Author: Press Room

Documents reveal a World War II era shipwreck could trigger a $200 million oil spill clean up but the government is going against officials’ advice to at least do a risk assessment survey.In June 1940 the RMS Niagara was sailing out of Auckland for Vancouver, Canada, with 349 passengers and crew on board.It was sunk by Germany in the Hauraki Gulf but decades later its oil has never been retrieved.Maritime NZ had been recommended since 2019 to survey the Niagara shipwreck to work out how much oil is on it, but successive governments have declined.New documents eleased to RNZ reveal…

By Nick James of RNZ Bluebridge has announced it will buy a new ship to replace its 28-year-old Cook Strait ferry. The company currently sails its Strait Feronia and Connemara ferries through the route between the North and South Islands. Bluebridge will replace the Strait Feronia, which first launched in 1997, with the Stena Livia, which began sailing in 2008. The Stena Livia is currently sailing for the company Stena Line between Germany and Latvia. StraitNZ chief executive Shane McMahon said as the owner of Bluebridge, the company was delighted to have secured the vessel as part of its continued commitment to upgrade services for customers using the critical Cook…

After using his India trip to tout the importance of security, Christopher Luxon has spent his last day in Mumbai facing questions about defence job cuts at home.The prime minister hit back at criticisms of his coalition’s investment in defence as he stood aboard HMNZS Te Kaha, docked in Mumbai, overnight Thursday NZT.Earlier in the day, Luxon also met India’s rear admiral and toured one of its navy vessels. As well, he attended a cricketing panel and hit a few balls at Wankhede Stadium.He is now winging his way back to New Zealand on the Defence Force 757, after declaring…

Police have launched a fresh appeal for information about a man who went missing nearly two years ago and hasn’t been seen since. Stephen Ryan, who was 40 at the time of his disappearance, was reported missing in late March 2023. He was last seen on Tuesday, March 28, after being dropped off at an address in Feilding. Ryan was last seen wearing a red cap, white singlet, blue track pants and jandals. Today, police said that “no credible sightings” of Stephen had been reported. “There have been few investigative leads available for Police to follow up.”Detective Sergeant Joe Salisbury…

Media company NZME has revealed it has been in talks with its rival Stuff to buy some of its newspapers and websites. But those talks have now been paused due to a board takeover bid at NZME, the publisher of The New Zealand Herald. In an announcement to the NZX stock exchange, NZME said it had had discussions since late last year to buy part of the Stuff Mastheads business in an effort to grow the audience and revenue of its OneRoof business. The move was mainly aimed at Wellington and the South Island, it said. Stuff owns The Post…

A 24-year-old man has been arrested in relation to a January shooting at a park in Fielding.Police said the incident occurred on January 4 in Kowhai Park. This morning, police searched an address in Palmerston North, where the man was arrested without incident.“He is due to appear in the Palmerston North District Court tomorrow, charged with aggravated robbery and wounding with intent to cause grevious bodily harm,” police said.“The man also faces several charges relating to other incidents.”Police added the event in January was “distressing” for the “tight-knit Fielding community”, but they were “pleased that we have been able to…

Nine years ago, Kevin and Esther Gilbert paid $85 for a 25kg block of butter for their Dunedin bakery business — last month, that same-size slab cost a whopping $395. The rising cost of ingredients is one of many factors behind the couple’s decision to close Gilbert’s Fine Food next month, which has both wholesale and retail operations. Other reasons include an “incessant” increase in difficulties in running a business, difficulty in finding staff, staff costs, margins being eroded, and their own tiredness. “Twenty years of our lives we’re having to walk away from,” Mr Gilbert, a former president of…

Wellington-based performance trio Laser Kiwi have successfully fooled magicians Penn & Teller during an appearance on their television show.Penn & Teller: Fool Us has contestants perform a magic trick, and then the duo try to guess how they did it.Only about 10-15% of contestants manage to fool Penn & Teller.Here’s Laser Kiwi on the show, which aired in the US this week:The trio, who have been working together for about 10 years and call themselves “the world’s only surreal sketch circus”, entertained the live studio audience as the cameras rolled, with a jar of olives, a martini, 162 dominoes and…

A “strong” 4.8 magnitude earthquake rattled the top of the South Island this morning.According to GeoNet, the quake struck 10km south of Seddon at a depth of 9km at around 8.24am.The quake, reported by 1306 people at the time of writing, was described as “strong”.”Wow, six floors up, and that was a good shake,” one user on X said.”Bit of a shake there,” another said.

The Warehouse Group has seen sales continue to fall but has posted a half-year profit in what it says is a sign of a “turnaround”.The company saw sales fall by $1.6 billion for the six months to January, down 1.6% on the same period last year. It recorded an after-tax profit of $11.8 million, an improvement on a $23.7 million loss the year before.Warehouse Group Chair Dame Joan Withers said the retail sector remains under “sustained pressure”, but it was taking action to strengthen its position.“Consumers are facing tough and uncertain economic conditions and demand remains subdued,” she said. “Against…