Author: Press Room

The Government has approved a business case and $83m in funding for a new Waikato University medical school, as part of a plan to strengthen the health workforce.The New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine will receive more than $150 million from the university — supported by philanthropy — according to the Government, bringing total funding to more than $200 million.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said the third medical school for New Zealand would not just be a “significant investment” for the health system but for Hamilton and the Waikato region.”New Zealand simply isn’t training enough doctors to meet the future needs…

Mackenzie District Mayor Anne Munro is stepping aside due to her cancer diagnosis.Munro shared the news last year and testing has confirmed the cancer is metastatic.She said while treatment was ongoing, her prognosis remained uncertain, and she had made the decision in the interest of continuity and stable leadership.”Although I’ve stayed up to date with council business, the work we do is complex and fast-moving. I’m simply not across the level of detail needed to provide the leadership our council and community deserve at this critical time,” she said.Munro said the council was navigating a time of significant change —…

Malcolm-Jamal Warner the actor who played teenage son Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, has died at age 54 in an accidental drowning in Costa Rica, authorities there said.Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Department said Monday that Warner drowned Sunday afternoon (local time) on a beach on Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. He was swimming at Playa Cocles in Limon province when a current pulled him deeper into the ocean.”He was rescued by people on the beach,” the department’s initial report said, but first responders from Costa Rica’s Red Cross found him without vital signs and he was taken to the morgue.Warner…

Porirua City Council is set to create a memorial for more than 1800 former patients of the local hospital buried in unmarked graves. But Pacific leaders are asking to be meaningfully involved in the process, including incorporating prayer, language, and ceremonial practices.More than 50 people gathered at Porirua Cemetery last month after the council’s plans became public, many of whom were descendants of those buried without headstones.Daniel Chrisp, the Cemeteries manager, said it was encouraging to see families engaging with the project.Chrisp’s team has placed 99 pegs to mark the graves of families who had come forward so far. One…

ADVERTISEMENT The rival leaders of ethnically divided Cyprus are meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday to discuss the future of the island and build upon talks in March, which marked the first step toward renewed dialogue after years of deadlock. UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the latest meeting “will provide an opportunity to continue the dialogue and exchange views on the progress made since March. At that last meeting in Geneva, Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar agreed to trust-building measures on issues like energy, environment, youth affairs and demining, as…

The Marlborough District Council is considering temporary ultraviolet (UV) treatment systems for Havelock’s troubled water supply. A boil water advisory was issued for the town last week, following a directive from the Water Services Authority Taumata Arowai that the town’s water supply couldn’t inactivate protozoa, a type of parasite which could make people sick.If the temporary solution proved viable, the notice could be lifted within weeks or months — well ahead of the town’s permanent water treatment plant, which wasn’t due to be completed until 2028. “We are working through a number of options and council engineers want to determine…

One person has been found dead and another in serious condition after a boat failed to return from a fishing trip on Lake Manapouri last night.Southland area commander inspector Mike Bowman said police were called at about 7.20pm on Sunday to the lake.The pair were said to be experienced fishers, but had failed to check in over radio after failing to return.”Marine radios were utilised and area enquiries were made, and a local helicopter was utilised to search for the boat.”The helicopter located the boat around 12.30am in Safe Cove, and the two men were on board,” said Bowman.One was…

The West Coast’s Reefton Distilling Company has announced a $2 million capital raise to scale its Moonlight Creek whisky production. The share offer was first released to existing shareholders who had pre-emptive rights to participate in the investment round. With $738,000 already raised, the offer went live to the public yesterday via Snowball, an investment platform for private companies and funds. In a statement, founder and chief executive Patsy Bass said whisky was inherently a long-horizon product and the business was ensuring appropriate investment levels until it had sufficient volumes of matured whisky ready for market. “We see growing our…

A group of skiers are “extremely lucky” to have evaded injury after an avalanche on Mt Ruapehu, the NZ Mountain Safety Council says.The party of six was ski touring near the Summit Plateau on Friday when they triggered an avalanche while skinning — using skis with a special removable “skin” to grip the snow when travelling up a slope.Four members of the party were partially buried in the avalanche, with one buried with only their face and arm exposed.Another was buried except for their hand, but had an airway excavated within two minutes.RNZ understood all members of the party were…

A group trying to stop Auckland rich-listers Anna Mowbray and Ali Williams from flying a private helicopter from their multi-million-dollar Westmere property are taking legal action.Independent hearing commissioners appointed by Auckland Council approved the couple’s controversial resource consent application for a private helipad in June.In a statement, Quiet Sky Waitematā, who opposed private helicopters in residential Auckland, said they filed an appeal against the decision to the Environment Court on Monday.Spokesperson Elena Keith said what they considered to be a “radical ruling” went against overwhelming opposition from the public.”We’re not just doing this for Westmere. We’re doing this for Auckland.…