Waters of life
New Zealand Listener|August 10-16, 2024
Renowned environmental activist Mike Joy's eventful life is laid out in this smartly written memoir.
MIKE JOY
Waters of life

Mike Joy is a freshwater scientist at Victoria University Te Herenga Waka and an environmental activist renowned for irritating the dairy industry, regional councils and the occasional prime minister. But one of the less expected pleasures of this smartly written memoir is the relating of his rollicking younger years on the way to academic respectability.

You imagine his parents slumped with exhaustion over their questioning, pulleverything-apart child. Fortunately, he learnt how to put things back together and was able to internalise his father's motto of never paying someone to do something you can do yourself.

Joy applied that handiness to his passions: sound systems, vehicles, firearms, and eventually houses and yachts - he owns a 1932 kauri ketch.

A firearm incident was one of many teenage high jinks: Mike plus mates infiltrated an air force base to reach a dump containing guillotined machine guns. With enough such parts, they found, you can build one working gun.

They built a beach buggy from car parts, too, and Joy was arrested because he was driving when the enraged police officer arrived. The local council attested to the boys' actions to repair the damage they'd caused the ground, a grass strip beside a river, but Joy says his lawyer didn't present the letter. Joy was convicted of wilful damage. "I felt incredibly let down by the system that I had believed in," he writes.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM NEW ZEALAND LISTENERView all
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 mins  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024