Zoë Mills

The Spinoff • 18th April 2024

All of the Raglan Roast cafes in Wellington, ranked from worst to best

Raglan Roast is a staple of Wellington coffee culture. But with five branches across the capital, which one is the best?

I am a die-hard Raglan Roast fan. It’s consistently the most affordable cafe in Wellington, and one of the only places you can get a coffee after 3pm. So, in the name of serious journalism, I hit the streets and visited every Raglan Roast branch in the city in one day, to figure out exactly which Raglan Roast should be crowned the best Raglan Roast.

Salient Magazine • 1st October 2023

D-Day for Humanities as Confirmed Course Cuts Rock University —

The long-winded process of staff cuts at Victoria University of Wellington finally has an end in sight, with Vice-Chancellor Nic Smith sending an email to all staff and students on 21 September, communicating the university’s final decision for courses set to be cut.

The decision is the result of the financial sustainability process started by the university in May to cover a projected $33 million deficit for 2023, caused by drops in enrollment and bungled financial decisions by past university

Salient Magazine • 13th August 2023

Candidate Kōrero: Ibrahim Omer

During his three years at Victoria University, Ibrahim Omer had a strict ritual every Friday afternoon: getting a coffee from Vic Books and a packet of sushi from MakiMono. Omer looks back at this time with fondness, and expressed immediate concern at the lack of students on campus before we even stepped foot into the Salient studio - “it's so quiet!”

Originally from Eritrea, Omer arrived in Aotearoa as a refugee in 2008, graduated from VUW in 2016, graduated from VUW in 2016, and in 2020 was e

Salient Magazine • 1st October 2023

Candidate Kōrero: Prime Minister Chris Hipkins (Labour Party) —

We met the Prime Minister at his office in the Beehive—Chippy was 15 minutes late, largely due to a tray of sausage rolls being wheeled into his office (Fair enough).

“Hi, I’m Chris,” the PM introduced himself, chipper if not a bit clammy, fresh from National’s tax policy announcement (and Labour’s worst polling results since 2017, dipping into the 20s). We took a seat on one of the sofas in his Beehive office and wasted no time getting stuck in.

Chippy was VUWSA president in 2000 and 2001, wh

Salient Magazine • 23rd April 2023

19 Fired Up Stilettos Kick Up a FUS at Parliament Protest — Salient Magazine

The 19 Fired Up Stilettos (19FUS) brought sex worker rights into the light last Sunday during a protest outside of Parliament. They called legislative reform to protect sex workers from abuse, unfair pay cuts, and exploitation from employers. This includes changes to prevent a club or agency taking over 20% of pay from a sex worker, as well as banning ‘coercive’ fines and bonds.

A crowd of around 300 people gathered at Parliament to support the protest. In between speeches from sex workers and

Salient Magazine • 2nd April 2023

“Unempathetic”, “Frustrating”: Substandard Care at Student Health Services Causes Strife —

Students are reporting increasingly “unempathetic” and “uncompassionate” experiences with reception staff and general practitioners (GPs) at Mauri Ora – Student Health. Students are feeling increasingly disregarded by the lack of communication and longer wait times from the healthcare provider.

Amy, a second-year student, described her Mauri Ora appointments as “bad experiences”. Amy called Mauri Ora in regards to a mental health issue, and says that the receptionist “showed no emotion or compa

Salient Magazine • 14th May 2023

“Accessibility Is More Than Just Wheelchair Access”: Accessibility Concerns Raised with Halls of Residence —

Former Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington student Taiming Zhang is suing the university for $35,000, alleging that the age-limit policy at the halls of residence meant that he was left in severe pain commuting to and from the university.

The case has sparked discussion around current accessibility issues at the halls of residence, raising questions as to whether the current accommodations are enough to support disabled students.

Taiming Zhang, a 22-year-old arthritic student, wa

Salient Magazine • 22nd May 2022

“I Visited the Anti-Covid Mandate Protests. Here’s What Happened.” —

Since the anti-Covid mandate protests shut down Parliament grounds last February, groups of smaller protests have sprung up across the city to protest everything from vaccines, mandates, to the Prime Minister herself. In April, Unite. NZ, a leading organiser of February’s events, took to the streets for a 14-day series of protests across Wellington city. Each day had a new theme or demand relating to Covid-19—themes ranging from “misinformation,” to “police brutality,” to specific amendments act

Salient Magazine • 7th May 2023

National’s New “Pro-Renter” Policy Slammed by Critics as “Cooked” and “Regressive” —

The National Party has proposed to reinstate no-cause evictions for renters as part of a suite of proposed reforms, citing the Labour Government’s ‘lack of support’ to landlords as a cause.


The policy would allow landlords to evict tenants from their rentals without a formal reason. National has also proposed that fixed-term tenancy contracts would roll over into periodic tenancies instead. These changes were implemented by the current Labour Government in 2020 under the Residential Tenancie

Salient Magazine • 9th July 2023

Hundreds of Proposed Job Losses, Programmes to be Cut, and a Government Funding Boost: What the Fuck is Happening at VUW? —

After the University of Otago announced they had a $60 million debt in early May, suspicions of a similar blow at Te Herenga Waka arose. On 24 May, Vice-Chancellor Nic Smith presented a forum entitled ‘Achieving Financial Sustainability’. The presentation detailed immense debt for the university—a predicted forecast of $33m for 2023 alone—and major job cuts. Areas under review at this period included ‘central service units’, such as roles in Human Resources and Engagement, as well as staffing wi