Category Archives: New Zealand

White Island volcano: New Zealand authorities charge 13 parties over disaster

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Ten parties charged under health and safety laws and three charged as directors or individuals over Whakaari explosion which killed 22

New Zealand’s workplace safety watchdog has charged 13 parties as part of its investigation into last December’s White Island/Whakaari volcano eruption. Twenty two people died in the disaster and almost one year on, several survivors are still undergoing treatment for their injuries.

The volcano erupted while 47 people were on the island – including several tour groups and their guides. The victims were from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, China, Britain and Malaysia.

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New Zealand once led the world on social housing – it should again | Bryce Edwards

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A return to a programme of mass state house building could fix the significant problem for those at the bottom of the market

Billions of dollars are currently being transferred to wealthy New Zealanders in the government’s attempts to stimulate the economy. The Reserve Bank has essentially committed to printing up to $128bn (US$90bn) of new money, lending much of it as cheap credit to banks, who then lend it to those who can afford to buy more and more houses, and thereby grabbing the capital gains.

The result is rocketing house prices, making accommodation unaffordable, especially for those seeking to buy a first home or rent accommodation. In fact, this week New Zealand was named as the seventh most expensive place in the world to buy a house.

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Ibrahim Omer, New Zealand’s first African MP, delivers moving maiden speech – video

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Ibrahim Omer, New Zealand's first African MP, has recounted in his maiden speech his journey as a refugee out of Eritrea via Syria to New Zealand, sparking emotional scenes in the chamber. The Labour MP described how he worked hard as a cleaner by night, and a politics student by day, before being elected. Omer delivered parts of his speech in his native tongue, Saho, as well as te reo Māori.

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New Zealand’s Muslims have put their faith in the Christchurch inquiry to help protect and heal | Aliya Danzeisen

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The Islamic Women’s Council of NZ gave more than 1,000 pages of evidence to the royal commission in the hope of a better country

By the time that you read this, New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, will have received a several-tome report from the royal Commission of Inquiry into the Terrorist Attack on Christchurch Mosques, which will provide findings on whether the government authorities could have prevented the horrific event and will offer recommendations to avert any terrorism in the future.

As the person charged with government engagement for the Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand (IWCNZ), I have a keen interest in reading the commission’s conclusions given that our organisation had warned government authorities several times that our Muslim community was at risk and needed support. Importantly, the report has the potential to transform how the government interacts with all its communities. Harking back to the wise words of New Zealand’s “mother of the nation” Dame Whina Cooper, I hope that this report becomes the seed that plants in the hearts of Kiwis “a vision of Aotearoa where all our people can live together in harmony … and share the wisdom from each culture”.

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New Zealand couple shuns developers to give 900 hectares of land to nation

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Dick and Jillian Jardine said it was ‘the right thing’ to hand beautiful plot in Remarkables to national trust for conservation

A New Zealand farming family has gifted 900 hectares of pristine land by the edge of Lake Wakatipu to the crown, saying it is “the right thing to do”.

The stretch of land at the foot of the Remarkables range will become open to everyone in 2022, after being handed over to the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust for “the benefit and enjoyment of all New Zealanders”.

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China says Five Eyes alliance will be ‘poked and blinded’ over Hong Kong stance

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Foreign ministry rejects calls by western security grouping to reinstate ousted pro-democracy lawmakers

China has rejected criticism by the Five Eyes alliance of its Hong Kong policy, saying it “should face up to the reality” that the former British colony has been returned to China.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian was responding to a statement on Hong Kong issued by the US, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, which together make up an intelligence partnership known as the Five Eyes.

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New Zealand’s politicians are too middle-class to tackle our biggest problems | Bryce Edwards

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They can celebrate diversity and gender equality, but Labour must deal with more traditional leftwing concerns like inequality and housing

A very liberal revolution has been occurring in New Zealand politics. Our parliament and Labour-led government are more socially liberal and diverse than ever before, and that’s something for progressives to celebrate.

Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, embodies this, and is lauded as a breath of fresh air in a political world traditionally dominated by “stale, male, and pale” social conservatives. She has just reshuffled the cabinet of her re-elected government, bringing more women, Māori and Pasifika into senior positions. It is the most diverse cabinet in history. The appointment of moko kauae-wearing Nanaia Mahuta as the minister of foreign affairs epitomises this modernisation. Similarly, we have our first openly gay deputy prime minister.

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Are backpackers really less valuable to New Zealand than those with more money | Anthony Gardiner

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‘Value over volume’ doesn’t take into account the benefits of young tourists, which includes working while they’re here

Kiwis have a long history of welcoming guests and sharing what we love about our country. So it was perhaps no surprise that recent comments from New Zealand’s new minister of tourism, Stuart Nash, have elicited such passionate debate amongst locals and the industry.

Speaking at a summit hosted by the Tourism Industry Aotearoa, Nash said the future of the New Zealand tourism industry is high-net-worth visitors who spend more while they are here. To show his intent in this area Nash also said he would like to ban the hire of non-self-contained vans to tourists to stop “Freedom Campers” – a specific subset of backpackers who sleep in their vehicle wherever the fancy takes them, as opposed to paying a few dollars for a campsite with amenities such as bathrooms.

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New Zealand marine heatwave looms following warmest winter on record

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Temperatures nearly two degrees above average have been recorded, months before the hottest part of the season

Climate scientists are warning New Zealand is on the brink of a marine heatwave after recording temperatures nearly two degrees above average in coastal waters off the North Island.

Forecasters at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) said a marine heatwave is building, with above-average temperatures reported throughout October, following a record warm winter.

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Coronavirus live news: German minister predicts five more months of ‘severe restrictions’; UK reports 24,962 more cases

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UK death toll rises by 168; economy minister says Germany ‘isn’t out of the woods’; Greece limits public gatherings; US records 177,000 new cases

France reports 302 deaths and 27,228 new cases in the last 24-hours, according to the French health ministry website. The country has had in total 44,246 deaths and 1,981,827 confirmed cases since the beginning of the outbreak.

The prime minister of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland), Ambrose Dlamini, has tested positive for Covid-19.

In a statement published on Twitter he said he was asymptomatic and currently isolating in line with the government’s coronavirus protocols:

We should not tire of looking after one another and encouraging adherence to all health protocols at all times.

Government Press Statement: Prime Minister Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini tests positive for #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/HoqABtoRKh

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‘Big cat’ country? New Zealand’s obsession with giant feline sightings

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Is there a pleasure in not knowing if the decades-old mystery about a cat prowling the country’s South Island is fact or fiction?

The photograph is disappointing. Blurry, as they all are. It shows a dark blob striding up a leafy trail in the distance. The size of the creature is hard to deduce, though the witness, an osteopath named Mark Orr who was out mountain-biking with friends in Hanmer Springs, said the animal was “about knee-height”, looked “very strong and quite stocky”, and “just had an aura about it”.

An aura. Almost all animals have auras, don’t they? Even feral cats, goats, wild pigs. While the mention of the aura seemed strange, it was also compelling. I want to believe.

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Despite her mandate, Ardern’s agenda will be resolutely middle of the road | Tova O’Brien

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Labour’s smart politics will come at the expense of its fundamental values, and be driven by its desire to stay in power

The prime minister of New Zealand has just begun a victory lap of the country, though Jacinda Ardern would prefer we think of it more as a “thank you” tour.

After a successful but gruelling six-week election campaign she is hitting the two-lane blacktop once again, deploying to the regions of New Zealand.

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New Zealand’s rejection of legalising cannabis is a triumph for fear-mongering | Fiona Hutton

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As other countries make leaps and bounds in drug law reform, Aotearoa seems bound to the tired and worn path of prohibition

Sadly New Zealand has voted no to legalising cannabis, but it was close: 48.4% voted in support of the Cannabis Legalisation and Control Bill and 50.7% voted against.

As someone who campaigned hard for a yes vote, for much needed reform of our drug laws, I am reduced to tears. I have been receiving heartbreaking emails from people thanking me for my work to try and get the evidence out there, to try and stem the tide of fear-mongering and misinformation about cannabis and those who use it.

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Rocky Horror’s Richard O’Brien: ‘I should be dead. I’ve had an excessive lifestyle’

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The creator of the cult show is not going quietly into his 70s. He talks about coming out as trans, going ‘loopy’ on crack – and speaking in tongues after suffering a stroke

Richard O’Brien is 78, but his toothpick body and lightbulb head have always lent him a certain agelessness. A few months ago, however, the rakish Rocky Horror Show creator, Crystal Maze presenter and transgender parent-of-three received a stark reminder of his advancing years.

He was pottering around at home in New Zealand when he suddenly found himself lying on the floor. “I didn’t register that something was desperately wrong,” he says, speaking from the house he shares with his third wife, Sabrina, 10 miles outside of Katikati. “I just thought: ‘I wonder why I can’t get up.’” Struggling to his feet, he attempted to make a drink, only to discover he couldn’t put the top back on the milk. “I was in a dream-like state. Finally, I gave up with the milk, went to go back to the bedroom, slid down the wall and started speaking in tongues. That’s when Sabrina called the ambulance.”

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Jacinda Ardern must use her mandate to tackle child poverty | Max Rashbrooke

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Covid has set back the PM’s modest progress on childhood hardship, meaning greater policy ambition is needed

As the New Zealand First party’s vote share evaporated on election day, so too did Jacinda Ardern’s last excuse for not making more progress on child poverty, her signature issue.

No longer able to blame inaction on her one-time conservative coalition partner, and possessing an absolute majority, the Labour leader now has a free hand on an issue dear to her heart. She may have labelled climate change her “nuclear-free moment”, referencing the 1980s Labour government’s famous opposition to nuclear weapons, but it is child poverty reduction, not climate change, that she has always taken as her “extra” portfolio.

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New Zealanders coming home for Christmas warned quarantine hotels may be full

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Military says Kiwis will be disappointed if they haven’t prebooked a place as hotels approach capacity

New Zealand’s quarantine hotels are approaching capacity as the military warns there may not be room to house Kiwis planning to return home for Christmas.

Some 65,000 people have passed through New Zealand’s quarantine hotels since the borders closed in mid-March. Despite the facilities generally being four- and five-star establishments, there have been multiple escape attempts from them, and they have been denounced by a conservative US television host as “Covid camps”.

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Voting opens in New Zealand’s beloved Bird of the Year competition

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What started 15 years ago as a modest promotion to draw attention to native birds, many of which are endangered, has become a phenomenon

Normally on a post test-match Monday in New Zealand, the talk is all about the national rugby team’s latest performance. But this week, while the All Blacks’ destruction of the Wallabies was on everyones’ lips, there was another topic of conversation: birds.

Voting began on Monday in the hotly contested and brutal election of New Zealand’s Bird Of The Year.

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New Zealand Greens accept Ardern’s offer of ‘cooperation agreement’

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Deal with Labour stops short of a coalition but will see Green’s co-leaders, James Shaw and Marama Davidson, hold ministries outside of cabinet


New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has agreed on a governing “cooperation agreement” with the Green party, offering two ministries and agreeing to a handful of shared policy priorities for her second term – an offer they accepted late on Saturday.

Labour won the general election in October with an outright majority, meaning they could govern alone. But Ardern invited the Greens into a “cooperation” agreement, saying it would allow the government to benefit from the expertise of Green party members in areas such as the environment, climate change and child wellbeing.

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‘No predators, plenty to eat’: New Zealand struggles with plague of peacocks

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Farmers complain feral birds eat pasture their livestock depend on, and their numbers are increasing thanks to hunting of stoats and possums

A bird renowned around the world for its beauty has showed its ugly side by causing havoc on farms in New Zealand; eating crops, evading control efforts and driving landowners to distraction.

The jade and green peafowl, commonly known as the peacock, has become naturalised in New Zealand after what New Zealand Birds Online calls “benign neglect of birds kept for display”.

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New Zealand votes to legalise euthanasia in referendum

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Results must be enacted by the new Labour government by November 2021, but second referendum on legalising cannabis fails to find support

New Zealanders have voted to legalise euthanasia for those with a terminal illness, in a victory for campaigners who say people suffering extreme pain should be given a choice over how and when to bring their life to a close.

The decision on whether to legalise euthanasia appeared as a referendum question on the 17 October general election ballot paper, alongside a second referendum question on whether to legalise cannabis – which did not succeed, according to preliminary results.

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