New Zealand News Archives

Monday, 30 November 2009, 2:28 pm Press Release: Business New Zealand Media release 30 November 2009 Serious value in Taskforce report The first report of the 2025 Taskforce displays a comprehensive grasp of the factors that could propel New Zealand's economy into higher growth.

A 6-metre rocket launched into space from a New Zealand island on Monday, fulfilling a long-held dream for two local men, one so mad about the venture that he changed his name to Rocket by deed poll.

By Amandeep Kaur, Hamilton , Nov 30 : Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his New Zealand counterpart John Key have agreed to start formal negotiations on a free trade agreement next year, a newspaper report here said.

Monday, 30 November 2009, 10:06 am Press Release: New Zealand Police A 78-year-old tramper who was reported missing yesterday in northern Hawke's Bay has been found safe and well.

Big cuts in top tax rates, cashing up the superannuation "Cullen Fund" to reduce government debt and a traffic congestion tax starting in Auckland are among the measures Don Brash's taskforce has suggested to close the pay gap with Australia by 2025.

The year's biggest earthquake in Hawke's Bay, early this morning, has been described as a "goodie" but it is not believed to have caused damage.

A technical hitch has delayed New Zealand's bid to join the space race. The launch by New Zealand aerospace company Rocket Lab of Atea-1 from Great Mercury Island, off the Coromandel Peninsula, was scheduled for 7.10am but put on hold due to a fuel problem.

TJ McDonald TJ McDonald is Wellington's only chance for bringing the Billy T Award back to the capital.

Chris Liddell is "looking at a number of opportunities that will expand his career beyond being a CFO," according to Microsoft Bill Rigby NEW YORK, USA: Microsoft Corp's chief financial officer Chris Liddell is to leave the company at the end of the year, indicating that he is looking for a bigger job at another company.

A man is in hospital after being rescued from a capsized fishing boat in Napier.

Wellington, New Zealand - New Zealand's Parliament passed a revised climate change law on Wednesday that was condemned by a key official as likely to increase emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases and offer little help to the environment.

NZ Opera School Trust Twenty-four of New Zealand's aspiring young opera stars including 11 from Wellington have been selected to participate in the annual New Zealand Opera School in Wanganui from Sunday 3rd to Thursday 14th January.

Drinking water flowing to almost one in six New Zealanders either failed to reach Ministry of Health standards or escaped testing during 2007/08, the ministry says.

The Mudbrick vineyard on Waiheke Island in New Zealand. Photograph by: Sandra Teddy, Getty Images Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

There have been two small earthquakes recorded near Taupo. GNS Science says a magnitude 2.5 quake hit at 5.15am on Saturday 10km southwest of Taupo, with a depth of 2km.

By Zelda Venter High Court Reporter Afrikaans singer Jurie Els was busy with jury duty in the Supreme Court in Auckland, New Zealand, when he heard that the Director of Public Prosecutions had decided to prosecute him for the alleged molestation of child singer Robbie Klay.

A Swiss sailor's round-the-world voyage came to an abrupt halt off the coast of New Zealand after his yacht hit what he believed to be a sleeping whale.

A hunter was in a critical condition after being shot in the chest by another hunter spotlighting for deer.

Oops! If the mainstream media was hoping that the Climategate scandal would be limited to the University of East Anglia's Climate Reasearch Unit in Norwich, England, they are out of luck.

Six relatives of 257 people killed during an Air New Zealand sightseeing flight to Antarctica 30 years ago returned to the crash site on Friday to mark the anniversary.

One of New Zealand's most notorious sexual offenders has been found dead in Wanganui Prison.

A foster caregiver was jailed on Friday for six years and six months for the manslaughter of a toddler who died at Auckland's Starship Children's Hospital nearly four years ago.

Some conservation land in the Coromandel could be used for mining, Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee says.

Press Release: New Zealand Police Wanganui Police executed a search warrant this morning at the city's Hells Angels headquarters in Kaikokopu Road.

Burglars lucked into a hoard of precious metals and rare coins when they stole a steel case from a rural Porirua house earlier this month.

A scientist from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research has dismissed a report of an iceberg about 30km southeast of Stewart Island.

Labour leader Phil Goff is accusing the Government of reopening racial wounds. In a speech about nationhood at a Grey Power-hosted public meeting in Palmerston North today, Mr Goff said the country could celebrate its rich heritage or re-open wounds and divisions.

A Tauranga hunter was accidently shot while hunting for rabbits south of Taupo late last night and is critically injured.

November 2009 - It is with great pleasure Huka Lodge, Taupo, New Zealand announces the appointment of Michel Louws to the role of Executive Chef.

Fire crews are battling a scrub fire which began in a swamp in the Coromandel village of Opoutere.

The mother of murdered Palmerston North man Nicholas Pike says she hopes to finally let go of her son, nearly seven years after he went missing.

Did you feel it? Report shaking and damage at your location. You can also view a map displaying accumulated data from your report and others.

Australian financier Resimac Ltd was yesterday named as the new investor in Allied Farmers, as the Taranaki-based company continues with its ambitious expansion plan.

In this Nov. 16, 2009 photo released by the Australian Antarctic Division, an iceberg is seen behind a lying elephant seal at Sandy Bay on Macquarie Island's east coast, in the Southern Ocean 1,500 kilometers southeast of Tasmania, Australia .

A glider pilot is in critical condition in hospital after crash landing on an electric fence in Waikato on Tuesday.

School principal and Environment Bay of Plenty regional councillor Hawea Vercoe died from a brain injury, according to autopsy results.

Auckland's rail system will receive $500 million to buy electric trains. Transport Minister Steven Joyce said the loan to KiwiRail would kick forward the process early next year, with the first electric trains operational from 2013.

Monday, 23 November 2009, 1:00 pm Press Release: University of Auckland Pacific scholars, policy makers and analysts from around the world will convene at The University of Auckland for the 11th Pacific Islands Political Studies Association conference.

Regional towns across New Zealand are feeling the squeeze as mortgagee sales hit another historic high in September, according to the latest figures from Terralink International.

A teenage New Zealand thug who has won an appeal against an Australian deportation order should not have been allowed to stay on that side of the Tasman, says an Australian police union.

The State Services Commission has ordered an investigation into a Labour Party complaint about National MP Paul Quinn.

After years of debate New Zealand is set to have a working emissions trading scheme in 2010.

Media release - New Zealand Police The Road Policing Manager for Central District, Inspector Neil Wynne is both shocked and appalled by the number of drunk drivers found during an operation on Friday night - particularly in Palmerston North.

Monday, 23 November 2009, 11:38 am Press Release: Samoa Relief Concert The 'I Love the Islands' Benefit Concert NZ tour has raised $344,180.00* to aid Samoa after the recent Tsunami disaster.

The organisers of an Auckland protest against the anti-smacking legislation are threatening to take their march to other cities, but say their next step will be determined by Prime Minister John Key.

A 19-year-old Lower Hutt woman was admitted to Wellington Hospital after she was knocked unconscious and trapped under her dying horse.

A teenager has been arrested this afternoon and charged with the murder of a Bay of Plenty school principal in Whakatane.

Monday, 16 November 2009, 1:38 pm Press Release: Wellington Chamber Of Commerce New Zealand businesses needs better understanding of Asia The Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce has applauded the latest initiative from the Asia New Zealand Foundation to better prepare New Zealanders for a future with the Asian region.

High profile lawyer Chris Comeskey says he will defy an order to give evidence against a man accused of the Waiouru Army Museum war medal burglary.

New Zealand will need to continue to work hard to maintain its perceived position as the least corrupt country in the world, the State Services Commissioner says.

Controversial MP Hone Harawira has again stressed his determination to stay with the Maori Party, but admits "serious bridge building" is needed.

The building of marinas along popular coastal areas in the Coromandel and Bay of Plenty is set to become easier.

Relatives of the New Zealand crew who died in the Air New Zealand A320 crash in France a year ago head to France next weekend for the unveiling of a plaque in their memory.

" AllianceBernstein, which manages $4 billion in New Zealand investments, will close its local office and plans to manage the funds from Australia as a global outflow of funds prompts the firm to trim its headcount.

Oil exploration company Trans-Orient is planning to drill three shallow test wells in the Waitangi Hill area to the north of Gisborne, on New Zealand's North Island.

Silicon Valley-based "ebook" company Smashwords has bought Wellington's BookHabit, a distribution platform for independent authors and publishers.

Yarrows Bakery in south Taranaki says lay-offs announced on Thursday were delayed for as long as possible.

A driver whose truck ran over and killed a senior police officer has been ordered to pay his victim's family $2000 "emotional" reparationA and banned from driving for nine months.

Flight Sergeant Andrew Bruce Forster, a 27-year New Zealand Air Force veteran, was killed in a 'freak' explosion at the Waiouru Military Camp.

A year after the crash that killed five New Zealanders and two Germans in France, aircraft maker Airbus is wrestling with what to do about poorly executed flight tests of jetliners emerging from major overhauls.

The mother of an Invercargill morphine addict was sentenced to home detention today after admitting her unwitting involvement in a drug heist during a family holiday.

Santa's inviting finger has been given the flick in a $100,000-plus makeover of the 25 metre Auckland Christmas icon, but the future of his beady, winking eye has yet to be revealed.

Two men who died in a microlight crash in northern Hawke's Bay last year were drunk, a Civil Aviation Authority investigation has found.

Early investigations into a Foxton house fire that killed a 22-year-old woman and a three-year-old girl suggest it was not started deliberately.

Prime Minister John Key says he won't be meeting the Dalai Lama on his trip to New Zealand next month, despite saying during last year's election campaign that he would.

Methamphetamine, ecstasy, cannabis, guns and cases of ammunition have been seized by police in the south Waikato on Wednesday.

President Michelle Bachelet of Chile speaks at a press conference during her visit to New Zealand's Parliament buildings November 21, 2006 in Wellington, New Zealand.

Napier police are trying to identify a man found dead under a Hawke's Bay bridge on Tuesday.

Conjoined twins Krishna and Trishna were separated by doctors at Melbourne's Royal Childrens' Hospital after 31 hours.

BED REST: The woman at the centre of the abuse claims is shown tied to the bed by a sheet.

Two separate baby deaths in the Waikato overnight have triggered police investigations under "child sudden death procedures". The deaths of a seven-week-old boy in Te Aroha and a seven-month-old girl in Morrinsville have both been referred to the coroner, with post-mortem examinations of the children's bodies being carried out at hospitals in ...

Twelve sets of Maori remains discovered in boxes in a Welsh museum have been handed back to New Zealand in an emotional ceremony.

Two separate baby deaths in the Waikato overnight have triggered police investigations under "child sudden death procedures". The deaths of a seven-week-old boy in Te Aroha and a seven-month-old girl in Morrinsville have both been referred to the coroner, with post-mortem examinations of the children's bodies being carried out at hospitals in ...

Oscar-nominated director Guillermo del Toro is to take time out from making The Hobbit, to help out some other little movie guys in Wellington.

Editor's Note: Here is how The Dominion Post , a Wellington, New Zealand-based newspaper, reported on the death last week of New Zealand native Wade F.B. Thompson.

A woman is in Wellington Hospital after being hit by a bus on the corner of Dixon and Cuba Streets on Monday afternoon.

Drilling Antarctica's ice is part of climate change science, but a team of New Zealanders has been asked to drill on the frozen continent for vintage Scotch whisky.

Monday, 16 November 2009, 10:07 am Press Release: New Zealand Government New Zealand's High Commissioner to the Cook Islands, Te Rongotoa Barrett, died in Middlemore Hospital this morning after a short illness, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said today.

Thousands of bikers are expected to roar into Wellington on Tuesday to protest a proposed hike in ACC levies, prompting police to warn of disruption on the capital's roads.

DOC helicopters carry poison bait that will be dropped on Motutapu and Rangitoto Islands to eradicate rats and mice Hundreds of protesters gathered across New Zealand on Sunday to voice their opposition against aerial drops of 1080 poison.

Britain and Australia are saying sorry to thousands of British children who were promised a better life overseas, only to suffer abuse and neglect thousands of miles from home.

Waikato police are appealing for sightings of a teenage girl, missing for two months.

There are differences in opinion over what led to the Greens cancelling part of its memorandum of understanding with National on energy efficiency policy.

The major shareholder of Cedenco Foods claims ANZ National Bank had no justification in putting Cedenco into receivership this week and is seeking legal advice on the matter.

Double murderer Graeme Burton, whose leg was amputated after being shot by police, received a $10,000 leg which was paid for by taxpayers.

Via Newstalk ZB, a radio station: Swine flu victim dies, brings toll to 20 . Excerpt: A 43-year-old woman from Timaru is the 20th New Zealander to die with swine flu, after battling it for three months.

New Zealand Police Lower Hutt Police are seeking sightings of a red or maroon Mazda Astina 4 door liftback vehicle believed to be linked to an overnight home invasion in Stokes Valley.

Police and emergency services stand beside the wreckage of a gyrocopter that crashed in a field near Normanby.

New Zealand's housing market is displaying all the symptoms of a bull market, Westpac says in a report.

A Japanese tourist was brutally raped and robbed in her bedroom by two teenage gang prospects, as her Opotiki host family watched television in another room.

Dual-listed Kathmandu Holdings Ltd debuted on the NZX today at a premium to its offer price.

The names of two people charged in relation to the death of a Wanganui two-year-old can be made public.

A former Rotorua policeman has admitted possessing child pornography and other illegal material on his computer.

Sean O'Hair and Camilo Villegas were 2 under par through 15 holes Wednesday to share the first-round lead in the Kiwi Challenge at Cape Kidnappers in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

Maori Party policies are racially divisive and will turn New Zealand into the Zimbabwe of the South Pacific, NZ First leader Winston Peters has claimed.

Australia should shut the door to thousands of New Zealanders to help stabilise the nation's population at 26 million by 2050, federal Labor backbencher Kelvin Thomson says.

New Zealand's environment court has rejected a plan to develop the country's biggest wind farm, on the grounds that it would ruin the surrounding landscape.

A review of anti-smacking legislation has found no evidence parents are being subjected to "unnecessary state intervention" for lightly smacking their children.

A Bali barman has been jailed for six months for his part in the death of a holidaying New Zealander.

The United States and New Zealand are trialling an electronic boarder control process that will see travellers from of New Zealand to Los Angeles fill out one less form.

An iconic newspaper likely to be familiar to any New Zealander who has lived in London looks to have published for the last time.

The only New Zealander to receive the Victoria Cross for his bravery at Gallipoli will be honoured at a special ceremony in Wellington today, Armistice Day.

A 29-year-old Dutch national, who had been living in Westport for three months, was killed when her car and a light truck collided north of Greymouth this morning.

The sister of the Halesowen man who died in a rock climbing accident in New Zealand this weekend has praised her a beautiful brothera .

Maverick Maori MP Hone Harawira is standing by his racist language and ripping off the taxpayer, Labour leader Phil Goff said today.

The wallet has been a bit lighter over the past 10 years if new figures are anything to go by with food prices both in New Zealand and Australia rocketing up more than 40%. A And experts say it's because New Zealand has only got two major supermarket chains, with a stranglehold on prices.

A teenager has admitted bashing an off-duty policeman outside a Hastings party last month.

From the weather is not climate department, it seems that the USA is not the only country experiencing an October cold snap.

Shares in wind turbine company Windflow Technology have been suspended from trading on the New Zealand stock exchange.

Ladyhawke stirs up a bit of Aussie controversy as her music career soars. Poor Pip Brown.

HE made waves around the world by becoming Britain's oldest emigrant. But nearly two years after leaving Hampshire for New Zealand at the grand old age of 103, Eric King-Turner has died.

A Whatawhata man who accidentally ran over his 2-year-old daughter in the driveway of their home on Monday has warned parents how easily and quickly such accidents can occur.

A woman has been arrested after a joint Police and Customs operation following the seizure of six kilograms of the party drug BZP at Auckland airport.

It is the British empire of the dead. Scattered across 150 countries and managed from a modest office building near London's Heathrow Airport, a global patchwork of graveyards constitutes a beautiful memorial to the ugliest carnage: the 1.7 million fighting men and women who died for Britain and its dominions in the world wars of the last century.

Front-line local government staff in Auckland will be safe for now under the proposed super city, but staff in strategy, policy and planning could face redundancy.

A British climber plunged 155 metres to his death when a rope he and a friend were using to descend a cliff face on New Zealand's South Island became entangled, police said Sunday.

New Zealand, Australian and Korean officials will meet in Auckland today to discuss broadband infrastructure.

A special memorial service is to be held in Auckland for those who lost their lives in the tsunami that devastated Samoa and Tonga in late September.

Auckland property prices surged nearly 6 per cent in October, says real estate company Barfoot & Thompson.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A sculpture of a New Zealand government minister crafted from cow manure sold for New Zealand dollars 3,080 on an auction Web site.

New Zealand-owned travel company Mondo has shown that even a small organisation can make a big difference in people's lives.

Nelson, New Zealand - Scientists have discovered the first evidence that dinosaurs roamed the South Island of New Zealand with 70-million-year-old footprints found in six locations.

Media release - Tertiary Education Union Strikes at the Whitireia Polytechnic and at polytechnics in Northland, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Hamilton, and Auckland look set to continue for another week after employers failed to change their position after this weeka s strikes.

A 21-year-old man will appear in court on Friday morning after a gun was pulled on a police officer in Lower Hutt on Thursday.

The Northland region will be treated to a feast of creative output from NorthTec students at exhibitions around the region in November and December.

Friday, 6 November 2009, 10:50 am Press Release: New Zealand Police Title: Child's death was not accidental The death of a two-year-old boy in Wanganui is now being treated as homicide.

A man found dead on Thursday after a night drinking at a Lower Hutt house had a small head injury which may have contributed to his death, say police.

Virgin Blue Virgin Blue Group's newest international airline, luxury carrier V Australia, is promoting sale fares from Wellington to Phuket, to celebrate the launch of a new long haul service.

New Zealand Deputy High Commissioner to Fiji Todd Cleaver flies home this evening.

Armed police are searching Lower Hutt for a man who pulled a gun on a police officer.

LETTING RIP: ACT leader Rodney Hide addresses the breakfast at Christchurch's Heartland Hotel Cotswold.

Thursday, 5 November 2009, 4:06 pm Press Release: Department Of Internal Affairs Another jailing for child sex abuse images For the second time in a week a man has been jailed for 20 months after trading child sexual abuse images on the Internet.

A statue commemorating the New Zealander who led the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain was unveiled in London overnight in front of several hundred people.

The New Zealand sharemarket fell in early trading, as shares in NZ Refining Co slipped further.

Wednesday, 4 November 2009, 5:20 pm Press Release: Ministry of Health Pandemic Influenza 09 Swine Flu - Update 158 During the week ending 30 October there was a slight rise in the number of New Zealanders seeing their doctor in relation to influenza-like illnesses .

New Zealand International Arts Festival The New Zealand International Arts Festival has launched its programme for 2010.

Six months after Rotorua couple Leo Gao and Kara Hurring skipped the country with millions of dollars of Westpac's money, police say they are still waiting on Chinese authorities to track them down.

Wednesday, 4 November 2009, 4:25 pm Press Release: New Zealand Government New Zealand responds to Fijian expulsion New Zealand's Acting Head of Mission in Fiji, Todd Cleaver, was formally declared Persona Non Grata by the interim regime early this afternoon and told to leave Fiji, Foreign Minister Murray McCully confirmed today.

Anti-influenza virus medicine Tamiflu capsules are displayed at a City Med pharmacy on April 28, 2009 in Auckland, New Zealand.

The first of two funerals for the teenagers killed in the horrific road smash in Hawke's Bay at the weekend will take place Tuesday.

National Library Of New Zealand The National Library of New Zealand, which houses the Alexander Turnbull Library, is moving out of its Wellington building in early December to temporary locations as it prepares to start work on the building redevelopment.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials say they are monitoring the detention of New Zealander Robert James McNeice in Indonesia.

Another toddler has been run over by a car in a driveway on Tuesday morning, the second in two days.

The Ombudsman's office is investigating school bullying and violence following an international survey showing a higher number of incidents here compared with overseas, says The Dominion Post.

New South Wales police say they hold "grave concerns" for a New Zealander who went missingA last month.

Monday, 2 November 2009, 12:33 pm Press Release: New Zealand Defence Force Click for big version Toyota Hilux vehicles as used by the NZPRT in Afghanistan.

Signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Malaysia and New Zealand Monday marks a significant milestone in trade and investment prospects for the two countries, says Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

A young Palmerston North couple sparked a wild chase through Otago because they feared Child Youth and Family would take two children from them, a crown prosecutor said today.

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday visited Canterbury University to open the second Confucius Institute in New Zealand.

Transpower today awarded the principal contract for construction of Pole 3 of the high voltage direct current inter-island link to Siemens.

Young revellers raised the alarm after spotting Tim Bickerstaff through a lounge window.

A Waikato man found guilty of the manslaughter of his three-month-old daughter in 2005 has been jailed for 12 years.

MURDER CHARGE: Malcolm Webster and former wife Claire Morris who died in a road crash near the couple's home in a remote area of Aberdeenshire in 1994.

One of five teens hospitalised following a crash in which two others died remains in a critical condition in Wellington Hospital.