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Activist Richard McLachlan Talks Tough on Climate
Since June, activist New Zealander Richard McLachlan, 68, regularly gives talks on the New York subway, warning riders “we are sleepwalking into a catastrophe”.
McLachlan is a member of
New Zealand the Small Country that Keeps on Top
For a country with a population under five million, its prowess on the sporting stage has always appeared to be disproportionate, James Master writes for CNN. Olympic champions in…
New Zealander Subject of UK Mental Health Exhibit
The Museum of Lost and Found Potential launches in London this week, marking World Mental Health Day with an exhibition that hopes to encourage empathy, action and even anger…
Chit-Chat Flows Easily in NZ but Does It in Europe?
“In New Zealand, small talk flows so easily, a ceaseless background banter you become inured to and engage in unthinkingly. And it often goes so much deeper than exchanging…
Barbara Wheeler, The First New Zealander to Become a Longwood Gardens Fellow
Dunedin horticulturist Barbara Wheeler is the first New Zealander to receive a fellowship from Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, one of the premier horticultural gardens in the United…
Anniversary of Cook’s Arrival Marked with Debate
The British government have expressed “regret” that explorers killed some of the first Māori they met 250 years ago but stopped short of issuing a full apology.
British High Commissioner…
Why Ihumātao Truly is a Piece of New Zealand’s Soul
“In a city that has destroyed or forgotten most of its past, fragments of Auckland’s deep histories still survive at Ihumātao,” history curator at the Auckland War Memorial Museum…
Helen Clark Lays Out Her Reasons for Legalising It
In an opinion piece for the UK’s Guardian newspaper, former prime minister and member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy Helen Clark explains why a ‘yes’ in next…
Tourists Banned from Swimming with Dolphins
Tourists have been banned from swimming with bottlenose dolphins in New Zealand in a bid to protect them from “being loved into extinction”. Chiaro Giordano reports for UK newspaper,…
Auckland Teen Snapped Up By Stanford University
One of New Zealand’s smartest teenagers is headed to the prestigious US university Stanford, in California. After Yang Fan Yun, 18, won the Prime Minister’s Award for the person…
Are Weka Slacking Off in Seed Dispersal?
Humans can be a terrible influence on birds. Crows that live near us end up with high cholesterol, sparrows screech to be heard over oil pumps, and instead of…
Vanishing Act of New Zealand’s Toheroa
People talk about toheroa like they’re a dream, because these days, they are, Naomi Arnold writes for travel site, Atlas Obscura. The big, delicious surf clams were once plentiful…
Clues for Brexit Future May Be Found Here
There may be insights for the UK on leaving the European Union without a deal from a long time ago on the other side of the world, Bloomberg economic…
Young Māori Women Stand up for Their Land
Five years ago, law graduate Pania Newton and her cousins got together around a kitchen table and agreed to do everything in their power to prevent a housing development…
Human-Sized Penguin Lived in New Zealand
The BBC reports on the findings of the remains of a giant penguin the size of a human that were discovered in Waipara, North Canterbury by amateur palaeontologist Leigh…
Study Provides Alarming Biodiversity Figures
“When humans arrived in New Zealand some 700 years ago, they discovered a plethora of unusual birds that could be found nowhere else in the world, having evolved in…
Fossils of Largest Ever Parrot Found in Otago
The fossils of an enormous parrot, estimated to have weighed about 7kg, have been found near Saint Bathans in Central Otago. The Guardian reports on the discovery.
Palaeontologists have named…
Herbs And Freedom Songs For The New Revolution
I’ve just returned from a full-on weekend in Auckland. I originally come from Timaru. My father used to say, on learning that I’d been in that city, “Did you…
All Black Brian Lochore One of Our Greatest Players
Former New Zealand captain and World Cup-winning coach Sir Brian Lochore has died aged 78, the BBC reports.
An All Blacks player between 1964 and 1971, he made 68 appearances…
England’s Ben Stokes Nominated for NZer of the Year
Christchurch-born Ben Stokes, 28, is already receiving award nominations for his match-winning role in England’s Cricket World Cup win – but not from who you would expect, BBC Sport…
Little Blue Penguins Stake Out Local Sushi Joint
When the police call saying there’s been an arrest at your business, it’s usually cause for concern, CNN correspondent Isabela Espadas Barros Leal writes. The owners of the Sushi…
Calcutta Celebrates Hillary@100: “Tales Of Man On Mission”
A celebration of the life and work of Sir Edmund Hillary in Calcutta on Saturday “remembered him with stories and anecdotes of not only as the mountaineer who became…
New Zealanders Turn over Their Guns
The first of more than 250 planned gun collections across New Zealand has been held in Christchurch. The buyback scheme was introduced after March mosque attacks in which 51…
New Zealand Ramps up Plans to Purge All Pests
There are strains on New Zealand’s environment. In this corner of the South Pacific, waterways are increasingly polluted and, from the suburbs to the alpine peaks, an untold army…
Stephen Hall Celebrates Manglish with New Book
New Zealand-born linguist Dr Stephen Hall and his English language specialist wife Dr Lee Su Kim have teamed up to record a very unique number of colloquialisms in their…
Fighting the Darkest Corners of the Web
New Zealand has worked hard to keep the name of the man charged with killing 51 Muslims in Christchurch, out of the news, and to restrict the spread online…
Emma Rigby First New Zealander to Win UK Award
Rotorua woman Emma Rigby, 41, has become the first ever New Zealander to receive the British Citizens Award, which she was presented with at the Palace of Westminster in London…
New Zealand Gave a Home and Hope to Abbas Nazari
Abbas Nazari was stranded on a ship in the Indian Ocean when he first heard the words “New Zealand”, Dunedin-based journalist Eleanor Ainge Roy writes for UK newspaper, The…
“The Maori Model” Hailed As Investment Blueprint For Reconciliation
Bloomberg reports from Wellington on the investment record of South Island Maori tribe Ngai Tahu https://www.ngaitahuholdings.co.nz/, turning a $170 million government compensation payment into a $2 billion asset…
Alan Wendt on Job as PM’s Sign Language Interpreter
Alan Wendt is the first interpreter to be regularly employed by a New Zealand prime minister – and he has had a busy year, according to Dunedin-based journalist Eleanor…
Edmund Hillary Fellows Encourage Bold and Humble Leaders
“A verdant Burning Man with lots more global utopianism” is how American business columnist and Elon Musk biographer Ashlee Vance describes on Bloomberg.com the experimental New Zealand Global…
Malcolm Black: We Remember Your Smile (1961-2019)
Malcolm Black ONZM, leader singer of the early 1980s anthemic band Netherworld Dancing Toys from Dunedin, died in Auckland on May 10, 2019, aged 58, of cancer diagnosed 18…
Pua Magasiva, Actor (1980-2019)
Popular television actor Pua Magasiva died on May 11, 2019 aged 38. Born in Samoa but raised in New Zealand, Magasiva played the Red Ranger in 2003’s Power…
Perfectly Preserved Moa Prints Discovered
Michael Johnston was out taking his boss’s dog for a dip in a nearby river in Ranfurly, when he stumbled across some unusual markings in the waterbed. Jonathan Ore…
Te Papa’s Te Taiao Nature an Urgent Call to Action
Dunedin-based Guardian journalist Eleanor Ainge Roy writes on Te Papa’s biggest development since its inception 21 years ago, the result of the largest ever investment in a museum exhibition…
Review: Marilyn Waring The Political Years
Marilyn Waring’s forensic record of her Parliamentary career (Marilyn Waring: The Political Years Bridget Williams Books) is a layered work, a primer in the travails…
Climate Change A Critical Issue – NZ US Ambassador
Climate change is a critical issue for New Zealand and the Pacific island region as a whole given its exposure to extreme weather events, says New Zealand’s ambassador to…
Coffin Clubs Take Sting out of Death
Across New Zealand, a country of almost 5 million, five major groups like the one Judith Aitken joined in Hastings have sprung up in recent years for people wanting…
Jacinda Ardern: How To Stop The Next Christchurch Massacre
In a New York Times op-ed, PM Jacinda Ardern calls for the reform of social media, saying that the right to freedom of expression “does not include the freedom…
World’s First Māori Woman Bishop Elected
The Archbishops of the Anglican Church in New Zealand have elected the world’s first Māori woman Bishop, Radio New Zealand reports. Archdeacon Waitohiariki Quayle has been appointed Bishop of…
Government Switch for Gabriel Makhlouf
The New Zealand government’s chief economic and financial advisor Gabriel Makhlouf has landed the role of new Central Bank Governor in Ireland. The Irish Independent reports on the appointment.
The…
Liddell Says U.S. Government Digital Assets Vital for Unleashing Innovation
The U.S. government has a critical role in working with the private sector to harness emergent technologies such as 5G, quantum computing, AI, advanced manufacturing and synthetic biology, says…
Campaigners Demand Justice for Blair Peach
Campaigners are demanding a fresh inquiry into the death of New Zealand-born protester Blair Peach during a demonstration held to prevent the National Front (NF) holding a meeting in…
National Geographic Features the Whanganui River
Swelled by myriad tributaries, the Whanganui River twists like an eel through mountainous country – part of it a national park – on its 289-km journey to the sea,…
Prince William Embodies Diana During Emotional Visit to NZ
The Duke of Cambridge was in New Zealand for a two-day tour to meet survivors of the Christchurch terrorist attacks that killed 50 people last month, and travelled to Auckland…
New Zealanders Flock to Live in the Regions
Auckland is the seventh most expensive city in the world to buy a home, and all three of New Zealand’s major cities are considered “severely unaffordable” by the latest…
Oprah Hails Jacinda Ardern’s Response to Tragedy
Many have praised New Zealand’s prime minister’s compassionate leadership following a terror attack that killed at least 50 worshippers at a mosque in Christchurch in March. Among those who…
Rugby Australia’s Raelene Castle on Equality
In a perfect world there would be no need for this conversation and the role women play in sport would not be addressed as a separate issue, “but we’re…
Jacinda Ardern One of World’s Greatest Leaders
The Fortune magazine’s sixth annual leaders list “is the home of the brave”. “These thinkers, speakers, and doers make bold choices and…
Egg Shortage as Farmers Scramble to Go Free-Range
New Zealand is in the grip of an egg shortage as the industry undergoes a massive period of disruption while it transitions to free-range farming. The Guardian reports.
The shortage…
Record-Breaking Breeding Season for the Kākāpō
The world’s fattest species of parrot, the kākāpō, has had a record-breaking breeding season in New Zealand, with scientists saying the fortunes of the critically-endangered bird are finally turning…
Teen Charlie O’Brien Breaks Swinging World Record
After 32 hours, Taradale High School student Charlie O’Brien, 16, has broken the world record for longest non-stop marathon on a swing.
O’Brien was allowed a five-minute break for every…
NZ Passes Law Banning Most Semiautomatic Weapons
“Less than a month after 50 Muslim worshipers in the city of Christchurch were fatally shot in terrorist attacks on two mosques, New Zealand passed a law banning most…
Why Some of Our Famous Flightless Birds Can’t Fly
University of Otago researchers in association with colleagues from Harvard University have discovered new evidence of what made some of New Zealand’s iconic birds such as the kiwi and…
Six Kiwis Make Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2019
“For the fourth year in a row, our team at Forbes Asia has been scouting the Asia-Pacific region in search for 300 outstanding individuals to highlight in the annual…
PM Jacinda Ardern Discusses Global Scrutiny
Optimism is baked into Jacinda Ardern’s character, Spinoff editor Toby Manhire writes in a feature about the prime minister published in The Guardian. At school, her mother once revealed,…
