Author: Press Room

You earn it, spend it, invest it.Many of us spend quite a bit of time worrying about it. But do you know where money actually comes from?Here’s a rough guide to how it all works.Most money is created by retail banksIf you’ve ever heard people talking about home loans being “fake” money you might have wondered what was going on.While it sounds a bit like a conspiracy theory, there is a little truth to this idea.Retail banks create money through lending.In a recent paper, the Reserve Bank explained how, with an example of someone who wanted to buy a house…

A Whanganui councillor is condemning a decision to move a mining company’s South Taranaki seabed application into the next stage of the fast-track approvals process.First-term councillor Charlotte Melser is urging affected councils and iwi to unite in opposition to the proposal by Trans-Tasman Resources (TTR) to mine 50 million tonnes of iron sand per year for 35 years over 66 square kilometres of the South Taranaki Bight.”At what point is enough, enough?” Melser said, speaking to Local Democracy Reporting.”Despite significant opposition from all coastal communities, multiple declined consents and massive gaps in the application in terms of environmental mitigation, the…

New Zealand has joined 23 other countries calling out Israel and demanding a full supply of foreign aid be allowed into the territory.Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters says it’s “intolerable” that Israel has blocked any aid reaching residents for many weeks.The UN is warning that 14,000 babies were estimated to be suffering severe acute malnutrition in Gaza and ideally they needed to get supplies within 48 hours.The UK, France and Canada have expressed their frustration, with the UK’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy telling Parliament the war in Gaza has entered a “dark new phase” and the UK was cancelling trade…

By Farah Hancock and Mary Argue of RNZ  Animal advocates are calling for a halt to future government funding of octopus aquaculture research, saying farming the wild, solitary creatures is an “atrocious idea”. In 2022, $1 million in taxpayer dollars was awarded to a three-year research project by the University of Auckland aimed at improving knowledge surrounding the rearing and feeding of the larvae of a native octopus species. Raising octopus larvae in captivity was described as a “bottleneck” to the viability of commercial aquaculture in the university’s proposal to secure the funding. Animals Aotearoa’s Jennifer Dutton said farming octopus…

A man who was a facilitator on a website which hosted “unspeakable” computer-generated child sexual abuse images has been jailed. Warning: Some may find details in this story upsetting. Helplines are provided with the article.Donald James Sarratt, 35, was sentenced to five-and-a-half years’ imprisonment after being found guilty of possessing objectionable material relating to children and knowingly making and/or copying objectionable material relating to the sexual exploitation of children.A forensic examination of his electronic devices also uncovered child sexual abuse images of real children.He was identified in the wake of Operation Dark Orchid, which began in 2022 following a referral…

A real estate agent has been busy fielding inquiries about Lewis Cottage over the past two weeks, almost as busy as life in the two-room dwelling with a family of 17. Tall Poppy Real Estate owner Andrew Berryman said the property was on the market for just two weeks, during which time it received nine offers before deadline. “This has been my busiest-ever listing in nearly 10 years of real estate. “Over 120 Tall Poppy digital leads have been received, there were 38 email inquiries from other websites, there were 15,070 unique website views and 26 groups viewed the property.”…

Finance Minister Nicola Willis will deliver her second Budget tomorrow, but hundreds of millions in spending initiatives have already been earmarked.Ministers have been busy revealing parts of their plans in the lead-up to May 22, giving Kiwis a preview of where priorities lie for the coming year and beyond.These pre-Budget announcements reach across education, health and other programmes that the Government want showcased before the big day itself. The announcements to date don’t cover the potential cuts that may be required or other potentially larger initiatives that may still be revealed tomorrow. Follow live coverage of the Budget on 1News.co.nz…

An apprentice who is keen to learn and “actually listens” has been named New Zealand’s best young panelbeater. On Sunday, Lachlan Chatfield won the coveted Golden Hammer Award in Wellington. He was named New Zealand’s top panelbeating apprentice at the 2025 Collision Repair Association’s Apprentice of the Year Awards. Now fully qualified, Mr Chatfield, who is employed fulltime at Harrow Motor Body Works, said the win was “unexpected”. “I feel good, I didn’t see it coming at all … it was a shock when I found out.” As part of the award, Mr Chatfield flew to Auckland last year with…

George Wendt, an actor with an everyman charm who played the affable, beer-loving barfly Norm on the hit 1980s TV comedy Cheers and later crafted a stage career that took him to Broadway in Art, Hairspray and Elf, has died. He was 76.Wendt’s family said he died early Tuesday morning, peacefully in his sleep while at home, according to the publicity firm The Agency Group.”George was a doting family man, a well-loved friend and confidant to all of those lucky enough to have known him,” the family said in a statement. “He will be missed forever.” The family has requested…

Some Christchurch City Council staff are being forced out of their office for around three weeks after a council engineer raised concerns about the seismic performance of part of the building.The six-storey annex, which connects to the north facade of Te Hononga Civic Offices on Worchester Blvd, was built in 2009.Engineers had advised the council it may be required to bring the annex to a “higher standard”.A detailed engineering assessment was underway and expected to be completed in three weeks.Christchurch City Council chief executive Mary Richardson said it was taking a “precautionary approach” and that safety was paramount.”As a result,…