Category Archives: New Zealand

Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle intensifies on path to Norfolk Island and New Zealand

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Weather system off the Queensland coast predicted to intensify to category three, with winds of up to 224km/h

Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle is expected to strengthen to category three as it barrels towards Norfolk Island, in line to pummel New Zealand’s North Island.

The system is predicted to intensify to category three on Friday morning, picking up speed and strength with winds of between 165km/h and 224km/h, the Bureau of Meteorology says.

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Australia and New Zealand best placed to survive nuclear apocalypse, study finds

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Researchers say food and energy security boosts prospects for civilisation to continue, along with Vanuatu, Iceland and Solomon Islands

The lucky country can count on one more piece of good fortune, with researchers finding Australia – followed by neighbour New Zealand – best placed to survive a nuclear winter and help reboot a collapsed human civilisation.

The study published in the journal Risk Analysis describes Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu as the island countries most capable of producing enough food for their populations after an “abrupt sunlight‐reducing catastrophe” such as a nuclear war, super volcano or asteroid strike.

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Wreck of ship carrying rare ‘ordinary’ crockery wins protection off Kent coast

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Unknown patterns found on ceramics from Josephine Willis, which collided with steamer in 1856

The wreck of a mid-19th century sailing ship transporting British people to New Zealand and with a cargo of exceptionally rare ceramics onboard has been listed for protection 167 years after it sank off the Kent coast.

The Josephine Willis wooden packet boat, built in Limehouse and launched in 1854 by HH Willis & Co, foundered four miles (6.4km) south of Folkestone harbour following a collision with the steamer Mangerton on 3 February 1856, with the loss of 70 lives including Captain Edward Canney. The ship lies in two parts on the seabed, 23 metres deep.

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Separatists fighters in Papua hold New Zealand pilot hostage

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Police and military sent to Nduga area after Susi Air plane was stormed and then burned by separatists opposed to Indonesian rule

Separatist fighters in Indonesia’s Papua region have taken a New Zealand pilot hostage after setting a small commercial plane alight when it landed in a remote highland area on Tuesday, a pro-independence group said in a statement.

A police spokesperson in Papua province, Ignatius Benny Adi Prabowo, said police and military personnel were sent to the area to locate the pilot and five passengers.

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Bodies of two Britons killed in Ukraine recovered as part of prisoner swap

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Chris Parry and Andrew Bagshaw died in Soledar area while helping to evacuate people from frontline

The bodies of two British volunteers killed in Ukraine while carrying out a humanitarian evacuation have been recovered, a Ukrainian official has said.

Chris Parry, 28, and his colleague Andrew Bagshaw, 47, who held dual UK and New Zealand citizenship, had been trying to evacuate an elderly woman from Soledar when their car was hit by an artillery shell.

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Weather tracker: historic rainfall wreaks havoc in New Zealand

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Auckland has experienced its wettest January since records began, while temperatures plummet in southern US

Historic rainfall hit New Zealand in the past week with the worst flooding in at least 200 years in Auckland. Auckland airport reported 249mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period on 27 January, with a month’s worth of rainfall in less than an hour. At another station, Albert Park, there was 280mm in one day, with 211mm falling in less than six hours.

These totals are more than 8.5 times higher than a typical January, and more than 2.5 times higher than an entire typical summer. Overall, Auckland has had the wettest January since records began, with more than half a metre of rain falling in places. The rainfall has caused numerous landslips, flooding and damage to roads and properties with four people killed and 350 in need of emergency accommodation. More than 9,000 people are still stranded as flights in and out of Auckland experiencing delays and cancellations.

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Auckland floods: city begins clean-up after ‘biggest climate event’ in New Zealand’s history

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As rain and flooding eases, attention turns to assessing the scale of the damage after four people were killed by unprecedented extreme weather

Insurers say devastating flooding in Auckland was the “biggest climate event” in New Zealand’s history, as rain eased after days of downpours and a clean-up of the city began.

Friday was the wettest day on record for New Zealand’s largest city, with severe rain leading flood waters to sweep through streets and down highways, killing four people. Schools and businesses closed as buildings and roads were ravaged by the deluge. Auckland International Airport was shuttered temporarily, stranding thousands of travellers overseas.

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Auckland flooding: death toll rises as New Zealand hit with more heavy rain and landslides

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Four people have been killed as authorities warn severe weather conditions will continue in New Zealand’s north island

Heavy rainfall continued to batter New Zealand’s north island, causing landslides, flash floods and knocking out roads, with the death toll rising to four after a person who had been missing was confirmed dead.

Battered by rain since Friday, Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city of 1.6 million people, remained under a state of emergency on Sunday. The nation’s weather forecaster, MetService, warned of more severe weather on Sunday and Monday for the north island. Intense rainfall could also cause surface and flash flooding, it said.

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Authorities use GPS data to try to find missing device – as it happened

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Perrottet promises easier access to housing for domestic violence victims

NSW domestic violence victims will have easier access to housing through concessions on stamp duty and rental bond loans if the Perrottet government is re-elected, AAP reports.

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Two missing Britons killed in Ukraine while evacuating citizens from Soledar

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Foreign Office confirms Chris Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 47, killed carrying out humanitarian work on frontline

Two Britons missing in Ukraine were killed while trying to carry out a humanitarian evacuation in the east of the country, the Foreign Office has confirmed.

Chris Parry, 28, and his colleague Andrew Bagshaw, 47 – who held dual UK and New Zealand citizenship – had been attempting the evacuation of an elderly woman from Soledar when their car was hit by an artillery shell, Bagshaw’s family said in a statement.

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Did she inspire or fail to deliver? Readers on how Jacinda Ardern will be remembered

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Most praised New Zealand’s outgoing prime minister for her handling of crises, while others criticised her domestic policy record

Jacinda Ardern’s legacy has divided reader opinion. While many described the outgoing New Zealand prime minister as “inspirational” and praised her ability to manage a crisis, some responses also revealed anger at her handling of the Covid response and criticism for failure to deliver on promises.

Below is a selection of reader comments conveying the range of reactions when we asked the question: how will you remember Jacinda Ardern’s time as New Zealand PM.

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Hipkins is unlikely to reach heights of Jacindamania, and that may suit New Zealanders

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Chris Hipkins promises a ‘solid’ government that will focus on bread-and-butter issues, in the wake of the international stardom of Jacinda Ardern

Jacinda Ardern has a natural presence most politicians would sacrifice a kidney for.

She spoke like a normal person most of the time, but could switch into moving rhetoric at the exact points it was needed – like when a terrorist carried out a mass murder, a global pandemic shut the world down, or at a normal old election rally.

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New Zealand’s Chris Hipkins vows to focus on inflation ‘pandemic’ and ‘fairer’ tax system

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Incoming prime minister echoes Jacinda Ardern’s promise to cut back Labour’s agenda to focus on cost of living issues

New Zealand’s next prime minister, Chris Hipkins, has promised to cut back government reforms to focus on the “global pandemic of inflation”.

Speaking to media on Monday morning, the prime minister-to-be promised to “run the ruler” over the government’s work programme and cut inessential reforms to focus on the economy. In the final months of 2022, Jacinda Ardern made similar commitments, in a tacit admission that the government’s packed legislative agenda may have become a distraction from the rising cost of living – a core issue worrying voters.

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New Zealand: Chris Hipkins taking over from Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday

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Sole nominee secures Labour endorsement for prime minister, with Carmel Sepuloni as deputy, and incumbent’s last engagements on Tuesday

Chris Hipkins will be New Zealand’s next prime minister following a formal vote that endorsed him as Jacinda Ardern’s successor after her shock resignation on Thursday.

New Zealand will also swear in its first ever Pasifika deputy prime minister, with social development minister Carmel Sepuloni, who is of Tongan and Samoan descent, to take the role.

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Chris Hipkins set to become next prime minister of New Zealand

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Minister selected by Labour party to succeed Jacinda Ardern after her shock resignation on Thursday

A new prime minister for New Zealand has been chosen by the Labour party after the shock resignation of Jacinda Ardern on Thursday.

Chris Hipkins – the minister for education and policing, and one of the primary architects of the Covid response – was nominated uncontested by the party caucus on Saturday morning, after efforts by senior MPs to achieve consensus and secure a smooth transition in Ardern’s wake. The caucus is due to formally endorse his selection on Sunday.

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Australian researchers identify genes that cause sarcomas – as it happened

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First genetic map to identify important genes that cause one of most common cancers in children. This blog is now closed

Five-year $41m maintenance contract extension for army’s fleet of Chinook helicopters

The government has announced a $41m extension to an army helicopter maintenance contract.

The CH-47F Chinook fleet is an important capability for Defence, providing critical lift capability on several domestic and regional operations, including Bushfire Assist in 2020, and Tonga and Flood Assist in 2022. This contract extension will expand the maintenance and training support for our Chinook fleet, while boosting opportunities for defence industry in Queensland.

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‘Like a sister’: Australia will miss Jacinda Ardern but trans-Tasman ties likely to stay strong

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A National win in New Zealand could bring minor changes to the relationship but the neighbours are expected to remain close no matter who the prime ministers are

Jacinda Ardern is a “sister” of Australia and her resignation as prime minister is being lamented by the Albanese government, but her stepping down is unlikely to materially affect New Zealand’s relationship with its trans-Tasman neighbour.

But experts believe there could be minor changes in the relationship later this year, when Ardern’s Labour could lose to the centre-right National party in New Zealand’s national election.

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‘An inspiring leader’: world reacts to Jacinda Ardern’s resignation as New Zealand PM

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‘The difference you have made is immeasurable,’ says Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau

The US president, together with the prime ministers of Canada and Australia, have paid tribute to their New Zealand counterpart, who shocked the world by announcing she would be resigning as her country’s leader.

Joe Biden applauded Ardern’s “stewardship in advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific” and credited her leadership for making the US-New Zealand partnership “stronger than ever”.

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Jacinda Ardern resigns as prime minister of New Zealand

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Labour leader to stand down no later than 7 February, saying she ‘no longer had enough in the tank’ to do the job

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has said she is resigning, in an unexpected announcement that came as she confirmed a national election for October.

At the party’s first caucus meeting of the year on Thursday, Ardern said she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job. “It’s time,” she added.

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‘We are inextricably linked’: Māori tribe urges Sotheby’s to return relics up for auction

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New Zealand tribe says only a handful of its cultural taonga, or treasures, are left after successive waves of looting during colonial times

A Māori tribe in New Zealand is calling for the return of treasured relics listed for sale by the auction house Sotheby’s.

The auctioneer is in the process of selling a number of Māori artefacts from around the 18th and 19th century – some of which local tribes say are crucial cultural taonga (treasures) and should be returned.

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