Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste is a country with a complicated and tragic history, and in recent times a close relationship with New Zealand.
Last night we were lucky to have Vicki Poole as our guest speaker. Vicki has had a distinguished career in Foreign Affairs, serving in various roles around the world. Currently, she is Deputy Director of Pacific Development at the Ministry, but from 2016 to 2019, she was our Ambassador to Timor-Leste, and this was the subject of her talk.
Timor-Leste is an independent country occupying the eastern half of the island of Timor. It is the only Asian country in the southern hemisphere and about one hour’s flying time from Darwin.
Timor was a Portuguese colony for 500 years but Portugal abandoned it in 1974. This led to a brutal civil war between independence groups and militias supported by Indonesian forces, ending only when a UN-brokered peacekeeping force was installed. In 2011 Timor-Leste’s own police force resumed control with help from Australian and New Zealand.
Timor-Leste has a mountainous spine, lush rainforests, and narrow coastal plains. Most of the population of 1.3 million lives in mountain villages, driven there by old fears of invasion from the sea.
It is a very poor country, ranked 122nd on the UN poverty index, but the people are ambitious and keen to establish a functioning, corruption-free democracy.
The economy is undeveloped although because of oil rights a $16 billion sovereign wealth fund has been established. To date, this has not been invested wisely. Infrastructure needs developing and education expanded. There is a small private sector and the commercial framework is primitive- problems common to many small Pacific nations.
In Vicki’s view, Timor-Leste could have a bright future in the Asian sphere. Tourism is small but could be developed.
In the meantime, New Zealand is very supportive, with our VSA and NGOs very active, government scholarships and technical advice.
Poll: Should the government levy industries that contribute to financial hardship?
As reported in the Post, there’s a $30 million funding gap in financial mentoring. This has led to services closing and mentors stepping in unpaid just to keep helping people in need 🪙💰🪙
One proposed solution? Small levies on industries that profit from financial hardship — like banks, casinos, and similar companies.
So we want to hear what you think:
Should the government ask these industries to contribute?
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59% Yes, supporting people is important!
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26% No, individuals should take responsibility
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15% ... It is complicated
Have you got New Zealand's best shed? Show us and win!
Once again, Resene and NZ Gardener are on the hunt for New Zealand’s best shed! Send in the photos and the stories behind your man caves, she sheds, clever upcycled spaces, potty potting sheds and colourful chicken coops. The Resene Shed of the Year 2026 winner receives $1000 Resene ColorShop voucher, a $908 large Vegepod Starter Pack and a one-year subscription to NZ Gardener. To enter, tell us in writing (no more than 500 words) why your garden shed is New Zealand’s best, and send up to five high-quality photos by email to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz. Entries close February 23, 2026.
February's Weather to Mid-month
The dry, sunny weather of recent months continues, but with an increase in temperatures.
Over the last couple of months summer's temperatures in Kāpiti had been up to a degree cooler than average, but recent weeks has seen a daily average of 23.3℃, normal for February. Thursday's (Feb. 12) 27.2℃ was the highest of the summer to-date
The longtime average rainfall for the month is around 60mm and we have had about half that, but this is insufficient to maintain soil moisture, so if the unsettled weather predicted for the next few days delivered 30-40mm it would be good.
The SW winds, with a 'watch' from Sunday evening (Feb 15), were already fairly strong by mid morning.
Photo: Saturday evening, the calm before the storm.
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