Author: Press Room

An expert says he has concerns about privacy and data collection as the Government plans to expand the use of road user charges. Yesterday, the Government signed off on the first steps towards scrapping petrol tax and shifting all vehicles onto electronic road user charges (RUC).Currently New Zealanders help pay for the roads via their vehicle licence (or “rego”) fee, road user charges (RUC) and the petrol excise duty (PED).Minister of Transport Chris Bishop said the transition would ensure all vehicles pay based on actual road use (including weight) regardless of fuel type, and said eventually paying RUC would be…

ADVERTISEMENT In July, French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte filed a defamation lawsuit against US alt-right podcaster Candace Owens. The couple’s lawyers accused her of being at the helm of an online crusade predicated on the assertion that she would stake “her entire professional career on the fact that Brigitte Macron is a man.” Owens is accused of “relying on discredited falsehoods” and “inventing new ones”, in a bid to “maximise attention and financial gain for herself”, with her podcast and video series, Becoming Brigitte, having amassed millions of views. However, the false claims about Brigitte Macron first…

After years of swiping, ghosting, and dating app fatigue, a growing number of young New Zealanders are ditching the apps in favour of something that once seemed old-fashioned – meeting in person.According to a recent Forbes Health survey, 80% of millennials and 79% of Gen Z users in the United States reported feeling mentally or emotionally exhausted by dating apps.In Auckland, Thursday Dating is one example of this shift. The weekly event invites singles to put away their phones, grab a drink and talk to strangers.“Thursday Dating is all about in-real-life connections,” said organiser Jasmine Donaldson. “Rather than trying to…

Hundreds of North Canterbury locals turned out to a fiery meeting in Culverden on Wednesday night, angry about a proposal to remove the town’s two police officers.A proposed restructure in the region could see rural police services focused around two 24/7 hubs in Rangiora and Rolleston.Residents who packed out the gym at Culverden’s Amuri Area School said this would leave them more vulnerable.They said the restructuring meant police were either an hour’s drive away in Rangiora or 90 minutes away in Rolleston and that was too far.Police said locals would be no worse off under the new model.The owner of…

The Aratere will make its final journey across Cook Strait later this month, KiwiRail has confirmed. The ship’s final voyage would depart from Picton at 11am on August 18 2025. Its retirement comes as the Interislander ferry Kaiārahi was expected to return to service the same day after finishing its drydock maintenance in Singapore. “Freshly painted and with its hull cleaned, and a comprehensive maintenance schedule achieved, the ship is running well and currently making good progress towards Wellington,” a KiwiRail spokesperson said. The Aratere had faced problems since it entered service in the 90s. Among the more notable troubles…

By Giles Dexter of RNZ The previous government spent too much during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite warnings from officials, according to a briefing released by the Treasury. The Treasury’s 2025 Long Term Insights Briefing said debt had risen in recent decades, partly because responses to adverse shocks were not met by savings between those shocks. The higher debt meant less capacity to respond to future shocks, like natural hazards, weather-related risks and biosecurity risks. Treasury estimated the total cost of the pandemic was $66 billion over the 2020-26 financial years and about 20.4% of GDP. The IMF and OECD estimated it was…

The coroner says the employers of an Irish seasonal worker – killed when a digger touched with overhead powerlines – failed to brief workers on safety procedures ahead of the death.Sean Clear was electrocuted in February 2023 on Taurewa Station in the central North Island when an excavator being used to free a tractor and mower unit stuck in muddy conditions and came into contact with powerlines carrying 30,000 volts.In findings released on Thursday, coroner Mark Wilton said a WorkSafe investigation into the death had found Clear’s employer, NP & MA Coogan Partnership had breached Health and Safety obligations in…

Total KiwiSaver assets rose nearly $9 billion in the second quarter with strong market returns across most funds.Financial research company Morningstar, which tracked the data, said KiwiSaver assets hit $129.1b in the three months ended June.Aggressive and growth KiwiSaver funds continued to outperform others.”Over 10 years, the aggressive category average has given investors an annualised return of 8.6%, followed by growth (7.8%), balanced (6.4%), moderate (4.6%), and conservative (4.1%),” Morningstar director and report author Greg Bunkall said.Still, most KiwiSaver funds produced positive returns, with all default funds, apart from Fisher Funds, returning more than 4%.”However it is worth noting that…

An Auckland man has been jailed for nearly six years over more than $1.7 million worth of fraud related to Covid-19 relief schemes.Luke Daniel Rivers, also known as Mai Qu, pleaded guilty to 29 charges, including Wage Subsidy and Small Business Cashflow Scheme fraud and money laundering.He was sentenced to 5 years and 11 months imprisonment in the Auckland District Court.Rivers had made 28 wage subsidy applications on behalf of eight companies, with 12 of those applications being fraudulent. He received $906,818.40 in wage subsidy funds and tried unsuccessfully to get another $724,106.60.To support the applications, Rivers forged documents and…

A man has admitted his role in a nearly $4m Ponzi scheme that spanned seven years.Thomas Alexander Kokouri Tuira, known as Alex Tuira, and Aroha Awhinanui Tuira were charged in May 2023 by the Serious Fraud Office on 115 counts of obtaining by deception.The couple were scheduled to have their judge-alone trial in the High Court at Christchurch begin this week.On Thursday, Thomas Tuira appeared before Justice Jonathan Eaton and pleaded guilty to two representative charges. The remaining charges were dropped.His wife, Aroha Tuira, will have her trial continue on Monday.The charges state between May 2014 and May 2021 he…