Mutual Milestone
76 Tampa refugees were made NZ citizens on April 8, including the youngest on board Azizullah Mussa (now 17). “I’ve been waiting three years for this day to come. I can call myself a Kiwi now,”…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Future Partnership Likely
Helen Clark has fast-tracked a bilateral free trade agreement with Malaysia, which could come into effect as soon as this time next year. Malaysia’s NST: “For the trade experts, is neither too big (which would make…
No More 5 Cent Lollies
NZ’s 5 cent coin is soon to be no longer, thanks to a major overhaul of the national currency by the central bank. 1 and 2 dollar coins will remain unchanged but 10, 20…
Narrowing the Gulf
NZ has forged closer ties with Bahrain, signing two major agreements on bilateral cooperation in March. “We have vast potential for co-operation, and we have much to gain from each other’s experience,” said Bahrainian PM Shaikh Khalifa…
Built to Last
NZ economist Anthony Byett was interviewed on ABC Radio about the country’s booming economy. “We’ve had a great 10-year period, and the last three years in particular have been very strong … We have the economy –…
Kiwis in Flight
The “brain drain” issue is back in the news with a vengeance, sparked by Immigration Minister Paul Swain’s newly minted campaign to lure ex-patriots home. Writing in the NZ Herald writer Simon Collins received a staggering number…
Right Royal Stand-off
The Guardian ran an overview of NZ media coverage of Prince Charles’ recent tour of the country. Commentary ranged from the Christchurch Press dismissing the Prince as “a faintly comic participant in a toffee-nosed soap opera” to…
Simple is Best
The British government is officially considering modeling its pension system on NZ’s current superannuation scheme, which is described in the Guardian as “a model of elegant simplicity compared with Britain’s multi-layered mixture of private and state provision, means…
National Symbol Under Question
NZ’s growing movement in support of a new national flag featured in the Daily Telegraph. Wellington businessman Lloyd Morrison officially launched the campaign in January, with the support of numerous high profile sporting, political, and entertainment industry…
Our History and Future in Global Spotlight
Otago University graduate Chris Ford penned an in-depth three part overview on NZ race politics for the Global Politician. The first provides a historical backdrop to the events of 2004 when, in Ford’s words, NZ’s widely…
Hunt Fights for Our Rights
Waikato University graduate Paul Hunt has built a high profile international career as a human rights lawyer and independent expert. Hunt was elected to serve on the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in…
Signed and Sealed
The passing of the Civil Union Bill, giving gay and lesbian couples legal recognition in NZ, made headlines around the world. “It is just a fantastic day for us,” said Christians for Civil Union member Margaret Mayman…
Voters Want Out
The re-election of George W Bush has sparked an increase in enquiries about emigration to NZ from US voters seeking more liberal pastures. According to the Telegraph, “the size of victory has led hardcore Democrats, as…
Civil Unions 101
Chris Carter, elected as the country’s first openly gay MP in 1993, spoke to LA’s The Advocate about gay rights in NZ and the Civil Union Bill. “The reason that we haven’t gone for marriage is that…
Crusader of the Highest Order
NZ’s foremost campaigner against apartheid, Trevor Richards, was awarded the Supreme Companion of OR Tambo by South African President Thabo Mbeki in Pretoria. “Its not every day that one wakes up and wonders what award they will…
Basis for Change
The British government is considering an overhaul of its outdated pension scheme based on the current NZ system. According to the Times, the state of women’s pensions in the UK is “a national scandal” in urgent need…
Exchange of Potential
In mid-October Helen Clark made the first visit to India by a NZ Prime Minister in nearly 20 years. During her meetings with the President, Prime Minister, Congress Party leader, and economic heads, Clark emphasised the…
Mind the Gap
The Herald ran a lengthy feature on trans-Tasman cultural differences prior to the Australian elections, claiming that “geologically, the land masses are creeping together again. However, all other evidence points the other way.” According to the writer,…
Travelers Flock to the Edge
NZ’s booming tourism industry shows no signs of slowing down, with a 20% increase in overseas visitors arriving in July than for the same period last year. According to the Tourism Research Council, tourism will grow by…
Tycoon Teece
Berkeley Planet profiles David Teece, the man dubbed an “economics rock star” by the NZ government and one of the world’s top 50 business intellectuals by global management giant Accenture. As well as advising PM Tony Blair…
Blood Brothers
Cabinet minister John Tamihere has spoken out in the defense of heterosexual “red-blooded blokes” and been heard around the world. Excerpts of his speech at Epsom’s St Peter’s College appeared in the Washington Times, as well as…
The Sheep That Roared
An Australian feature by Claire Harvey likened the Israeli passport scandal to the infamous Rainbow Warrior incident of 1985. PM Helen Clark has cut diplomatic ties with Israel until an official apology and explanation is offered stating,…
Review of the Market Years
Illinois’ Hillsdale College, published an overview of New Zealand Government reforms in the 80s and 90s, penned by former NZ MP Maurice McTigue. The article argued that high living standards result from significant ingenuity operating in a…
Flexible, Shock-proof, and Room for Growth
The NZ economy received a big tick in the annual IMF report. According to the Washington-based lender, a combination of sensible policies and reforms over the last 20 years had “contributed to NZ’s robust economic growth, made…
World Gender Role
Amanda Ellis – formerly head of women’s banking for Westpac Australia – now has a global role leading the World Bank’s work on gender in Private Sector Development. Ms Ellis also serves on the OECD’s international…
Innovators R Us
NZ has been named one of the world’s most entrepreneurial countries for the third year running by the annual Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM). The 41-country UK/US-based survey identified NZ – alongside Chile, Korea, Venezuela, and Uganda -…
Easy Money
NZ has the world’s third freest economy, to an annual survey by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal. Hong Kong took the top spot for the tenth consecutive year, followed by Singapore.
Recognition for Political Torchbearer
Mayor of Dunedin, Sukhi Turner, has been conferred the Indian government’s highest honour for non-resident civilians, the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award for the Indian Diaspora. She is the first New Zealander to receive the award, and one of…
100 Years of Class
Worldwide centenary celebrations for Rolls Royce were launched in NZ January 25, with a commemorative dinner for fans and owners held in Auckland. 50 of the company’s luxury cars – including a 1912 Silver Ghost and a…
New Frontier
The NZ government’s multimillion dollar media campaign in the US aiming to lure wealthy Americans to “the new California” is the subject of a December Voice of America feature. Major selling points are the clean/green…
Judith Mayhew Jonas: Alpha female
14 December 2003 – Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas – former financial advisor to the Mayor of London, current Provost of Kings College, Cambridge, and chairman of the Royal Opera House – was one of nine “alpha females”…
Edge Envoy to Iraq
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan named New Zealander Ross Mountain as his interim envoy to Iraq. Veteran Mountain has had a long career with the UN and has worked as a relief co-ordinator in war zones in Africa,…
Knowledge Economist
Finance Minister and Deputy PM, Dr. Michael Cullen, articulates the edge phenomenon in a lengthy interview with the Economist. ” a very significant solid eclectic range of niche manufacturing and service industries which have developed in…
Closer Thais
A move towards closer economic relations between NZ and Thailand was kick-started by Foreign Minister Phil Goff’s talks with his Thai counterpart, Surakiart Sathirathai, in late November. The NZ government has offered Thais aged 18-30 6 month…
Nukes Not the Issue
State Department spokesman, Phillip Reeker, dismissed claims that NZ’s anti-nuclear policy was a barrier to a free-trade agreement with the US on his recent trip to Wellington. “If you want to re-examine that policy, that would be…
Land of Milk and Honey
The NZ economy is currently on a high, with the lowest unemployment rates since 1987, 26,000 new jobs created in the last 3 months, and a $1.2 billion surplus in the first 3 months of the…
President Hu Jintao Goes Oriental to the Edge
26 October 2003 – A 3-day diplomatic visit to NZ by Chinese President Hu Jintao has further strengthened economic ties between the two countries. Hu met with PM Helen Clark to discuss the possibility of a free…
Clean Dealings
An annual survey by global anti-corruption campaigners, Transparency International, ranks NZ as the world’s third cleanest business environment (equal with Denmark) on 9.5 points. Finland topped the list with 9.7 points, followed by Iceland on 9.6. The…
Shining Happy People
NZ was ranked 15th happiest nation overall in a World Values Survey of over 65 countries – ahead of the US (16th), Australia (20th) and the UK (24th). The study is a global examination of sociological…
Edge Breath Freshener
Sweden’s Right Livelihood Award Foundation – the “alternative Nobel” – honoured former-PM David Lange for his “steadfast work over many years for a world free of nuclear weapons.” The foundation was formed in 1980 by former European…
No Mutinies Here Mate
The British government has named Auckland businessman, Leslie Jacques, as the new day-to-day administrator of Pitcairn Island. According to the British High Commission, Jacques has been hired for an initial 4 month period, during which time he…
Suffr-edge-ettes Applauded
Guardian feature on the campaign for women’s suffrage in Kuwait notes NZ’s status as the first country in the world to grant their female citizens the right to vote – in 1893. Australian women waited until…
Little Brother is Watching…
NZ’s National Radiation Laboratory has been given the government go-ahead to build a NZ$1 million nuclear test monitoring station in Fiji. The station will be one of a global network of 321 facilities set up in…
Australia Looks to the Near East
The Australian features a 20 page special report on The Pacific. Strongly focused on NZ, the supplement includes a regional overview (“Australia is said to be the superpower of the South Pacific. If so then New…
Jobs for (Almost) All
Unemployment in NZ is at a 16-year low of 4.7% thanks largely to net gains in permanent and long-term migration. Employment Minister, Steve Maharey: “We are now experiencing lower unemployment than all our major trading partners, including…
Clark, Kissinger and South Korea
PM Helen Clark was the keynote speaker at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the end of the Korean War held in South Korea in July. At a luncheon held in her honour, President Roh Moo Hyun described…
The Bomb Stays Banned
July marked the 30th anniversary of “what was probably the first state-sponsored Ban the Bomb protest” – NZ PM Norman Kirk’s diplomatic and symbolic attack on the French government. In outrage at continued nuclear testing by France…
NZer to Head World Bank
Banker John Austin has been appointed to the helm of the Washington-based World Bank (one of the world’s largest sources of financial assistance for developing countries). Austin has resigned from his current position, as head of private…
Legalised Lovin’
A new law has been proposed to grant NZ gay and lesbian partners the same rights as those enjoyed by married heterosexual couples. The Civil Union Bill – which is to be voted on later this year…
Third Way Talking Points
PM Helen Clark discusses republicanism, Iraq, same-sex marriages, prostitution reform, and The Lord of the Rings in a forum with BBC News Online’s Talking Point. Clark was in London attending Tony Blair’s ‘Third Way’ summit – a gathering…
Land of the Free
The 2003 Index of Economic Freedom has named NZ the world’s third freest economy, behind Hong Kong and Singapore. The Index, compiled by the US-based Heritage Foundation, ranks economies according to factors including trade policy, capital flow,…
Land of the Free: Part 2
NZ is the third most un-corrupt country in the world, according to the latest global corruption perception index released by Transparency International. Finland and Denmark head the list, which draws from sources including the World Economic Forum…
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. Described as “an extraordinary counterpoint to…
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 use of misnomers such as…
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 engaging documentary Georgie Girl.” Annie…
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 allies”) told the Guardian that the…
