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Elspeth McLean
Elspeth McLean
Elspeth McLeanColumnist
elspeth.mclean@odt.co.nz

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OpinionOctober 6

Please, no health promises under pressure

It would be good if this election campaign, leaders could resist making up health policy on the hoof.
Please, no health promises under pressure
Please, no health promises under pressure
The MixSeptember 25

Review: Teaching big lessons to small children through fantasy

The third book in Katherine Rundell’s Impossible Creatures series will be snapped up by those entranced by the first two.
Review: Teaching big lessons to small children through fantasy
Review: Teaching big lessons to small children through fantasy
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OpinionSeptember 22

Pointless ECE measuring desperate stuff

Whenever I hear someone say if it can’t be measured, it can’t be managed, I die a little inside.
Pointless ECE measuring desperate stuff
Pointless ECE measuring desperate stuff
The MixSeptember 18

Review: Heart-wrenching meditation on memory, trauma

Poet and academic Siobhan Harvey’s memoir may be a slim volume but that does not lessen its impact.
Review: Heart-wrenching meditation on memory, trauma
Review: Heart-wrenching meditation on memory, trauma
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OpinionSeptember 8

Ministerial girl power movie dreaming

Girls can do anything. So, channelling the late Dolly Parton, I am trying to persuade myself dreams are special, but they are ``of no value if they’re not equipped with wings and feet and hands and all that. If you’re going to make a dream come true, you’ve got to work with it. You can’t just sit around. That’s a wish. That’s not a dream.”
Ministerial girl power movie dreaming
Ministerial girl power movie dreaming
The MixSeptember 4

Review: Familiar feelings in difficult characters

Elizabeth Strout’s strength is in creating everyday characters in which we can see ourselves.
Review: Familiar feelings in difficult characters
Review: Familiar feelings in difficult characters
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OpinionAugust 25

Questioning Question Time

You have to love the optimism of those who compile information on the New Zealand Parliament’s website.
Questioning Question Time
Questioning Question Time
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OpinionAugust 11

When Moths Collide: Time for gunpowder plotting

Lord knows, I try to be upbeat. Effusive Elly, not Negative Nelly. That’s me.
When Moths Collide: Time for gunpowder plotting
When Moths Collide: Time for gunpowder plotting
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OpinionJuly 28

Broken dreams and back scratchers

If ever there was a symbol for last week it was my broken back scratcher.
Broken dreams and back scratchers
Broken dreams and back scratchers
OpinionJuly 26

Getting to grips with Bill harder than grasping rugby stats

Sometimes I wish I could care about the All Blacks.
Getting to grips with Bill harder than grasping rugby stats
Getting to grips with Bill harder than grasping rugby stats