
PM Christopher Luxon and MP Tama Potaka speak to the media from National Party Conference
Kiwis have been told to remain alert for 'strong and unusual currents and unpredictable surges at the shore'.

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NZ Herald
12 minutes ago
- NZ Herald
Call for Government to help Auckland as unemployment rises
There was a real case for serious policy or fiscal stimulus around New Zealand, and particularly in the big cities, in order to 'get things going'. 'I think we need to raise the animal spirits, if you like, of the business community.' Bridges said a boost in confidence in Auckland was needed at both business and consumer levels. Things were tough in the city which hadn't caught a break since before the Covid-19 pandemic started, he said. 'There is more stimulus, there is more policy work that government could be doing to provide a better business environment in Auckland in the here and now,' he said. 'I think [the Government has] done some worthy long-term things, but in the end, if all we worry about is the long term, I'm not sure there'll be that many Kiwis left in Auckland. 'It's now that they need to be focused on.' Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) head of advocacy Alan McDonald said while the agriculture industry was bolstering employment elsewhere, Auckland had different economic drivers. 'Numbers from the Auckland Council Economic Unit indicated unemployment would be quite high [in the June quarter] and it has been for some time. 'There are some signs of recovery but they're being led by the regional economy and primary sector and Auckland is more about manufacturing and services. 'Hospitality, tourism, education sectors have all been down as well.' McDonald said EMA had received a spike in calls to its advice line about redundancies and restructures since March. 'We had hoped 5.1 [in December 2024] might be the bottom of Auckland's unemployment numbers, but we've been hearing from March until now that things are still very tight and very tough.' But things were starting to turn, he said. The Stats NZ quarterly labour market figures released on Wednesday also showed unemployment was more than double the national rate at 12.1%. -RNZ


Otago Daily Times
2 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
‘Friendly' folk the lure for new citizen
Elisa Maierl (second from left) celebrates becoming a New Zealand citizen yesterday. She is pictured with her mother Christine Maierl, her husband Liam Guthrie and her sister-in-law Madeleine Guthrie. PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSON It has been a whirlwind few months for Elisa Maierl, who capped off a wedding in her former home country of Germany by flying back to New Zealand to become a citizen. But she would not have had it any other way, and now it was time to put down roots, she said. The German-born physio first came to New Zealand in 2012, after her parents decided it was time for a change. It was only meant to be for a year but ended up becoming permanent because they liked the place so much. "The people are very friendly here," Ms Maierl said. "Germans are very straightforward, and Kiwis tend to be very friendly and, yeah, very, very polite. "So we liked to run a lot, so we went for runs, and everyone greeted us and said hello, and that would never happen in Germany, so that was very nice." Settling into Columba College was initially a bit different. "We don't really have private schools or semi-private schools [in Germany], and we don't have uniforms, and we don't have single-sex schools". She met her now-husband Liam Guthrie at the end of secondary school — both were "chemistry nerds" who took health science in their first year at the University of Otago. Over the past year, it has been a whirlwind for Ms Maierl, who went back to Germany for her wedding and travelled for several months before touching down in Dunedin recently to complete her citizenship. "I thought that the bureaucracy of becoming a citizen wasn't actually too bad. "Now we're back, we thought Dunedin would be a great place to set up some roots and now plant my tree." Seventy people became citizens yesterday at a special ceremony in the Fullwood Room at the Dunedin Centre. They included: Claudia Margit Ammann (Germany); Jorg Thilo Frauendiener (Germany); Richard William Annable (Canada); Sharie Michelle Razo Aviso (Philippines); Zachary Aviso Vallarta (New Zealand); Christine Arishma Begg (Fiji); Goeknil Meryem Biner (Germany); Colette Majella Bolger (Australia); Karen Bernadette Cookson (United Kingdom); Ian Geoffrey Swain (United Kingdom); Callum Paul Cooper (United Kingdom); Kerry Jane Cooper (England); Paul Roy Cooper (United Kingdom); Marlyn Robina Dass (Fiji); Courtney Jeane Giddens (United States of America); Rachael Louise Hart (Australia); Carl James Hatfield (England); Joerg Hennig (Germany); Maud Schroeder (Germany); Olga Herdt (Kazakhstan); Lichelle Sano Jadulan (Philippines); Laura Keller (Germany); Ahmad Mohamad Lababidi (Syria);Huiyuan Li (China); Yuan Lyu (China); Elisa Marlena Maierl (Germany); Shobin Mathew (India); Remya Shobin (India); Agna Shobin (India); Aloysius Shobin (India); Alonso Abram Shobin (New Zealand); Thomas Mattern (Germany); Claudia Ott (Germany); Hanna Ott (Germany); Holger Thomas Regenbrecht (Germany); Helen Plowman (United Kingdom); Reyna Kristi Prameswari (Indonesia); Robert Luke Pritchett (United States of America); Ling Qiu (China); Alban Nicolas Ribet (France); Felix Terence Andrew Robinson (Australia); Róisín Leila Scott (Australia) Min Shin (Korea); Tina Marie Noreen Sleigh (Canada); Shane Stockenstroom (Zimbabwe); Shanice Stockenstroom (South Africa); Zander Stockenstroom (South Africa); Bryan Navarro Sunglao (Philippines); Tosoimatuu Talatonu (Samoa); Ivona Talatonu (Samoa); Toso Junior Halla Talatonu (Samoa); Vanessa Manderine Talatonu (Samoa); Mark Antorythan Tosoimatuu Talatonu (Samoa); Henry Nathan Tosoimatuu Talatonu (Samoa); Graideena Karauna Tosoimatuu Talatonu (Samoa); Kevin Leigh Tucker (China) Francois Dirkse van der Westhuizen (South Africa) Ezelle van der Westhuizen (South Africa); Sascha Warnken (Germany) Armin Harald Baesler (Germany); Alexander Ethan Yeo (New Zealand).


News18
7 hours ago
- News18
New Zealand Captain Tom Latham Ruled Out Of 2nd Test Against Zimbabwe
The second Test of the two-match Test series between Zimbabwe and New Zealand will be played from August 7 to 11 at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. New Zealand's Test captain Tom Latham on Wednesday (August 6) was ruled out of the second Test of the ongoing two-match Test series against Zimbabwe. The second Test of the away series is scheduled to take place at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo from August 7 to 11. According to a release shared by Black Caps on Wednesday evening, it has been stated that Latham, who led the Kiwis to a historic 3-0 series win over India last year, has failed to recover from his left shoulder injury, which kept him out of action from the series opener. 'Black Caps Test captain Tom Latham has been ruled out of the second Test against Zimbabwe after failing to recover from his left shoulder injury," the release read. 'Latham, who was withdrawn from the first Test, had been rehabilitating the injury but was unable to pass a fitness test on the eve of the match," it added. The New Zealand cricket board added middle-order batter Bevon Jacobs to the Test squad as a batting and fielding cover for Latham. 'Auckland Aces batter Bevon Jacobs, who has been playing cricket in Johannesburg, has been called in as fielding and batting cover," the release informed. According to New Zealand's head coach, Rob Walter, it was unfortunate to lose Latham. 'It's hugely disappointing to lose Tom again," said Walter. 'He's been working hard and had been tracking well towards the second Test but unfortunately today he couldn't pass his fitness tests. He's extremely gutted he won't be able to take the park, and we're really feeling for him." 'With Tom being ruled out on the eve of the match, we needed to quickly bring in an extra pair of hands to provide fielding and batting cover. Thankfully, Bevon had been playing in Johannesburg and was able to make the short trip to Bulawayo." Spin bowling all-rounder Mitchell Santner, who became the 32nd player to captain New Zealand in Tests last week, will lead the visitors in the second Test as well now. Earlier on Wednesday, fast bowler William O'Rourke was ruled out of the second Test due to a back injury. The 24-year-old fast bowler played in the series opener and bowled a total of 23 overs. He remained wicketless in the first innings but dismissed three Zimbabwe batters for 28 runs in his quota of 10 overs. view comments First Published: August 06, 2025, 23:07 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.