Updated: New Zealand’s Ardern apologises as report into mosque attack faults focus on Islamist terror risks
Updated 6pm (AEDT)Wellington, New ZealandReuters New Zealand security agencies were “almost exclusively” focused on the perceived threat of Islamist terrorism before a white supremacist gunman killed 51 Muslim worshippers last year, a report into the country’s worst massacre found. The Royal Commission of Inquiry also criticised police for failing to enforce proper checks when granting […]
2020 likely world’s second hottest year, UN says; New Zealand declares climate emergency
Geneva, SwitzerlandReuters This year is on track to be the second hottest on record, behind 2016, the World Meteorological Organization said on Wednesday. Five data sets currently place 2020, a year characterised by heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and raging hurricanes, as the second warmest since records began in 1850. Dried-up rivers and creeks can be seen […]
New Zealand’s Ardern set to declare climate emergency
Wellington, New ZealandReuters New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s government is to declare a climate emergency in a symbolic step to increase pressure for action to combat global warming. The government will put forward a motion to declare the emergency next Wednesday, the government said as parliament reconvened after a general election won by Ardern’s […]
Pandemic biggest hurdle for New Zealand’s Ardern after “tectonic” election
Wellington, New ZealandReuters Jacinda Ardern’s landslide election win gives her a mandate for the transformational change she has been promising New Zealand for three years, but the COVID-19 pandemic may limit what she can actually do. The Prime Minister’s signature achievement in all but eliminating the new coronavirus from the Pacific island nation through strict […]
New Zealand’s Ardern and Collins make final pleas to voters before election
Wellington, New ZealandReuters New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern on Friday urged voters to deliver her a strong mandate at this weekend’s general election, promising to provide a swifter recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. Ardern’s decisive response to the crisis has left her well-placed for Saturday’s vote, although recent polls have suggested her Labour Party may need […]
Quick facts: New Zealand 2020 election – facts and key players
Wellington, New ZealandReuters New Zealanders head to the polls on 17th October with popular 40-year-old Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern seen as a frontrunner to secure a second term in office. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern participates in a televised debate with National leader Judith Collins at TVNZ in Auckland, New Zealand, on 22nd September. […]
New Zealanders may be able to travel to some Australian states before Christmas, Ardern says
Wellington, New ZealandReuters Travel between New Zealand and some states of Australia is possible before the end of the year, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday. Plans for a travel ‘bubble’ between Australia and New Zealand has been in discussions for months as both nations slowed the spread of the coronavirus, but […]
New Zealand divided over historic marijuana vote
Wellington, New ZealandReuters A referendum next month on legalising recreational cannabis has divided opinion in New Zealand with ruling party politicians staying clear of the contentious issue ahead of a general election they are likely to win. If passed, New Zealand would be only the third country in the world after Uruguay and Canada to […]
New Zealand election campaign starts, Ardern seeks mandate
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters New Zealand’s general election campaign began on Sunday, as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern seeks to ride popularity for the nation’s COVID-19 response and compassionate handling of a massacre at two mosques to a revived mandate. Parliament was dissolved in a brief ceremony, the official start of campaigning for the 17th October election. In […]
Australia’s coronavirus death toll surges on aged care fatalities; NZ measures to continue
Melbourne/Sydney, AustraliaReuters An Australian state reported a record 59 deaths on Friday, the highest ever daily total for the country, including previously unrecorded fatalities in aged care homes over the past several weeks. The increase fatalities in Victoria state pushed the country’s death toll to 737 as the national cabinet – made up of Prime […]