NZ news explained in Chinese

This episode includes 10 news blocks. Unemployment rates are currently at an 11-year high. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has given in to public pressure and made a complete U-turn from his position on tabling the controversial Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2026 this week. It comes after the government shelved a system that would have supported "timely multi-agency responses" to family violence. P...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. Average wait times for children needing Ministry of Education support for their disabililties rose across the board last year. Half of the money would come from the Government’s Regional Development Fund, with the remaining amount to be funded by local councils, who still need to sign off on the project. A US judge has dismissed Trump's US$10 b defamation suit...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. It says the process the Crown followed to remove school boards' obligations to give effect to the Treaty "fell short of the standard of honour required". Sole Nelson specialist fears no one is listening when it comes to the problems facing the region. Actions to deal with the problem can take between three and five years to show results, the regional council s...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. One casualty of the surprise decision to hold the OCR was the New Zealand dollar, which plunged close to a cent against the US dollar in minutes after the announcement. Current polling suggests Opportunity may clear the 5 percent threshold to get into Parliament for the first time in its history. But what does its leader think it represents? More than 1800 pro...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. MetService says the strong winds that have been fanning the wildfires are set to ease. Waitākere Hospital’s brand new six bed unit is fully equipped but is sitting empty as no money is budgeted to run it. The Department of Homeland Security announced the suspension on Tuesday and it takes effect on 31 October. Parents and caregivers should be able to feel conf...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. Orange weather warnings cover much of the South Island and some of the North Island, with flights disrupted, damage to buildings, wing mirrors blown off cars, and gusts hampering firefighting in several places. A scrub fire that forced evacuations in the central Otago town of Roxburgh is still uncontained, while hundreds of homes are without power. Many parts...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. The worst flu outbreak in 10 years has tested the mettle of the health system - and the prime minister's claim it's in better shape than three years ago. Māori are going without healthcare or putting it off because of the cost and the unavailability of services, a new survey reveals. They say close to 170,000 tamariki are going without essentials on a regular...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. Petrol prices have reached new highs in recent days. In one case a man had a $174,000 debt. Firefighters will work until dusk this evening as they continue to tackle a large bush blaze burning in the high country above Lake Whakatipu. David Tamihere had his convictions for the 1989 killings quashed this year. Regulations for domestic card fees were introduced...

This episode includes 2 news blocks. Emergency services were at the scene on Dairy Flat Highway. Hammam al-Hammami is the Omani co-pilot accused of trying to hijack a Flydubai flight in a bloody attack last week. Disclaimer: This episode is assembled from publicly available sources (for example, RNZ and similar outlets) for educational purposes only; the script and audio are generated by AI and ma...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. North Korea has reportedly deployed thousands of highly skilled IT workers who posed as remote freelancers, using false identities. Several new rules tomorrow may change how you drive. Here’s the scoop. RNZ looks through 16 documents that led up to Nicola Willis’s announcement that 8700 jobs would go. International relations experts are warning the case claimi...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. Health New Zealand is reviewing concerns raised by Middlemore Hospital employees about chronic understaffing, overcrowding and staff being asked to work while sick. The Privacy Commissioner has given Health NZ and patient portal Manage My Health until next year to comply with health privacy rules after a massive data breach last year. The chief ombudsman says...

This episode includes 3 news blocks. Party pledges to "make NZ healthy" with illness prevention policies designed to help overwhelmed hospitals. On one day in September, the 15-bed department reached 253 percent capacity - equivalent to about 50 patients in the department at one time. Singer-songwriter Moana Maniapoto will write a waiata for this year's winner, which will be announced on Monday. D...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown welcomes the legislation, saying "common sense has prevailed" for building owners in the city. A public inquiry identified opportunities that were missed to keep the children safe. Now OT's chief executive says she is "seeking answers". The environmental group claims 35,000 attended the march, but police report somewhat less. Numbers...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. Multiple experts are welcoming the idea, but the business community is warning of unintended consequences. The children's charity says far too many kids continue to be challenged by poverty, violence, mental distress, and barriers to opportunity. One of the East Cape’s most famous beach towns has virtually ground to a halt as locals continue to grapple with th...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. A damning report into the children’s case is "difficult and, at times, harrowing reading". Vanuatu's Prime Minister Jotham Napat has cancelled his trip to the United Nations General Assembly this week, as the search for survivors from the ferry disaster continues. They say a patient collapsing in the wait room toilet is a stark warning as overcrowding becomes...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. About one baby per month is dying of HIV related complications, and one baby is being born with HIV every week. An estimated 72,500 passengers were counted on trains across the Auckland Transport network by 5pm today. Westpac warns developing El Niño conditions could hit pasture-based farming hard, especially dairy, sheep and beef. An advisor says clients are...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. More than 30 people still missing and one body found, Vanuatu’s government says Passengers are now able to stop at Waitematā Station following the fire, which was started by an electrical cable A flare-up in tensions could yet affect NZ’s fuel stocks, the ministry says, but Iran and the US both have good reasons to avoid full-scale war. Waitlists from June 202...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. While timetables and lines will change the length and variety of trips, fares will be the same. At the annual Immigration Conference, New Zealand First's Winston Peters launched more than a dozen proposals - almost all of which restricted migration. The foreign affairs, defence, and trade committee recommended by majority to implement the India Free Trade Agre...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. The party is campaigning on four reforms that it says will end the tribunal’s contemporary jurisdiction, and move the country on. Health Minister Simeon Brown has been briefed and police are investigating the incident in which a large number of files, including sensitive health information, may have been stolen. It could see petrol prices rise again in New Zea...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. Almost a year on from the previous Canterbury Regional Council declaring a nitrate emergency, a new report pointing to high nitrate levels across the region has been presented to councillors. Heart doctors are urging anyone with chest pains or heart attack symptoms to get urgent medical help despite the current strain on the health system. A review found too m...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. Party vows to scrap net zero target, repeal the Zero Carbon Act, seek a "better deal" under the Paris Agreement and more if elected in November . The party's 'Affordable Kai' policy would also expand free school lunches and set up a publicly owned KiwiMart supermarket. More than 30 ED nurses from Gisborne Hospital will strike for an hour on Wednesday over unsa...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. Deputy leader Shane Jones wants economic activities like mining and quarrying on conservation land - apart from in national parks. In her second national address, Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po carried her father's call for kotahitanga. Hardship withdrawal numbers have increased rapidly in recent years. Pharmac is considering wider access to meningitis...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. The voices of tāngata whaikaha Māori have been "made invisible" within the system, the tribunal says. A doctor at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital says 103 patients were queuing at 11.15pm on Wednesday, waiting to be seen by just seven doctors. The State Department says the Trump Administration is reorienting Pacific relationships towards "championing US enterpr...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. A UN report says the world must keep the 'overshoot' as small as possible to limit irreversible damage. All eyes will now turn to what the central bank thinks will happen next. The plant flooded, sending 14 billion litres of raw sewage into Wellington’s south coast. Police Commissioner Richard Chambers "strongly rejected" the claims when they were first made p...

This episode includes 10 news blocks. The Ophthalmology NZ chair says there's a "tsunami" of increased demand from an ageing population, poor IT systems, and staff shortages. The United States and Taiwan governments have accused China of trying to use a travel advisory notice to undermine Palau on the eve of the Pacific Island Forum leaders summit in Koror. Economists are predicting the Reserve Ba...