Tag Archives: Australia

Poles Apart, Like Minded

Poles Apart, Like Minded

The NZ and Austrian governments have formally agreed to cooperate on the implementation of emission reduction projects, in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol. “NZ’s pro-active, pro-business approach to climate change is good news for the economy and…

Kiwi Quiz Goes Global

Kiwi Quiz Goes Global

The Kids’ Lit Quiz, founded in NZ by educationalist Wayne Mills, is growing increasingly popular in the UK, where it is now in its third year. The 2004 event was won by an all female team…

On Top of the World

On Top of the World

The All Blacks resumed their world No.1 ranking after a compelling 45-6 victory over European champions France. “I felt powerless,” said French coach Bernard Laporte. “I had the feeling that we could play for hours and…

In the Pink

In the Pink

Kim Crawford’s ‘Pansy’ Rosé received its official Australian launch at popular Sydney gay bar, Stonewall. Local drag diva Maxi Shield gave the wine “a double thumbs up.” Crawford originally created Pansy for the owners of Auckland’s SPQR…

North Island Odyssey

North Island Odyssey

The Telegraph‘s Max Davidson takes a leisurely tour of the North Island’s wine-producing hot spots. The trail begins in “cosmopolitan Wellington,” followed by the Wairarapa, Auckland, and Waiheke Island. Further north, the scenery becomes more and more…

Battle of the Titans

Battle of the Titans

Fonterra has made a formal takeover bid for Australian conglomerate, National Foods, earning it the title “NZ moo-nopolist” in the Sydney Morning Herald. The super-company already owns Australian brands Bega, Western Star, Bodalla, Perfect Italiano and Peters…

Mind the Gap

Mind the Gap

The Herald ran a lengthy feature on trans-Tasman cultural differences prior to the Australian elections, claiming that “geologically, the land masses are creeping together again. However, all other evidence points the other way.” According to the writer,…

Double Milestone

Double Milestone

The Black Caps’ tour of Bangladesh was a resounding success, with NZ winning both the Test and ODI series by comfortable margins. During the second Test captain Stephen Fleming overtook Martin Crowe as NZ’s…

Champs on Surf and Turf

Champs on Surf and Turf

NZ finished second overall in the world lifesaving championships at Viareggio, Italy, behind Australia and ahead of South Africa. The Kiwis won 17 medals in total, including gold in the men’s beach flags event (Morgan Foster), gold in…

Rhodes Beats the Heat

Rhodes Beats the Heat

Brian Rhodes won the men’s open category of the Desaru International Triathlon in sweltering Malaysian conditions, beating last year’s winner Jason Shortis of Australia by nearly five minutes. Fellow Kiwi Stephen Sheldrake finished third. The annual event…

Taking Care of Business

Taking Care of Business

NZ ranked first overall in the World Bank’s  ‘Doing Business’ report for 2004, ahead of the US, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia. The annual survey decides which countries are best for doing business in based on…

Riding High

Riding High

Sydney Morning Herald profiles 20-year-old Kiwi, Michael Walker; “the best jockey to emerge from across the Tasman since Jim Cassidy and Shane Dye.” Since his 1999 debut, Walker has ridden more than 100 winners in each of…

Chisholm to Packer

Chisholm to Packer

New Zealand-born media supremo Sam Chisholm has resigned as a Director of Telstra to join Kerry Packer’s media group PBL. Chisholm, 64, retains his chairmanship of Foxtel. He was head of Nine in Australia…

Still the Place to Be

Still the Place to Be

NZ is the world’s third most desirable holiday destination, according to  Condé Nast Traveller‘s annual Readers’ Awards. Australia, Thailand, Singapore, and Italy complete the top five.

Staying Power

Staying Power

Aotearoa has a starring role in wine writer Thom Elkjer’s overview of sauvignon blanc – past and present – for the  SF Chronicle. NZ has been a major player in the grape’s popularity since ” out…

Gamble Pays Off

Gamble Pays Off

Business Review Weekly dubs Matthew Slatter “Australia’s most admired new chief executive,” thanks to his remarkable transformation of Tabcorp from “a Victorian-centric pokies and wagering minnow to what will soon be the world’s fourth-largest gambling company.” The NZer…

Edge awardees

Edge awardees

NZ performers Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Ross McCormack were commended at the annual Helpmann Awards in Sydney, August 10. Rhodes was named Best Male Performer in an Opera for his lead role in…

Super-mini

Super-mini

Age profiles Paul Hakes of Wellington’s Hakes Marine: the man behind super-maxi yacht, Zana. Hakes’ latest project is a 12m racing boat, which he hopes to successfully export to Australia. “It is a modern design, a fast…

AB’s Win “By Strangulation”

AB’s Win “By Strangulation”

The All Blacks beat Australia 16-7 in miserable Wellington conditions to retain the Bledisloe Cup for the first time in seven years. Guardian: “For all the major effect the elements had in ruining this contest as a…

Guardian: “NZ Near One-day Perfection”

Guardian: “NZ Near One-day Perfection”

The Black Caps cruised to victory in the NatWest ODI tri-series against England and the West Indies, beating the latter by a resounding 107 runs in the final. Daniel Vettori was named Man of the Match for…

Ferns End 15-year Drought

Ferns End 15-year Drought

The Silver Ferns crushed traditional rivals Australia in a historic 3-0 series win – their first clean sweep against Australia since 1989. The Ferns won the final match 53-46, after trailing for much of the game. Australian…

Google and Froogle

Google and Froogle

Waikato University graduate Craig Nevill-Manning is Director, New York & Senior Staff Research Scientist for the world’s leading search engine company, Google. Nevill-Manning completed a PhD in computer science at Waikato before taking up a post-doctoral fellowship…

Power in Numbers

Power in Numbers

Minister for research, science and technology, Dr Pete Hodgson, headed an impressive delegation of NZ scientists and executives at the annual Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO) meeting in San Francisco. In the course of the conference NZ and Australia…

Professor Roy Crawford

Professor Roy Crawford

The Guardian attributes Professor Roy Crawford leaving Queen’s University Belfast to take up the post of Vice Chancellor at Waikato University to NZ’s current It status: “Oh, Australia must be annoyed. For centuries it’s been top dog…

Overnight Express to the Edge

Overnight Express to the Edge

NZ was named Favourite Long-haul Destination in the Guardian and Observer’s annual People’s Choice Awards, for the third time in the past four years. NZ topped the poll with 96.8% of the vote, beating Peru, Australia, and…

Classics with an edge

Classics with an edge

NZer Geoff Sewell is the brains (and tenor) behind the hottest act to hit international classical and mainstream charts since Hayley Westenra – Amici Forever: The Opera Band. The quintet – hailing from…

Lest We Forget

Lest We Forget

Russell Crowe provided the narration for a “ground-breaking” documentary series on Anzac soldiers, recently aired on NZ television and screening in Australia later this year. The series celebrates the bond between NZ and Australian soldiers, from WW1 to…

MetService Nets Big Fish

MetService Nets Big Fish

The NZ MetService has sold a locally made weather graphics system to the BBC for a sum rumoured to be in the millions. The state-of-the-art software package – Weatherscape XT – is the most up to date…

Belated Honour for White Mouse

Belated Honour for White Mouse

3 March 2004 – Nancy Wake, the most decorated female veteran of WW2, was made a Companion of the Order of Australia on March 3. Born in NZ and raised in Australia, Wake was a leading…

Chick to Watch

Chick to Watch

Massey University fashion graduate, Alice Goulter, profiled in a ‘Behind the Seams’ feature by Australian teen magazine, Chik. At the time of the interview, the 23-year-old was working as Design Assistant at Mossimo Woman,…

Opus Goes Trans-Atlantic

Opus Goes Trans-Atlantic

NZ firm Opus International Consultants has expanded its business in Canada with the purchase of Geoplan Consultants Inc. Opus already has offices in the UK, Malaysia and Australia, and in 2002 won the Trade New Zealand Services Exporter of…

100 Years of Class

100 Years of Class

Worldwide centenary celebrations for Rolls Royce  were launched in NZ January 25, with a commemorative dinner for fans and owners held in Auckland. 50 of the company’s luxury cars – including a 1912 Silver Ghost and a…

Street Cred

Street Cred

“Dressing icons of the now” on the streets and slopes  are home-grown favourite Huffer. The street-wear label, created by Steve Dunstan and Dan Buckley in 1997, is now sold through 10 stores in Australia,…

The World Breaks left to Raglan

The World Breaks left to Raglan

The final of the 2003 Oxbo World Longboard Championships was held near Raglan, November 6-16. The prestigious US$50,000 event saw top competitors from the US, Australia, Brazil, South Africa and Hawaii surf Manu Bay’s famed left-hand…

Black Day for ABs

Black Day for ABs

After starting as promising co-favourites the All Blacks finished a disappointing third in the 2003 World Cup being knocked out in the semi-finals 22-10 by a more professional and committed Wallaby performance. England defeated Australia 20-17…

Beware the Shaky Isles

Beware the Shaky Isles

The grim travel warning issued for NZ by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has caused derision on both sides of the Tasman. According to the DFAT, NZ is a terrorist target located on a hot-bed…

Catch Me if You Can Merriman

Catch Me if You Can Merriman

NZer Stefan Merriman won the 250cc two-stroke class riding for Australia at the 2003 International Six Days’ Enduro in Fortaleza, Brazil. “The three-time world champion was an intimidating force on his Honda CRE250 two-stroke machine, easily…

A World in Pictures

A World in Pictures

British photojournalist, Joan Wakelin, died on September 23 aged 75. Wakelin is best known for her images of Sri Lankan boat-people, Australian Aboriginal and NZ Maori communities; the latter with which she had a special connection. She…

Inter-national Bank

Inter-national Bank

Australia’s ANZ Group has purchased the National Bank of NZ from Britain’s Lloyds TSB. The AU$5.4 billion deal is the largest takeover in the Asia-Pacific this year, doubling ANZ’s market share to make it NZ’s biggest…

Kiwis Tie Down Kangaroos

Kiwis Tie Down Kangaroos

The Kiwis convincingly defeated the Australian Kangaroos with a rousing 30-16 victory in a rugby league test at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland. Led by the hat-trick of tries by Clinton Toopi (a trans-Tasman record) and another…

East Midlands Look to the South

East Midlands Look to the South

England’s East Midlands are looking to NZ for inspiration in their bid to become a leading holiday destination. “In the world of tourism, NZ spent many years as the poor cousin to neighbouring Australia. But thanks…

Great Expectations

Great Expectations

The All Blacks go into this year’s Rugby World Cup ranked second after England, yet the British press largely favours them to win. According to the Observer, “the ABs are certainties for the final stages. If…

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…

Tips from the Top

Tips from the Top

Telecom NZ CEO, Theresa Gattung, interviewed in the SMH after figures from the second annual survey by the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency show a “miniscule” improvement in the Australian corporate world’s gender imbalance….

Break In

Break In

Coach Jeff Green is confident that the NZ Breakers’ status in Australia’s National Basketball League will be similar to that currently enjoyed by rugby league team, the NZ Warriors. “One team, one country … The country’s…

Fairydown Man Enough for Hillary

Fairydown Man Enough for Hillary

NZ outdoor label, Fairydown, is to be re-named ‘Zone,’ after market research revealed Australian men to be uncomfortable with the original tag’s effeminate connotations. Sir Edmund Hillary, who used a Fairydown sleeping bag on his 1953 ascent…

Big Ups for “Small but Perfectly Formed” NZ Fashion Week

Big Ups for “Small but Perfectly Formed” NZ Fashion Week

The Age calls L’Oreal NZ Fashion Week a thorn in the side of its Australian counterparts, warning that its “peculiarly talented protagonists” are in danger of showing up bigger fish across the Tasman. “Fashion…

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…

Kiwi Juice Goes Global

Kiwi Juice Goes Global

Auckland-based kiwifruit juice manufacturers – Nekta International Limited – have made a successful entry into the US market. Sales have “exceeded expectations” since the product was lauched there in June. Nekta is already sold in Australia, Asia,…

Wahine Takes Manhattan

Wahine Takes Manhattan

Pania Rose, Australia’s latest supermodel has an Aotearoa genetic advantage: “After securing local campaigns for Country Road and the all-Aussie undies label , the 19-year-old has hit the big time in the US, scoring…

Like Father, Like Son

Like Father, Like Son

NZer Steve Richards – the younger half of the “most successful father-son duo in Australian motor sport” – interviewed in the Age about his new three-year contract with Castrol Perkins. At 31, Steve has 25 years to…

It’s a Black-out

It’s a Black-out

SMH: “they simply cannot beat the All Blacks”. The All Blacks join England as World Cup favourites after winning both the Tri-Nations’ Trophy and and Bledisloe Cup, making it two out of three thus…

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…

Ringing Up the Profit

Ringing Up the Profit

Telecom NZ has made a NZ$703 million net profit for the past year, ending a four-year run of negative growth. The solid progress comes despite a troubled foray into the Australian market.

You Won’t Need a Blanket

You Won’t Need a Blanket

Australia’s Sunday Telegraph stays at a hi-end bach: “Welcome to Blanket Bay, a spectacular lakeshore lodge hideaway 40 minutes’ drive north from Queenstown. It’s the paradise dream retreat of Tom Tusher, former worldwide president and CEO of…

Silver Ferns Strike Gold

Silver Ferns Strike Gold

The New Zealand Silver Ferns netball team emphatically shrugged off a decade of being netball’s bridesmaids to beat arch rivals Australia 49 – 47 and win the World Champion title in Jamaica. “Finally,” said relieved Silver Fern’s…