Escaping Ukraine to New Zealand is next to impossible because of the requirements and cost involved. The war in Ukraine has forced nearly six million to flee the country and has displaced more than seven million internally. New Zealand hung out the welcome mat in March, when the Government provided 4,000 special visas for family Read more
Elder abuse is becoming “increasingly common” according to two organisations working with older people. Data is piling up. Minister for Seniors Ayesha Verrall says one in 10 older people experience elder abuse in New Zealand. Age Concern says it received around 825 referrals to cases of elder abuse in the 12 months to June 2022, Read more
The Government is expecting the agriculture sector to subsidise the rest of the economy on climate change, so Groundswell NZ is asking for the evidence from James Shaw, says Steve Cranston, spokesman for Groundswell NZ. “Groundswell NZ has written to Climate Change Minister James Shaw to request any modelling or data he relies on, showing Read more
Matalena Sowman assaulted her adopted daughter in church, as she was christening her son, for giving the child the Sowman family name. The 55-year-old Blenheim woman approached her daughter who had been standing at the front of the church, stood in front of her then took her infant son and passed the baby to someone Read more
Catholic dioceses in New Zealand have completed their synodal consultation and submitted their diocesan synod synthesis to the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference (NZCBC), reports Mr David McLoughlin, NZCBC Communications Adviser. An unrealistic deadline for southern hemisphere countries who were enjoying a summer holiday saw Pope Francis extend the diocesan deadline by four months. “A Read more
Gun control in New Zealand mightn’t be as firm as some might think. There are a million guns somewhere and nobody knows where most of them are or who has them. Despite significant progress in banning some kinds of firearms and confiscating others, New Zealand still has no gun registry. “We might be east of Read more
A food truck offering tasty meals for just $4 each – a bargain that sounds almost too good to be true. But that is the very premise behind a new food truck that will soon open its doors in Dunedin, and owners Liam Arthur and Jackie Bannon are confident it can be done. The food Read more
A colourful and striking public artwork is being demolished seven years after it was first installed as a ‘temporary’ three-month attraction in central Christchurch. The colourful artwork, titled Call Me Snake, was first installed on Armagh St in 2015 for the Scape Public Art festival and was designed by Kiwi artist Judy Millar. It was Read more
New Zealand Catholic Education Office (NZCEO) chief executive Kevin Shore says the government’s new equity index (EQI) is a more scientific and nuanced method of identifying students at most risk and estimates the extent to which students face socio-economic barriers to achievement at school. The EQI replaces the controversial decile system of funding schools. “The Read more
A Christian college is under fire for asking parents to acknowledge a belief that marriage is between a man and a woman – something one LGBTQIA+ advocate has labelled “discriminatory”. But Tauranga’s Bethlehem College says the statement is not intended to tell anyone what they are required to believe but to “transparently explain what we Read more