New Zealand

World News

Call The Pied Piper: New Zealand Wants To Get Rid Of Its Rats. All Of Them

5:47pm July 25, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

For decades, New Zealand has tried to reduce the populations of destructive, non-native predators. Now the country has a more ambitious goal: eliminating invasive rats, stoats and possums by 2050.

World News

Inky The Octopus's Great Escape

8:40am April 16, 2016

by Scott Simon

Inky the octopus escaped from the National Aquarium of New Zealand and into Hawke's Bay. NPR's Scott Simon celebrates his ingenuity, and second-guesses the octopus's inclusion on his dinner plate.

Queue Listen Now

The "Red Peak" design, by Aaron Dustin, was inspired by traditional Maori weaving patterns and references a Maori creation myth, the designer says.

World News

The People Have Spoken: No New Flag For New Zealand

9:18am March 24, 2016

by Tanya Ballard Brown

Ten months and 10,000 flag submissions later, New Zealanders decided to just keep what they had.

The "Silver Fern (Red, White and Blue)" design is nearly identical to the winning alternative design, and is by the same designer, Kyle Lockwood. The red represents "heritage and sacrifices made," he says.

World News

New Zealanders Begin Voting On Whether To Swap Out Their Flag

7:23pm March 03, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

For decades, the people of New Zealand have debated whether to change the design of their flag — and if so, what the new design should be. They've now entered the final round of voting.

World News

Road Flock: Sheep Help Police End Car Chase In New Zealand

3:56pm January 22, 2016

by Laura Wagner

The flock of more than 150 sheep blocked a road, doing what road spikes couldn't and bringing a 90-minute chase to an end.

Fourteen members of New Zealand's Parliament from the Labour and Green parties — including four men — were either thrown out or chose to leave the chamber Wednesday.

World News

WATCH: New Zealand Female MPs Silenced In Parliament After Disclosing Sexual Assaults

6:35pm November 11, 2015

by Laura Wagner

The lawmakers were ordered to leave after speaking about their experiences and calling for an apology from the prime minister over controversial remarks he made a day earlier.

Richie McCaw of the All Blacks passes during a New Zealand training session on Friday in preparation for the World Cup final on Saturday.

The Rugby World Cup Final Is Saturday And It's Going To Be A Doozy

10:24pm October 30, 2015

by Laura Wagner

Defending champion New Zealand will face off against its rival, Australia, in London. You can watch the game on NBC at noon ET.

The Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior after an underwater explosion in Auckland, New Zealand, in July 1985.

French Agent Apologizes For Blowing Up Greenpeace Ship In 1985

12:05pm September 06, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The Rainbow Warrior, on a mission to protest French nuclear testing in the Pacific, was destroyed by an underwater mine in New Zealand's Auckland harbor.

The badly damaged Christchurch Cathedral is pictured on Sept. 7, 2011 during a tour given to foreign journalists visiting the city ahead of the rugby 2011 World Cup. England rugby manager Martin Johnson and several members of the playing squad visited the

Will New Zealand Rebuild The Cathedral My Forefather Erected?

3:56pm April 06, 2015

by Philip Reeves

NPR's Philip Reeves recently visited the earthquake-battered cathedral in New Zealand built by a 19th-century ancestor. He found his family history entwined in a fierce contemporary controversy.

Queue Listen Now