Results for New Zealand

In New Zealand, the University of Waikato, in support of increased Covid-19 vaccination rates among Māori and Pacific communities, will host a vaccination clinic and drive on September 16 to mark Kīngitanga day. There is concern that vaccination rates among the Māori and Pacific communities are lower when compared to the New Zealand national average, while some studies also suggest that Pacific people are three times more likely to need hospitalisation when infected with the virus than non-Pacific people.

A 34-year-old man jointly charged with the murder of Tongan seasonal worker, Hiko Lynch (23) in Blenheim, Marlborough has been denied bail. He is remanded in custody to appear in September.

Fuifui ‘Ealelei (36) of Haveluloto reportedly passed away in his sleep on Sunday, May 16 in Hastings, Hawke's Bay.

Early warning systems on Raoul Island, one of New Zealand’s most integral sites for monitoring earthquakes and tsunami, will undergo critical repairs after an earthquake occurred in the area last Friday. The tidal gauge at Raoul provides critical early warning for the Pacific Islands. On March 5 a tsunami wave took about 44 minutes to travel between the Fishrock gauge and the Nuku'alofa gauge.

New Zealand expects to vaccinate border workers within two to three weeks, followed by their household contacts, with the first batch of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine set to arrive in the country next week, announced Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern today.

Tonga has opted out of New Zealand’s new seasonal workers scheme this year, due to not being able to meet certain criteria including a guaranteed return flight home at the end of the season.

The New Zealand Government will purchase COVID-19 vaccines from pharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Novavax, meaning every New Zealander will be able to be vaccinated, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “We have secured more than enough doses to cover our entire population plus the Pacific,” she said. Vaccinations for the public are on track to start in mid-2021.

Up to 2,000 experienced seasonal workers from the Pacific will be allowed into New Zealand in 2021 to address labour shortages in the horticulture and wine growing sectors. But countries wanting to send workers must agree to take back not only their new workers coming under the border exception but also other RSE employees already in NZ when the 2020/2021 season ends.

New York Times reporting: Nanaia Mahuta entered New Zealand’s Parliament as the youngest Maori woman to ever gain a seat. More than two decades later, she has become the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, another trailblazing first. Labour’s newly elected majority is made up mostly of women...it is, by far, the most diverse Parliament the country has ever seen, reflecting New Zealand’s demographics and its place within the broader Pacific islands.