Category Archives: New Zealand

Inspiration on wheels

Sir Women in the 21st century are still told that they cannot have both a career and a family. But women politicians in New Zealand are disproving such statements by showing there is little they cannot do. Recently, a Kiwi member of parliament, Julie Anne Genter, cycled to the hospital while in labour and gave birth to a baby girl. Previously, the prime minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, made history as the first world leader to attend a meeting of the United Nations general assembly with her baby in tow. While more needs to be done to change regressive mindsets, such exemplary acts are inspiring.

Sulagna Bose,Calcutta

Brain drain

Sir Human resources and intellectual power together make up the driving force behind a countrys progress. Even though India is rich in such resources, it has not been able to value the talents of its population. As a result, highly-skilled individuals are lured away by better-paying jobs outside India. The appointment of Parag Agrawal as the chief executive officer of Twitter is just one instance of this.

While Agrawals achievement is rightly being celebrated, it is time for introspection. The government must be asked why India is not being able to provide a suitable employment platform to its citizens?

Rajat Jain,Ujjain

Sir Indians are pioneers in information technology. The appointment of Parag Agrawal as the CEO of Twitter shows the potential and the growing influence of Indians in this sector. Agrawals accession to the top post at Twitter follows that of Satya Nadella at Microsoft, Sundar Pichai at Alphabet, Arvind Krishna at IBM, Shantanu Narayen at Adobe and so on. It will not be wrong to say that Silicon Valley will not run without Indians. One hopes that more Indians will soon establish the countrys dominance in the IT sector.

Jang Bahadur Singh,Jamshedpur

Toxic breath

Sir India observes National Pollution Control Day on December 2 in the memory of those who lost their lives in the disastrous Bhopal Gas tragedy. The main objective is to spread awareness about environmental pollution and its harmful effects. Air pollution is one of the key health and environmental concerns globally, resulting in nearly seven million deaths every year.

Worryingly, nine out of the ten most polluted cities in the world are in India as per the 2020 data. Rising urbanization, industrialization and associated anthropogenic activities are to blame for the poor air quality. The government cannot turn a blind eye to this problem. A strict implementation of rules is the need of the hour if air pollution is to be checked.

Krishna K. Vepakomma,Hyderabad

Bounce back

Sir It is heartening to see that the Indian economy, battered by Covid-19, has grown for the fourth consecutive quarter. The 8.4 per cent growth in July-September has offset the 7.4 per cent fall that the GDP saw last year in the same quarter during the peak of the lockdown. The latest figure shows that the economy has found its feet after a contraction, with employment-intensive sectors like hospitality and construction seeing upticks.

But economists have warned of several fault lines in this growth story. For instance, government investment has become the main driver of growth rather than private consumption. Rising inflationary pressures are also cause for concern.

M.R. Jayanthi,Mumbai

Raw deal

Sir There was a time when a job at a public sector bank was the most sought after one. Public bank employees have never shied away from challenges, be it nationalization, liberalization, computerization or opening of Jan Dhan accounts. Unfortunately, they have been given a raw deal when it comes to their pensions. While the salaries of the employees have been revised from time to time, pensions have not been revised since January 1, 1986. Pensioners of public sector banks should receive revised benefits like those of the Reserve Bank of India.

Brij B. Goyal,Ludhiana

Lost time

Sir The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance TestPostgraduate examination is usually held every year in January and counselling thereafter. But this year, owing to the governments policy missteps, candidates stand to lose one full year. The Centre wants to revisit quota for economically weaker sections; the next hearing on this matter in the Supreme Court is expected in January 2022. That is too late. The future of the aspirants must not be subjected to the whims of the Centre in this manner.

Sunil Chopra,Ludhiana

Sir The decision to halt the counselling for NEET-PG until the Supreme Court decides on the validity of the move to introduce reservation for EWSs and other backward classes in the all-India quota is costing the aspirants valuable time. In the meantime, government hospitals are functioning without an entire batch of doctors who are protesting against the States decision all this is happening amidst a pandemic when healthcare professionals are of utmost importance. The authorities must arrive at a consensus and expedite the counselling process at once.

Swati Biswas,Calcutta

Parting shot

Sir When the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was first identified in South Africa, the countrys scientists were quick to inform global health leaders of the new mutations they had found. Had China behaved in a similar fashion, the pandemic could have been avoided altogether. Yet, the African nation was rewarded with travel bans and other restrictions. This will not encourage transparent exchange of information, which is key to the fight against the virus. While precautions should be taken, the first step should be to help Africa battle the virus with vaccines and other medical supplies.

Instead of encouraging booster shots in developed countries, nations across the globe should be helped to vaccinate their citizens. That is the only way to break the chain of infections.

Aditya Banerjee,Gurgaon

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Letters to the Editor: New Zealand's women politicians are showing the way - Telegraph India

That has increased public scrutiny of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, whose ultra-easy monetary policy has been blamed for the current property market boom.

Even measures introduced by the government have so far failed to cool the market, leaving new homeowners with ever-larger amounts of debt.

"House price rises remain insanely high, with housing market pressures still going berserk. The goal posts are moving further and further away from many potential homeowners," said Brad Olsen, senior economist at Infometrics in Wellington.

Home price increases were forecast to slow dramatically to 4.0 percent in 2022, a Reuters poll of 10 property market analysts taken Nov. 18-25 showed.

But further tightening from the RBNZ next year is expected to end the house price boom, leading to a 2.5 percent fall in 2023, according to the poll.

"FOMO (fear of missing out) is a common characterisation at the moment of the housing market's 'animal spirits'," said Sharon Zollner, chief economist at ANZ.

"Looking through the noise, we are convinced we are now past the peak of the current inflation cycle, but the pace of moderation from here remains very uncertain."

The housing crisis and the economic impact of COVID-19 have led to increased homelessness and fuelled inequality.

That poses a challenge to the Labour Party-led government of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who came to power in 2017 promising an end to the free run of property investors and the building of more affordable homes.

All but two respondents who answered an additional question said affordability would worsen over the next two to three years.

"For every step forward potential buyers take, the finish line advances 10 steps further away... affordability is unlikely to materially improve in the next few years, but might soon stop worsening quite so fast," said Infometrics' Olsen.

When asked what will have the biggest impact on house prices next year, all but one of seven property market analysts said higher interest rates or tighter monetary policy.

Six analysts who answered a follow-up question on how many basis points interest rates would have to rise by to significantly slow housing market activity gave a median forecast of 200, with predictions in a range of 75-300.

"New Zealand households are highly leveraged so it won't take much of an increase in interest rates to slow house prices significantly, particularly with macroprudential measures also being tightened," said Justin Fabo, senior economist at Macquarie.

Reuters

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Housing: New Zealand prices to calm next year before fall - poll - Newshub

Revenge will be in the back of the mind of every Pakistan cricketer when they face New Zealand in their second match of the ICC T20 World Cup in Sharjah on Tuesday.

3 teams were on Pakistan's target in this tournament - India, New Zealand and England. The Men in Green have already dealt with the first challenge by dishing out a thumping 10-wicket defeat on India and have the Black Caps in their sights next.

Babar Azam's side signalled their intent in the opening game and made history in Dubai by registering their maiden World Cup-win over arch-rivals India. They now face the same team which had backed out of the Pakistan tour in September citing security concerns.

That controversy left Pakistan cricket red-faced and even influenced England into withdrawing from their subsequent tour of the country.

The unfortunate episodes severely hampered Pakistan's preparations, something which they won't forget very easily and that might prompt Babar's team to deliver the same medicine to Kane Williamson's New Zealand which they did to India two nights ago.

We have not just come here to win against India, we have come here to win the World Cup, always remember that, Babar said after the match against India.

Kane Williamson expects 'right spirit' vs Pakistan

New Zealand skipper Williamson on the other hand, expects the "right spirit" to prevail when the teams clash on Tuesday.

"I know the team that were there were very much looking forward to the occasion and playing cricket over in Pakistan, and it was a real shame that it wasn't able to go ahead.

"But there are also a lot of good relations within the two teams. Over the years they've played a lot against each other, and a number of players have played with each other as well.

"I'm sure it'll be played in the right spirit, but no doubt Pakistan will be well supported, as they always are here in the UAE," Williamson said on Monday.

New Zealand have not had the best of build-ups to their campaign, having lost to Australia and England in the warm-ups. One of their main concerns is the fitness of skipper Kane Williamson, who is battling with elbow pain for a while now and head coach Gary Stead said the injury had flared up a bit in the game against Australia.

Williamson did not bat against England. The Black Caps have a world-class bowing attack but their batters need to step up. Despite the many concerns, they have a consistent record in ICC events and one can't rule them out for a place in the final four.

As the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh match suggested, the Sharjah pitch is changing its slow and low nature which was seen in the IPL and one can expect a good batting surface for game on Tuesday evening. (With PTI inputs)

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T20 World Cup: Confident Pakistan ready to seek revenge ...

KL Rahul said Team India is really excited to play under Rohit Sharma's captaincy in the upcoming home T20I series against New Zealand.

Rohit Sharma has a better win-percentage (78.94) than Virat Kohli (64.58) as India captain in T20I cricket (AP Photo)

India opener KL Rahul said on Monday that all the players in their T20I squad are excited to play under new captain Rohit Sharma, who took over the job from Virat Kohli after their exit from the recent World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

Rohit, who has led Mumbai Indians to 5 IPL titles, will be captaining India with Rahul as his deputy for the three-match T20I series against New Zealand, starting November 17 in Jaipur. India will also play under new coach Rahul Dravid for the first time after he replaced Ravi Shastri from the top job earlier this month.

Kohli, who gave up the T20I captaincy after the T20 World Cup, has been rested for the white-ball games and the first Test but will return to lead India in the second Test against Kane Williamson's side next month.

"There's nothing new in Rohit being captain, we've all seen him leading Mumbai Indians for as long as I can remember. His stats are there for everybody to be seen, he has a great understanding of the game.

"Tactically he's really good and that's why he's been able to achieve the kind of things that he has as a leader.

"We all enjoy watching Rohit bat, he is a great guy to be around. I'm sure he's excited and all of us in the Indian team are excited to play under Rohit," Rahul told reporters.

The 29-year-old Karnataka batsman went on to add that Rohit "will bring a lot of calm" in the Indian dressing room when he takes over. Notably, Rohit Sharma has a better win-percentage (78.94) than Virat Kohli (64.58) as India captain in T20I cricket.

"He will bring a lot of calm into the dressing room and the next few weeks will be exciting to understand what kind of goals he has.

"The more we talk to him in the next few days, I'll also be able to understand it better. But like I said, it's a big change in Indian cricket and we are all looking forward and excited about it," Rahul added.

India and New Zealand will play 3 T20Is from November 17 before the first Test in Kanpur. They will then return to Mumbai for the second match starting December 3 at the Wankhede Stadium.

The hosts will be without first-team regulars Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant in both the red-ball games as they have also been rested.

Click here for IndiaToday.ins complete coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Rohit Sharma leading India is a big change, we all are ...

In countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States, a divide remains between people who arrived comparatively recently, in historical terms, and those who were already there. Traditionally, we have spoken of the former as settlers, colonizers, and immigrants, while the latter have gone by a variety of names, many of which refer specifically to the fact of their being there first: aboriginal, Indigenous, native.

There is an awkwardness to these terms springing from the dark history of colonialism and the continued imbalance of power between the two. No matter how much such terms might seem to acknowledge the precedence of the original inhabitants, in practice they have often signaled otherness and marginality.

But what if the term used to capture this distinction came from the language of the original inhabitants and not from that of the arrivistes? This is how things are done in New Zealand, where Maorithe Indigenous Polynesians who have been there since about A.D. 1200 and who were the very first people to reach the islandsare known as tangata whenua, meaning people of the land.

In countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and the United States, a divide remains between people who arrived comparatively recently, in historical terms, and those who were already there. Traditionally, we have spoken of the former as settlers, colonizers, and immigrants, while the latter have gone by a variety of names, many of which refer specifically to the fact of their being there first: aboriginal, Indigenous, native.

There is an awkwardness to these terms springing from the dark history of colonialism and the continued imbalance of power between the two. No matter how much such terms might seem to acknowledge the precedence of the original inhabitants, in practice they have often signaled otherness and marginality.

But what if the term used to capture this distinction came from the language of the original inhabitants and not from that of the arrivistes? This is how things are done in New Zealand, where Maorithe Indigenous Polynesians who have been there since about A.D. 1200 and who were the very first people to reach the islandsare known as tangata whenua, meaning people of the land.

Tangata is an old word meaning man, person, or human. It has cognates all over Oceania, a clear measure of its antiquity and an indication that it was spread throughout the region by the Austronesian voyagers who first discovered the islands of the remote Pacific in a series of extraordinary migrations between about 1500 B.C. and A.D. 1200.

Whenua (pronounced fe-nu-ah) is also a word whose roots can be traced along this ancient migration pathway, from the Admiralties and the northern coast of Papua New Guinea to the Solomons, New Caledonia, Fiji, and right throughout the Polynesian Triangle, from Samoa and Tonga to Tahiti, Hawaii, and ultimately New Zealand.

Whenua is a word with a rich range of significance. In its earliest known incarnation, it refers to inhabited territory, the place where people have their gardens and houses and where they keep their stuff. In different Oceanic languages, it can mean land, village, settlement, house, garden, island, even the earth or the whole visible world. It often means land, not seaan important distinction in Oceania, where there is vastly more of the latter than the former, and it can, by extension, mean not just the land but the people who inhabit it.

In New Zealand, as in many Polynesian cultures, the word whenua also doubles as the word for placenta. There is an old custom, found throughout Polynesia and shared by many other peoples of the world, of burying the placenta of a newborn child in a place of significance. The purpose is clearly to reinforce the connection between the child and the land to which the child belongs. And here, I think, an outline is visible of the way Maori and other Polynesians conceptualize their relationship to territory.

Early European visitors to Polynesia were often quite unclear about whether the people they met in the islands possessed their land in the way that Europeans understood that notion. And I think it is fair to say they did not. This is not to say that Polynesians did not identify with the land or feel that it was theirs in some important way but rather that their relationship to the territory they inhabited was not one of dominion but affinity. It was intrinsic, genealogical, and indissoluble.

When Maori describe themselves as tangata whenua, they are invoking a worldview in which their attachment to land is essentially familial, a bond not unlike that of mother and child. They are tangata whenua not (or not just) because they were the first people to arrive in New Zealand or because for a very long time they were the only ones there but because, according to their cosmology, they descend in a quite literal sense from the land itself.

A traditional Maori genealogy, which is a fundamental assertion of authority, responsibility, and rights, traces a persons ancestry not just down through the familiar generations of the recent past but across centuries of tribal history, from the legendary figures and founders of tribes to the heroes, demigods, and deities of myth to arrive at last at the origins of humanity and the primordial pair: a male embodiment of the heavens and a female embodiment of the earth.

But tangata whenua is not just a metaphysical concept. In New Zealand, where relations between those who arrived and those were already there is governed by a formal treaty, the term functions effectively as a concept in law. In the words of the constitutional scholar J.G.A. Pocock, it rests upon a metaphor: that is, a poetic, rhetorical or dramatic statement that there exists a close and rich relationship between the meanings of land and birth, and that there can exist between a people and its land a similarly rich relationship, which can serve as a basis for a claim of right.

In practice, Maori authority has always been explicitly tied to place. Tribes have territories, and individuals have rights, standing, and social and political power in a particular location. Some years ago, a cautionary article appeared in the New Zealand press reminding Maori that they were not tangata whenua in Australia and should not expect to receive the rights and privileges reserved for the Indigenous population there. By the same token, other Pasifika peoples, including the many Samoans and Tongans who have migrated to New Zealand for education and work and who share a good deal with Maori culturally speaking, are not tangata whenua in New Zealand. They have their own ties to their own whenua, where their own ancestors were born.

Many peopleperhaps all peopleare attached to the place where they come from. But not everyones relationship to that place is enshrined in their ideology to quite this extent. One thing about this case that has always struck me as interesting, however, is that, until about 800 years ago, Polynesians (or their Austronesian ancestors) were one of the great migratory peoples of the world.

We know from many different sourcesarchaeology, linguistics, molecular biologythat beginning around 3000 B.C. they began making their way from Taiwan down through the islands of the Philippines and Indonesia. One branch of this great exodus went northeast to the islands of Micronesia; another made an epic trip southwest to Madagascar. A third took the pathway past New Guinea that brought them into the middle of the Pacific, reaching eastward as far as Rapa Nui, or Easter Island.

The distances are phenomenal. It is nearly 5,000 miles as the crow flies from Indonesia to Madagascar and more than 7,000 from Papua New Guinea to Easter Island. The Polynesian Triangle alone, which is but a subset of this territory, encompasses an area of more than 10 million square miles. This is a people on the move, relentlessly seeking new territory, finding and settling everything in their path.

Some have argued that it is precisely this oceanic experiencethe vast stretches of water, the terrible scarcity of landthat engendered a philosophy in which the earth itself could be counted among ones ancestors, where the physical ground was literally an extension of ones self. Perhaps, to the oceanic traveler, land assumed a significance that could never be rivaled in the cosmology of a continental people. But this may be reasoning too literally; after all, Pacific Islanders are not the only ones who claim this kind of kinship with their land.

Sometimes that kinship can be hard for others to understand. Early in the pandemic, like a lot of people, I decided I ought to update my will. Thinking about how to allocate our assets, my Maori husband and I concluded that the house, which I had inherited from my parents, should pass directly to our children, skipping him if I should die first.

The lawyer I talked to felt there was something fishy about this. He wanted to make sure he was not party to a situation in which I was cheating my husband out of what was rightfully his.

He doesnt want it, I told him. He doesnt feel that its his. I tried to explain that my husband, who is Maori, did not feel that land here in New England could really belong to him. (Im not sure he thinks it should belong to me either.) His land, the land he belongs to, is in New Zealand, where he is tangata whenua.

He doesnt feel the same way about property, I told the lawyer. He doesnt really think you can own it. He just has a different relationship to land.

Oh, he said with a slowly dawning appreciation. Im still going to have to talk to him, though.

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In New Zealand, Tangata Whenua Marks The People There First - Foreign Policy

Dell Technologies has appointed Leanne Buer as the company's New Zealand country manager, effective as of Monday.

Based in Auckland, Buer is the first to take up the newly created country-based position, and will report to Dell Australia and New Zealand SVP and managing director Angela Fox. In her new role, Buer will be responsible for overseeing Dell's New Zealand operation.

"Leanne's appointment to lead our Dell Technologies business in New Zealand reinforces our commitment to our local customers, partners and team," Fox said in a statement.

"With a wealth of experience working across the technology sector, Leanne is passionate about the customer and partner outcomes she leads her team to deliver, and the positive impact technology can have on society as a whole. I look forward to working closely with Leanne as we continue to accelerate digital adoption in New Zealand."

Buer joins Dell from Cisco where she was most recently country manager. With over 25 years' experience in the New Zealand tech sector, Buer has also held senior roles at Spark New Zealand, Microsoft, and Telecom New Zealand. She also played an instrumental role in establishing a program to retrain women who had been displaced by COVID disruptions in the Essentials of Cyber Security.

"I'm excited to join Dell Technologies -- its purpose to create technologies that drive human progress really resonates with me. Every person I have met in the company is proud of their contribution and the culture that is Dell Technologies. It's a company that has customers at its core, not an afterthought. This 'service' orientation really drives behaviour and in turn great outcomes for customers," Buer said.

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Dell hones focus on New Zealand market with country manager appointment - ZDNet

As a result of the Omicron variant, New Zealand has moved a number of southern African countries onto the 'very high risk' list in a bid to contain the Omicron's spread. These countries are: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Seychelles, Malawi, and Mozambique. Only New Zealand citizens from these countries will be able to enter Aotearoa.

COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says this "precautionary approach" will "reduce the chance of Omicron entering New Zealand".

"[Returnees] will be required to stay in managed isolation for a full 14-day period and undergo testing. The extended MIQ requirement will also apply to those already in transit from these countries," Hipkins says.

"The newer model of seven days in managed isolation and three days at home for other returnees will continue there is still good evidence this model is safe and provides a high level of protection against the virus entering our communities.

"I am also assured by the fact that the number of travellers we get from each of these countries is low."

Hipkins said it was the Government's understanding that Omicron is "still very much in its infancy" and is confident it hasn't entered New Zealand. Whole genome sequencing is carried out routinely and all recent MIQ cases have been the Delta variant.

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Coronavirus: New Zealand in 'good position' to combat new Omicron variant - Ministry of Health - Newshub

Indian cricketer Dinesh Karthik has opined that a target of around 275 will be a winning one for India against New Zealand in the ongoing 1st Test in Kanpur.

At Stumps on Day 3, the hosts finished at 14/1 and with a lead of 63 runs. After posting 345 in the first innings, courtesy of fifties from Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja and a fabulous century from debutant Shreyas Iyer, the bowlers skittles the Black Caps on 296. Axar Patel led the charge with his fifth Test cricket five-wicket haul in his 7th innings.

ALSO READ| 'You just can't get in the way of the non-striker': Former cricketers react to R Ashwin's controversial follow through in IND vs NZ 1st Test

Karthik also added that the Indian team will not bat the whole day and that he would want to see the Kiwis bat in the final 30-45 minutes.

"I think anything around 275 is a good target. Which would mean that they would need to bat two session or little more. I would like to give the Kiwis the last 45-30 mins to bat. And if they get Williamson and Latham under 100 runs, I think after that it'll be smooth sailing for India," Dinesh Karthik was quoted as saying on Cricbuzz Live.

Furthermore, wicketkeeper-batter Karthik also wants senior pros in stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara to get some runs. They both have been in poor form this season, averaging 20.35 and 31.30, respectively.

"I would love to see Pujara and Rahane get runs. They definitely deserve a few runs under their belt, they've been batting well sometimes getting off to a good start but not converting it. But here is an opportunity for them. It's a tough wicket but obviously their experience and the fact they can play spin well should come to the fore."

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'I would like to give the Kiwis the last 45-30 mins to bat': Karthik predicts the target India will set for New Zealand - Hindustan Times

HONG KONG & SINGAPORE & AUCKLAND, New Zealand, November 29, 2021--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Tricor Group (Tricor), Asia's leading business expansion specialist, has received regulatory approval and completed its acquisition of NZGT Holding Company Limited (NZGT Holdings) together with its wholly owned subsidiaries The New Zealand Guardian Trust Company Limited (Guardian Trust) and Covenant Trustee Services Limited (Covenant) from Complectus Limited on November 25, 2021.

Tricor is the largest pure-play corporate services platform in Asia Pacific, serving over 50,000 client entities across its 21-market footprint. A positive move for Guardian Trust and Covenant, this acquisition will see the group and its New Zealand clients benefit from Tricors significant financial backing and global best practices.

Guardian Trust and Covenant are the leading providers of corporate supervisory services with over NZ$250 billion in funds under supervision. Guardian Trust has operated in New Zealand for over 125 years. Guardian Trust and Covenant will continue to grow its team and capabilities through further investment by Tricor Group. Day to day operations remain unchanged.

Tricors Global Corporate Trust business will operate and serve clients across five global markets including Hong Kong SAR, Beijing, Singapore, the UK and New Zealand.

Lennard Yong, Tricor Group CEO, said: "I am pleased to welcome Guardian Trust and Covenant to Tricor Group. This acquisition broadens our footprint in ANZ and places Tricor in an enhanced position to better serve our clients. The addition of Guardian Trust and Covenant significantly strengthens Tricors global corporate trust practice with market-leading and differentiated trust solutions in New Zealand and across Australasia and Asia-Pacific. We are very grateful for the approval to be stewards of these two leading institutions. Our goal is to support the management team led by Harry Koprivcic and to grow these businesses within their respective markets and to add to our regional corporate trust platform in Asia Pacific."

Story continues

David Naphtali and Jonathan Hatch, Co-Managing Directors of Madison Pacific, A Tricor Company, leading the integration of Guardian Trust and Covenant into the Tricor Corporate Trust Business Division, said: "We look forward to working with the fantastic team to bolster the corporate trust solutions we can provide our corporate clients across Asia Pacific and the UK."

Harry Koprivcic, CEO of NZGT Holdings, said: "As a leading corporate trustee in New Zealand, we are starting a new chapter by becoming part of a large global entity. Enhanced by the capabilities of Tricor, we will continue to deliver exceptional corporate solutions to our clients."

About Tricor Group

Tricor Group (Tricor) is Asias leading business expansion specialist, with global knowledge and local expertise in business, corporate, investor, human resources & payroll, corporate trust & debt services, and governance advisory. Tricor provides the building blocks for clients business growth, from incorporation to IPO. Tricor has had a rapid expansion through organic growth and development as well as partnerships, mergers and acquisitions. The Group today has ~50,000 clients globally (including ~20,000 clients in Mainland China), a staff strength of over 2,800 and a network of offices in 47 cities across 21 countries / territories. Our client portfolio includes over 2,000 listed companies in Hong Kong SAR, Mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia, and more than 40% of the Fortune Global 500 companies, as well as a significant share of multinationals and private enterprises operating across international markets.

Visit: http://www.tricorglobal.com

About Complectus

Complectus was established in 2014 and is the dominant and most innovative fiduciary services group in the New Zealand market.

About Guardian Trust and Covenant

Guardian Trust and Covenant have a market-leading position and are experienced in all aspects of corporate trust work. They are leading providers of corporate trustee services to the New Zealand market. Guardian Trust has been recognized by KangaNews as the leading provider of trustee services by being awarded the New Zealand Trustee of the Year for four years running.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211128005198/en/

Contacts

HONG KONG SAR (GROUP OFFICE) Sunshine Farzan Tricor Services LimitedGroup Head of Marketing & CommunicationsTel: +852 2980 1261Email: Sunshine.Farzan@hk.tricorglobal.com

NEW ZEALAND Laura Air Alexander PRGroup Account DirectorTel: +64 21 259 3242Email: laura@alexanderpr.co.nz

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Tricor Group Completes Acquisition of NZGT Holding Company Limited, A Leading Corporate Trustee and Fund Supervisor in New Zealand with NZ$250 Billion...

Judith Collins, leader of New Zealands opposition National party, has been toppled after months of poor polling and a shock move to strip a political rival of his portfolios.

MPs voted to end Collins leadership at a crisis caucus meeting on Thursday. The meeting was prompted after Collins demoted Simon Bridges, a former party leader and one of her rivals. Late on Wednesday night, she stripped Bridges of all of his portfolios, citing an inappropriate comment made by Bridges in 2017 in front of a female colleague where Bridges says he discussed old wives tales about how he and his wife might produce a female child. Collins described the comment as serious misconduct.

Collins confirmed her resignation via social media. Its been a privilege to take over the leadership of [the National party] during the worst of times and to do so for 16 months. It has taken huge stamina and resolve, & has been particularly difficult because of a variety of factors, she said in a statement. MP Dr Shane Reti will take the helm of the party as interim leader, with a replacement to be chosen next week.

While the conflict with Bridges sparked Thursdays vote, Collins leadership has been troubled for some time, and the last few months have brought a series of disastrous leadership polls. Known as the Crusher for both her tough style of politics and for her responsibility for a historic policy which saw the cars of boy racers physically crushed, Collins struggled to win over New Zealand voters.

Support for the Jacinda Ardern-led Labour party has been dropping over several months, as the country grapples with a Covid outbreak but Collins failed to capitalise on that, with many votes instead redistributing to the libertarian Act party. While support for Labour has slipped in recent months to around 41-47%, support for National has languished at 21-28%. In a 1 News Colmar Brunton poll released in November, Judith Collins was sitting at just 5% in the preferred prime minister stakes, compared to Arderns 39%.

The difficulty for the party has been a lack of viable alternatives: no other National MPs surpassed Collins popularity, and Simon Bridges was sitting at just 1% in that poll. Nationals stiffest competition has come from its right flank: David Seymour, leader of the right-wing libertarian party, typically a small player in New Zealands parliament, was at 11%. Chris Luxon, a former chief executive of Air New Zealand, will be in the mix as a possible Collins replacement, polling at 4%. But he has spent only one year as an MP and has not yet built a high public profile. Another possible candidate is Whangaparoa MP Mark Mitchell.

On Thursday afternoon, Bridges expanded on the nature of his comments. He said they had occurred at a function where a group were discussing their wives and children. I have two boys and I wanted a girl and I engaged in some old wives tales about that and how to have a girl, he said. He would not expand further on the phrasing he used.

MP Jacqui Dean was present for the remark, and subsequently complained to leadership. Bridges apologised.

I entirely accept and am regretful of that day because I acknowledge that some of what I said was clearly inappropriate, Bridges said. He said he had reiterated the apology, and would not rule out a run for the leadership on Tuesday.

In a statement, Dean said, About five years ago, Simon Bridges made remarks that upset me at the time. They were not about me, but they were inappropriate and not something I wanted to hear, she said.

At the time there was an apology, but subsequently it has continued to play on my mind and with the recent reviews that have occurred in parliament the feelings have been brought back up.

What matters to me is that all of us have a clear understanding of what behaviour we should expect in a modern workplace environment.

Simon and I have spoken a number of times over the past few hours and he has reiterated his apology.

Collins said in her statement: I knew when I was confided in by a female colleague regarding her allegation of serious misconduct against a senior colleague, that I would likely lose the leadership by taking the matter so seriously. If I hadnt, then I felt that I wouldnt deserve the role.

The late night Wednesday drama has brought rumblings of discontent within the party to the fore. Collins announcement of his demotion blindsided many National MPs, with a number complaining about how the situation had been handled. It came at a moment when the government is under increasing pressure for its Covid response and prominent National supporters expressed irritation at the party once again becoming embroiled in internal politics rather than focusing on its policy platform.

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New Zealand opposition leader Judith Collins ousted after move to demote rival backfires - The Guardian