World’s Newest Cat Cafe
The world’s latest cat café has opened in Auckland. At BaristaCats café on Queen Street cat lovers can enjoy a hot drink and a cuddle with the café’s resident cats for only NZ$15 cat…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
New Zealand Launches Smart Recycling Program for Soft Plastics
A new Soft Plastics Recycling Program that could keep over four million plastic bags out of the landfill has been launched in Auckland by Environment Minister Nick Smith last week. Whether or not the program…
Why New Zealand Shouldn’t Be a State of Australia
The Australia liberal senator Ian Macdonald has caused a media ruckus joking that New Zealand should become Australia’s “seventh and eighth state”. Guardian correspondent Eleanor Roy, who is “half Aussie, half Kiwi”, explains that…
NZ Launches Online Simulation for International Drivers
The Automobile Association New Zealand (AA) has launched an online driving simulator for international drivers on Wednesday. The online programme can be accessed on the AA website for free. “It will help inform visiting drivers, improve…
Vietnam and New Zealand Sign Cooperation Agreements
“Vietnam and New Zealand have signed several cooperation agreements during a visit by Prime Minister John Key to Hanoi as they seek to double bilateral trade in the next five years”, as reported in…
New Zealand Student’s Speech Goes Viral
A New Zealand student’s emotional valedictory speech has gone viral online with more than 170,000 views. 18-year-old Jake Bailey, who had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in his final year…
Legatum Institute Releases Annual Global Prosperity Index
The London based Legatum Institute has released its annual global Prosperity Index, that ranks 142 countries according to their prosperity. New Zealand has been listed on rank four. “Strong social cohesion and community…
Adele Rickerby Keeps Her Romanian Promise
New Zealander Adele Rickerby had to overcome a number of limitations to adopt a Romanian baby in the 1990s. After she semi-retired, due to back surgery, she found the peace and time to sit…
Replacing the Union Jack Flag, but With What?
The idea of replacing New Zealand’s flag, a blue banner with Britain’s Union Jack in the upper left quadrant and the four stars of the Southern Cross in red on the right, has percolated…
Wrestling with Wellington’s Wild Weather
The wind speed in this breeziest of cities Wellington once hit 247kmph at Hawkins Hill in 1962, but it’s not as bad as it sounds – 62 turbines generate the city’s electricity, while air…
ACL Launch Auckland City Limits Festival
“The Austin City Limits Festival now has a sibling in the southern hemisphere as organizers announced Wednesday the launch of Auckland City Limits in New Zealand”, writes Michael Theis for the Austin…
Air New Zealand Unveils New Auckland International Lounge
Air New Zealand has unveiled a new international lounge in Auckland, which can seat more than 375 customers comfortably and is significantly larger than the old lounge. The new modern Auckland lounge was designed by…
An Irish Emigrant Living Life in Two Parts
Lower Hutt asthma nurse educator Alice Paul tries to retain her identity as an Irish person, but says she is also “a new New Zealander eager to fit in.” Paul tells the Irish Times…
Plain Language Expert Lynda Harris Earns Award
Plain language expert Lynda Harris (pictured centre) has won the Christine Mowat Plain Language Achievement Award at a conference in Ireland, the first New Zealander to win the prestigious prize. The founder and chief executive…
New Zealand’s Record Number of Immigrants
Over the last year New Zealand’s visitor numbers have increased by 7% to 3.02 million a year. Data from Statistics New Zealand also shows a record-setting net gain in migrants – mostly from Australia,…
We’re All Thinking Number One
Just about every famous New Zealander, including Lorde, the Flight of the Conchords, Kimbra and Shihad’s Jon Toogood, have packed into Neil Finn’s studio to record Team Ball Player Thing, a fundraising effort for…
Christchurch Returning to Cycling Roots
After the 2011 earthquake, Christchuch residents were asked what they wanted from the city once known as ‘Cyclopolis’. They demanded a greener, more people-focused city – and investment in new cycleways means it is…
New Zealand Launches First Chinese Language Week
New Zealand’s first Chinese Language Week has been launched from September 7 until September 13 and will be celebrated during the second week of September each year to coincide with the Chinese Moon Festival. “Learning…
New Zealand Launches Currency Notes
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has launched new banknotes with new security features, which will go into circulation later this year. “The polymer notes are striking in their design and innovative in their security with the…
Final Designs for New Zealand’s New Flag Chosen
“For more than a century, New Zealanders have fought wars and won Olympic medals under a flag with four red stars on a blue background and Great Britain’s Union Jack in the corner”, writes…
New Anchor Campaign Celebrates New Zealand’s Finest Exports
Last weekend’s Bledisloe Cup test saw the launch of Anchor’s new campaign, which acknowledges the huge contribution farming has made to building the nation, the dairy industry and the All Blacks. The campaign features both…
New Zealand Explains Haka to Turkey in Gesture of Goodwill at Chunuk Bair
“A haka has been performed at a Gallipoli commemoration service for the first time in years after Turkish concerns about “offensive” gestures were resolved”, writes Lloyd Jones for The Sydney Morning Herald. Before the New Zealand…
NZ Announces 40 Potential New Flag Designs
A shortlist with 40 flag proposals has been released by New Zealand’s Flag Consideration Panel after reviewing over 10,000 design submissions. “A great flag should be distinctive and so simple it can be…
Prince Charles Made Honorary Head of NZ Defence
Prince Charles has been appointed Admiral of the Fleet of the Royal New Zealand Navy, Field Marshal of the Army and Marshal of the Air Force. “These appointments recognise the consistent and strong support Prince…
New Zealand’s First Cat Cafe
“There’s nothing quite like sitting down to a cup of tea with a cat on your lap. These days, with the advent of cat cafes, you don’t even need your own cat to experience…
New Zealand’s Most Trusted Brands Revealed; Whittaker’s Chocolates Tops the List
Whittaker’s has been chosen as New Zealand’s most trusted brand in the annual Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands survey, which ranked New Zealand’s top 10 trusted brands, 40 category winners and top…
School Performs Emotional Haka at Teacher’s Funeral
Students and teachers of Palmerston North Boys’ High School have paid tribute to their beloved and long-serving teacher Dawson Tamatea at his funeral. The entire school performed a traditional Haka as the hearse carrying Mr…
New Zealander Wins French Scrabble Championship Despite Not Speaking French
New Zealander Nigel Richards has won the French Scrabble championships even though “his command of the language (…) stretches to “bonjour” and being able to count”. Richards, who has been called the Tiger Woods of…
Lecretia’s Fight Lives On
The case brought by terminally ill New Zealand lawyer Lecretia Seales has become part of the larger worldwide right-to-die debate. A feature story in the June 27, 2015, edition of The Economist…
How Elk Farmer Thom Van Eeghen Became Canadian
Ottawa elk farmer Thom Van Eeghen, “a landed immigrant from New Zealand”, explains how he became a Canadian, and what he thinks Canada should do to celebrate the country’s 150th birthday in 2017. “I came…
Queenstown Airport to Open New International Terminal
“New Zealand’s Queenstown Airport (…) is turning to be the busiest and the fastest-growing in the country (and) is set to become the third bigger as it opens the new international terminal”, writes Kalyan…
New Zealand Elderly Protected from Crisis as Income Gap Widens
“Income inequality has risen in most OECD countries” in the last 30 years and the age profile of poverty has shifted “with young people replacing the elderly as the group most at risk of…
Why Kiwis Just Know How to Tell a Killer Story
“The best in Auckland town tell us why Kiwi storytellers are simply irresistible to global audiences” says global creative advertising site The Little Black Book in a series of posts on Auckland. Dave…
Lecretia Seales’ death comes amidst growing momentum for euthanasia
Dutch euthanasia expert Rob Jonquiere hopes the death of New Zealander Lecretia Seales, an advocate who has died from brain cancer, will bring about a law change. Seales, 42, died from natural causes, just hours…
McCullum and Hesson Honoured for New Zealand Success
New Zealand Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum and the team’s coach Mike Hesson have been appointed Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit (NZOM) in the Queen Elizabeth II Birthday Honours list released…
New Zealanders Have High Sense of Meaning in Their Lives
83 percent of New Zealanders are highly satisfied with their lives while 87 percent feel a high sense of purpose or meaning in their lives, according to a recent survey conducted by…
Air NZ Completes Sydney Lounge Refurbishment
Air New Zealand has completed the refurbishment of its Sydney Airport lounge with Auckland, Brisbane and Queenstown to follow as part of a $40 million lounge refurbishment program. “The key thing for us though is…
Strongest New Home Figures for Almost a Decade
The latest official figures show that the house building rate in New Zealand has increased to the strongest in the last nine years with around 25,000 new building consents a year. Auckland and Christchurch are…
Maori Water Rights up for Debate
“Unlike many countries,” The Economist reports, “New Zealand is blessed with abundant fresh water. Its temperate climate, regular rainfall over much of the country, and thousands of lakes and rivers ensure a…
Fifteen Quirky Contenders for a New NZ Flag
New Zealand is appealing to the public to design and vote on a new flag. The Guardian features 15 examples that are are “as weird and wonderful as you’d expect.” “There’s an internet joke, perpetuated…
New Zealand – One of the World’s Most Peaceful, Least Corrupt Countries
New Zealand has repeatedly been ranked as one of the Top 4 most peaceful countries in the world by the Global Peace Index as well as the second least corrupt country by…
New Zealand Listed As One Of The Hardest Countries to Invade
New Zealand, alongside Switzerland and Russia, has been listed as one of the hardest countries in the world to invade. The humorous article in The Independent cited New Zealand’s geographic inaccessibility as the…
New Zealand Property Boom Attracts Overseas Buyers
Auckland’s beaches, clean air and environmentally friendly image are clear selling points for foreign property investors. There is no stamp duty or capital gains tax in New Zealand, which makes the country’s property market a…
NZ an Appealing Choice for 30-Something Singaporeans
New Zealand is becoming an ever more popular choice for Singaporeans in their early 30s looking to emigrate, choosing our country for its space, value for money, healthcare and cost of living. Freelance journalist Surekha…
Air New Zealand Celebrates 75 Years of Flying
Air New Zealand, turns back the clock to the 1940s and is taking passengers back to where it all began to celebrate their 75 years of flying. “Air New Zealand’s first flight (on…
Auckland May Well Be the World’s Edgiest City
Innovation happens on the edge and “you cannot get more on the edge than New Zealand,” according to the CEO of Auckland’s economic development group Brett O’Riley. Auckland may be New Zealand’s biggest city but…
Contemplating the Rebuilding of Christchurch Cathedral
“Henry John Chitty Harper was the first bishop of Christchurch. He battled to build the Anglican cathedral that, for more than a century, was the city’s centrepiece, its greatest landmark and an inspiration behind…
New Zealand’s Economy on a Seven – Year High
New Zealand’s economy is on a seven-year high with 3.3 percent growth in the last year and the size of the economy growing to 238 billion New Zealand dollars in 2014. In comparison Australia…
Sharon Van Etten’s surprise performance leaves John Campbell in tears
John Campbell’s colleagues surprised the New Zealand news anchor with the ultimate music fan experience: his very own personal Sharon Van Etten show. Because of his demanding work schedule, Campbell was unable to attend a…
New Zealand’s English Has a Distinct Linguistic Identity
“New Zealand English is like English, but different. And it’s developing in a direction all of its own,” according to New Zealand copywriter Sam O’Flaherty in a piece for the Guardian. “Tumeke!” “Enough about the…
Join the Red Nosed Kiwi Coffee Caravan
Caravan Coffee Roasters, set up by New Zealand chef Miles Kirby with Kiwi friends Laura Harper-Hinton and Chris Ammerman, has launched Coffee Relief to support this year’s Red Nose Day. From the…
Planting Trees in Public Spaces Leads to Healthier Society
University of Canterbury research has suggested that planting trees in public places could lead to a healthier society. The university research analysed the activities of 12,500 New Zealanders and found people living near parks and…
How Irish Zoologist Suzanne Burns Fell in Love with NZ
There are many “weird, wild and wonderful aspects to living in New Zealand” that have made Irish woman Suzanne Burns, 40, fall “hopelessly in love with the country.” Burns, a zoologist and wildlife guide…
Arbitration Stars Audley Sheppard and Wendy Miles Made QCs
New Zealand arbitrators, Clifford Chance construction disputes partner Audley Sheppard (pictured) and Boies Schiller & Flexner partner Wendy Miles, feature among the five leading solicitors on the latest Queen’s Counsel list in England and…
Tabby Besley to Be Honoured by the Queen for LGBTI Advocacy
At just 22, Tabby Besley is set to be honoured by the Queen for her work for the LGBTI community, the only New Zealander to be awarded the inaugural Queen’s Young Leader award, a…
Air New Zealand One of World’s Safest Airlines
Of 449 airlines monitored by the aviation website AirlineRatings.com, Air New Zealand makes the Top 10 safest for 2015 based on aviation governing body audits and airline incident records, among other factors. AirlineRatings.com’s rating…
