Outgoing South Waikato District mayor Jenny Shattock, who is retiring in October, says she is proud of the council’s achievements. Shattock was the district’s first female mayor and has been with the council for 24 years, six of those as mayor. “We are on the rise … South Waikato has become a place of choice, […]
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern will travel to Europe this weekend as part of an effort to finalise a free trade deal and to attend a NATO leaders’ summit. Negotiations on a free trade deal with the European Union began in 2018 but progress has been slower than expected. However, Ardern says that it […]
The New Zealand government has presented two million NZD to Vietnam to support its recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The aid, which came from New Zealand’s Covid-19 Response fund, was presented at a ceremony in Hanoi last month. One million NZD is intended for the purchase of medical equipment, which will be provided by UNICEF […]
The prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, leaves for a trade mission to the United States today. Her itinerary includes a keynote speech at Harvard’s commencement ceremony, tourism and trade meetings, and a second appearance on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Ardern will also meet with the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and […]
New Zealand was the world’s second most democratic country in 2021, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) says in its annual Democracy Index. That was an improvement from fourth place the year before, with New Zealand considered to have become more democratic during 2021. The country considered most democratic was Norway, with the four places after […]
When National MP Erica Stanford asked Chris Hipkins a question, she probably did not expect him to respond to her with nothing more than an internet meme. That is precisely what Stanford received in response to a written parliamentary question from December when she asked Hipkins a question about allocating MIQ spots for teachers granted […]
Wang Xiaolong, the new Chinese ambassador to New Zealand, previously worked on his country’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Wang Xiaolong, who replaced former ambassador Wu Xi, previously served as director-general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s department of international economic affairs. In that role, Wang helped oversee the BRI – which seeks to deepen economic […]
The Labour leader’s approval has dropped to 35% as the country wrestles with the Omicron Covid variant and rising inflation While Ardern remains New Zealand’s preferred prime minister by a significant margin, her support had dropped four points in the latest 1 News Kantor poll, to 35%. The result is her lowest since just before […]
Happening every three years, Youth Parliament gives young people a unique opportunity to get a first-hand look at how democracy works in New Zealand. According to the Office of the Clerk, Youth Parliament has five objectives: replicate the Parliamentary process involve as many young people as possible (before and after the event) maximise the educational […]
Today marks the 25th anniversary of the first ever MMP election in New Zealand, the biggest change to the country’s electoral system since women were given the right to vote more than a century ago. That’s Wal of Footrot Flats fame in 1996, practising something New Zealanders were about to do for the first time […]