New Zealand coalition votes to make English an official language as critics slam ‘cynical’ bill

Push to give English same status as Māori and NZ sign languages sparks backlash from opposition parties and linguistic experts

A bill to recognise English as an official language of New Zealand has cleared its first hurdle in parliament amid ridicule from opposition parties and linguists who say it is “unnecessary” and “cynical”.

The bill seeks to give English, which is spoken by 95% of the country, the same official status as te reo Māori (Māori language) and New Zealand sign language. The bill said the status and use of the existing official languages would not be affected.

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New Zealand ‘mega strike’: 100,000 public sector workers demand better conditions

Teachers, nurses and public service staff among those walking off job and also pressing for more government investment in health and education

An estimated 100,000 nurses, teachers and public sector staff walked off the job in New Zealand on Thursday to call on the government to better fund and resource public services, in one of the country’s largest ever strikes.

The so-called “mega strike” brought together workers from multiple sectors, including more than 60,000 school teachers, 40,000 nurses and salaried medical specialists and 15,000 public service staff.

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Jim Bolger, former New Zealand prime minister who drove reconciliation with Māori, dies at 90

Tributes flow from across political spectrum for man known for high ideals but also remembered for controversially slashing welfare and health spending

Former New Zealand prime minister Jim Bolger, whose political legacy was defined by his deep commitment to reconciliation with Māori as well as his brutal cuts to welfare and deregulation of the labour market, has died aged 90.

Bolger died peacefully surrounded by his wife, Joan, nine children and 18 grandchildren, his family said in a statement on Wednesday. Bolger suffered kidney failure last year and had been undergoing dialysis.

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New Zealand foreign minister Winston Peters’ home vandalised ‘during a protest’

Man charged as police allege a window was smashed in a rare act of violence targeted at a New Zealand politician’s home

A man who allegedly used a crowbar to smash in a window at the home of New Zealand’s foreign minister “during a protest” has been charged, police confirmed on Tuesday.

Winston Peters posted to social media on Monday evening saying “a disgusting coward” had smashed a window in his Auckland home and left a sign on the door.

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Wealthy investors from US, China and Hong Kong top applications for New Zealand’s ‘golden visa’ scheme

Since new rules for the Active Investor Plus visa came into effect in April, applicant numbers have almost tripled

Wealthy investors from the US, China and Hong Kong are the leaders in applications for New Zealand’s “golden visas” after the government relaxed the scheme’s requirements in a bid to boost the flagging economy.

The new rules for the Active Investor Plus visa came into effect in April and lowered investment thresholds, removed English-language requirements and cut the amount of time applicants must spend in the country to establish residency from three years to three weeks.

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New Zealand loosens residency restrictions as record number of citizens leave

Minister for economic growth said visas for skilled and experienced migrants could help plug gaps in the workforce

New Zealand is making it easier for migrant workers to come and live in the country, in its latest attempt to bolster the workforce and economy.

Announcing two new residency pathways, the minister for economic growth, Nicola Willis, on Tuesday said skilled and experienced migrants could help plug gaps in the workforce.

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New Zealand to spend $3bn upgrading helicopters and ‘embarrassing’ defence planes

Government says country will buy five Seahawk helicopters and two Airbus A321XLR aircraft

New Zealand will spend nearly NZ$3bn ($1.7bn) upgrading its ageing defence fleet, including replacing its “embarrassing” planes that have left multiple prime ministers grounded during international travel, the government has announced.

The defence minister, Judith Collins, said NZ$2bn would be spent buying five MH-60R Seahawk helicopters and another NZ$700m to buy two Airbus A321XLR aircraft.

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New Zealand PM says Netanyahu has ‘lost the plot’ after Palestine recognition debate sees MP ejected

Green party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick accused government MPs of lacking a ‘spine’ during a debate on whether to recognise a Palestinian state

As more of its allies make moves to recognise Palestinian statehood, the issue is dominating New Zealand’s politics, with a prominent MP ejected from parliament on Tuesday and the prime minister describing his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu as having “lost the plot”.

Speaking to local media on Wednesday, Christopher Luxon said what was happening in Gaza was “utterly, utterly appalling”.

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New Zealand attorney general warns her government’s electoral reform could breach human rights law

Judith Collins also said the controversial electoral law reform could disenfranchise Māori

New Zealand’s prime minister Christopher Luxon has defended his government’s plans to overhaul its electoral laws, despite warnings from his own attorney general the changes could breach human rights law and disenfranchise more than 100,000 voters.

The right-wing government last week announced its plan to shake up electoral laws it said were “outdated and unsustainable”, including closing voter enrolment 13 days before election day, reinstating a total ban on prisoner voting and prohibiting anyone from providing free food, drink or entertainment within 100 metres of a voting station.

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Pacific must not become a ‘military zone’ amid rise of China, New Zealand’s deputy PM warns

In an interview with the Guardian, Winston Peters says the world faces the ‘most uncertain time’ in 80 years ahead of talks with Australia's foreign minister

The Pacific must be protected from becoming a military zone amid China’s growing push for influence in the region, New Zealand’s top diplomat Winston Peters has warned ahead of a meeting with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong.

Peters, who is New Zealand’s deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, told the Guardian that his country has a good relationship with China.

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New Zealand’s controversial bill to reinterpret treaty with Māori should be scrapped, committee finds

Justice committee said the majority of public submissions oppose the legislation, which seeks to reinterpret the country’s founding document

A parliamentary committee has recommended a bill that seeks to radically reinterpret New Zealand’s founding treaty between Māori tribes and the British Crown should not proceed.

The treaty principles bill, which was introduced to parliament by the minor coalition Act party, seeks to abandon a set of well-established principles that guide the relationship between Māori and ruling authorities in favour of its own redefined principles.

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Row erupts in New Zealand parliament over use of Māori name Aotearoa

Dispute emerges after deputy prime minister Winston Peters questioned why MPs used the name Aotearoa in debates

The speaker of New Zealand’s parliament has told lawmakers to stop complaining about the use of the Māori name for the country, after the deputy prime minister strongly objected to hearing it in the house.

In a ruling on Tuesday, Gerry Brownlee said that while “New Zealand” is the official name, the Māori name “Aotearoa” is used widely, including on currency and passports.

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New Zealand government loses ground in polls as economic concerns grow

1News Verian poll shows Christoper Luxon dropped 22% in the preferred prime minister stakes, his lowest result as leader

New Zealand’s National-led coalition government is losing support among voters, new polling shows, amid frustrations over the economy and deepening concern the country is heading in the wrong direction.

Meanwhile, the parliamentary left bloc has taken a narrow lead for the third poll in a row, enough that the opposition would be able to form a government were an election held today.

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35,000 arrive at New Zealand parliament to protest against controversial Māori treaty bill – as it happened

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The hīkoi has reached parliament, filling the grounds and swelling out into the surrounding roads and streets.

It is shoulder to shoulder, with people and flags stretching as far as the eye can see in every direction. The notorious Wellington wind is whipping the flags high, their flicks and pops adding to the cacophony.

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Tens of thousands march on NZ parliament in protest against Māori treaty bill

Police say about 42,000 people gathered at parliament in the last stage of the nine-day protest in opposition to the Treaty of Waitangi bill

A protest march estimated to be one of the largest in New Zealand history arrived at parliament on Tuesday, flooding the grounds with song in a display of unity against a controversial bill seeking to reinterpret the country’s founding treaty between Māori and the crown.

Police said around 42,000 people took part in the march, in what was likely New Zealand’s largest-ever protest in support of Māori rights.

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Controversial bill to reinterpret New Zealand’s founding document reaches parliament

The widely criticised bill aims to redefine Treaty of Waitangi principles that guide relations between Māori and ruling authorities

A controversial bill that seeks to radically change how New Zealand’s treaty between Māori and the Crown is interpreted in modern times will be introduced to parliament on Thursday, nearly two weeks ahead of its initial schedule.

The Treaty of Waitangi is considered New Zealand’s founding document and is instrumental in upholding Māori rights. The bill will be tabled in parliament by the libertarian Act party, a minor partner in New Zealand’s coalition government, which has regularly called for an end to “division by race”.

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Nearly half of New Zealanders say government policies increasing racial tensions, poll finds

1News Verian poll comes amid growing concern the coalition’s policy direction will wind back Māori rights

Nearly half of New Zealanders believe the government’s policies have increased racial tensions, new polling shows, as pressure mounts on the government over policy changes that many fear will undermine Māori rights.

The 1News Verian poll released on Monday found 46% of voters believed racial tensions have worsened as a result of the coalition’s policies, while 37% said there had been no difference and 10% thought tensions had reduced. Another 7% of respondents said they didn’t know or preferred not to comment.

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Australia news live: Palaszczuk appointed to Australia Post board; Shorten says Dutton ‘implying all Gazans are terrorists’

Palaszczuk, who retired from politics in December after almost nine years as QLD premier, will serve a three-year term as a non-executive director. Follow today’s news headlines live

‘We have to have a constant reminder’

The committee also called for a culturally appropriate and nationally significant recognition and remembrance of murdered and disappeared First Nations women and children. Dorinda Cox said this would be “significant” if the government accepted the recommendation:

It would … have some permanent features to remind us the role that history has played for missing and murdered or disappeared women and children and First Nations women and children in this country, because there’s a story there that needs to be told, and we have to have a constant reminder.

Like we do … with the Australian war memorial of the safety that we have as a country, but also that this part of our history – this is now ingrained in and sketched into. And if we want to continue to work on this and continue to maintain safety for women and children and the most vulnerable, which is First Nations – as we know, we’re in an emergency for all women, but First Nations women and children are at the front of that – we have to have some permanent features, otherwise we become invisible.

What we hear too often is that this is a state and territory problem. States are responsible for their police forces, in particular … We have to centre our approaches and our outcomes in [addressing these issues] and we have to look at the culture of the organisations, such as police.

There’s lots of reporting on the media in relation to the attitudes of police across Australia, and that has to get better, but we have to have a measure against that – we can’t just put in the attorney general [to] have a chat to the police ministers, and nothing changes … Because if we don’t look at this in a way of wanting change, nothing ever changes.

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‘Dangerous’ and ‘retrograde’: Māori leaders sound alarm over policy shifts in New Zealand

Experts say policy changes that include scrapping Māori-led programs will harm communities and put New Zealand’s ‘great reputation’ at risk

Leading Māori figures from across New Zealand have sounded the alarm over the government’s changes to policies that affect Māori, after analysis by the Guardian highlighted the far-reaching scope of the proposals.

The policy shifts proposed by the rightwing coalition have been described by experts as “chilling” and “dangerous” and have created a “deeply fractured” relationship between Māori and the crown, or ruling authorities.

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Shock in New Zealand as Green party MP Efeso Collins dies after charity run

Devastated colleagues and friends pay tribute to Collins as a ‘passionate advocate’ and a champion of fairness and equality

New Zealanders, including leaders from across the political spectrum, have expressed shock and devastation at the sudden death of Green MP Efeso Collins, who collapsed after a charity run in Auckland on Wednesday.

“It is with profound shock and sadness that we can confirm that Green Party MP Efeso Collins has died,” said a statement from the Green party.

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