Category Archives: New Zealand

‘Like a Stephen King movie’: feral chickens return to plague New Zealand village

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Lockdown may have vanquished Covid-19, but it has enabled the birds to make an unwanted comeback

Their raucous clucking deprives residents of sleep. They leave the neighbourhood “wrecked”. And food left out for them attracts “rats the size of cats” to an otherwise peaceful, leafy suburb. 

New Zealand’s national lockdown to quell the spread of Covid-19 appears to have vanquished the virus, but it has had one unintended consequence: the re-emergence of a plague – not of frogs or locusts but of feral chickens, a flock of which is once again menacing an area of west Auckland. 

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Minneapolis has vowed to defund its police. New Zealand needs to have that conversation | Julia Amua Whaipooti

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Dropping the armed police trial is a good step but we need transformational change to show black lives actually do matter

“We honour him today because when he took his last breath, the rest of us were able to breathe.” These were the words spoken at George Floyd’s funeral that I felt directly in my bones, here, on my whenua, or land, of Aotearoa New Zealand. On Tuesday, the New Zealand police commissioner told the country a trial of Armed Response Teams (ARTs) – frontline officers who routinely carry guns – will not continue, and the teams will not be a part of the country’s policing model in the future. 

The United States is 400-500 years deep in a history of colonisation and slavery. In Aotearoa New Zealand, we are 200 years into our colonial history, and the way in which colonisation functions here is also rooted in white supremacy. Colonial structures, by design, take powers away from indigenous people and people of colour, putting them into the hands of the colonisers. 

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‘Call it out!’: global voices from George Floyd protests – video

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Floyd’s death in Minneapolis has been the trigger for a global wave of activism against prejudice and police brutality that has spread to more than 50 countries, becoming a mirror for racism and inequality in societies around the world. In Australia and Papua people protested for indigenous rights, as people took up the cry against injustices in New Zealand, Ghana, France, Germany and the UK

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‘I did a little dance’: PM Ardern declares New Zealand Covid-19 free – video

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New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern, at parliament in Wellington, says there are no active cases of Covid-19  in the country. Ardern says she did a 'little dance' when she found out the news. 'I showed (my daughter) Neve. She was caught a little by surprise but she joined in, having absolutely no idea why I was dancing around the lounge,' she says.

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Five ways New Zealand can keep Covid-19 cases at zero | Michael Baker and Nick Wilson

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Modelling shows it is very likely New Zealand has eliminated coronavirus. Keeping it that way is the next big challenge

Today, for the first time since 28 February, New Zealand has no active cases of Covid-19.

According to our modelling at the the University of Otago, it is now very likely (well above a 95% chance) New Zealand has completely eliminated the virus. This is in line with modelling by our colleagues at Te Pūnaha Matatini (a research centre based at University of Auckland).

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Astronomers warn ‘wilderness’ of southern night sky at risk from SpaceX satellites

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Stargazing under threat as pristine skies over New Zealand and Australia are clogged with hundreds of Starlink satellites

Astronomers in the southern hemisphere have warned that the wonders of the night sky are at risk from hundreds of satellites that have been shot into space by Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.

The night skies of Australia and New Zealand are globally renowned for their clarity, drawing tourists from across the world to dark-sky sanctuaries such as Tekapo on New Zealand’s South Island and the Warrumbungle national park in New South Wales.

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Thousands in New Zealand protest against George Floyd killing

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Speakers highlight racism against Indigenous people and call on Ardern to denounce killing

Tens of thousands of New Zealanders have come out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, after the death of George Floyd in the US.

At least four solidarity gatherings were held in the country on Monday afternoon, with massive crowds taking to their knees in the Auckland demonstration.

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Taika Waititi awarded Queen’s birthday honour for services to film

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Actor and director is made an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit and joins more than 170 New Zealanders on the list

Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi has been honoured on New Zealand’s Queen’s birthday list for services to film.

The 44-year-old Māori man who hails from the east coast of the North Island has been made an officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

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New Zealand beaches turn red as lobsters dig in to the death

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Swaths of coastline covered with squat lobster, which cling to the sand at high tide and then perish

The sandy beaches of Otago in the deep south of New Zealand have turned blood red after millions of squat lobster died in a series of mass strandings.

Locals in the small coastal communities of Broad Bay and Edwards Bay, who have seen whole swaths of coastline saturated in colour, reported the phenomenon to the national broadcaster this week.

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New Zealand’s plan for action on seabirds is strong on rhetoric but light on action | Jessica Desmond

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Vision for commercial fishing to reduce deaths to zero is right, but implementation will fall short

From our hotly contested Bird of the Year competition, to the constant updates from backyard bird watchers during lockdown, it’s safe to say New Zealand is a nation of avian obsessives.

It’s hardly surprising given our history. This small island nation has been shaped by bird life like no other, with endemic species part of our national identity. From the Kākāpō to the Kiwi, we share our home with some of the most unique feathered creatures on the planet.

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New Zealanders – like Jacinda Ardern – might not be shocked by earthquakes, but we do get scared | Charlotte Graham-McClay

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Many of us recognised ourselves in the PM’s cool response to an earthquake on live TV, but we do fear the ‘big one’

As I awoke to the bedroom shuddering and rattling around me on Monday morning, my first thought was a frantic household census, followed by the realisation that I was alone at home and not responsible for anyone’s safety but my own. My second, before my eyes had even properly unstuck themselves from sleep, was: “Ugh, not this again.”

Moments later, the earthquake – a magnitude 5.9 shake that hit about an hour’s drive north of Wellington, New Zealand, where I live – was subsiding. It rattled the lower part of the North Island for just 15 seconds or so, long enough for a little tendril of fear to uncurl – would it build, or die away? Was this “the big one”?

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New Zealand earthquake: PM Jacinda Ardern live on TV in Wellington as North Island hit

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Leader says she can feel ‘quite a decent shake here’ as the 5.8 quake strikes during a live interview

New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has developed a reputation for keeping her cool in the face of a crisis. But an earthquake first thing on Monday morning as she was interviewed live on television seemed like an unusually trying way to start a week.

“We’re just having a bit of an earthquake here,” Ardern told Ryan Bridge, a host for Newshub’s AM Show, live on air. Casting her eyes to the ceiling of the room she was standing in at New Zealand’s parliament in Wellington, she remained in place as the television camera jolted.

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Can New Zealand’s National party reinvent itself under Todd Muller? | Jennifer Curtin

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The new opposition leader must win back centrist voters, just four months out from the election

It was never a foregone conclusion, but with three poll results in the last three weeks putting National’s support at around 30%, the chances of Bridges remaining as leader were increasingly slim. By 1pm on 22 May, the parliamentary National party had sealed his, and deputy Paula Bennett’s, fate.

The new leader, Todd Muller, now faces the unenviable task of clawing back the centre right voters who appear, for now, to have deserted National in droves.

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Jacinda Ardern’s global renown is great, but she must do more for women | Jennifer Curtin

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International praise for Covid response and her rebuilding of traditional Labour support has been astute, but PM must address women’s wellbeing

The gendered dimensions of political leadership during the Covid-19 crisis has achieved global proportions, with headlines claiming that women are doing things differently, and with better results. Much of this is assertion, given Vietnam and Georgia, amongst other countries with male leaders, have also seen successful containment. We have also witnessed some pushback against the policy decisions taken by Belgian prime minister Sophie Wilmès.

Nevertheless, the novelty of women political leaders remains newsworthy, and the media’s go-to international “face’” of those women who have managed this crisis exceptionally well is Jacinda Ardern.

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Four-day weeks could be key to New Zealand’s Covid-19 recovery, says Ardern – video

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New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has suggested employers consider a four-day working week and other flexible working options as a way to boost tourism and help employees address persistent work/life balance issues.

Ardern said people had suggested everything from the shorter work week to more public holidays as a means to stimulate the economy and encourage domestic tourism, while the borders remain closed to foreign nationals

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Jacinda Ardern flags four-day working week as way to rebuild New Zealand after Covid-19

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Prime minister says flexible working options can boost productivity and domestic tourism and improve work/life balance

New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern has suggested employers consider a four-day working week and other flexible working options as a way to boost tourism and help employees address persistent work/life balance issues.

In a Facebook live video Ardern said people had suggested everything from the shorter work week to more public holidays as a means to stimulate the economy and encourage domestic tourism, while the borders remain closed to foreign nationals.

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Bathing bears and bungee-jumping mayors: the week’s most uplifting clips – video

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As countries around the world adjust to life with Covid-19, people are finding new ways to enjoy themselves responsibly. From the restaurant using plush pandas to help with social distancing, to a drive-in rave in Germany, these are the week’s most cheering clips

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The budget has given New Zealand an opportunity it can’t afford to squander | Brad Olsen

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By taking out a mortgage against the economy, the government is investing in jobs and our economic recovery

With the economic storm of the Covid-19 pandemic raging on, the government has opened the umbrella to shield New Zealand from an even worse economic fate and set the foundation for its recovery. Although the finance minister, Grant Robertson, has accepted that the government can’t save every job, Thursday’s announcements show he is doing everything he can to save as many as possible.

Overall, New Zealand’s 2020 budget was one of the most comprehensive economic packages seen around the world, walking the fine line between responding to the crisis and keeping up economic momentum, while setting down the conditions for recovery and rebuilding.

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New Zealand budget: housing shortfall puts vulnerable people at risk, say advocates

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Eight thousand new houses promised but 15,000 are on wait lists; experts worry mental health not a focus, one year after ‘Wellbeing’ budget

New Zealand’s most vulnerable people have been neglected by the government as it desperately attempts to kickstart the economy following a seven-week lockdown, advocates say.

The country of 5 million has been in strict lockdown for seven weeks and the International Monetary Fund is predicting the economy could contract by as much as 8%, while thousands have joined the dole queue during the pandemic.

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‘Stay out of my moist breath zone’: Covid-19 anthem takes the drool out of school

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New Zealand school principal writes tune to help children returning to classes after lockdown

It is regularly cited as the most hated word in the English language and even Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau has visibly struggled while using it. But now the word “moist” is being deployed for good – in a song written by a New Zealand school principal that aims to helps children observe social distancing guidelines.

Shirley Șerban of Lake Brunner school in the South Island penned the song Moist Breath Zone as a health and safety message for students returning to school after the Covid-19 lockdown.

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