Category Archives: New Zealand

US research station staff evacuated from Antarctica in high-risk operation

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Travel to Antarctica during the southern winter is restricted to emergencies with crews having to navigate extreme conditions and icy landings

The New Zealand air force has evacuated three people from a US research base in Antarctica in a high-risk operation that required navigating through extreme weather and round-the-clock darkness.

The air force said on Wednesday the United National Science Foundation requested a medical evacuation for three of its staff members based at the McMurdo Station, one of whom needed urgent medical care.

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New Zealand to charge foreign tourists to visit most famous sites

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Visitors to pay up to NZ$40 to access certain attractions in coming years amid overhaul of conservation laws

New Zealand plans to start charging international tourists fees to enter its famous natural sites and will make it easier for businesses to operate on conservation land as part of a controversial proposal to “unleash” growth on ecologically and culturally protected areas.

The government plans to start charging foreign visitors NZ$20-40 ($12-24) per person to access some sites. Initially, those would probably include Cathedral Cove/Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Track and Aoraki Mount Cook. The fees are likely to be imposed from 2027.

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Woman arrested after travelling with two-year-old in suitcase in New Zealand

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Police say 27-year-old charged with ill treatment and neglect of a child after bus driver spotted a bag moving

A New Zealand woman was arrested on Sunday after travelling on a bus with a two-year-old girl trapped in her luggage.

DI Simon Harrison said the 27-year-old woman had been charged with ill treatment and neglect of a child.

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Canada to recognise Palestine at UN general assembly, joining France and UK in push for new state

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New Zealand and Australia were signatories to a declaration that indicates they could follow suit in the coming months

The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has announced his country plans to formally recognise Palestine during the UN general assembly in September, after France and 14 other countries co-signed a declaration that pointed towards a wave of future recognitions of an independent Palestinian state.

Canada’s plans follow similar announcements by France and the UK to formally recognise Palestine, while New Zealand and Australia were also signatories to a declaration that indicates they could follow suit in the coming months.

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

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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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New Zealand halts millions of dollars in aid to Cook Islands over deals struck with China

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Wellington says it has paused payment of some funding until Pacific island nation takes steps to ‘repair the relationship and restore trust’

New Zealand has halted millions of dollars in funding to the Cook Islands over the “breadth and content” of agreements the smaller Pacific nation made with China, officials from the New Zealand foreign minister’s office has said.

New Zealand, which is the Cook Islands biggest funder, won’t consider any new money for the nation until the relationship improves, a spokesperson for foreign minister Winston Peters told the Associated Press on Thursday.

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Majority of Australians think China will be world’s most powerful country by 2035, poll finds

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Lowy Institute report shows trust in the US has tumbled to lowest level since thinktank began polling

A majority of Australians expect China will be the most powerful country in the world by 2035 as trust in the US tumbles, new research has found.

Just over one in three Australians (36%) trusted the US to act responsibly on the world stage, representing a 20-point fall from 2024 and the smallest proportion since the Lowy Institute began polling in 2005.

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New Zealand PM to meet Xi Jinping as former leaders warn against becoming an ‘adversary’ of China

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Christopher Luxon’s visit to Beijing comes as former NZ PMs warn the country must not become part of defence arrangements ‘explicitly aimed at China’

New Zealand’s prime minister will meet Xi Jinping on a formal visit to China next week, his office has confirmed, a week after an open letter signed by some of his predecessors warned against positioning New Zealand as an “adversary” of its biggest trading partner.

Christopher Luxon is scheduled to travel to Shanghai and Beijing, before going to Europe. His office said he will meet Xi and China’s premier, Li Qiang, for a visit focused on trade, but which would also discuss “the comprehensive bilateral relationship and key regional and global issues”.

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New Zealand government sued over ‘dangerously inadequate’ emissions reduction plan

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Exclusive: In the first legal challenge to the plan, top climate lawyers claim the government relies too heavily on forestry and failed to consult the public

Hundreds of top environment lawyers are suing the New Zealand government over what they say is its “dangerously inadequate” plan to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050.

It is the first time the country’s emissions reduction plan has faced litigation, and the lawyers believe it is the first case globally that challenges the use of forestry to offset emissions.

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Australian navy ship accidentally blocks internet and radio across parts of New Zealand

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Incident happened as one of the Royal Australian Navy’s largest ships was on its way to Wellington this week

The Australian defence force (ADF) has conceded that one of its ships inadvertently blocked wireless internet and radio services across swathes of New Zealand’s North and South islands this week.

The incident occurred on Wednesday morning as HMAS Canberra, one of the largest ships in the Royal Australian Navy, was on its way to Wellington, where it ultimately arrived on Thursday.

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Butter madness: New Zealanders turn to churning as price of dairy staple soars

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Dairy is the country’s largest export industry, but recent figures from Stats NZ show domestic butter prices have surged 65% and people are getting desperate

New Zealanders are driving cross-country for hours in pursuit of cheap butter while some are ordering it from Australia or even churning their own cream, as the country battles sky-high dairy prices.

Despite dairy being the country’s largest export industry, recent figures from Stats NZ show domestic butter prices surged 65% in the year to March, pushing the average price for 500g to $7.42 (£3.30) – that’s up about $3 from this time last year.

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New Zealand MPs who performed haka in parliament given record suspensions

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Parliament votes to enact punishment after hours of fraught debate including attitudes towards Māori culture

New Zealand legislators have voted to enact record parliamentary suspensions for three MPs who performed a Māori haka to protest against a controversial proposed law.

Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke received a seven-day ban and the leaders of her political party, Te Pāti Māori (the Māori party), Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, were barred for 21 days. Three days had previously been the longest ban for a New Zealand MP.

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New Zealand teenager dies after tackle game linked to viral Run It Straight challenge

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Police confirmed the 19-year-old died in hospital on Monday night after he suffered a critical head injury

A New Zealand teenager has died after playing a tackling game, believed to have been inspired by a controversial new high impact collision sport trending on social media.

Police confirmed the 19-year-old died in hospital on Monday night after he suffered a critical head injury while playing a tackle game with friends in the North Island city Palmerston North on Sunday.

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New Zealand will not be ‘guilt-tripped’ over environment, resources minister says

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Shane Jones is unapologetic about his plan to double mineral exports to $3bn over the next decade despite criticism over potential environmental impacts

New Zealand’s minister for resources, Shane Jones, said he will not be guilt-tripped by “apocalyptic images” of mining and its effects on the environment put forward by his critics, as he embarks on a major mining push.

Jones, a member of the minor populist coalition party New Zealand First, wants to double mineral exports to $3bn over the next decade, to boost economic growth and minimise the country’s reliance on imported resources, even if it results in environmental trade-offs.

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

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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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Endangered New Zealand bird caught fighting ‘at risk’ reptile in rare footage

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A video shows the large flightless takahē bird in hot pursuit of the tuatara – but the tables soon turn

Two of New Zealand’s most rare and beloved animals – a large flightless takahē bird and an ancient tuatara reptile – have been captured chasing and nipping at one another during a bush-floor melee.

Nick Fisentzidis, a department of conservation ranger on the pest-free Tiritiri Matangi Island near Auckland, saw the takahē attack the tuatara and quickly grabbed his phone to capture the rare footage.

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New Zealand’s prime minister proposes social media ban for under-16s

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The draft bill is modelled on Australian laws and would force digital platforms to verify the age of users or face heavy fines

New Zealand’s prime minister has proposed banning children under 16 years old from using social media, in an effort to protect young people from harms such as exposure to violent content and cyberbullying.

Christopher Luxonsaid on Tuesday the draft law would force social media companies to verify users were at least 16 before allowing them to create an account, or face fines of up to NZ$2m ($1.2m).

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Weather tracker: State of emergency as high winds and floods hit New Zealand

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Met Service issues red warning amid deepening low pressure, while Europe experiences above average temperatures

Strong winds and flooding spread across New Zealand last week, with a state of emergency declared in Christchurch, after the country was battered by a destructive area of low pressure. A red warning, the highest warning level, was issued by the MetService (the national meteorological service).

The area of low pressure quickly deepened in the Tasman Sea off the west coast of New Zealand and travelled eastwards, with the centre of low pressure moving across the northern island and creating very strong winds, particularly through the Cook Strait, the body of water that separates the two islands. The wind direction was a south-easterly to southerly, which caused the winds to strengthen as they were funnelled between the islands.

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Populist party in New Zealand introduces bill to define gender as biological

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The New Zealand First member’s bill is a long shot to become law as it has to be selected at random from a ballot and then garner majority support

A populist party in New Zealand’s governing coalition has introduced a bill to parliament that if enacted would define women and men by their biology, preventing trans women and men being recognised by law.

The New Zealand First member’s bill is a long shot to become law as it has to be selected at random from a ballot and then garner majority support in parliament.

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Keir Starmer to seek to bolster defence ties as he hosts New Zealand PM

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UK prime minister and Christopher Luxon expected to sign £30m weapons deal and extend training of Ukrainian troops

Keir Starmer will seek to strengthen the UK’s defence ties with New Zealand when he hosts the country’s prime minister on Tuesday.

When he meets Christopher Luxon, Starmer will discuss extending a training programme for Ukrainian troops run by the two countries and agree a new £30m weapons deal.

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