Michelle Montague: the first NZ woman to sign with the UFC
Mount Albert Grammar School Principal Patrick Drumm talks NCEA in schools ahead of the looming announcement. Video / Herald NOW
MetService Weather: 1 August. Video / MetService
Lewis Clareburt has produced a new national record in the 200-metre medley and the Storm have beaten the Eels 16-10. Video / NZ Herald
Crimson Education has been valued at NZ$1 billion (US$600 million) - but could its core business, getting kids into Ivy league, be destroyed by AI?
Ministerial briefing on NCEA suggests the current system does not support pathways into trades; and rebounding tsunami swells still pose a risk. Video / NZ Herald
Today on The Front Page, author Jared Savage joins us to discuss the rising threat of organised crime in New Zealand.
MetService national weather July 31 - August 3. Video / MetService
From regional TV station to global gold standard documentary production: the story of Natural History New Zealand.
Near the start of the livestream of the council meeting, Brown discusses absent councillors. Video / Auckland Council
A person has been spotted surfing at Scarborough Beach despite a national tsunami warning. Video / Supplied
Judith Collins and Winston Peters say the base will help in the fight against transnational crime. Video / Mark Mitchell
Liam Napier and Elliott Smith discuss injury gaps, who will cover the third halfback role and the Lions' win in the lead-up to the All Blacks tour squad naming. Video / NZ Herald
Mike Seawright, Director of ReliefAid, speaks to Ryan Bridge about the situation on the ground in Gaza and what urgent action is required to relieve the issues of hunger there.
Business with 2degrees: Kiwibank $500M cap raise landing flat and the flightpath for the new Air NZ chief executive.
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RNZ News
15 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Parents cautiously optimistic about waving goodbye to NCEA
Education Minister Erica Stanford and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announce changes to NCEA. Photo: RNZ / Nick Monro A Dunedin mum is hopeful the changes to NCEA will benefit her Year 7 son, but another says she's a "bit scared". The government has pulled the pin on New Zealand's official secondary-school qualification after more than 20 years. The National Certificate of Educational Achievement will be gone by 2030, replaced by a basic literacy and numeracy award at Year 11, and the Certificate of Education and Advanced Certificate of Education at Years 11 and 12. 'Achieved', 'not achieved', 'merit' and 'excellence' will be replaced by marks out of 100 and letter grades A, B, C, D and E. The new certificates would be standards-based, like the NCEA is, meaning every student passes if they demonstrate the required knowledge or skills, but they would have to study at least five complete subjects and pass four of them to get their certificate. A Dunedin mum, who RNZ has agreed not to name to protect the identity of her child, was optimistic about the move . "It will be an advantage to him because it gives that nice, stringent 'I know what I need to head for, I need to study really hard for this'." She called NCEA a "step backwards", saying the change was a return of a more structured way of learning and a focus on core subjects . "As an employer of people coming out of university, I can tell you it kind of sets them up a little bit for failure in real life," she said. "I find that the English levels, the maths levels and science levels coming out for students just isn't quite as good as some of the historical stuff that I've seen coming out of the older styles." Another mum, who has a son just starting university and a daughter in Year 9, said the NCEA system was confusing. "Even I couldn't understand this credit system and achieved system. I always thought 'what is this? Credits? Credits?'. "But one thing I've noticed, if he knows he has got enough credits, then he decides he's not going to work any harder." The new grading system could push them to study harder or discourage them from learning, she said. "As a parent, I am a bit scared, to be honest." She was uncertain how students would respond to the changes, saying it would depend on how they were implemented. A grandmother who lived with her Year 8 grandson said she was on board with the changes if they helped students. "That's what I would be hoping for. Something that makes it easier for the kids to show that they've really, really tried and that they do want to be at school and they want to learn and that they want to get a job when they get away from school, and that they want a better life." But she was worried some students might choose to drop out if they had to pass four of their five subjects to get one of the new certificates. "That does sound a bit tough because if a child or a young adult can't handle exams - to pass four subjects may just be beyond their capability," she said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
15 minutes ago
- NZ Herald
Weather: Short ‘warming trend' before winter chill threatens return
Kiwis are in for a short-lived 'warming trend' after days of bone-chilling sub-zero temperatures as rain and high winds approach. Some parts of the South Island were expected to drop as low as -5C overnight before the weather shift hits. MetService meteorologist Braydon White told
Otago Daily Times
44 minutes ago
- Otago Daily Times
Counting the costs of tariffs
What an arbitrary and unfair world. While New Zealand might not be stung as badly as many others, it is still being penalised by capricious and unjust tariffs. This nation has virtually no tariffs (about 0.8%) on goods from the United States, while US-owned giants like Meta, Microsoft and Google extract billions of dollars through tax avoidance. New Zealand, long a close friend internationally, has been forced to tread carefully around US President Donald Trump. It recently welcomed an FBI office in Wellington and has held back on pledging recognition of Palestinian statehood. Nonetheless, the baseline 10% tariff imposed by the US earlier this year rises to 15%. Why? New Zealand recorded a trade surplus with the United States last year. If food prices had not been high, or if New Zealand had imported a few US aircraft, the balance might have been reversed — and the 10% might have stayed, as it has for Singapore and Australia. However, the US might still have made dismantling Pharmac a condition of a better deal. It is, of course, futile to appease bullies. There are effectively no real negotiations. Mr Trump issues decrees, and only afterwards might there be limited room to move. The might of China may have muscle, especially because of the US debt it holds. Puny New Zealand is simply too small. If there were just a little fairness, New Zealand could also apply 15% to US imports. Nobody, however, is seriously proposing that. New Zealand has staked its reputation and its interests as a trading nation on free trade. It also dares not provoke the Trump tactic of responding with another ratchet of the rack. It says much about the state of play that wily Foreign Minister Winston Peters and others advocated keeping this country's head down. Mr Trump has so many big fish to fry — discussions are continuing with China and the European Union on the trade front alone — this seemed the wisest course. In a flurry of action, New Zealand's head trade official is now off the Washington, and Trade Minister Todd McLay will follow. Unsurprisingly, there is scepticism that this will do much good. Previously, such efforts failed to reduce steel and aluminium tariffs, and tiny New Zealand will struggle to receive much air or ear time at the highest levels. Politically, however, it makes the government look as though it is doing something. Despite Labour's criticism of poor tactics, it is doubtful whether proactive and public lobbying in Washington would have made any difference. The resulting 15% tariff matches that applied to US allies Japan and South Korea and is slightly lower than much of Southeast Asia. However, it is higher than the rate for fellow beef exporters Argentina and Uruguay. The US is also New Zealand's largest wine export market. Wine receipts are expected to suffer, and F&P Healthcare, one of New Zealand's largest companies with manufacturing in Auckland and Mexico, will be disadvantaged as it competes with a major US rival. Exporters were reconciling themselves to 10%, and 15% might not sound excessive. But it represents a 50% increase on the earlier amount and is far harder to absorb. The result will be lower returns for exporters and higher costs for consumers, while the US collects tariff revenue. Trade Minister Todd McLay estimates the tariff cost to exporters at an additional $500 million. Fortunately, this coincides with strong global food demand and prices. Unfortunately, it comes at a time when the New Zealand economy is struggling to recover from prolonged doldrums. Although not catastrophic, it dents confidence and removes another brick as the government tries to rebuild economic growth and salvage its electoral prospects. The US has overtaken Australia as New Zealand's second-largest export market, worth $9 billion last year, though still well behind China. New Zealand will bear the costs of President Trump's disruptive trade policies, both directly through tariffs and indirectly through their dampening effect on US and global growth.
