Who is Khaby Lame – the world’s most followed TikToker?

Source: Radio New Zealand His name is Khabane Lame, but he is known worldwide as Khaby Lame. Born in Dakar, Senegal, he is the most followed content creator on TikTok. He became famous for video clips in which he reacts to absurd “life hack” videos with a blank, slightly annoyed face, showing the hack wasn’t … Read more

Review: Project Hail Mary is a Ryan Gosling-powered hope rocket

Source: Radio New Zealand As Project Hail Mary‘s amnesiac hero problem-solves his way around the spaceship he’s woken up on alone, he asks: “Am I smart?” It’s a bold question to put in the air at the start of a film that fuses a silly, human-alien buddy comedy and a deeply earnest tale about how science and … Read more

Mudfish pulls off last-minute upset to claim Fish of the Year 2026

Source: Radio New Zealand A Northland mudfish with a ruler for scale. DOC A deeply unglamorous and rarely seen creature that spends most of its life in mud has pulled off a last-minute upset by winning the title of Fish of the Year. The Northland mudfish was not even in the top ten at the … Read more

My Food Bag on track for profit growth

Source: Radio New Zealand My Food Bag is forecasting its full-year net profit will be between $6.4 million and $6.8 million Strong sales in the second half of the year have helped put My Food Bag on track to deliver year-on-year profit growth. The NZX-listed company is forecasting its full-year net profit will be between … Read more

Retired Supreme Court judge to lead government inquiry into Tauranga landslides

Source: Radio New Zealand The slip at Mauao, Mount Maunganui as seen from the air. Screengrab / Amy Till Retired Supreme Court judge Sir Mark O’Regan will lead the government’s inquiry into the Tauranga landslides which killed eight people. The terms of reference, released on Tuesday, task him with investigating how the landslides occurred and … Read more

ERO’s school reports strengthened and improved

Source: New Zealand Government Parents will soon benefit from clearer, more useful information on how their child’s school is performing through an overhaul to ERO’s school reports, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Parents, teachers and school boards want to celebrate the successes of their local schools and need to clearly understand any areas for improvement. … Read more

New rating system for schools unveiled as ERO reports overhauled

Source: Radio New Zealand The Education Review Office is introducing a colour-coded, four-point scale for rating schools’ performance. It said the new system would apply to ERO review reports for schools visited from term two and would be easier for families to understand. The new-look reports would rate schools’ as excelling, doing well, working towards … Read more

Environment – Have your say on three internationally restricted chemicals – EPA

Source: Environmental Protection Authority The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) is calling for submissions on plans to restrict three Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) recently added to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.   Aotearoa New Zealand has signed this international environmental agreement, so must stop or limit producing, using, importing, and exporting POPs listed under the Stockholm … Read more

Kiribati ministerial delegation visits EIT to explore RSE training opportunities

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology 2 minutes ago A ministerial delegation from Kiribati has visited EIT’s Hawke’s Bay campus to learn about the institute’s national training programme supporting workers in New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme. The delegation, led by Kiribati’s Minister for Employment and Human Resources Hon Auria Kitina, met with EIT staff … Read more

Simon Kneebone joins Black Ferns coaching team

Source: Radio New Zealand Simon Kneebone has been appointed a Black Ferns assistant coach, focusing on set pieces. SUPPLIED The Black Ferns have a new assistant coach who will focus on their set piece. Simon Kneebone completes the coaching group, joining head coach Whitney Hansen, and assistants Tony Christie (attack) and Riki Flutey (defence). Christie … Read more

Mince records biggest annual increase since data began

Source: Radio New Zealand The average price of a kilogram of beef mince was now $4.60 more than the same time in 2025. RNZ / Vinay Ranchhod Food prices were up 4.5 percent in the year to February, and mince has recorded the biggest annual increase since data began. Meat, poultry and fish led the … Read more

EMA – Employers call for regulation of employment advocates as dispute resolution system falters

Source: EMA The Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) is calling for a review of the employment disputes resolution system and especially the conduct and regulation of employment advocates, following a survey of more than 300 of its members. Employers pointed to an escalating number of disputes, rising costs, longer case durations, and increasingly adversarial behaviour by … Read more

Health and Politics – Minister’s winter spin can’t mask Health NZ’s staffing crisis – PSA

Source: PSA The Government’s announcement of extra staff and beds for winter cannot be taken seriously from a Minister whose policies have driven Health NZ into a staffing crisis, the PSA says. “This is a drop in the bucket. Hospitals are already carrying significant vacancies and recruitment is too slow to fill them,” said Fleur Fitzsimons, … Read more

Health – Hospital Capacity Boost Highlights Critical Role of Aged Care Sector

Source: Aged Care Association The Aged Care Association says today’s announcement of additional funding to increase hospital capacity highlights the essential role aged residential care providers play in supporting New Zealand’s health system. The Government has announced a $25 million winter package aimed at boosting hospital capacity, including additional staffing, beds, and the use of up to 567 short-term … Read more

Politics and Employment – Young workers with Christopher Luxon masks take to the streets like he said he would – PSA

Source: PSA Young workers wearing Christopher Luxon masks will line State Highway 1 in Kilbirnie, Wellington on Wednesday morning to protest the Prime Minister dragging his feet on modern slavery legislation, despite saying in 2022 that it is something he would march in the streets for. The protest is being held by PSA Youth, the youth … Read more

Tertiary Education – International student numbers surge at Vic Uni

Source: Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington posts major rise in international student enrolments and strong growth in arts, politics, and teaching, as well as higher numbers of Māori and Pasifika students. Victoria University has recorded a substantial 50 percent increase in international students enrolled to start, signalling strong … Read more

Have women quit cutting their hair short when they get older?

Source: Radio New Zealand Rebecca Wadey can’t imagine ever cutting her hair. The Auckland-based writer and former editor of online magazine Ensemble will turn 50 this year. Her hair, which she describes as “big, curly and coarse”, reaches well below her shoulders “to my elbows if I straighten it”. When she surfs, it blinds her; … Read more

At the Oscars after-party, the fashion was sexy, strange and sensual

Source: Radio New Zealand The Oscars red carpet is typically viewed as the apex of awards season dressing. What the stars wear to the Dolby Theater is the culmination of months of business negotiations between talent agencies, stylists and fashion houses, generating millions of views for brands and, when successful, can cement an actor’s relevancy … Read more

Overhaul of ERO school reports announced

Source: Radio New Zealand The Education Review Office says it is introducing new, simpler reports about schools next month. It says from term two ERO reports will include a summary that gives families an at-a-glance understanding of the performance of their children’s school. The office says the new reports will have more focus on children’s … Read more

Inquiry into the Fatal Landslides in Tauranga

Source: New Zealand Government Cabinet has agreed the Terms of Reference and membership for a Government Inquiry into the Fatal Landslides in Tauranga, Emergency Management and Recovery Associate Minister Chris Penk has announced.  “Eight people died in the devastating events of 22 January 2026 – two when a landslide struck a property in Pāpāmoa’s Welcome Bay Road … Read more

Wattie’s NZ’s proposed cuts ‘a really big blow’ to seed, arable growers

Source: Radio New Zealand The Wattie’s factory in Christchurch. Nathan McKinnon / RNZ Wattie’s New Zealand’s proposal to stop producing frozen vegetables is expected to impact the country’s already-hurting vegetable growers and seed producers. The seed industry was taking stock of what last week’s announcement by one of the country’s largest food producers, would mean … Read more

NZ, Samoa vow to combat flow of drugs through Pacific ‘super highway’

Source: Radio New Zealand New Zealand and Samoa have vowed to do more to combat the flow of drugs through the Pacific, which prime minister Christopher Luxon says has become a “super highway”. Luxon and his Samoan counterpart La’aulialemalietoa Polataivao Leuatea Fosi Schmidt have signed memorandums of understanding for Police and Customs to work together … Read more

Education – ERO issuing new school reports from Term 2, focused on providing clarity for parents to understand their school performance

Source: Education Review Office The Education Review Office (ERO) is overhauling their school review reports to better enable parents and whānau to understand school performance and engage in their child’s learning. ERO Chief Review Officer Ruth Shinoda said the new reports will lift standards of education by providing parents with clear, useful and accessible information about … Read more

Research – 58% of Kiwi professionals are relocating this year – and for 65% of them, Australia is the first choice

Source: Robert Walters Auckland, New Zealand – 17th March 2026 – Professional mobility across New Zealand is strengthening, with new research from Robert Walters revealing that 58% of New Zealand professionals are open to relocating for work in the next 12 months. As skills shortages intensify and career expectations rise, movement across the Tasman is … Read more

Pharmac seeks feedback to make access to medicines clearer and simpler for people with exceptional clinical circumstances

Source: PHARMAC Pharmac is reviewing its Exceptional Circumstances Framework (the Framework) after people told us it is hard to understand and needs to work better. The Framework is used when a person’s clinical situation is unusual or complex and existing funded medicines or standard funding rules are not suitable. In these cases, Pharmac can consider … Read more

Tauranga School went in lockdown after reports of an armed person

Source: Radio New Zealand Police say they’re continuing to make enquiries. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly A Tauranga school was put into lockdown this morning after reports of someone with a weapon. Police were called to Cameron Road at about 8.50am. “A nearby school was advised to be placed into a lockdown, however this has since … Read more

COVID-19 and long COVID 2024/25: New Zealand Health Survey

Source: New Zealand Ministry of Health Publication date: 17 March 2026 This page presents a summary of data from questions about COVID-19 and long COVID added to the New Zealand Health Survey (NZHS) in 2024/25. These questions asked adults aged 15 years and over if they had ever had a COVID-19 infection, and if they … Read more