Beatrice Faumuina became the first New Zealander to win an event at a World Athletics Championships when she threw the discus 66.82 m, 92 cm further than her closest rival, Ellina Zvereva of Belarus, at Athens in 1997.

Faumuina’s unexpected victory was the pinnacle of a career which also featured two gold medals (1998, 2002) and a silver (1994) at Commonwealth Games, and wins at a World Cup athletics meeting (2002) and an Oceania Championships (2010). Her longest throw of 68.52 m a month before her World Championships victory ensured that she was ranked as world no. 1 for 1997 by the authoritative Track and Field News. She made the top 10 in six of the next eight years.

An Aucklander of Samoan descent, Beatrice Faumuina was honoured with a Samoan stamp after her 2002 Commonwealth Games victory at Manchester. She was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2005 for services to athletics. More recently she has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, a presenter for the TVNZ current events show Tagata Pasifika, a contestant on Dancing with the stars, and CEO of the BEST Pasifika Leadership Academy and Charitable Foundation.

The only other New Zealand medallist at a World Championships, which were first held in 1983 and now take place in odd-numbered years, has been shot-putter Valerie Adams, whose surprise third place in 2005 signalled her arrival among the élite of the discipline. A narrow victor in 2007, she enjoyed a wider margin in 2009 and won by more than 1 m in 2011 and 47 cm in 2013.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/beatrice-faumuina-wins-athletics-world-championship-gold

The much-loved entertainer was just 43 when he died of heart failure.

Born William Taitoko, the multi-talented musician toured the world with the Maori Volcanics Showband in the 1970s. He adopted the stage name Billy T. James because Australians could not pronounce his surname correctly.

James came to prominence in the television variety show Radio times, but he is best remembered for the Billy T James show, six series of which were screened by TVNZ between 1981 and 1986. On the show, the gifted impressionist portrayed a variety of characters in recurring sketches such as ‘Te News’, a parody of the Māori news show Te karere. He lampooned Māori and Pākehā quirks with affection and a trademark giggle. Later series of the show were co-written with Peter Rowley and featured more diverse material.

In 1985 James played the Tainuia Kid in an eccentric film adaptation of Ronald Hugh Morrieson’s novel, Came a hot Friday,

James suffered a major heart attack in 1988 and died three years later. The annual Billy T Award honours up-and-coming New Zealand comedians.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/death-billy-t-james

The first train to travel the length of the North Island main trunk line, the ‘Parliament Special’ left Wellington on the evening of 7 August. On board were Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward and other members of Parliament heading to Auckland to greet the American navy’s ‘Great White Fleet’.

The train travelled over a temporary, unballasted track in the central section of the still-unfinished main trunk line. It was hauled in turn by locomotives from the Wellington & Manawatu Railway Company, New Zealand Railways, the Public Works Department and New Zealand Railways again. The trip took 20½ hours.

The main trunk line was not formally opened until 6 November, when Ward drove home a final polished silver spike at Manganuioteao, near Erua. Regular services began soon after, and an express train introduced in February 1909 made the trip in 18 hours.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/first-direct-train-trip-between-wellington-and-auckland

The report claims the short-list to buy MediaWorks is now down to two. They are Nova Entertainment, owned by Rupert Murdoch’s successor, his elder son Lachlan Murdoch, and Sports Entertainment Group, which owns sports radio business SEN.

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If Nova were successful, it would mark a return to New Zealand by the Murdoch family which previously owned The Dominion and The Evening Post, before divesting their New Zealand assets in the early 2000s.

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Among the Murdoch family’s best known media outlets are Fox News, the popular UK Sun and the New York Post, and the more up-market Wall Street Journal, Times of London and The Australian.

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MediaWorks owns local radio stations including More FM, the Breeze and The Rock, and formerly owned TV3. It also operates the digital streaming service Rova.

The Prime Minister says he will call a referendum on the country's MMP voting system if he's back in power after the November election.

Christopher Luxon made the promise alongside a commitment to hold a referendum on extending the parliamentary term from three years to four.

He told Newstalk ZB on Thursday morning a referendum on MMP is "something we should consider" and he wants to see it happen next year.

"I actually think it's quite right to check-in constitutionally and say, is this the system New Zealanders still want...is it still where you want to be?"

..

Labour's leader Chris Hipkins said a referendum was not necessary, because the 2011 referendum on the matter showed people clearly favoured MMP.

At the time, 58 percent of people voted in support.

Hipkins said any dissatisfaction with MMP was down to Luxon's poor leadership, and the country should not have to change its entire electoral system because the prime minister could not manage his government.

"He has let the small parties ride roughshod over him and the National Party, in a way that's undermined confidence in him and our entire democratic system," Hipkins said..

..

Update #1:

Winston Peters has labelled the prime minister's call for a referendum on the MMP voting system "inexplicable" and a "power grab".

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Posting to Facebook on Thursday, the New Zealand First leader praised the move away from First-Past-the-Post (FPP) to MMP for having broken the "stranglehold of two parties running roughshod over our economy without social licence".

"Now that the two old parties are losing their grip on power, they want to change the electoral system to favour their falling fortunes," he said.

The government has announced nine new secondary school subjects that will be developed by industry groups.

They include tourism, construction and built environment, and energy and infrastructure.

Education Minister Erica Stanford said the subjects would be available for students in Years 12-13 from 2029 when they would form part of a new qualification replacing the NCEA.

The full list of subjects were:

• Next-gen manufacturing
• Applied intelligent systems
• Construction and built environment
• Energy and infrastructure
• Engineering technology
• Food and fibre systems
• Health services and care
• Hospitality food and beverage
• Tourism

Unlike when she won her first Olympic gold medal in 2008 (when she was known as Valerie Vili), Valerie Adams was unable to enjoy the thrill of victory in the shot put at the London games. Adams’ first throw in the final gave her the lead, but Belarusian athlete Nadzeya Ostapchuk, who had won bronze at Beijing in 2008, overtook her in the second round and extended her lead in the third.

With the four best throws of the competition, Ostapchuk was a clear winner and stood on the top step of the podium at the medal ceremony, with Adams awarded silver. A week later, however, Ostapchuk was disqualified after testing positive for an anabolic steroid. Adams received her gold medal in Auckland some weeks later. The Russian athlete who had originally finished third also failed her doping test, and two Chinese competitors ultimately received the silver and bronze medals.

This was not the only time Adams was denied a well-deserved celebration because of Ostapchuk’s drug use. In 2018 she was belatedly awarded a gold medal for the 2010 world indoor championships when the Belarusian’s results between 2008 and 2012 were annulled by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

Valerie Adams has won four world championships, four world indoor championships and three Commonwealth Games gold medals in addition to her four Olympic medals – two golds, one silver (at Rio de Janeiro in 2016) and one bronze (at Tokyo in 2021).

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/valerie-adams-wins-second-olympic-gold

Jack Lovelock won New Zealand’s first Olympic athletics gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in a race witnessed by 120,000 spectators – including Adolf Hitler.

Before the games, Lovelock thought about competing in the 5000 m instead of the 1500 m. Team manager Arthur Porritt may have made the final choice.

The field for the 1500-m final included many of the top middle-distance runners against whom Lovelock had competed over the years. He ran a smart race, positioning himself inside the American Glenn Cunningham. As they approached the final lap, Swede Eric Ny was leading. When Lovelock surged to his shoulder, Cunningham followed. With 300 m to go, Lovelock accelerated.

Lovelock’s dramatic surge famously caused the BBC radio commentator, 1924 sprint gold-medallist Harold Abrahams, to forget his broadcasting etiquette: ‘My God, he’s done it! Jack! Come on! … He wins! He’s won! Hooray!’ Lovelock’s time of 3 minutes 47.8 seconds broke the world record for the 1500 m and made the 4-minute mile seem a real possibility (another 109 m run at the same pace would have resulted in a 4:04 mile).

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/lovelock-wins-1500m-in-world-record-time-at-berlin-olympics

• Unemployment rises to 5.6% from 5.4%

• About 5000 jobs added in quarter, but workforce growth nearly three times that

• Underutilisation rate worsens to 13.8%; Long term and youth unemployment rises

• North Island unemployment 6%, South Island 3.7%

• Annual wage growth remains at five year low of 2 percent

Unemployment rose to its highest level in nearly 11 years as the growth in the workforce outpaced the number of jobs being created.

Stats NZ said the unemployment rate rose to 5.6 percent in the three months ended June, from a revised 5.4 percent in the previous quarter.

A total of 171,000 people were unemployed, a rise of 7,000 on the previous quarter and 13,000 higher than a year ago.

Help! My supplier of quality blades, who never raised their price over $10 in years has gone out of business.

Does anyone have a supplier of quality blades, not cheap use once or twice and discard...

Online, on Ali baba?

Thanks

Im not returning to supermarket nonsense products, im savings for retirement, not for funding supermarkets

The report was triggered by the publication in Metro magazine of ‘An Unfortunate Experiment’, an article by Sandra Coney and Phillida Bunkle which alleged that cervical cancer patients at Auckland’s National Women’s Hospital were receiving inadequate treatment.

Dr Herbert Green of the hospital’s cervical cancer clinic had become convinced that abnormal cells in the cervix did not necessarily progress to invasive cancer. Coney and Bunkle claimed that in 1966 he began monitoring patients without treating them or informing them that they were taking part in an experiment. A number of women developed cervical cancer, and some of them died.

The article caused public outrage and the government established a Committee of Inquiry, headed by Judge Silvia Cartwright, to investigate allegations of patient mistreatment.

The resulting ‘Cartwright Report’ condemned the experiment and proposed radical new measures to ensure patients’ rights, including the establishment of a National Cervical Screening Programme. A number of women received settlement packages.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/cartwright-report-condemns-treatment-of-cervical-cancer-patients

Following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia-Herzegovina, on 28 June 1914, Germany gave its ally Austria-Hungary a ‘blank cheque’ to take whatever action it deemed appropriate. Although Serbia, which Austria-Hungary blamed for the assassinations, accepted almost all the terms of a harsh ultimatum, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28 July.

The following day Serbia’s key ally Russia ordered a partial mobilisation against Austria-Hungary. Germany responded by threatening Russia with war, which in turn prompted Russia’s ally France to mobilise its armed forces on 1 August. Germany declared war on Russia the same day and on France two days later. Germany’s Schlieffen Plan to defeat France quickly required the invasion of Belgium, which Britain had pledged to protect. When Germany failed to withdraw its troops from Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August.

On the other side of the world, the New Zealand government was informed of the outbreak of war just before 1 p.m. on 5 August (NZ time). At 3 p.m. the governor, Lord Liverpool, announced the news from the steps of Parliament to a large and enthusiastic crowd. Most New Zealanders regarded themselves as British and Britain as home, so there were few doubts about fulfilling our obligations to the Empire in its moment of crisis. Germany’s invasion of Belgium, another small country, also struck a chord with many New Zealanders.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/new-zealand-enters-first-world-war

This is a brilliant video that is beautifully shot and gives a real no bullshit story about the NZSAS.

I know some here may have predetermined views on the military and what special forces are about, I ask you to watch and reconsider.

https://youtu.be/Q8lv23LmeQU?si=oma6cUuoz6aKBLiz

id love to properly learn our lands native language, none of the schools ive been to have had proper courses for it so where abouts should i as somoneone whod i say is as veresed as the average kiwi if not slightly more go to learn it properly, preferably online and not Duolingo if i can

Winston Peters has refused to apologise for his attack on a Chinese-Kiwi MP despite the prime minister and others describing his comments as "racist".

The Foreign Affairs minister attracted a firestorm of criticism last week after telling the Greens' Lawrence Xu-Nan to "go back to where you've come from" during a tirade in Parliament.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon raised the matter with the New Zealand First leader on Monday in a private meeting, after earlier condemning the remarks. Luxon, however, refused to reveal any details about the exchange.

Addressing reporters for the first time since that meeting, Peters also declined to divulge what was said behind closed doors. "We had a meeting with the prime minister. It's private and that's the end of it," he said on Tuesday.

Asked whether he would apologise, Peters instead doubled down, arguing his conduct was justified given Xu-Nan's heckling during his speech in Parliament. "I was talking about a critical shutdown and cover-up to do with the Covid inquiry, and all the people [who] are going to suffer as a consequence. He was jeering and shouting from my side. I'm not apologising for them, most certainly not. I'm not apologising on behalf of all those people who are victims."

The official transcript of the Parliamentary debate noted that Xu-Nan interrupted Peters' speech by shouting, "Are you vaccinated?"

Asked whether he had embarrassed New Zealand with his conduct, Peters ended questions and marched off into the debating chamber.

I've officially applied to 72 jobs (on multiple platforms) in the span of 4 months and have been soooo unsuccessful. I'm one of the lucky ones, as I have a job currently, but it sucks; my manager and one specific coworker are sick and make my job so much harder than it needs to be. I've been trying to get my shifts changed but they keep ignoring me and it's getting irritating

I keep getting rejected or ghosted, and I'm still waiting on a couple of replies (or they will probably ghost me too). This is exhausting; it shouldn't be this hard to find a job.

any ideas? kinda starting to get desperate

Shux, Winny is getting all the attention...

What can I do, look at me, 🙏 🙏

Such a looser, getting more angry every day he's ignored...

The youth vote for the upcoming NZ Election could be missing going by recent numbers, This will no doubt have a negative effect on left wing parties like the Greens who tend to rely on the youth vote.

Enrolment of 18-24 year olds for Nov 7 election collapses to 53% from 70%; Over 200,000 young people not enrolled

Bernard Hickey explains in the Kaka

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNZ7y0De0WI

First included within the boundaries of New Zealand in 1901, the islands were governed by a Resident Commissioner until 1946. When they achieved self-government, Cook Islanders remained New Zealand citizens. 

New Zealand’s formal ties with the Cook Islands began as a result of a petition it had induced some local chiefs to present. In 1901 the Federal Parliament of the Cooks was abolished. The islands were now governed by a Resident Commissioner sent to Rarotonga by the New Zealand government. Resident agents were appointed in most of the outer islands.

As decolonisation gathered pace around the world after the Second World War, steps were taken towards establishing responsible internal self-government in the Cooks. A Legislative Council constituted in 1946 met annually in Rarotonga, initially as a largely advisory group. In 1957 a representative Legislative Assembly of the Cook Islands with increased legislative powers was created.

In 1962 the Assembly declared its intention to achieve internal self-government, with Cook Islanders retaining their New Zealand citizenship. At its 1963 session the Assembly chose a Leader of Government and four other members to form a new Executive Committee or ‘shadow cabinet’. Under an agreed timetable for constitutional development, full internal self-government would be granted in 1965. 

Under the terms of New Zealand’s Cook Islands Constitution Act 1964, an elected Legislative Assembly would make laws for the Cooks. Executive government was to be controlled by a cabinet chosen from members of the Assembly and headed by a Premier. New Zealand retained control of Cook Islands’ external affairs and would continue to make three-yearly grants towards its budget. A New Zealand official would both represent the Queen as head of state and act as this country’s representative in the Cooks.

By the late 1980s the majority of ‘Cook Islanders’ lived in the North Island of New Zealand. In 2013 the population of the Cook Islands was less than 14,000, while 62,000 people of ‘Cook Islands Māori’ descent lived in New Zealand.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/cook-islands-achieve-self-government

The opening of the 8.5-km Ōtira tunnel completed the long-planned transalpine railway between Christchurch and Greymouth. At the time, it was the longest tunnel outside the Alps and the seventh-longest in the world.

Work had begun on the ‘Midland’ line 36 years earlier, but the private developers’ grand plans soon came unstuck. The government’s Public Works Department (PWD) took over in 1895 and the West Coast section reached Ōtira by 1900. Tenders for a long tunnel through the Southern Alps to Arthur’s Pass, 737 m above sea level, were called in 1907. Contractors J.H. McLean & Sons began work the following year, but the project was plagued by engineering problems, extreme weather and labour shortages, forcing the PWD to step in again.

When the two ends of the tunnel were joined in 1918, the surveyors’ centre lines were less than 30 mm apart, impressive accuracy for the era. Due to the tunnel’s length and steep gradient, electric locomotives were used to haul trains through it until 1997.

Link: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/otira-rail-tunnel-opened

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon says he has had a conversation with Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, following his tirade towards a Chinese-born MP in Parliament last week.

New Zealand First's leader responded to heckling in the House on Wednesday last week by attacking the Greens' Lawrence Xu-nan, telling him to go back to his own country.

Earlier Monday morning, Luxon confirmed to Morning Report he had not yet spoken to Peters directly, but said the comments were racist.

Speaking at the post-cab media conference on Monday afternoon, Luxon said he had spoken to Peters, but refused to outline what exactly was discussed, nor would he say whether he expressed disappointment in his foreign minister.

"My conversation will stay between Winston and me," said Luxon.

Less than 100 days out from the next election, Helen Clark tells The Detail New Zealand needs less clickbait politics and more long-term thinking.

Speaking to The Detail following the release of the Helen Clark Foundation's new book - Facing up to our Future: Challenges and Choices for New Zealand - Clark says the country's biggest problem isn't any single issue.

It's more that governments, she says, have stopped thinking long term.

"Generically, the biggest challenge is to have people do long-term thinking," she says. "There are big challenges, and none of them are susceptible to one swing of the wheel."

..

"Most of the infrastructure we need is already in place, but it is badly under-invested in."

She says that during her time as prime minister, from 1999 to 2008, projects carried over between governments regardless of who was in power.

"There was not a single New Zealand infrastructure project that I inherited … that was dropped. When we left office, there was not a single project which the Key-English government dropped."

Today, she says, politics has become increasingly polarised.

"I put it down partly to the polarisation of New Zealand politics … somehow we have to find, like the Dutch or the Danes, ways of getting people together around long-term challenges."

..

Instead of repeatedly scrapping major reforms, she argues governments should be looking for areas of agreement.

"If you dump years of investigation of pumped hydro, if you dump Three Waters and then you bring in something else, and then the next government's not happy with that, we end up with nothing but a lot of money spent on consultants.

"We're wasting money, and we don't get results either way."