacott was…