Category Archives: New Zealand

Lost luggage leaves New Zealand’s band without instruments for Anzac Day at Gallipoli

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Bags went missing in Dubai floods, with embassy staff only able to retrieve one instrument and a handful of dress uniforms for defence force musicians

Australia’s and New Zealand’s defence forces are once again coming together at Gallipoli – this time to ensure New Zealand’s military band can play on.

The band’s luggage was among thousands of bags lost during last week’s Dubai floods, with embassy staff only able to retrieve one instrument and a handful of dress uniforms ahead of the 25 April dawn service in Turkey.

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Ram believed responsible for deaths of elderly New Zealand couple

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Police say the sheep was shot dead after confronting officers called to the property in Waitakere, west of Auckland

An aggressive ram believed responsible for the deaths of an elderly New Zealand couple has been put down by police after it was found alongside the two bodies in a paddock.

The NZ Herald reported the pair, aged in their early 80s, were found dead in a field of their rural property early on Thursday morning.

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Newshub: parts of axed New Zealand media outlet to continue in new deal

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Newshub owner Warner Bros Discovery strikes deal with Stuff to provide bulletins amid concerns over the country’s shrinking media market

New Zealand news outlet Newshub, which is set to shut down due to economic woes, has been thrown a lifeline by local media organisation Stuff that will save its bulletins and website, in new formats.

Last week, Warner Bros Discovery confirmed it would close down its New Zealand newsroom, Newshub, including its website, the morning television show and the 6pm news bulletin, resulting in the loss of roughly 300 jobs and prompting alarm over the state of New Zealand’s media industry. The same day, state-owned television network TVNZ announced its own set of programme cuts and job losses.

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Blow to New Zealand media as two main news outlets announce programme closures and job cuts

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More than 350 jobs to go after Warner Bros. Discovery closes all its Newshub news operations and TVNZ cuts programs and bulletins

New Zealand’s news media has been dealt a major blow after two of its primary news outlets announced programme closures and hundreds of job losses between them on the same day, leaving the country with just one state-owned news television service and many senior journalists out of work.

On Wednesday morning, Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed it would close all its Newshub news operations, including the news website, the morning television show and the 6pm television bulletin, resulting in roughly 300 job losses.

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New Zealand tightens visa rules after migration hits ‘unsustainable’ levels

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Net migration to New Zealand hit a near record high in 2023 after a new temporary work visa was introduced after the pandemic

New Zealand will tighten its visa rules for some migrants as the coalition government moves to overhaul the immigration system it says has led to “unsustainable” levels of migration.

Last year, annual net migration to New Zealand hit a near record high of more than 173,000 non-New Zealand citizens in the year to December, Stats NZ reported.

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Why didn’t New Zealand impose sanctions on China?

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New Zealand did not follow the US and UK in imposing financial restrictions after accusing Beijing of links to cyber-attacks

Politicians, journalists and critics of Beijing were among those targeted by cyber-attacks run by groups backed by China, western intelligence services said this week.

The separate cyber-attacks hit the US, UK and New Zealand – all members of the Five Eyes alliance. The network of five countries, which also includes Canada and Australia, share security related intelligence.

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Thousands of foreign nurses a year leave UK to work abroad

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Exclusive: Surge in nurses originally from outside the EU moving overseas prompts concern Britain is a ‘staging post’ in their careers

Almost 9,000 foreign nurses a year are leaving the UK to work abroad, amid a sudden surge in nurses quitting the already understaffed NHS for better-paid jobs elsewhere.

The rise in nurses originally from outside the EU moving to take up new posts abroad has prompted concerns that Britain is increasingly becoming “a staging post” in their careers.

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Boeing cockpit seat switch mishap reportedly led to Latam flight incident

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New scrutiny of planemaker’s 787 Dreamliner over terrifying drop adds to safety crisis after cabin panel blowout on 737 Max 9 jet

Another Boeing jet is facing scrutiny after the planemaker reportedly told airlines to check the cockpit seats of 787 Dreamliners following a terrifying drop during a flight from Sydney to Auckland.

Dozens of people on Latam Airlines Flight 800 were said to have been hurt this week when the plane fell sharply, throwing passengers around the cabin.

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‘Felt like an earthquake’: passengers recall moment of terror on Latam flight as investigation launched

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Latam Airlines flight LA800 was headed to Auckland from Sydney when plane’s ‘gauges just blanked out’ due to technical problem, pilot reportedly told passengers

Cockpit voice and flight data recorders are being gathered as an investigation begins into a sudden mid-air drop on an Auckland-bound flight that left passengers bloodied, hospitalised dozens and “felt like an earthquake had just hit”.

Latam Airlines flight LA800 departed Sydney at 11.35am on Monday with 263 passengers and nine flight and cabin crew headed for Auckland. About two-thirds of the way into the three-hour flight, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner – which was eight years old, according to flight tracking data – “experienced a strong shake”, the airline said.

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Two New Zealand skiers killed after avalanche in Japan

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Third person injured after small group were backcountry skiiing in Hokkaido on Mount Yotei when an avalanche struck on Monday

Two New Zealanders, including a 21-year-old ski guide, have been killed in avalanche while backcountry skiing in Japan.

New Zealand’s ministry of foreign affairs and trade confirmed to the Guardian two people had died in “a tragic accident” in Hokkaido. A third New Zealander was also injured.

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Fifty people treated after ‘technical problem’ caused ‘strong movement’ on Latam flight from Sydney

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Passengers on flight to Auckland describe ‘mid-air drop’ with people thrown from their seats

Fifty people have been treated by ambulance crews and 13 people are in hospital after an in-bound aircraft to Auckland experienced a “strong movement” mid-flight that reportedly saw passengers suddenly thrown about the plane.

In a statement, Hato Hone St John Ambulance said the organisation responded to an incident at Auckland International airport involving an inbound aircraft after a call at 3.58pm local time on Monday.

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Rugby team sparks row in NZ after calling government ‘rednecks’ in haka

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Questions asked over the place of protest in professional sport after Hurricanes Poua team in Wellington changed the lyrics for their haka just before a game

A row over the role of protest in professional sport has erupted in New Zealand after a women’s rugby team called the coalition government “rednecks” during a pre-match haka.

The Hurricanes Poua – the women’s rugby union team for Wellington – added lyrics to their haka just before their Super Rugby Aupiki match against the Chiefs Manawa in Hamilton on Saturday.

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New Zealand PM grounded again as defence force fleet flies into trouble

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Defence force aircraft draws fresh criticism as Christopher Luxon joins Ardern and Key in list of leaders held up by ageing planes

New Zealand prime minister Christopher Luxon was forced to travel on a last-minute commercial flight to Australia for a summit on Tuesday, after the country’s beleaguered defence force plane was once again grounded over maintenance issues.

The defence force loans planes to New Zealand leaders when they embark on international travel, but the ageing fleet has been plagued with problems in recent years – an issue that Luxon, the former chief executive of Air New Zealand, has previously labelled “incredibly embarrassing”.

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White Island volcano eruption: NZ court orders tour operators and island managers to pay $10m

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Court found those responsible for tour had not conducted adequate risk assessments ahead of deadly eruption

A New Zealand court has ordered the tour booking agents and managers of an island where a volcanic eruption killed 22 people to pay survivors more than NZ$10m ($6.1m) and fined them around NZ$2.6m.

Tour operators White Island Tours, Volcanic Air Safaris, Kahu New Zealand and Aerius, along with the corporate owner of the island, Whakaari Management Ltd, were found to have not sufficiently ensured the safety of visitors to the island, court filings showed.

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‘No intention of stopping’: New Zealand online vape seller vows to ignore Australia’s new import ban

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Health department rejects seller’s taunt ‘new rules don’t apply to us’ and points to ‘escalated enforcement action as appropriate’

A New Zealand online vape seller is taunting the Albanese government over its vaping reforms, telling customers “we have no intention of stopping” vape shipments because of “one twat in Canberra”, presumably in reference to the federal health minister, Mark Butler.

From Friday, importation of vapes to Australia is banned unless an importer has a licence and permit. Prescription vape importers and manufacturers also need to notify the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) of their product’s compliance with standards.

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

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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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New Zealand’s fertility rate hits record low as births fall

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Analyst says drop in births reflect ‘continued trend’ of smaller family sizes and higher rates of childlessness

New Zealand’s fertility rate slumped to a record low in 2023, official data shows, as the total number of births also dropped.

The fertility rate tracks the average number of births women will have in their lifetime. New Zealand, along with many countries around the world, has seen this number drop as factors like education, participation in the workforce, and access to contraception contribute to women having fewer children.

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New Zealand pilot kidnapped a year ago in West Papua will be freed, rebel group says

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Separatist fighters who seized Phillip Mehrtens say he will be released to protect humanity and safeguard human rights, but did not say when

Rebels in Indonesia’s West Papua region have said they will release a New Zealand pilot who was taken hostage a year ago as a bargaining chip for their independence movement.

The chief of general staff of the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPN-PB), Terianus Satto, said in a statement the pilot would be released in order to protect humanity and safeguard human rights.

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New Zealand steps up interest in Aukus as Pacific security concerns grow

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Australia to send delegation to NZ ‘very shortly’ to brief on second pillar of Aukus alliance after ministers meet in Melbourne

New Zealand has stepped up its interest in joining the non-nuclear pillar of Aukus, amid China’s growing presence in the Pacific and broader concerns over a “reshaped world”.

New Zealand’s foreign minister Winston Peters – also a deputy prime minister – and the defence minister, Judith Collins, travelled to Melbourne to meet with their Australian counterparts, Penny Wong and Richard Marles, for the inaugural “2+2” Australia and New Zealand foreign and defence ministers’ meeting on Thursday.

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New Zealand to ban PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in cosmetics in 2026

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Country may be the first to do so, amid increasing concerns about the health and environmental risks posed by the virtually indestructible chemicals

New Zealand is banning so-called “forever chemicals” in cosmetics from 2026, in what could be the first example of a country doing so.

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) said it has banned the use of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in cosmetics to protect people and the environment from the chemicals.

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