New Zealand Catholic Bioethics Centre director John Kleinsman wonders how free Brittany Maynard really was. Maynard, a terminally ill 29 year old American ended her life last week home in Oregon, using drugs supplied legally to her under the state’s Death with Dignity Act. She worked as a volunteer advocate for the nation’s leading end-of-life choice organisation, Read more
Marlborough priest will face internal disciplinary action from the Catholic Church after he was discharged without conviction for committing and indecency against a teenage boy. Alastair Aidan Kay, 71, appeared in the Blenheim District Court on Monday after pleading guilty at an earlier appearance. Judge Bruce Davidson told the court his decision was a close Read more
Finn Lowndes from St Patrick’s College in Kilbirnie Wellington is first person to receive The Absolutely Positively Wellington Student Award. This award is given to secondary school students who have demonstrated commitment lo Wellington and their community. It is the brainchild of mayor Celia Wade-Brown. “it was time the positive aspects of teenagers were celebrated,” Read more
Roncalli College is to mediate with its head of English following a report into the department. Last week, parents were informed Michelle Denson had been placed on leave for an indeterminate period of time. In the letter, principal Chris Comeau said that followed an independent report into the English department commissioned by the board of Read more
A “group of free thinkers” has been chosen to detect unseen threats to New Zealand’s national security, advising the Prime Minister of danger before it arrives. The chief executive of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, Andrew Kibblewhite, said members of the group had been selected for their areas of expertise. “They’re a group Read more
“We are concerned that selling 20 per cent of state housing and possibly investing this capital away from social housing will reduce housing availability,” says Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand Director Julianne Hickey. “This could further divide communities and reduce the security of low-income tenants, as we have already seen in communities like Pomare in Lower Hutt Read more
Muslim leaders have reported a spike in racial abuse aimed mostly at women and children, many walking to and from school. In his address on Wednesday the Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, stressed that of those few individuals on a security watch list none are representative of New Zealand’s Muslim community as a Read more
A controversial healing group that claims to have a cure for Ebola is coming to New Zealand this weekend to promote a bleach-based solution that medical experts have slammed as being potentially fatal. Genesis II Church of Health and Healing leader James Humble is heading a three-day, US$500-a-head ($646) seminar in Ngatea on the Hauraki Read more
A Christchurch father’s call for the right to end his life has reignited debate about assisted-suicide for the terminally ill. Philip Broderick, 33, has the same type of brain cancer as American Brittany Maynard, who chose to end her life this week. Palmerston North Labour MP Iain Lees-Galloway said he would take the debate forward Read more
Majestic Church leaders have been left gutted by a commissioner’s decision to decline planning permission for their proposed multimillion-dollar development in central city Christchurch. The church was seeking consent to build a chapel, auditorium, art studios, cafe, apartments and a multi-storey parking building, designed by internationally acclaimed Melbourne architect Koos de Keijzer, on the former Read more