Author: Press Room

Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark believes his council should not redact feedback from the public — even if it is difficult to hear.His comment comes at a time when councils are dealing with an increase of inappropriate language in public submissions.In Invercargill, it’s a problem that has led to staff blacking-out some parts of feedback.The council raised the issue in a report last week as it worked to introduce an official policy for dealing with community input.Clark told Local Democracy Reporting he noticed inappropriate language on annual plan feedback, but was mindful the forms were given out and taken away for…

The government’s Fast-track Approvals legislation has returned the likelihood of seabed mining off the shores of South Taranaki to the table, despite numerous rulings by courts against an application by mining company Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR).It promises economic benefits to the region and the government, but at what cost? Reporter Leigh-Mārama McLachlan travelled to Pātea to meet the locals for TVNZ’s Marae.Watch the full report on TVNZ+Local iwi Ngāti Ruanui has led a successful campaign to stop a major corporation from mining in the area for more than a decade, but new life has been breathed into the application submitted by…

ADVERTISEMENTEU ministers meeting for a General Affairs Council in Brussels have begun a hearing on rule of law in Hungary under the framework of the EU’s Article 7 process, as patience wears thin over recent legal initiatives in Budapest.Viktor Orbán’s government’s self-styled “spring clean” includes a draft transparency law, targeting foreign-funded media and NGOs, and the ban on the Budapest Pride, which are among key concerns that set to be raised in the hearing.Ahead of the meeting, 17 member states published a joint declaration denouncing the ban on Budapest’s Pride march, claiming it violates EU law.”We are highly alarmed by…

Neighbours of a three-year-old girl who died at her home in Northland last week say they are heartbroken by the death of a child whose smile was so bright it “lit up the whole world”.The child, named by a funeral home as Catalya Remana Tangimetua-Pepene, was found unresponsive when emergency services were called to her home in Kaikohe last Wednesday.The child, known to family as Remana, died despite medics’ efforts to save her.She was farewelled on Monday at Te Paea Marae, at Ngāraratunua, just north of Whangārei, and buried at nearby St James Church, around the same time as a…

Coroner Alexander Ho is calling for more information before giving his findings into the death of Gore preschooler Lachlan Jones.The three-year-old boy was found dead in a sewage pond on the outskirts of the Southland town in January 2019.Two police investigations found he accidentally drowned, but his father disputed those findings.An inquest into the death was held in Invercargill last year.The coroner was due to give his findings on Friday but, on Monday, said he was reluctantly delaying it until next month to allow for further submissions to be filed.Ho said he may call for further investigations into the death.Police…

Purchasers of an Auckland property that turned out to have no legal vehicle access have won their appeal against a ruling the salespeople who sold it to them had done nothing wrong.The purchasers, whose identity has not been revealed, took their case to the Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal.They bought the Auckland flat in 2021 and moved tenants in. It was one of three flats, all of which had a street address of number seven. They shared a driveway from the road that was also the access for two flats at number five.At the time of the purchase, none of…

Government ministers today announced more than half a billion dollars will go towards the Nelson Hospital redevelopment — but lingering questions remain about whether it will be enough beds for the growing region. Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Health Minister Simeon Brown today visited the hospital, looking at the Emergency Department expansion that’s underway and spoke to staff. In the Budget last week, a new inpatient building was announced, although the exact funding of that remained under wraps. “I can’t give you the precise figures because it is commercially sensitive and we want to make sure we get the best…

A plane passenger has described the “unnerving” sideways movement of a plane moments, before it aborted its landing at Wellington Airport on Monday.NZ417 successfully touched down shortly before midday, but a second flight bound for the capital was forced to land in Christchurch amid wind gusts of more than 100km/h.Saints basketball chief executive Jordan Mills said passengers were audibly shocked as the flight from Auckland on Monday morning abandoned its first approach into Wellington Airport.He said the flight was smooth sailing until the final 10 minutes when it got hit by turbulence.”It was definitely unusual. There was a lot of…

Police have found “no evidence” former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming acted inappropriately in relation to the vetting process for firearms licences.Last week RNZ asked police for comment on allegations that McSkimming had interfered with the vetting process for firearms licences.McSkimming strongly denied the allegation, and released a statement through his lawyer.”As the overall operational lead on firearms, at one time Mr McSkimming raised issues about how the vetting process was being applied. He took those concerns to the Executive Leadership Team and, following discussion at the ELT, the process was subsequently modified.”Today, Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura said the police…

Is it a worm, a maggot — or a not very hungry caterpillar?That’s the question being asked after a dead larva was found in a Government supplied school lunch at a high school in west Auckland this month. Labour’s deputy leader and the MP for Kelston, Carmel Sepuloni, said the presence of the immature insect raised serious concerns about food safety in the Government’s school lunch programme. “Well, I was shocked to receive photos of a maggot in one of the student’s food,” Sepuloni told 1News. “Now we see that maggots are on the menu for our children and it’s…