Bill Gosden Lived and Breathed Film
Bill Gosden, who served as director of the New Zealand International Film Festival for nearly 40 years, has died in Wellington. He was 66. Mike Barnes looks back on Gosden’s illustrious career for The Hollywood…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
New Zealand Inc Reaps Benefit of Lockdown Response
When Covid-19 struck New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern’s government quickly closed the nation’s borders and imposed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns in a bid to eliminate the spread of the virus. Jamie Smyth, a…
Economist Writes on Our “Islands of Liberality”
“More notable than the appearance of Ardern’s cabinet is how voters answered one question on their ballot paper: should New Zealand legalise assisted dying for those with a terminal illness?” The Economist asks….
We’re Remote Even Under Normal Circumstances
What does it feels like to leave New York and “land in a parallel universe of calm politics and good health”? Journalist Natasha Frost arrived in New Zealand last month and investigated for the…
New Zealand’s Political Debates Show What Changes When Two Women Lead
“New Zealand’s recent election, which ended up with an electoral landslide for the incumbent Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, says something about women in leadership roles. With the leaders of New Zealand’s two biggest parties…
John Reid a Cricket Player of Uncontested Standing
“ John Reid, who has died aged 92, was in large part responsible for establishing New Zealand as a respected force in world cricket. A superb all-rounder who was the captain and mainstay of…
Berlin Museum Returns Toi Moko to New Zealand
With a ceremony and prayers, Berlin’s ethnological museum has marked the official repatriation of two Toi Moko, or tattooed Māori heads, to the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, Deutsche Welle…
Morrinsville’s World Famous Takeaway Worker
It’s Friday night in the small town of Morrinsville and a handful of locals are waiting at the Golden Kiwi on the main street for a greasy parcel of fish and chips, Julia Hollingsworth…
King of Soul Max Merritt Will Be Greatly Missed
Christchurch-born Max Merritt, the ARIA Hall of Fame inductee best known for his soulful songs “Slippin’ Away” and “Hey, Western Union Man”, has died in Los Angeles. He was 79. Merritt made his mark when…
Global Media Outlets React to Jacinda Ardern’s Win
Jacinda Ardern will serve a second term as New Zealand prime minister following Labour’s landslide victory in an election on 17 October, which delivered a major shift towards progressive parties, Jamie Smith reports for…
New Zealand Passport Takes Top Spot
The Passport Index has named a new most powerful passport in the world, and it’s none other than: New Zealand. Stacey Leasca reports on how our passport allows travel to more countries than…
Mathematician Vaughan Jones a Man Who Knew Knots
“In 1994, Gisborne-born mathematician Vaughan Jones walked on stage to address the Italian national academy in Rome’s Palazzo Corsini, lit a cigar and began to blow smoke rings. With a mischievous grin, he told…
Steven Joyce a Top Figure in Australian Education
The Australian Financial Review Magazine’s recent Power issue includes lists of the key players across six industry sectors. In education, New Zealander Steven Joyce, 57, is named as one of the top five most…
OECD Nominee Liddell Helms White House Transition Planning
Whoever wins the U.S. Presidential race – Trump or Biden – New Zealand-born Chris Liddell will be holding the keys to the front door of the White House in his role as head of…
PM Jacinda Ardern Runner Up in Prospect List
The votes have been counted and the results are in. UK magazine Prospect’s top 10 is full of practical-minded thinkers for the Covid-19 age – and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has taken…
Labour’s Priyanca Radhakrishnan Proud of Roots
In an exclusive interview with Indian news magazine, The Week, Labour list MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan, 41, talks about how the New Zealand Government is handling the pandemic and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s chances of…
Chur, Russell Crowe Educates Vanity Fair Readers
From “bugger all” to “jandals”, Wellington-born actor Russell Crowe, 56, star of Unhinged, takes Vanity Fair readers through some “sweet as” phrases from New Zealand and Australia – two cultures he is “very, very…
Queenstown Looks to Alternative Revenue
As the Covid-19 pandemic closes borders and grounds aircraft around the world, iconic destinations from Kyoto to Amsterdam are addressing the new reality of fewer visitors and looking for ways to reset their local…
Tony Blakely Advocate for COVID Elimination
The professorial fellow at Melbourne University’s School of Population and Global Health, New Zealander Tony Blakely has become one of the go-to epidemiologists for the Australian media trying to explain the complex interactions between…
Chlöe Swarbrick Makes Fortune’s 40-Under-40 List
In a year of “monumental challenges and change”, Fortune magazine has released its 40 Under 40 lists for 2020, the Government and Politics list of which features Aucklander Chlöe Swarbrick alongside iHeartMedia’s Jalisa Washington-Price…
SAS One of Top Special Ops Forces in the World
Special operations forces have become some of the most prominent and active military units in the world, Stavros Atlamazogkou writes for Business Insider. US units like Delta Force and the Navy SEALs are well-known…
Staggering Potential of NZ’s Returning Diaspora
International strategist and insights specialist Aucklander Julia Arnott-Neenee, 27, is one of a number of high achievers “coming home at once”. The Spinoff’s managing editor Duncan Greive interviews the well-travelled Arnott-Neenee, amongst other New…
Peter FitzSimons: “Australia should take back Christchurch killer.” Others disagree.
“Asked by New Zealand media to summate the Australian reaction to the conviction of the Christchurch killer who grew up in Grafton only to murder 51 people in a Kiwi mosque in March last…
“I forgive you: Why victims’ empathy was kryptonite to the Christchurch killer”
Reflecting on four days of victim impact statements prior to the life-without-parole sentence of the Christchurch mosque killer, Sydney Morning Herald columnist and senior journalist Jacqueline Maley wrote “The more I listened, the…
Pete Oswald Skiing to Reforest Madagascar
New Zealand freeskier and photographer Pete Oswald, 35, speaks with Men’s Journal journalist Eliot Grover about his efforts to reforest Madagascar and alleviate poverty. This June, in a partnership with Eden Reforestation Projects, Oswald…
Though NZ Is Confronting a New Outbreak It Is Still Way Ahead of the USA – WashPost
“Since the start of the novel coronavirus pandemic, New Zealand has drawn global attention for the effectiveness of its response,” associate professor of law at American University’s Washington College of Law Rebecca Hamilton writes…
Wellington Library Book Returned after 118 years
A book has been returned to a Wellington library 118 years after it was checked out, Yahoo News Australia reports. The Earl of Derby by George Saintsbury was borrowed from the Newtown Library in…
Behrouz Boochani Just Wants to Be Free
Recently granted refugee status and now living in Christchurch, Behrouz Boochani fled Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. He exposed Australia’s offshore detention camps – from the inside. He survived, stateless, for seven years. Author and journalist…
New Zealand’s Glaciers Testament to Climate Change
New research has found extreme melting of New Zealand’s glaciers in 2018 was at least ten times more likely due to human-caused global heating, Graham Readfearn reports for The Guardian. Twice a year, glaciologist Lauren…
Lock Andy Haden Key Player in AB History
All Blacks lock Andy Haden, who “was an exceptionally talented, intelligent and resilient lock, among the best in the world in his era,” has died in Auckland, aged 69. The Japan Times has published an…
London Health Worker Natalie Scott a Free Sister
Clinical lead physiotherapist for critical care at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, New Zealander Natalie Scott, has received the Freedom of the City of London – a recognition awarded to people who have achieved success, recognition or celebrity…
New Zealand Grants Behrouz Boochani Refugee Status
Behrouz Boochani, 37, a Kurdish-Iranian refugee who wrote the award-winning book, No Friend But the Mountains on his mobile phone while held in one of Australia’s notorious Pacific detention camps, has been granted asylum…
Tim Dodd Appointed Dean of Texas Tech College of Human Sciences
After two years as acting and interim dean of Texas Tech University’s College of Human Sciences, New Zealander Tim Dodd is taking the reins in his own right, Fox 34 News reports. Dodd will…
How New Zealand Is Beating the Coronavirus Pandemic
“The United States is a pandemic-policy mess, and the whole world is watching the meltdown,” Markos Kounalakis writes for the Washington Monthly. “How did such a small place take on such…
Judith Collins Named National Party’s New Leader
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, widely known for her exhortations to kindness and compassion, will face Judith Collins – a combative, tough-talking conservative lawmaker who styled herself after Margaret Thatcher – in the country’s general…
How NZ Became an Apocalypse Escape Destination
In Queenstown – a picturesque ski spot that often attracts comparisons to Aspen, Colorado – rumours about foreigners investing in apocalypse-proof bunkers have been swirling for years, CNN correspondent Julia Hollingsworth writes. They’re referenced by…
World’s Newest Dark Sky Park Announced in NZ
New Zealand is quickly becoming one of the top dark sky destinations on earth, Valerie Stimac reports for Forbes, with the country home to two International Dark Sky Association (IDA) certified Dark Sky Sanctuaries –…
A Country Can Best Heal When it Acknowledges Past Injustices says Sociologist
What would happen if you lost your land and ended up as a second-class citizen in your own country? asks American medical sociologist Robert Bartholomew in an opinion piece for Psychology Today. “New Zealand is a land…
Helen Clark to co-Lead WHO COVID-19 Panel on Global Response, Future Prevention
“Avowed multilateralists” New Zealander Helen Clark and Liberian politician Ellen Johnson Sirleaf will lead a World Health Organization (WHO) panel scrutinising the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic just as international institutions are under…
Oldest Surviving Photograph of Māori Discovered
The oldest surviving photograph of a Māori person, a picture of Hemi Pomara, has been discovered in the National Library of Australia, an historical “scoop” being lauded on both sides of the Tasman. Eleanor…
A Country Can Best Heal When it Acknowledges Past Injustices says Sociologist
What would happen if you lost your land and ended up as a second-class citizen in your own country? asks American medical sociologist Robert Bartholomew in an opinion for Psychology Today. “New Zealand is a land…
Todd Muller Plots Downfall of Jacinda Ardern
Todd Muller’s launch last week in the Te Puna rugby clubrooms was not flashy or digital; in one sense it was politics of the old school. But for those who listened to the long,…
Modest Film Pioneer Bill Gavin’s Epic Career
“Once upon a time, a determined sales agent and production executive could set up a career which would resonate beyond their death. Bill Gavin was a New Zealander who left to report on motor…
Housesitters Find a Community in COVID-19 NZ
After struggling to find an affordable apartment in Nelson, a Canadian-New Zealand couple signed up to be housesitters, and ended up booking back-to-back sitting gigs for an entire year. But when COVID-19 began, Business…
New Zealand “the New Leader of the Free World”
“When I say ‘new leader of the free world’, I don’t just mean Jacinda Ardern. I mean New Zealand. As a society,” London-based consultant, leading thinker and author Umair Haque writes in a feature…
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…
Coach George Simpkins Took Rugby to China
New Zealander George Simpkin, Hong Kong’s former head coach and HKRU technical director, who played a major role in the overall development of rugby in China and Asia, has died aged 77, the South…
Hilary Bracefield was a True Polymath
“Writing on a wide range of subjects from Stravinsky to the poetry of her fellow New Zealander Fleur Adcock, my friend and one-time colleague at the University of Ulster, Hilary Bracefield, has died,…
Geoff Walker a Helping Hand in Uganda
Photographer Geoff Walker left New Zealand to escape the haunting memory of witnessing the 2012 Carterton balloon tragedy, and found a new purpose for life in humanitarian work in Uganda, Mariné Lourens reports for…
James Shaw on Our Economic Climate Post-COVID-19
Cheap, renewable electricity is one way of reviving economies and preserving New Zealand’s natural environment, Climate Change Minister and co-leader of the Green Party James Shaw argues in an opinion piece for The Guardian. Shaw…
Rare Parakeet Rebounds in New Zealand
Populations of New Zealand’s critically endangered orange-fronted parakeet, or Malherbe’s parakeet, are recovering thanks to conservation efforts concentrated on bringing them back from the brink, the editor of educational geography website World Atlas, Oishimaya Sen Nag,…
Boris Johnson Just Another Patient Says Jenny McGee
The British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was “just another patient we were trying to do our best for”, one of the nurses who treated him has said. In her first public comment since Johnson…
What Next for New Zealand’s Economy?
“In New Zealand, a country of five million people, new COVID-19 cases have been in the single digits for most of the past week. Australia reported just seven new infections on 23 April. That…
Jacinda Ardern “May Be the Most Effective Leader on the Planet”
Influential U.S. news journal The Atlantic says “Jacinda Ardern’s leadership style, focused on empathy, isn’t just resonating with her people; it’s putting the country on track for success against the coronavirus.” Uri Friedman, staff…
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…
May the US Find Its Ashley Bloomfield
“It’s a dark time, with the days blurring together and the hours crawling by. New Zealanders may be known for our laid-back, generally cheerful demeanours, but truth be told we’re getting pretty ratty, pretty…
