News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Shining Happy People

Shining Happy People

NZ was ranked 15th happiest nation overall in a World Values Survey of over 65 countries – ahead of the US (16th), Australia (20th) and the UK (24th). The study is a global examination of sociological…

Off the Map, On the Edge

Off the Map, On the Edge

Moko: Art of Nature, by Serena Stevenson and George Nuku, is to screen at this year’s Resfest digital film festival in the US. Resfest was established in 1997 as a forum for cinema breaking new technological…

Edge Breath Freshener

Edge Breath Freshener

Sweden’s Right Livelihood Award Foundation – the “alternative Nobel” – honoured former-PM David Lange for his “steadfast work over many years for a world free of nuclear weapons.” The foundation was formed in 1980 by former European…

Pacific Edge Connections

Pacific Edge Connections

Works by contemporary Maori artists including Vicky Lee Hipora Stark, Roi Toia (above, Pakake – Whale), Sandy Adsett, Fred Graham, and Robert Jahnke featured in the Kiwa Pacific Connections: Maori Art from Aotearoa exhibition held in Vancouver…

No Mutinies Here Mate

No Mutinies Here Mate

The British government has named Auckland businessman, Leslie Jacques, as the new day-to-day administrator of Pitcairn Island. According to the British High Commission, Jacques has been hired for an initial 4 month period, during which time he…

Suffr-edge-ettes Applauded

Suffr-edge-ettes Applauded

Guardian feature on the campaign for women’s suffrage in Kuwait notes NZ’s status as the first country in the world to grant their female citizens the right to vote – in 1893. Australian women waited until…

Little Brother is Watching…

Little Brother is Watching…

NZ’s National Radiation Laboratory has been given the government go-ahead to build a NZ$1 million nuclear test monitoring station in Fiji. The station will be one of a global network of 321 facilities set up in…

Face Maker Brought to Screen

Face Maker Brought to Screen

The pioneering methods used by NZ facial surgeon, Sir Archibald McIndoe, and his Canadian partner, Dr Ross Tilley, during WW2 are the inspiration behind a new Canadian documentary, The Guinea Pig Club. McIndoe and Tilley used radical…

Te Reo XP

Te Reo XP

A Maori language version of Microsoft XP and Office 2003 should be on the market by next year, according to Microsoft’s Asia Pacific headquarters. The company has decided to release the two programmes in a range of…

An Ill Wind That Blows Some Good?

An Ill Wind That Blows Some Good?

“Wise environmental husbandry or flatulent political correctness? An ill wind or a fair wind?” Financial Times takes a tongue-in-cheek look at the proposed ‘fart tax’ to be levied on NZ dairy and sheep farmers. Methane produced by…

Eco-friendlier Fuel

Eco-friendlier Fuel

NZ cars may soon be running on a petrol blend containing 10% ethanol – a by-product of the country’s dairy industry. The move is being welcomed in both environmental and agricultural sectors, and has already gained the…

ANZACs Legend Lives On

ANZACs Legend Lives On

BBC series on the National Health Service profiles Harefield Hospital and its enduring ties with NZ and Australia. Now home to one of Britain’s leading heart surgery units, Harefield was initially established as a medical centre…

Australia Looks to the Near East

Australia Looks to the Near East

The Australian features a 20 page special report on The Pacific. Strongly focused on NZ, the supplement includes a regional overview (“Australia is said to be the superpower of the South Pacific. If so then New…

Cool Kiwis: Why It’s Suddenly Not on the Edge of the World

Cool Kiwis: Why It’s Suddenly Not on the Edge of the World

The Edge metaphor permeates Timemagazine’s 50-page rave on NZ. ‘NZ Journeys’ takes an in-depth look at our designers, scientists, exporters, film industry, Maori language revival, musicians, and winemakers, in a bid to discover “what makes…

Jobs for (Almost) All

Jobs for (Almost) All

Unemployment in NZ is at a 16-year low of 4.7% thanks largely to net gains in permanent and long-term migration. Employment Minister, Steve Maharey: “We are now experiencing lower unemployment than all our major trading partners, including…

Clark, Kissinger and South Korea

Clark, Kissinger and South Korea

PM Helen Clark was the keynote speaker at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the end of the Korean War held in South Korea in July. At a luncheon held in her honour, President Roh Moo Hyun described…

The Bomb Stays Banned

The Bomb Stays Banned

July marked the 30th anniversary of “what was probably the first state-sponsored Ban the Bomb protest” – NZ PM Norman Kirk’s diplomatic and symbolic attack on the French government. In outrage at continued nuclear testing by France…

NZer to Head World Bank

NZer to Head World Bank

Banker John Austin has been appointed to the helm of the Washington-based World Bank (one of the world’s largest sources of financial assistance for developing countries). Austin has resigned from his current position, as head of private…

Legalised Lovin’

Legalised Lovin’

A new law has been proposed to grant NZ gay and lesbian partners the same rights as those enjoyed by married heterosexual couples. The Civil Union Bill – which is to be voted on later this year…

Coca-Cola University

Coca-Cola University

LATimes reviews The University in a Corporate Culture by NZer and Denver University professor Eric Gould. Pondering the commercialisation of higher education it  explores how goals of education and the path to happiness have changed: “enlightenment is…

Third Way Talking Points

Third Way Talking Points

PM Helen Clark discusses republicanism, Iraq, same-sex marriages, prostitution reform, and The Lord of the Rings in a forum with BBC News Online’s Talking Point. Clark was in London attending Tony Blair’s ‘Third Way’ summit – a gathering…

Land of the Free

Land of the Free

The 2003 Index of Economic Freedom has named NZ the world’s third freest economy, behind Hong Kong and Singapore. The Index, compiled by the US-based Heritage Foundation, ranks economies according to factors including trade policy, capital flow,…

A Life Lived by the Sea

A Life Lived by the Sea

NZ-born WW2 hero, Sir William Crawford, has died in England aged 95. Crawford was gunnery officer and lieutenant-commander aboard the Rodney during the sinking of Germany’s great battleship, the Bismarck. His distinguished naval career also saw him…

Land of the Free: Part 2

Land of the Free: Part 2

NZ is the third most un-corrupt country in the world, according to the latest global corruption perception index released by Transparency International. Finland and Denmark head the list, which draws from sources including the World Economic Forum…

A Bridge Over Troubled Water

A Bridge Over Troubled Water

Judith Piepe – social activist and cultural icon – has died in Levin aged 83. Famous for her mysterious origins and friendships with the likes of Cat Stevens and Paul Simon (she was his agent), Piepe’s door was…

Brothers in Arms

Brothers in Arms

The Turkish government is seeking World Heritage listing for Anzac Cove – where the WW1 battle of Gallipoli took place. Turkey believes the site to be of lasting moral value, in that it embodies a unique bond…

Home Away From Home

Home Away From Home

A proposal to build the first functioning marae in America has been put forward by Maori citizens of Lehi, Utah. The state has one of the highest ratios of NZers per capita in the US, and includes…

Burning Down the House?

Burning Down the House?

NZ’s early prosperity was said to have been borne on the sheep’s back – now they’re threatening to power us into the 21st Century: NZ’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority has hit upon a novel way of powering…

Fagan Wields His Golden Shears

Fagan Wields His Golden Shears

Legendary NZ shearer David Fagan earned his fifth world title before a crowd of 3,000 at Scotland’s MacRobert Theatre. Fagan’s de-fleecing of 20 sheep in 14 minutes 51 seconds reportedly created “a crescendo of noise and fervour…

Reconstructionist

Reconstructionist

Esteemed facial surgeon and dental safety innovator, David Poswillo, has died aged 76. Born in Gisborne, Poswillo’s career took him to Australia, England, Wales, Canada, and the US. As well as his role as a surgeon, Poswillo…

Miss Speaker …

Miss Speaker …

Georgie Girl – the award-winning documentary on transsexual NZ MP Georgina Beyer – screened on American public television last month as part of the acclaimed Point of View (POV) documentary series. Described as “an extraordinary counterpoint to…

Birkenhead Revisited?

Birkenhead Revisited?

From Sky Tower to dreaming spires: Oxford University today nominated NZer John Hood as its next vice-chancellor – the first to be chosen from outside the esteemed university in its 900-year history. Dr Hood gained an Engineering…

NZ Ups the Anti

NZ Ups the Anti

NZ joined the first wave of countries to sign the United Nations anti-tobacco treaty on June 16. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control aims to curb tobacco advertising and sponsorship, limit the use of misnomers such as…

One Up for Moby

One Up for Moby

A landmark decision by the International Whaling Commission in Berlin is being hailed as a step in the right direction by “what was once a whaler’s club.” The ‘Berlin Initiative’ – proposed by 19 countries including NZ…

DIY Cruise Missile

DIY Cruise Missile

One for the z-files surely. Taking the No.8 wire mentality a little too literally, NZ internet developer Bruce Simpson, 49, has attracted headlines across the planet for his plans to build a DIY jet-propelled missle in his…

“Australia’s Castaways Are Happier to Call NZ Home”

“Australia’s Castaways Are Happier to Call NZ Home”

SMH profiles the Afghani “Tampa” refugees, who were taken in by the NZ government after being refused entry to Australia. Pacific minded NZ authorities have granted them the right to reunite with their families,…

The Lowe-down

The Lowe-down

George Lowe along with fellow NZer Ed Hillary – attended the 5th anniversary Everest celebrations in London, as one of 7 remaining members of the 1953 expedition. Lowe was the recipient of Hillary’s now…

Edge-ucation on Offer

Edge-ucation on Offer

Arab students are increasingly choosing NZ as an education destination, according to a Gulf News report. Education Minister Trevor Mallard cited the schooling system’s pioneering nature and relative affordability, as well as the country’s reputation as a…

Mrs Speaker …

Mrs Speaker …

“Just how a conservative and largely white electorate came to support an outspoken transgendered woman – of Maori (that is, indigenous non-white) descent, no less – is the story behind the remarkably engaging documentary Georgie Girl.” Annie…

Christchurch the New Bondi?

Christchurch the New Bondi?

Kiwis are coming home to roost according to latest Australian immigration statistics that reveal a dramatic brain-drain reversal: NZers are returning home from Australia at a greater rate than they are arriving. The SMH…

Rats Have Rights Too

Rats Have Rights Too

Native rats (kiore) on Little Barrier Island were saved from a scheduled DOC extermination by local tribe Ngatiwai, who claimed them as taonga. The rats, now almost extinct on mainland NZ, pose a threat to tuatara…

Educational Skin Flick

Educational Skin Flick

Ta moko features in a Pacific Islanders in Communications documentary for PBS currently screening around the world. Skin Stories explores the art of tattooing, and its cultural significance, in Samoan, Hawaiian and Maori tradition.

Sweating in the Name of

Sweating in the Name of

Ex-pat Kiwi Richard Stevens likes to do more than his bit for charity. The Belfast resident hopes to raise £2,000 for the Save the Rhinos fund by running both the Belfast and London marathons…

NZ Firm on Pacific Principles

NZ Firm on Pacific Principles

Drawing on NZ’s historical role in the setting up of the UN charter and as an advocate of multilateralism, Helen Clark (described as “one of Tony Blair’s closest foreign political allies”) told the Guardian that the…

Little Brother

Little Brother

New Zealand ranks near the top in an international index ‘Ranking the Rich’, published by Foreign Policy and the Centre for Global Development, gauging how rich nations help out poorer nations. NZ toppped the list with The…

Frankly Fascinating

Frankly Fascinating

Mike Moore’s A World Without Walls hailed as a fascinating, candid and paradoxical account of ideals versus bureaucracies in Foreign Affairs magazine. “When all is said and done, believes democratically elected governments and markets will respond…

Possum Bourne Mourned

Possum Bourne Mourned

Rally champion Peter “Possum” Bourne, who died April 30th (aged 47), has been praised as “a humble man with rare ability, a relentless competitor who inspired a new generation of drivers.” “The most successful rally driver in…

Te Maori ki Te Ao – Paratene on Patriarchy

Te Maori ki Te Ao – Paratene on Patriarchy

In an interview with SMH, Whale Rider star Rawiri Paratene discusses patriarchy – both within and outside of Maoridom – and the universal appeal behind the heart and award-winning film. “I think Maori stories well told can…

Pavlova Paradise?

Pavlova Paradise?

Observer offers a how-to guide to buying property in NZ in its assessment of the global property market’s latest hot spot. According to their sources, “screen gods and goddesses are buying up idyllic island…

Nearest Neighbours Worlds Apart?

Nearest Neighbours Worlds Apart?

Gerard Henderson makes a pre-ANZAC Day assessment of current Aussie-Kiwi relations. “The Australia-NZ commercial relationship has never been healthier … However, the trans-Tasman economic co-operation has been accompanied by an increasing disagreement on security issues. The NZ…

Byow! Cartoonist With Cut Through Remembered

Byow! Cartoonist With Cut Through Remembered

John Kent, well-known political cartoonist, lecturer and illustrator, died on April 13 aged 65. Born in Oamaru, Kent’s work was a familiar feature in Private Eye,  Guardian, Daily Mail, The Sun and, finally, The…

Evolutionary Edge

Evolutionary Edge

Soil-analysis undertaken in a NZ cave has uncovered a rich and previously unknown evolutionary heritage. A team of scientists have found DNA traces of an extinct animal and from plants alive 3,000 years before the first human…

Lest We Forget in Troubled Times

Lest We Forget in Troubled Times

Due to the current world climate, ANZAC services in Australian and NZ this year carried particular emotional resonance CNN remembers an event “marked by both countries as a tragic turning point in their national development.” The Age: “In…

Napier Goes Ga-ga for Gingko

Napier Goes Ga-ga for Gingko

Ron Massey, of Napier Council, thinks the city’s onto an export winner after its successful growing of high-grade gingko trees. The Chinese herb is currently the trendiest pill to pop, supposedly offering dramatically increased energy and cognitive…

Protecting Shared Heritage

Protecting Shared Heritage

The NZ and Australian governments are making a combined application to the World Intellectual Property Organisation to protect the use of the word Anzac. Both countries have legislated against the unauthorised use of the word at…

Australasian Appeal

Australasian Appeal

“Out US and UK, in Australia and New Zealand.” Indian emigrants and students are favouring a move Down Under over the traditional destinations of old, thanks to easier entry procedures and cheaper education facilities.