Major changes to school curriculum and secondary qualifications bring "knowledge-rich" learning from this school year; The reform mandates evidence-based learning in literacy, numeracy and introduces subject-based assessment system in year 12,13

A women meeting in Wellington marked a year since changes to pay equity extinguished some 180.000 claims for equal work of equal value; a request to the UN was made to investigate whether the move amounted to systemic discrimination towards women

More men from the gay and bisexual community will be able to donate blood starting 4 May, as the screening process of the New Zealand Blood Service brings key changes to a number of questions related to sexual activity of donors

'Our Freshwater 2026' report highlights worsening quality of groundwater, rivers and lakes, with increasing levels of nitrates, E.coli above legal limit, and nearly half of New Zealand's river network unsafe for swimming due to faecal contamination

Tens of thousands of people attended the annual rock and car festival Beach Hop in Whangamatā; the Beach Hop, established in 2000, has degenerated in 2026 into cases of unsuitable behavior that brought to 30 arrests, more than in the last years combined