Phillip Mehrtens, who has been held hostage since February, makes the claim in a new video released by the separatist group Rebels in Indonesia’s Papua region have threatened to shoot a New Zealand pilot being held hostage if countries do not comply with their demand to start independence talks within two months, a new video released by the group shows. Guerrilla fighters in Papua’s central highlands, who want to free Papua from Indonesia, kidnapped Phillip Mehrtens after he landed a commercial plane in the mountainous area of Nduga in February ..read more

Opposition party says AI was ‘an innovative way to drive our social media’ and said it was ‘committed to using it responsibly’ New Zealand’s National party has admitted using artificial intelligence to generate people in their attack advertisements. The ads included images of a group of robbers storming a jewellery store, two nurses of Pacific island descent, and an apparent crime victim gazing out of a window. One ad even appeared to show the cast of the Fast and Furious franchise ..read more

Finance minister Grant Robertson says initial phase will fund cyclone recovery before improving infrastructure to withstand climate extremes New Zealand budget 2023: Chris Hipkins focuses on young families suffering in cost of living crisis After months of extreme weather that tore through New Zealand’s road, power and communications networks, the government has pledged a large, rapid funding boost to adapt infrastructure for the climate crisis, including an expansion of the nationwide network of electric vehicle charging stations. The NZ$6bn announced in Thursday’s budget for a national res ..read more

Prime minister offers measures to ease cost of raising children as part of promise to focus on ‘bread-and-butter issues’ ahead of election New Zealand’s Labour government has offered billions in help for families with young children, as prime minister Chris Hipkins revealed his election-year budget during a cost of living crisis. The government is rolling out free public transport for children, free prescription medicines, and expanded free childcare for toddlers as part of a package that will cost more than NZ$2.5bn as many New Zealanders struggle with soaring food prices, high levels of infl ..read more

The deaths of at least six people at Wellington’s Loafers Lodge has shone a light on the country’s long-ignored housing crisis It shouldn’t take a fire and yet so often it does. In the wake of tragedy, questions will be asked about the living conditions of the six people who died in the Loafers Lodge boarding-house, but as ever, too late. Loafers Lodge is just one of several hundred similar boarding houses scattered across New Zealand. Once predominantly a rough but functional form of accommodation for single working men, such places have long since catered to a wider range of people, most of ..read more

Whether it’s Chris Hipkins or Christopher Luxon, neither leader has seized the moment, allowing the smaller parties to play a major role in the next election New Zealand’s two major parties have had a pretty good run of it. Other countries proportional election systems have seen established parties humbled and fractured. Israel’s once-mighty Labor party is now a minnow. In Germany the two large, old parties controlled less than half of the vote at the last election ..read more

Record-breaking rainfall hit Auckland in January, only to be followed by Cyclone Gabrielle ravaging the North Island in February The New Zealand government is allocating NZ$1.1bn to help communities recover from Cyclone Gabrielle and flooding. The funds from the 2023 budget are to cover “basics” of rebuilding roads, rail and schools, as well as flood protection, the government announced on Sunday ..read more

Meka Whaitiri says she will join an ‘unapologetic Māori political movement’ to stand in the upcoming general election A minister in New Zealand’s Labour government has abruptly quit the party, saying she will contest the upcoming election for the minor Māori party – roiling colleagues who were blindsided by her defection. Meka Whaitiri’s resignation from Labour “effective immediately” appeared likely to bolster the electoral fortunes of Te Pāti Māori (the Māori party), which recent polls suggest could be the kingmaker after October’s general election ..read more

Prime minister says next month’s budget will be no frills, ‘rather than a long laundry list of worthy ideas’ New Zealand prime minister Chris Hipkins is shrinking ambitions and expectations ahead of the next budget, promising an “orthodox, no-frills budget” focused on cost of living and economic expansion. Hipkins gave his pre-budget speech and press conference on Thursday – previewing intentions for the last major block of government spending before October’s election, and mapping out the final stretch of Labour’s second term in government ..read more

Former prime minister will likely be overseas during the period of New Zealand’s election in October Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern has taken up three new roles at Harvard University, where she will study and speak on leadership, governance and online extremism. Ardern announced in an Instagram post on Wednesday morning that she was “incredibly humbled” to be joining the university on joint fellowships at the Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership and the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, based at Harvard Law School. She will focus on the study of online e ..read more