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☆ New Zealand's North Island hit by heavy rain, student missing in caves
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - A high school student is missing in Northland, New Zealand after getting into difficulty on a school trip to caves on Tuesday, according to police, as heavy rain and thunderstorms cause flash flooding and landslides across the upper North Island. Local newspaper the Northern Advocate said the student was missing inside one of the caves, which is described as having a canyon-like feel. Police rescue teams are in the area, which has been hit by heavy rain this morning with further rain expected this afternoon. "Auckland is experiencing widespread flooding and torrential rain. Heavy rain and thunderstorms are forecast to drench the region into the evening and potentially through to midnight.

☆ New Zealand student missing in cave system as heavy rain hits North Island
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Tara Subramaniam | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —New Zealand police will resume their search at first light Wednesday for a high school student missing in a flooded cave system after a school trip during heavy rain on the country’s North Island. An initial search failed to find the boy and officials suspended the search around 5 p.m. Tuesday when night fell. The school said it would open as normal on Wednesday to “maintain a sense of routine” for students and staff. An orange alert for heavy rainfall, level 2 of 3, remains in effect for the city, the Great Barrier Island and Coromandel Peninsula until midnight local time. And the month before, the city and its surrounding areas were hit by record rainfall that sparked deadly floods.

☆ New Zealand defence spending set to increase by around $472 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - The New Zealand Defence Force will get an additional NZ$748 million ($472.14 million) over four years, as the government tries to stop the loss of military personnel and ensure the country’s military can operate alongside allies and partners. Andrew Little said in a statement that the government would invest a further NZ$419 million in defence force salaries and NZ$328 million to upgrade assets and infrastructure over four years. Chief of Defence Force Air Marshal Kevin Short said in an email that the new funding was the most meaningful funding allocation the military had received in many years, and was great news. In the last two years, the Regular Force - full-time military personnel - has lost 29.8% of its personnel, excluding those who have served less than two years. That number is expected to hit 32.6% by June 30 if nothing is done as the defence force has struggled to match private-sector wages.

☆ New Zealand committed to cutting spending, PM Hipkins says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WELLINGTON, April 27 (Reuters) - The New Zealand government is committed to reducing spending even though severe weather events earlier this year caused asset damage of roughly NZ$9 billion ($5.51 billion) to NZ$14.5 billion, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said on Thursday. “For our part, the government is committed to reducing our proportion of spending to dampen demand in the economy,” Hipkins said in a speech to the Employers and Manufacturers Association. New Zealand is already dealing with historically high inflation and the central bank has previously raised concerns that any boost in government spending could add to the inflation problem. Hipkins said his aim is to get government spending down to around the low thirties as a percentage of GDP. ($1 = 1.6343 New Zealand dollars)Reporting by Lucy Craymer Editing by Alasdair PalOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ECB goes big on rates but bank turmoil clouds central banks' outlook
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Overall, 10 big developed economies have raised rates by a combined 3,165 basis points (bps) in this cycle to date. Reuters Graphics3) CANADAThe Bank of Canada on March 8 became the first major central bank to halt monetary tightening during this cycle. Reuters Graphics6) NORWAYNorway's central bank meets next week and is expected to raise rates by 25 bps to contain above-target inflation. Reuters Graphics10) JAPANThe Bank of Japan, the most dovish major global central bank, maintained ultra-low interest rates at its March meeting, the final one for retiring BOJ governor Haruhiko Kuroda. The BOJ resisted changing its controversial yield curve control policy, which it uses to cap interest rates on longer-term debt.

☆ Australia to receive nuclear-powered submarines under agreement with U.S., UK
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Australia will receive conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines under an agreement announced following a Monday meeting of the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. "The plan we announce today delivers on this commitment and reflects our longstanding leadership in, and respect for, the global nuclear non-proliferation regime." The submarines will be modeled after the United Kingdom's next-generation nuclear submarine design and include up-to-date U.S. technology. Known as "SSN-AUKUS" after the strategic partnership among the countries, they will be built and used by both the U.K. and Australia. Pending congressional approval, the U.S. will seek to sell Australia three Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines beginning in the early 2030s.

☆ New Zealand's Georgina Beyer, world's first openly transgender MP, dies
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 6 (Reuters) - New Zealander Georgina Beyer, the world's first openly transgender member of parliament and tireless advocate for LGBTQ rights, has died at the age of 65. She had long battled kidney disease but statements about her death did not mention the cause. A former sex worker, actor and drag queen, Beyer was elected to national parliament in 1999 after several years as mayor of Carterton, a rural town on the country's North Island. Beyer received a kidney transplant in 2017 after four years of end-stage renal failure that required daily dialysis. "I certainly think that Georgina blazed a trail that has made it much easier for others to follow."

☆ Risk of recession is real, says North Island's Glenn Hutchins
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailRisk of recession is real, says North Island's Glenn HutchinsGlenn Hutchins, North Island chairman, joins 'Squawk on the Street' to discuss his thoughts on the economy, the Fed and interest rates, and the risk of a recession.

☆ New Zealand launches global fundraiser for post-cyclone reconstruction
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Feb 27 (Reuters) - New Zealand will launch an international fundraising appeal for the massive reconstruction work needed after Cyclone Gabrielle tore across the country's north earlier this month, forcing thousands of people into shelters and killing eleven. The appeal will fund longer term recovery projects and target wealthy expatriates, businesses and anyone with affection for New Zealand, said Prime Minister Chris Hipkins on Monday. The appeal will be modeled after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake fundraiser, which collected over NZ$94 million ($57.94 million). A national state of emergency, only the third declared in the country's history, will continue in cyclone-hit regions. ($1 = 1.6223 New Zealand dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson; Editing by Simon Cameron-MooreOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ New Zealand police still looking for 8 people missing after Cyclone Gabrielle
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Feb 26 (Reuters) - The number of people still missing after Cyclone Gabrielle that struck New Zealand two weeks ago has dropped to eight, authorities said on Sunday, amid warnings of more wild weather for the nation's North Island. "The remaining number of people includes those who, for a variety of reasons, do not engage with authorities," New Zealand police said early Sunday. Severe weather again hit the North Island on Friday, with heavy rain prompting more evacuations in Hawke's Bay, one of the regions hardest-hit by Gabrielle. On Sunday, New Zealand weather forecaster MetService warned storms were possible later in the day, especially across the North Island and the top of the South Island. The forecaster on Saturday said it was closely monitoring a tropical low near Fiji that could turn into a tropical cyclone next week.

☆ Thirteen still missing after Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Homes in the Esk Valley locality had "been unoccupied since the cyclone, but an additional 26 households evacuated yesterday", the agency said. New Zealand weather forecaster MetService said some of the heaviest rain was recorded in Auckland, with 155mm (6.1 inches) recorded there in the past 24 hours. The forecaster had a heavy rain warning in place on Saturday for large swaths of the North Island's east coast, including Hawke's Bay. "Heavy rain may cause streams and rivers to rise rapidly. It said it was also "closely monitoring" a tropical low near Fiji that could turn into a tropical cyclone next week.

☆ New Zealand police still seeking 23 people after Cyclone Gabrielle
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WELLINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The number of people still "uncontactable" in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle that lashed New Zealand two weeks ago has dropped to 23, New Zealand police said on Friday. Police have been working to reach people that friends or family had registered as uncontactable. The number of people uncontactable topped 6,000 following the cyclone as communications were cut off to many areas. Gabrielle hit New Zealand nearly two weeks ago causing widespread havoc across the country's North Island, leaving at least 11 people dead and displacing thousands. The wild weather also triggered flash floods and evacuation warnings in and around Auckland, also on the North Island and home to a third of the country's population.

☆ NZ cenbank hikes 50bps, flags more to come as inflation 'too high'; kiwi gains
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The RBNZ continues to expect the cash rate to peak at 5.5% in 2023, according to the monetary policy statement (MPS) accompanying the rate decision. That would mark the most aggressive policy tightening streak since the official cash rate was introduced in 1999. "While there are early signs of price pressure easing, core consumer price inflation remains too high, employment is still beyond its maximum sustainable level, and near-term inflation expectations remain elevated," the central bank said in a statement. The New Zealand dollar rose as high as $0.6246 after the decision, reflecting the hawkish tone of the statement, having traded as low as $0.6206 earlier. New Zealand's annual inflation is currently running near three-decade highs of 7.2%, well above the central bank's medium term target of 1%-3%.

☆ Super Rugby finally rolls into the post-COVID era
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Nick Mulvenney | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

SYDNEY, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Finally freed of the COVID travel restrictions that sounded the death knell to the intercontinental edition and fragmented and disrupted the rump competition, Super Rugby returns in its full new normality on Friday. The second season of Super Rugby Pacific will be played with a host of law variations aimed at making the game more attractive to fans but one aspect of the competition is highly unlikely to change -- New Zealand supremacy. The Canterbury Crusaders dominated Super Rugby in the years pre-pandemic and have proved just as hard to beat with or without fans in the stadiums, through lockdowns, biosecurity protocols and in competition hubs. Despite optimistic noises coming from across the Tasman Sea in Australia, the biggest challenge to the Crusaders is likely to come from the North Island of New Zealand. The forgiving and sometimes derided playoff system that offers knockout rugby to eight of the 12 teams will give hope to all but the most hapless outfits.

☆ New Zealand hikes rates to over 14-year highs, flags more to come
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

New Zealand's central bank raised interest rates by 50 basis points to a more than 14-year high of 4.75% on Wednesday, and said it expects to keep tightening further as inflation remains too high, a hawkish signal that sent the local dollar surging. The RBNZ continues to expect the official cash rate (OCR) to peak at 5.5% in 2023, according to the monetary policy statement accompanying the rate decision. That would mark the most aggressive policy tightening streak since the official cash rate was introduced in 1999. "While there are early signs of price pressure easing, core consumer price inflation remains too high, employment is still beyond its maximum sustainable level, and near-term inflation expectations remain elevated," the central bank said in a statement. The decision was largely in line with a Reuters poll.

☆ New Zealand cyclone missing now in single digits in Hawke's Bay, search and rescue officials say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] A general view of a damaged bridge after a small creek bursts its bank causing houses to flood in Havelock North, New Zealand. New Zealand Defence Force/Handout via REUTERSWELLINGTON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - The number of people missing in New Zealand's Hawke's Bay following Cyclone Gabrielle is now in single figures, search and rescue officials said on Thursday, 10 days after the worst storm to hit the country in decades tore through the region. Gabrielle killed at least 11 people and caused widespread damage across the North Island, hitting the farming, wine- and fruit-growing Hawke's Bay on the east coast particularly hard. Hawke's Bay Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team leader Ken Cooper told TVNZ's Breakfast show that search and rescue conditions were arduous. As of Thursday morning, "we are down to single figures" in terms of the numbers of people still unaccounted for in Hawke's Bay, he added.

☆ Heavy rains forecast for cyclone-hit areas of New Zealand
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Lewis Jackson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A view of flood damage in the the aftermath of cyclone Gabrielle in HawkeÕs Bay, New Zealand, in this picture released on February 15, 2023. New Zealand Defence Force/Handout via REUTERSFeb 21 (Reuters) - Parts of cyclone-stricken New Zealand could see heavy rains from Thursday as relief and recovery efforts continue and tens of thousands remain without power after Cyclone Gabrielle tore across the country's North Island last week. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has called Gabrielle New Zealand's biggest natural disaster this century. Hard-hit regions across the north east, where 13,000 remain without power and 1,300 are in emergency shelters, are set for heavy rain from Thursday. ($1 = 1.6028 New Zealand dollars)Reporting by Lewis Jackson in Sydney; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

☆ Disasters lower outlook for New Zealand interest rate rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Then on Feb. 12 to 15 a cyclone hit the North Island, which includes Auckland. When Cyclone Gabrielle hit, picking had just begun on pip-fruit farms, whose production is worth about NZ$1 billion a year. That would normally be a reason for a central bank to lift interest rates further, but some economists expect the RBNZ to look past the sudden rise as being temporary. Still, Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr said the central bank should pause hikes until the effect of the cyclone can be understood. After the Christchurch earthquake, the central bank cut its policy rate due to concerns about the economy.

☆ Aussie supermarkets set to capitalise on high inflation, but softer demand ahead
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Harshita Swaminathan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Cyclone death toll in New Zealand rises to nine as recovery continues, article with videoAsia Pacific category · February 18, 2023The death toll from Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand rose to nine on Saturday as the clean-up continued on the battered North Island and authorities worked to find missing people.

☆ South Korea, U.S. stage combined air drill in response to North Korea missile launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

☆ New Zealand police reach more people previously not contactable after Cyclone Gabrielle
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] HMNZS Te Mana crew members help with a clean up after a small creek bursts its bank causing houses to flood in Havelock North, New Zealand, February 18, 2023. New Zealand Defence Force/Handout via REUTERSWELLINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - As New Zealand starts its long road to recovery following the devastation from Cyclone Gabrielle, the number of people still not reachable has fallen as communications in hard hit areas improve, the country's police commissioner said on Monday. The cyclone hit the North Island's northernmost region on Feb. 12 and tracked down the east coast, inflicting widespread destruction. Police have confirmed 11 deaths in circumstances related to the cyclone, most of those have been in Hawke’s Bay. Recovery efforts are continuing with search and rescue teams still working in cyclone damaged areas, while power and telecommunications remain down for some homes.

☆ Cyclone death toll in New Zealand rises to 11 as recovery continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Feb 19 (Reuters) - The death toll from Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand climbed to 11 on Sunday as thousands of people remained missing a week after the storm struck the country's North Island. The cyclone hit the North Island's uppermost region on Feb. 12 and tracked down the east coast, inflicting widespread devastation. On Sunday, police said two more people had died in the hard-hit Hawke's Bay area in circumstances related to the cyclone, raising the death toll to 11. Of those, almost 40,000 were in Hawke's Bay, out of a population of about 170,000. Police have sent an extra 100 officers to Hawke's Bay and nearby Tairawhiti, including to isolated areas, and the New Zealand Herald reported roadblocks around a rural Hawke’s Bay village to deter looters.

☆ Cyclone death toll in New Zealand rises to nine as recovery continues
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

New Zealand Defence Force/Handout via REUTERSSYDNEY, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The death toll from Cyclone Gabrielle in New Zealand rose to nine on Saturday as the clean-up continued on the battered North Island and authorities worked to find missing people. The cyclone hit the uppermost region of the North Island on Sunday and tracked down the east coast, causing widespread devastation. Police on Saturday said they were investigating a possible cyclone-related death of a person in the hard-hit Hawke's Bay region, taking the death toll to nine. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the response to the crisis was "still underway and there are people across the North Island working around the clock". Of those, almost 40,000 were in Hawke's Bay, out of a population of about 170,000.

☆ Cyclone in New Zealand leaves 7 dead, toll expected to rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Lucy Craymer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"We do need to brace ourselves for the fact that there are likely be more fatalities from this across the country. And the true extent of that, we won't know for awhile," New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said. On Thursday, more than 3000 people were registered with the police as not yet having had contact with friends or family since the cyclone hit. The weather has started to improve, with sunshine now forecast for much of the North Island on Friday. Reporting by Lucy Craymer; Editing by Sandra Maler and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Cyclone Gabrielle Leaves Widespread Damage in New Zealand
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Mike Cherney | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An aerial photo showing flooding in part of the small New Zealand city of Napier on Wednesday. When wind and rain from Cyclone Gabrielle passed through the small coastal city of Napier on New Zealand’s North Island earlier this week, the storm downed trees and flung branches into the street near Charlotte Glück-Wurm’s home. Although her home wasn’t damaged, by Wednesday afternoon the power was still out, water use was restricted and mobile-phone service was spotty. To prepare food, she and her husband were using an emergency gas cooker.

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