A bilingual podcast about New Zealand news for Chinese listeners learning English.
This episode includes 3 news blocks. Party pledges to "make NZ healthy" with illness prevention policies designed to help overwhelmed hospitals. On one day in September, the 15-bed department reached 253 percent capacity - equivalent to about 50 patients in the department at one time. Singer-songwriter Moana Maniapoto will write a waiata for this year's winner, which will be announced on Monday.
This episode includes 10 news blocks. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown welcomes the legislation, saying "common sense has prevailed" for building owners in the city. A public inquiry identified opportunities that were missed to keep the children safe. Now OT's chief executive says she is "seeking answers". The environmental group claims 35,000 attended the march, but police report somewhat less. Numbers have dropped with a level of herd immunity from both vaccinations and people who have had the viru…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. Multiple experts are welcoming the idea, but the business community is warning of unintended consequences. The children's charity says far too many kids continue to be challenged by poverty, violence, mental distress, and barriers to opportunity. One of the East Cape’s most famous beach towns has virtually ground to a halt as locals continue to grapple with the aftermath of destructive flooding from January. The government has confirmed it will clear the wa…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. A damning report into the children’s case is "difficult and, at times, harrowing reading". Vanuatu's Prime Minister Jotham Napat has cancelled his trip to the United Nations General Assembly this week, as the search for survivors from the ferry disaster continues. They say a patient collapsing in the wait room toilet is a stark warning as overcrowding becomes normal. Riders from Hawke's Bay iwi Ngāti Kahungunu travelled from Waimārama with the petition - wh…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. About one baby per month is dying of HIV related complications, and one baby is being born with HIV every week. An estimated 72,500 passengers were counted on trains across the Auckland Transport network by 5pm today. Westpac warns developing El Niño conditions could hit pasture-based farming hard, especially dairy, sheep and beef. An advisor says clients are not getting by and every day someone seeks help with hardship withdrawals to cover the basics. Offi…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. More than 30 people still missing and one body found, Vanuatu’s government says Passengers are now able to stop at Waitematā Station following the fire, which was started by an electrical cable A flare-up in tensions could yet affect NZ’s fuel stocks, the ministry says, but Iran and the US both have good reasons to avoid full-scale war. Waitlists from June 2025 to June 2025 have fallen 9 percent for colposcopy and echocardiography. Armed men are alleged to…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. While timetables and lines will change the length and variety of trips, fares will be the same. At the annual Immigration Conference, New Zealand First's Winston Peters launched more than a dozen proposals - almost all of which restricted migration. The foreign affairs, defence, and trade committee recommended by majority to implement the India Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill - with some amendments. The Taxation Bill, which contains legislat…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. The party is campaigning on four reforms that it says will end the tribunal’s contemporary jurisdiction, and move the country on. Health Minister Simeon Brown has been briefed and police are investigating the incident in which a large number of files, including sensitive health information, may have been stolen. It could see petrol prices rise again in New Zealand, Westpac's chief economist says. A particularly virulent strain of influenza A has spread acro…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. Almost a year on from the previous Canterbury Regional Council declaring a nitrate emergency, a new report pointing to high nitrate levels across the region has been presented to councillors. Heart doctors are urging anyone with chest pains or heart attack symptoms to get urgent medical help despite the current strain on the health system. A review found too many people who tried to call the telehealth service for mental health didn't get through. The figur…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. Party vows to scrap net zero target, repeal the Zero Carbon Act, seek a "better deal" under the Paris Agreement and more if elected in November . The party's 'Affordable Kai' policy would also expand free school lunches and set up a publicly owned KiwiMart supermarket. More than 30 ED nurses from Gisborne Hospital will strike for an hour on Wednesday over unsafe staffing levels. National wants to lift the income cap on the First Home Loan scheme to $300,000…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. Deputy leader Shane Jones wants economic activities like mining and quarrying on conservation land - apart from in national parks. In her second national address, Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po carried her father's call for kotahitanga. Hardship withdrawal numbers have increased rapidly in recent years. Pharmac is considering wider access to meningitis vaccines, as the Meningitis Foundation warns the $450 cost is preventing some families from access…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. The voices of tāngata whaikaha Māori have been "made invisible" within the system, the tribunal says. A doctor at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital says 103 patients were queuing at 11.15pm on Wednesday, waiting to be seen by just seven doctors. The State Department says the Trump Administration is reorienting Pacific relationships towards "championing US enterprise and investments", mirroring its approach to much of the developing world. Solomon Islands Prime…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. A UN report says the world must keep the 'overshoot' as small as possible to limit irreversible damage. All eyes will now turn to what the central bank thinks will happen next. The plant flooded, sending 14 billion litres of raw sewage into Wellington’s south coast. Police Commissioner Richard Chambers "strongly rejected" the claims when they were first made public. Syphilis rates have had the biggest drop - about a quarter - and have fallen everywhere exce…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. The Ophthalmology NZ chair says there's a "tsunami" of increased demand from an ageing population, poor IT systems, and staff shortages. The United States and Taiwan governments have accused China of trying to use a travel advisory notice to undermine Palau on the eve of the Pacific Island Forum leaders summit in Koror. Economists are predicting the Reserve Bank to increase the official cash rate this week. "If he couldn’t get the benefit, I probably would’…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. One patient arrived in the evening and was eventually admitted at 6am, after falling asleep and face-planting. Auckland and Canterbury have seized most of the growth in university enrolments this year. The party is also vowing to crack down on overseas-based borrowers, with tougher debt recovery measures planned. The 55th Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting officially kicks off Monday night in Koror, Palau. Daily limits on shellfish, a scallop dredging cr…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. The government will end Jobseeker payments to 18 and 19-year-olds whose parents earn more than $65,000 from November. More than 1200 care workers in Auckland are in limbo, after Health NZ confirmed it was ending contracts with three non-profit providers. A mental health staffing crisis is looming and experts say urgent investment is needed to avoid a workforce cliff. A flood alert has been issued for Warkworth and heavy rain warnings have been upgraded for…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. Three non-profits are in limbo after a Health NZ decision not to award contracts worth millions to three providers. Both said no one’s benefit was cut following a law change that swamped ministry officials with paperwork - but that is exactly what happened. The brother of missing Kiwi Suhasini Reddy said she did not cross the border and believes she may have been near the checkpoint area when flooding hit. The nearly NZ$18 million programme aims to put Paci…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. Suhasini Reddy is one of at least five New Zealanders unaccounted for after the flood that killed at least 160 people. Analysis - After a seven-year wait, Papua New Guinea's parliament is expected to finally table the question of whether to approve of independence for the autonomous region of Bougainville. One in seven children are living in poverty, with critics saying New Zealand has gone in the "wrong direction" on addressing the crisis. Doctors say the…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. The change means about 260,000 more children will be eligible next winter. Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton is calling for the scheme to be overhauled. The Environmental Defence Society voiced strong concerns but Federated Farmers says the proposed changes introduce practicality. The dire diagnosis was delivered at a state of the health system address in Porirua. The leavers say Gloriavale's Overseeing Shepherd failed to provide th…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. The government will need to commit to the northwestern busway if charging commuters goes ahead, one councillor says. The law change would put "a brake on excessive increases and [give] ratepayers greater certainty", the minister says. Labour would reverse the government's heated tobacco policy and introduce a licensing regime for tobacco and vape products. Health NZ officials have met with North Shore Hospital ED nurses to discuss what the nurses are callin…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. A new bill will put pressure on social media companies to comply, while also establishing an online safety regulator and setting up a penalty regime. Hundreds of thousands of free-range hens have been kept inside as a third bird flu case is confirmed in Aotearoa. Some staff who hold ambulance or clinical qualifications - but were now working in non-patient-facing roles - are stepping up to work in frontline operations "It feels like we're at war," a charge…
This episode includes 10 news blocks. Air New Zealand says strong winds have impacted its operations in Wellington, Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Blenheim, Invercargill, Dunedin and Queenstown. It has not yet decided what its new "realistic and achievable" Clean Vehicle Standard settings will be, however. Kate Acland from Beef and Lamb said it's too soon to judge whether the announcement will lower beef prices. ACT expected around $2 billion of capital investment would be required. A survivor…