Wellington - At least one-in-three 16-year-olds questioned in a survey of 500 youngsters in New Zealand have had sexual intercourse, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Half of the teens surveyed by the New Zealand Council of Educational Research said they had been in love. The Family Planning Association said the results showed a need for better sex education.

"This shows how important it is for parents to talk to their children around sexual health and sexuality," Family Planning chief executive Jackie Edmond told The Press newspaper, Christchurch. "Sixteen is still young."

"The reality is that sexuality education and sexual health education in New Zealand is incredibly inconsistently applied across schools."

Edmond said that young people needed information so that they could make decisions. No research supported claims that telling young people more meant that they would have sex earlier, she said. "In fact, it does seem to be the opposite."

The study revealed that 84 cent of the 16-year-olds had drunk alcohol in the previous year - although they cannot legally drink until 18 - and 51 per cent had done something they regretted while drunk. (dpa)