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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern chose to shut down a press conference on Monday rather than answer serious questions from an independent reporter outside of what she called the “accredited media.” Video...

New Zealand’s Covid policy has once again hit the headlines. Last week, Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, admitted that its new plans on loosening restrictions risked turning the country into a “two-tier” society. Under the "traffic light" policy, those who are vaccinated will be able to move around and use services relatively freely, while the unjabbed will not. But this policy is not confined to the Pacific island nation: vaccine passes are gaining traction around the world as countries introduce greater freedoms for those who are immunised, risking the creation of an unvaccinated underclass. Perhaps one of the most eye-opening...

Most of the new infections reportedon Saturday were in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city that has been under a strict lockdown for more than two months. Looser restrictions are in place in most of the rest of the country of 5 million. The risks of a further spread from the case reported in Blenheim, in the north-east of the South Island, remained low, health officials said, with the person likely in the late stage of infection. On Friday, prime minister Jacinda Ardern said that New Zealand will end its strict lockdown measures and restore more freedoms only when 90% of...

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has accused New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of “not doing anything” to stop global warming. The climate change activist sparked the global School Strike for Climate movement which saw over four million students walk out of classes in March 2019. Known for her hardline views on emission reduction and demands of world leaders, she claimed she “can’t think of a single politician” whose actions to combat climate change impressed her. […] “It’s funny that people believe Jacinda Ardern and people like that are climate leaders. That just tells you how little people know about...

In late June, two cases of coronavirus were confirmed in New Zealand. When many countries are registering thousands of cases a day, two seems little to worry about. But until that point, New Zealand had gone 24 days without a single case, so these - linked to quarantine breaches - were enough to lead to the resignation of the health minister. So what was the strategy behind New Zealand's Covid-19 success? When did New Zealand bring in border closures? On 2 February, a man in the Philippines became the first person outside China to die of Covid-19. At this point,...

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday said the country still has a lot to do to tackle white supremacy, almost a year to the day since the Christchurch massacres. “New Zealand is not free of those groups who define themselves as extremist white supremacists, those groups exist here,” Ardern said. “The responsibility we have is to combat not only that existence, but the precursors to that existence. There is much more that we can do,” the 39-year-old lawmaker added. Ardern, who later on Friday attended a joint prayer with members of both mosques that were attacked, said the...

New Zealand Prime Minster Jacinda Ardern expressed shock at the lack of action in the United States to implement gun control laws. "You can draw a line and say that does not mean you need access to military-style semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles. You do not. And New Zealand has by and large absolutely agreed with that position," Ardern said in a CNN interview. “Australia experienced a massacre and changed their laws; New Zealand had its experience and changed its laws," Ardern said, referring to the country's mass shooting at Muslim mosques in March. More than 50 people were killed...

The Prime Minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern said that news a family of refugees from Syria were affected by the mass shootings in Christchurch was 'gutting' as she gave a press conference in the city on Wednesday. "Among New Zealanders on social media, one of the images and accompanying words that has spread the most has been that this was their home and they should have been safe here," she said. Ardern confirmed that the Adhan, the traditional call to prayer, would be broadcast nationally on Friday, along with a two-minute-silence in honour of the victims. She added that...

The organizers of New Zealand’s largest gun show say they have canceled the event to show respect for victims of the Christchurch massacre and because of “elevated security risks.” New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern vowed to tighten gun laws after the attack. She says banning private ownership of semi-automatic rifles, which were used to devastating effect in the attack Friday on two Christchurch mosques, is an option. The Kumeu Militaria Show, near Auckland, has been held for about five years. …