New Zealand's foreign minister returned to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a familiar stage for a politician who has represented the country there across several decades.
Logan Church: Welcome back to the UN, Mr Peters
New Zealand's foreign minister returned to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, a familiar stage for a politician who has represented the country there across several decades.
The visit came at a tense moment for multilateral diplomacy, with conflicts, aid pressures and questions about the credibility of the international system dominating the agenda.
For small states, the General Assembly remains one of the few venues where their arguments on climate, oceans and trade rules can be made directly to the largest powers.
New Zealand's message continued to emphasise the rules-based order and Pacific priorities, delivered in the plainer style that has long marked the minister's approach.
Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston has appointed Rahera Turner, Thora Huebner and Joanne Witko to the New Zealand Sign Language Board, adding new members as the board works through delivery of a 10-year NZSL strategy.
NZ Ambulance Association national secretary Mark Quin says Palmerston North Hospital's overloaded emergency department left ambulance patients waiting one to two hours to be handed into hospital care.
Dunedin families are facing the practical and emotional consequences of Wakari Hospital's Ward 10A closure, with some high-needs patients expected to be moved to facilities in the North Island.