Monthly Archives: May 2022

WELLINGTON, New Zealand A further 30 New Zealand Defence Force personnel will deploy to the U.K. until the end of July to help train Ukrainian soldiers on the L119 towed 105mm light howitzer, New Zealands prime minister announced Monday.

There are very few armed forces that can provide this skill right now, Jacinda Ardern said, which is why New Zealand has been called upon.

Defence Minister Peeni Henare this week noted his participation in the Ukraine Contact Group a gathering of about 44 nations to coordinate aid to help Ukraine defend itself from Russias invasion, which began Feb. 24.

Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Kevin Short said New Zealand expects to train about 230 Ukrainian troops. We think it would take at least a week for a gun crew to be trained, he noted.

At least 30 gun crews were expected to learn how to operate the gun, which is also operated by the British Army. Known as the M119 in the U.S., the gun has a range of more than 10 miles, and New Zealands military has used the weapon since the 1980s.

Defense analyst Gordon Crane said the training plans cross important policy thresholds.

In March, we introduced sanctions against Russia; last month, we sent a Hercules [aircraft] and provided funds for more weapons; this month, as well as artillery training, New Zealand is supplying gun sights and training ammunition, Crane said. This should strengthen our relationship with Washington. It shows New Zealand is moving in concert with its major allies in supporting Ukraine.

However, Crane pointed out that New Zealands Army has fewer than 5,000 regular personnel and that its collective readiness has declined as soldiers, together with Air Force and Navy personnel, have had to take on the task of managing the countrys COVID-19 isolation and quarantine policies in recent years.

As well as preventing staff from practicing their military roles, the emphasis on soft skills has sent attrition soaring at a time when recruitment is declining, he explained.

Probably the Hercules deployment could be extended another month or two, bearing in mind the [Royal New Zealand Air Force] has only five C-130s, all of them in service since the 1960s, he said. Our expertise is in niche areas, including explosive ordnance disposal. In terms of hardware, though, the NZDF is sparsely equipped, with fewer than 30 Javelin anti-tank missiles for example; there are no fast jets, no tanks, no [multiple launch rocket systems] or combat UAVs.

However, Kiwis are highly adaptable, and Wellingtons political support for Ukraine has only grown stronger, he added, using a term for New Zealand citizens. The impact of that resolve should not be underestimated.

Nick Lee-Frampton is the New Zealand correspondent for Defense News. In 1983, he emigrated to the country and began writing about aviation and defense for local publications. When not reading or writing, he walks for hours, rides a mountain bike and makes model aircraft.

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New Zealand to train Ukrainians on L119 howitzer - DefenseNews.com

The uncertainty over whether Jacinda Ardern might land a White House meeting and photo opportunity with US President Joe Biden was perhaps fitting, given the lack of clarity about one of their main topics of discussion.

On Monday in Tokyo Biden launched his Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). He was flanked by the three other leaders from the Quad alliance: Japan, India and Australia, whose new prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was speedily sworn in so he could reach Tokyo in time.

Ardern joined by video and plans to discuss the IPEF directly with Biden in Washington next week, White House COVID rules permitting. But despite the high-profile launch, the IPEF remains an enigma, a high-level idea in search of substance.

We know it has four pillars: trade, supply chain resiliency, clean energy and decarbonisation, and tax and anti-corruption. We also know 13 countries have signed up: the Quad plus New Zealand, Brunei, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The next few months will be spent scoping the framework something youd expect might happen before countries opt in. But the lack of substance doesnt matter for now. The launch was symbolic, applauding US re-engagement with the Asia-Pacific (now rebranded Indo-Pacific) region.

That was the easy part. Actually bringing the IPEF to fruition faces major hurdles.

Most commentators have homed in on the geopolitical conundrum. The Indo-Pacific Strategy issued by the White House in February complained that:

[China] is combining its economic, diplomatic, military, and technological might as it pursues a sphere of influence in the Indo-Pacific and seeks to become the worlds most influential power.

The US views the IPEF as the vehicle to reassert its economic primacy. And Australia and Japan are fully on board.

The IPEF gives Albanese an early opportunity to dispel election campaign suggestions he is soft on China, while distinguishing himself from his predecessor Scott Morrisons belligerence as trade tensions with China escalated.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is more cautious, especially about China. Bidens announcement was reportedly rewritten to launch collective discussions towards future negotiations, which leaves Indias options open.

Read more: New drives to counter China come with a major risk: throwing fuel on the Indo-Pacific arms race

Aotearoa New Zealand has a bigger dilemma. For years successive governments have sat on the fence, assuming they could divorce the countrys economic dependency on China from strategic alliances that were increasingly anti-China.

That dependency is now overwhelming, making the IPEFs overtly anti-China strategy a real economic liability.

Read more: ANZUS without NZ? Why the new security pact between Australia, the UK and US might not be all it seems

To have credibility, the US also needs broader buy-in from the region. Seven of the ten ASEAN countries have agreed to participate. But these are early days. Few will want to jeopardise their relationship with China for nothing tangible in return.

US unions have already targeted Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam for their poor human rights and labour records. They are hardly likely to accept US demands that they accept gold standard labour laws.

The second hurdle is US domestic politics. There is no question the IPEF will put America first. But internal US consultations reveal a battle between two camps on what this means.

The Democrats core labour and environment base has been promised a new trade model that prioritises workers, the environment and domestic communities ahead of US corporate profits.

Theyre rallying behind US Trade Representative Katherine Tai who is responsible for the trade pillar of the IPEF. Its broad scope includes the digital economy and emerging technology, labour commitments, the environment, trade facilitation, transparency and good regulatory practices, and corporate accountability.

These are all chapters in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), including the super-sensitive issue of cross-border data flows and data localisation. But Tais trade mandate excludes the domestically volatile issues of market access for goods, including agriculture, which is what most countries, including New Zealand, really want.

The US corporate lobby, on the other hand, wants to revive the tariff-cutting agenda of the TPPA, which Tai rejects as a 20th-century model that is not fit for purpose.

And corporate America wants to secure strong rules to protect Big Tech from new regulation, something that falls within Tais trade mandate. They seek a champion in Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, who oversees the other three pillars.

During this weeks White House briefing on the IPEF, Tai made the administrations priorities crystal clear. While traditional stakeholders have to be part of the solution, she said, they will be

ensuring that other stakeholders, like our workers, like our environmental organisations, the ones who are the smartest about climate and the policy solutions that we need, that they have premier seats at the table and that they will be influencing and shaping the policies that we create.

Read more: With a new Australian government and foreign minister comes fresh hope for Australia-China relations

Of course, the IPEF may never be concluded. It has no bipartisan support in the US. Even if the Biden administration has the best of intentions, it cannot give an assurance that future administrations will maintain improved environmental and labour standards in the US or honour commitments to other countries taking part in IPEF.

The Biden White House wants to avoid putting the deal to a vote in Congress. But once it drags into the next presidential election cycle it risks falling into the abyss behind the TPPA.

Realistically, the IPEF is a pig in a poke. Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia need to take a deep breath and realistically assess the opportunities and threats from such an arrangement.

That means assessing it next to pressing challenges like the climate emergency, lessons from the pandemic, successive global financial crises, the largely unregulated private power of Big Tech, geopolitical rivalries in a multi-polar world, New Zealands obligations to Mori under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and more.

Then they must weigh up the options: stand aside from the negotiations, pursue alternative arrangements, or establish a clear, public negotiating mandate that would truly maximise the nations interests for the century ahead.

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New Zealand has just joined an overtly anti-China alliance are the economic risks worth it? - The Conversation Indonesia

Urban forests are attracting native birds back to New Zealands cities, helping residents foster a deeper connection with their feathery friends, and develop a greater interest in their protection.

New research published in the Journal of Animal Ecology found that restoring native forest in cities does indeed bring back native birds, while a Wellington council report in April 2021 found that Zealandia a 225 hectare urban eco-sanctuary 10 minutes from the city centre was having a measurable halo effect on native forest bird communities throughout the city.

But Wellington isnt the only urban centre to notice a boost in birds New Zealands Guardian readers shared their observations* from across the country.

Here are some of our favourites:

Here in tautahi Christchurch, the bird life has increased enormously due to the residential red zone. Over 1,500 acres of land here has got on with the business of pretty much re-wilding itself in the decade since the earthquakes. We are also fortunate to have Hagley Park, a 400 acre park in the centre of the city.

There has definitely been an increase in pwakawaka. I have also noticed more krearea (our native falcon), tauhou (waxeyes) and kerer. The cheeky chittering pwakawaka is one of my favourites. They are fearless of humans and dogs, flitting in and out wherever insects are disturbed for them to catch. Walking in the red zone they will follow us, mostly in pairs.

I try to make safe feeding spaces and use cat deterrents such as lemon peel. With building intensification in the suburbs of our city, I have observed many more cats around. Recently we were away for a week, since then the bird life in our back yard has gone. According to some friends, cats can take over when no people are around and the birds are all frightened off.Gina Payne, tautahi / Christchurch

I definitely feel there have been more birdies around in the past few years, which considering I live smack dab in the city I thought I was imagining things. My partner has sat bolt upright in the early hours of the morning swearing hes hearing a grey warbler when we would NEVER get these guys around here. Now its happening so frequently its a bit of a non event, which is saying a lot!

Its no longer remarkable to have up close encounters with formerly rare birds, which makes it harder to tell if things are improving or plateauing somewhat.

We think about bird life when considering planting new trees. Theres growing appreciation of the risks of feeding wild birds the wrong thing or even too much of the right thing, so providing them with a good mix of native plants seems the best way.Pochi Velasquez, tautahi / Christchurch

[There has been] a phenomenal increase in native birds since the arrival of Zealandia. Kk stomping round the deck rail, not even leaving when we go on to the deck; kk sitting on the rim of the outdoor spa pool eyeing up my soaking husbands pomegranate juice glass (good for his prostate) and eventually tipping down to insert its beak into the juice. Twice. And then he drank it my husband, that is.

Rat trapping is active in Wellington, with local coordination and reporting by volunteers. Many many people volunteer for Zealandia in their spare time its hard to get volunteers for other charitable activities!Frances Blyth, Pneke / Wellington

We live in a village in Rangitikei and our garden is full of birds t, kerer, pwakawaka, bellbirds, and the occasional kingfisher [ktare]. We often get khu drifting overhead.

In mid-summer we have a lot of old plum trees that get laden with fruit. The kerer came in groups of three or four, scoffing the fruit from the tops to the bottom. We have a jack russell who gets very excited about the prospects for dinner when a big fat kerer lands on an impossibly small twig just above her reach, fills up on fruit, gets pissed and flops off to another crash-landing among some more fruit-laden branches.Andy Maciver, Turakina, Rangitikei

I live on Waiheke Island, 35 mins from Auckland city by ferry. It has a high population density, with the population increasing year on year, putting greater strain on the natural environment. However, forest regeneration and pest eradication has a high level of local support. For this reason bird life has increased dramatically over the past years. Te Korowai o Waiheke is a scheme to make Waiheke the worlds first predator-free urban island. The first phase included ridding the island of European introduced mustelids, with the second phase being various rat eradication trails currently taking place. The removal of cats (both domestic and feral) from the island remains unspoken, but this too would need to take place to be truly predator free

We have been privileged to have a pteke regularly visit our garden. This native duck numbers less than 2,500, and is indeed rarer than a kiwi. Captive breeding has helped numbers increase, but as this guy is untagged, it means he is wild born and has relocated himself to the island. Another wonderful sign that predator control is working. He has an incredible character, extremely territorial despite being half the size hell run full speed across the garden to chase off any contender.Anonymous, Waiheke Island, Tmaki Makaurau / Auckland

The Orokonui eco-sanctuary near Dunedin has proved a haven for birds looking for a predator safe breeding area for the birds to expand across the city. I regularly see and hear bell birds, t [and] kerer.

Just at the top of my steps, the tops of my tree lucerne are at eye level, and its not unusual to have a couple of kerer contentedly feeding less than a metre to my front. Ill often look up and see passersby also enjoying the sight.Larry White, Wakari, tepoti / Dunedin

*Edited for length and clarity.

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I thought I was imagining things: New Zealand readers on close encounters with city birds - The Guardian

New Zealands longest running soap opera, Shortland Street, celebrates 30 years on screen this week. The hospital drama was the height of television drama when I was a young person, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said in 2019. Its always done the job of tracking big things happening in New Zealand society as well, and reflecting back to ourselves.

It has launched the careers of some of the countrys biggest stars: Temuera Morrison, Martin Henderson, Rose McIvor, KJ Apa, Karl Urban, to name a few. It has spawned household jokes and sayings (Youre not in Guatemala now, Dr Ropata), developed cliffhangers involving incest, murder, scuppered weddings and shocking deaths, reinvented itself time and again to stay relevant, and unquestionably become part of New Zealands cultural fabric.

We want to hear from our New Zealand readers about what place Shorty holds in your heart. Are you a superfan? What is your fondest memory, or favourite episode and why? Do you remember first watching the show, and how it has changed over the years? How would you like to see Shortland Street develop over the next 30 years?

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Reader call-out: What are your best memories of New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street? - The Guardian

The price of a New Zealand passport has risen overnight as the border opens and more Kiwis begin to travel abroad.

A New Zealand passport. (Source: istock.com)

The price rose at 12am on Wednesday, from $191 to $199. A child's passport, which lasts five years compared to an adult's 10, went up by $4 to $115.

From there, the adult passport will rise to $206 from May 25 next year, and then up to $215 from May 25 2024.

A child's passport will go up to $120 in May next year, and $125 May 2024.

Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti said the rise was due to the decrease in demand caused by Covid.

"The passport system is designed to be entirely funded by passport fees, and while passport income has taken a significant hit, the fixed costs to run the service remain consistent so we have been advised a small increase is required."

"We appreciate any increase to costs at this time will pose a challenge to some families, but this outcome is the best balance between keeping the increase to a minimum and returning the passport service to full cost recovery."

The international border has re-opened in phases to various groups after being closed since early 2020 due to Covid.

It previously rose from $180 to $191 in 2019 to pay for the shortfall created by extending the passport life from five to 10 years, while a child's passport fee went up from $105 to $111.

New Zealanders have been warned recently about long waits for passports, as more than 500,000 passports expired during the border closure time period.

At the end of April the processing time had moved from 10 working days to about 22. The Government estimates it takes about one month to renew, replace or apply for a passport.

An Australian passport costs $329, a British passport costs $152, and a Canadian passport cost $191.42.

Continued here:

Price of New Zealand passport rises - 1News

Young New Zealanders are leaving in droves as borders reopen and economic conditions tighten at home.

The latest data from Stats NZ found that in the year to March, annual net migration was negative, with 7,300 more people leaving than entering. That loss marks a dramatic shift from early in the pandemic when border closures and the relative safety of Covid-free New Zealand prevented many from leaving. In the year to March 2020 there was a record net gain of 91,700.

Now, many New Zealanders particularly young professionals and graduates are heading off overseas once more. Some are driven by tough economic conditions in New Zealand, which is dealing with high inflation of 6.9%, housing unaffordability, and sky-high living costs: petrol, rents, mortgage interest rates and groceries are all on the rise.

Brad Olsen, Infometrics principal economist and director, said the latest figures demonstrate just how momentous really the shift has been in New Zealands migration outcomes, changing to a net loss from 50,000-60,000 annual net gains in the years leading up to the pandemic. Its a huge reversal and the first time weve seen those negative figures since the global financial crisis, the Christchurch earthquakes and the Australian mining boom all combined in the early 2010s.

Stats NZ, the governments data and statistics agency, said the losses were driven by young adults, with a particular increase in New Zealand citizens aged 18 to 27 leaving. With unemployment already at a low of 3.2%, economists say the loss of more of the workforce via migration could create ongoing labour shortages.

The difficulty finding workers is extreme around the country you have a smaller working age population than the year before, at a time when everyone is desperately calling out for workers. [It] really just exacerbates the pressures that businesses are under, Olsen said.

In April, government documents estimated that 50,000 people would leave over the next year but that the number could swell to 125,000 if the many young people who had delayed post-graduation trips during the pandemic left too.

Asked about those projected losses, the prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, said that overseas trips were part of our history and a rite of passage for many New Zealanders, noting that she had spent time living in London. It has been part of our history as a nation to frequently have New Zealanders come and go as part of our overseas experience, building skills and talent.

Olsen said there were a mixture of contributing factors including pent-up demand from those who delayed leaving over the past two years, high living costs, housing unaffordability, and delays fully reopening New Zealands borders, which meant lower numbers of migrants coming in.

The rest is here:

More people leaving New Zealand than entering as young flee high cost of living - The Guardian

On the campaign trail during New Zealands 2017 election, Labour leader Jacinda Ardern talked about climate change as her generations nuclear-free moment. She went on to become prime minister, taking Labour to a second-term victory in 2020 with an outright majority, unusual in New Zealands proportional representation system.

Her preface to this weeks budget talks about making investments to secure our future and says it makes the greatest strides in climate action by any government to date.

As it turns out, these great strides are more like a tottering babys first steps. And I certainly hope that it is only New Zealand governments being referenced here. Thankfully more is being done in other jurisdictions.

The budgets climate response is headlined by an overall investment of $2.9bn over four years into a climate emergency response fund, paid for in total by expected emissions trading scheme (ETS) proceeds with nothing from elsewhere in the governments coffers.

Urgent calls from environmental groups like Greenpeace to de-intensify dairy farming, cut synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and support regenerative farming at scale have gone unheard. Agriculture produces around 50% of New Zealands carbon dioxide and methane emissions.

While some resources are allocated for research and development in the agricultural sector, agriculture itself remains outside the ETS. The sector will now benefit from a program to which it has contributed nothing.

The new fund includes a cash for clunkers program that will trial a discount for some low- to middle-income earners who trade in their old and dirty cars for lower-emissions alternatives. This initiative has perhaps created the most public interest in the climate change announcement, but what the scheme will actually look like in detail is yet to be determined. There is nothing in the emergency response fund about banning imports of petrol and diesel vehicles or of moving systematically towards free or very cheap public transport.

A good proportion of the new schemes funding goes into the creation and operation of various planning and development groups, often to carry out work that effective government and local government bodies should be leading and resourcing in the first place.

While $230m is allocated to the conversion of industrial coal boilers, there is no mention of what could or should be done about the tonnes of coal burnt daily at Huntly to help power Auckland.

There is no significant support for large-scale renewable energy projects or for urgently needed reform of the countrys privatised energy sector.

The New Zealand government talks a good game when it comes to climate change but is in fact taking the minimum action necessary to meet its obligations, whether through legislation like the Zero Carbon Act or international agreements. Current policy settings are projected to support emission reductions of 4.1% by 2025. Even the climate change minister, Green party leader James Shaw Labour is in a formal cooperation agreement with the Greens voiced anxiety that newly established emission targets do not go far enough.

When viewed through the lens of its commitment to the global effort to reduce net greenhouse emissions by 50% by 2030 and to zero by 2050, this weeks budget takes the minimum action possible.

New Zealand has a tendency to pride itself on taking a responsible role on the world stage, and on being a leader in major reforms such as womens right to vote, early adoption of welfare state programs and declaring itself nuclear-free. The fortitude and courage necessary to lead this calibre of change are not on display this week.

Given that Labour has now been in power for five years, the governments efforts are nothing short of an abrogation of our responsibility to our own land and people, to the climate-change-imperilled Pacific region and to the world.

Instead of taking on vested interests in the agriculture and corporate sectors and making accelerated and effective steps to cut emissions, New Zealand continues to take the line of least resistance in the face of this existential crisis. No nuclear-free moment to see here.

Continued here:

New Zealands promised action on climate is nothing more than a tottering babys first steps - The Guardian

Australia has a new political leader at the helm after nine years governed by conservatives.

Anthony Albanese, Jacinda Ardern Photo: AFP / RNZ

Anthony Albanese will be sworn in today as the country's new prime minister, becoming the fourth Labor leader to win government from opposition since World War II.

So what does the change of hands mean for New Zealand?

Australia is much more hooked in to the United States and its desire to see security blankets wrapped around different parts of the Indo-Pacific, University of Auckland professor of politics Jennifer Curtin told Morning Report.

"We know that Anthony Albanese is heading to Tokyo for the Quad meetings with the prime ministers of Japan, India and the president of the US.

"They'll be looking for New Zealand to sort of perhaps come in behind the Quad positions and AUKUS and be a firm ally rather than what the narrative in Australia is at different times which is that New Zealand looks a little too soft on China but also a little bit reticent in defence expenditure and contributing to the security of the region."

In the coming 12 months there will be opportunities to talk more about New Zealand pulling towards the United States and away from China, inlcuding how that may be navigated, she said.

"We know that next year is the 40 year anniversary of the closer economic relations agreement between Australia and New Zealand and there will be some events and some opportunities to have some of those conversations."

There might be some complicated conversations around China, Curtin says, but there are a lot of areas for productive working relationships.

"There will be some really valuable relationships that will be built between Senator Penny Wong, who's the foreign affairs minister, and Nanaia Mahuta. They have a lot of similar interests on indigenous representation in foreign affairs and trade policy, in resetting the Pacific focus so that climate change and sustainable trade became important issues."

Anthony Albanese says he wants "no one left behind" and "no one held back" under his leadership - and New Zealanders in Australia told RNZ they hoped the new prime minister would be more empathetic towards non-citizens.

Nurse Jacqui May moved over from Aotearoa in 2016 for a pay rise, but when she was injured at work, she was ineligible for social welfare support from Centrelink - the equivalent of the Ministry of Social Development.

She hoped under the new government, all Centrelink supports would be made available to New Zealanders employed in Australia.

"It is unjust, if people are in financial hardship and then they cannot access any funds then what are they meant to do? There's enough homelessness as it is with the rental crisis and the stress."

Albanese gave her hope in his victory speech when he said: "I have shared the two principles that will a government that I lead. No one left behind because we should always look after the disadvantaged and the vulnerable. But also no one held back because we should always support aspiration and opportunity."

She said he was showing "compassion and empathy" and "Scott Morrison didn't have that".

Sydney resident Rihari Joseph (Ngti Maniapoto) hoped the new government would cut back 501 deportations, and keep families together with support networks instead.

Under Morrison's leadership, hundreds of non-citizens with criminal convictions have been forced to leave, under section 501 of the Australian Migration Act.

"We need to educate them and rehabilitate them, sending them back to New Zealand is not a positive outcome," Joseph said.

"Regardless of the errors they make in life, they're still our people."

Ex-Aucklander Christine Kennedy, who now lives in Melbourne, said the deportations were "cruelty".

"I think it's really unfair that the Australian government allows New Zealanders to work here, to pay taxes, to do everything else, and then says: 'Oh by the way, you broke the law, you can go back.'"

The Australian government estimates there are more than 650,000 New Zealand citizens living across the states and territories.

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How will the Australia-New Zealand relationship change? - RNZ