Category Archives: New Zealand

New Zealand signs defence pact with Cook Islands after quarrel over China deal

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Agreement comes after Wellington halted millions in aid to its former colony after Cook Islands formed strategic partnership with Beijing

New Zealand and the Cook Islands have signed a defence and security declaration, ending a year-long diplomatic row that erupted after the Cook Islands struck strategic agreements with China.

The Cook Islands was a dependent New Zealand colony from 1901-65 but has since operated as a self-governing nation in “free association” with New Zealand. Its roughly 17,000 citizens hold New Zealand citizenship. There are obligations between the two nations to regularly consult on matters of defence and security.

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Albanese urged to help Australians struggling with fuel crisis, as NZ offers first-of-its-kind cash relief

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David Pocock says a flat 25% export levy on gas producers could redirect ‘wartime profits’ to struggling Australians

Pressure is mounting on the Albanese government to help households struggling with fuel prices, with working from home and free public transport posited as possible solutions.

Nearly 150,000 New Zealand families will soon receive a weekly cash payment to help them afford petrol, believed to be the world’s first fuel relief package that directly pays citizens since the Israel-US war on Iran began.

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New Zealand to give cash payments to some low income families as global fuel crisis worsens

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Policy begins on 1 April and is aimed to ease financial pressure as the price of fuel surges due to conflict in the Middle East

Nearly 150,000 New Zealand families will soon receive a weekly cash payment to help them afford petrol, the government has announced, in what is believed to be the world’s first fuel relief package that directly pays citizens since the Iran war began.

On Tuesday, prime minister Christopher Luxon and finance minister Nicola Willis announced roughly 143,000 families with children will get an extra NZ$50 ($29.20; £21.80) a week through a boost to the in-work tax credit – a payment to families with dependent children where at least one parent is in paid employment and neither parent receives benefits. Another 14,000 families on slightly higher incomes will also be eligible for payments, but will receive less than $50 per week.

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New Zealand PM’s ratings dip as fragile economy fails to impress before November election, poll shows

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National leader Christopher Luxon drops in preferred PM stakes with rise in people saying country heading in wrong direction

The personal ratings of New Zealand’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon, have dipped, polling shows, as his government’s handling of the economy fails to impress voters ahead of the November election.

The RNZ-Reid Research poll, released on Monday, also found a growing number of people felt that New Zealand was heading in the wrong direction.

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‘My lovely distraction’: live stream of kākāpō – world’s fattest parrot – and her chicks captivates New Zealand

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More than 100,000 people have tuned in to watch ‘kākāpō cam’, which captures a rare flightless bird sleeping, tidying her nest and fighting off intruders

On an island in New Zealand’s remote southern fjords, one of the world’s strangest and rarest parrots – the kākāpō – is caring for her tiny chick as fans from across the globe watch on.

Through the black and white lens of a hidden camera, a fluffy orb with a kazoo-like squeak jostles for food from its mother’s beak. The mother, Rakiura, is attentive – scooping her chick under her large green wings, fending off an intruding bird, and periodically tidying her nest.

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New Zealand Covid response among world’s best but ‘scars’ remain, inquiry finds

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Royal commission says response led by Jacinda Ardern was broadly ‘appropriate’, in a wide-ranging report featuring recommendations for future pandemics

A royal commission into New Zealand’s Covid response has found it was one of the best in the world but acknowledged the period had left “scars”.

The second of two inquiry reports on the pandemic was released on Tuesday and focused on the period between February 2021 to October 2022, when the government changed from an elimination strategy to one of suppression and minimisation of the virus. It also examined vaccine safety and the government’s immunisation programme, lockdowns and tracing and testing technology.

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

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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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Jacinda Ardern living and working in Australia after move from US

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Exclusive: Former New Zealand PM ‘based out of Australia’, according to spokesperson, after rumours she was looking for houses in Sydney

The former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern is living in Australia with her family, a spokesperson has confirmed.

“The family has been travelling for a few years now,” her office told the Guardian.

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Anger over plans to abolish New Zealand’s dedicated environment ministry

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Critics say proposal to fold department into a new ‘mega ministry’ will dilute accountability and put nature protections at risk

New Zealand’s government is seeking to abolish its dedicated environment ministry to cut down on bureaucracy, a move critics say could dilute environmental protections.

Under the plan, the department would be folded into a new “mega-ministry” that will cover housing, urban development, transport, local government and the environment.

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New Zealand bug of the year: moth named Avatar after mining threat crowned winner

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Arctesthes avatar moth, which won nearly half of the votes, was discovered in 2012 and is critically endangered

A tiny critically endangered moth, named after the Avatar films because of the proposed mining activity threatening its primary habitat, has been crowned New Zealand’s bug of the year.

The Avatar moth won by a wide margin, earning 5,192 of the more than 11,000 total votes cast. It won 2,269 more votes than the runner-up, the mahoenui giant wētā, one of the world’s largest insects. Other contenders included the wonderfully spiky hellraiser mite, the country’s heaviest spider – the black tunnelweb – and a giant earthworm that glows in the dark.

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‘It’s a catastrophe’: Wellington rages as millions of litres of raw sewage pour into ocean

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Abandoned beaches, public health warning signs and seagulls eating human waste are now features of the popular coastline in New Zealand

A tide of anger is rising in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, as the city’s toilets continue to flush directly into the ocean more than two weeks after the catastrophic collapse of its wastewater treatment plant.

Millions of litres of raw and partially screened sewage have been pouring into pristine reefs and a marine reserve along the south coast daily since 4 February, prompting a national inquiry, as the authorities struggle to get the decimated plant operational.

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Wealthy Americans top ‘golden visa’ surge in New Zealand and applications from China double

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US family who were 100th to be granted residency under investor scheme say they want to give back to ‘amazing’ New Zealand

Wealthy Americans are dominating applications for New Zealand’s “golden visa”, driven by a love for the country’s natural beauty and entrepreneurial spirit, as well a desire to escape Trump’s administration.

New rules for the Active Investor Plus visa came into effect in April 2025, lowering investment thresholds, removing English-language requirements and cutting the amount of time applicants must spend in the country to establish residency from three years to three weeks. Successful applicants can only purchase homes in New Zealand worth more than $5m.

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New Zealand officials warn more flooding could hit north island as man killed after heavy rain

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Worst weather forecast to hit late on Sunday, a day after floods caused power outages, road collapses and home evacuations

New Zealand’s weather bureau has warned more flooding could hit the country’s North Island, a day after floods caused power outages, road collapses, home evacuations and caused the death of a man whose vehicle was submerged on a highway.

There was “threat to life from dangerous river conditions, significant flooding and slips” as a deepening low-pressure system east of the North Island brought heavy rain and severe gales to several regions, the weather bureau said.

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Man charged with theft after allegedly swallowing Fabergé pendant in jewellery store

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New Zealand police allege 32-year-old ingested the 18-karat gold egg – a James Bond Octopussy locket – and say the object has ‘not yet been recovered’

A New Zealand man has been charged with theft after allegedly swallowing a Fabergé James Bond Octopussy egg pendant worth more than $33,500 (US$19,200).

Police were called to a central Auckland jewellery store, Partridge Jewellers, on Friday afternoon after staff reported a man had allegedly picked up the pendant and swallowed it, said Grae Anderson, the city’s central area commander.

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Mother who hid children’s bodies in suitcases jailed for life in New Zealand

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Hakyung Lee was found guilty of murdering her children and concealing their remains in a storage locker

A mother who murdered her two children and hid their bodies in suitcases stored inside a rented locker has been sentenced to life imprisonment in New Zealand.

Hakyung Lee, a New Zealand citizen originally from South Korea, was found guilty earlier this year of killing her children in a crime that has become known as the “suitcase murders”.

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Two climbers dead after fall on Aoraki Mount Cook, New Zealand’s highest peak

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Two others rescued as authorities work to recover the bodies of those killed after they fell near the summit

Two mountain climbers have died on Aoraki, New Zealand’s tallest peak, with two others from the same group rescued, authorities said.

The climbers’ bodies have been found and specialist searchers were working to recover them “in a challenging alpine environment”, the police area commander Inspector Vicki Walker said on Tuesday. None of the climbers have been publicly identified.

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UN to hear human rights complaint over New Zealand’s treatment of Māori

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UN committee to consider claim by prominent Māori leader Tureiti Moxon that alleges government policies have harmed Indigenous people

The United Nations has agreed to hear an urgent complaint against New Zealand’s coalition government alleging it is responsible for significant and persistent discrimination against Māori.

Prominent Māori leader, Lady Tureiti Moxon, has filed the complaint to the UN’s committee for the convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination (CERD).

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Authors dumped from New Zealand’s top book prize after AI used in cover designs

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Ockham Book Awards dropped two titles from contention after new guidelines introduced on artificial intelligence use

The books of two award-winning New Zealand authors have been disqualified from consideration for the country’s top literature prize because artificial intelligence was used in the creation of their cover designs.

Stephanie Johnson’s collection of short stories Obligate Carnivore and Elizabeth Smither’s collection of novellas Angel Train were submitted to the 2026 Ockham book awards’ NZ$65,000 fiction prize in October, but were ruled out of the competition the following month in light of new guidelines around AI use.

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Schools close in New Zealand after play sand recalled over asbestos fears

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Six coloured sand products recalled in New Zealand after testing in Australia found asbestos in similar items

Multiple schools have temporarily closed in New Zealand and hundreds of education facilities are seeking advice from officials after asbestos was detected in several brands of widely used coloured play sand.

Last week, the ministry for business, innovation and employment confirmed a voluntary recall was under way for two brands of coloured sand sold in New Zealand, after testing in Australia found asbestos in similar products.

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Stunning aurora australis lights up sky above New Zealand and Australia after ‘cannibal’ solar storm

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The geomagnetic storm, caused by powerful bursts of energy from the sun, also postponed the launch of two Mars-bound Nasa spacecraft in the US

Skywatchers enjoyed a stunning treat on Wednesday night, with the southern lights visible across large parts of Australia and New Zealand.

The aurora australis that lit up the sky resulted from what has been dubbed a “cannibal” solar storm.

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