Stories from New Zealand

The perpetrator of New Zealand's deadliest modern-day mass shooting has admitted to carrying out the attack. A court in Wellington has turned down an appeal by Brenton Tarrant, the 35-year-old gunman responsible for the mass shooting that killed 51 people.

A perpetrator admitted to carrying out New Zealand's deadliest modern-day mass shooting. A court in Wellington turned down an appeal by Brenton Tarant, a 35-year-old white supremacist gunman. Tarant admitted to the mass shooting that killed 51 people in New Zealand.

Otago University graduate Arawinia Wikaida is joining an international crew of 10 women on an expedition to trace plastic pollution in the South Pacific. The project aims to track microplastics from sea to source.

Three people were flown to a hospital in Dunedin following a three-vehicle car accident. A third person involved in the crash sustained minor injuries. The incident occurred in Dunedin, according to the report.

New Zealand currently lacks a national nutrition survey for children. The absence of this data makes it difficult to assess health impacts such as central adiposity, overweight, and obesity. These conditions are linked to over 13 different types of cancer.

Coroner Alexander Ho opened an inquest into the Abbey Caves tragedy that occurred in May 2023. Patera had dropped Kannon off at school on the morning of the incident. The inquest follows reports of bad weather and orange-heavy rain warnings in Whangarei during the event. A coroner's inquiry into the death of Kanin Petra in Abbey caves began today. Alicia Toke, the mother of a teenage boy who died during a school caving trip three years ago, is attending the proceedings. Toke stated she hopes the inquiry will result in real change. The family of the deceased expressed a desire for clear findings to prevent similar incidents involving school trips or organizers. The inquiry aims to provide lessons for the Ministry of Education and other schools. A teacher provided evidence during an inquest into the drowning of 15-year-old Kanan Petera.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has acknowledged that his previous desire to provide full support for the attack on Iraq was a mistake. The admission follows criticism regarding his past stance on the conflict. Opposition parties, including Labour and the Greens, are using the acknowledgment to claim the coalition government is unstable. The source noted that the Prime Minister has expressed a desire to make amends for the error.

New Zealand leader Winston Peters admitted he made a mistake by not consulting on a specific matter. No specific details regarding the subject of the consultation were provided in the transcript. He stated there is no reason the information should not be open. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expressed dissatisfaction with the error, with his office stating he expects more from Peters given his four decades in public office. Released email correspondence shows the New Zealand Prime Minister preferred offering more explicit public support to the United States. Winston Peters' team raised objections to this approach, according to a spokesperson. The spokesperson stated that the Prime Minister's suggested course of action would have been improved. The correspondence follows a recent interview regarding global peace and security.

An albatross injured during a storm in the lower North Island last week is scheduled for release off the coast of Napier today. The pool features high sides to prevent the weakened bird from escaping and allows for controlled air temperature.

International credit rating agency S&P reported that New Zealand councils are facing financial strain, forcing them to postpone essential investments or increase borrowing. The government intends to cap annual rate increases between 2% and 4% to prevent consecutive double-digit increases. The agency noted that council needs remain high while solutions are not clear-cut. The report notes that some council staff receive high salaries, with some earning over $200,000 per year. Additionally, 88 staff members are paid more than $256,000, a figure exceeding that of a Government Minister outside of Cabinet. The scale of spending varies across different local councils. New Zealand's local government minister, Simon Watts, announced that councils have been granted three months to develop proposals for amalgamation. The reforms aim to create fewer, larger councils to better serve communities.