The storm struck the suburb of Papatoetoe, causing extensive damage to homes
One person has died and two people have been injured after a suspected tornado hit a shipping container site in the New Zealand city of Auckland on Saturday morning.
Fire crews were also attending about 100 calls after the tornado ripped through the suburb of Papatoetoe, bringing down trees, tearing off roofs and smashing windows, Stuff reported.
Continue reading...One firm’s attempt to regain control of illegal cultivation shows Wellington’s lack of leverage over its largest trade partner
It is the story of a global superpower, a smuggling operation, pestilence and a small hairy fruit.
Ubiquitous on supermarket shelves and in lunchboxes, the humble kiwi is New Zealand’s most valuable horticultural export. Recent battles for control of the fruit, however, have shone a light on tensions in New Zealand’s relationship with China.
Continue reading...Of 2,000 public submissions, a decisive majority were in favour of the plan to get rid of cars from major streets
The main thoroughfare in Wellington, New Zealand’s capital, is set to become car-free by 2023, after local authorities opted for the most ambitious reform option available to them.
Pavements in Wellington’s “Golden Mile” will grow in size by up to 75%, cyclists and pedestrians will be prioritised and two bus lanes – one in each direction – will allow continued public transport. It is expected to cost between NZ$52m and NZ$79m.
Continue reading...New Zealand prime minister says she agreed to interviews on basis that it was about a group of female leaders and ‘not specific to me’
Jacinda Ardern has distanced herself from a recently released biography documenting her leadership style, less than a week after joining widespread criticism of a film that focuses on her role leading New Zealand during the Christchurch terror attacks.
The new book – Jacinda Ardern: Leading with Empathy – was written by activist and journalist Supriya Vani, and writer Carl A. Harte, based on “Vani’s exclusive interviews with Ardern”, according to its seller, Simon & Schuster.
Continue reading...An increased appetite for political donations strengthens the political influence of the wealthiest New Zealanders
The spokesperson for Aotearoa New Zealand’s Green party was genuinely surprised. She had called after I informed them that a major donor to their 2020 election campaign had subsequently pleaded guilty to animal neglect. The spokesperson said the Greens had not known about the neglect when they took her money.
They nevertheless refused to donate it onwards. They argued the Incorporated Societies Act required them to hold on to it. As I later found out, that’s not quite true: returning the donation, or donating it to an organisation like the SPCA, seems to be possible according to their party’s charter.
Continue reading...The animals have a bad reputation in Aotearoa, where they are regarded as pests – but some say they are scapegoated for human failures
Maurice likes to stay up all night. When he finally settles down at 5am, he makes sure everyone knows he’s there – then he curls up and sleeps all day.
“When he’s ready to go to bed, he gives us a good face wash to say ‘hi,’” Jo Little* says, laughing. “He’s got really, really cold feet, and he puts them all over your head. He licks every area of your face!”
Continue reading...Solar Power delivers a statement of loose-limbed maturity from a mercurial star who is much imitated but utterly unique
Lorde has said she was “waiting for the right moment” to release her comeback single, Solar Power, and opted for 11 June to coincide with the year’s only solar eclipse (although leaks may have forced her hand). Her chosen date resonates beyond the obvious thematic associations of her hazy, sun-worshipping comeback single and its cheeky cover art.
Pop stars, especially young women, are expected to be available, relatable, always on. Lorde has defied this with an old-school release rate (just three albums in nine years) and such a low-key public presence that a recent update of her Instagram account on which she reviews onions rings generated headlines. (She benefits, too, from New Zealand’s minimal paparazzi culture.) The rare arrival of new music from the 24-year-old, last heard from in 2017, has come to feel like its own celestial event.
Continue reading...Critics say focus on the prime minister glosses over the experience of the Muslims still struggling with aftermath of mosque shootings
Plans for a Hollywood film focusing on prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s response to the Christchurch mosque terror attacks have prompted frustration and disgust in New Zealand, with accusations that Muslim victims have been sidelined.
The film is set to star Australian actor Rose Byrne as Ardern, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and is called They Are Us – a line derived from one of Ardern’s speeches at the time. It is to be directed by New Zealand film-maker Andrew Niccol, and produced by FilmNation.
Continue reading...Climate Commission recommends shift to electric cars, large-scale agricultural reform and an end to reliance on gas in homes
New Zealand has been handed a new vision for dramatic reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions – including reduced animal numbers on farms, no new household gas connections by 2025, and a dramatic shift to electric cars in the next decade.
The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said the climate crisis was a matter of “life or death” as she spoke at the release of a new roadmap for the government’s response to global heating.
Continue reading...Previous first-place holder Vienna fell out of the top 10 as cities in New Zealand, Australia and Japan fared best in rankings
The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken up the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual ranking of most liveable cities, propelling Auckland to top spot in place of Vienna, which crashed out of the top 10 altogether as the island nations of New Zealand, Australia and Japan fared best.
The Austrian capital had led the list since 2018 and for years ran neck and neck with Melbourne at the top of the survey of 140 urban centres. New Zealand’s elimination of Covid-19 within its borders, through lockdown measures helped by its geographic isolation, gave its cities a big boost.
Continue reading...The Kiribati island survived droughts due to sacred caves that captured rainfall but rampant phosphate extraction ruined this precious resource
The last decent rain on Banaba was more than a year ago.
Without rain, people on the isolated central Pacific island, which is part of the country of Kiribati, have been forced to rely on a desalination plant for all their water for drinking, bathing and growing crops.
Continue reading...New Zealanders increasingly believe you need money and connections to get ahead in life
Jacinda Ardern can take heart: in the last decade, public attitudes have swung sharply against New Zealand’s persistently high levels of economic inequality. Space has opened up for her to pursue the egalitarian agenda she cherishes – although, conversely, her excuses for not acting have sharply diminished.
Public opinion surveys from the two decades after 1990 showed a consistent trend: decreasing concern over economic inequality, and decreasing support for government action to tackle it, especially through taxes. The pro-market ideas of New Zealand’s 1980s reforms seemed invulnerable.
Continue reading...Experts say writing to people on the outside can help prisoners build purpose – but it goes both ways in what can be a difficult relationship
For the first time since 82-year-old Jan Skilling was a young girl, she has time to spare.
Widowed at 40 and responsible for a nest of kids, grandkids, and now “more great-grandkids than I care to count”, Skilling has spent any spare hour since she can remember looking after everyone but herself. So, in 2017, with retirement from her teaching career looming, she knew it was time for a change.
Continue reading...Case of Kyung Yup Kim is the first time China has requested New Zealand expedite a resident to face trial, and comes amid diplomatic tensions
New Zealand’s supreme court has reopened the door for a murder suspect’s potential extradition to China, in a landmark new ruling released on Friday. If it goes ahead, the extradition would be the first time New Zealand has sent a resident to China to face trial.
The case comes in a period of intense scrutiny of the New Zealand-China relationship, and after New Zealand has issued several statements raising “grave concerns” over potential human rights breaches by China, including abuses of the Uyghur minority in Xinjiang and the crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.
Continue reading...Asylum seekers medically evacuated from Nauru and PNG may also be considered in move advocates describe as a massive step forward
New Zealand’s government is now in regular conversation with Australia about how to resettle refugees from Australia’s offshore detention regime – a significant step towards a resolution, advocates say, eight years after New Zealand first offered.
Immigration minister Kris Faafoi confirmed to the Guardian that “New Zealand’s offer to Australia to resettle 150 refugees being held offshore still stands” and that “officials continue to explore how this might be implemented”.
Continue reading...Australian and New Zealand prime ministers talk up closeness of ties as Ardern is forced to defend ‘soft’ stance on Beijing
The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has warned that “there are those far from here that would seek to divide us”, during a press conference with his New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern, that focused on how the two countries handle China.
The leaders emphasised unity in the face of Beijing’s increasing regional influence and Morrison said any forces trying to scupper the partnership would not succeed.
Continue reading...As the band release their first record in a decade, the New Zealand songwriter reflects on their influences – from Fleetwood Mac to Donald Trump
Neil Finn, New Zealand music’s jovial elder statesman, is remembering his best friend and bandmate Paul Hester.
He recalls the Crowded House drummer holding Finn’s baby son Liam up to the heavens, recreating a scene from the 70s TV show Roots; how Hester taught Liam’s younger brother, Elroy, to play the drums. But Hester’s gone now – he took his own life in 2005.
Continue reading...Beijing responds to Nanaia Mahuta’s concerns that New Zealand faces a ‘storm’ of anger from China amid rising Asia-Pacific tensions
China has urged New Zealand to work in “the same direction, make the pie of cooperation bigger, rise above external distractions”, in response to comments made by foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta in a Guardian interview.
Beijing’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, said that progress in relations could be achieved “on the premise that the two sides have long been committed to mutual respect, mutual trust and win-win results”. He urged Wellington to work with China to advance a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.
Continue reading...In an interview with the Guardian, Nanaia Mahuta says exporters must diversify to protect themselves from a potential cooling of ties with Beijing
New Zealand could find itself at the heart of a “storm” of anger from China, foreign minister Nanaia Mahuta has warned, saying exporters needed to diversify to ensure they could survive deteriorating relations with Beijing.
Mahuta’s comments come as the New Zealand government faces increasing pressure to take a firmer stance on human rights violations and crackdowns by China, putting the spotlight on the potential repercussions for countries who provoke Beijing’s ire.
Continue reading...It is not clear who carried out last week’s attack on Waikato hospital, which downed computers and phone lines
A major New Zealand hospital faces a second week of disruption as it struggles to fix its computer system following a massive cyber attack.
The attack on Waikato district health board (DHB), which began on Tuesday, has been described by its chief executive, Kevin Snee, as “probably the biggest cyber-attack in New Zealand’s history”.
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