Author: Press Room

Three-quarters of Dunedin businesses are optimistic about the future, but there is “still a lot of work to do” before the results start to show, a business leader says. According to Business South’s latest quarterly survey, for the final quarter of last year, southern business confidence has continued to improve, coupled with a fall in interest rates and anticipated improvements in individual financial performance. The survey compiled the responses from 244 organisations across Otago and Southland, and 75% of businesses in Dunedin said they were expecting a stronger financial performance over the coming year. A total of 52% of businesses…

New Zealand could be under as much as 20% more rainfall in some places by the end of the century as atmospheric rivers become more intense and frequent, according to new research.The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research study – led by NIWA research assistant Felix Goddard – examined projections for the frequency and intensity of atmospheric rivers under a relatively high greenhouse gas emissions future.The one scenario investigated found the narrow bands of concentrated water vapour could increase and the “rivers in the sky” were likely provide a much greater proportion of the country’s total annual rainfall.The findings…

Ursula von der Leyen already unveiled a ReArm Europe proposal earlier this month she said could see up to €800 billion poured into the defence sector over the next four years. ADVERTISEMENTUrsula von der Leyen on Tuesday announced that the bloc’s plan to boost its defence will include a joint Task Force with Ukraine to coordinate military support to the war-torn country and a European Military Sales Mechanism aimed at strengthening the European defence industrial base.The European Commission chief said the two new instruments will be part of the highly-anticipated White Paper for Defence that will be released on Wednesday…

Brenworth’s new chairman Rob Hewett says a fresh approach is needed to drive the carpet company’s growth and earnings. Yesterday, the company announced Mr Hewett, Julie Bohnenn, Murray Dyer and Trevor Burt had been appointed independent directors with immediate effect. Incumbent directors Paul Izzard, Katherine Turner and Dianne Williams were stepping down while previous chairman George Adams and John Rae were staying on the board. Earlier this month, a group of disgruntled shareholders called for a special meeting to consider proposed director changes, citing “years of poor operational performance, erratic strategic direction and substandard execution under the stewardship of Bremworth’s…

Police have named a man found dead near Queenstown earlier this month and revealed they now believe he fell from a cliff prior to being hit by a vehicle on State Highway 6.Emergency services were called to the scene near Kawarau Bridge Historic Reserve on State Highway 6 at around 10pm on March 3.”Sadly, the man was located deceased at the scene,” a police spokesperson said.He was today named by police as 22-year-old Ryoma Seki from Japan.”Police extend our condolences to his family and are providing them with support during this difficult time,” a spokesperson said.Although police inquiries determined he…

Crunch time is looming for people who borrowed money through the small business cash-flow loan scheme, launched during the pandemic. The loans were made available in May 2020 for small businesses affected by Covid-19. Businesses were offered up to $20,000 plus $1800 per fulltime employee. More than 129,000 businesses took out loans worth $2.4 billion. The average loan amount was $17,000. Borrowers had five years to repay the loan and many would reach that limit from June, Inland Revenue said. There were no repayments due for the first two years, and after that there was interest of 3% charged. From…

A man found critically injured on a roadside in Wellington’s Miramar in the early hours of Monday morning has died in hospital.Police are still investigating whether the now-fatal incident was linked to an earlier home invasion nearby.An unexplained death investigation has now been launched by police.The man was found on a footpath a short distance from his vehicle at the intersection of Camperdown Rd and Totara Rd around 2.20am yesterday.It was the second serious incident in the area on Monday morning after a home invasion on a neighbouring street just 20 minutes earlier.Residents at a Darlington Rd address called police…

Whangārei District Council’s only hope of stalling the start-up of fluoridating its drinking water supply tomorrow has been dashed.The council took its fight against a fluoridation directive to the High Court in Wellington today.Justice Karen Grau reserved her decision on granting interim relief to Whangārei District Council.The Whangārei District Council needs to start the process to fluoridate its water by 9am tomorrow in order to set up the specialised infrastructure in time to meet the Government’s March 28 deadline.Justice Grau told the court she had more reading to do on the matter but that she would release her decision before…

Female representation is making progress in European parliaments as well as governments. ADVERTISEMENTThe share of women with seats in national governments and parliaments is growing across the European continent.In 2024, women held around 35% of national government posts, a 7.4% increase over the past decade, according to the latest Eurostat data.Finland and Lichtenstein take the lead with a 60% share each, followed by Belgium and the UK with 51%.Hungary is at the bottom, with no women in government positions.In 2022, however, the country elected its first female president – Katalin Novák. She held the post until her resignation, in 2024,…

Dozens of jobs are on the line at the Department of Internal Affairs, as it continues cost-cutting measures that began last year.The department on Tuesday proposed getting rid of 180 positions and creating 116 new ones, reducing its headcount by 64.Separately, 69 fixed term contracts which were due to end in September would not be renewed. A DIA spokesperson said that was always going to happen, and it was not because of the restructure.Internal affairs secretary Paul James said the department had been in the process of change for some time in an effort to improve efficiency and cut costs…