Miss Speaker …

Georgie Girl – the award-winning documentary on transsexual NZ MP Georgina Beyer – screened on American public television last month as part of the acclaimed Point of View (POV) documentary series….

NZ Ups the Anti

NZ joined the first wave of countries to sign the United Nations anti-tobacco treaty on June 16. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control aims to curb tobacco advertising and sponsorship, limit the…

Mrs Speaker …

“Just how a conservative and largely white electorate came to support an outspoken transgendered woman – of Maori (that is, indigenous non-white) descent, no less – is the story behind the remarkably…

NZ Firm on Pacific Principles

Drawing on NZ’s historical role in the setting up of the UN charter and as an advocate of multilateralism, Helen Clark (described as “one of Tony Blair’s closest foreign political…

Little Brother

New Zealand ranks near the top in an international index ‘Ranking the Rich’, published by Foreign Policy and the Centre for Global Development, gauging how rich nations help out poorer nations….

Frankly Fascinating

Mike Moore’s A World Without Walls hailed as a fascinating, candid and paradoxical account of ideals versus bureaucracies in Foreign Affairs magazine. “When all is said and done, believes democratically…

Nearest Neighbours Worlds Apart?

Gerard Henderson makes a pre-ANZAC Day assessment of current Aussie-Kiwi relations. “The Australia-NZ commercial relationship has never been healthier … However, the trans-Tasman economic co-operation has been accompanied by an increasing disagreement…

Protecting Shared Heritage

The NZ and Australian governments are making a combined application to the World Intellectual Property Organisation to protect the use of the word Anzac. Both countries have legislated against the unauthorised…

A View from the Right

Robert Darwall proffers an aggressive and provocative outsider analysis of NZ’s economic reforms in April’s Policy Review. “Steep cuts in welfare programs and the most radical shake-up of labor law outside Margaret…

NZ Provides Aid To Iraq

The NZ government is contributing NZ$3.3 million in humanitarian aid to war-torn Iraq. The announcement by Foreign Minister Phil Goff came just days after the U.S and its allies commenced war…

Mike Moore: A View from the Top

Former PM Mike Moore speaks to the Independent about his latest publication, A World Without Walls. The book deals with his experiences as director-general of the WTO; his greatest challenges, mistakes,…

Passengers May Remove Their Safety Belts?

The effects of war and the SARS crisis on tourism and travel may be looming for global airlines, but presently Air NZ is bucking the global downturn. The carrier recently reported…

Enough with the Pavlova War

“ANZAC sibling rivalry must end,” says High Court judge Michael Kirby. Kirby has proposed a common passport, currency and tax system to honour the 2015 centenary of Gallipoli. Visiting Australian Treasurer…

The Taxman Only Rings Once

An end to double-taxation in Australasia seems imminent after meetings between Australian Treasurer Peter Costello and NZ Minister of Finance Michael Cullen. The removal of “triangular-tax” is expected in the…

Clark Talks Creative Countries

New York Times interviews PM Helen Clark about her role as arts benefactress. As the self-appointed minister of “arts, culture and heritage,” Clark has given the creative industry a much-needed injection of…

A Breath of Fresh Air

The Human Rights Watch International Festival seems an unlikely place for a feel-good flick, but Georgie Girl is reportedly putting a smile on otherwise grim film-going faces. Boston Herald calls the…

A Strange Breed

“Because of the congenial climate and lack of pollution, Godzone politicians are generally taller and stronger than those cloned overseas. Nestled at the bottom of the world, gravity is stronger and…

“Not Just the Land of Lamb and Honey”

“It’s more than just a big farm in the South Pacific, it’s a modern, sophisticated economy with some real niche products.” Gulf Business cover feature highlights the increasingly diverse interaction between NZ…

These Boots Are Made for Walking … On

Dame Judith Mayhew will not seek re-election to her position as head of the City of London Corporation, claiming she is “doing too much.” She’s not joking either – see above…

“Read This and Weep Some More”

Anonymous Kiwi makes an impassioned plea to US citizens in the Baltimore Chronicle. “America dips its toes in the water and my nation gets flooded by a tidal wave ……

Bolger on Water

In a letter to the Times, ex-PM Jim Bolger cites the role of water in global tensions. Warning against letting War on Terror overshadow basic human needs, Bolger advocates a government-led…

“Go to the World Girls and Conquer It.”

“Top city dame teaches Brit woman a trick or two”: BBC News series on women in business profiles overachieving NZer and head of City of London, Dame Judith Mayhew.”For a glimpse of…

Branson to Fly NZ’s Friendly Skies?

Sir Richard Branson continues his upward trajectory in the world of aviation. Branson’s Australian domestic airline – Virgin Blue – is about to triple its fleet by purchasing 40 new jets….

On the Straight and Narrow Isles

A survey of 102 countries by German-based Transparency International found NZ to be one of the least corrupt states. The annual report claims “to reflect perceived levels of corruption among politicians…

Uncle Sam’s Head?

The sale of Te Kuri/Young Nick’s Head to an American financier has not escaped international notice. Symbolic for both Maori and European firsts (reputed to be the first land seen by…

Moore Free Trade?

Mike Moore, outgoing NZ director-general of the World Trade Organisation, makes an impassioned plea for wealthy nations to review their agricultural trade policies, arguing that subsidies are no help to poorer…

“No Place at the Table … but a Good Deal Across the Counter.”

NZ representative Paul Cotton responds to Greg Sheridan’s criticism of NZ’s independent defence stance in The Australian (20/7). As Cotton avers, “It doesn’t seem that the Kiwis are suffering too…

Clean and Green: Even Out of the Lab?

“The clean green reputation of NZ – an image worth millions, according to the environment industry – is under threat.” The GM issue continues to divide NZers, rearing its head in  the…

Pacific Protest

Yachts containing more than 50 protesters from NZ, Australia and Vanuatu confronted a ship carrying nuclear waste through the Tasman Sea from Britain to Japan. According to Greenpeace, the cargo contained…

“She’s a Go-getter and a Good Chap”

Georgina Beyer interviewed in the Independent in the wake of promoting Georgie Girl in Sydney. A mass of contradictions – “she might judge a sheep show one day, march in a…

“In a Faraway Land …”

“… the left prospers.” According to British Labour MP Austin Mitchell (author of The Half-gallon quarter Acre Pavlova Paradise) writing in the ‘Observations’ section of the New Statesman. “New Zealand stands…

New Zealand Zeal

Kiwi beats the Tigers: “Kiwi businesspeople often speak of their country as a cork floating on the sea of the world economy. At least their cork floats; so many other nations…

Where Are the Kingswoods?

The PMs of NZ, Australia and Canada, all of whom look to the Queen as head of state, were (apparently) extended “the minimum of courtesy” at her mother’s funeral. Seating plans,…

Rogernomics Resurfaces

He engineered some of the most radical and controversial reforms in New Zealand history, where efficiency clashed with social affect, and Roger Douglas is still a believer, giving his tuppence worth…

Georgie Girl

“Quintessentially NZ story” highlight of Sydney Film Fest. Annie Goldson’s “Georgie Girl” follows the edgy life of Georgina Beyer – the world’s first transsexual MP – from her days as…

God Defend Your Freeland

“This is your country and you have the power to change it and uphold all that is good and right. I am saddened to know that many do not vote…

Sirs and Dames or Sheilas and Cobbers?

Four NZers received our country’s highest award via the Queen’s jubilee year honours list. Those admitted to the Order of New Zealand were; ex-Governor General Dame Catherine Tizard, Auckland anthropologist and…

We’re All Royalists Here?

Miss representation? Put that portrait of the Queen back on the lounge wall: “All New Zealanders are royalists, not like the Aussies,” proclaims the Dame (Kiri te Kanawa). Perhaps this is…

Give Me Your Skilled, Your Entrepreneurial

Immigration issues are foremost in a feature interview with Helen Clark in The Bulletin. Clark contributes to the discussion about immigrants’ contribution to growth, or lack thereof, and muses on NZ’s…

For the People

Don’t cry for me Argentina. The BBC looks at the progress of KiwiBank: ” New Zealand, more often famed for its sheep population than its financial sector, is attempting to shake-up…

Off the Sheep’s Back?

The BBC looks at the changing iconic status and importance of the sheep to the New Zealand economy. Sheep numbers have fallen from 70 million to 40 million in the last…

Middle Line Management

NZ Reserve Bank governor Don Brash, has stepped down after 14 years in the top job as central banker to make a new career for himself as a politician. Widely regarded…

Under the Radar

A governmental mission to Australia led by PM Helen Clark aims to repair the damage done to already slack perception of NZ business (“yokels”) across the ditch by events such as…

Z-files: Conspiracy Theory

“Pretty unlikely”, is the way Helen Clark responds to allegations that her predecessor David Lange received death threats (“liquidate him”) from former US vice-pres Dan Quayle over his government’s anti-nuclear stance. …

“Come Together”

Wearing a traditional Maori cloak of native bird feathers, the Queen calls on New Zealanders to work together to resolve lingering differences between indigenous Maori and the Government. Elizabeth II was…

Progressive Governance

Prime Minister Helen Clark joins leaders of “third way” governments from five continents at a Progressive Governance Conference in Stockholm. “The post-September 11 environment requires not just a military response but much broader…

The B-list of Baaad Has an Axis to Grind

International relations satire: bitter after being snubbed for membership in the “Axis of Evil”, peer-conscious nations rush to gain triumvirate status in what becomes a game of geopolitical chairs: “Spain, Scotland…

“Names Will Never Hurt Me?”

Deputy PM Jim Anderton tells the Australian Government to stop its “insults”, after Aussie Defence Minister Robert Hill dubs New Zealand  “Tasmania”. “For God’s sake”, Anderton says,”we’re the closest neighbours to each…

Wading into a Globalisation Debate

Prospect (“Britain’s intelligent conversation”) hosts a debate between prominent LSE economist NZer Robert Wade and Martin Wolf over whether global inequality and poverty are actually getting worse. Wade: “At the heart…

Lessons From the Kiwi Experience

The Scotsman praises “small, proud” New Zealand – “the more the government intervenes in industry the less enterprise and boldness there is. By rolling back the frontiers of the state New…

Asian Free Trade Zone

Japan is keen to envelop New Zealand and Australia into its vision for an Asian free-trade zone in both trade and investment, and beyond into technology, education and tourism.  

World First

Associate finance minister Trevor Mallard is the first person to conduct a euro cash transaction, exchanging NZ dollars for new euro notes at Wellington’s airport.  

Hemorrhaging Talent

A disturbing survey of New Zealand’s graduating medical students reveals four out of five plan to depart overseas within two years. The survey makes clear the importance of addressing issues like…

Green Party Turns Red

The Green Party briefly turns red after the party swallows a report posing as part of a campaign to ban the substance Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO). Convinced it was genuine the party…

NZ Among Ten Most Competitive

New Zealand ranks amongst the ten most competitive countries in the world, according to a survey conducted by the World Economic Forum (WEF). New Zealand perches at #10 on the index,…

The Person is Political

Voters across the political spectrum have convinced Georgina Beyers not to quit politics after she said she was stepping down. “The fact that a transsexual, a former sex worker and a Labour…