New Zealand in the news

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I've never lived in America and I'm never likely to, but I do love writing about the place. It's powerful and influential and just so darn interesting. I like to think of it as a soap opera with added mousetraps. New Zealand, on the other hand, is quiet and pretty and it's not often that something of global importance happens here. We're fine with that, although, as chance would have it, we have been getting quite a few mentions in the world's press recently... As fans of John Oliver may know, we're currently voting on whether to change our national flag or keep the "looks-a-lot-like-Australia's" one we've had since 1902. This is Prime Minister John Key's pet project so the debate has been politicized in some quarters, while others are bemoaning the $26 million cost of the referendum. The outcome of the postal vote won't be known for a week or two, but the old flag is favored to stay up the pole. I prefer the new one, which features a silver fern in place of the Union Jack. Madonna is touring. While the MG and her entourage have tweeted effusively about New Zealand, the compliment hasn't been returned by an unhappy Auckland bishop. According to Catholic Bishop Pat Dunn, Madonna's Rebel Heart tour is "highly offensive to Christianity". No-one should be surprised by this as bishops in Singapore and The Philippines have also pointed it out in recent weeks. I eagerly await the same bishops' comments on "Spotlight" or the ongoing Pell case in Australia. While on the subject of religion, it is worth noting that our Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages has given the okay for wedding ceremonies to be conducted by the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Happy couples opting for a Pastafarian wedding will be able to choose either full pirate regalia or traditional dress, complemented by plastic colander headwear of course. Britain's Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has joined Amnesty International in calling for the decriminalization of prostitution. The issue is controversial and jam-packed with misconceptions, but it's one worth debating in a sensible manner, if that's at all possible. New Zealand gets a mention because our liberal approach to the selling of sex is in some ways the benchmark for decriminalization. I'd like to write more on this fascinating subject but I'm not sure it would be welcome here. Finally, some sad news. Just a couple of months after we prematurely lost one of our greatest rugby players, we've had to say goodbye to arguably the greatest batsman New Zealand cricket has ever produced. Martin Crowe, scorer of 10,000 international runs and 17 test centuries, died last week after a long battle with cancer. He was 53.