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One rule for all: You're not special, Brash tells Maori Don Brash wants to strip Maori of their special status, saying a National government will revoke court-issued customary titles, do away with iwi consultation and scrap the Maori seats. In the strongest speech by a National Party leader on race relations since Sir Robert Muldoon, he last night accused some Maori of using the Treaty of Waitangi to make money and warned that Maori entitlements under the Government's foreshore and seabed proposal were so sweeping they invited corruption. Prime Minister Helen Clark said Dr Brash was engaging in the "politics...

Six of United States President George W Bush's right-hand men are on a secret visit to Auckland this weekend to discuss trade and other business matters. High security surrounds the visit by the six senators, all Republicans and all with significant influence in the Bush administration. Last night, Diplomatic Protection Squad staff were on alert at Auckland's Sheraton Hotel where the group are understood to be staying. Sources said that the six included budget committee chairman Don Nickles, the senior senator for Oklahoma. They are visiting New Zealand and Australia to find out more about business and trade, as well...

While the Christmas season is a time of joy and hope for many families, others struggle with the aftermath of messy divorces and separations – Christmas presents and cards returned unopened, children denied visits with non-custodial mums, dads and grandparents, police action threatened over un-solicited phone calls to the children … and on and on. Almost no one can dispute that family law in New Zealand is in a real mess, which is why changes presently being recommended by a Select Committee of the Australian Federal Parliament deserve scrutiny. Last year the Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, took a proactive...

Baiting conmen new internet sport Computer buffs in New Zealand are "baiting" Nigerian fraudsters in a game dubbed the new internet bloodsport, a report said today. The ultimate goal is to turn the fraud back on the Nigerians, but authorities warn the game is dangerous and are urging people not to play. Scam-baiters start by replying to emails from African fraudsters trying to fleece recipients with fake charities or investments. The baiters pretend to fall for the scams while secretly humiliating the fraudsters, whom they call "lads." Typically, they make endless demands for proof of identity that force the lads...

This [New Zealand] article examines the wave of political correctness that is sweeping the country and is now threatening the very commonsense way of life that makes New Zealand great. The trickle of political correctness that we have become used to over the years – such as calling a chairman a chairperson, a short person “height challenged” and a rubbish collector a waste management operator – now appears to have turned into a flood which is in danger of undermining the pragmatic commonsense foundation of New Zealand’s democratic society. Over the past few weeks: Government Ministers have claimed that one...

“The Queen and I bid you a very warm welcome home. Through all the great trials and sufferings which you have undergone at the hands of the Japanese you have been constantly in our thoughts. We know from reports we have already received how heavy those sufferings have been. We know also that these have been endured by you with the highest courage. We mourn with you the death of so many of your gallant comrades. With all our hearts we hope that your return from captivity will bring you and your families a full measure of happiness which you...

A new wave of rich Californian immigrants love New Zealand but find people here unsophisticated. It can be hard to find good Mexican food, and the natives are rarely impressed by having a multi-millionaire next door and are not keen to see their coast covered in housing, according to the Los Angeles Times newspaper. It says Americans are encountering a Kiwi variation of Nimby – not in my blue yonder. But being able to buy waterfront property for a pittance makes up for the drawbacks of living in a boring, if beautiful, backwater. The long feature article, headlined "It reminds...

New Zealand's government is rejecting a call from the United States to review its anti-nuclear policy after Washington warned it would not "get over it". US ambassador Charles Swindells attempted to deliver the "think-again" message in a speech at Victoria University yesterday but was forced to abandon it after anti-war protesters shouted him down. The Government condemned the protesters' actions, but said the policy would not be revisited. Mr Swindells intended to use the speech about New Zealand-US relations to call for a review of the anti-nuclear policy and voice disappointment at New Zealand's failure to fight alongside its traditional...

The [New Zealand] government has given the clearest indication yet that smacking children will be against the law in two years. Facing stinging international criticism of New Zealand's stance on corporal punishment, Social Development Minister Steve Maharey said the law which permits "reasonable force" by adults against their children would be gone in two years. New Zealand has consistently been criticised by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child for not repealing Section 59 of the Crimes Act. This section lets adults use reasonable force as a defence against child assault, but is not available as a...

Prayers for staff stress relief The New Zealand Government has started daily Maori prayer sessions to help stressed-out parliamentary workers cope with their jobs. The 25-minute voluntary sessions, due to start this morning, are the brainchild of Oketopa Kuni Shepherd, the new Maori cultural services kaiwhakahaere (coordinator) for Parliamentary Services. "You've got to be creative with people under stress. I thought we'd start the hikoi (journey) to setting people going in a positive way." The session would help clear workers of "any negativity" before starting their day, he said. But National's internal affairs spokeswoman, Judith Collins, said the initiative was...

The Lions' Den may have gone, but any move to remove the cross atop Palmerston North's clock tower will not happen because we're too Christian, says Mayor Mark Bell-Booth. His comments come a day after Cr Anne Podd and a spokesman for the Hopwood family, who gave the clock tower to the city, urged the council to remove the cross. Mr Bell-Booth said the cross was "an iconic symbol" in the city and sent out a positive message. "It would be the most commonly recognised symbol in Western society, and people choose to wear it round themselves. "Thousands of (Palmerston...

Youth Affairs Minister John Tamihere has marked Father's Day by lashing out at how Kiwi blokes are treated in today's society, saying men are becoming too scared to act like men. And the father of five says there is nothing wrong with men leaving the toilet seat up. Tamihere said he was seriously concerned at a cultural creep that had left men too scared or embarrassed to exercise their manliness, such as going for a beer with their mates. A more sinister result was there was too much suspicion cast over men in matters such as marriage breakups, child custody...

New Zealand's center-left government has been challenged by conservatives over plans to set up a service designed to help "gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender" citizens who may experience discrimination or disadvantage. Proposals to establish a "rainbow desk" at the Ministry of Social Development came to light when a lawmaker with the small, conservative ACT party, Muriel Newman, managed to get the information released under Official Information legislation. It says the views of the "special interest" group would be heard and taken into consideration when government ministers are given advice on social policy matters. Newman Friday questioned the need for a...

It's winter downunder. Right now in Wellington, New Zealand it's 11°C but here's a ray of sunshine as I take a drive along Aotea Quay, past what Wellingtonians affectionately call the Cake Tin - our city's stadium.

The British are calling it a peace-keeping force - but New Zealand's government is adament it is a "reconstruction" force.After British officials named New Zealand among a select group of countries making up a peace-keeping force in Iraq yesterday, the government firmly rejected the label.Instead, the 60 military engineers committed by New Zealand to serve under the command of the British - who are, coincidentally, also in charge of the peace-keeping force - were part of a "reconstruction force" the government insisted."[Their] authorisation does not extend to peacekeeping," a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Helen Clark said."The Prime Minister will reiterate...

Cheers, tears as prostitution bill passes 26 June 2003 Parliament erupted in cheers last night, as a landmark law to decriminalise prostitution passed by a single vote. Christchurch MP Tim Barnett's Prostitution Reform Act will become law next Monday and soliciting for sex and brothelkeeping will no longer be illegal in New Zealand from that day. In one of the closest votes in Parliament's history, the Act passed 60-59, on the abstention of Labour's Muslim MP Ashraf Choudhary. Had Mr Choudhary, who opposed the bill, not abstained the bill would have fallen because a 60-60 tie is counted as a...

Making an impression in Washington It is clear, after spending a week in Washington, that the Iraqi war represents the high tide of the view that the US should actively protect its interest by using its vastly superior firepower, accuracy and speed of its defence forces. The upside of this is that the new technology and new military doctrine used in the Iraqi war cements in place the US role as a guarantor of stability. People we spoke to in Washington are well aware of the constraints of democratic values and public opinion on how this power should be used....

The New Zealand Green Party wants New Zealanders to give up their 3,2 million-a-day plastic bag habit or risk being stung in the pocket for each one they accept.Green MP Mike Ward said he was marking World Environment Day this week by proposing a member's bill introducing a possible 10 to 25 cent levy on plastic bags at point of sale. "They are a luxury our environment cannot afford to sustain."A similar scheme in Ireland had slashed plastic bag use by 90%, he said.The levy idea follows plans by supermarket chains earlier this year to devise a scheme for charging...

Israel attacks Goff's Arafat visit New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff's plans to meet Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat this week have brought stinging criticism from the Israeli Government. Politicians who visited Mr Arafat undermined the peace process, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's press officer, Ra'anan Gissin, said. Last week Israel moved to block visits by overseas politicians to Mr Arafat, who is besieged by Israeli forces in Ramallah. It is allowing Mr Goff access as his visit was arranged before the block was put in place. Mr Goff is tentatively scheduled to call on Israel's President Moshe Katsav and...

Law of the jungle New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has arrived home to a fresh torrent of criticism after telling Britain and America they might live to regret unleashing the "law of the jungle" through their war in Iraq. While Miss Clark was accused of driving a wedge between New Zealand and its closest allies, the United States rolled out the red carpet for Australian Prime Minister John Howard on his trip to America. Mr Howard, lauded by United States President George W Bush as a "man of steel" and "kinda like a Texan", has stayed at Mr Bush's...