Author: Press Room

Inflation is expected to hit a 12-month high, as surging food prices and power costs put the squeeze on household budgets.Consumer prices for the three months ended June are expected to have risen 0.6%, pushing the annual rate to 2.8% from 2.5% in March.ANZ senior economist Miles Workman said there would be familiar domestic drivers of the latest numbers.”The main drivers of quarterly inflation are expected to come from the food and housing-related groups — accelerating electricity inflation, but slowing rents and construction.”High export prices for meat and dairy products have driven local food prices, and thus stoked inflation, but…

Technology and computing retailer PBTech says its new South Dunedin store is on track to be one of the company’s “most anticipated openings yet”. The new store, on the corner of Hillside Rd and Rankeilor St, is scheduled to open late next month. PBTech chief executive Gary Bigwood said opening a new store in Dunedin had been in consideration for a few years and would add to its two other South Island branches, both in Christchurch. Customers had been asking them to open a store in Dunedin for years and the company was “thrilled” it was finally happening, Mr Bigwood…

Hollywood heavyweight Jason Momoa says he’s planning a more permanent move to New Zealand.”I’m just waiting for you guys to let me in,” Momoa told 1News. “I saw in one of your newspapers we brought in like $1.3 billion in the last year and a half so like, well! If that doesn’t get you citizenship, I don’t know what does!”The 45-year-old actor has spent a lot of time in New Zealand in recent years, working on projects like A Minecraft Movie, The Wrecking Crew, and his new series Chief of War.According to the New Zealand Film Commission, the Minecraft film…

A southern window company is “very chuffed” to have been recognised for its work on an award-winning Central Otago home. Design Windows was named the winner of the Otago, Southland and West Coast residential design category at the 2025 Window & Glass Association (WGANZ) Awards, in Auckland last month. The South Island door and window specialists took out the award for its work on Openfield House, a residential property in the Crown Range. Managing director John Hancock said they were “very chuffed” with the award. The company had entered into the awards over the past 18 years and, while being named…

A 21-year-old who had his murder conviction quashed is sought by police in the Hawke’s Bay region.Haami Hanara was 14 when he stabbed a homeless man to death in Hastings in 2018.Kelly Donner, 40, died after he was attacked by a group of youths while sleeping rough in Flaxmere. Hanara stabbed him four times, twice in his neck, severing his carotid artery and leading to his death.He was initially found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison, but this conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal in 2022.Hanara admitted manslaughter and was immediately freed from prison for…

A one-off $50,000 grant has been given to the Student Volunteer Army (SVA) by the Government to support youth volunteers in Nelson Tasman after two consecutive floods hammered the region in two weeks.Youth Minister James Meager said the grant would help mobilise and coordinate young people to assist with the cleanup.”The Student Volunteer Army has a strong track record of rallying the troops at speed to respond to urgent need and has vast experience in crisis response and disaster recovery. I know the work its volunteers will undertake will be of enormous community benefit.”Youth Minister James Meager has announced a…

By Amy Williams of RNZ Global furniture giant Ikea is due to open its first New Zealand store in Auckland some time this year, but has not yet told Auckland Council when. Ikea said it was still on track to open at Sylvia Park and had so far employed 85 of the 500 staff it needed. Within at least two months of opening, Ikea has to provide the council with an opening date and managment plan, but a council spokesperson confirmed it was still waiting to receive this information. The consent conditions for the big box retailer required it to…

Hundreds of anti-social car users were pursued across Auckland by law enforcement last night, with police issuing numerous fines and ordering multiple vehicles off the road on Saturday night.Dubbed the “Auckland invasion” by boy racers, the event attracted drivers from Northland and Hamilton to the supercity.1News spent several hours following the group to locations across Auckland, including Manukau, Onehunga, Westgate, Penrose, and Drury.Police staff, including the Eagle helicopter, were deployed to each spot and at Westgate, attendees were seen letting off fireworks at an intersection.Police said more than 2500 breath tests were taken at checkpoints set up, with more than…

Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka has acknowledged reports of rising homelessness but says it’s “not just down to one thing” as he defends the Government’s tougher rules for emergency housing.Potaka was grilled on the issue on Q+A, where he conceded the changes to increase scrutiny for emergency housing support applicants have been “reported by many” as contributing to making more people homeless.When asked directly whether the policy changes had contributed to leaving more people homeless, the minister said: “That’s a very strong view that many people have.”But Potaka refused to make that connection himself, instead attributing claims of a link…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ An organisation representing financial mentors around the country is worried that proposed changes to the Working for Families scheme could leave some families worse off. As part of the Budget, the government said it would look at options to help avoid the issue of Working for Families debt. In the 2022 year, only 24 percent of households receiving weekly or fortnightly Working for Families payments and who were squared up by IRD at the end of the tax year had received the right amount of money. People who earned more than expected can end up…