Author: Press Room

Drivers across the South Island are being urged to plan ahead and remain vigilant on the roads this weekend as wild weather hits from this afternoon. MetService issued orange heavy rain warnings and watches for some areas, including Buller and Grey, the Westland Ranges, headwaters of Canterbury and Otago lakes and rivers, and Fiordland into Saturday. These areas were forecast to receive up to 170mm of rain, with peak rates of 30mm/h expected. Also in Canterbury high country, an orange strong wind warning was issued from late this evening, with severe gale northwesterlies gusting up to 130km/h in exposed places.New…

By Craig McCulloch of RNZ Newly released documents lay bare the government’s alarm and “dismay” after being blindsided by the United States’ sudden tariff hike on New Zealand exports in August. That’s despite Trade Minister Todd McClay’s public insistence at the time that the new 15 percent rate was “not surprising” and did not come as a blindside. Correspondence – released to RNZ under the Official Information Act – shows a scramble inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) and Beehive to respond to the “deeply disappointing development”. Officials described the rate increase as an “unwelcome surprise” that…

The man accused of killing Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming in Nelson at the start of this year has had his case moved to Christchurch. Hayden Tasker appeared at the High Court in Wellington by video link from jail today. Justice Dale La Hood said the 32-year-old’s case would be moved to Christchurch. Tasker previously pleaded not guilty to six charges, including murder and attempted murder. A provisional trial date has been set for May of next year.Fleming and her colleague, Senior Sergeant Adam Ramsay, were struck by a vehicle in the early hours of New Year’s Day while on foot…

There were 18 calls to Fire and Emergency NZ during today’s one-hour strike by the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union. Around 2000 union members walked off the job between 12pm and 1pm today after negotiations with Fire and Emergency New Zealand broke down. The striking firefighters were demanding better pay, conditions, and equipment. Over the course of the strike, FENZ said it received 18 calls – 10 of which were in areas impacted by the strike. Three incidents were vehicle crashes, while the remaining were building alarms, which it was alerted to through alarm systems or 111 calls. None were…

A 100% natural leather restoring balm has qualified four Dunedin high school students for a national business award. Nature’s Prime was named the Otago regional winner for this year’s Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) awards, announced by Business South at the University of Otago’s Business School on Thursday. A total of 338 students from 14 schools throughout Otago were involved in the programme this year, with eight teams competing in the regional finals. The “100% natural” leather restoring balm was developed by St Hilda’s Collegiate students Ellie Templeton, Emi Martin, Greer Egan, and Meg Miller. They were “ecstatic” to come out…

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says his suggestion Fonterra should face more regulation is not a threat but rather “Parliament’s duty”.ACT’s David Seymour says politicians should leave the decision to those “milking cows”, to which Peters bit back: “we know what one end of the cow looks like”.Peters penned an open letter to farmers on Friday morning, having earlier criticised Fonterra’s proposal to sell retail brands like Mainland and Anchor, and other assets, to French company Lactalis.The letter accused the company’s executives of not being transparent and warned that if the deal progressed “then perhaps we need to revisit…

University of Otago law student Bryn Dingemans first became involved in service clubs while at secondary school. That included the XSProject which supported Indonesia trash pickers and also a peer support programme. Getting involved and giving back to his community was important to him and so becoming involved with Ignite Consultants Otago when he started university was a natural step. Ignite Consultants Otago is a student-led voluntary not-for-profit organisation which offers free consulting services by students, to not-for-profit organisations. It was started more than 15 years ago after Polish exchange student Agnieszka Nazaruk recognised a disconnect between students in the…

Three people have been charged after a young man was left with “critical, life-threatening injuries” in what police called a group attack in Hamilton. The assault occurred at a residential address on Northolt Rd in the Hamilton suburb of Fairview Downs at around 9.25pm on Monday.The victim, who police described as a young man, underwent surgery today for his injuries. He remained in a serious condition. This afternoon, police said two 20-year-old men and an 18-year-old woman were arrested over the incident. The trio faced charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and aggravated burglary.The men were…

An 11th-hour plea has been made to Alliance Group farmer shareholders to vote against selling 65% of their co-operative to Irish meat company Dawn Meats. But Alliance chairman Mark Wynne has reiterated the alternative plan put forward by a group of Southland-based shareholders to recapitalise the company and keep it wholly in farmer ownership still had two fundamental principles the board does not agree with. On Monday, a special shareholders meeting is being held in Invercargill, where shareholders will vote on the proposed Dawn Meats deal. In September, a group of Southland-based shareholders wrote to fellow shareholders proposing an alternative…

The clean-up after days of heavy rain and widespread flooding has begun as the Ruapehu district counts the cost of the damage.Ruapehu District Council has warned of health risks from floodwater, and key state highways remain closed after the rain left roads damaged and small settlements cut off.Early indications suggest roading repairs will cost millions of dollars.The council has stepped down its emergency response, downgrading its Emergency Operations Centre to Level 1 and signalling that the immediate emergency has passed.Civil Defence controller Clive Manley said the recovery would take time and caution was still needed.”Calls for welfare assistance have dropped…