NZ Engine

Source: NZ Music Month takes to the streets

Attorney-General Judith Collins today announced the appointment of Waikato barrister James Alexander MacGillivray as a High Court Judge. 

Justice MacGillivray graduated from the University of Auckland in 1995 with a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts (History).  

He was a litigation solicitor, then an associate, with Bell Gully in Auckland until 2000. He then moved to London and worked as a litigation senior associate with law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer until 2003. 

Justice MacGillivray joined Tompkins Wake as a litigation senior associate in 2004, becoming a partner specialising in civil and commercial litigation in 2006. 

In 2020, he obtained a Master of Laws (First Class Honours) from the University of Auckland and in 2024 he was awarded the University of Waikato Medal in recognition of his contribution to the University and the broader Waikato community. 

Justice MacGillivray joined Mills Lane Chambers in Auckland in January 2025, practising as a barrister in the areas of contract and commercial, corporate and insolvency, aviation liability, insurance, professional negligence and local government disputes.  

His appointment as a High Court Judge will take effect on 1 August 2025, and he will sit in Auckland.  

Source: New Zealand Police

A member of the public has narrowly avoided a complete cat-astrophe after hearing a funny noise coming from the engine of her vehicle.

The woman had been shopping at Sylvia Park when she returned to her car and began hearing concerning sounds from the engine on the drive home.

“The woman entered the motorway and could hear ‘meows’ from under the bonnet,” Auckland Motorways Manager, Senior Sergeant Scott Cunningham, says

“She pulled in behind a Motorway patrol car and explained to the officer what was happening.

“Upon closer inspection a kitten was found tucked under the bonnet.”

He says the officer placed the kitten into his lunch bag for safekeeping while he made a few calls.

“It didn’t take long and the little ball of fluff had found a new home with one of our emergency service call takers.

“It’s definitely a tail that will be retold around the water cooler.”

ENDS.

Holly McKay/NZ Police

Source: Statistics New Zealand

Māori population estimates: Mean year ended 31 December 2024 (2023-base) – 16 May 2025 – Māori population estimates give the best available measure of the Māori ethnic population, by age and sex, usually living in Aotearoa New Zealand.

This release contains the provisional estimate of the national Māori ethnic population for the mean year ended 31 December 2024 and includes an update to the provisional Māori ethnic population as at 30 June 2024.

With the release of Estimated resident population (2023-base): At 30 June 2023 on 16 April 2025, we revised population estimates between 30 June 2018 and 30 June 2023, and rebased population estimates after 30 June 2023. These revisions also apply to these national-level Māori ethnic population estimates. This is the usual revision that occurs after new census and post-enumeration survey results are available. 

Key facts 
For the mean year ended 31 December 2024:

• New Zealand’s estimated Māori ethnic population was 922,800
• an estimated 463,600 females and 459,200 males identified as Māori.

For more:

Source: Kiwis Against Seabed Mining (KASM)

Community group Kiwis Against Seabed Mining today slammed the Luxon Government for swinging open the back door to let the seabed miners have another go, at a time when opposition is at its strongest.

It is understood that the Environmental Protection Authority has now accepted the application from wannabe seabed miners, Australian-owned Trans Tasman Resources, as “complete” under the fast-track process, and will begin setting up a panel to hear the case – for the third time.

“We’re livid,” said KASM Chairperson Cindy Baxter.

Source: Statistics New Zealand

Productivity statistics: 1978-2024 – 16 May 2025 – Productivity is a measure of how efficiently capital and labour are used within the economy to produce outputs of goods and services. A higher productivity rate means a nation can either produce a higher level of goods and services with the same level of inputs or produce the same level of goods and services with a lower level of inputs. Labour productivity primarily takes the hours people work into account, whereas capital productivity only takes capital inputs, such as land, machinery, and equipment, into account.

Key facts

Key aggregates for the measured sector
The measured sector represents the industries where we can measure output independently from input, allowing us to measure productivity. It includes most of the economy but excludes some industries, mainly non-market industries such as public administration and safety; education and training; health care and social assistance; and arts, recreation, and other services.

For the measured sector, in the year ended March 2024:

• labour productivity fell 0.7 percent
• multifactor productivity fell 0.9 percent
• capital productivity fell 1.3 percent.

Files:

Source: New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc)

An award for a New Zealand writer of fiction – $5,000 – The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) announce the 2025 opening of this award, which supports the completion and/or publication of new fiction by a mid-career fiction writer from New Zealand.  

The NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award was established by novelist Tina Shaw to encourage the development of great novels by mid-career fiction writers who are working on a new project. All applicants must be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents.

Want to Apply?

This grant is aimed at mid-career fiction writers who have published at least two standalone novels. While a broad range of fiction and publication models will be considered, please check the guidelines carefully before applying.

First: Read the Terms and Conditions for the NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award: https://authors.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=905a5275ec5c023659502ec21&id=a75fcda1fa&e=466373ae7c

Then: Fill in the NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award application form: https://authors.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=905a5275ec5c023659502ec21&id=d627ae5562&e=466373ae7c

An award for a New Zealand writer of fiction – $5,000

The NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award opens for applications 16 May 2025, and will close at midnight Sunday 13 July 2025.
 
Submissions must be made online. Unsuccessful applicants will be advised before recipients are announced. Successful recipients will be contacted directly, and we will also publish the announcement on the NZSA websites and social media platforms.

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2024 Winner

The inaugural winner of the NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award was Steph Matuku who said: ‘Being awarded the inaugural NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award was such a thrill. The prize-money was used to buy time – time to write without having to worry about the day-to-day tedium of paying bills! Being a debut author is a heady thing; people fuss over you a lot. And then you head into ‘mid-career’ and suddenly you’re a bit boring. For me, the Shaw award was a tangible validation of my work thus far, and that the judges were confident I could produce something cool in the future. I’ve been working on my first magical realism historical novel, and it’s going very well! Many thanks to the NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award for helping me get some solid work done.’

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About the Award

Tina Shaw says of her award, “It’s true that our New Zealand writers frequently express the feeling that their mid-career progress is slower than that of new writers, who can more readily garner media interest for their publications,” says Shaw.  
 
As a result, the newly created award is intended not only to offer the recipient the freedom that money brings but also to increase the chances of a mid-career writer being recognised as a “good business” prospect to be welcomed by publishers.
 
Applicants will be shortlisted by a judging panel, with the final winner selected by Tina Shaw in consultation with and advised by the shortlist judging panel.

The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) administers the prize. Entries for the NZSA Shaw Writer’s Award must be made on the New Zealand Society of Author’s website (authors.org.nz) by the advertised deadline, with the winner announced after judging has been completed.

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New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa PEN NZ Inc was established in 1934 and is the principal organisation representing writers’ interests in NZ. A national office oversees our branches, administers prizes and awards, offers contract advice and runs professional development programmes among other activities.

Notes:
The New Zealand Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi o Aotearoa PEN NZ Inc is the principal organisation representing writers in Aotearoa. Founded in 1934, it advocates for the right to fair reward and creative rights, administers prizes and awards, works across the literary sector to make Aotearoa New Zealand writers and books more visible, and runs professional development programmes for writers.
authors.org.nz

Source: NZ Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc)

Four secondary school students selected for mentorships will each be matched with a professional writer/mentor in their genre, as part of the NZ Society of Authors Te Puni Kaituhi O Aotearoa (PEN NZ Inc) 2025 Youth Mentorship Programme.

The young writers will hone their writing skills and develop their craft through the year, working on their chosen writing project. We congratulate them on their success.

2025 Youth Mentorships have been awarded to:

• Jayden Cox – Rutherford College (Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland)
• Madison Heta – Aparima College (Otautau)
• Isabella Jones – St Catherines (Te Whanganui-a-Tara | Wellington)
• Eleazar Kenese – McAuley High School (Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland)

Award-winning writer Tina Shaw, who convened the judging panel along with writer Cristina Schumacher, said that: ‘It was very difficult to choose a shortlist this year from so many talented young writers. The projects ranged from fantasy and dystopic fiction to political poetry, and showed that young writers are thinking seriously about their writing.’

Congratulations also to the highly commended student writers: Samuela Dsouza from Auckland Girls’ Grammar School (Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland) and Eassin Wang from St Cuthbert’s College, (Tāmaki Makaurau | Auckland).

The NZSA Youth Mentorship Programme was established in 2010 to foster and develop emerging writing talent around Aotearoa New Zealand with the support of established authors. NZSA Chief Executive Jenny Nagle says ” Over the last 30 years NZSA’s mentor programmes have proven themselves to be a valuable development pipeline for emerging writers. We wish these writers well with their projects this year.”

Youth Mentorship is one of The New Zealand Society of Authors successful mentoring programmes for writers and is made possible with the support by Creative New Zealand.