A brush with Auckland’s unseemly side

Crowds attend the lighting of the Christmas tree outside Waitemata Station in downtown Auckland. (Image: Xander James)

Mon, 20 Oct 2025

After all the nights out over the years that have passed without incident, I didn’t expect it to happen at 8.20 in the morning on the way to work.He came from nowhere, yelling “fucking bitch” as he karate-kicked me off the curb outside NZME’s offices.The police were good and encouraged me to fill out a report, but all I could tell them was that an agitated, black-clad stranger of medium height and medium build had inflicted a crazed blow and taken off.Unsurprisingly, they decided not to investigate. Hopefully, at l...

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