‘I took the discussion too far,’ says commerce minister Andrew Bayly, calling his own behaviour ‘overbearing’
A New Zealand government minister said on Monday he had resigned from his post after “placing his hand” on a staff member’s upper arm during an “animated” discussion.
The country’s minister for commerce and consumer affairs, Andrew Bayly, told reporters his behaviour towards the staff member had been “overbearing”.
Continue reading...New Zealand defence minister Judith Collins says department has ‘never seen a task group of this capability undertaking this sort of work’
New Zealand’s defence minister has warned that Chinese warships located off the east coast of Australia are armed with “extremely capable” weapons that could reach Australia.
The three vessels, known as Taskgroup 107, undertook two live-fire exercises in the seas between Australia and New Zealand last week, causing commercial flights to be diverted in the skies above.
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Continue reading...Velvet worms have rows of pudgy legs, skin speckled like a galaxy and dissolve their prey with sticky goo
An ancient gummy-looking worm-like creature with a vicious hunting method that involves projecting sticky goo from its head has been crowned New Zealand’s bug of the year.
The Peripatoides novaezealandiae is from the family of velvet worms, or Ngāokeoke in the Māori language. The invertebrates have rows of pudgy legs and skin speckled like a galaxy, and are considered “living fossils”, having remained virtually unchanged for 500m years.
Continue reading...Agreement includes sections on deep-sea mining and education, document shows, as opposition accuses PM of risking relationship with New Zealand
A strategic partnership deal between China and the Cook Islands spans areas from deep-sea mining to education scholarships but excludes security ties, a document released by the Pacific island nation’s government showed.
Western nations that traditionally held sway in the region have become increasingly concerned about China’s push for influence in the Pacific, after Beijing signed defence, trade and financial deals with countries in the region over the past three years.
Continue reading...Mark Brown says Beijing deal that covers trade, investment, oceans, infrastructure and transport complements ties with New Zealand
The Cook Islands says it has signed a deal to expand relations with China, stressing that the accord does not impinge on ties with former colonial power New Zealand.
Prime minister Mark Brown said he signed an “action plan for the comprehensive strategic partnership” with Chinese premier Li Qiang in the northern city of Harbin during a five-day state visit to China last week.
Continue reading...Tagline has quickly become the subject of derision, with some critics likening it to a clearance sale slogan
A New Zealand tourism campaign targeting Australian visitors has been ridiculed for sounding like a clearance sale slogan and for being tone-deaf amid widespread public service job cuts and record numbers of New Zealanders moving overseas.
The government launched its “Everyone must go!” campaign on Sunday, in a bid to encourage Australian holiday-makers to visit New Zealand. The NZD$500,000 campaign will run on radios and social media in Australia between February and March.
Continue reading...1News Verian poll shows Christoper Luxon dropped 22% in the preferred prime minister stakes, his lowest result as leader
New Zealand’s National-led coalition government is losing support among voters, new polling shows, amid frustrations over the economy and deepening concern the country is heading in the wrong direction.
Meanwhile, the parliamentary left bloc has taken a narrow lead for the third poll in a row, enough that the opposition would be able to form a government were an election held today.
Continue reading...Deputy PM says New Zealand hasn’t been adequately consulted on an agreement the Cook Islands leader is expected to sign in Beijing this week
A diplomatic row has erupted between two tight-knit Pacific countries, after New Zealand said the Cook Islands failed to properly consult on its plans to deepen ties with China amid growing concerns over Beijing’s push for influence in the region.
The Cook Islands was a dependent New Zealand colony from 1901-1965 but has since operated as a self-governing nation in “free association” with New Zealand. Its roughly 17,000 citizens hold New Zealand citizenship. There are obligations between the two nations to regularly consult on matters of defence and security.
Continue reading...Anger at policies that roll back Māori rights surface as rightwing Act party leader David Seymour has microphone removed twice and protesters stage walkout
If New Zealand’s coalition government had prepared for political fireworks from Indigenous leaders on the eve of the country’s national day, they were met with something arguably even louder: turned backs and silence.
Under a blazing hot sun on Wednesday, political leaders gathered at the Waitangi treaty grounds in New Zealand’s far north to celebrate Waitangi Day, which marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi/Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 1840. The treaty, signed by Māori chiefs and the British Crown is considered New Zealand’s founding document and is instrumental in upholding Māori rights.
Continue reading...Changes mean visitors and influencers working for foreign employers can stay longer in bid to boost tourism
New Zealand has relaxed its visitor visa rules to attract so-called “digital nomads” in a bid to boost tourism and the economy.
Visitor visas will now allow people to work remotely for a foreign employer while they are visiting New Zealand for up to 90 days. The visa can be extended up to nine months but visitors may need to pay tax during this time.
Continue reading...The film includes footage shot by Clarke Gayford, the husband of the former New Zealand prime minister
A documentary traversing former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern’s leadership and personal life through home videos, archival footage and fresh interviews has premiered at Sundance.
The film, Prime Minister, directed by Michelle Walshe and Lindsay Utz covers Ardern’s five-year tenure, after her abrupt ascension to leader of the Labour party in 2017, just six weeks out from an election her party was widely expected to lose. On a wave of popularity dubbed “Jacindamania”, the then-37-year-old led the party to victory, becoming the world’s then-youngest ever female leader.
Continue reading...Introduced to parliament by a minor coalition party, the treaty principles bill seeks to abandon a set of principles that guide the relationship between Māori and ruling authorities
A marathon public hearing into a bill that seeks to radically reinterpret New Zealand’s founding treaty between Māori tribes and the British Crown began on Monday amid widespread outcry the proposed changes are unconstitutional, socially divisive and an attack on Māori rights.
The treaty principles bill, which was introduced to parliament by the minor coalition Act party, seeks to abandon a set of well-established principles that guide the relationship between Māori and ruling authorities in favour of its own redefined principles.
Continue reading...Mittens made three trips in 24 hours between New Zealand and Australia after she was not spotted in cargo hold
A Maine Coon cat named Mittens became an accidental jetsetter this month when her cage was overlooked in a plane cargo hold and she made three trips in 24 hours between New Zealand and Australia.
Mittens, eight, was booked for one-way travel with her family from Christchurch, New Zealand to their new home in Melbourne, Australia on 13 January. Her owner, Margo Neas, said on Wednesday that she waited for Mittens to be unloaded from the plane’s freight area, but three hours passed with no sign of the cat.
Continue reading...Linguistics professor says London dialect is most likely to be spoken in Essex, but aspects have traversed the globe
The cockney dialect, as associated with the late EastEnders icon Dame Barbara Windsor, may not be as prevalent in today’s London, but it remains possibly the most influential English dialect across the world, according to academic research.
No longer the preserve of those born within earshot of the Bow Bells in the City of London, today cockney is more likely to be spoken in Essex.
Continue reading...Event in February that commemorates signing of New Zealand’s founding document expected to draw tens of thousands but PM will not attend
Organisers of New Zealand’s national day commemorating the signing of the country’s founding treaty between Māori tribes and the British crown are expecting record attendance in 2025, following a year of rising tensions over the government’s policy direction for Māori.
In February, tens of thousands of people are expected to descend on Waitangi, in New Zealand’s Northland region, to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, which was signed by Māori chiefs and the British Crown in 1840 and is instrumental in upholding Māori rights.
Continue reading...David Jonathan Thackray, who was jailed in New Zealand in 2014, is one of three Australians now subject to such sanctions
An Australian man has been sanctioned by the US treasury department over his alleged involvement in the global narcotics trade.
Australian David Jonathan Thackray and New Zealand national Ho Kai Leung were among 12 individuals and eight entities sanctioned by the department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) in an action it said was being taken against “global narcotics traffickers”.
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Continue reading...Several climbing-related items which police believe belonged to the trio found, as bad weather will likely delay search efforts until Thursday
Rescue teams looking for three climbers who went missing on New Zealand’s highest mountain have expressed “grave concerns” over the party’s welfare in the rugged terrain, as bad weather hampers search efforts for the second day in a row.
US nationals Kurt Blair, 56, and Carlos Romero, 50, and a Canadian man flew by helicopter on Saturday to a camp on Aoraki Mount Cook with plans to summit the 3,724 metre (12,218 ft) mountain.
Continue reading...Only seven spade-tooth whales have ever been documented, now work is beginning on a specimen that washed ashore in New Zealand in July
A spade-tooth whale – thought to be the world’s rarest whale species – is undergoing dissection in New Zealand, in the first ever examination of a complete specimen.
Spade-toothed whales are a type of beaked whale named for their teeth resembling the spade-like flensing blade once used to strip whales of their blubber. Just seven have been documented since the 1800s, with all but one found in New Zealand.
Continue reading...Interim report into the October disaster blames human error, saying HMNZS Manawanui’s ‘autopilot was not disengaged when it should have been’
A series of human errors caused a New Zealand navy ship to plough into a reef off the coast of Samoa, where it caught fire and sank, according to the preliminary findings of a military court of inquiry into the disaster.
The ship’s crew did not realise the autopilot was engaged, believed something else had gone wrong with the ship, and did not check that the HMNZS Manawanui was under manual control as it maintained course towards land, a summary of the inquiry’s first report published on Friday said. The full report has not been made public.
Continue reading...Commissioners also say the vaccine requirements eroded public trust and call for investment to plan for the next pandemic
A royal commission into New Zealand’s Covid response has largely accepted the need for vaccine mandates, while accepting they harmed a substantial minority of New Zealanders.
The first of two inquiry reports on the pandemic was released on Thursday and also called for broad investment to plan for the next pandemic.
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