Probably the whole country now knows that Team New Zealand won the America’s Cup. There has been widespread jubilation at this win. There will be a victory parade in Auckland when the team returns next week. The America’s Cup is the oldest sporting trophy. The race dates back to 1851 when the American yacht won in a race around the Isle of Wigh ...…

The holy month of Ramadan for Muslims ends tonight with the Eid feast. During Ramadan, Muslims fast between the hours of daylight. This year Ramadan started on June 25th and ends tonight in New Zealand. Listen to June 8 2016 for more about Ramadan. Also listen to Ramadan in New Zealand in 2012 when athletes competing in the Olympic Games had to ...…

Tonight was the first test match between the Lions rugby team and the All Blacks. It was held at Eden Park in Auckland and was won by the All Blacks, 30 to 15. There will be two other test matches between the Lions and the All Blacks – July 1st in Wellington and July 8th in Auckland again. A test match is a game between the teams of two differe ...…

Today is the shortest day of the year. In contrast to last year, the weather has been normal for this time of year although that varies from place to place in NZ. Usually July is the coldest month of the year so we can expect more cold, southerly weather in the next few weeks. Vocabulary vary (v) – to be different in different places Note pronu ...…

The new road tunnel in Auckland was officially opened today by the Prime Minister, Bill English. He was joined by two other Ministers and they all three cut the ribbon at the same time. However, the tunnel is not ready for vehicles yet. It was open for people to walk through. About 17,000 people walked through the 2.4km tunnel today. There will ...…

Agricultural Fieldays are held every year at Mystery Creek near Hamilton. These four days – June 14th to 17th – are a time for farmers to find out what is new in technology, in different methods of farming and different products to use in farming. It is also a time for farmers to look at new machinery and decide what they need and what they can ...…

A parasite is an organism which feeds on the oyster and finally kills it. The parasite, Bonamia ostreae, has been found in farmed oysters in Big Glory Bay, Stewart Island. There are 3 oyster farms in this area with millions of oysters. They will all be removed in the hope that the parasite will not spread to the wild Bluff oysters. Farmed oyste ...…

The government again apologised to the Maori of Parihaka for the violent attack on the community 136 years ago. This time, the apology was from The Rt Honorable Chris Finlayson, who is Attorney-General. He also signed a deed of reconciliation between the government and the community. Here is part of his speech: I now want to outline what happen ...…

Thirty years ago today, New Zealand Labour government said we were anti-nuclear. We told the US that we did not want nuclear-powered or nuclear-armed ships in our harbours. While we have always been friendly with the United States, we were worried about nuclear accidents which could affect our country. The US downgraded our relationship from ‘a ...…

Our previous Prime Minister, Mr John Key, became Sir John Key today. This is called a knighthood. His wife is now Lady Bronagh. It was not a surprise. It’s traditional for ex-Prime Ministers to become Sir if a man, or Dame if a woman. Under the previous Labour government, Prime Minister Helen Clark, abolished knighthoods and other honours which ...…

New Zealand’s native birds are in danger of becoming extinct. We have 168 different kinds of native birds, and 93 of those are found only in New Zealand. This is because we are an island nation. A new report by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment is called Taonga of an Island Nation: Saving New Zealand’s Native Birds. A taonga is ...…

The University of Auckland now has secure system which employers can trust when looking at graduates’ qualifications. In the past, in some countries, people looking for jobs have used fake qualifications. This new system uses encrypted technology which is constantly updated. Graduates can access their own university transcripts but can also cho ...…

Rocket Lab sent a rocket into space from New Zealand on Thursday, May 25th. They called this launch “Test one” to make the point that it is just a test at this stage. There will be two more tests later this year. Test one did not go into orbit but the company is very pleased with the result and called it a successful test. The aim is to put sma ...…

The Minister of Finance, Steven Joyce, read the Budget to Parliament this afternoon. Every government has a budget which gives details of how much money is coming in from taxes and investments, and what the government will spend it on. This year, just like other recent years, the government has a surplus which means money left over after spendi ...…

Our State Highways are our main roads through the country. State Highway 1 (SH1) is the main road from north to south. After the major earthquakes in Kaikoura in November 2016, SH1 from Picton to Christchurch has been closed. It will be closed all this year while workers clear slips. Passengers on the inter-island ferry from Wellington to Picto ...…

A strong cold southerly wind is the sign of wintery weather. Snow has hit many parts of New Zealand. Dunedin has snow on the hills about 100m above sea level which has made it difficult for drivers on the motorway into and out of the city. Snow has fallen on some mountain passes in the South Island. Lindis Pass, which is the gateway to Wanaka a ...…

The Minister for Social Housing, Amy Adams, has announced that Housing New Zealand will build 34,000 houses in Auckland in the next 10 years. The government owns about 5% of residential land which will be used for these houses. About 8,000 old houses owned by Housing New Zealand will be demolished first to make way for new houses. New Zealand h ...…

The Department of Conservation (DOC), announced moderate price increases in hut fees on the Great Walks during the coming season. New Zealand has nine Great Walks which are very popular. In the last 3 years, numbers of people walking the tracks have increased by 35%. About 60% of those are international visitors. Maintaining the huts and the tr ...…

Lisa Reihana is an artist representing New Zealand at the Venice Biennale. Listen to Venice Art Biennale to hear more about this very important art festival. Lisa Reihana’s art was opened yesterday by New Zealand’s Governor General, Dame Patsy Reddy. New Zealand’s official party travelled across the canal in a gondola with many people paddling ...…

Four days ago, some plants with signs of myrtle rust were discovered at a plant nursery in Kerikeri, Northland. The leaves have yellow spots on them. At another garden nearby, more diseased plants were found today. Biosecurity workers have destroyed diseased plants and have sprayed others, hoping to kill the disease. Myrtle rust disease is a fu ...…

New Zealand has always had a friendly relationship with our neighbour Australia. New Zealand citizens do not need a visa to travel to Australia, and before 1981, we could travel there freely without a passport. It was called the “lucky country” because of its mineral wealth, and good jobs were available. Many New Zealanders moved there and stay ...…

May is the last Autumn month before we head into winter. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Autumn months are March, April, and May. North Americans call this season Fall because that’s the time the leaves fall from deciduous trees. Most of our deciduous trees are not native trees – they are European or Asian. Many New Zealand native trees are eve ...…

A French tourist was attacked by a shark while she was body boarding last Thursday afternoon at Curio Bay near Invercargill. The shark bit her leg above her knee but she was able to pull open the shark’s jaw and get her legs free. The board had a bite taken out of it and her wetsuit was ripped into several pieces. This bay is popular with surfe ...…

This very short video from Statistics New Zealand explains “the motherhood penalty” Statistics New Zealand has just published a report which looked at the difference in pay between mothers who have children and those women who do not have children. The report looked at the gender pay gap between men and women in the June quarter of 2016. Men wh ...…

The minimum wage for workers was raised on April 1st by 50c an hour to $15.75 but this is still not enough for many people to live on. A living wage of $20.20 for 2017 is supported by Wellington City Council, and this year, the council aims to pay their cleaners a living wage. Other staff who are on wages will get a living wage the following ye ...…

Have you seen people wearing red poppies made of fabric? They are a sign of remembrance, to remind us of those who died during the First World War. Although they are made of fabric, they remind us that real poppies grew on the graves of soldiers buried in Flanders in Europe. New Zealanders remember these soldiers on ANZAC Day every year. Althou ...…

First listen to May 28 2012. Workers who care for old people in rest homes or in their own home will get a very big pay rise on June 1st. Five years ago, one care worker, Kristine Bartlett, took a case to the court. She claimed that she was paid a low wage because she was a woman and nearly all of the people doing this kind of work were women. ...…

The young New Zealand singer, Lorde, performed at the biggest music festival in the US. About 75,000 fans attended the three-day festival and thousands more watched online as it was livestreamed. Today was the last day and Lorde was the second-to-last performer. She sang several songs from her album, Melodrama, which will be released June 16th. ...…

First listen to April 7 2017 Cyclone Cook brought heavy rain and strong wind to some areas of the country but fortunately, it moved out to sea and was not as bad as predicted. However, some areas like Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay experienced the worst of it. Many lost electricity, trees fell and outdoor furniture was damaged. Edgecumbe, which w ...…

Most shops will be closed tomorrow, Good Friday, and many will be closed on Easter Sunday as well. The law which passed in November last year, allowed local councils to set their own rules about which shops can open on Easter Sunday. If your local council has approved shopping that day, you will be able to shop. However, businesses which have d ...…