Why is New Zealand so Progressive?
She wasn’t the only mother checking in with their whānau that evening. But this woman was Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, and the one who had decided – on expert advice – to…
Tag Archives: BBC
Capturing Copeisolation on Rakiura/Stewart Island
Originally from Estonia, Laire Purik is documenting the life of the residents of Rakiura “through windows, through the gates” as they cope with the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The BBC reports on her…
New Zealand One of World’s Most Resilient Economies
Experts have already begun assessing how a recovery might look once the COVID-19 virus is contained, and which countries stand to bounce back best. According to the 2019 Global Resilience Index, New Zealand sits…
Recognising the Whanganui River’s Legal Voice
In 2017, New Zealand granted legal personhood to the Whanganui River. Since then, other nations have followed suit in an effort to protect the environment. The BBC’s Luana Harumi reports, with the river featured…
How Uni Dropout Nick Mowbray Built a Toy Empire
The BBC’s weekly ‘The Boss’ series profiles different business leaders from around the world. Last week, the broadcaster’s Virginia Harrison spoke to New Zealander Nick Mowbray, 34, co-founder and co-chief executive of toymaker Zuru. A…
In the Shadow of the Mt Erebus Disaster
It remains New Zealand’s worst peacetime disaster. On 28 November 1979, a sightseeing aircraft carrying 257 people crashed head-on into the side of a volcano in Antarctica. The tragedy of flight TE901 was a…
Jane Campion’s The Piano No 1 on BBC Poll
New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion’s stunning 1993 classic, The Piano has topped BBC Culture’s poll of 368 critics in 84 countries. The broadcaster’s Hannah Woodhead reveals why it’s a worthy winner. “In 1993, Campion made history…
New Zealand’s Bird of the Year is the Hoiho
The endangered hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin) won New Zealand’s coveted Bird of the Year competition after two weeks of intense campaigning, the BBC reports. The hoiho saw off many avian rivals to become the first…
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 Love in 2018. The fossilised leg…
Rose Matafeo’s Comedic Rise to the BBC
New Zealand stand-up Rose Matafeo, 27, talks on-stage confidence, teen crushes and writing her own BBC sitcom with Alice Jones, a journalist for UK newspaper, i. It is almost a year since Matafeo won the…
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 of feral pests is running…
Rocket Lab’s Peter Beck at TED in Vancouver
Peter Beck is a space entrepreneur with a rocket and launch pad in New Zealand that has permission for flights “every 72 hours for the next 30 years”. Beck recently spoke at the TED…
Barbie Releases First-Ever Māori Doll
Barbie has released its first-ever Māori doll, modelled after New Zealand sports journalist and former rugby player Melodie Robinson. The doll, which has “curly hair and beautiful brown skin”, holds a microphone as part of…
What Can New Zealand Teach the UK about Brexit?
“Brexit is, to put it mildly, an unusual event,” BBC World Service economics correspondent Andrew Walker writes. “But there are precedents for some aspects of it. New Zealand provides one example.” “The country faced a…
Why Are Whales Stranding in New Zealand?
While whale strandings are not uncommon, they usually involve just a single animal rather than a whole group. The recent flurry of mass strandings on New Zealand beaches has brought…
New Zealand Launches Testicular Cancer Booth Check
Ever thought of getting a health check but worried about having to? Well, drop your pants. Meet the Testimatic, a booth allowing New Zealand men to have their testicles checked without having to face…
Oceans Apart Doco a Tribute to Māori Determination
British art historian James Fox presents Oceans Apart: Art and the Pacific, an “engaging” BBC documentary exploring Māori culture. It is reviewed in The Guardian by Emine Saner. In Oceans Apart, Fox examines artworks that…
ABs Lift Bledisloe Cup for 16th Consecutive Year
New Zealand has won the Bledisloe Cup for a 16th consecutive year with a 40-12 victory over Australia at Eden Park in Auckland. Beauden Barrett scored four tries and kicked five conversions, while Joe Moody…
New Zealanders’ Epic Trips to Isle of Skye
New Zealander Dr Hannah Bulloch is in Scotland to research a book she is writing based on trips her grandfather made to the Isle of Skye. The BBC’s Annabel Maclennan caught up with Bulloch…
How Bisexual Goose Thomas Became an Icon
A memorial was recently held for Thomas the goose, a “New Zealander who spent most of his life as a loving partner, caring father and an icon of the LGBT community”, Yvette Tan writes in a…
PM’s Pregnancy Sparks Knitting Movement
New Zealander Heather McCracken, who is based in the United States, has kicked off the knitting movement #KnitForJacinda inspired by the news that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is pregnant. Ardern recently announced that she and…
Former MP Maurice Williamson a Gay Icon in Japan
Former MP Maurice Williamson’s rising popularity as a gay icon among many Japanese people is thanks to a video of a speech he made during the third reading and vote on the Marriage Equality…
Toro Rosso Retain Brendon Hartley for 2018 F1 season
“Toro Rosso have confirmed they will retain Brendon Hartley for the 2018 Formula 1 season,” as reported in an article on BBC. “It’s very satisfying to have converted an opportunity that…
Rainbow Youth Ad Challenges Casual Homophobia
An advert released by LGBTIQ rights charity Rainbow Youth is calling out New Zealanders over the negative use of the word “gay” through the medium of a dropped pie. The video was created to draw…
Kiri Te Kanawa Sings Her Last Public Note
Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, one of opera’s most celebrated stars, has told the BBC she will never sing in public again. Te Kanawa, 73, said she stopped performing a year ago, but had not…
Crawford Falconer UK’s Top Trade Negotiator
The New Zealander in charge of negotiating the UK’s trade deals once Brexit is finalised, has begun his tenure. Crawford Falconer has taken up the post of chief trade negotiation adviser at the Department…
New Zealand Thrash Australia in Sydney
New Zealand “hammered” Australia 54-34 in their 2017 Investec Rugby Championship opener. According to the BBC, the All Blacks “were exceptional in the first half in Sydney and, with the help of three tries…
Para-Athlete Liam Malone Vows to Out Do Usain Bolt
Nelson-born double para-athelete champion, Liam Malone, 23, says he will use technology to run faster than Olympic legend Usain Bolt within the next three years. Double-leg amputee Malone won gold in the T44 200m and…
New Zealand Poets Taking on the World
If poetry makes you think of stuffy classrooms and impenetrable verse, think again. The BBC’s Holly Williams takes a look at the female poets revolutionising the art form, including New Zealand-based Lang Leav and…
Alan Walmsley Digs Up Historical Narratives
At a recent conference in Manama, the capital of Bahrain, archaeologists – including New Zealander Alan Walmsley – working in over 14 Islamic countries around the world participated in a first of its kind…
Andrew Nicholson Wins Badminton Horse Trials
“New Zealand’s Andrew Nicholson has won the Badminton Horse Trials at the 36th attempt, two years after suffering a serious neck injury,” as reported in an article on BBC. “It is…
Whanganui River First In The World To Be Given Legal Human Status
Whanganui River “in New Zealand has become the first in the world to be granted the same legal rights as a person”, as reported on the BBC. “Long revered by New Zealand’s Maori…
Parris Goebel Was Born to Dance
Parris Goebel’s father tells the BBC that his daughter, “a blessing”, was dropped off by a space ship. And it’s a good thing it did. The 24-year-old choreographer from Manurewa, South Auckland is changing…
Hockstetter’s Frogs Jump for Joy in New Sanctuary
New Zealand has declared the natural habitat of the very rare Hochstetter’s frog to be a conservation sanctuary, giving the tiny creature a chance to recover its numbers in a 400ha area of land…
Ferret Smell Could Help Protect Native Birds
Landcare Researchers say that the stench of ferrets could be a useful tool to protect the country’s birds, as the smell helps to attract non-native predators. An experiment at a farm in northern Hawke’s Bay…
NZ Model Set Up Luxury Travel Firm After Dare
“It’s often said that the inspiration for starting a business can come from anywhere. For Stephanie Chai it was a dare,” writes Sarah Porter for the BBC. The NZ-born model and former TV…
Masking Tape Saves Endangered Kiwi
“Using nothing but tape, a fragment of shell and MacGyver-like ingenuity, nature park worker Claire Travers patched up a badly damaged egg sufficiently for the baby kiwi to survive,” as reported in an article…
New Zealand’s Plan to Save The Kiwi
“Some 100,000 wild kiwi could be roaming New Zealand in less than 15 years, according to a new government plan,” reports the BBC. “The Kiwi Recovery Plan 2017-2027 by the Department…
New Zealand’s ‘ATM for Mood Deposits’
A cash machine-like terminal that asks people about their feelings instead of dispensing money has been installed in New Zealand city Whangarei as part of an art project called Moodbank, as reported in an…
NZ Kakapo’s Successful Breeding Season
The critically endangered kakapo – one of the world’s rarest birds – “saw its numbers boom by 28%” with 34 new chicks this year. That brings its population up to 157, as reported in…
Wimbledon’s Anthony Wilding a Superstar of his Day
Long before the PR driven age of image rights and social media, before Borg, Laver and even Perry, Wimbledon had its own matinee idol – New Zealand-born Anthony Wilding. Yet despite him being a…
Awaroa Beach Bought by Crowdfunding given to Public
The pristine Awaroa Beach in the Abel Tasman National Park bought through a crowdfunding campaign for almost $2.3 million has been handed to its new owners – the public, becoming part of the Department…
Bagpipes the Penguin Gets 3D Printed Foot
Bagpipes the Little Blue penguin, who had his left leg amputated in 2007 after it got stuck in a fishing line, has received a custom-made 3D printed foot. Having wriggled his way around his home…
Maori Emotiki Join Emoji Crowd
People wanting to text in a Maori “accent” will be able to do so in July with the release of a special set of distinctive green emoji in New Zealand, called “emotiki”. Along with more…
South Canterbury Contractors Unearth Moa Bones
Contractors at a site in South Canterbury have made an unexpected find while digging a trench – dozens of bones belonging to the long-extinct moa. Workers spotted the bones during excavations in an area which…
New Zealand Sky-High Trapeze Act in World Record Bid
Anna Cochrane, a New Zealand paramedic, has performed a static trapeze act while suspended on a hot air balloon at an altitude of more than 3,000m, in a bid to break the world record,…
Kakapo Genome Sequencing a Whole Lot of Help
A group of kakapo will have their genomes sequenced in the hope it will improve the birds’ genetic diversity. There are only 125 kakapo left and every one of them will have their genetic…
New Zealand Top Women’s World Rankings
New Zealand’s Black Ferns have been ranked #1 on the first rankings for women’s Test rugby. “It’s a positive step for one of the fastest growing team sports in the world, as it brings parity…
Measuring the Anzacs for Online Database
Researchers at Waikato University are calling on the public to help create an online database of all the New Zealanders who served during World War One for a project called Measuring the Anzacs. Volunteers are…
Peter Jackson: My favorite Doctor Who Episode
For Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary, watch as Lord Of The Rings & The Hobbit director Peter Jackson wishes Doctor Who a very Happy 50th Anniversary and talks about his…
Henry Hargreaves Lets the Air out of the Chip Bag
New Zealand-born artist Henry Hargreaves was so frustrated with the problem of empty space in a packet of chips that he decided to size up some of the worst offenders, calculating the difference between…
All Blacks Edge Boks for Finals Showdown with Australia
The New Zealand All Blacks have beaten South Africa’s Springboks 20-18 in the Rugby World Cup semi-final in England on Saturday. “In an atmosphere thick with tension at Twickenham, the All Blacks clung to their…
Murchison’s Never-Ending Fire
A seemingly typical clear and swift South Island river, the Blackwater has one unmistakable trait: the water carries a whiff of kerosene. It’s faint, but it was enough to give the Blackwater its name,…
Hello Sailor Frontman Graham Brazier
Dave Dobbyn is one of a number of local artists who have paid tribute to Hello Sailor frontman Graham Brazier (pictured centre), who has died in Auckland aged 63. Dobbyn described Brazier as the consummate…
Finnian Galbraith’s Hit Te Reo Pronunciation Video
Raumati College pupil Finnian Galbraith’s YouTube video complaining about poor pronunciation of Maori words has proved a hit online, with more than 160,386 views. Galbraith, 15, says in his YouTube video that many people in…
South Island Skies Illuminated by Aurora Australis
Local photographers Stephen Voss and Blair Pattinson braved freezing temperatures in the South Island to capture images of the Aurora Australis, a natural light display in the sky. A solar storm meant that the Aurora…
