Author: Press Room

The Wellington City Council is investigating after reports a stash of confidential documents was found by a member of the public in an old mayoral desk bought from the tip shop.The NZ Herald is reporting there are hundreds of papers.The council told RNZ it was “taking the situation extremely seriously and are working with our legal and privacy staff – along with staff and contractors involved with the disposal of the Town Hall furniture – to understand what has happened”.They had also contacted the member of the public who found the documents, and alerted the Privacy Commissioner.The building was shut…

Police have appealed to the public for information on a man believed to have committed a series of aggravated robberies before fleeing on an e-scooter each time.Three food outlets at the Dinsdale Shopping Centre had been targeted in the last few days, police said.Detective Sergeant Matt Lee said the man arrived on a black e-scooter and entered the store demanding money while brandishing a knife.”On September 24, he robbed one shop, on September 25, he robbed two shops before fleeing the scenes on the e-scooter.”A victim was assaulted by the man during the second robbery.The man allegedly committed aggravated robberies…

Three weeks after absconding from a mental health facility in Auckland, Esarona Lologa set fire to Wellington’s Loafers Lodge hostel, killing five people. RNZ’s National Crime Correspondent Sam Sherwood reveals police were searching for the “recidivist offender” before the blaze, but had no idea he was in Wellington until it was too late.Police in Auckland were looking for Esarona Lologa in the weeks before he lit the fatal fire at Loafer’s Lodge, killing five people, unaware he was in Wellington.Lologa absconded from a mental health facility on April 21, 2023, three weeks before the fires, and there was a warrant…

Prince William has described 2024 as the “hardest year I’ve ever had” after both his father, King Charles, and his wife, Catherine, Princess of Wales, were diagnosed with cancer.The Prince of Wales made the remarks during a short preview of upcoming Apple TV+ show The Reluctant Traveller, starring actor Eugene Levy.In the episode, the Canadian actor and comedian —best known for Schitt’s Creek and American Pie—received a personal invitation to Windsor Castle from Prince William.The invitation, written on Kensington Palace stationery and dated January 2025, read: “Dear Eugene, I heard that your travels have brought you to the UK and…

A southern council work car has been clocked travelling at 133km/h amid an uptick in speeding over recent reporting periods.Environment Southland releases quarterly numbers on speeding incidents in its work cars, as monitored by an in-car system.Its latest set of results showed there were 528 occasions where the limit was exceeded by at least 10km/hr during the April to June period.Of those events, 18 were for exceedances of 20km/h or more.The numbers are the highest recorded since the July to September 2024 quarter, where a total of 923 events were reported.Council health and safety manager Paul le Roux said the…

Vaccinations for flu are almost three times more popular than those for Covid, despite the exact same group being most at risk. Cushla Norman speaks to medical experts about the state of Covid in New Zealand now, who’s most at risk and why many of us no longer take the virus as seriously as we should. Covid: ‘New variants popping up all the time’ – Watch this story on TVNZ+. Nearly three times more flu jabs have been delivered this year than the Covid booster, a reflection of “confusion in our community” around who really needs the Covid jab, says…

A United Nations committee aiming to prevent torture in state institutions has visited a dozen prisons throughout the country over the past two weeks.The visit of the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture has been somewhat shrouded in confidentiality, with its findings under wraps.The Department of Corrections confirmed Auckland Prison, Mt Eden Correctional facility, Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility, Auckland South Corrections Facility, Waikeria Prison, Arohata Prison, Rimutaka Prison, Christchurch Women’s Prison, Christchurch Men’s Prison, Rolleston Prison, Otago Corrections Facility and Invercargill Prison were all visited unannounced.Previous Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier and the Office of the Inspectorate have issued reports,…

The New Zealand Transport Agency issued nearly 80,000 infringement notices in the first two months following its takeover of speed cameras from the police.The NZTA took over responsibility for the cameras at the start of July, becoming the sole operator of the equipment, while police continue to issue notices for any road offences they detect.Since then, the agency has rolled out several new tools, including camera-equipped SUVs and trailers, as well as new average speed cameras.As of September 19, the NZTA was operating 64 fixed speed cameras, one red light camera, and 35 mobile speed cameras. According to numbers released…

Multiple crews responded to a fire in Auckland overnight. Emergency services were called to the commercial building in Albany at around 9.50pm.Ten crews from East Coast Bays, West Harbour, Greenhithe, Auckland City, Te Atatu, Silverdale, Avondale, Otahuhu, Manly, Albany, RNZAF Base Auckland F5204, and Devonport responded to the blaze. Ten crews from across the city were called to the scene of the blaze at Massey University. (Source: 1News)”On arrival, FENZ found the 20 by 20 metre building well involved in fire,” a Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said. Crews spent the next few hours working to put out the…

Kiwis will want to make sure they’ve set their clocks – the ones that don’t change automatically – forward by one hour before going to bed tonight, as daylight saving kicks in overnight.The change is officially made at 2am, when the time leaps forward by 60 minutes.Each year it begins on the last Sunday in September and ends at 3am on the first Sunday in April. Fire and Emergency New Zealand are using daylight saving as a chance to remind Kiwis to check their smoke alarms are working while adjusting their clocks. Tom Ronaldson, community education and behavior change manager,…