New Zealand Defence Force personnel are making strong progress on a month-long humanitarian mission to Penrhyn in the northern Cook Islands, tackling everything from water infrastructure and school repairs to healthcare and maritime surveying. More than 50 personnel are taking part in Exercise Tropic Twilight, an annual humanitarian assistance and disaster relief deployment supported by…

A leading Māori legal scholar is calling for a fundamental rethink of New Zealand’s constitutional system, arguing its current structure fails to adequately protect Māori rights, Te Tiriti o Waitangi and wider human rights. Professor Claire Charters, of Ngāti Whakaue, Tainui, Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Tahu, Ngāti Whaoa and Ngāti Rehia, makes the case in her…