The Year in Revolt
It's not yet December, but I'm getting in early. This is a reflection on the past year and what we've been doing here as a community.
As I went to publish this, at 5pm, the government put out a statement saying they’re scrapping regional councils. It feels like the whole year has been like this - the government trying to sneak through power grab legislation that hides its true motive (in this case removing environmental protections).
And Andrew Little (apparently mayor of my city) symbolising Labour - asleep at the wheel (he basically said it seems interesting but worried he might have to do more work).
Good God no matter we are all exhausted - we’re doing the job of the opposition as well as our own.
ANYWAY!
Looking back, it's been an exhausting year. Which is probably one of the reasons why so many of us feel exhausted now!
It has been a year of hard mahi for each other, but mahi for your community is the best mahi. It's the most important work we will do in our lives.
The very first post on Emily Writes Weekly this year was a guide to making submissions to Parliament on five bills and consultation processes. It really feels fitting. Because wow, we have given feedback on a lot of Government fuckery this year haven't we?
Emily Writes
It's been a year of broken bills, racist legislation, appalling attacks on our most vulnerable communities and terrible inaction by those in power.
Templates and support for submissions and feedback have been provided for:
- The Treaty Principles Bill
- The Oranga Tamariki (Responding to Serious Youth Offending) Amendment Bill
- The Social Security Amendment Bill
- The Regulatory Standards Bill
- Manatū Hauora's consultation on healthcare for transgender children
- The Royal Commission of Inquiry into COVID-19 Lessons Learned – Phase Two consultation
- The Unlawful Occupation of Palestine Sanctions Bill
- The draft Relationships and Sexuality Education framework
- The Amendments to the Marine and Coastal Area Act
And probably others that I can't remember right now. Many of you have written more submissions this year than you have in your whole lives!
Sometimes it can feel demoralising. The Regulatory Standards Bill became law despite overwhelming opposition. But your feedback has meant that almost all other parties have made it a priority to repeal the bill if this government is a one-term government. That matters. Even Winston Peters who is literally part of why this fuckass bill passed is trying to pretend he's against it. That shows your power!
And New Zealanders who care made sure the Treaty Principles Bill was buried and David Seymour suffered a humiliating defeat.
More than 1200 schools have committed to give effect to Te Tiriti despite this government trying to encourage them to remove it from their schools. This was in response to a mass campaign to email school boards (that template is here - this is an ongoing kaupapa!)
Emily Writes
I know it all feels like we're fighting and getting nowhere, but I don't believe that's true. We are succeeding. We are helping.
This has been another year of genocide in Palestine and you have all worked so hard to help our loved ones in Gaza - raising more than $158,000 in ten days! You provided shelter for more than 1,260 people in Gaza.
You supported and continue to support the mutual aid fund, which literally saves lives.
You saved so many lives this year.
This year, I ran one of the most challenging campaigns I've ever run - on March 18th, the one-year anniversary of the brutal cuts to support for disabled adults and children, we tried to get the government to acknowledge the community: One year of horror.
We had more than 10,000 signatures on our open letter in a week. The government and media ignored it and I had a nervous breakdown (lol) but it was an essential showing of support. It told isolated, exhausted families that they're not alone and that they're loved.
I gave up public, formalised disability advocacy after that campaign broke me and got to deal with emails saying I'd let people down by doing so, and that they'd be unsubscribing. Fun times!
I considered leaving Facebook. And instead left Substack. I could not do it alone and hired the incredible Josh Drummond. I liked him so much I asked him to be my colleague! And Emily Writes Weekly is now an umbrella publisher for his fab newsletter The Bad Newsletter.
You loved Helen Gilby's newsletters so in 2026, she will have a newsletter here too! This year I commissioned three pieces from her and she wrote for me while my son was in hospital getting surgery.
- America: Making the Reich great again
- Seymour's Aotearoa: How to Lose a Country in 10 Clauses
- A love letter to women
- The government's creative storytelling must be addressed
We also were able to commission Dr Jehad Malaka in Gaza to write for us. I am so proud that because of you we were able to do what no other New Zealand media organisation would do.
You supported Kids Rock 4 Palestine, organised by my 12-year-old son and his friends. The kids raised $10,000 for Convoys of Good, Kiwi Trust for Palestinian Children Relief and the Aotearoa to Gaza Mutual Aid fund thanks to your generosity.
I was proud of the political coverage this year. From Simeon Brown's terrifying history as an anti-women activist who used to run a group dedicated to shutting down Family Planning, and “You shouldn’t be able to have any say girl” - The toxic hell of Facebook - and David Seymour’s role in fanning the flames to flies in school lunches (and the hilarious defence that if there were flies they would have been dead), and The campaign to destroy Tory Whanau.
I kept finding leaked government emails and videos of meetings and memos???
- Leaked coalition government emails REVEALED
- Leaked recording of MP meeting on pay equity
- The National Party Toxic Boyfriend excuse generator
- The David Seymour excuse generator
- Choose your own adventure as a one term government
- Winston Peters, the victim.
- New education policy: One useless politician in every classroom
I enjoyed the challenge of trying to cover politics in this country in a funny way when it's not at all funny.
I thought a lot about how we keep going? And you helped me and others realise we're not alone - How to react to a harrowing nightmare.
Possibly the piece I found the most heartbreaking was the eye-witness accounts from the Te Atatū hate crime."I thought it would hurt if they got in".
But I also got to cover some inspiring topics like - Elliot rings the bell. And I was so inspired by how much you got behind our campaign to fill food banks around the country: Is it time for more Community Survival Programmes?
One of my favourite stories for the year: Are people over 65 still horny?
Emily Writes
We covered a lot of things that are worrying parents in 2025
- How do we raise boys to be good men in these garbage times?
- His dad is a bigger influence than his phone - Adolescence and the bandaid solution
- How do we make schools safer for our kids?
- Guilty, shamed and traumatised - What school avoidance feels like for parents
- Your children will have seen more than That Video
- How do we raise kids who care? Tips for growing compassionate, community-minded tamariki
And the uh Minecraft Movie.
And I begged venues to let kids in: When did gigs become so exclusive?
We did The 2025 Steve Awards for worst Mother's Day marketing.
Speaking of gifts! I've now got something people have been requesting for ages - gift subscriptions! If you'd like to purchase an Emily Writes Weekly membership for the deserving person or loved one in your life, you can do it! Hit the button below to gift someone a year's worth of EWW.
And some heavy and controversial stuff like the is democracy in our country over? post and the Why are people lying about Covid-19 lockdowns? post. And most controversial of all - the I want to talk to people on the phone post.
I tried to stay on pressing and topical issues by doing explainers like:
- Māori wards. What am I voting for and why?
- Answering all your questions about the measles outbreak.
- And I wrote three pieces about strikes this year. Including 100 reasons to support the mega strike.
We were told we were dogs (thanks Nicola Willis) and I called for Justice for Genocide Gerry. And were told that those of us with autistic kids had caused it by taking pain relief while pregnant - If only Beethoven’s mother had avoided Tylenol
Media literacy and complicity in manufacturing consent for genocide was covered a lot this year. From Stuff's role in the genocide in Gaza and The media literacy game to the ongoing saga with Paypal stopped the Aotearoa to Gaza mutual aid fund. Thanks to you, Paypal refunded the money. The Mutual aid fund lives on!
I'm proud that this place was one of the few places where we talked about the genocide and centred Palestinian voices when other media tried to ignore it or act as a mouthpiece for Israel.- “I lose hope but I find it too”
Emily Writes
I did a review! Me + your dad + your dad’s second wife went to The Full Metal Orchestra - I had lots of fun and hope to review things next year!
The autistic special interests sharing group expanded here to start matching families with other families. It is such a beautiful community.
And I enjoyed writing some essays - A slice of life...and laundry, The Bisexual Wood Chopper and the Anxious Bird Girl, and His hair just grows and grows. I'm grateful for you letting me use this space to still write essays.
Emily Writes
The biggest thing for me this year was the move from Substack to Ghost. It's been stressful despite having help. And I feel sad to have lost five years of comments. But I'm so thankful so many of you stuck with me for this move.
It was a challenge to me to walk the talk. It's not easy to live your values. We all know that. It's hard when it hits you in the pocket during a cost-of-living crisis especially.
But, I know I say this all the time - but we are all that we have. And I'm so glad, so very very glad, that I have you.
Everything I've done this year was possible because of paid subscriptions to Emily Writes Weekly. Each year, people drop off - Christmas is actually the worst time for newsletters - and I really want this to be the first year that paid subscriptions go up instead of down. Why? Because I want 2026 to be the biggest year ever for this newsletter, this community, and the work we do here. We've done so much this year but there's so much more. If you're not in financial hardship and you value the work we do here, please take on a paid subscription.
Paid members get access to community comments, Friday Night Chats, the knowledge that they're helping with important mahi, and a whole lot of new and really exciting stuff that we're working on for members next year.
Thank you for supporting me and my family and this community this year. I hope you stick with me into 2026. It's an election year and we are going to need each other more than ever.
I'm excited about what we can achieve together.
Arohanui, Emily
Donations have been a game-changer since I switched to Ghost. If you can give a koha to the kaupapa, every little bit helps so much.
Thank you!
I am endlessly grateful for your support.