Articles by Peter Conaglen

I love Christmas. As a child it was always a happy and fun time. Having grown up on a Northland farm, Christmas was usually a few days break from the hot hard work of either haymaking, or shearing. While there was not the emphasis on the Christian message of God taking the form of a baby, there was a celebration of being a happy family. Life had its stresses. This was usually around high expectations of our schooling, and the time that had to…

I have been inspired by the lives of Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Abraham Lincoln, Kate Sheppard, Mother Teresa, and Nelson Mandela. At the heart of their lives was a passion to make attractive communities. They are the champions of a compassionate and a free society that we enjoy today. A greater freedom from discrimination, oppression, and poverty. The picture they paint of a compassionate free society is one of connected, cohesive,…

I’ve enjoyed 30 years of auditing the charities of NZ. The opportunity to meet people who passionately endeavour to improve the lives of those struggling with misfortune, is an everyday meeting with “Good Sorts”. I am equally amazed by New Zealander’s acceptance of the compassionate response to COVID-19, whereby the lives of the few vulnerable people mattered more than the personal freedom of many with healthy immune systems, as the team of 5…