Author: Press Room

Labour is set to unveil its first major policy ahead of next year’s election, signalling the announcement as part of a broader plan to keep jobs and wealth in New Zealand.Hipkins will be joined by finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds to make the announcement in central Auckland.”For too long we’ve leaned on overseas investment, and too often the jobs and wealth that start here end up offshore,” Hipkins said in a video statement last week.Hipkins said Prime Minister Christopher Luxon had made “big promises” to fix the economy but had instead made it worse.”Every day more than 200 Kiwis vote with…

Labour has revealed that it will create another future fund if it wins next year’s election – which would begin with a $200 million investment.It’s the party’s first major policy release in two years.The fund would exist alongside the Super Fund, but Labour said a greater amount of investment would be made in New Zealand, compared to just 11% currently from the Super Fund.Leader Chris Hipkins said “New Zealanders are inventive and resourceful, but years of underinvestment have left too many great Kiwi ideas without support, while the wealth we create flows offshore”.When the Super Fund was set up in…

By Gyles Beckford of RNZ Inflation has edged to a 15-month-high on the back of higher rents, rates, electricity, and food, touching the top of the Reserve Bank’s target band but unlikely to prevent further rate cuts. Stats NZ said the consumer price index rose 1.0 percent in the three months ended September, pushing the annual rise to 3.0 percent from 2.7 percent, the highest since June last year. The 11.3 percent rise in electricity prices was the single biggest contributor to the annual increase. “Annual electricity increases are at their highest since the late 1980s, when there were several…

The identity of a mysterious new guest star on The Chase spin-off Beat the Chasers has been unmasked. The season finale of ITV’s Beat the Chasers introduced a masked figure known as Maverick, who joined the show wearing a red and black disguise and speaking through a voice modulator.UK media reported he replaced Darragh ‘The Menace’ Ennis for a one-off appearance.Many viewers were convinced the mystery guest was British comedian Jasper Carrott, known for his past appearances on quiz shows. “Convinced it’s Jasper Carrott,” one person wrote. “I’ll be shocked if it’s not,” said another.But the big reveal came at…

One person has been confirmed dead after a house fire in the Tasman District yesterday morning.Emergency services were called to the Riwaka address about 10.50am on Sunday.Fire and Emergency NZ initially responded with two crews from Motueka, but further crews were called in from Kaiteriteri, Tasman, Mapua, and Nelson.”The fire was well involved at a single-storey house,” a FENZ spokesperson said.Police said one person was initially unaccounted for.”Sadly, they were located deceased after the fire was extinguished,” a police spokesperson said.Inquiries into the circumstances of the fire were ongoing with the man’s death referred to the Coroner.The morning’s headlines in…

A Christchurch cyclist who was badly injured and “left for dead” in a violent hit-and-run is calling for better behaviour from drivers, urging them to share the road with bikes.Mark Weston spent two weeks in hospital with a broken back and feared he would never walk again after being deliberately run over on Centaurus Road in Cashmere, in March 2024.After the crash, driver Liam Foster, 29, took off and drove for about 2km with Weston’s electric bike trapped under his car.Judge Duncan Harvey jailed Foster for four years and seven months at the Christchurch District Court on Friday for causing…

Kiwi band Fat Freddy’s Drop is hitting the road for a 51-date international tour, marking the band’s first shows since the death of founding member Chris ‘Mu’ Faiumu earlier this year.The tour would celebrate the 21st anniversary of their landmark debut album, Based on a True Story, which was independently released in 2005 and went on to become the country’s longest-charting album. It spent 111 weeks in the Top 40 and won eight New Zealand Music Awards.Lead singer Dallas Tamaira said the band was united in its decision to continue with the long-planned tour despite Mu’s death in July.At the…

A Kiwi living in Japan had his arm broken and calf muscles punctured when he was attacked by a bear in the foothills of Myoko.Feeling at peak fitness after completing his first 111-kilometre ultramarathon, Kiwi Billy Halloran, 32, was out for a casual 8km recovery run in the foothills recently.Reaching the 4km mark, Halloran — who is originally from Auckland — turned around to head home, when he saw two adult Asiatic black bears, each weighing at least 60 kg, 20 metres ahead of him.”Oh s…,” he thought, his heart suddenly loud in his ears.After hundreds of hours hiking, running…

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including a swathe of weather warnings, thieves make off with France’s crown jewels, and a new police investigation into Prince Andrew. Strong wind and heavy rain warnings are in force for much of South Island and lower North Island. The Gaza ceasefire is under threat with both sides accusing each of other of breaking the deal. Thieves have stolen priceless jewels from the Louvre Museum in Paris. London police are investigating allegations Prince Andrew used his police protection officer to dig up dirt on Virginia Giuffre. Central Madrid has been taken over by hundreds…

South Island employers are reporting a mixed bag for those looking for work. The government recently announced means-testing parents before their 18 or 19-year old can get a benefit. From November next year, teenage adults will not be entitled to Jobseeker Support if their parents combined income is more than $65,000. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon defended the move telling RNZ “go to the South Island… in the primary industries… they’re crying out for young people to come and join those sectors and those jobs”. “Often what happens, people will take a job, they don’t stick with it for longer than…