Every weekday, The Detail makes sense of the big news stories. This week, a visit to the last wool weaving factory in New Zealand, the debate over sex education, the threat posed by wildfires this summer, the precarious future of our theatre world, and the growing calls for help from exploited migrant workers. On one machine, cloth is being dyed in the colours of Air New Zealand for its economy seats, on another is upholstery for Queensland Rail.
The cloth on a machine opposite is for a US wholesaler. The factory floor at Inter-Weave. The country's only commercial wool weaver is busy making all-wool upholstery, throws and fabric for safety-wear for a range of customers.
March has invited The Detail on a tour of the sqm Mt Wellington factory after our podcast about the woes of the industry , when wool broker Philippa Wright said: "find me someone who is making money in the industry and I'll shake their hand".
Photo: rf. Should parents leave it to the experts in the classroom at school, or do they need to take the lead and start those conversations at home? Tom Kitchin talks to health education expert Dr Rachael Dixon about how sex and relationship education works at school, and sex therapist Nic Beets about how parents and caregivers can best talk to their children about it. New Zealanders are still recovering from Cyclone Gabrielle.
But the dangers posed by wildfires are yet another in a long list of existential threats attached to living in this country. An aerial image taken on August 10, shows a person walking down Front Street past destroyed buildings burned to the ground in Lahaina in the aftermath of wildfires in western Maui, Hawaii.
