新西兰英语 04 Electoral Finance Act

Parliament is still discussing the Electoral Finance Bill. This Bill is about how much money political parties and other people can spend on an election. Last general election, in 2005, there were some problems over spending money to encourage people

新西兰英语 278 Heritage buildings

A heritage building is a building that is important to our history so we want to save it. It is usually a beautiful building. When a change is needed to that building for its use today, there can be a problem of how to keep its heritage value. Many c

新西兰英语 322 Register to vote

Local body elections will be held from 17th September to 9th October this year. You can vote if you are a New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident, are 18 years old or older, and have lived in New Zealand continuously for at least one year. To rec

新西兰英语 175 Mud slip closes railway line

The railway line from Wairarapa to Wellington was closed at about 6.20pm last Thursday night after a train crashed into a mud slip just north of Upper Hutt. The slip was caused by heavy rain that also closed roads around the Wellington region. Around

新西兰英语 13 New Zealand becoming more multi-cultural

The new Race Relations Report 2007 shows that New Zealand is becoming more multi-cultural and we are also feeling more comfortable about immigrants from different ethnic backgrounds. Maoris represent about 15% of the population, Asians nearly 7% and

新西兰英语 204 Erebus Crash – An apology from Air NZ

Nearly 30 years ago, 257 people lost their lives in the worst plane crash that Air New Zealand has ever had. The plane hit Mt Erebus in Antarctica and everyone was killed. Today, the CEO of Air NZ, Rob Fife, showed a new sculpture outside the Air New

新西兰英语 281 Rugby Union apology

On Friday, the New Zealand Rugby Union apologised to New Zealand for not allowing Maori All Blacks to play in South Africa in the past. Also on Friday, the South African Rugby Union apologised to New Zealand and to the South African black people who

新西兰英语 54 Treaty of Waitangi Claims

Midnight tonight is the deadline for all Treaty of Waitangi claims. Last year, there were 97 claims but more than 1,000 claims are likely by midnight tonight. This is the last time that anyone can make an historic claim although it will take many yea

新西兰英语 114 New Zealanders help with Australian

It is now nearly four weeks since the start of the terrible bush fires in the state of Victoria, Australia, which killed more than 200 people. 53 New Zealand fire fighters came to Victoria to help fight the fires. Today, they returned home and 57 new

新西兰英语 14 Concerto Competition

Saturday night was the final of the National Concerto Competition in the Christchurch Town Hall. This is an event where New Zealands young migrants often succeed. In the final, three of the best young musicians play a concerto with the Christchurch S

新西兰英语 22 Junior Doctors Began a Two-day Strike

Today, the junior doctors began a two-day strike in hospitals. They want more money but hospital boards say they cant pay more because the government does not give them enough money. The doctors say they will strike again in two weeks if there is no

新西兰英语 27 Immigration Service in Trouble

The New Zealand Immigration Service has been in the news recently, for all the wrong reasons. The head of the service, Mary Anne Thompson, resigned last week after it was found that she did not have a PhD after all. Before this job with Immigration,

新西兰英语 20 Who Owns Auckland Airport?

Who owns New Zealand railways, telephone services, electricity, city buses, airports, shipping ports and Air New Zealand? Some of these were owned by the government or local councils. Some were sold to private companies in the 1980s during the time o

新西兰英语 31 Queen’s Birthday

Today is the official Queens Birthday. It is not the Queens actual birthday. That is April 21st, but every year on the first Monday in June, we honour the Queen. The Queen also honours 175 New Zealanders on this day. She makes awards to people who ha

新西兰英语 38 Waitangi Treaty Settlements

Yesterday, the government signed a bill which will give land to seven iwi (Maori tribes) in the central North Island. About 100,000 people make up these seven iwi. The land at the moment is owned by the government and includes forest. The value of th

新西兰英语 40 Truck Drivers Protest

Truck drivers plan to protest against the sudden increase in road user charges. They are so angry that they plan to drive into New Zealand cities and towns during rush hour in the morning, and cause a traffic jam. Thousands of trucks will enter Auckl

新西兰英语 51 Pacific Islands Forum

The Prime Minister, Helen Clark, is attending the 39th Pacific Islands Forum. This year, it is being held on Nuie, a small Pacific island with a population of only about 1,500 people. The annual forum started in 1971 and there are now 16 member count

新西兰英语 58 Contaminated Baby Milk Powder in China

New Zealand discovered this weekend that a milk powder factory in China, partly owned by the New Zealand dairy company Fonterra, has been selling contaminated baby formula. One baby has died and more than 400 are suffering from kidney problems. Fonte

新西兰英语 377 South Korean fishing boat sinks

A fishing boat with 42 men on board sank in cold Antarctic waters early this morning. Only 20 men were rescued, by another South Korean fishing boat. Five bodies were recovered. Another 17 men are missing. The boat was fishing for toothfish. This is

新西兰英语 140 New Zealand Sign Language Week

This week, starting today, is New Zealand Sign Language Week, celebrating the language that is used by the Deaf community. Just three years ago, NZ Sign Language (NZSL) became the third official language in New Zealand, after English and Maori. This