Michele Hewitson
Contributing writer
Michele Hewitson worked for the NZ Herald for 20 years, winning many feature writing awards and being twice named national columnist of the year. She started writing for the NZ Listener in 2017.
Michele Hewitson is a senior journalist who worked for the New Zealand Herald for more than 20 years. During that time, she won many feature writing and travel awards, and was twice national Columnist of the Year and once, to the horror of the country's sport reporters, the T. P. McLean Sports Columnist of the Year. She has written for the Listener since 2017.
Check out Michele’s latest content
The Good Life: Scrabbling for purchase
"My family are not very good at being white-collar crooks. They always get caught."
Gretchen Albrecht: The grande dame of NZ art on her legacy - and ‘selling her children’
Gretchen Albrecht knew at age 12 she wanted to be an artist; at 81, she’s ‘still here'.
The Good Life: Real farmers don’t wear flash gumboots
We here at Lush Places pretend to be real farmers, so we wear Red Bands.
A life in review: TV critic Diana Wichtel looks back
Television seemed like magic to Diana Wichtel, one of our greatest TV reviewers.
The Good Life: Of peonies and peace
Lambing is over and calm is restored to the paddocks of Lush Places.
Mahé Drysdale: Why he stuck his oar into Tauranga politics
The Hewitson Profile: How rowing great won the Tauranga mayoralty as an outsider.
The Good Life: The stuff of fantasy
My latest money-spinning idea for Lush Places is to write a series of children’s books.
The Hewitson Profile: Sol3 Mio’s Moses Mackay - from state house to opera house
Moses Mackay on the heights of Italian opera, divas, and "toxic" reality tv shows.
The Good Life: Baking bread makes me feel like a better person
"Sometimes I look at a recipe for croissants. Then I have a lie-down."
Michele Hewitson: In a time of frustrating silence on our new government, silliness fills the void
By the time you read this, we may have a government. Or we may not. Who knows?
Review: Far Right rule, poisonous plants and a country club killing make for thrilling reads
"She knows she looks odd but she doesn’t care. And there is nobody to look at her."
The Good Life: When intrepid family members return to rural NZ
"She and Miles had concocted a top-secret plan to smuggle her into our paddock."
Michele Hewitson: Investigating the 2026 election further
"He only bothered with a byline when there was a chance of winning another media award."
Michele Hewitson: Looking forward to the final week of Campaign 2026
"It was an ignominious way for a lifelong Conservative to go: death by leftie."
The Good Life: Sharing a love of boxes - and their contents
Weirdly, I love boxes. You can hide all manner of things in boxes.
Michele Hewitson: Winston Peters likes a party, but which one?
He’s not in the game to be liked. He’s in the game simply to be in the game.
Michele Hewitson: Pre-election performances career from farcical to fatiguing
Hapless voters are left counting the days until October 14.
Jane Ussher’s political portraits of the 2023 contenders
With less than a month until the country votes, Listener views the incumbent leaders.
Michele Hewitson: This election campaign is like an unentertaining musical
Politicians are behaving as if they’ve won lead roles in a local amateur dramatics show.
Michele Hewitson: Attack ads are the political equivalent of unguided missiles
“Out of touch. Too much risk.” Ouch. Not really. The CTU needs to get snappier slogans.
The Good Life: Being knocked down by my pet ram lamb
I couldn’t believe I was making a doctor’s appointment for getting knocked down by a ram.
Michele Hewitson: Coalition of cuts or coalition of chaos, what’s better?
At least a meeting of what may loosely be called minds would be a non-partisan pick’n’mix.
Michele Hewitson: All rise for Judge Luxon and his tough-on-crime policies
When it comes to election-year tough-on-crime policies, the Nats are repeat offenders.
Review: New crime and thriller books hitting shelves
Fresh releases exploring a range from an intrepid girl gang to 1970s civil rights.