Author: Press Room

The funeral for broadcaster and psychologist Nigel Latta will take place at a venue on Auckland’s waterfront next weekend.The event would be held at 1pm on October 11 at The Cloud and was announced in a post to Latta’s Facebook page.”This is the funeral notice that will be placed in newspapers, so just in case you are a non-paper person, thought we would share it here,” the statement read.”Latta, Nigel Raymond. Passed away peacefully at Mercy Hospice on 30 September 2025.”Dearly loved son of Janice and Elvyn. Much loved son-in-law Emily. Adored husband of Natalie. Beloved father of Rina and…

Auckland Council has sent out more than 6000 infringement notices to dog owners who failed to register their pets. It comes as the council continues to crack down on roaming dogs. A total of 6027 infringements were yesterday issued to dog owners who had ignored earlier warnings from the council to register their animals. The council said this was a 7.5% increase when compared with the 5572 sent last year.Owners who were sent infringement notices would have 28 days to pay up. The council said more than 29,084 dogs remained unregistered as of August 1, when the council began charging…

A Christchurch man has been sentenced to 10 months’ home detention after admitting to failing to pay more than $200,000 of his workers’ taxes to Inland Revenue.Frederick Mario Mau Epiha pleaded guilty to 16 charges of aiding and abetting a company he set up to knowingly apply PAYE deductions in the Christchurch District Court on September 30.The court was told of Epiha’s “phoenix-type behaviours” – a practice where a company rebrands itself to hide its failures or financial instability.Epiha worked as a manager for Asia Pacific Group Ltd (APG), before reestablishing the business under new company Redemption Solutions Ltd (RSL)…

More New Zealanders are now working multiple jobs, in an attempt to cover everyday living costs. Employment Hero’s latest Annual Jobs Report found 33 percent of people have more than one role, the second-highest globally after Australia, at 34 percent. Beyond poly-employment, many were also clocking up extra hours, with 43 percent of people saying they work overtime. Thirty percent of New Zealanders said they were working more than one job simply to earn enough money. The report is based on real-time aggregated and anonymised data from more than 2.5 million employees and 350,000-plus businesses globally. Country manager Neil Webster said the…

A couple who had $50,000 of tools stolen from a work vehicle in Christchurch were shocked to find them being auctioned off on behalf of police more than two years later.Gaston and Louise Monge-Grassi own Piranha Tools in Tasman, which sells building and fine woodworking tools from around the world.Gaston was staying in Diamond Harbour on a work trip to Christchurch in July 2023 when a thief broke into several cars, including Gaston’s ute.Hundreds of tools were taken, including Gaston’s toolbelt. The thief left behind only a 10 kilogram sack of onions.”I found the truck completely open, empty and it…

Dog owners will not be able to walk their pets at a rural Auckland beach during breeding season of native shorebirds.From October 1 until March 1, 2026, dogs will be prohibited at all times at Ōrere Beach and intertidal areas within Ōrere Point Beach Reserve car park and east of the Ōrere River mouth.Auckland Council conservation adviser Maddie White said in a statement that the region was a hotspot for shorebirds, including the endangered New Zealand dotterel, Caspian tern, variable oystercatcher, white-fronted tern and South Island pied oystercatcher.All are native to New Zealand and formally classified as threatened or at…

Two long-time customers of the much-loved Christchurch trailer business, Ice Cream Charlie, have taken over the business. Gareth and Sarah Eddy are the proud new owners of Ice Cream Charlie after the business went up for sale in June. The more than 100-year-old business also changed hands in late 2019. Over the past few years, it has been operating at Victoria Square, Sumner and the Christchurch Farmers’ Market at Riccarton Bush. Ice Cream Charlie has been around since 1903 when the relatively mysterious Sali Mahomet set up a cart in the south-east corner of Cathedral Square. Little is known about the origins…

The Government has today announced the company that will construct a new Chatham Islands supply vessel to replace its ageing ship.The 76-metre vessel will be built as a joint venture between McCallum Bros Ltd. and Nova Marine Carriers, Associate Transport Minister James Meager has announced.”Contract negotiations will ensure the Chathams have a secure, reliable, long-term service which maintains or exceeds current levels, and has capacity to grow alongside the Island,” he said.”This represents a major step in the progress of a replacement supply vessel, which is a vital economic and community lifeline for the Chatham Islands.”At nearly 40 years old,…

A lawyer for food giant Talley’s has accused a 1News reporter of a “hit piece” in the High Court in Auckland today.Talley’s is suing reporter Thomas Mead and TVNZ over a series of stories on health and safety concerns.TVNZ said its reports are fair and accurate, and are in the public interest. Talley’s, meanwhile, have said the stories are untrue and have damaged its reputation.In the High Court today, Mead outlined his investigation in the witness box.Mead said he protected the identities of some sources he’d spoken to because they feared retaliation from Talley’s.”Because of these deep-seated concerns, I have…

On a visit to New Zealand, FBI Director Kash Patel gave the country’s police and spy bosses gifts of inoperable pistols that were illegal to possess under local gun laws and had to be destroyed, New Zealand law enforcement agencies told The Associated Press.The plastic 3D-printed replica pistols formed part of display stands Patel presented to at least three senior New Zealand security officials in July. Patel, the most senior Trump administration official to visit the country so far, was in Wellington to open the FBI’s first standalone office in New Zealand.Pistols are tightly restricted weapons under New Zealand law…