Tag Archives: New Zealand

The Guardian reports: New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, has said she is resigning, in an unexpected announcement that came as she confirmed a national election for October. At the party’s first caucus meeting of the year on Thursday, Ardern said she “no longer had enough in the tank” to do the job. “It’s time,” she added. “I’m leaving, because …

Reuters reports: Future generations of New Zealanders will be banned from purchasing tobacco as part of a package of new anti-smoking laws that passed parliament on Tuesday and are among the most strict in the world. The suite of new laws include bans on selling tobacco to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, punishable by fines up to …

Reuters reports: King Charles was officially proclaimed head of state of both Australia and New Zealand at ceremonies on Sunday in the nations’ capitals. In New Zealand, the proclamation of Charles as monarch, taking over from Queen Elizabeth who died on Thursday aged 96, took place in the parliament in Wellington. Speaking from parliament’s steps, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said …

Radio New Zealand reports: New Zealand has designated US groups the Proud Boys and The Base as terrorist entities. Set down in the government’s official journal of record – the gazette – last Monday, 20 June, it was published publicly a week later but with no wider dissemination. The move – authorised by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and signed off …

Reuters reports: New Zealand police on Wednesday ended an anti-vaccine mandate protest that had disrupted the capital for the past three weeks, dismantling an encampment outside parliament, towing away vehicles and arresting dozens. Several fires broke out among tents just metres from the parliament building, sending up billows of smoke before being doused by police, a Reuters witness said, as …

Agence France-Presse reports: Police with riot shields clashed with anti-vaccine demonstrators outside New Zealand’s parliament early Tuesday, with one protester unsuccessfully attempting to drive a car into a group of officers. The escalation in tensions came a day after police reported demonstrators had hurled human waste at them as they installed roadblocks around a protest camp which has clogged the …

The New Zealand Herald reports: Parliament has passed a bill in its third reading that will ban conversion practices, such as those attempting to change people’s sexuality and/or gender. The bill passed with 112 MPs in favour, including all those from Labour, Act, the Green Party and Te Pāti Māori. Eight National MPs opposed the bill. It was an emotional …

The BBC reports: Authorities in New Zealand have been playing Barry Manilow’s greatest hits in an attempt to dislodge protesters camped outside the parliament building. Songs by the US singer are being played on a 15-minute loop, along with the Spanish dance tune, Macarena. The demonstrators, who are angry at Covid-19 vaccine mandates, responded by playing songs such as Twisted …

The Insider reports: When anti-vaccine mandate protesters showed up to New Zealand’s parliament on Friday, officials activated the sprinklers to drive them off. But demonstrators have responded to the inconvenience by digging trenches to redirect water away from tents, according to local media reports. Hundreds of anti-mandate supporters have occupied the grounds outside the nation’s parliament in Wellington this week. …

Reuters reports: Australians bade farewell to 2021 with a traditional fireworks display over Sydney harbour as good news from South Africa – the first country to pronounce itself past its Omicron wave – brought hope for a joyous New Year. Thanks to Omicron, the New Year began its annual roll from East to West quietly – with no official firework …

ABC News reports: Most of New Zealand will move out of lockdown Tuesday except for the largest city of Auckland, which will remain in the strictest type of lockdown until at least next week, the government announced Monday. The nation has been battling an outbreak of the delta variant of the coronavirus since last month. All recent cases have been …

The New York Times reports: Six people were injured in a knife attack at a supermarket in New Zealand on Friday, an outburst of violence that the prime minister labeled a “terrorist attack” that had been carried out by a “violent extremist” inspired by the Islamic State. The suspect, a Sri Lankan national, was shot and killed by the police, …

Reuters reports: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday extended a lockdown in Auckland by two weeks, while officials reported the country’s first death linked to the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. New Zealand had been largely virus-free for months, barring a small number of cases in February, until an outbreak of the Delta variant imported from Australia prompted Ardern to …

The New Zealand Herald reports: New Zealand will stay in alert level 4 lockdown until at least midnight on Friday, and Auckland will stay locked down until at least midnight on Tuesday next week. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement at the Beehive this afternoon. Cabinet decided to keep all of New Zealand in lockdown until 11.59pm this Friday, …

Reuters reports: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put New Zealand under strict lockdown on Tuesday after the country’s first coronavirus case in six months was reported in the largest city of Auckland. Ardern’s “go hard, go early” strategy has helped curb COVID-19 but her announcement left people struggling to stack up essentials, businesses shutting abruptly and schools and offices making last-minute …

The BBC reports: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said that that the country’s borders will remain closed until at least the end of the year. She said an elimination strategy was the best way to keep Covid-19 out and the economy open. The prime minister also said New Zealand would move to a new individual risk-based model for …

The Guardian reports: New Zealand has introduced legislation to ban conversion practices, saying the practice is harmful and has “no place in modern New Zealand.” “Those who have experienced conversion practices talk about ongoing mental health distress, depression, shame and stigma, and even suicidal thoughts,” the minister of justice, Kris Faafoi, said as he introduced the legislation on Friday. The …

The Washington Post reports: New Zealand has suspended a travel bubble with Australia for two months as an outbreak of a hyper-transmissible variant of the novel coronavirus threatens the nation’s earlier success in containing the pandemic. More than 200,000 people have flown between New Zealand and Australia since the quarantine-free travel corridor opened in April. But a delta variant outbreak …

The New York Times reports: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand announced on Tuesday that her nation would establish a travel bubble with Australia, allowing travelers to move between the countries without needing to quarantine for the first time since the pandemic began. The bubble, which will open just before midnight on April 19, is expected to deliver a …

The Washington Post reports: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Monday that she spoke with President-elect Joe Biden in a “positive and warm phone call” and has offered to share resources, data and experts who can shed light on the country’s successful coronavirus response. Biden “spoke positively about New Zealand’s response to the pandemic,” which has involved a strict …