Category Archives: New Zealand

Sale of portable cabins booms in New Zealand amid housing crisis

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People turn to tiny structures that can be placed in the gardens of family or friends’ properties

The sale of portable cabins is booming in New Zealand, where a housing crisis means hundreds of thousands of Kiwis can no longer afford a home, or even a rental.

Soaring property prices in New Zealand’s largest cities and a slow pace of new builds has seen many low and middle income New Zealanders struggling to afford basic housing, with some forced to sleep in shipping containers, tents and cars.

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Lime e-scooters temporarily banned in two New Zealand cities

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Auckland and Dunedin suspend the two-wheelers after a series of accidents resulting from technical glitch

Lime e-scooters have been temporarily suspended from two New Zealand cities after a technical glitch caused the front wheel of some scooters to lock, throwing riders onto the pavement.

Last week Auckland council gave the company until noon on Friday to present evidence that the scooters were safe, after some riders suffered serious injuries such as broken jaws and collarbones when the scooters malfunctioned.

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Auckland threatens to eject Lime scooters after wheels lock at high speed

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Transport chief in New Zealand’s biggest city delivers safety ultimatum: ‘We cannot let cool trump safety’

The head of transport in New Zealand’s largest city is threatening to pull every Lime scooter off the footpaths if the company does not address a technical glitch causing scooters to brake suddenly at high speed.

Lime e-scooters hit the streets of Auckland in October last year, followed by mass roll-outs in Christchurch, Dunedin and the Hutt Valley.

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Data breach and delay: survivors lose faith in New Zealand’s landmark child abuse inquiry

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A year after it was announced – and more than a month after it was scheduled to begin – there has been little action

Abuse survivors are beginning to lose faith in New Zealand’s nascent royal commission after months of poor communication, delay, at least one privacy breach and one survivor’s details being lost twice.

In February 2018 the New Zealand government announced it would hold a royal commission or judicial inquiry into abuse in state care, which it said would begin in January 2019.

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Bulk carrier runs aground on Solomon Islands reef spilling oil

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Cyclone delays cleanup after ship runs aground in rough seas near Rennell Island

Solomon Islands authorities are scrambling to clean up an oil spill caused after a bulk carrier came aground about a fortnight ago on a coral reef on the southern coast.

Category 2 cyclone Oma and rough weather had delayed efforts to salvage the ship, MV Solomon Trader.

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James K Baxter: venerated poet’s letters about marital rape rock New Zealand

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Collection of writings just released includes references to rape of then-wife Jackie Sturm, herself an acclaimed poet and author

A new collection of letters from one of New Zealand’s most significant poets, James K Baxter, that includes a blunt admission of marital rape is causing shockwaves through the literary community.

Baxter died in Auckland in 1972 but remains one of New Zealand’s literary giants. He achieved international attention in the late 1950s after Oxford University Press published his poetry collection, In Fires Of No Return.

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Huawei tells New Zealand: banning us is like banning the All Blacks

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Chinese tech company uses full-page ads to push for inclusion in 5G rollout despite concerns it is a security risk

China’s Huawei has taken out full-page ads in major New Zealand newspapers in which they equate the idea of ban on the company to a rugby tournament without the All Blacks.

The advertisement reads: “5G without Huawei is like rugby without New Zealand”, referring to the upcoming nationwide rollout of the mobile technology.

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New Zealand wildfires set to worsen as thousands flee

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Week-long blaze engulfs 2,300ha on South Island, leading to largest aerial firefight in country’s history

Strong winds are expected to fan forest fires that have been burning for a week through New Zealand’s South Island, forcing thousands of people from their homes.

Early on Sunday, 155 firefighters were battling the blaze on the ground with air support from 23 helicopters and three fixed wing planes, making it the largest aerial firefight on record in New Zealand.

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No-deal Brexit: UK exporters risk being locked out of world’s harbours

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Goods dispatched in coming days may not arrive until after 29 March deadline

British exporters sending goods to far-flung destinations in the coming days risk being locked out of harbours around the world as a no-deal Brexit looms, business leaders have warned.

Independent trade experts and the UK’s biggest business groups said exporters could be dispatching goods from UK ports imminently that would not arrive until after the 29 March deadline. This raised the prospect of goods being stuck in ports or facing hefty additional costs in the event of a disorderly Brexit.

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R Kelly Australia tour raises ‘serious concerns’ amid sex abuse allegations

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R&B singer announces tour of Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka after explosive documentary detailing accusations

The R&B singer R Kelly, who is facing multiple accusations of sexual abuse, has announced a tour to Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, prompting concern from members of the public and some MPs.

The tour, which was announced in social media posts from the singer – but was accompanied by no dates or venues – comes in the wake of an explosive documentary detailing allegations that the artist has been sexually and physically abusing women for decades. R Kelly has denied the allegations, and has faced no criminal convictions.

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Working USB stick found in leopard seal’s year-old frozen faeces

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New Zealand puts out call to find owner of memory stick spotted in frozen poo sample

A functioning USB stick has been found in the scat of a rare Antarctic leopard seal, prompting New Zealand’s national science body to launch a hunt for the owner.

Volunteers at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) recovered the device while examining the animal’s frozen faeces – which had been sitting in a freezer for over a year.

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New Zealand baffled after protected little blue penguins stolen from nests

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Two men wielding a crowbar raid wild nests in Napier, possibly to sell the animals into the illegal wildlife trade

Two of the world’s smallest and most vulnerable penguins have been stolen in a brazen overnight raid on their nests in New Zealand.

Little blue penguins – or kororā – are native to New Zealand and are listed by the Department of Conservation (DoC) as an at-risk, declining population. Little blues are the world’s smallest penguin, and are threatened by common predators such as dogs and cats, urban development on their coastal environment and being hit by cars, boats or caught in nets.

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New Zealand brings first ‘fake mānuka honey’ prosecution

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Company is accused of adding synthetic chemicals, including one used in tanning lotion, to honey

A mānuka honey company is being prosecuted by New Zealand’s food safety agency over claims it added artificial chemicals to its product.

In the first case of its kind, the company is accused of adding synthetic chemicals – including one commonly used in tanning lotion – to honey it sold as “mānuka”.

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Venezuela crisis: New Zealand refuses to back Guaidó as interim president

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Foreign minister Winston Peters says country needs to ‘decide its future through free and fair elections’

In a stark departure from its allies, the New Zealand government is refusing to take sides in the escalating Venezuelan leadership crisis, declining to give official recognition to either leader.

Last week opposition leader Juan Guaidó declared himself Venezuela’s interim president, and quickly won the support of the US, the UK, Canada and some Latin American countries, who issued strong public statements recognising his authority. On Monday New Zealand’s closest neighbour, Australia, recognised Guaidó as Venezuela’s president. The US secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, has also urged countries to “pick a side” in the crisis.

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‘I had to open a window’: New Zealanders poke fun at tepid ‘heatwave’

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Some describe having to take it easy on the stairs after heatwave reports leave them cold

New Zealanders have poked fun at health warnings issued after the country was hit by a heatwave that reached only 25C in some of the country’s main cities.

Some described how they had to pause – briefly – while climbing the stairs, and open windows in 21C heat, a far cry from the temperatures of over 49C recorded in Australia as a result of the same weather system.

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New Zealand housing crisis: just 47 ‘affordable’ homes built in six months

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Jacinda Ardern’s flagship KiwiBuild policy labelled ‘a failure’ amid delays and claims homes are too expensive

Jacinda Ardern’s flagship housing policy is in dire straits after the government admitted it won’t meet its target of building 1,000 affordable homes in its first year – and is set to fall short by 700.

New Zealand house prices are among the most unaffordable in the world, with Auckland the seventh most expensive city to buy a home, and all three major cities considered “severely unaffordable” by the latest Demographia international housing affordability survey.

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‘I’m being watched’: Anne-Marie Brady, the China critic living in fear of Beijing

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New Zealand academic says Chinese intimidation tactics she has studied are now being used against her

It’s just gone midday at Canterbury University and Professor Anne-Marie Brady is rock-hopping across a crystal clear stream.

The life-long academic takes an overgrown bush track to reach the Okeover community gardens, her eyes scanning the sky for native birds. It’s the height of summer in Christchurch and the garden is filled with rhubarb plants, clumps of chewy spinach and spring onions whose tips have turned white in the sun.

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Grace Millane: suspect pleads not guilty to murdering British backpacker

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The 27-year-old accused has been remanded in custody over killing in New Zealand

The New Zealand man accused of murdering British backpacker Grace Millane has pleaded not guilty at Auckland’s high court.

The 27-year-old man, whose name has been suppressed by the court, appeared in court on Wednesday morning, his second appearance since his arrest in December last year.

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