News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Wellington NZ Opens Doors To Tech Talent

Wellington NZ Opens Doors To Tech Talent

Wellington is welcoming tech talent from around the globe with a bold new recruitment initiative, LookSee Wellington, which launches this week and is aiming to address the city’s IT skills shortage. The…

Everything Wrong with the NZ Doomsday Survival Plan

Everything Wrong with the NZ Doomsday Survival Plan

“You know things are getting risky when billionaires start making plans to flee to New Zealand on the off chance civilization might collapse,” writes Outside magazine contributing editor Wes Siler. “The thing is, despite…

Peter Thiel’s Middle Earth Citizenship Dream Revealed

Peter Thiel’s Middle Earth Citizenship Dream Revealed

Silicon Valley tech pioneer, Donald Trump advocate, and newish New Zealander Peter Thiel has generated international headlines for the revelation that he was granted New Zealand citizenship in 2011. Thiel first visited New Zealand…

Push for More Electric Cars on NZ Roads

Push for More Electric Cars on NZ Roads

Energy and Resources Minister Judith Collins said the Government would set aside $2.5m to help stimulate the electric-vehicle market in the country. “The funding will provide up to 50 per cent funding for projects that…

Volunteer Sue Thompson’s Cambodian Recipe of Hope

Volunteer Sue Thompson’s Cambodian Recipe of Hope

New Zealander Sue Thompson arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia in July for four days, but stayed on in the city, opening the Kitchen of Hope which provides 100 vegetarian meals to needy children and…

Robin Hammond Trans Image on Cover of Nat Geo

Robin Hammond Trans Image on Cover of Nat Geo

New Zealand-born photojournalist Robin Hammond’s image of transgender girl Avery Jackson, 9, has made the cover of the January 2017 special issue of National Geographic magazine on the shifting landscape of gender. Avery, from Kansas…

On the Hunt for Illegal Gold Miners

On the Hunt for Illegal Gold Miners

Prospecting for gold in the South Island is growing in popularity by the year, but amateurs looking for a quick fortune can damage the environment, according to Guardian correspondent Eleanor Ainge Roy. When travelling up…

Kaitaia Begins the Fight of Its Life

Kaitaia Begins the Fight of Its Life

Kaitaia has seen four homicides and six suicides in a single year. Now the locals are trying to save their community. The Guardian’s Eleanor Ainge Roy reports on how the remote community of 5000…

Wellington Airport One Of World’s Most Beautiful Airport Terminals

Wellington Airport One Of World’s Most Beautiful Airport Terminals

Wellington International Airport has been featured in a Guardian article that highlights the world’s most beautiful airport terminals. “Created by Studio Pacific Architecture and Warren & Mahoney, this airport, nicknamed ‘the Rock’, was…

2016 To Be New Zealand’s Hottest Year On Record

2016 To Be New Zealand’s Hottest Year On Record

“New Zealand is emitting more than seven times our fair share of greenhouse gases per person,” says Green Party co-leader James Shaw in response to a First Post report that 2016 will…

New Zealand’s Secret Santa Matches Social Media Strangers

New Zealand’s Secret Santa Matches Social Media Strangers

“A New Zealand-wide secret Santa in which complete strangers send each other gifts in the post has had a bumper season, processing more than 2,000 presents in its Auckland hub, writes Eleanor Ainge Roy…

Air NZ Gives Winter Wonderland A Summer Makeover

Air NZ Gives Winter Wonderland A Summer Makeover

Ronan Keating and New Zealand child actor Julian Dennison, known from Hunt for the Wilderpeople, “have joined forces with Air New Zealand to give a classic Christmas carol a fresh, sunny twist”, writes Hannah…

Creative Activities Can Boost Well-Being

Creative Activities Can Boost Well-Being

“Everyday creative activities like writing poetry or making new recipes can boost well-being as well as creativity in young adults” according to a study conducted by New Zealand’s University of Otago, reports…

Rescue Under Way For Thousands Stranded By New Zealand Earthquake

Rescue Under Way For Thousands Stranded By New Zealand Earthquake

Following Monday’s 7.5 earthquake near Hanmer Springs on New Zealand’s South Island, which saw two people dead and several injured, “military helicopters and a navy ship dispatched to coastal town of Kaikoura with buildings…

Ritz-Carlton Coming to Auckland

Ritz-Carlton Coming to Auckland

The Ritz Carlton will open an Auckland Hotel come 2019, reports Chris Chamberlin in an article in the Australian Business Traveller. “We have long desired to bring The Ritz-Carlton to New Zealand and…

Tall Ship Celebrates Tenacious Sailors

Tall Ship Celebrates Tenacious Sailors

New Zealander Paul Shaw was a keen sailor until an accident 28 years ago left him in a wheelchair. Then he heard about the Tenacious, a tall ship run by a UK charity, so…

Downside to NZ’s Booming Manuka Honey Industry

Downside to NZ’s Booming Manuka Honey Industry

The global craze for manuka, highly valued for its medicinal properties, has created a gold rush in rural New Zealand that some believe is rapidly spiralling out of control, Eleanor Ainge Roy reports in…

How to Dad Jordan Watson Recommends Chilling

How to Dad Jordan Watson Recommends Chilling

On the How to Dad YouTube channel, shaggy-haired, bearded and bare foot 28-year-old Aucklander Jordan Watson offers “instructional” videos on how to be a parent – with the help of his two young daughters,…

Everything to Do with Jean Batten Is Gendered

Everything to Do with Jean Batten Is Gendered

New Zealander Jean Batten was the most celebrated aviatrix of the 1930s. Nicknamed the “Garbo of the Skies” for her movie-star glamour, she appeared on newspaper front pages the world over, and drew adoring…

Tribal Huks Force Out Ngaruawahia Meth Dealers

Tribal Huks Force Out Ngaruawahia Meth Dealers

The ominous deadline set by the Tribal Huks gang for methamphetamine dealers to leave Ngaruawahia has expired and it showed with the streets left empty last week. Tattooed members of the notorious gang wearing…

Should We Stay Or Should We Go

Should We Stay Or Should We Go

For much of the past 50 years, Australia was the big, brash neighbour with so much to offer – and New Zealanders came in droves. But now it seems the tide is turning, author…

New Zealand’s Summer Cruise Season

New Zealand’s Summer Cruise Season

New Zealand’s 2016-17 summer cruise season “will welcome a record number of ships, including many first-time visitors, most notably the biggest vessel ever to sail in local waters, the 4,180-passenger Ovation of the Seas,…

Elderly New Zealanders Building Their Own Caskets

Elderly New Zealanders Building Their Own Caskets

Quilting, lawn bowls and bridge it is not. Elderly people in New Zealand are enthusiastically embracing a new pastime: coffin construction, providing retirees with new friends and, ultimately, cheaper funerals, Eleanor Ainge Roy reports…

BMW to Help Build NZ’s Electric Vehicle “Highway”

BMW to Help Build NZ’s Electric Vehicle “Highway”

German automaker BMW has partnered with national charging network Charge Net NZ to help “build an electric highway of fast-charging stations to help overcome one of the main obstacles to electric vehicle uptake”, as…

Peter Jackson Eyes NZ Island For Tourism Project

Peter Jackson Eyes NZ Island For Tourism Project

“Peter Jackson, the man you know as the spirited angel who bestowed cinematic genius upon the world in the form of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, is set to inspire more tourism interest…

Homesick Kiwis Can Now Call a Hotline

Homesick Kiwis Can Now Call a Hotline

With Travel Insurance Direct homesick New Zealanders can now call a hotline (+64-9930-3377), where they are greeted with a joyful New Zealand accent and can hear the familiar sounds of their homeland, writes Jordi…

NZ to Fund Child Sport Development in Pacific

NZ to Fund Child Sport Development in Pacific

New Zealand will fund a five-year initiative aimed at getting more children in Pacific island countries to play sport according to Prime Minister John Key, reports the Daily Mail. The multi-million dollar programme…

NZ & Canada Sign Co-Production Treaty

NZ & Canada Sign Co-Production Treaty

New Zealand and Canada have “signed a co-production treaty that will allow enhanced film and TV industry cooperation between the two English-speaking territories,” writes Patrick Frater for Variety. “The treaty was signed…

How Oamaru Became Steampunk Capital of the World

How Oamaru Became Steampunk Capital of the World

Oamaru “used to be known for its population of blue penguins and having the best-preserved collection of Victorian architecture in the country”, writes Eleanor Ainge Roy for The Guardian. In 2010 the…

Tonic for Brits Seeking to Cure Brexit Blues

Tonic for Brits Seeking to Cure Brexit Blues

It boasts spectacular scenery, a temperate climate and a labour shortage in key areas, but New Zealand’s most appealing attribute, according to the New Zealand Herald, may be that it is “18,000km from Boris…

Stratford-Upon-Avon CEO Role for Justin Williams

Stratford-Upon-Avon CEO Role for Justin Williams

Justin Williams, a New Zealander who has worked across the spectrum of commercial, not-for-profit and charity sectors both in Britain and his native country, has just taken up a new role as chief executive…

NZ Is the Hottest New Spot for Vacation Homes

NZ Is the Hottest New Spot for Vacation Homes

“Auckland has replaced Toronto as the most popular luxury market for wealthy individuals who are looking to buy a second home, according to a report from Christie’s International Real Estate,” writes Christopher Tkaczyk in…

Air NZ Invites James Corden to Host Cockpit Karaoke

Air NZ Invites James Corden to Host Cockpit Karaoke

Air New Zealand has invited Carpool Karaoke host James Corden for a round of cockpit karaoke with “a genuinely funny pitch,” as reported in Travel+Leisure. “Hey James Corden, we’ve got a pitch for…

New Zealand Connects To Ultra-Fast Broadband

New Zealand Connects To Ultra-Fast Broadband

“More than one million households, businesses, schools, and hospitals in New Zealand are now connected to the government’s Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) services,” reports Eden Estopace for EnterpriseInnovation.net. “This means 2.4 million New Zealanders…

New Zealand’s ‘ATM for Mood Deposits’

New Zealand’s ‘ATM for Mood Deposits’

A cash machine-like terminal that asks people about their feelings instead of dispensing money has been installed in New Zealand city Whangarei as part of an art project called Moodbank, as reported in an…

How To Dad Shows Parents How to Get Out the Door With Kids In The Morning

How To Dad Shows Parents How to Get Out the Door With Kids In The Morning

“When you have young children in tow, getting fed, dressed and on the road in the morning can be hard,” writes Josh Hanrahen for the Daily Mail. Daddy blogger How To Dad has…

NZ Retirement Home Residents Shake It Off

NZ Retirement Home Residents Shake It Off

A group of 50 New Zealand retirees have “done their own take on Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off video, adding only the occasional local, and age-appropriate, touches such as frenetic cupcake dusting,”…

Heart Kids: Saving Babies’ Lives

Heart Kids: Saving Babies’ Lives

(Sponsored Content) “Heart Kids, the only charity supporting children suffering from congenital heart defects, is teaming up with dairy company Yashili to help the lives of many of the 12 babies born each week…

Rhys Darby and Anna Faris in Air New Zealand’s Latest Safety Video

Rhys Darby and Anna Faris in Air New Zealand’s Latest Safety Video

Kiwi comedian Rhys Darby has teamed up with Hollywood actress Anna Faris to play a multitude of ridiculous characters in Air New Zealand’s latest safety video, Safety in Hollywood as reported in

Personhood Designation Granted to Te Urewera

Personhood Designation Granted to Te Urewera

Former national park Te Urewera has been granted personhood with Whanganui River expected to receive the same status soon, the New York Times reports in a feature about the “undoubtedly legally revolutionary” decision. The unusual…

Awaroa Beach Bought by Crowdfunding given to Public

Awaroa Beach Bought by Crowdfunding given to Public

The pristine Awaroa Beach in the Abel Tasman National Park bought through a crowdfunding campaign for almost $2.3 million has been handed to its new owners – the public, becoming part of the Department…

Top NZ Firm Fletchers Seeks British Building Pros

Top NZ Firm Fletchers Seeks British Building Pros

“Fletcher Construction, is calling out for senior British construction leaders to help it deliver the largest infrastructure programme in the nation’s history,” as reported in the Global Construction Review. “I have never seen so much…

NZ Police Officers Show Off Hip Hop Moves

NZ Police Officers Show Off Hip Hop Moves

A group of New Zealand police officers have stunned a crowd by busting out an impressive hip hop dance routine in a surprise appearance at the Hip Hop Unite New Zealand championships on Saturday,…

Kaitangata Launches Drive to Recruit Outsiders

Kaitangata Launches Drive to Recruit Outsiders

The tiny picturesque town of Kaitangata in the South Island has a unique problem – too many jobs, too many affordable houses and not enough people to fill them, the Guardian reports. So the…

NZ Fashion Stars Work Together to Raise Awareness of Family Abuse

NZ Fashion Stars Work Together to Raise Awareness of Family Abuse

“Earlier this year, three-year-old New Zealand boy Moko Rangitoheriri passed away following days of horrific abuse at the hands of a family friend,” writes Wendy Syfret for Vice. Following his death “a collection…

Denis O’Reilly Reviews ’64 Shots: Leadership in a Crazy World’

Denis O’Reilly Reviews ’64 Shots: Leadership in a Crazy World’

64 Shots- leadership in a crazy world. Kevin Roberts, Chairman Saatchi & Saatchi. New York: Power House Books. The locus of this new book by Kevin Roberts is the here-and-now of a volatile, uncertain, complex,…

Aljazeera Investigates Behind the Wire

Aljazeera Investigates Behind the Wire

New Zealand has one of the highest incarceration rates in the Western world, and more than half of the prison population is Maori. Aljazeera journalist Aaron Smale goes inside to find out why and…

Kiwi Family Turn Bus Into House Bus to Travel Full-Time

Kiwi Family Turn Bus Into House Bus to Travel Full-Time

After being trapped during the Christchurch earthquake, New Zealand couple Andy and Amber Cleverley ditched their house for a house bus, in which they want to travel around New Zealand with their children, as…

New Zealand Ranked 4th Most Peaceful Country

New Zealand Ranked 4th Most Peaceful Country

New Zealand has been ranked the fourth most peaceful country in the 2016 Global Peace Index, produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace. It was identified as the most peaceful country in the…

Rob Cope Thumbing His Way Across US with a Fridge

Rob Cope Thumbing His Way Across US with a Fridge

People travel across the United States in several different ways; some by bus, plane or car – some even hitchhike their way from place to place. But 42-year-old Wellington builder Rob Cope decided to hitchhike…

Yashili NZ Launch Fundraising Campaign for Heart Kids

Yashili NZ Launch Fundraising Campaign for Heart Kids

Yashili New Zealand Dairy Company have partnered with Chinese master pianist Lang Lang as part of a fundraising campaign for Heart Kids to support children living with congenital heart conditions. As the event…

Evelyn Marsters Reflects on Her Move to Berlin

Evelyn Marsters Reflects on Her Move to Berlin

“It’s typical of the psyche of those born in a small island country to want to spend time overseas, to absorb firsthand the life we have been exposed to in our books and across…

NZ Police Releases Unique Recruitment Video

NZ Police Releases Unique Recruitment Video

The New Zealand Police have released yet another unique recruitment video as part of their “Do You Care Enough to be a Cop” initiative. The clip shows a drunken man trying to ride his…

Stunning Kiwi Model Sets Out To Inspire Others

Stunning Kiwi Model Sets Out To Inspire Others

Jessica Quinn, who lost part of her leg, “is determined to challenge the modeling industry as to what is perceived as beautiful,” writes Leigh Campbell for The Huffington Post Australia. As a child,…

Tash Pericic Takes 10 in New Croatia Eco Push

Tash Pericic Takes 10 in New Croatia Eco Push

New Zealander Tash Pericic, who lives in Split, Croatia, is the founder of the TAKE 10 initiative – whereby when you are out for a walk, you take 10 pieces of rubbish, or take…

Kiwi Blogger Shares Travelling With Toddler Tips

Kiwi Blogger Shares Travelling With Toddler Tips

In an amusing video popular Kiwi blogger How to Dad has shared his tips for travelling with a baby. His clip, which has been viewed over 13,400 times, shows a variety of techniques…