Category Archives: New Zealand

New Zealand: thousands protest against new government policies that unravel Māori gains

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The new government recently announced it would dial back use of Māori language in government organisations, and scrap Māori Health Authority

Thousands of Māori protesters took to the streets across New Zealand on Tuesday morning, objecting to policies of the new government that Māori say will unravel decades of indigenous progress.

Protesters blocked traffic on key roads and lined streets in towns and cities while calling for the coalition to scrap plans to review the Treaty of Waitangi, the country’s 180-year-old founding document which was signed between the Crown and Māori leaders.

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‘Very sweet milestone’: wild-born kiwi chicks are Wellington’s first in a century

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New Zealand’s national icon is also one of its most vulnerable birds and conservationists believe it was absent from capital for generations

Two kiwi chicks have been born in the wild around Wellington for the first time in more than 100 years, one year after the national bird was reintroduced to New Zealand’s capital.

The fluffy and flightless kiwi is one of the most vulnerable birds in New Zealand and conservationists believe it has been absent from the capital for generations.

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New Zealand freshwater study sounds alarm over E coli pollution levels

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The report Our Land and Water looks at how waterways are polluted by four major contaminants in 650,000 river segments, 961 lakes and 419 estuaries

A new study of New Zealand’s freshwater quality has painted a sobering picture, showing that E coli is seeping through three-quarters of the land and into waterways at higher levels than national regulations allow.

The report, funded by the government-backed organisation Our Land and Water, looked at how rivers, lakes, and estuaries are polluted by four major contaminants, including E coli, a bacteria found in the intestines of many animals and humans that can cause serious illness.

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New Zealand scraps world-first smoking ‘generation ban’ to fund tax cuts

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Health experts say axing plan to block sales of tobacco products to next generation will cost thousands of lives

New Zealand’s new government will scrap the country’s world-leading law to ban smoking for future generations to help pay for tax cuts – a move that public health officials believe will cost thousands of lives and be “catastrophic” for Māori communities.

In 2022 the country passed pioneering legislation which introduced a steadily rising smoking age to stop those born after January 2009 from ever being able to legally buy cigarettes. The law was designed to prevent thousands of smoking-related deaths and save the health system billions of dollars.

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New Zealand gets two deputy PMs after marathon coalition talks

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After weeks of negotiations, incoming PM Christopher Luxon announces populist Winston Peters and libertarian David Seymour will alternate as deputy

Nearly six weeks after New Zealand’s general election, the incoming prime minister, National’s Christopher Luxon, has announced the shape of the governing coalition with the libertarian Act and populist New Zealand First parties.

Luxon told a media conference in Wellington on Friday that the three parties had agreed on a “common sense” plan that reflected their values and policies.

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‘Puking’ pūteketeke crowned New Zealand bird of the century after John Oliver campaign

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Annual competition inundated with a record number of votes after comedian took the Australasian crested grebe under his wing

New Zealand has crowned a bird that grunts, pukes and has a highly unusual repertoire of mating rituals as its bird of the century.

The threatened Australasian crested grebe, or pūteketeke, was thrown into the global spotlight by a powerful backer, British-American comedian and talkshow host John Oliver.

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New Zealand in limbo one month after election as government coalition negotiations drag on

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Incoming PM Christopher Luxon must bring together the libertarian Act party and populist New Zealand First, parties that have major differences

One month on from New Zealand’s general election, the country is still waiting for three parties to reach an agreement on the makeup of the next coalition government.

On 14 October, the conservative National Party beat the current centre-left Labour party government, winning a razor-thin majority to govern in a coalition with the ring-wing Act Party. That majority disappeared once additional voting results were announced three weeks later, forcing National to rely on a third party, the nationalist New Zealand First, to reach the 61-seat majority needed to form a government.

This story was amended on 14 November to correct the date of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi

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Pacific Islands Forum: what is it and why does it matter?

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Climate change and rising strategic competition among issues facing leaders at region’s most important political gathering

The leaders of Pacific nations will gather in the Cook Islands this week for the most closely watched meeting on the regional calendar. The Pacific Islands Forum, or Pif, is the main political decision making body for the region. This year discussions are likely to be dominated by climate change ahead of COP28, and will also address how to manage increasing geostrategic competition – including the rise of China.

On the eve of the summit, officials confirmed the leaders of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Zealand would not attend – weakening the prospects of progress on some issues.

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‘You are our enemies’: Noel Edmonds in spat with council after move to New Zealand

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Entertainer has reportedly bought up 12 properties in rural Ngātīmoti and objected to a cycle trail proposal

He has wowed millions of TV viewers in the UK, taken on a big bank and loves working out in the dark. Now Noel Edmonds has brought his positive energy to a tiny town in New Zealand, where he has reportedly bought up NZ$30m (£14.5m) worth of property and is making his mark on the community.

Edmonds, 74, who found fame presenting shows such as Noel’s House Party, Top of the Pops and Deal Or No Deal, moved to New Zealand in 2019 – first to Matakana, north of Auckland, and then to the South Island in 2022.

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Final New Zealand election results show National party will need populist NZ First to govern

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Centre-right party loses two seats in final tally and will need to rely on traditional partner Act as well as NZ First to form coalition

After weeks of political limbo, the final results of New Zealand’s election have been released showing the centre-right National party will need the support of the libertarian Act party and populist party New Zealand First to form a coalition government.

The governing Labour party was ejected from office after six years in the October election, with preliminary results handing a slim majority to National and its traditional coalition partner Act.

Reuters contributed to this report

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White Island volcano eruption: Whakaari Management found guilty of ‘astonishing’ safety failures

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New Zealand judge Evangelos Thomas criticised failures of safety audits given ‘obvious risks’ that led to 2019 fatal eruption

A New Zealand court has found the owner of White Island/Whakaari, the offshore volcano that erupted in 2019, killing 22 people, guilty on one charge of breaching workplace safety laws.

On Tuesday, Auckland district court ruled Whakaari Management Limited (WML), the holding company of landowners Andrew, James and Peter Buttle, had not met its obligations to visitors to the volcano.

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New Zealand gangs may be forced to cover facial tattoos with makeup, incoming government says

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Ban on offensive facial markings could come as part of wider crackdown on gangs, National party says

New Zealand’s gangs may have to cover up offensive tattoos with makeup if the incoming government’s crackdown on gang activity goes ahead.

On Thursday, the National party’s police spokesperson, Mark Mitchell, told the national broadcaster RNZ that if its proposed ban on gang patches – large insignia sewn on to jackets, for example – does not work, then it would consider making gang members apply foundation over their facial tattoos, or face arrest.

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Christchurch mosque attack inquest opens with scrutiny of police response

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Coroner says inquiry offers chance to consider if response to such incidents could be improved

The police and ambulance response to a white supremacist terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, is under public scrutiny for the first time as an inquest begins into the deaths of 51 worshipers in the 2019 mass shooting.

The coroner, Brigitte Windley, opening the inquest at the high court in Christchurch on Tuesday, said: “This is an opportunity to consider if the response to such extraordinary events like this could be improved in the future, despite our strongest desire that we never again have to.”

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Siren kings: New Zealand city plagued by Céline Dion ‘speaker battles’

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Cars covered with loudspeakers blasting remixes of singer’s ballads angers residents of Porirua

A small city in New Zealand plagued by “siren battles” – cars decked out in loudspeakers commonly used in emergency warning systems and often blaring Céline Dion hits – is calling on authorities to step in and end the noise.

The battles are part of a New Zealand subculture where music enthusiasts cover their cars in up to dozens of industrial speakers, loudhailers and sirens, then compete to have the loudest and clearest sounds.

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Undiplomatic impunity: Chinese embassy leaves New Zealand landlord with $900 bill

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People’s Republic is granted immunity from paying cleaning, rubbish removal and key cutting tab after diplomat vacated Wellington house

A landlord in New Zealand has run up against an unusual problem while trying to make his tenant pay $900 for rubbish removal: diplomatic immunity.

Chandler Investments Limited claimed its tenant, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, left a rented mews house in the capital, Wellington, without covering costs for cleaning, rubbish removal and key cutting.

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X, formerly Twitter, rolls out US$1 annual fee for new users in New Zealand and the Philippines

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Platform owned by Elon Musk says subscription trial is aimed at combating bots on the service

X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has begun rolling out a US$1 annual charge to new users in New Zealand and the Philippines in a move the service owned by Elon Musk says is aimed at combating bots.

Fortune first reported the subscription plan, which costs US$1 a year for access to key functions including tweeting, replying, retweeting and liking. After Fortune’s report, X revealed the details.

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New Zealand in political limbo as National considers shape of coalition

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Centre-right party ousted Labour in election but outstanding votes will determine if National needs populist party NZ First to govern

New Zealand could be stuck in political limbo for weeks as the newly elected National party waits to see if it can govern solely with its preferred coalition partner, Act, or whether the final vote tally will force it to work with populist party New Zealand First.

Saturday night’s election brutally ousted the governing Labour party, with preliminary results giving the centre-right National party 50 seats, and its traditional coalition party Act, 11 - just enough to reach the 61 seats needed to govern.

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New Zealand Labour shed votes to the right but also the left – the price of a progressive policy bonfire

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The party’s supporters feel like it got a kicking from everyone. After a dire result, analysts pointed to its inability to meet its lofty aspirations

It was an assessment with a distinctly New Zealand flavour. “At the end of the day, there’s one unavoidable reality,” said Chris Hipkins, the defeated Labour prime minister, speaking to reporters after he conceded the country’s election on Saturday. “We lost because not enough people voted for us.”

But that was only part of it. Hipkins’ ruling, centre-left Labour party had crashed from the historic highs of its 2020 election result, in which it won 50% of the vote, to a dismal 27% on Saturday, nearly halving its seats in parliament. However, the punishing loss was not only a clear defeat by the right-leaning parties that will form the next government – the size and shape of which will be determined when a final vote tally is announced on 3 November; the blows also came from Labour’s left.

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Some of Jacinda Ardern’s legacy in New Zealand is safe. A lot of it isn’t | Henry Cooke

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Housing, workplace and some benefit reforms on the chopping block as centre-right National-led coalition forms government

The most common and cutting critique of Jacinda Ardern’s Labour government was that it couldn’t get anything done.

Transport was the best cudgel for this attack. Ardern came to power promising a light rail line in Auckland that six years later nobody has started to build. Tens of millions were spent on planning a bridge across the city’s harbour that ended up scrapped.

Henry Cooke is a freelance journalist covering New Zealand politics

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New Zealand election 2023: Labour and National make last-ditch pleas to voters on eve of poll

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Chris Hipkins and Christopher Luxon clash in heated final debate ahead of 14 October vote as left-leaning government trails right bloc in polls

The leaders of New Zealand’s two major political parties have made a last ditch effort to sway votes in their favour on the final day of campaigning before the country’s general election.

The leaders clashed in their most heated debate yet – the last of the campaign, which aired on TVNZ on Thursday night. In his final message, Labour’s Chris Hipkins warned the public that a vote for the opposition would bake in poverty and see action on climate change go backwards.

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