New Zealand

Jacinda Ardern and the empty politics of ‘kindness’

27 April 2025 4:10 pm

Just over two years on from stepping down as Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern is awaiting the imminent…

307,000 Voices

5 April 2025 4:25 pm

What the New Zealand Treaty Principles Bill teaches us about free speech

New Zealand’s cringeworthy new tourism slogan

18 February 2025 11:06 pm

‘Everyone must go!’ New Zealand’s new tourism declares, but so far almost everyone seems to be cringing. The prime minister…

The sacred sites fandango

15 February 2025 9:00 am

Why do myths, legends and spirituality now take precedence over science?

Operation Resolution: cleaning up after HMNZS Manawanui

16 December 2024 9:47 am

HMNZS Manawanui, formally a chirpy red and yellow MV Edda Fonn, sank on October 6 much to the shock of…

Why is this New Zealand airport clamping down on hugs?

24 October 2024 11:02 pm

‘Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world,’ Hugh Grant famously offered in the heartwarming opening scene of Love,…

How New Zealand managed to sink a tenth of its naval fleet

7 October 2024 10:40 pm

New Zealand just lost one tenth of its naval defence fleet. The HMNZS Manawanui – the jewel in the nation’s small military…

How does New Zealand solve a problem like China?

8 September 2024 7:06 pm

New Zealand’s most important trading partner is also the nation’s biggest security headache, according to a new risk-assessment report produced…

Why are so many young people abandoning New Zealand?

24 August 2024 4:00 pm

Heading to the UK is a longstanding rite of cultural passage for many Kiwis. People like my youngest son, who…

Kiwi life

29 June 2024 9:00 am

New Zealand in crisis Given the destruction the previous Labour government inflicted on this country, and the damage caused by…

New Zealand’s carbon sequestration problem

19 June 2024 3:10 am

Ongoing concern about climate change has fuelled debate about the part carbon sequestration might play in reducing New Zealand’s net…

Why New Zealand is cracking down on immigration

10 April 2024 7:06 pm

The government of New Zealand this week tightened the country’s working visa rules in order to stem historically high numbers…

Why is New Zealand’s deputy PM rowing with Chumbawamba?

22 March 2024 11:28 pm

In their musical heyday, the English anarchist punk band Chumbawamba enjoyed a reputation for having an irreverent attitude towards those…

New Zealand’s imperial judiciary

2 March 2024 9:00 am

Who gave them the power? They did

Subversion within New Zealand

24 February 2024 9:00 am

Not for the first time

Did Maori MPs mean to insult King Charles?

6 December 2023 8:10 pm

The co-leaders of New Zealand’s Māori party, Te Pāti Māori, have defended their actions at the swearing-in ceremony at parliament…

Kiwi life

25 November 2023 9:00 am

Given the UK’s Rishi Sunak sacking Suella Braverman for saying what many others would feel – that the police were…

New Zealand’s coalition goes to war with Jacinda Ardern’s legacy

24 November 2023 11:49 pm

New Zealand finally has a government again. It’s been 40 days since Labour was defeated in the country’s election, but the…

The worst Noel? Why Kiwis are turning against wealthy foreigners

4 November 2023 1:40 am

Wealthy foreigners are flocking to New Zealand, but not all Kiwis are happy about their arrival: not least locals who…

Poetic justice in New Zealand

21 October 2023 9:00 am

A double victory for conservatism down under

Is New Zealand about to return to the world stage?

16 October 2023 11:18 pm

After six years of Labour party rule in New Zealand, the country’s foreign policy brings to mind the line about…

How the National party toppled Labour in New Zealand

14 October 2023 10:42 pm

Just three years on from Jacinda Ardern’s phenomenal outright victory, New Zealand’s Labour government has collapsed, slumping to half its…

An end to pandemonium in New Zealand?

8 October 2023 1:39 am

With the New Zealand 2023 General Election taking place very soon and voting now open both abroad and at home,…

There is still everything to play for in New Zealand’s general election

30 September 2023 1:01 am

With two weeks to go before New Zealand’s general election, the contest is so close that many have stopped bothering…

Febrile, fractious and frayed

16 September 2023 9:00 am

Unhappy New Zealanders are poised to ditch Labour