With the protest hikoi from the far north moving through Auckland on its way to Wellington, it might be said ACT leader David Seymour has been granted his wish of generating an: “important national conversation about the place of the Treaty in our constitutional arrangements”. The hikoi is timed to coincide with the first reading Read more
Last month, a group of University of Auckland researchers released a report on social cohesion in Aotearoa New Zealand. A media release accompanying the report stated that social cohesion is under threat in this country. “[The] challenge of social cohesion is becoming increasingly critical, and more research and policy development is needed to help sustain Read more
Pope Francis’ hope for the Church to offer the Portuguese community a more cohesive opportunity through World Youth Day (WYD) is being met with some strong challenges. Hours after he touched down in Lisbon on Wednesday, one of three huge billboards erected by activists to raise awareness of sexual abuse by clergy was removed, says Read more
A striking feature of Australia’s path through the Coronavirus has been the coming out of epidemiologists and social biologists. From being little known members of small institutes they became rock stars, invited to press conferences, deferred to by politicians, selectively chosen for comment by the media, but also resented by representatives of big business and Read more
The study of religion has rapidly fallen into decline in New Zealand universities says Massey University’s Dr Wil Hoverd. “This follows a general trend occurring across the country, where religious diversity has been collapsed into broader discussions of biculturalism, ethnic diversity and superdiversity.” He says the result has been that “we lack the expertise to Read more
Economics is too often under-estimated as a pillar of social cohesion. Southeast Asia’s growth is slowing alongside that of its biggest investor, China. And that will test a region united by a trading bloc but divided by religion, ethnicity, and forms of government. Potentially, the dangers are many. Indonesia experienced this harsh reality when it Read more