Democracy Deal
PM Helen Clark was at the forefront of the push to make the Pacific Island Leaders Forum a defender of democracy in the region.
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Forbes Gets a Bargain
Forbes Global have included New Zealand company The Warehouse Group in their 2000 list of Best Small Companies: “Dynamism is all about growth and profits; in our opinion these 300 are among the best the world has…
Goldie Rides Again
The prodigiously talented Jeff Wilson – in this age of professionalism, perhaps the last person to be an AB and a Black Cap – has returned to rugby after a year’s refresher. “I’m sure he will…
Disease Beaten
Polio has been eradicated in the Western Pacific, which stretches from China to New Zealand to French Polynesia.
Healing Touch
A new London centre devoted to the study of the “healing touch” is “an outpost of a university in New Zealand whose ideas are based on feng shui and other Oriental philosophies.” Could tight…
Sam Neill is in LA filming Jurassic 3
The grounds of his temporary residence are described as “park-like”…
Out Out Damn E-mail!
Deleted files may come back to haunt you, says Peter Gutmann of Auckland University. “It is possible to install a computer that overwrites data when you hit the Delete key, making it much harder to recover….
Macpac Knack
Macpacs made their reputation being hauled up and down New Zealand mountains. They’re also good for gentle English country walks.
No Tree Hill
One Tree Hill of U2 fame lost its signature pine, removed due to safety considerations after attacks over six years to highlight indigenous land claims. The exotic Monterey pine replaced a native Totara cut down by a…
Three Foot Six and still growing
Vanity Fair estimates the cost of Lord of the Rings at NZ$623 million. If correct, Wellington company Three Foot Six is producing the second-most expensive movie ever.
Wright for the Job
The Indian cricket team is looking for a new coach and former New Zealand opener John Wright seems to be the man for the job. The final appointment will be announced before the team’s November tour…
Murderball Awe
New Zealand collected the Bronze at Sydney, impressing with their toughness along the way. “These are the hard men of the Paralympics. New Zealand’s heavily-tattoed Curtis Palmer emerged unscathed from a high-impact collision that sent him somersaulting…
Fruit Nuts in Mumbai
Kiwi fruit and Enza apples are status symbols in Mumbai: “New Zealand apples are more juicy and have a better shelf-life … these are basically popular in higher middle and elite class of the town.”
Our Cup Overflowed
The America’s Cup generated NZ$640 million in economic activity. Competing syndicates spent $149.2 mill, nearly matched by $118 mill from super-yacht spectators.
Big Cheese
Juliet Harbutt, self-described “brash, open, jolly New Zealander”, founded the British Cheese Awards to “preach the Gospel of cheese”.
Indomitable Down Under
A young Bangladeshi expresses his respect for the Black Caps: Chris Cairns is “at his magnificent best”; Roger Twose is “that wily customer”, and the whole team displayed “the indomitable spirit of the team from Down Under”.
Join the army and let the world see you!
New Zealand defence personnel will feature on big screens around the globe – as extras in Lord of the Rings. The soldiers were perfect when the filmmakers needed “big numbers of people who were…
League of Their Own
The Aotearoa Maori League team is “modelled on the Maori battalion,” says John Tamihere. “It will be a team of origin not of residence. And that’s great, it doesn’t matter if they’re on Mars, they’re still Maori.”
Lamb-blasted
The WTO ruled in favour of New Zealand in the appeal against US tariffs on our lamb. The Prime Minister was pleased with the result, but said “ideally, you don’t want to be taking your best…
A Little to the Right…
New Zealand entrepreneur James Sampson is launching a live sex site based in Christchurch. Viewers will be able to issue instructions to the workers.
Kiwi-Pom Oggie Oi
Ron Knox, originally of England, now New Zealand, introduced the stadium-filling “Oggie, Oggie, Oggie, Oi, Oi Oi” chant to the ockers. “I wonder if they will send me a gold medal,” says Ron.
Wearable Art to Edinburgh?
Nelson’s Wearable Art Awards “come close to sensory overload … dazzling light displays, innovative props … and the exceptional Wearable Arts creations”. Organisers are hoping to show the creations at the next Edinburgh International…
Against the Grain
New Zealand scholar Aurelia Mulgan’s The Politics of Agriculture in Japan launches a “brutal assault on antifactual strategies such as rational-choice theory, but also brusque rejection of social science as science”.
Avvid Attention
New Zealand Government Departments can talk to each other with maximum efficiency, thanks to AVVID, “one of the largest end-to-end IP telephony networks in the world.”
From Gold to Gold
The sponsor of this year’s Boston Head of the Charles Regatta put up $30,000 prize money for the men’s and women’s sprints. Rob and Sonia Waddell scooped the pool, coming in first and collecting the reward.
Say Fish
Mi’kmaq Indians look to New Zealand’s lead on fishery settlement deals. “Strong, tradeable property rights in fishing can be powerful economic and environmental force,” argues this article.
HRH Touchdown
The Queen will visit her farthest-flung domain in October, 2001. Her visit will provide “an opportunity for New Zealand to mark the impending Golden Jubilee of the Queen’s Reign”.
Conner Cautious
Dennis Conner will be in Auckland contesting the Cup in 2003, but he sure isn’t feeling complacent: “There’s so much depth of talent in New Zealand…They’ll still be difficult to beat, ” he told the NY…
Naked Success
Toa Fraser’s first play, Bare, hits Sydney with “a saltiness that is unmistakably NZ”. Fraser is compared to Raymond Carver and Tom Wolfe, masters of edge and bite.
Great Steaming Geysers!
18 year old Rawiri Waru’s developed a system to check Rotorua’s geysers don’t run out of steam, winning himself a Grand Award and an internship at Bayer AG in Singapore at the Worldwide Young Researchers for…
Avian Aphrodisiac
There are only 62 Kakapo in the world, and they don’t always seem that interested in making more. DOC scientists, hoping to see some action from the feather fellows, have concocted a special kind of muesli…
Motoring On
Elva Shepard, 99, passed her re-licensing test. The experienced drivers only fault? A little slow at times, perhaps due to Bubba, her youthful 43-year-old car.
Well-ing-ton!
Wellington took out the NPC, beating a Canterbury side that fielded 12 AB’s in the starting line up. International stars did their bit for the Lions, with Lomu scoring twice and Cullen setting up for Inoki…
Frankenfood
New Zealand’s Royal Commission on Genetic Engineering is being watched closely as the first chance for citizens of any country to say what they think about Frankenfood.
Top Class
Chopper, New Zealand-born director Andrew Dominik’s acclaimed bio-pic of the maniacal murderer, has received Australian Film Institute noms for Best Film and Best Direction, plus eight other nominations including Best Screenplay (penned by Dominik).
Devils’ Playground
“If they were human they would be regarded as severely dysfunctional.” New Zealander Rod Morris on Tasmanian Devils, the stars of The Devil’s Playground, which has won him a Wildscreen Panda – wildlife film’s…
Direct Success
Saatchi & Saatchi’s Access 50/50 campaign for Telecom scooped a Gold International Echo award from the Direct Marketing Association. Auckland’s Aim Direct also won gold, making a tally of two New Zealand firms among…
Kiwi KO
The Black Caps beat India in the ICC knock-out final, making 265 with four wickets and two balls to spare. Chris Cairns, player of the match, got his century in a “heroic performance” that rescued the…
Acing It
Wellington hair maestro Constantin Harach played his cards right to win the Moscow International Poker Tournament Pot Limit Omaha: “Aram rolls over 8K510 and Constantin 6QJA. Constantin’s up and down straight is made with a K…
Eco Edge
“Politicians have got used to being told by their clever advisers and focus groups that the environment isn’t sexy. It doesn’t lead to votes. But that’s where the leadership thing comes in. If politics is merely about…
Choice Joyce
Leilani Joyce, New Zealand #1 since ’97, didn’t drop a game on the way to becoming British Open Champion and World Squash #1. “The plan was quite simple,” says Joyce of her final game against England’s…
His Way
Road cyclists usually compete in teams for strategy and support. North Hastings 18-year-old Jeremy Yates, the new Junior Men’s Road Cycling World Champion. Yates beat 166 international riders, sprinting the last 4kms of the 127km race in…
E-e-e-e-readiness
Kiwis are on to it online. This has been confirmed by a Vic University study that lists NZ among the top four countries in the world for e-commerce and connectivity. The edge has the world’s fastest…
What Goes Around Comes Around
Hans Schwarz, an Austrian now living in NZ, sailed to Melbourne in 1956, to attend the Olympic Games. He threw a bottle into the ocean, with a note for a “dusky Pacific maiden”. Now, in a typically…
Dr MacDiarmid and His Fantastic Electric Plastic
New Zealand’s Nobel duo becomes a trio; Masterton-born and Wellington-educated chemist Alan MacDiarmid has joined Ernest Rutherford and Maurice Wilkins as a Nobel Prize (chemistry) laureate. MacDiarmid and his two colleagues discovere conductive plastics which have been…
Cullen a Keeper
Christian Cullen has resisted overseas contracts to concentrate on winning the World Cup for New Zealand in 2003 (which will be held in Australia and New Zealand). “The World Cup is the only thing I haven’t won…
Motor Masala hot fave
Peter Riordan is in contention for the Asia-Pacific Travel writers’ prize. His book, Motorcycle Masala is the story of a journey around India on-you guessed it-a motorcycle. The award will be announced at the…
Repair Bill
New Zealand vet Deborah Saunders describes the revolutioary bill-binding putty she used on Deidre the duck: “it’s nice and hard and keeps the two parts of the bill together and well supported”.
MurderBall
Wheelchair rugby, “Murderball” as it’s known by the players, is the only full contact wheelchair sport at the Paralympics. New Zealand is ranked second, behind the USA.
Speed + Power = KO
That’s the equation chalked on Kiwi David Tua’s wall as the build up to the Tua-Lewis fight continues. In this interview Tua promises to put that equation into practice. He also talks about the importance of…
Fine Vintage
1978 was a good year for wine in New Zealand. That’s when John Simes, now winemaker at Mission Hill in Okanagan, Canada, began his career. The Kiwi is one of the “trained and experienced winemakers” imported to…
Multiple murders
Anne Perry, formerly Juliet Hulme of the Parker/Hulme case, tours her latest novel Slaves of Obsession in the States. Perry has authored over thirty best-selling murder mysteries.
Guy Pearce’s Kiwi Dad
Yes, Guy is an Australian (he spent fours years on Neighbours to prove it), but his father was a New Zealander who tested planes for the Royal Air Force. Pearce, also Russell Crowe’s side-kick…
Kava Kafuffle
Unusual intoxicant attracts international notice. A Wellington man was picked up for driving erratically after consuming kava, a ceremonial drink in many Pacific Island communities.
High Stakes
Christchurch Casinos Limited and international affiliate CryptoLogic have debuted Kiwi Casino on the net. Punters drop their dollars surrounded by “the exotic sub-tropical rainforests of New Zealand”.
Edge into Growth
Canadian design guru Bruce Mau created “An incomplete Manifesto for Growth” in 1998. “The oddest thing I heard was that a New Zealand company had used the manifesto on its website,” says Mau.
