The government will probably make some big changes to our alcohol laws very soon. On Monday, the Law Commission gave a report to the government. The report recommended 153 changes to the laws on alcohol. The government will probably change some of th

发表于:2019-01-21 / 阅读(76) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

On Wednesday this week, the Prime Minister, Helen Clark, apologised to soldiers who served in the Vietnam War between 1964 and 1972. She apologised for the way they were treated when they returned from the war and for the pain and suffering they expe

发表于:2019-01-21 / 阅读(70) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

Social networking websites such as Facebook and Bebo are growing in popularity with many New Zealanders now having a profile page. Users of social networking sites can create profile pages that include details such as age, hometown, job and hobbies.

发表于:2019-01-27 / 阅读(53) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

Today is Waitangi Day, a day when we remember the Treaty that was signed on Feb 6th 1840, between the Queen of England and the Maori chiefs of New Zealand. In the Treaty, Queen Victoria agreed to protect the Maori and give them the same rights as Bri

发表于:2019-01-27 / 阅读(106) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

A student bond is an agreement to work in New Zealand after graduation in return for money from the government. The government today announced this plan for new doctors, vets, nurses, midwives and teachers. If they work in rural areas or small towns

发表于:2019-01-27 / 阅读(47) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

Dairy farmers have voted not to allow Fonterra to list shares on the sharemarket. Fonterra is owned by dairy farmers in a co-operative. The company controls 92% of all the milk produced in New Zealand. The Fonterra Board needs more money to expand th

发表于:2019-01-27 / 阅读(125) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

On Wednesday, 3 protesters entered the Waihopai spy base and caused damage to a large globe covering a satellite dish. The director says that the damage could be as much as $1 million. Waihopai is near Blenheim in the north of the South Island. It ha

发表于:2019-01-27 / 阅读(93) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

Yesterday was the winter solstice, the time when the sun is furthest away from us. The sun rises around 7.30 am in Auckland and 8.20 am in Dunedin because it is further south. In Auckland the sun sets at 11 minutes past 5, and in Wellington, Christch

发表于:2019-01-27 / 阅读(80) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

Its exactly a month today until the Olympic Games begin. From August 8th till the 24th, over 10,000 athletes will compete in 28 sports, mostly in Beijing. For New Zealand, it will be 100 years since we first sent athletes to an Olympic Games. Three N

发表于:2019-01-27 / 阅读(120) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

This week the National Party made another statement about what they plan to do if they win the elections. They said they will keep TVNZ as public TV, but will get rid of the Charter because it is not working. The Charter was brought in by the Labour

发表于:2019-01-27 / 阅读(54) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

The 2008 Beijing Paralympics opened Saturday night Beijing time, early Sunday morning New Zealand time. These Games will last 11 days, until September 17th. There are more than 4,000 athletes involved in 20 different sports. Paralympic athletes have

发表于:2019-01-27 / 阅读(63) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

The Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games was a most exciting event. It was full of breath-taking surprises like fireworks, and the opening welcome by 2008 Chinese drummers. Then there were fairies floating on wires, a giant spinning globe, c

发表于:2019-01-27 / 阅读(68) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

Once again, New Zealand has suffered from a low pressure system coming from northern Australia. Again a sub-tropical storm hit Northland first and has created havoc. Streams and rivers broke their banks, flooding low-lying land. Highway One was close

发表于:2019-01-27 / 阅读(62) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

A protest boat, with a crew of six people, was damaged by a Japanese whaling ship in Antarctic waters yesterday. The boat, the Ady Gil, is registered in New Zealand but is part of a protest group the Sea Shepherd which has an Australian captain. The

发表于:2019-01-30 / 阅读(65) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

Air NZ and Virgin Blue airlines may become partners to fly across the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. First, however, the Transport Ministers in both countries have to agree. In 2002, Air NZ and Qantas had talks about becoming partners.

发表于:2019-01-30 / 阅读(61) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

Three air force men were killed and one was seriously injured when their helicopter crashed early yesterday morning near Wellington. They were on their way to the ANZAC service in Wellington. The plan was for three air force Iroquois helicopters to f

发表于:2019-01-31 / 阅读(57) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

More people are losing their houses because they cannot pay their mortgage. If they miss payments, the bank becomes the owner and will sell the house. Now there are about 250 mortgage sales every month. Last year there were less than 100 each month.

发表于:2019-02-02 / 阅读(75) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

At the moment, workers at the Pike River Coal mine are using a jet machine to pump CO2 into the mine to put out the fire. Then they will put a cover over the entrance. When the mine is cool and all poisonous gases have gone, rescuers will enter the m

发表于:2019-02-02 / 阅读(68) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

The government will consider mining in some areas where there are national parks. The Minister for Energy and Resources, Gerry Brownlee, said that New Zealand is a country which is rich in minerals. In 2008, we exported $2 billion worth of coal, meta

发表于:2019-02-02 / 阅读(53) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语

The Prime Minister said that possibly 10,000 houses will have to be demolished after the earthquake. The Head of Civil Defence thought the number was probably only 2,000. Time will tell. The important message from the Prime Minister is that the gover

发表于:2019-02-02 / 阅读(62) / 评论(0) 分类 新西兰英语