Latest news with #NewZealandOrderofMerit
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Weekend wine guide: The European labels worth discovering
Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read. Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. A taste of Europe. Photo / Getty Images Michael Cooper has 45 wine books and several literary awards to his credit. In the 2004 New Year Honours, Michael was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit. One of this country's leading wine importers, Vintners New Zealand, traces its roots to the early 1980s. A group of Auckland businessmen, frustrated by the lack of good-quality overseas wines in a heavily protected market, formed a consortium to source their own wine. To defray some of the import costs, they launched a company to sell the wines in the local market. Known initially as Kitchener Wines, and later as Concerto Merchants, it is now called Vintners and distributes wines from New Zealand and overseas. The European labels below are worth discovering. Famille Perrin Côtes du Rhône Reserve 2023 ★★★★½ Instantly appealing, this French dry white is blended from varieties rare in New Zealand – grenache blanc, marsanne, roussanne and viognier. Mouthfilling and dry, it has well-ripened stonefruit flavours, fresh and deep, and a slightly oily richness. (13.5% alc/vol) $32 Nivarius Rioja Tempranillo Blanco 2023 ★★★★ Full of youthful vigour, this characterful Spanish wine is from a white mutation of the Rioja region's red grape, tempranillo. Grown at 700m above sea level and handled in tanks and oak barrels, it is full-bodied, with a touch of tannin and strong, peachy, gently spicy flavours, dry and lingering. (13.5% alc/vol) $28 La Vieille Ferme Rosé 2024 ★★★½ A huge seller internationally, this pale pink French rosé is lively and medium-bodied, with peach, strawberry and spice flavours, offering very easy drinking. (12.5% alc/vol) $20 Méditéo 2024 ★★★★ From southeastern France, this bright, light pink rosé is delicious in its youth. Buoyantly fruity, it has very satisfying depth of flavour, dry and sustained. (12% alc/vol) $22 Terras Lusas Adega de Redondo 2021 ★★★½ Bargain-priced, this is a good, honest Portuguese red. Fragrant, with raisiny aromas, it's slightly gutsy, with a berryish, spicy flavour, earthy notes and a good tannin backbone. It's drinking well now. (13.5% alc/vol) $17 La Vielle Ferme Rouge 2023 ★★★★ If you enjoy pinot noir, try this characterful French blend of carignan, cinsault, grenache and syrah. Deeply coloured, it is full-bodied and vibrantly fruity, with generous flavours of red berries and spices, ripe and well-rounded. (13.5% alc/vol) $25 Château Pradeaux 2023 ★★★★ Already drinking well, this is a very moreish red Bordeaux. Merlot-based, with dark, purple-flushed colour, it is mouthfilling, with lush, vibrant blackcurrant, plum and spice flavours, a hint of chocolate, and gentle tannins. Very harmonious. (13% alc/vol) $30 Wine of the week Tocado Garnacha 2022 ★★★½ This Spanish red offers top value. Bright ruby, it is mouthfilling and smooth, with generous, ripe plum, berry, spice and liquorice flavours. A good, all-purpose red. (13.5% alc/vol) $14-$15
Otago Daily Times
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Wāhine Māori artists take centre stage
Waimate based photographer Fiona Pardington ONZM had artwork in Webb's latest art auction focused on Wāhine Māori Artists. PHOTOS: SUPPLIED Wāhine Māori artists took centre stage in Webb's recent art auction in what gallerists say marks a "broader cultural shift" where the perspectives of Māori women are not just acknowledged, but celebrated and driving investment on the main stage. Webb's, a New Zealand auction house established in 1976, had a stellar cohort of female Māori artists leading the charge in their latest art catalogue, "Select". The auction featured works by Waimate-based artist Fiona Pardington, and artists Star Gossage, Robin White, Robyn Kahukiwa and Pauline Yearbury. Webb's South Island-based art specialist Sean Duxfield said the Select art auction was a "huge success". "We were really pleased to see wāhine Māori artists take centre stage," he said. The catalogue presented a cross-generational dialogue that speaks to identity, whakapapa and mana wāhine, Mr Duxfield said. The auction resulted in the sale of works by Fiona Pardington (Lot 39L $19,120), Star Gossage (Lot 38: $16,730), Robyn Kahukiwa (Lot 10: $7170), Robin White (Lot 35: $11,950) and Pauline Yearbury (Lot 13: $4063, Lot 14: $5497 and Lot 15: $5497). Pardington's artwork Still Life with Colin's Flowers, Lichen and Rainwater, 815 x 1090mm, from the Colin McCahon Residency 2013, sold in Webb's Select online art auction. Esteemed photographer Fiona Pardington was recently made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to photography around the same time as her artwork became part of the permanent collection in the Arts of Oceania Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Gallerist Tim Melville (Te Arawa and Te Atiawa) said the catalogue reflected a growing, critical recognition of Māori women artists not as peripheral contributors, but as central to the narrative of contemporary New Zealand art. "I think there has also been purposeful neglect, along with a Eurocentric assessment of what counts as important New Zealand art. "It's not just a case of artists needing to 'come into their own'. "Having said that, the climate is changing for the better," Mr Melville said. Mr Melville said the auction marked not only a significant moment in the art market but a "broader cultural shift", where the perspectives of Māori women are not just acknowledged, but celebrated and driving investment on the main stage. "Together, these artists challenge, reinterpret and elevate what it means to be wāhine Māori in Aotearoa today," he said. Pardington has whakapapa links to Kāi Tahu and resides in the Hunter Hills 15km northwest of Waimate. "The Fiona Pardington piece was a still life that she produced during her time as artist in residence at the (Colin) McCahon house in Titirangi," Mr Duxfield said. Among other artists included in the sale were Shane Cotton, Bill Culbert, Imogen Taylor, Bill Hammond, Matt Arbuckle, Billy Apple and Tony de Lautour.
Scoop
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
David Robie: New Zealand Must Do More For Pacific And Confront Nuclear Powers
The New Zealand government needs to do more for its Pacific Island neighbours and stand up to nuclear powers, a distinguished journalist, media educator and author says. Professor David Robie, a recipient of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM), released the latest edition of his book Eyes of Fire: The last voyage of the Rainbow Warrior, which highlights the nuclear legacies of the United States and France. Robie, who has worked in Pacific journalism and academia for 50 years, recounts his experiences aboard the Greenpeace vessel the Rainbow Warrior in 1985, before it was bombed in Auckland Harbour. At the time, New Zealand stood up to nuclear powers, he said. "It was pretty callous [of] the US and French authorities to think they can just carry on nuclear tests in the Pacific, far away from the metropolitan countries, out of the range of most media, and just do what they like," Robie told RNZ Pacific. "It is shocking, really." Speaking to Pacific Waves, Robie said that Aotearoa had forgotten how to stand up for the region. "The real issue in the Pacific is about climate crisis and climate justice. And we're being pushed this way and that by the US [and] by the French. The French want to make a stake in their Indo-Pacific policies as well," he said. "We need to stand up for smaller Pacific countries." Robie believes that New Zealand is failing with its diplomacy in the region. He accused the coalition government of being "too timid" and "afraid of offending President Donald Trump" to make a stand on the nuclear issue. However, a spokesperson for New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters told RNZ Pacific that New Zealand's "overarching to work with Pacific partners to achieve a secure, stable, and prosperous region that preserves Pacific sovereignty and agency". The spokesperson said that through its foreign policy reset, New Zealand was committed to "comprehensive relationships" with Pacific Island countries. "New Zealand's identity, prosperity and security are intertwined with the Pacific through deep cultural, people, historical, security, and economic linkages." The New Zealand government commits almost 60 percent of its development funding to the region. The spokesperson said that the Pacific was becoming increasingly contested and complex. "New Zealand has been clear with all of our partners that it is important that engagement in the Pacific takes place in a manner which advances Pacific priorities, is consistent with established regional practices, and supportive of Pacific regional institutions." They added that New Zealand's main focus remains on the Pacific, "where we will be working with partners including the United States, Australia, Japan and in Europe to more intensively leverage greater support for the region. "We will maintain the high tempo of political engagement across the Pacific to ensure alignment between our programme and New Zealand and partner priorities. And we will work more strategically with Pacific Governments to strengthen their systems, so they can better deliver the services their people need," the spokesperson said. But former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, writing in the preface of Robie's book, said: "New Zealand needs to re-emphasise the principles and values which drove its nuclear-free legislation and its advocacy for a nuclear-free South Pacific and global nuclear disarmament." Robie added that looking back 40 years to the 1980s, there was a strong sense of pride in being from Aotearoa, the small country which set an example around the world. "We took nuclear powers," Robie said. "And the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior was symbolic of that struggle, in a way, but it was a struggle that most New Zealanders felt a part of, and we were very proud of that [anti-nuclear] role that we took. Over the years, it has sort of been forgotten". 'Look at history' France conducted 193 nuclear tests over three decades until 1996 in French Polynesia. Until 2009, France claimed that its tests were clean and caused no harm, but in 2010, under the stewardship of Defence Minister Herve Morin, a compensation law was passed. From 1946 to 1962, 67 nuclear bombs were detonated in the Marshall Islands by the US. In 2024, then-US deputy secretary of state Kurt Campbell, while responding to a question from RNZ Pacific about America's nuclear legacy, said: "Washington has attempted to address it constructively with massive resources and a sustained commitment." However, Robie said that was not good enough and labelled the destruction left behind by the US, and France, as "outrageous". "It is political speak; politicians trying to cover their backs and so on. If you look at history, [the response] is nowhere near good enough, both by the US and the French.
Otago Daily Times
04-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
King's honour for home-grown cop
West Coast-based cop Terri Middleton. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Little recognised in Queenstown last month was the awarding of a gong to home-grown Terri Middleton. A member of the Middleton family who farm Queenstown Hill, the 59-year-old senior police constable was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to the police and the community in the King's Birthday Honours. In the list she was principally under her married name, Fairhall, however she's kept her maiden name over her police career. That whole career, since 1992, has been on the West Coast, where she's worked with victims of child abuse and family harm. And as school community officer since '02 she's worked in drug education, with kids in and out of school, often on a voluntary basis, and led engagement with youngsters in the Gloriavale Christian Community. It's "impossible to count the lives Middleton has changed for the better, or quantify the harm prevented by her engagement with some of the most vulnerable people in our society," police commissioner Richard Chambers said when her honour was announced. Despite her years on the Coast, where she and her husband raised three sons, Middleton still calls Queenstown home, and recently finished building a holiday house here. Educated at Queenstown Primary and Wakatipu High, "it was mainly the sporting stuff I enjoyed". She later played rugby league for the West Coast, while her younger siblings Stephen, Murray and Kelvin all played rugby — the latter representing the Highlanders. She recalls undertaking "lots of chores"on the farm, including mustering sheep on horseback and hay-making. Her first job after school was at the council, where she graduated from cashier to assistant financial controller, followed by two years' OE. Though she returned to council, "I thought I always wanted to be a cop — I wanted to make a difference and to help people — but I didn't think I'd be able to". Over a few drinks a friend talked to into applying, and she was accepted into Wellington's "old school" police college. During a three-week secondment with Queenstown police she recalls going with cops to the house of a deceased Arrowtowner that neighbours suspected had bombs and booby traps all through it. She squeezed in through a toilet window, "and ended up falling down and getting my foot stuck in the toilet". Middleton's undecided on living back in Queenstown when her career's over. "Not too sure ... I miss my home here, but, yeah, it's lovely on the Coast too."
NZ Herald
30-06-2025
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Watch live: Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Tarsh Kemp to be laid to rest today
Hundreds of people are expected to gather in Taihape today to farewell Te Pāti Māori MP Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp who died last week, aged 50, following a battle with kidney disease. A Rātana service will be held at Ōpaea Marae around 11am before Kemp is laid to rest. All Te Pāti Māori MPs are at today's service, along with a cohort of MPs from Labour, including leader Chris Hipkins. A livestream of the service can be viewed from the top of this article. In the hours after her passing, Kemp's party said they were devastated and heartbroken by the loss. 'Takutai was more than a colleague to us, she was our sister, and we loved her dearly.' Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is not attending the service today but said there had been good representation from his MPs at the marae near Taihape already. That included Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka, Rangitīkei MP Suze Redmayne, New Plymouth MP David MacLeod, Maungakiekie MP Greg Fleming and Whanganui MP Carl Bates. Kemp's passing shocked Parliament. Flags flew at half-mast and flowers were placed on her bench in the House. Tributes from politicians highlighted her dedication to helping young people through dance, particularly in South Auckland. In 2021, Kemp received the New Zealand Order of Merit for her years of services. In her maiden speech at Parliament, Kemp said she had grown so close with many of the young people that they called her 'Aunty' or 'Mum'. Manurewa MP Arena Williams said Kemp 'always had an open door for young people'. 'There will be a lot of South Aucklanders who will really feel this, who will really miss having someone like this.' Labour's Willie Jackson said Kemp was a 'beautiful soul' with a vivacious, passionate personality and an 'absolute powerhouse' in her work for Manurewa Marae. Kemp was the chief executive prior to becoming an MP. 'As the CEO, she was at the forefront of Whānau Ora, rangatahi, Māori development, community development, you name it, and Tarsh was doing it.' Kemp was a first-term MP. She beat incumbent Peeni Henare (Labour) in the Tāmaki Makaurau seat by 42 votes in the 2023 election. Henare was visibly emotional at Parliament in the hours after Kemp's passing, saying the pair had called each other brother and sister. 'It is truly shocking ... when I think about our sister, her passion was for our young people and ... she loved her mokopuna [grandchildren]. We were up at Matariki on Friday and she literally said, 'I can't wait to get home to my mokopuna'.' Te Pāti Māori said 'Takutai devoted every last breath' to the movement for Māori liberation. Kemp was on the front benches at Parliament alongside Te Tai Tonga MP Tākuta Ferris the day before she died. 'Even as serious illness weighed on her, she continued to stand in the House, in our homes, on our marae and in our communities – relentlessly championing the rights and wellbeing of our people." Kemp also worked with the University of Auckland to develop a Rangatahi Mental Health Youth Hub in Manurewa to address the high suicide rates among young Māori.
