Saving New Zealand’s Prehistoric Giant Wētā
New Zealand is rich in wildlife and, because of its isolation, there are hundreds of plants and animals that evolved here that cannot be found anywhere else. The country’s giant wētā (wētā punga) managed…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Bird’s Eye View of New Zealand’s Changing Glaciers
Every March, glacier “watchers” take to the skies to photograph snow and ice clinging to high peaks along the length of New Zealand’s Southern Alps. Researchers Andrew Lorrey, Andrew Mackintosh and Brian Anderson write…
US Actress Bryce Dallas Howard Finds Solace in NZ
In a revealing new interview with American television show Entertainment Tonight, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom star, Bryce Dallas Howard opens up about the health struggles she faced in her 20s and how New Zealand…
NZ Gives BC Lesson on Proportional Representation
When New Zealand pitched a switch to proportional representation in the early 1990s, it triggered a wave of conjecture and confusion similar to what British Columbia in Canada is experiencing now. New Zealanders voted in…
Korean War Vet Returns to Battlefield
Snapshots of the 1950s are seared into veterans’ memories: South Korea then was an economic basket case, a devastated land of burned-down villages, desperate poverty and denuded hills. Andrew Salmon from the Asia Times…
The Queen Names Activist Catherine Healy a Dame
Catherine Healy, 62, a founder of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, was instrumental in helping this country become the first to decriminalise prostitution in 2003. After 30 years of activism, the queen recognised her…
Early Māori Village Found in Gisborne Tells Story
While much early Māori history is documented through songs and stories – from tales of Kupe, who Māori consider to be the first adventurer to navigate to New Zealand to the deep roots of the…
Will New Zealand’s Mount Taranaki ‘Living Person’ Status Bring Respect?
“Recognition is something Māori communities have been campaigning for over 150 years. In 2013, they achieved a landmark ruling when the Te Urewera national park on the North Island was granted ‘all the rights,…
New Zealand Rallies to Save its Iconic Bird
There are 68,000 kiwi left in New Zealand, and they are declining at the rate of 2 per cent per year. A century ago, there were millions. Outside the predator-free zones, kiwi chicks and…
Mothers-to-be on Birth of a New Kind of PM
In a Guardian article, New Zealand women with babies due this month discuss what it means to have a pregnant prime minister, and how they will balance parenthood, work and a severe lack of sleep. In…
Helen Clark Speaks in Japan on Gender Equality
Former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark stressed in a recent interview with Japan’s national daily newspaper The Mainichi that women need to continue to fight for gender equality, adding that zero tolerance policies…
Peter Hillary’s Love of Mountaineering
When Rebecca Gibian first emailed Peter Hillary about an interview, he replied saying that he was currently at 16,000 feet in the Himalayans, but would get back to her when he returned to New…
Keith Dawson of Port Macquarie Turns 105
An effervescent Keith Dawson celebrated his 105th birthday on 24 May as he does each year: with family, friends and a tremendous smile. He will proudly tell you he is a New Zealander who…
NZ Plans To Invest In More Recycling Plants As It Deals With China Waste Ban
“New Zealand is planning to invest more in recycling plants and set up government-led taskforce to work out how to grapple with the fallout from China’s ban on waste imports, its associate environment minister…
Barnet Mayor Reuben Thompstone Sworn in
New Zealand-born Councillor Reuben Thompstone, a 42-year-old who represents the Golders Green ward, has become the 54th, and youngest-ever, mayor of Barnet, North London. Thompstone has a background in education and has served on the…
Dick Quax – “One of His Country’s Greatest Runners”
New Zealand athlete and Auckland councillor Dick Quax, who was “regarded as one of his country’s greatest runners, died on Monday at the age of 70 after a long battle with cancer. The
Wellington Most Liveable City Second Year Running
The city shocked many when it was ranked the most liveable city in the world last year, but it won’t surprise Wellingtonians to learn it has kept that number one spot in 2018, mayor…
Dubai Safari’s Timothy Husband Recovers Exotic Pets
It has been a busy first six months for Dubai Safari under the stewardship of its technical director, New Zealander Timothy Husband, Nick Webster reports for The National. Too big for owners to manage…
Genetically Distinct Blue Whales Discovered in NZ
A new population of at least 700 blue whales has been found living between the North and South Islands. The gigantic marine mammals are genetically distinct from whales found in the neighbouring Pacific and…
Sheryl Sandberg Deems Ardern a Political Prodigy
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg gives her opinion on New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who has been named in Time magazine’s list of 100 ‘Most Influential People’, alongside other leaders including London mayor Sadiq…
Scientist Richard Dawkins Considers Move to NZ
The British scientist Richard Dawkins has told current affairs programme The Project he would like to move to New Zealand as a refuge from the “madness” of a post-Trump, post-Brexit northern hemisphere. “I thought about…
New Zealand Women Footballers Get Same Pay As Men
“New Zealand’s football body announced a new deal May 8 that gives the national women’s team the same pay and conditions as the men’s side, becoming one of the world’s first countries to do…
New Zealand Makes Biggest Leap in A.T. Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index
New Zealand has made the biggest leap of any country – up seven spots to 16th – in this year’s A.T. Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index (FDI). The USA…
Helen Clark Talks Global Health and Gender Equality
In a joint opinion piece for Project Syndicate former New Zealand prime minister and UNDP administrator Helen Clark discusses gender equality and global public health. Organizations advocating for improved public health…
Spectacular Sinkhole Opens Up In New Zealand
“A spectacular sinkhole the length of two football fields and the depth of a six-story building has opened up on a New Zealand farm” near the North Island town of Rotorua, writes Guy Birchall in…
See the World’s Smallest Penguins in Oamaru
Life can be tough when you’re a blue penguin. For starters, you are no taller than a house cat and weigh less than a kilogram. That means many other creatures – rats, ferrets and…
New Zealand Looks To Bridge Talent Gap
“New Zealand may be experiencing economic growth fuelled by both emerging home-grown innovations and FDI that represented 38% of that nation’s GDP in 2016 and totalled NZ$101bn ($72bn) in FDI stock in 2017, but…
Top Swim Coach and Olympic Medallist Jan Cameron
“The death of long-serving Australian swimming coach Jan Cameron is being mourned on both sides of the Tasman.” The Sydney Morning Herald reports. “As Swimming Australia’s current para sport mentor coach,…
Prehistoric Toothless Whale Among Oldest of Its Kind
A fossil found in South Canterbury is now one of the earliest members of the filter-feeding family of behemoths known as baleen whales. Modern baleen whales include many of the world’s largest cetaceans, such…
Lance O’Sullivan Takes Youths on Trip of Lifetime
Twelve rangatahi Māori from across the country have accompanied New Zealander of the Year Dr Lance O’Sullivan and the Kaitaia-based Moko Foundation to the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues…
Ardern Joins Khan, Trudeau and Young Fans in London
In this Guardian ‘photo highlight’ of the day, the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau takes a selfie with the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, at City Hall during the…
Burial at Last for WWI Soldier Killed at Ypres
First World War soldier, New Zealander Captain Henry John Innes Walker, 25, whose remains lay undiscovered for more than 100 years has been given a full military burial after gas engineers uncovered his final…
Ways to Better Water Quality in NZ Lakes and Rivers
“Two years ago, New Zealanders were shocked when contaminated drinking water sickened more than 5000 people in the small town of Havelock North, with a population of 14,000,” writes Professor Troy Baisden, chair of…
Jacinda Ardern Wears Korowai to Meet the Queen
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern turned heads at Buckingham Palace last week, wearing a traditional Māori korowai to a state banquet of world leaders. The korowai was loaned to Ardern by the
Ivan Mauger Was the King of Speedway
Speedway legend Ivan Mauger, who won a record six world championships during the 1960s and 1970s, has died at his home on the Gold Coast, Queensland. He was 78. When Christchurch-born Mauger came to the…
Sperm Race Helping Save Sugar-Lapping Hihi
“It’s likely you’ve never heard of a hihi, let alone seen one in the wild. Also known as stitchbirds, these colourful little critters are a true taonga. They’re only found in New Zealand, and…
Glowworms Are Stars of the New Zealand Night
“If you want to experience a starry night in New Zealand even when it’s cloudy, there’s an option. When foul weather hides the Southern Cross and the Magellanic Clouds of the southern skies, you…
New Zealand Bans All New Offshore Oil Exploration
“The New Zealand government will grant no new offshore oil exploration permits in a move that is being hailed by conservation and environmental groups as a historic victory in the battle against climate change,”…
New Zealand Clears Historical Gay Sex Convictions
The New Zealand parliament has unanimously passed a bill that is expected to allow about 1000 men to apply to have past convictions for homosexual activity removed from their criminal records. Homosexuality was decriminalised in…
Britain’s Sunday Times Interviews Jacinda Ardern
This week, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is due to arrive in the UK for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London, and will see both Theresa May and the Queen. She knows England…
Keith Murdoch a Giant Who Never Made It Home
Keith Murdoch, who has died in Australia, aged 74, played just three Tests for the All Blacks, but his name was etched in New Zealand rugby folklore after he became a recluse in the…
Peter Gordon’s “Who’s Cooking Dinner?” “Top Foodie Fundraising Event”
Top foodie fundraising event “Who’s Cooking Dinner” 2018 boasted a line-up of 20 chefs and 15 Michelin stars. At the annual event which was hosted by Leuka, diners in attendance were assigned to…
Jacinda Ardern on Life as a Leader
In a Guardian interview, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern reveals how her life has changed and her ambition for a can-do country. This time last year Ardern was known as a young opposition MP…
Getting More Done in a Four-Day Week
On the first long weekend of her employer’s experiment with a four-day working week, Kirsten Taylor freaked out a little bit. Like a housework hurricane, she got through mounds of clothes-washing, weeded the garden,…
On the Rodeo Trail in New Zealand
Animal activists are calling for rodeos to be banned in New Zealand, but cowboys say bull riding is their calling. Eleanor Ainge Roy and Paul Roy report on the controversial sport in a photo…
Rugby Union Star Dylan Mika Hugely Talented
Former Samoa and All Blacks flanker Dylan Mika has died in Auckland of a heart attack at the age of 45. Mika played two tests for Samoa and seven for the All Blacks who he…
Ivana Kostovich Wanders the World in Two
New Zealander Ivana Kostovich, 31, and Scottish fiancée Jamie Craig, 31, hope their adventures around the globe will inspire others to do the same. They’ve launched a blog called Wander…
Post Makes Its Way to the Farm up the Long Drive
A parcel sent to a couple in New Zealand addressed only with “a farm, situated up a long driveway with cows, opposite a pub or thereabouts” has reached its rightful owners, via the Cust…
Joyful Acquaintances Made over Message in a Bottle
Whangarei teenager Julien Joy, 15, could not believe his eyes when he received a letter in the post from a German woman reminding him of a distant memory. Luisa, who was walking along a…
NZ Government Joins UN Clean Seas Campaign
“New Zealand has become the latest country to sign up to the five-year long United Nations Environment #CleanSeas campaign to rid our oceans of plastic,” reports Australian sailing publication My…
New Zealand One of Ten Happiest Countries
New Zealand has been ranked the eighth happiest country in the 2018 World Happiness Report released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations. CNN reports. Finland took…
Jacinda Ardern’s Favourite Kiwi Hangouts
“At just 37 years of age, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is the world’s youngest female Head of Government.” Vacations & Travel Magazine spoke to Ardern about her favourite spots in Auckland…
Summer Heatwave Sets All-Time Record
“New Zealand has sweltered through its hottest summer on record and can expect more of the same if climate change continues unabated, the government’s scientific agency said Tuesday,” an article in
NZ Company Offers Employees $10 a Day to Cycle to Work
Christchurch advertising company Make Collective “is offering hard cash to employees who bike to work every day in a bid to energise staff and move the city away from a…
New Zealand Is the World’s Least Corrupt Nation
New Zealand has been identified as the world’s least corrupt nation in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International. Each country is receives a score out of 100. New Zealand scored 89…
Jacinda Ardern’s Social Laboratory for the World
“Jacinda Ardern has a list of promises for improving the lives of lower-income people.” While this is pretty standard for a fresh centre-left government”, “one of her approaches for achieving it is not,” writes…
