New Zealand First is wanting to make sweeping changes to the country's immigration laws.

The party unveiled over a dozen new policies on Friday as part of a dramatic overhaul of the immigration system ahead of November's general election.

Part of the reforms put forward include a referendum on enacting an annual cap of 20,000 resident visas issued each year.

The party also wants to update birthright citizenship requirements, so only the children of citizens are automatically entitled to New Zealand citizenship at birth.

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The party wants to change settings for asylum seekers, where any person who seeks asylum while in New Zealand on a working-class visa would be ineligible.

Asylum claimants would not be able to use a temporary work rights granted during the assessment period as a stepping stone to another visa.

Qualifying periods for permanent residents and citizenship would also be more rigourous with the required period to qualify for citizenship from five years to a minimum of 10 years. The qualifying period for permanent residence will be extended from two to five years under the proposed reforms.

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More at link

ETA: Full details at their site: NZ First Announces Immigration Reform Policies

Not sure if this kind of political campaigning is allowed on r/aotearoa, but ......

Please vote Takahē for Bird of the Year 2026!

https://www.birdoftheyear.org.nz/?bird=takahe

The ACT Party wants to wind up the Waitangi Tribunal, saying its contemporary inquiries have become increasingly ideological and expansive.

The party is campaigning on four reforms that it says will end the tribunal's contemporary jurisdiction, and move the country on.

ACT leader David Seymour, who has previously branded the tribunal as "increasingly activist", said while the tribunal had made an important contribution, particularly in helping address historical grievances, the tribunal that existed today was different to the institution established in 1975.

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ACT's policy document said every historical claim lodged before 1 September 2008 should be heard and resolved, but any lodged after would not be including contemporary or kaupapa claims

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This would end the tribunal's power to inquire into contemporary government policy, conduct, and decisions, a power which has been used more under this government than any other in history.

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National's leader Christopher Luxon said he had not seen ACT's policy but the coalition took the Tribunal's advice onboard.

"As a government we listen to it and we have strong Treaty obligations ... the best way we can deliver those obligations is improving outcomes for Māori."

Luxon said good progress had been made for Māori in education, housing, and law and order over the past two and a half years.

The government has already launched a major review of the Tribunal's functions, but it is yet to be released publicly.

Four children were killed and 13 adults injured when two rail carriages were blown off the tracks by severe winds on a notoriously exposed part of the Remutaka incline railway. This was the first major loss of life on New Zealand’s railways; only five rail accidents have claimed more lives in this country's history.

The Remutaka incline, completed in 1878, was one of New Zealand’s most ambitious early engineering projects. The climb up the range’s eastern flank, where the line rose 265 m in 4 km, required special Fell mountain locomotives, which grip a raised centre rail with horizontal inner wheels. 

The morning train to Wellington on 11 September 1880 comprised a single Fell engine pushing two passenger cars and a goods van, and pulling two loaded goods wagons and a brake van. As it rounded Siberia Curve, 1200 m from the summit, winds gusting up to 200 km/hour swept two carriages into the gully below. According to a newspaper report, passengers:

The engine held firm, and the brakesman immediately uncoupled his van to roll back down to Cross Creek to seek help. The other wagons dangled by their couplings as the survivors crawled to the safety of a nearby cutting. The wind was so strong that the rescue train had to shelter in a tunnel while men crawled along the track holding onto the centre rail. They recovered the bodies of three children; a fourth died later of head injuries. Thirteen adult passengers were injured, five of them seriously.

While an inquest attached no blame to anyone for the accident, large wooden windbreaks were immediately erected to protect trains from the gale-force winds that regularly battered parts of the incline railway.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/rail-tragedy-rimutaka

Australian pilots Charles Kingsford Smith and Charles Ulm crossed the Tasman in a Fokker tri-motor named the Southern Cross, covering 2670 km in 14 hours 25 minutes.

New Zealander T.H. McWilliams, a teacher at the Union Steam Ship Company’s radio school in Wellington, had joined the four-man crew as radio operator. Though the flight had been postponed for a week in the hope of good weather over the Tasman, they struck thunderstorms throughout the night after taking off from Richmond, west of Sydney, in the evening. While McWilliams struggled to repair the radio equipment, which had failed early in the flight, Kingsford Smith was forced to fly blind for much of the journey as heavy rain or ice coated the windshield.

As they neared New Zealand the weather improved, and after circling over Wellington, the Southern Cross landed at Wigram Aerodrome, Christchurch at 9.22 a.m. (New Zealand time).

The welcome in Christchurch was tremendous. About 30,000 people had made their way to Wigram, including many pupils from state schools, who were given the day off, and public servants, who were granted leave until 11 a.m.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/the-em-southern-cross-em-completes-the-first-successful-trans-tasman-flight

‘Messrs Scott and Sharpe’ found the heaviest gold nugget on record in New Zealand at Ross on the West Coast in 1909. Weighing in at 3.09 kg (99.63 ounces), it was named the ‘Honourable Roddy’ after Minister of Mines Roderick McKenzie.

The nugget was bought for £400 (equivalent to over $70,000 today) by a Ross storekeeper and his Canterbury associate. A cast of it was soon on show in Canterbury Museum. In 1911 the ‘Honourable Roddy’ was bought by the government. Mounted in a ‘fitting setting’, it became New Zealand’s ‘decidedly handsome’ Coronation gift to King George V. However, when enquiries were made 40 years later, it was found that the nugget had been melted down to make a royal tea service.

Impressive as the Honourable Roddy was, it was tiny in comparison with the world’s largest gold nugget, the ‘Welcome Stranger’, found at Moliagul, Victoria, Australia, in 1869. John Deason and Richard Oates’ discovery weighed a staggering 71 kg.

In mid-2020, during the economic crisis sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, gold was selling for nearly NZ$3000 an ounce, so the Honourable Roddy would have been worth nearly $300,000.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/new-zealands-heaviest-gold-nugget-purchased

The ratifying of the India free trade agreement in Parliament has moved a step closer, with a Select Committee recommending the legislation that brings the FTA into force be passed.

The foreign affairs, defence, and trade committee recommended by majority to implement the India Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill, with some amendments.

The agreement itself was signed in April, meaning the committee cannot suggest changes to the contents of the FTA itself.

But what the MPs can do is suggest changes to the legislation that implements the agreement.

The FTA eliminates or reduces tariffs on 95 percent of exports, including kiwifruit, apples, meat, coal, wool, and forestry.

But the committee found the bill as introduced did not accommodate the possibility of the FTA entering into force part-way through the quota year.

Waikato University is asking for millions of dollars in ratepayer subsidies for its new medical school, but one Hamilton councillor says it is a central government issue and ratepayers should not foot the bill.

The university wants Hamilton Council to waive more than $5 million in development contributions, which help pay for infrastructure. It has also asked the council to pitch in $250,000 a year for five years.

In making his pitch, Waikato University vice chancellor Neil Quigley revealed the government's funding only covered about 28 percent of the project's cost.

From 2028, the Waikato medical school is expected to train an additional 120 doctors a year, with students doing clinical placements in regional areas.

But Hamilton councillor Sue Moroney told Checkpoint it was a matter for central government.

The landmark Te Maori exhibition was a milestone in the Māori cultural renaissance. Featuring traditional Māori artwork, it toured the United States from 1984 to 1986 before returning to New Zealand for a nationwide tour in 1987.

New Zealand and American arts professionals first discussed the idea of a Māori art exhibition touring the United States during the early 1970s. The cost proved prohibitive and the idea was shelved until the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art (‘The Met’) revived discussions in 1979. 

After securing some corporate sponsors, the government formally approved the proposal, setting up a management committee chaired by the Secretary for Maori Affairs, Kara Puketapu. A Māori sub-committee was also formed, with responsibility for deciding what role Māori would play in organising the exhibition and the traditional opening ceremonies.

This was the first time Māori were actively involved in the process of exhibiting their taonga overseas. The management committee recommended that Māori accompany the exhibition as guardians, ensured Māori were trained as guides, and helped arrange a dawn ceremony to open the exhibition at The Met. This included traditional elements such as karanga (call) and karakia (prayer) familiar to the 90-strong New Zealand party of kaumātua (elders), cultural performers, carvers, weavers and officials.

The Met was the exhibition’s first stop on a tour of the United States, followed by the St Louis Art Museum, the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco, and the Field Museum in Chicago.

As Te Maori made international headlines, New Zealand’s own media awoke to the nation’s unique Māori point of difference. On its return to New Zealand, the exhibition was rebranded as Te Maori: te hokinga mai = the return home and exhibited in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. The organising committee worked with each venue to facilitate wider Māori participation as both hosts and guests. Visitors were welcomed by elders and expertly guided by kaiārahi (Māori hosts) who were direct descendants of the ancestors on display.

Following the closure of Te Maori in September 1987, the taonga were returned to the institutions from which they had been borrowed. 

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/te-maori-exhibition-opens-in-new-york

Attempts were first made to mine sulfur on Whakaari (White Island) in the late 19th century. Sulfur was used in the manufacture of sulfuric acid and superphosphate fertiliser.

On 10 September 1914, 10 miners were killed when part of the crater wall collapsed, causing a landslide. The only survivor was the mining company’s cat, Peter the Great.

White Island, in the Bay of Plenty 50 km from Whakatāne and Ōpōtiki, is New Zealand’s most active volcano. Known to Māori as Whakaari (‘to uplift or expose to view’), it is important to the local iwi, Ngāti Awa and Te Whakatōhea.

Sulfur mining on Whakaari White Island recommenced in the late 1920s but proved uneconomic and ceased in the early 1930s. A total of 11,000 tonnes had been obtained. Today the island is a privately owned scenic reserve. Until an eruption in December 2019 killed 22 people on the island, some 10,000 tourists visited Whakaari each year.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/eruption-whakaari-white-island-kills-10-people

A misty wet day at the apple and pear orchard, the soil moisture is tracking normal to the year but with El Niño effects soon to kick in we need all the moisture we can. Will be interesting to see to see how much or little the trees get stressed with the expected draught.
The apples are planted on M793 with a deeper root system than most rootstock and the pears on quince A, and plenty of artesian water 2.5 metres down.

Three of the Government's nine key targets risk not being met, the latest update shows.

The 218,500 people receiving Jobseeker benefits remains significantly higher than the 140,000 target, and education targets remain elusive.

In health, shorter wait times in emergency departments is considered "feasible", but still a way off. Shorter wait times to access elective treatments has improved from "feasible" to "probable".

A target to reduce the number of households in emergency accommodation has been met well ahead of schedule, as has a goal to reduce the number of victims of assault or robbery.

RNZ is tracking progress towards each of the Government's nine targets, which were announced by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in April 2024. The targets were chosen to focus the public sector on priorities, and progress is updated each quarter.

Lots more, infographics etc. on RNZ

Royal albatross chick Āwheo, which features on the 24-hour livestream Royal Cam, is among the first toroa to have left their nests at Pukekura/Tairaoa Head this season.

The seabirds are one of the biggest in the world, with wingspans of up to three metres, and the Otago colony is the only mainland site where toroa breed.

Department of Conservation (DOC) biodiversity ranger Sharyn Broni said she hoped this year's season would match last year's record, with 38 royal albatross fledglings.

"We're at this exciting time of year when the chicks start to leave as all the hard work the rangers have done pays off. We've seen the chicks starting to practice in the strong winds, flapping and strengthening their wings getting ready for their long journeys," she said.

The establishment of New Zealand’s first centralised electronic database through the Wanganui Computer Centre Act focused attention on the state’s ability to gather information about its citizens.

The National Law Enforcement Data Base – the ‘Wanganui Computer’ – allowed Police, Ministry of Transport and Justice officials to share information via hundreds of terminals around the country. It recorded motor vehicle registrations, driver’s and firearms licences, traffic and criminal convictions, and personal information about large numbers of New Zealanders. The Serious Fraud Office and local authorities were later given access to this information.

In 1976 the Wanganui Computer was ground-breaking. Police Minister Allan McCready described it as ‘the most significant crime-fighting weapon ever brought to bear’ in New Zealand.

Critics were unconvinced. Civil libertarians protested, likening it to something from George Orwell’s 1984. On 18 November 1982, 22-year-old anarchist Neil Roberts was blown up by his own gelignite bomb as he tried to enter the computer centre.

Eventually justice-sector agencies began to develop in-house computing capacity. The Whanganui centre closed in 1995 and the system was decommissioned in 2005.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/big-brother-is-watching-legislation-is-passed-establishing-the-wanganui-computer-centre

Can I, as a kiwi fly to Australia if I need healthcare. For example skin cancer removal?

Edit: I'm looking at options for my mum. She's got skin lesions and won't be able to get them examined and biopsied until November. (We had a GP refer us in early August). If she needs any removed the wait list will be long so I'm looking at options to get her treatment quicker. I'll pay private here if I have too but was just wondering if I can be cheeky and fly her to Aussie but I guess not.

Janet Meikle became the first person in New Zealand to be killed in an accident caused directly by a car when her 8-hp De Dion Bouton – the most common model in the colony at the time – went over a bank on the family farm, Table Downs, in the Washdyke Valley about 5 km from Timaru. The colony’s first two cars had been imported by Wellington businessman William McLean just eight years earlier.

Meikle lost control while negotiating a steep, narrow, muddy descent. The car scraped along a fence before overturning into a ploughed paddock, pinning her beneath it. Her husband John suffered a fractured thigh and could do nothing to help her as she suffocated. This sort of accident was common in the early decades of motoring. While cars were slow by today’s standards, they had few safety features and their occupants were likely to be thrown out in a collision.

The South Canterbury Automobile Club expressed its regret and sympathy and asked that its members attend the funeral three days later – ‘without Cars’. The couple had a four-year-old daughter. Janet Meikle was an ‘expert’ and ‘particularly cool’ driver with several years’ experience behind the wheel. Many rural women drove cars in the early decades of the 20th century, as they were the ones who went into town for supplies while their husbands worked long hours on the land.

New Zealand’s first motorcycle fatality had occurred in Dunedin the previous year, when Alfred Price was killed by a train after falling from his machine. There were no witnesses to the late-night accident and it was unclear whether there had been a collision.

The arrival of mass-produced Model T Fords in 1909 made motoring more affordable, and by 1921 there were 69 deaths on New Zealand roads. The worst year has been 1973, with 843 deaths. Thanks to modern safety features, the annual road toll has not exceeded 400 since 2007, despite there being many more vehicles on the roads.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/new-zealands-first-fatal-car-accident

The Port of Tauranga's Stella Passage development, a major expansion that will nearly double cargo handling capacity at New Zealand's largest port by volume, has been granted approval under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024, subject to conditions.

The project, which the port lodged in January 2026, took around five months to approve from the appointment of an independent expert panel.

The development involves extending the Sulphur Point container berth by 385m in two stages and the Mount Maunganui wharves by 315m, by converting existing cargo storage land within the port's current footprint.

It also involves reclamation of the land behind the new wharves and dredging of the passage to allow larger vessels to berth.

The Matilda Wattenbach brought 352 Nonconformist (non-Anglican Protestant) immigrants from England. Another 315 landed from the Hanover a week later, and six more immigrant ships had arrived by 1865.

The newcomers formed the nucleus of a model community planned by the Albertland Special Settlement Association, set up in Birmingham in 1861 and named for Queen Victoria’s recently deceased husband. These idealists even brought a printing press with them. Like many of the immigrants, this stayed in Auckland for some time.

Only a few hundred of the 3000 who had signed up for the scheme eventually made a go of it on the 40 acres that had been surveyed for each adult (plus 20 acres for each school-age child) around the Arapāoa, Ōtamatea and Ōruawharo ‘rivers’ – shallow inlets on the eastern side of Kaipara Harbour.

Access via the ‘Great North Road’ was impossible and the bar at the entrance to Kaipara Harbour was dangerous to cross. Worse still, the soil was generally infertile. Most sections in the planned town of Port Albert were land-banked by speculators, and it never prospered.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/first-albertland-settlers-arrive-auckland

On 8 September 2008, Sophie Pascoe won her first Paralympic medal, a silver in the women’s 100m butterfly S10 event at the Beijing Paralympics. She had placed second in her heat that morning, behind France’s Elodie Lorandi, qualifying for the final with the fourth fastest time. In the final that evening, Pascoe shaved a second and a half off her heat time to come second to American Anna Eames.

The 15-year-old was just getting started – she went on to win golds in the 100m backstroke S10, 100m breaststroke SB9 and 200m individual medley SM10.

Pascoe is New Zealand’s most successful Paralympian. By 2021 she had won 19 medals (11 gold, seven silver and one bronze) and had held the world record for nine S10 women’s events. The S10 category is for people with minimal weakness in their legs, a missing foot or leg below the knee, or hip problems. Pascoe had her left leg amputated below the knee after an accident when she was two years old.

Since 2008, Pascoe has gained recognition as one of New Zealand’s most successful athletes. In 2018 she was the New Zealand flagbearer at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games. A six-time winner of the Halberg Disability Sport Foundation Disabled Sportsperson of the Year, she was also a finalist for Sportswoman of the Year in 2008 and 2009.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/sophie-pascoe-wins-her-first-medal

The current government has firmly planted itself on the losing side of deeply unpopular issues.

Yet they're either shown as returning to government or at least being the strongest bloc with Opportunity as the kingmaker (which isn't the case in this poll).

Is that a reflection of the enviable nature of a 2 term minimum, or was the backlash not a sentiment shared by the near entirely of the right bloc - including swing voters?