What’s it Like in Paradise?
“Even this self-consciously egalitarian society, which was first to give women the vote in 1893, is not immune to social and economic inequality,” writes Michael White for the Guardian. “What’s it like in paradise…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Economic Aftermath of Canterbury Quake.
Two years ago, an earthquake devastated Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city, killing 185 people. The city is but one example of how even the wealthiest countries struggle to recover from large-scale catastrophes, according…
Debut Accomplished and Unexpected
Auckland band Popstrangers have released their debut album Antipodes, an “accomplished and ambitious” record, according to London-based online music magazine musicOMH. “Throughout the album, Popstrangers never leave you feeling comfortable. Just when you think…
Commentaries on Nationality
Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson, formerly of The Mint Chicks, attributes his former anonymity and general fame-shyness to, in part, being from New Zealand. Emerging on the scene via an obscure Bandcamp profile in…
Clark Calls for Action
Helen Clark is calling for swift action to halt a surge of diseases such as cancer and diabetes in the Pacific, writes the Samoa Observer. Ms. Clark, a former New Zealand Prime Minister, is…
NZ Congratulated for Plain Packaged Cigarettes
New Zealand will follow Australia’s lead in forcing cigarette makers to sell their products in plain packs, writes Dan Harrison, Health reporter for The Age. ‘Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia announced that she would…
New Zealand Toy Makes World Top 10 List
A New Zealand toy, The Snow Globe, is one of the world’s top ten ‘best creative toys’, according to Britain’s Independent newspaper. The ‘Snow Globe’ is made by Seedlings, founded in 2006 by Phoebe…
Bale to Play Mountaineer
New Zealand mountaineer Rob Hall – who was killed climbing Mt Everest in 1996 aged 35 – will be played by American actor Christian Bale in a forthcoming film about the events which unfolded when two…
Exotic Hops Lure Americans
New Zealand’s “bold, fruity” flavoured hops have been increasingly used by American craft brewers who prize their unique flavours, according to Los Angeles Times correspondent John Verive. “Some of the most popular new hop…
Outside of the Box
“The Ruby Suns is akin to other New Zealand bands in that its music doesn’t fit comfortably inside an established genre of music outside of pop,” according to Tom Murphy of Denver…
Rachel Hunter Belle Donne
Rachel Hunter, New Zealand former supermodel and TV presenter, ‘stole the show’ at the Italia Film, Fashion and Art Festival, in Los Angeles, according to The Daily Mail. ‘Rachel Hunter certainly isn’t about to…
Kids TV and Crime Linked
Otago University Professor Bob Hancox has found that the risk of having a criminal conviction in adulthood increases with every hour that children spend watching TV. The New Zealand study followed a group of…
Our Man at Facebook
New Zealander Vaughan Smith, 46, vice-president of mobile partnerships and corporate development at Facebook, was a speaker at the 2013 Mobile World Conference in Barcelona in late February. Smith’s session examined the pros and…
Much More than a Film Set
“There’s so much to this beachy, mountainous, rugby-enthused nation ,” Laura Morrison writes for CNN Travel. Morrison suggests ten other reasons why New Zealand is worth a visit, including for the coffee, for…
Sonny Bill Eyes Up World Cup
Sonny Bill Williams, New Zealand’s most versatile sportsman, may be available for New Zealand for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup says Brad Walker, in The Age. Williams plays for the Sydney Rooster rugby…
NZ Women’s Cricket Player Issues ‘Wakeup’ Call
Susie Bates, New Zealand women’s cricket captain, was named Player of the Tournament at the 2013 women’s Cricket World Cup. Bates scored 407 runs in the competition, and was named captain of the tournament’s…
Lydia Ko ‘Just Incredible’
Steve Williams says he’s almost lost for words when it comes to fellow Kiwi Lydia Ko’s achievements, according to The Age. Williams has caddied for Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Raymond Floyd and now Adam…
NZ Stays in Afghanistan
New Zealand will keep a small team of military personnel in Afghanistan to help coalition forces after it formally withdraws in April 2013, according to The Washington Post. The group of 27 will be…
Prize at Berlinale
New Zealand-made film Shopping has won a prize at this year’s Berlinale. Shopping picked up one of the film festival’s second tier awards, the Grand Prix of the Generation 14+ international section for best…
New Zealand Telcos Plan Fibre-optic Link with Australia
New Zealand’s telecommunications companies will build a new $60 million fiber-optic cable connecting New Zealand with Australia. Telecom, Vodafone and Telstra hope to finish the build by the end of 2014. The cable’s capacity…
NZ Film Brings Home the Prize
The New Zealand film Shopping, by directors Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland, has won The Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus for best feature film at the Berlin Film Festival. ‘An extremely compelling first…
Real Romantic Treats
The romantic Kokohuia retreat in Hokianga is one of six New Zealand lodges recommended in Britain’s Independent newspaper. “This off-grid B&B opened above a scenic swathe of Hokianga Harbour a year…
Walker’s Youthful Sophistication
‘Karen Walker pits arty school girls against working women for a youthful but ultra-sophisticated new fall collection,’ writes Olivia Fleming in The Daily Mail. Walker’s fall 2013 collection is called New Rose. The inspiration…
Characters Screaming to Get Out
Award-winning actor New Zealander Jacob Rajan plays 17 different characters in the play Guru of Chai, which was recently performed Off-Broadway in New York. Rajan is the only actor in the play, which is…
Busting into Song
She’s only 26, but New Zealander Gin Wigmore has already acted alongside Daniel Craig and recorded in Frank Sinatra’s studio. You may already have heard the first single, a bawdy barrelhouse stomp called Man…
Sky Tower to Join St. Paddy’s Day Festivities
The Auckland Sky Tower will go green on St Patricks Day, March 17 2013, says the Daily Mail. The ‘greening’ has been organised by the Irish Tourist Board to promote Ireland’s tourism. Other world…
NZ Police Get Tech Savvy
More than 6,000 New Zealand police officers are getting an iPhone, writes Louis Bedigian in Forbes. Almost 4000 of these officers will also receive an iPad. The deal is ‘the most lucrative Apple has…
Samoa Backs Tom Groser
Samoa supports New Zealand’s Minister of Trade, Tim Groser as the next World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General. Deputy Prime Minister Fonotoe Pierre Lauofo gave Samoa’s support at a meeting with Mr Groser, according…
Greetings from New Zealand
In the column “Postcard, from New Zealand”, originally appearing in The San Francisco Chronicle on 8 February 1966, American travel writer Stanton Delaplane said: “I must say the country is much improved for the…
Alice Englert Almost Turned Down Starring Role
Kiwi actress Alice Englert almost turned down her role as ‘caster’ Lena Duchannes in Beautiful Creatures. Speaking to Eric Eisenberg, from Cinema Blend.com, Englert said that initially she ‘wasn’t interested. I heard…that it was…
Make Your Own Plane
New Zealander John Nicol is the founder of Makerplane, the first open source aviation organization allowing people to download its aeroplane plans for free. Canada-based Nicol says the use of home-based…
Clark Discusses Mali’s Future
According to former Prime Minister Helen Clark, head of the United Nations Development Program since 2009, Mali needs a very clear timetable for national dialogue, constitutional reform and improved governance. “You have to do…
A Damn Good Reporter
Longtime NBC news correspondent New Zealander Tom Aspell has died aged 62. NBC News president Steve Capus described Aspell as “understated, selfless, perpetually cool, shrewd, wry, curmudgeonly, and a damn good reporter”. “From Southeast…
Beautifully Scarce
Iranian-New Zealand artist Nabil Sabio Azadi’s travel book, For You The Traveller, is “probably the best guide book has ever seen.” “It is available in a strictly limited…
Glowing Gold at Grammys
New Zealand pop star Kimbra, 22, has won two Grammy Awards for record of the year and best pop duo/group with Australian musician Gotye. “Somebody That I Used To Know” was…
Campion Returns a Champion
New Zealand director Jane Campion makes a ‘haunting’ and near-perfect return to TV production, according to Andrew Pulver, The Guardian’s Film Editor. Campion’s return to high-end TV film-making comes with her directing the first…
Critical Mass
The Auckland University Press Anthology of New Zealand Literature edited by Jane Stafford and Mark Williams of Victoria University is reviewed by Peter Pierce for The Australian. He traverses the customary literary punch-ups that…
Architectural Designs
Feminine beaded tops over boy shirts were paired with punky skinny pants adorned with zippers on the New York Fashion Week runway of New Zealand fashion designer Rebecca Taylor as she…
On Foreign Affairs
Prime Minister John Key spoke with The Diplomat’s Zachary Keck concerning nuclear security, Afghanistan, relations with the United States and China as well as the Trans Pacific Partnership. “New Zealand views nuclear security as…
New Creatures from the Deep
In a recent joint expedition between the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and the University of Aberdeen, to one of the deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean, scientists turned up something…
Cup Hope in Culture
Team New Zealand can’t match billionaire Larry Ellison’s budget in the America’s Cup this year so it’s relying on sailing nous for what managing director Grant Dalton sees as a last chance to reclaim…
Class Written All Over It
“New product from Bright Star director Jane Campion is always welcome,” the Guardian says about the New Zealander’s six-part television series, Top of the Lake, which is showing in the Berlinale Special section at…
Sheep, Lizards and Hobbits
February 6 is New Zealand’s national day. Known as Waitangi Day, it marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 between the British Crown and the Maori, New Zealand’s first peoples. Britain’s…
Howling at the Moon
In real time, Wellington photographer Mark Gee shot this video of the moon rising over the capital with the silhouettes of people gathering to watch the spectacle at the Mount Victoria…
Challenging Perceptions of Beauty
This week, designer Karen Walker will show her 14th season at New York Fashion Week. And then there’s her jewellery collection, homeware, a range of paints for Resene and the diffusion label Hi There…
YouTube Whizz-kid
Corey Harris is a 16-year-old high school pupil from Kerikeri, who likes hanging out with his mates, gaming, photography and spending time on his computer. The bright-eyed teen with spiky hair is also New…
Campion a Cannes Jury President
Oscar-winning director Jane Campion has been named Short Film Jury president and head of the Cinefondation at the 66th Cannes Film Festival. Campion has strong ties with the festival, winning the short film Palme…
Looking Back at the Beginning
In the year of McLaren’s 50th anniversary celebrations, a new short film directed by leading Swedish music-video maker Marcus Söderlund, sheds light on McLaren’s very human back-story – namely that of New Zealander Bruce McLaren,…
That Maybe So, But
Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand’s Marlborough region is now Australia’s top-selling white wine. A “savalanche” has left chardonnay and other whites for dust, and that gets right up the noses of Australian winemakers, who…
Shucks, it’s a Hit
Waiheke Island’s The Oyster Inn, “is a charming project that opened late last year, set up by Andrew Glenn and Jonathan Rutherfurd Best,” Simon Farrell-Green writes for Monocle in an article about “How to:…
One of the Boys
New Zealander Jesse Peach is the director of a new production of Alan Bennett’s multi-award-winning play The History Boys, which opens at the Sydney Opera House on 8 February. Australian actor John…
Asset Allocation Win
New Zealander Alex Kim (right), a junior at Duke University in the United States, was one of three to win an asset allocation contest sponsored by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager….
He Leaves a Chasm
Broadcaster Sir Paul Holmes has died at his home in Hawkes Bay. He was 62. Holmes rose through the ranks of media in New Zealand, and not long into fronting his self-named TVNZ current…
Unleashing the Brapp
“A.J. Fairbairn mashes the 1966 Ford GT Mark II’s throttle, unleashing the brapp of its NASCAR V-8 as it echoes off the safety walls of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” Todd Lassa writes for Motor…
What’s with All the Padding
Executive creative director at marketing agency RAPP New York, New Zealander Wayne Pick tells Branding Magazine what Super Bowl means to New Zealanders, in an article about how the American game…
New Zealand Dolphin Faces Extinction
An estimated 55 adult Maui dolphins are left in the world. The Maui is unique to the west coast of New Zealand’s North Island. It is the world’s rarest and smallest dolphin. And, by…
