Category Archives: New Zealand

Family of New Zealand fugitive on the run for almost four years with his children plead for his return

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In a New Zealand television interview, relatives spoke of their anguish since Tom Phillips disappeared with his three children in late 2021

The family of a fugitive father who has been hiding for more than three years in New Zealand’s rugged wilderness with his three children has pleaded with the man to come home, in some of their first public comments since he vanished.

Just before Christmas 2021, Tom Phillips fled into the Waikato wilderness with his children Ember, now 9, Maverick, 1o, and Jayda, 12, following a dispute with their mother. Phillips does not have legal custody of his children.

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Soldier found guilty of attempted espionage in New Zealand’s first spying conviction

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Court martial heard soldier was caught offering to share military base maps and photographs to an undercover officer of an unnamed foreign nation

A military court has convicted a New Zealand soldier of attempted espionage for a foreign power – the first spying conviction in the country’s history.

The soldier was caught offering to pass military base maps and photographs to an undercover officer posing as an agent for the foreign nation, the court martial heard.

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New Zealand woman and six-year-old son released from US detention

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Sarah Shaw was detained by Ice owing to a problem with her ‘combo card’ visa as she tried to re-enter the US from Canada

A New Zealand woman and her six-year-old son, who were held for more than three weeks at a US immigration centre after being detained crossing the Canada-US border, have been released.

In a short update on Saturday, the woman’s friend Victoria Besancon said Sarah Shaw and her son were safely home. The family would be taking some time to settle in before speaking about their experience, she added.

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Father of New Zealand woman held in US by Ice along with six-year-old son voices hope for release

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Rod Price recounts ‘frantic’ call he received from Sarah Shaw after her detention at US border while returning from Canada

The father of a New Zealand woman who has been held in a US immigration detention centre for three weeks with her six-year-old son is hopeful the pair will be released by the end of the week.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) detained Sarah Shaw and her youngest son after they attempted to re-enter the US from Canada on 24 July.

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New Zealand PM says Netanyahu has ‘lost the plot’ after Palestine recognition debate sees MP ejected

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Green party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick accused government MPs of lacking a ‘spine’ during a debate on whether to recognise a Palestinian state

As more of its allies make moves to recognise Palestinian statehood, the issue is dominating New Zealand’s politics, with a prominent MP ejected from parliament on Tuesday and the prime minister describing his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu as having “lost the plot”.

Speaking to local media on Wednesday, Christopher Luxon said what was happening in Gaza was “utterly, utterly appalling”.

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Albanese and Luxon urge Israel to reconsider Gaza City takeover during ‘warm, generous’ meeting

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Australian and New Zealand leaders reject possible US trade retaliation over recognising Palestinian statehood and reaffirm plans to deepen security ties

Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and his New Zealand counterpart, Christopher Luxon, have urged Israel to reconsider its plans to take over Gaza City and reaffirmed their intentions to deepen security ties, as they met in Queenstown on Saturday.

Following a pōwhiri (formal Māori welcome) at Te Wharehuanui – a private retreat built by the billionaire Xero founder, Rod Drury – Luxon said the world had become uncertain and fractious, and that New Zealand “has no greater friend than Australia”.

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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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