Kiwis On Skid Row
New Zealanders Bridget McIver and Vaughan Smith live in a trendy San Francisco loft – but the neighbours don’t reflect the price tag.
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
It’s Raining (Flying) Men
Britain’s RAF, looking to fill vacancies, sees the disbanding of the combat wing of the RNZAF may be a wind-fall.
Jack Off?
Should New Zealand drop the Union Jack and opt for the Silver Fern as a more unique and marketable symbol?
Who’s a Clever Kea Then?
The kea outscores gibbons in intelligence tests. “There was definitely learning going on,” says Rachel Johnston who administered the avian IQ tests.
Driving Miss Dotty
New Zealand truck driver Neil Russell found two damp felines (Dotty and Smokey) clinging to the underside of his lorry when he pulled into the Chelsea Flower Show.
Too Smug?
New Zealand is making an official effort to cultivate Asia-literacy, but are individuals are unjustifiably smug in their attitudes to Asia?
Away Damn Spot!
Does a bottle of water keep the dogs at bay? A New Zealand man claims to have made it up to fool his aunty …
Sharing the Wealth
Former New Zealand PM now WTO head Mike Moore writes on spreading the gains of free trade to the world’s least-developed countries. Also, Moore warns against bully-boy tactics.
Law Lord Retires
Lord Cooke of Thorndon, the man whose decisions changed the face of race relations in New Zealand, retires from the Privy Council. “Lord Cooke’s achievement in being appointed as a law lord on his retirement as…
Election Aid
New Zealand will provide personnel, technical and funding assistance to ensure Fiji’s up-coming elections run properly.
Eye Candy Off Antigua
“Circulating everywhere are professional crewmen and women-nearly all of whom seem to have blond hair, flawless physiques and charming New Zealand accents. They are constantly on the prowl for a better berth.”
Tests Blow Up
Were New Zealand troops used as nuclear guinea pigs? Australian lawyer thinks yes, Government asks the tough questions. Also, New Zealand Government refused to allow testing on Kermadec Island.
World Music
The BBC’s Radio4 celebrates International Dawn Chorus Day by listening to the world wake up via some aural ornithology; singing the sun up is the enchanting “Nightingale of New Zealand” – the Tui.
Global Warning
Kiwi LSE economist Robert Wade, tracks the winners and losers in the big-stakes game of globalisation and stirs debate with new thinking: “Growing inequality is analogous to global warming. Its effects are diffuse and long-term ……
Anzac Spirit
“In late April 1915, John Davis, a young New Zealander uncertain even of his own age, stepped off a small boat on the shores of Gallipoli. Moments later he slumped, apparently lifelessly, into the sea.” Two…
Captain Cloud
“Captain John Hercus used to be a banker. He used to be a skier. He jumped ship twice from the corporate world to return to his real passion. Sailing. He wandered, sometimes, lonely as a cloud….
Returning the Gaze
Early European explorers of the Pacific created a cult of the South Seas – Sir Joseph Banks, for example, had his portrait painted wearing a Maori cloak over his European dress. Now the Pacific refocuses the…
RNZAF to the Rescue
The Royal New Zealand Air Force wings its way to Antarctica to rescue sick workers.
Tests of Nationhood
“If you asked a random person how one can tell China and France are different nations, almost every test they would probably offer-language, culture, race, religion, cuisine, origins – would fail to distinguish the…
Anzac Memorial
The New Zealand war memorial in Canberra was officially opened on 24 April by Australian Anzac veteran, 100-year old Charlie Mance.
In Bed with Matilda
Waltzing won’t cut it says Professor Bob Catley – New Zealand is screwed unless we go all the way with our neighbor. A recipe for bare-foot and pregnant?
Whale of a Debate
Japan gets sharky over New Zealand’s support for a Southern Ocean whale sanctuary, but South Pacific nations are right behind the proposal.
Dollar Getting Burgered
The Economist’s Big Mac index indicates the New Zealand dollar is 40-50% under fair value. Burgernomics in more detail.
Oz Needs Women on Top
Australia needs to heed New Zealand’s example on female politicians, roping more talented women into mainstream parties. New Zealand’s current female dominated political scene is “light years away from Australia’s old-fashioned old boys’ game.”
Free Economy
New Zealand has the third freest economy in the world, after Hong Kong and Singapore, according to Economic Freedom in the World 2001 Annual Report.
Reviewing the Guard
Prime Minister Helen Clark reviews the honor guard as she is welcomed to Beijing.
Get Talking
Foreign Minister Phil Goff will push for a new WTO round during a continental trip, as well encouraging continued European support for East Timor.
Kyoto Controversy
New Zealand will not give up on the Kyoto Protocol states Helen Clark. “New Zealand and Japan worked very hard to get it and we hope to find a way to bring the US back into…
Anti-Terror Laws
New Zealand Parliament looks to pass new anti-terrorist laws, “strengthening New Zealand’s ability to deter and react decisively to international terrorist attacks”.
Abandoning “Captain Calamity”
Crew-member Rob Salvidge said goodbye to round-the-world challenger Tony Bullimore at “a late-night cook-up in a Maori taxi-drivers’ cafe in Wellington”.
No smoke, No Fire
Compulsory age-ID for young smokers, and smoke-free zones in bars may be on their way in New Zealand.
Young Diplomats
Exchange student are young diplomats, Prime Minister Helen Clark told a high school in Osaka during a speech promoting youth exchanges between New Zealand and Japan.
Peace Memorial Visit
Helen Clark, noted in Japan as the leader of a “declared anti-nuclear country”, visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum during her official trip to Japan.
The Tough Got Going
“Tough New Zealanders, adept at navigating the desert by the stars-and-sun compass,” formed a key part of David Lloyd Owen’s Long Range Desert Group, “regarded by some as one of the most cost-effective special forces…
Trade Freed Up
Bi-lateral trade between New Zealand and Singapore grew 35% from January to February, following a free trade pact which kicked off at the beginning of the year.
Sent to Safety
Shirley Rose and her brother Isaac Beder were sent from Poland to New Zealand in 1937. The difficult separation from their father almost certainly saved their lives.
Return of the Jedi – More Cenus/Senseless Fun
The New Zealand spawned Jedi-email just keeps going and going.
Small Country with a Big Attitude
“Recent history shows that the New Zealand government, especially with Clark’s own Labour Party at the helm, has not shied away from David and Goliath-like confrontations. The feisty nation arguably made its first proper international splash…
On Top of the World
Sir Edmund Hillary had a brush with altitude sickness, but has made a full recovery, returning to the Nepalese hospital two days after he was discharged to inaugurate a new children’s ward.
Force to Be Reckoned With
The Jedi email, begun in honour of the New Zealand census, manifests itself as “other” in the UK and costs $500 a pop in Australia.
U Sux
Hi-tech bullying via txt msg has lead to the banning of cell-phones in two New Zealand schools.
Womanly Example
Japanese society should look to New Zealand for kick-ass high-profile female role-models suggests PM Helen Clark.
Into Left-field
Labour hits 50%, Helen Clark does a pb of 36%. “The government is the only game in town,” says Clark.
Disappearing Visitors
“There are reputed to be certain towns in New Zealand and Australia where if you shout out a name in the street, someone will instinctively turn round, then nervously jerk their head away. They’ve briefly been drawn…
Thief With an Eye for Quality
Canterbury man Stuart McPherson doesn’t just steal video players – he rings their owners to complain if they’re not top-of-the-line.
Working for Justice
Dr Dorothy Millar began to question western values after contact with Maori culture, leading to a life spent working for justice and prosperity for all.
Public Interest
Once watched as the world’s greatest free-market experiment, New Zealand is leading the way in getting democracy out from under the corporate thumb says prominent intellectual Noreena Hertz.
Head for Debate
Commonwealth Sec-Gen and former New Zealand 2IC Don McKinnon indicates the next Leader of the Commonwealth might be up for debate after the Queen moves on.
It Won’t Hurt a Bit
New Zealand Cancer Society prostate awareness star, John Hopoate, takes legal action.
Big Money Beware
The Government seeks to implement a “code of conduct” for foreign investors, leading to “higher standards of investment”.
Baby Steps
“The best place I ever visited was probably Australia and New Zealand in 1983 with Prince Charles and Princess Diana when they took William. In Auckland where the tour ended the pictures of Diana and Charles…
Good Background for Conciliation
South African immigrant Gregory Fortuin, New Zealand’s new race relations conciliator, has his experience of “ugly and oppressive racism” under apartheid to motivate him in his new job.
