News of New Zealanders via Global Media

Kraus purposes

Kraus purposes

“If women have failed to make ‘universal’ art because we’re trapped within the ‘personal,’ why not universalize the ‘personal’ and make it the subject of our art?” asks Edge-thinker Chris Kraus.

Diversionary Tactics

Diversionary Tactics

Victoria’s government is using New Zealand’s successful diversion scheme to “break the cycle of crime” for young offenders.  

Williams Foundation

Williams Foundation

Kiwi super-caddie Steve Williams will auction “stuff” from Tiger Woods and other top golfers to fund promising New Zealand talent.  

Super Sonic Sean

Super Sonic Sean

The Seattle SuperSonic sign Sean Marks, New Zealand’s biggest b-ball boy.  

Over and Out

Over and Out

“After six months and more than 400 bidding rounds, the battle for New Zealand’s third-generation mobile radio spectrum is over, netting the Government over $51 million.”

Better Late Then Never

Better Late Then Never

“Perhaps we all have a conscience – it just takes some a little longer to find theirs,” said the manager of the Southland Gun Club after receiving anonymous restitution for a twenty-year old theft.

Private Giant

Private Giant

Dozens of giant squid have washed up on New Zealand beaches, but no one has yet sighted the  monster alive.

Soil Happy

Soil Happy

Gardening makes you happy says Judith Kidd of Massey University.

Pooch Smooch

Pooch Smooch

New Zealand firefighter Trevor Hill has a new best friend – Oscar, the dog he revived with the canine kiss of life.

Different way of seeing

Different way of seeing

“It’s generally accepted that what really great artists do is change the way that we see things, and Rosalie . . . changed the way we see our country,” says Australian arts writer Hannah…

NZ film in NY

NZ film in NY

“2001: A New Zealand Film Odyssey” currently running in  New York festures “new, rediscovered and undiscovered” New Zealand films, including hot-now The Price of Milk and classics Utu and War Stories Our Mothers Never Told…

Too Tricky Poneke

Too Tricky Poneke

The King William’s College quiz is “fiendishly” difficult – but one question should be easy for Wellingtonians.

Virtual COO

Virtual COO

New Zealand sport-viewtechies Virtual Spectator have appointed veteran sports exec Alexander Brown as President and Chief Operating Officer.

Coastal Edge

Coastal Edge

Victoria looks to follow New Zealand’s lead on marine reserves, seen as a “back-up” for species conservation, and a way of replenishing fishing stocks. Prince Charles supports a similar idea in the Bay if Biscay.

Hakaed Out?

Hakaed Out?

Has over-exposure taken the edge off the AB’s haka?

Good Mooves

Good Mooves

“New Zealand’s dairy industry enjoys a strong position from which to attain leadership status in the global marketplace, especially with the recently inked merger pact between its two biggest players,” says Alan Jackson of Boston Boston Consulting…

Big Job for McKinnon

Big Job for McKinnon

“Turbulence in Zimbabwe, civil war in Sierra Leone, the violent overthrow of prime ministers in Fiji and the Solomons; the Commonwealth’s programme of improving the quality of democracy ran into political setbacks in 2000. On the other…

Greenstone Hit

Greenstone Hit

New Zealand historical drama Greenstone infiltrates Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.

Old play, new tricks

Old play, new tricks

1975 New Zealand play Mothers and Fathers gets a convincing makeover for Sydney’s Fringe – “even though it’s slightly archaic to think that $50,000 could buy you a dream home in this town”.

Cup Challenge

Cup Challenge

Seattle telecommunications billionaire Craig McCaw is sending a team to challenge for the cup – American sailors well leavened with ex-Team NZites.

Earthy Holiday

Earthy Holiday

Try carrot-pulling as a new past time on a New Zealand farm-stay.

Fez Bus

Fez Bus

New Zealand-run Fez Bus service is top pick for transport in Turkey.

Take Your Kit

Take Your Kit

Tourism New Zealand has a handy pack for travelling Kiwis, useful for defecting question about the number of sheep at home or the name of that atom-splitting guy…

The authors’ luck

The authors’ luck

The selection of New Zealand novels Baby No-Eyes, The Vintner’s Luck and Believers to the Bright Coast on the short list of six for the new A$40,000 Tasmanian Pacific Region Prize for best novel…

Midsumma Dream

Midsumma Dream

New Zealander Nigel Higgins is the man in charge with making Midsumma, Melbourne’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender festival, the queen of events.  

Keep Your Skin On

Keep Your Skin On

A New Zealand-developed vaccine “switches off” debillitating skin disease psoriasis.  

Extreme Edge of Life

Extreme Edge of Life

Thermophile archaeons thrive at temperatures hot enough to boil the flesh off your bones. Layers of extremophile life form flourish in multi-coloured rings in Rotorua’s thermal springs.

Tax Miles

Tax Miles

Is the New Zealand system of an odometer-based tax on diesel vehicles the best option for funding roads?  

Maclean, you’ve done it again

Maclean, you’ve done it again

Alison Maclean’s Jesus’ Son: “scruffy, loopy and terrifc” on video.

Royal Bird

Royal Bird

“No one who has seen an albatross on the wing is ever likely to forget the experience,” says Prince Charles. New Zealand’s Chatham Island albatross is down to 4000 pairs.

Neil plugged in

Neil plugged in

New Zealand maestro Neil Finn talks live, performs and announces the launch of his new website.  

Trailer Lords

Trailer Lords

“There’s an advert currently going out on Virgin radio encouraging listeners to go to the cinema this Friday. It does urge you go to a film but only because this is the first opportunity…

First Baggins off the rack

First Baggins off the rack

“The most ambitious undertaking in the film world recently has been Peter Jackson’s filming of the Lord of the Rings trilogy in New Zealand. If the results are as epic as the production, the first…

Beating the Sheep

Beating the Sheep

New Zealand’s legendary 20:1 sheep to human ratio is in decline, expected to fall to 10:1 by 2005.

Get out of the Water…

Get out of the Water…

8 people, 21 of them in serious trouble, were rescued or ordered out of the water on a single day after unusual currents hit the Bay of Plenty.

Janet and John Revamped

Janet and John Revamped

Janet and John, the New Zealand-authored, internationally successful learn-to-read books of the fifties and sixties are making a come-back in ethnically-inclusive, non-sexist but still easy-to-read versions.

Maximum Coverage

Maximum Coverage

Prodigy frontman Maxim sports New Zealand-made jewelry – two Ms, also the cover art on his new album Hell’s Kitchen.

Youth Voice

Youth Voice

Wellington’s youth council is part of the international phenomenon of youth engagement, pushing youngsters into leadershipand decision making roles.  

Running Tragedy

Running Tragedy

New Zealand’s world record runner and Olympic gold medallist John Walker’s Parkinson’s highlights the increasing incidence of the disease.  

More Cate

More Cate

“I’m so excited to be doing all three movies,” says Blanchett. “It’s thrilling. I wanted this project so badly. We’re talking Peter Jackson. And Tolkien – my God! That man, Tolkien, created a whole…

Deva Diva

Deva Diva

New Zealand-born Cherry Bishop’s signature fashion boutique is a headline act in New York’s East Village, a place with a history of “anarchy, counter-culture and edginess”.

Scary candy

Scary candy

“Watch out for the scary-sounding Mega Perky Nana from New Zealand,” now starring at Cybercandy, along with co-Kiwi sweet, the Pinky bar.

Baby Step

Baby Step

Researchers at Auckland University have uncovered a gene that may be linked to premature menopause, a condition that prevents up to 1% of women from bearing children.

Kingsley Link

Kingsley Link

Phil Kingsley-Jones manages Jonah – his son, Kingsley Jones, has been likened to All Black Josh Kronfeld.  

Holiday high

Holiday high

New Zealander Russell Brice plans to build the world’s highest hotel – at base camp on Everest’s Tibetan flank. The hotel aims to be “a flagship of green construction techniques,” using solar power and…

Blue Star Buyout

Blue Star Buyout

International book-giant W H Smith is in negotiations to buy Whitcoull’s, New Zealand’s largest book-sellers.

Splitting the Difference

Splitting the Difference

Grant Dalton’s playing canny in the Race, “splitting the difference between east and west,” lying comfortably in second place.

Change your life

Change your life

Get prepared for Rings-mania: Brush up on your Tolkien makes number 16 on the list of 99 ways to change your life.

Law-man

Law-man

The  New Zealand state schooling system set Jolyon Maugham on the path to barrister-hood in London – a profession he describes as “a great intellectual challenge”.

Dolly Good

Dolly Good

Ron James, managing director of PPL and the closest thing Dolly has to a father, got his start at New Zealand-spawned pharmo-giant Glaxo. Now PPL is using New Zealand cows in research aiming to produce drugs to…

Blinding Brilliance

Blinding Brilliance

New Zealand sociologist James Flynn is unconvinced that increasing IQ results (‘the Flynn effect’), actually means we’re getting smarter: “If people were really getting as smart as the test scores suggest, we should be…

Rings v Potter

Rings v Potter

“If the budget on Lord of the Rings is sky-high, so are expectations surrounding the films. Fans of Tolkien’s 1,000-page trilogy about hobbits and elves in the fantasy land called Middle Earth are truly…

Bank on Campbell

Bank on Campbell

Michael Campbell, in “irresistible” form, caps a brilliant year by claming the title of New Zealand’s best-paid sportsman from Steve Williams, caddy for Tiger Woods.  

Robber Robbie

Robber Robbie

That’s “my intellectual property on his shoulder,” says leading haka specialist Pita Sharples, referring to the tattoo sported by Brit singer Robbie Williams.

Ocoloco in the Wairarapa

Ocoloco in the Wairarapa

Wairarapa company Siliconblue has scooped venture funding for its Ocoloco software, designed to replace physical Web servers with a combination of software and service.

Major Milk Player

Major Milk Player

New Zealand’s newly-minted Global Dairy Company has the size to “become a serious challenger to the likes of Nestle, Danone and Kraft” in world diary markets.