Page 5 - New Zealand

Musk's X to test charging users $1 a year to reduce spam, bot accounts

The test, called "Not a Bot," started Tuesday in New Zealand and the Philippines, X said in a blog post

NZ immigration hits all-time high as movement surges after pandemic lull

New Zealand's immigration numbers have hit an all-time high, enabling employers to fill jobs but also putting pressure on the housing market, according to economists. The net number of immigrants was 110,000 in the year ending August, beating the previous high of 103,000 set a month earlier, according to figures released Wednesday by Statistics New Zealand. The numbers represent a big turnaround after more people left New Zealand than arrived during much of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are talking very, very big numbers for a small economy like ours, said Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank. Kerr said the surge likely reflected pent-up demand that had built during the pandemic. He said it had come as a relief to employers, who last year were having great difficulty finding skilled workers to fill vacant roles. New Zealand's unemployment rate remains at a relatively low 3.6 per cent. But Kerr also cautioned the migrants would need a lot of resources, including tens of thousands o

CWC 2023: Mitchell Santner bowls New Zealand to victory against Netherlands

The Netherlands bounced back in the game as they departed Mitchell (48), Glenn Phillips (4), Mark Chapman (5) and Latham, who slammed a fifty

Early voting begins in NZ's election and in Australia for Indigenous Voice

Early voting began on Monday in New Zealand for the nation's October 14 general election, with conservative contender Christopher Luxon casting his ballot. Early voting also began in some parts of Australia in a referendum that would enshrine in Australia's constitution a mechanism for Indigenous people to advise Parliament on policies that affect their lives. In New Zealand, the campaign of Prime Minister Chris Hipkins faced a setback on Sunday when he tested positive for COVID-19. He said he would isolate for five days or until he returned a negative test, but planned to continue with some engagements over Zoom. Hipkins and his liberal Labour Party have been lagging behind the opposition National Party, led by Christopher Luxon, in opinion polls.. After a rough night I woke up this morning feeling pretty unwell and just got this test result, Hipkins wrote on Instagram, and said he'd work twice as hard when he got back out on the campaign trail. Luxon on Sunday released a 100-da

MoS Ranjan Singh, New Zealand PM take part in 1st India Business Summit '23

The summit was co-organised by the High Commission of India in Wellington and the Auckland Chamber of Commerce

New Zealand's economy expected to remain sluggish for 2 years, figures show

New Zealand's economy is expected to remain sluggish for another two years, although the overall picture is rosier than many observers had feared, new figures released Tuesday indicate. The nation's Treasury released the projections ahead of an election next month. They showed a slight deterioration from earlier predictions, with tax takes lower than expected and high inflation causing ongoing headaches. Unemployment is expected to jump from a current rate of 3.6 per cent to 5.4 per cent in 2025 before falling again, while economic growth is expected to fall from 3.1 per cent this year to 1.3 per cent next year, before bouncing back to 3.3 per cent by 2026. Net debt as a percentage of the economy is expected to peak at 23 per cent in 2025. Treasury said subdued house price growth and a tougher labour market would dampen household wealth and incomes, and that exporters, including farmers, faced ongoing headwinds. A predicted return to the government running budget surpluses was pushe

India, New Zealand signs MoU to boost cooperation in civil aviation

India and New Zealand have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost cooperation in civil aviation, which includes scheduling of new routes, codeshare services, traffic rights and capacity entitlement, an official statement said on Tuesday. According to the MoU, the designated airline(s) of New Zealand may operate any number of services with any type of aircraft, with third and fourth freedom traffic rights to/from six points in India, namely New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata, it stated. India and New Zealand had signed the Air Services Agreement at Auckland on May 1, 2016. Governments of the two countries have reviewed the existing arrangements relating to air service between the two countries, it said and added that the initial pact is expected to further boost the bilateral ties in civil aviation between the two countries. The MoU was signed by civil aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal and the High Commissioner of New Zealand, David Pine, it ...

India, New Zealand commit to further strengthen cooperation in agriculture

India and New Zealand have committed to work together to further strengthen the cooperation in the agriculture sector and collaboration between the two countries, according to an official release. A meeting was held here between Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, and New Zealand minister for trade & export growth and agriculture Damien O'Connor. "Both the leaders reiterated their commitments to work together in strengthening the agricultural cooperation and collaboration between the two countries," an official statement said on Tuesday. At the meeting, Tomar mentioned the importance of relations between India and New Zealand and its steady progress. He highlighted the resumption of the Joint Trade Committee after a gap of 14 years and the initiation of discussions on market access issues for agricultural products under its framework. Tomar also thanked the New Zealand Minister for granting market access to Indian pomegranate arils and lifting the suspension on the ..

India discusses launch of UPI in New Zealand to enable ease of doing biz

India's exports to New Zealand were $548 million in FY23, up from $487.6 million in FY22

India, New Zealand schedule new routes and increase capacity for air travel

The two countries have signed an MoU to increase cooperation in civil aviation during Minister Damien O'Connor visit to India

India, New Zealand discussing UPI introduction to promote ease of doing biz

India and New Zealand are discussing the possibility of introducing the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the island country with a view to promoting ease of doing business, trade and tourism between the countries, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday. The two countries are also looking at ways to allow the import of wooden logs from New Zealand. These issues were discussed during a bilateral meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and New Zealand's Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O'Connor on Monday here. "Ministers welcomed early discussions between National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and Payments NZ regarding the UPI system and agreed that both sides should continue deliberations on this issue. They agreed that introduction of UPI in New Zealand would promote ease of doing business between both the countries and promote trade and tourism as well," the ministry said. In 2022, the National Payments Corporation Of India (NPCI), the umbrel

Tech giants to face 3% digital tax in New Zealand, will begin in 2025

It would be applied at 3% on gross taxable New Zealand digital services revenue, similar to the taxes adopted by other jurisdictions such as France and the UK

Governments abroad call Data Protection Bill a 'landmark' regulation

Countries such as New Zealand said that they are taking a 'keen interest' in the implementation of the Bill and also its approach to privacy regulation

New Zealand removes last of its closely watched Covid-19 restrictions

New Zealand on Monday removed the last of its remaining COVID-19 restrictions, marking the end of a government response to the pandemic that was watched closely around the world. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the requirement to wear masks in hospitals and other healthcare facilities would end at midnight, as would a requirement for people who caught the virus to isolate themselves for seven days. New Zealand was initially praised internationally for eliminating the virus entirely after imposing nationwide lockdowns and strict border controls. But as the pandemic wore on and more infectious variants took hold, the nation's zero-tolerance approach became untenable. It eventually abandoned its elimination strategy. Reflecting on the government's response to the virus over more than three years, Hipkins said that during the height of the pandemic he had longed for the day he could end all restrictions, but now it felt anticlimactic. He said about 3,250 New Zealanders from a popula

NZ to boost defence capabilities amid increasing tensions in Pacific

New Zealand said Friday it plans to boost its defence capabilities as tensions rise in the Pacific, due in part to a military buildup by China. Defence Minister Andrew Little said current defence spending amounted to about 1 per cent of the nation's economy, a proportion he expected would need to increase, although not as high as 2 per cent. He said replacing aging navy frigates and patrol vessels is among the most pressing needs under consideration. He said the country is also facing an increase in domestic threats such as misinformation, cyberattacks and terrorism. The new defence policy paper released by Little contained no specifics about increases in spending, equipment or troops, with those details expected to be finalized in a later plan. Rather the paper pointed to a rethinking about the role of the nation's military, which has often been used primarily to act as peacekeepers or provide aid when Pacific countries are hit by natural disasters. Now, the paper said, New Zeala

FIFA Women's World Cup: Wilkinson takes New Zealand to 1-0 win over Norway

Hannah Wilkinson scored to open the second half and New Zealand went on to beat Norway 1-0 on Thursday for its first-ever win at the Women's World Cup, just hours after a shooting in downtown Auckland shocked the host nation. A gunman stormed a high-rise construction site near Norway's team hotel and opened fire, killing two people. The gunman was found dead after a police shootout. There was increased security at Eden Park stadium, where 42,137 a record crowd for a soccer match in New Zealand were on hand to cheer on the home team, co-hosts of the tournament with Australia. New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins was among those at the game. After an opening ceremony that honored New Zealand's Indigenous heritage, there was a moment of silence for the victims of the shooting. Four people were wounded in the attack, including an police officer. New Zealand got the nod to stage the first game, although co-host Australia's match against Ireland in Sydney started about an hour ...

Gunman in New Zealand kills 2 hours ahead of 1st game in Women's World Cup

A man stormed a high-rise construction site in downtown Auckland early Thursday morning, shooting at terrified workers and killing two people hours before New Zealand planned to host the first game of the FIFA Women's World Cup tournament. The gunman was found dead after a police shootout, during which an officer was shot and wounded. Four civilians were also injured. The shooting happened near hotels where Team Norway and other soccer teams have been staying. New Zealand Prime Minster Chris Hipkins said the tournament would go ahead as scheduled. Clearly with the FIFA World Cup kicking off this evening, there are a lot of eyes on Auckland," Hipkins said. "The government has spoken to FIFA organisers this morning and the tournament will proceed as planned." I want to reiterate that there is no wider national security threat, he added. "This appears to be the action of one individual. The shooting jarred New Zealand, where active shooter incidents are rare, leading the country's t

New Zealand to continue with Gary Stead as the all-format coach till 2025

Gary Stead will continue as coach of New Zealand in all three formats for two more years after New Zealand Cricket ruled out any move to appoint different coaches in different formats. NZC general manager of high performance Bryan Stronach said a split coaching model was considered and rejected, though flexibility remained to co-opt additional coaching staff if necessary. Stead was first appointed in 2018 and this is his second contract extension. His current contract was due to expire after the upcoming Cricket World Cup in India. He will stay on until the end of the current World Test Championship cycle in 2025. The support for Gary was overwhelmingly positive from the players, the Black Caps support staff, major association coaches and support staff as well as the New Zealand Cricket Players Association and NZC High Performance Unit staff, Stronach said. Gary's results have been very impressive and we're confident that he still has a lot to offer the team. Of course, a big part

Tourists received no safety warnings before New Zealand volcano killed 22

Tourists received no health and safety warnings before they landed on New Zealand's most active volcano ahead of a 2019 eruption that killed 22 people, a prosecutor said Tuesday. There were 47 people on White Island, the tip of an undersea volcano also known by its Indigenous Maori name Whakaari, when superheated steam erupted on December 9. Most of the 25 people who survived were severely burned. The island's owners, brothers Andrew, James and Peter Buttle, their company Whakaari Management Ltd. and tour operators I.D. Tours NZ Ltd. and Tauranga Tourism Services Ltd. went on trial Tuesday in Auckland District Court for allegedly failing to adequately protect tourists and staff. Prosecutor Kristy McDonald said in opening the prosecution case that the eruption at the popular tourist destination was not predictable but was foreseeable. The 20 tourists and two tour guides who died were given no warning of the risks, she said. They were not given the opportunity to make any informed .

Xi Jinping vows to protect foreign investors ramps up charm offensive

'Development is the top priority of the Communist Party of China in governing and rejuvenating the country,' Xi told New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins