Reserve Bank’s Intervention Marks ‘New Direction’ in Currency War
The Wall Street Journal uses the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s recent action to bring down the NZ dollar as an example of the ‘new direction’ in what it calls the global currency…
Blog Archives
Minister Blasts Department Over China Meat Export Bungle
A bungle by the NZ Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) was responsible for NZ meat exports being held on Chinese wharves for up to two weeks, says stuff.co.nz. The hold-up was caused by MPI…
Bamiyan Fears for Future with NZ Troops Gone
‘There are New Zealand soldiers, so there is no Taliban. When they leave, the Taliban for sure will return,’ Ibrahim Chaman, a resident of Bamiyan, Afghanistan, told reporter Emma Graham- Harrison of The Guardian….
Royal NZ Navy Revisits Shanghai
The Royal New Zealand Navy frigate Te Mana, commanded by Commander Andel, visited China on a goodwill visit for five days in May, according to The Peoples Daily. The visit began at the Yangtze…
NZ’s ‘Papple’ Pear Makes Dream California Debut
‘Like an Asian pear with flavour’, the Papple is a NZ bred and grown cross of various Asian pears. The Papple has just made its Californian debut at Gelson’s markets, one of America’s premiere supermarket…
Huawei Founder Choses NZ to Speak to Media for First Time
Huawei Technologies Founder Ren Zhengfei chose New Zealand for his first ever media briefing, The Wall Street Journal reports. ‘New Zealand may be a tiny market for most global companies, but for Chinese telecommunications…
NZ Rugby Sevens Win 11th World Title
New Zealand crowned their Rugby World Sevens title for 2012/13 with victory in the final tournament at London. The victory came with a 47-12 ‘thrashing’ of Australia, says The Age. Coach Gordon Tietjens’ team…
Photographs Encouraging Conversation About Islam
A photographic exhibition documenting the stories of Asian Muslims in New Zealand has opened at Jakarta’s State Islamic University (UIN). The exhibition of 26 photographs – which also make up a book of the…
Sir Don McKinnon is 2013’s Supreme World Class New Zealander
Sir Don McKinnon is the Supreme Award winner of the 2013 World Class New Zealand Awards, says scoop.co.nz. The annual award, made by Kea New Zealand on behalf of NZ Trade and Enterprise, recognises…
Central Otago Violinist Named Principal in Leipzig
Alexandra-born violinist Jenny Banks has been named principal second violin of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, Germany, one of the oldest and largest civic orchestras in the world. University of Otago Music Department senior…
McLaren’s Motor Racing Adventure Continues
“The design and manufacture may have been rudimentary by modern-day standards – the first McLaren racing car was put together in a rented shed with a mud floor – but winning meant just as…
Author’s Writing Endures in Latest Collection
Bygone New Zealand is well represented in Janet Frame’s Between My Father and the King: New and Uncollected Stories, the latest in a series of posthumous publications of Frame’s work that has included poetry,…
None of It Has Anything to Do with Orcs
Auckland, home to a third of all New Zealanders, has recently welcomed a raft of bars, boutiques and restaurants that highlight locally made products, from excellent craft beer and wine to fashion and art,…
More Tape Across the UK This Spring
The Boy With Tape On His Face, aka New Zealand comedian Sam Wills, 34, is interviewed by the North Devon Journal ahead of his live show, More Tape, which was on at…
Hailing the Ultimate Sporting Geek
“Daniel Vettori’s New Zealand return is great news for all of us – one last chance to hail the ultimate sporting geek,” according to Telegraph columnist Jonathan Liew. “For one thing, he is one…
Girl on Film All Year in Chicago
New Zealand architect Emily Oakley has documented 365 days of her stay in Chicago one video clip at a time. In her first post of the series on 23 January 2012, Oakley…
Producing X-ray Beams in Germany’s North
New Zealander Graham Appleby, a physicist based in Hamburg, speaks to German publication The Local about high intensity x-ray beams and life in Germany’s scientific community, in the latest installment of “My German Career”….
Former Pitcher Turns Oregon’s Luck Around
Formerly of Wellington, Mike White, who became a US citizen in 1994, has turned the Oregon softball program “into a powerhouse”, according to ESPN. One of the elite pitchers in the world during a…
With Guns Blazing Manhattan Establishment Opens
Auckland-born chef Matt Lambert has opened The Musket Room, a 65-seat establishment in Manhattan’s Nolita, New York. “Named for the Musket Wars of the early 19th century … the menu has Asian…
Csokas Plays Russian Mafia Villain in The Equalizer
Invercargill-born actor Marton Csokas, 46, has been busy of late playing Dr Kafka in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and, before that, working on both Darren Aronofsky’s Noah and Sin City sequel A Dame To…
Billboard Awards for Somebody That I Used to Know
Hamilton-born singer Kimbra, 23, has received more accolades, winning four categories at the Las Vegas Billboard Music Awards for the duet, “Somebody That I Used to Know”, that she sang with Australian, Gotye….
Popstrangers Not to Be Missed, Says NME
New Zealand’s Popstrangers are winning some high praise in the UK. In fact, NME’s Lisa Wright rates them one of ‘5 new band’s you can’t miss’ in her rundown on the 2013 Liverpool Sound…
Chris Wood’s Premier League Hopes Dashed
Chris Wood, All White and Leicester City striker, has missed out on joining fellow-All White Winston Reid in the English Premier League next season. Wood’s team were beaten 3-1 by Watford in the second…
Jo Schmidt Answers Irish Rugby’s Call
Joe Schmidt, former Bay of Plenty ‘Steamers’ coach is the new Ireland Rugby coach. His appointment has brought a renewed ‘feel-good factor’ to Irish rugby, says the the Irish Times. Schmidt has been appointed…
Judith Collins to Study at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government
New Zealand’s Justice Minister Judith Collins has been invited to study at the prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She will join its Leadership Decision Making program from 23-28 June. Ms….
Michael Fischer Mines Gold on Top of the World
New Zealander Michael Fischer mines gold at the top of the world. He heads the Kumtor Operating Company in Kyrgyzstan, a nation of 5.5 million people located half way between Moscow and Beijing. Mining…
Harvard University Farm Purchase Draws Mixed Reaction
Harvard University’s decision to buy a 1300-hectare Otago dairy farm drew mixed reactions from New Zealand politicians. Winston Peters, New Zealand First’s Leader, criticised New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office’s approval of the purchase. But…
Simon Upton Keynote Speaker at Future of Growth Forum
Simon Upton, Environment Director for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and former New Zealand Minister for the Environment, is a keynote speaker at an upcoming European sustainability and economic development workshop….
Air New Zealand’s Skycouches Pass ‘GeekDad’ Test
Andy Robertson is the self-styled ‘Chief GeekDad’ of UK Wired magazine. Recently, he put Air New Zealand’s innovative Skycouch technology to the ‘geek’ test, flying from the UK to New Zealand with his young…
Auckland City Lets You be the Planner
Scientific American recently featured an article, from Fast Company, on the Auckland City Council’s Shape Auckland Housing Simulator. The simulator helps residents engage with Auckland’s Unitary Plan, a blueprint for the cities…
New Zealand’s Boating Industry Keeps Winning Awards and Customers
New Zealand’s luxury boat builders have always made boats that ‘defeat the odds, break records and collect awards,’ writes Maria Alafouzou in the New York Times. You might think, at first glance, that a…
Gulf Cooperation Council and NZ to Ratify Trade Agreement
New Zealand is likely to ratify a trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) within the next 12 months, according to Steve Jones, NZ Consul General to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Negotiations…
NZ’s Jonathan Paget Wins Badminton
New Zealander Jonathan “Jock” Paget, 29, became only the second person to win the Badminton horse trials at the first attempt, says The Telegraph. Paget, a former bricklayer who only started riding at 18,…
Tim Groser out of WTO Race
A Latin American is set to head the World Trade Organization after the field for its next director general narrowed to Mexico’s former trade minister Herminio Blanco and Brazilian diplomat Roberto Azevedo, according to…
NZ-Papua Training in Community Policing to Start in September
The New Zealand government has allocated Rp 20 million (US$ 2 million) in aid for the Papua Community Policing programme, according to The Jakarta Post. The funding will see NZ police run a Training…
Mr Pip the Film to Screen First in New Zealand
Paramount Pictures has confirmed that New Zealand will be the first nation to see Mr Pip, the film, on general release. Mr Pip is set on the island of Bougainville during the vicious civil…
NZ Veterans Visit Korea for Armistice Commemorations
Hundreds of Korean War veterans, and bereaved families of fallen soldiers arrived in South Korea to attend commemorative events marking the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended the three-year conflict, the Korean Herald…
Sean Maitland: Scotland Rugby’s Newest ‘Kilted Kiwi’
Sean Maitland, ex-Canterbury Crusaders and now Scotland rugby winger has one of his two wishes. He’s just been selected for the 2013 British and Irish Lions tour of Australia. Whether he gets the other…
Waddell Says Glasgow Will Host ‘amazing’ Games
Rob Waddell, head of the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team, told The Scotsman he is confident that Glasgow will host an ‘amazing’ Games next year. Speaking at the end of a four-day visit, Rob…
Eastbourne Sisters Enjoy Giltedge Success
Eastbourne (Wellington) Giltedge Publishing directors and sisters Ann Husmann and Kate McFlinn have publishing in their blood, writes Jazial Crossley in the Dominion Post. Their father, Gil McGhee, published primary school children’s…
Harvard Studies Telecom Split
NZ companies Telecom and Chorus are being used by the Harvard Business School to teach its MBA students, writes Tamsyn Parker in the New Zealand Herald. In 2011, the Government split New Zealand telecommunications…
China Overtakes Australia as NZ’s Biggest Export Market
China has overtaken Australia as New Zealand’s biggest export market for the first time, buying more meat, dairy products and pine logs, while shipments across the Tasman have fallen, says the Sydney Morning Herald. …
Delegat’s Snaps Up Aussie Winery
Auckland-based Delegat’s Group has bought the assets of Australia’s Barossa Valley Estate out of receivership for $24.7 million, according to Australia’s Courier Mail. The winemaker, whose stable includes the Oyster Bay brand, will acquire…
Green MP Apologies for NZ Climate Change Failure
New Zealand Green MP Kennedy Graham has apologised to Pacific leaders on behalf of New Zealanders who disagreed with their government’s decision not to sign the Copenhagen Agreement on reducing carbon emissions and alleviating…
NZ Faces Climate Change Disasters Influx
Climate change is real, and its impact on small Pacific states will be severe. So severe that New Zealand and Australia need to prepare now for an influx of Pacific Island peoples fleeing from…
Fiji-NZ Trade Benefits Both Countries
New Zealand exports more than $300 million worth of goods to Fiji. This is more than New Zealand exports to Russia or South Africa. And Fiji can benefit from programs focused on expanding the…
NZ Aid to Vanuatu Focuses on Shefa Province
‘New Zealand has an important relationship with Vanuatu and Shefa Province … and we are keen to work with you to develop your Province, ‘New Zealand High Commissioner to Vanuatu Bill Dobbie recently told…
Olivia Lefebre’s Modeling Career Takes Off
From being discovered while shopping, at St Luke’s mall in Auckland, New Zealand, to strutting on the Paris catwalk– Cook Islander Olivia Lefebre is making a name for herself in the tough world of…
Merleen Thomas, Inspirational Airline Engineer
‘One of the most satisfying things about my job is seeing an aircraft that you inspected take off and just seeing it fly in the air,’ Merleen Thomas, Air New Zealand aircraft engineer, told…
Pasifika Education Achievement on the Rise
There has been a 3.5% increase in the number of Pacific Island 16-year-old students achieving the NCEA Level 2 qualification, according to the latest New Zealand education statistics. Pauline Winter, Chief Executive of New…
NZ Told to Stop Fatty Food Exports
Nauru, the Cook Islands, Tonga, Niue and Samoa all rank in the 10 most obese nations on earth, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Obesity rates in all these Pacific nations exceed 80%….
Pacific Leaders Choose Sustainable Development
Pacific leaders from 18 nations have rejected a call from the World Bank and New Zealand to free up trade, loosen regulation and shrink their public sectors, according to the Samoa Observer. Instead, a…
Willie Moon Shows ‘Wit’ and ‘Invention’ on Debut Album
Kiwi 50’s revivalist singer Willie Moon’s debut album, Here’s Willy Moon, shows ‘wit’ and ‘invention’, according to The Observer. Described by the same paper in 2011 as ‘one to watch’, Moon combines ‘rootsy rock…
Maori King’s Gift to Chairman Mao Loaned Back to New Zealand
‘The smallest is as a great as the largest’, said Chairman Mao when given a Maori cloak by New Zealand filmmaker Ramai Te Miha Hayward in 1957. Chairman Mao was replying to Ramai when…
650 Million Chinese Receive Offer to Study in New Zealand
A New Zealand education documentary is to screen on Chinese television to a potential audience of 650 million. Entitled Dragons in the Land of the Long White Cloud, the two-part series aims to attract…
Hayley Westenra ‘Thrilled’ to be Back in Taiwan
New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra has told the Taipei Times that she is thrilled to be in Taiwan again and is looking forward to her performances. The 25-year-old pop and classical singer, on her seventh…
