Author: Press Room

A 21-year-old man has been charged with murdering a man who was found dead on a doorstep in Kawerau last month.Police were called to a property on Onslow St at 8.45am on February 26 after a body was found at the front of an address.A homicide investigation had been ongoing since and, today, police arrested a 21-year-old man.He would be appearing in the Hamilton District Court tomorrow, facing one count of murder.”We are pleased to have been able to arrest someone in relation to this tragic incident,” Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Wilson said.”We would also like to thank those members…

Kaikōura’s mayor hopes proposed changes to the town’s parking rules will reduce “rude behaviour”.The Kaikōura District Council approved a new draft traffic and parking bylaw for consultation at a council meeting on Wednesday, March 26.Mayor Craig Mackle said the new rules would allow cars to park on grass verges, provided permission is obtained to park in front of someone’s property.The new rules should take away “rude behaviour”, he said.The proposed bylaw is more of “a tidy up” of the existing bylaw, which was adopted in 2018.Changes to the bylaw are aimed at addressing parking on grass berms and vehicles displaying…

A man is facing charges after he allegedly broke into Murupara’s police station yesterday.The man allegedly smashed a glass door at the unmanned station at around 6.45am on Wednesday.Police, with some staff armed as a precaution, cordoned off Pine Dr between Oregon Dr and Main Rd.Acting Bay of Plenty District Commander Lincoln Sycamore said an axe and a machete were located during a search of the man’s vehicle along with a chainsaw that had been thrown over the fence.The police negotiation team were called to assist and engaged with the man for several hours before he was arrested outside the…

Chris Hemsworth’s Thor, Anthony Mackie’s Captain America, Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes, Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki are all back in the Avengers ensemble, where they’ll be joined by several of cinema’s original X-Men.The five veterans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe are in the cast of 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel announced in a series of social media videos that the company rolled out slowly on Wednesday.Patrick Stewart, 84, who played Professor X in the Fox’s early 2000s X-Men films, and 85-year-old Ian McKellen, who played his arch-nemesis Magneto, are also in the Doomsday cast as Disney and Marvel seek…

A “malicious actor” accessed and downloaded private information, some of it “sensitive”, about some former and current staff in the lower North Island, Health New Zealand says.In a message to staff today, the agency said an investigation revealed occupational health and safety information had been accessed and downloaded in October 2024 in an “IT security incident” affecting Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora Central region.It related to some former and current staff members from the Capital, Coast & Hutt Valley, and Wairarapa regions between 2020 and 2024.”The information affected in this breach ranges from some staff members’ general occupational health…

Apple users will notice a new feature on its maps app from today which lets people search for Māori place names, iwi and marae.Detailed place cards and map icons – including a newly designed one for marae – will now be on display with text and photos curated and provided by iwi after the new software was rolled out.Auckland-based Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei is one of a number of iwi working in partnership with the tech giant to provide Māori names, stories and identifying sites of cultural significance for Apple Maps.Tom Irvine, chief executive of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei – Whai Maia,…

By Katie Kenny of RNZ United States President Donald Trump started making tariff threats even before he returned to office on January 20. From a universal duty on imports to targeted tariffs on specific sectors or countries, it’s hard to keep up. Meanwhile, retaliatory moves aimed at hurting US exporters have been symbolic, if not impactful. The on-and-off-again levies have caused confusion and uncertainty. It’s not hard to see why economists are worried about a trade war. But from aluminium to Tennessee whisky, how do governments choose what to target? First, what are tariffs? Tariffs are taxes or duties levied…

Police have issued a fresh appeal after reopening a homicide investigation into the suspected murder of David John Robinson, who was found dead on a remote West Coast beach more than 26 years ago.New inquiries are based around several firearms police have received — one of which could be the weapon used to kill Robinson.The investigation was first launched on December 28, 1998, after the 25-year-old’s body was found on a remote beach near Ross.While it was “scaled back”, the investigation had been “periodically reviewed” and, in mid-February this year, police said they would be making further inquiries.Around two weeks…

Police could be conducting roadside drug testing by the end of the year after legislation to enable it passed its third reading in Parliament today.The bill passed with the support of National, ACT, New Zealand First and Labour. The Green Party and Te Pāti Māori did not support the bill.Transport Minister Chris Bishop acknowledged it was not the first attempt to introducing oral fluid testing at the roadside, hoping it was “third time lucky”.”We know that they’re [drugs] a major factor in many road deaths and serious injuries. We had a go back in 2022, but the approval criteria was…

Parliament’s Privileges Committee says Labour MP Peeni Henare’s actions during the first reading of the Treaty Principles Bill last year was “undoubtedly disorderly behaviour” but did not amount to contempt.Henare joined several other MPs when he moved to the house floor after Te Pāti Māori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke instigated a haka in a now-viral moment from November.Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi, alongside Maipi-Clarke, were also referred to the Privileges Committee for leaving their seats and approaching ACT leader David Seymour during the haka.In its findings, the Committee found Henare’s act of leaving his seat was “undoubtedly…