From Bishop Patrick Dunn, Catholic Bishop of Auckland
and President of the NZ Catholic Bishops
Conference
Along with all New Zealanders we are deeply
distressed and saddened by the tragedy of the volcanic
eruption at Whakaari/White Island.
Our prayers are for
those whose lives have been lost, and for the injured,
conscious that their injuries are of a most serious and
painful nature.
We cannot begin to imagine the grief and
distress that they and their families and friends will be
experiencing at this time and our hearts go out to
them. We offer our heartfelt and prayerful thoughts to
everyone affected by this disaster, our own people and
tourists and visitors from Australia and several other
countries.
We give thanks to God for the generous
assistance of the people who have assisted and aided the
injured, especially those who took grave risks to rescue
them, and for the support and care that is being given to
their grieving families.
If you're using Scoop for work, your organisation needs to pay a small license fee with Scoop Pro. We think that's fair, because your organisation is benefiting from using our news resources. In return, we'll also give your team access to pro news tools and keep Scoop free for personal use, because public access to news is important!
Depictions of Islam in Western popular culture have rarely been positive, even before 9/11. Five years on from the mosque shootings, this is one of the cultural headwinds that the Muslim community has to battle against. Whatever messages of tolerance and inclusion are offered in daylight, much of our culture tends to be hostile to Islam when we’re sitting in the dark, with popcorn. Any number of movie examples come to mind, beginning with Rudolf Valentino’s role (over a century ago) as the romantic Arab hero in The Sheik... More
Government: One-stop Shop Major Projects On The Fast Track The Coalition Government’s new one-stop-shop fast track consenting regime for regional and national projects of significance will cut red tape and make it easier for New Zealand to build the infrastructure and major projects needed to get the country moving again... More
Government: GPS 2024: Over $20 Billion To Get Transport Back On Track Transport Minister Simeon Brown has released the draft Government Policy Statement (GPS) on Land Transport, outlining the Coalition Government’s plan to build and maintain a transport system that enables people to get to where they need to go quickly and safely... More
Winston Peters has announced NZ is providing a further $5M to respond to the extreme humanitarian need in Gaza and the West Bank. “The impact of the Israel-Hamas conflict on civilians is absolutely appalling," he said... More
Judith Collins has announced the appointment of Wellington Barrister Jason Scott McHerron as a High Court Judge. Justice McHerron graduated from the University of Otago with a BA in English Literature in 1994 and an LLB in 1996... More