NZEDGE Politics & Economics — New Zealand through the eyes of the world's media

Sheep Numbers Fall to Their Lowest for 75 Years

New Zealand has long been the butt of sheep jokes but latest figures show the nation’s woolly flock has slumped to its lowest number since World War II, with numbers dropping by 3.2 per…

Monocle’s Forecast for NZ in 2015

There are three challenges New Zealand faces in 2015, according to Monocle magazine. Much of the success of Prime Minister John Key, who led the National party to a landslide in the September elections,…

PM John Key Pushes National Rebranding with New Flag

Prime Minister John Key, recently re-elected to a third term, is a cast-iron monarchist, the Economist writes. “Even so, he is bent on coming up with a new flag for New Zealand, one in…

Ross McEwan at the Helm of a UK Bank in Much Better Health

Almost a year to the day since the Hawke’s Bay-born retail banker Ross McEwan replaced Englishman Stephen Hester at the helm of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), the bank appears in much greater health. Inessential…

New Zealand Wins Seat on UN Security Council

New Zealand has won a seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The 15-member council has five permanent members – the US, UK, France, Russia and China – and 10 non-permanent seats, filled…

NZ Wins Security Council Seat

New Zealand has won a seat on the United Nations Security Council, in the first round of the secret ballot. The UN’s 193 member states voted at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday. New…

New Zealanders Spending More on Cider, Less on Sweatpants

New Zealanders drink more cider than ever, wear sweatpants less often, and use smartphones instead of video cameras to capture family memories. These are just some of the lifestyle changes reflected in the government…

Prime Minister John Key Wins Third Term

Prime Minister John Key will lead New Zealand for a third consecutive term after the National Party won 48 per cent of the vote in this year’s election. Official results show Key’s party will likely…

Leaders Discuss Progress Report on Trans-Pacific Trade

At the White House meeting between Prime Minister John Key and President Barack Obama this week, the two leaders discussed a timeline to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership Trade deal agreement by November when the…

Unorthodox Bubble Deflating

First it was a Forbes columnist poking the borax at the New Zealand economy; now Goldman Sachs is having a go at our property market. The Goldman report is a look at central bank…

China Ties with NZ Get Closer

China has announced that for the first time it will allow direct trade between the renminbi and the New Zealand dollar, only the fourth currency permitted to do so. The move further strengthens the…

Research Flock Saudi Arabia Bound

New Zealand will export a research flock of sheep to Saudi Arabia this year under a breeding project aimed at bolstering the kingdom’s livestock supplies, according to the National. Pregnant ewes and lamb will…

Prince George’s First Royal Trip to Be New Zealand

Prince George will take part in his debut public engagement next month when he accompanies the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to New Zealand, Kensington Palace has announced. The Prince, who will be…

Fledgling Party Giving a Voice to New Zealanders Living Overseas

An estimated one million New Zealanders living overseas will become a serious political force if the newly formed Expatriate Party of New Zealand gets its way, says the Guardian. Based in Perth, the party says…

New Zealand Exports to China Are Soaring

Thanks to an ever-increasing demand for milk powder, New Zealand’s exports to China rose 45 per cent last year superseding Australia as New Zealand’s top export market for the first time on an annual…

The World Could Do with More Helen Clarks

4 February 2014 – Ranked 21st most powerful woman in the world, Helen Clark, 63, New Zealand’s Prime Minister for nine years, and now head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), gives Telegraph…

Clark Tipped for Top UN Job

Introducing UN Secretary General … Helen Clark? The Guardian is tipping the former prime minister is the prime candidate to replace incumbent Ban Ki-Moon when he steps down in two years. Clark was New…

NZ and UK Leading the Public Sector Digital Revolution

At the Open Government Partnership (OGP) summit in London in November 2013, New Zealand became the 61st member of a rapidly expanding global movement. The OGP is all about making governments more transparent, accountable…

Dotcom Has His Own Party, and Dance Moves

New Zealand-based Megaupload.com entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, 40, is launching two ventures this month: a new political party to contest in the country’s next general election and a debut dance album, Good Times, to be…

New Zealand Outpaces Crawling World Economy

In a world still limping its way out of the global financial crisis, The Wall Street Journal has written that New Zealand’s economy is looking remarkably zippy – and even outdoing our much larger…

US President Obama and PM John Key enjoy golf game in Hawaii

In a rare vacation encounter with a foreign official, US President Barack Obama played golf in Hawaii with a new partner, Prime Minister John Key also on vacation, along with Key’s teenage son Max…

New Zealand to Phase in Shark Fin Ban

The New Zealand government has agreed to a full ban on shark finning, though fill implementation of the ban won’t happen for another three years. The Wall Street Journal reports that it is already illegal…

Driving the Kiwi Economy

Many strange things are used to measure economic growth and decline: the lipstick economy, the horse-trading economy, the Playboy economy (curves in recession, skinny in boom times) and even underwear, as Fed chairman Alan Greenspan…

Portrait of a Leader

Maori Party co-leader Pita Sharples features in a photographic exhibition featuring portraits of Tangata whenua, including Sharples. Sharples was stunningly captured on film by British photographer Jimmy Nelson, who was touring the world recording…

Don’t Beat the Currency War Drums Yet

The drums of war have been beating for two years now. With America, Britain and Japan printing money and the Euro zone considering unprecedented zero interest rates, the other tradable currencies – especially New…

RBS Appoints Kiwi to “Toughest Job in Banking”

Talk about taking the hot seat. New Zealand banker Ross McEwan is taking charge at the troubled Royal Bank of Scotland, following five turbulent years under Stephen Hester, who replaced the disgraced Fred Goodwin…

Bank Chief Faces Long List of Challenges

New Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) chief executive New Zealander Ross McEwan must confront a long list of challenges, according to the Financial Times, and at the forefront of issues facing him, “is the…

120 Years Since NZ Women Shook the World

The 120-year anniversary of one of New Zealand’s most momentous moments in global history is being marked with the public exhibition of the Women’s Suffrage Petition of 19 September, 1893. On that day in…

Pacific Nations on Track to Meet Renewable Energy Target

According to a report presented by New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully, Pacific Island nations are on track to achieve their goal of increasing their reliance on renewable energy resources within the next…

Chinese Media Praise Fonterra’s Handling of Botulism Scare

After it was revealed last week that Fonterra’s botulism scare was a false alarm, the company and New Zealand are now receiving admiration from Chinese media for its handling of the incident. The botulism…

New Zealand Abolishes Software Patents

The New Zealand Legislative has passed a law prohibiting patenting of software, in a move seen as a boost for innovation and competition in the technology sector. CBC News reports, “The reformed Patents Bill,…

Should Australia Follow Suit in Housing Sector

Is New Zealand’s macro-prudential mortgage tools an option for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), The Guardian’s economics correspondent Greg Jericho writes. The RBA will be watching closely as New Zealand introduces innovative regulations…

New Zealand Parliament Passes Controversial Spy Bill 61-59

The New Zealand parliament has narrowly passed a controversial bill that opponents say represents a fundamental threat to democratic rights and freedoms. The new legislation allows the country’s main intelligence agency, the Government Communications…

Governor-General to Strengthen NZ-Cambodia Ties.

The New Zealand Governor-General, Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae, has made a short visit to Cambodia to promote bilateral relations between the two countries. Mateparae visited the country at the request of Cambodia’s King Norodom…

Skills Drain Reversal with More Work Options

New Zealand is currently experiencing its strongest immigration flows in four years, with returning citizens vying with foreign nationals for work, in a “nation whose economy is outperforming many of its developed peers”, writes…

Push for Australian Immigrant Law Changes

Gold Coast-based New Zealanders are calling for an immigrant law change arguing tough restrictions prevent long-term residents from having the same rights as Australians. The Oz Kiwi movement is gaining momentum among…

World-first Drug Legislation in the Pipeline

Under proposed laws, New Zealand will permit the limited sale of some designer drugs for recreational purpose; the legislation is the first in the world to regulate new recreational drugs based on scientific evidence…

NSA Intelligence Not Sure Against Citizens PM Tells Parliament

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said in Parliament that the country does not use foreign intelligence agencies to circumvent local laws or illegally spy on citizens, but declined to say whether the controversial…

NZ Navy To Visit US Navy Base For First Time in 30 Years

A New Zealand navy ship will visit a US port in Guam for the first time in 30 years, in what NZ Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully says is a further sign of thawing…

Mighty River Float Raises $NZ 1.7 Billion

Some 110,000 New Zealanders bought shares in the Mighty River Power float, and around 68,000 of these may be first-time investors. However, the NZ Green Party claims that half the shares sold went to…

Child Poverty ‘Stains’ NZ’s Human Rights Record Says Amnesty

Amnesty International blasted New Zealand for its high rate of child poverty, and its poor treatment of female domestic violence victims and asylum seekers. The condemnations came in Amnesty’s 2013 Global Report on Human…

Indonesia Seeks Better Trade Balance with NZ

Indonesia’s deputy Minister of Trade has called for New Zealand to evolve into a ‘true partner’ that will help Indonesia solve its problems, writes Ruth Le Pla for stuff.co.nz. Speaking at an Indonesia/New Zealand business…

Reserve Bank’s Intervention Marks ‘New Direction’ in Currency War

The Wall Street Journal uses the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s recent action to bring down the NZ dollar as an example of the ‘new direction’ in what it calls the global currency…

Domestic Spy Stories Unfolding

“One of Kim Dotcom’s lasting legacies in New Zealand – beyond his already-legendary arrest, like something out of a film – is that the government may change the law to make it easier to…

Judith Collins to Study at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government

New Zealand’s Justice Minister Judith Collins has been invited to study at the prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She will join its Leadership Decision Making program from 23-28 June. Ms….

Mighty River Power Hopes the Public Buys It

“Aerial shots of majestic dams and steaming geothermal power stations amid lush countryside form the backdrop for television advertisements promoting the initial public offering of the government-owned electricity company Mighty River Power,” Jonathan Hutchison…

Harvard University Farm Purchase Draws Mixed Reaction

Harvard University’s decision to buy a 1300-hectare Otago dairy farm drew mixed reactions from New Zealand politicians. Winston Peters, New Zealand First’s Leader, criticised New Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office’s approval of the purchase. But…

Simon Upton Keynote Speaker at Future of Growth Forum

Simon Upton, Environment Director for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and former New Zealand Minister for the Environment, is a keynote speaker at an upcoming European sustainability and economic development workshop….