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The Minister for the Environment has finally delivered a draft policy already giving hope to many a freshwater advocate, claims Rachel Stewart. Photo / Ian Cooper

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Farm leaders in dance over freshwater plan

18 Sep, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Finally long-delayed "action plan for freshwater" discussion document has arrived

An original, authentic Mustang is a big, grunty “UP THE WORLD” muscle car. It’s a statement. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Nope, I'm not taking a guilt trip in my V8

4 Sep, 2019 6:18am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Gripe about my dream car and I'll rip the Velcro off your Tevas.

Fonterra has a huge challenge to get back into shape. Photo / supplied

BUSINESS

Rachel Stewart: Fate of Fonterra - don't say you weren't warned

21 Aug, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Years have been spent ignoring fact Fonterra was heading toward the rocks.

Green party co-leaders James Shaw and Marama Davidson. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Monty Python or Shakespeare - tragic theatre of the Greens

7 Aug, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: State of the climate begs the question - what good are politicians anymore?

The fall in sea ice means news on the climate front is all bad. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Get disconnected - you'll find real world again

24 Jul, 2019 3:53am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Time's precious, there are things to see before the lights go out.

Is it T.rex - or the talking head of a politician buying more time on farming issues? Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Dinosaurs keep hawking past as Godzone's future

10 Jul, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: A clear vision of agriculture in NZ will not be forthcoming from usual suspects.

Like any other coupling, being gay is not some massively awesome achievement reserved only for brave and stunning people.

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Everyone has a right to tell their truth

26 Jun, 2019 6:51am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: It's my absolute right to express an honestly held opinion, even if it offends.

What is it about Judith Collins that makes reasonably intelligent people instantly turn into blithering idiots? Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Why Judith Collins deserves a chance to be PM

12 Jun, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: JuCo is a deeply maligned politician.

When will Government change their emphasis on solving the biggest crisis of all. Photo / Marty Melville

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Rail on track but climate challenges ignored

31 May, 2019 5:00am
2 minutes to read

Comment: When will Government change their emphasis on solving the biggest crisis of all.

My fear, and why I'm scared, is that the left in power only despises certain hate speech. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Hounds of left are woke and I'm running scared

29 May, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Govt cronies hate dissent and are eyeing speech laws.

Of course we could adapt to life on Mars but what we have here on our big, beautiful blue ball is well worth saving. Photo / Supplied

TECHNOLOGY

Rachel Stewart: Forget Mars - clean our mess up first

15 May, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: I don't want to go to Mars. I want to get Earth fixed.

Activism is not going to be holding a few banners ... and chanting something about peace and love. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Earth is heating up and activism will too

1 May, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: The environmental movement, like every other movement, is changing dramatically.

Just as he was useful in life, Cougar is serving a purpose in death. Photo / Getty Images

LIFESTYLE

Rachel Stewart: Dignified death of a feisty farm cat

17 Apr, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: This isn't really a column about my dead cat, though it might appear that way.

Protesters from the Extinction Rebellion group chant during a demonstration outside BBC Broadcasting House. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Outlook grim despite the allure of denial

3 Apr, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Species extinction and extreme weather are only going to get worse.

Responsible farmers use all-round utilitarian firearms for pest control and humanely putting an animal to sleep. Photo / File

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Owning firearms a privilege not a right

20 Mar, 2019 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Whatever Govt decides, I am fully prepared to relinquish my semi-automatics.

Kevin Spacey was unforgettable as Frank Underwood in House of Cards.

ENTERTAINMENT

Rachel Stewart: Can we separate the art from the artist?

6 Mar, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: I don't believe you can rewrite history. It's already made.

NEW ZEALAND

Critics' hate speech ensures Jordan Peterson stays popular

20 Feb, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Peterson is bringing the degradation of public discourse into sharp relief.

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Fry me a river, climate denialists

6 Feb, 2019 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: There's no ignoring what's happening with the weather all over the world.

Rachel Stewart says we better get talking and listening to each other - and fast. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: I'm back and I'm not staying quiet

23 Jan, 2019 4:25am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: I am rebranding as the only columnist any rational person will ever want.

Between climate change, the environment, social media and politics, our planet is hurtling to its doom. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Environment, Facebook, free speech among big issues of 2018

12 Dec, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Rachel Stewart looks back on 2018.

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: TERF wars - a derogatory term to shut down debate

28 Nov, 2018 5:00am
7 minutes to read

COMMENT: All human beings deserve human rights and respect.

Like the Suffragettes, true feminists get off their jacksy and march. Photo / AP

LIFESTYLE

Rachel Stewart: Why today's feminists leave me underwhelmed - and males contented

14 Nov, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Today's 'feminists' generally leave me underwhelmed.

Jair Bolsonaro is pro gun, pro torture, and hostile towards black, gay and indigenous Brazilians and women. Photo / AP

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Rachel Stewart: 'Trump of tropics' latest psycho in club

31 Oct, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Rise of Brazil's Bolsonaro next step in far-right's troubling march.

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Climate - Don't say I didn't warn you

17 Oct, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: It needs WWIII to turn this overloaded, burning, sinking global ship around.

The breakdown of civility over the water issue inches closer every day.

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Drums of water war echoing in pipeline

3 Oct, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Minister's lack of action on vital resource letting council dig in defences.

Kiwi women are near the top in the highest reported rate of family and intimate partner violence in the developed world. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Women must unite against hard-line patriarchy

19 Sep, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Kiwi women are eye-wateringly over-represented in domestic violence statistics.

The trend of talking about every phobic thought that has crossed women's minds may hold the key to lasting female equality and personal contentment. Photo / File

LIFESTYLE

Rachel Stewart: Fed up with over-sharing

5 Sep, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: 'Confessional' female writers setting feminism back generations.

Feedlot cattle is no way to get a good feed. Photo / AP

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Animal cruelty – a storm is coming

22 Aug, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: If you're shocked now, your hair will soon curl.

I'm sorry but my sympathies lie firmly with the poor beasts caught up in the foolishness of humans. Photo / Michael Craig

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Why kill animals after an 'attack'?

8 Aug, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Comment: Animals attack us when we invade their space and we need to realise this.

A sign limiting access as part of the surveillance programme for M. bovis. Photo / Duncan Brown

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Signs of a stressed-out dairy industry

25 Jul, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: If farmers don't find a new way forward soon, they'll feel more alone than ever.

Let's throw our heads back and laugh at the state of our world - and eat cake. Photo / 123RF

LIFESTYLE

Rachel Stewart: Same-sex and proud - let them eat cake

11 Jul, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: There will be many more bumps on the road to gay wedded bliss.

This is how Rachel Stewart will be spending next month. Sober and on the banjo strings. Photo / 123RF

LIFESTYLE

Rachel Stewart: Time for dry July

27 Jun, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: The more I drank the more I could handle it. Time to give it a break.

The writer and television presenter Anthony Bourdain, who died last week. Photo / AP

LIFESTYLE

Rachel Stewart: We cannot bury our heads in the silence

13 Jun, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Our approach to suicide isn't working very well.

Cows are highly individualised animals with a range of emotions. Photo / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Why I've come to love those cows

30 May, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Studies show cows have personalities and emotions, just like cats and dogs.

Farmers are desperate for MPI guidance on M. bovis. Photo / Duncan Brown

BUSINESS

Rachel Stewart: Farmers angry with MPI over Mycoplasma bovis

24 May, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: MPI chief fighting Mycoplasma bovis says previous column hit close to bone.

Farmers can always change and adapt, given decent leadership and scientific guidance they trust. Photo / Sarah Ivey

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Ministry's cunning plan fails again

16 May, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Farmers should have acted sooner but MPI should have too.

The Whanganui River, with its 'H', stretches away to the far horizon. Photo / Beryl Cowan

WHANGANUI CHRONICLE

Rachel Stewart: Why the 'h' do they bother?

3 May, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Councils have perfected pretending they're doing something meaningful about water quality

The slow-flowing Whanganui River. Picture / Supplied

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Why the 'h' do they bother?

2 May, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Some of dullest minds in the country found at local government tables.

Why lock in further reliance on fossil fuels - more jobs and infrastructure - that are likely to be left stranded as the world shifts away from them? Photo / 123RF

BUSINESS

Rachel Stewart: The sun has already set on oil

18 Apr, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Industry anger with Govt baseless given global shift away from fossil fuels.

Since youth, I've been aware that death is sitting on my shoulder every minute of every day. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Death part of the cycle of life

4 Apr, 2018 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Death notification app is not for all tastes but it keeps things in perspective.

Jacinda Ardern makes a surprise appearance to receive the End Oil petition. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Journos, feel heat on warming

21 Mar, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: As weather gets worse, writers need to step up.

There's nothing better for your soul than experiencing nature - much healthier than reading about men in nappies. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Breaking free from addictive web

7 Mar, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Online technology is hugely important but too much can be detrimental.

Frances McDormand stars in the Oscar nominated movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Photo / AP

ENTERTAINMENT

Rachel Stewart: Carping at movie deeply misguided in flawed world

21 Feb, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Three Billboards film has drawn flak for lack of neat ending — but that's life.

Rodeo is on the way out. It's on the wrong side of history. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Yee-ha! Rodeo is doomed

7 Feb, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: So, we all know in our hearts that rodeo is wrong.

Enforcing the legal exhaust noise limit as part of WOF checks might remove some of the headache caused by boy racers. Photo / Wairarapa Times Age

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Boy racer noise drowns quiet country life

24 Jan, 2018 7:07am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Why do we have to put up with these stupid antics?

We've pushed our planet not to an environmental and ecological crossroad but to a precipice. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: I got end-of-humanity blues

10 Jan, 2018 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Hard to feel jazzed about 2018 knowing Earth and its denizens are on brink.

Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy. Photo / Dean Purcell

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Media gorging on racist, sexist views

29 Nov, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: We shouldn't be publishing opinions which are based on racist or sexist attacks.

Wouldn't it be great to see Fonterra using their expensive legal teams to demand higher standards from the environmental regulators rather than such things as the Ruataniwha Dam project. Photo / Duncan Brown

BUSINESS

Fonterra's spin makes me want to throw up

22 Nov, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Fonterra's waterways plan requires a bucket, writes Rachel Stewart.

Greer Hutton of the Navy's amphibious beach team, signals the driver of an Army vehicle to prepare to leave a landing craft. Photo / NZDF

NEW ZEALAND

Climate of change for the Defence Force

15 Nov, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

OPINION: Climate change is likely the biggest threat to national security we face.

Synthetic milk tastes like the real thing and ingredients can be fine-tuned to be lower in cholesterol. Photo / Getty Images

BUSINESS

Rachel Stewart: BigAg must wake up to synthetic threat

1 Nov, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Artificial milk and meat pose huge risk to farming industry.

Let's hope more people can focus on Jacinda Ardern's political skills and not just her looks. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Basking in glow of bright Ardern era

25 Oct, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: What's it going to be like while writing under the influence of optimism?

We are on track to have our fourth consecutive rise in the road toll this year. Photo / Alan Gibson

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Why is our road toll such a disgrace?

18 Oct, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: I have a strong suspicion that another dynamic is at play.

The world is in a bad shape and getting worse - if there is a solution, we probably won't find it on social media. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: We're all feeling the squeeze

11 Oct, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

Opinion: Perfect potpourri of planetary problems is upon us.

Lucy Lawless plays a diva with issues. Photo / Brett Phibbs

ENTERTAINMENT

Rachel Stewart: Life-affirming jaunt feels good

4 Oct, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Attending gala opening night of Pleauredome mattered to me on a number of levels.

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: I'm not afraid of big bad Winston

27 Sep, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Peters has always demonstrated a willingness to do a deal, says Rachel Stewart.

Jacinda Ardern is drawing women away from National. Photo / Jason Oxenham

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Why women will decide this election

20 Sep, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

COMMENT: Labour's leader is aspirational for women and won't pull ponytails.

Dairy farming and nature in perfect harmony... if only. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Don't feel sorry for farmers

13 Sep, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: National is talking up the urban-rural divide to get votes, says Rachel Stewart.

Men in suits bear a different kind of gang patch - one symbolising power. Photo / 123RF

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Men in suits scariest gang of all

6 Sep, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Out here in the real world things are not so black and white.

Time will tell if the Farming Leaders Group will honour their

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: That's right polluters, it's time to pay

30 Aug, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: There is overwhelming public support for a water royalty, says Rachel Stewart.

Jacinda Ardern's intellect and eloquence have got even the most jaded of cynics fired up again. Photo / Getty Images

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Ardern oasis in political desert

23 Aug, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Labour leader's magnetism has not been seen since Clark and Lange.

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Hysteria over water policy pitiful

16 Aug, 2017 5:00am
5 minutes to read

COMMENT: Labour's water policy is not as difficult to understand as you might think.

Green Party co-leaders Metiria Turei and James Shaw are questioned by the media at Parliament. Photo / Mark Mitchell

NEW ZEALAND

Rachel Stewart: Greens can't blame media

9 Aug, 2017 5:00am
4 minutes to read

Comment: Turning Turei's pronouncement into a virtuous act of heroism is way off the mark.