Author: Press Room

For Ngamako Rota, hauora isn’t found in a clinic or a wellness app, it’s found in the whenua, the awa, the misty mornings, and the rhythm of her feet hitting the road at 5am. Looking out to Rangitoto and being five minutes from Auckland Viaduct. In this Re: News partnership with Department of Conservation (DOC), Ngamako Rota (Waikato) talks about finding the balance between being an urban Māori, while also being connected to her whenua back home. Through her mahi as a cultural liaison at Middlemore Hospital, her boxing training, waka ama, daily runs and her deep connection to Rāhui…

The sister of US country legend Dolly Parton is asking for prayers, two weeks after the singer postponed her Las Vegas residency, citing unspecified “health challenges”.The Jolene singer, 79, postponed her first Las Vegas residency in 32 years on September 30.”My doctors tell me that I must have a few procedures,” Parton said on social media. “As I joked with them, it must be time for my 100,000-mile check-up, although it’s not the usual trip to see my plastic surgeon!”The philanthropist said the decision was made to postpone the residency as she was “not going to be able to rehearse…

Police say they are treating a fire which killed two people and injured two others in Auckland’s Bucklands Beach as a double homicide after confirming it was “deliberately lit”. Emergency services were called to the Murvale Dr property at around 2.30am on October 2. Speaking in Auckland, Detective Inspector Counties Manukau Tofilau Faamanuia Va’aelua said the fire was “deliberately lit” and said the investigation was now being treated as a double homicide. Va’aelua said post-mortem examinations had been completed, and more detailed analysis from these were ongoing.He confirmed one victim as a 36-year-old father of two. “We have not as…

The Reserve Bank has opted for boldness over caution as it delivered a 50-basis-point cut to the official cash rate to 2.5%, and signalled further reductions. It said it considered a smaller cut, but was guided by the outlook, including stronger inflation pressures, and the risk that too small a cut would further hold back the economy. “A larger reduction in the OCR could mitigate this risk by providing a clear signal that supports consumption and investment,” a summary of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting said. The RBNZ said it debated the upside risks to inflation, currently at 2.7%, and…

The Reserve Bank has announced a new official cash rate (OCR), choosing a more aggressive rate-cutting option than some had forecasted. Follow 1News’ live updates for the latest.The announcement is the second-to-last before the end of the year, with economic experts expecting the central bank to be responding to indicators of inflation and lacklustre economic growth.

An activist detained and beaten for his 30-year involvement in political opposition in Uganda has become a refugee in New Zealand.The man believed his farm was set on fire because of his work against the ruling party and Yoweri Museveni who has been president since 1986.He told the immigration and protection tribunal he was offered money to support the government.The man was repeatedly questioned, detained and beaten by government officials because of his support of two opposition parties, and had two scars from the incidents.”He was detained in a police station and the officers attempted to extract information about who…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ A disgraced real estate agent has been jailed again – this time for misleading the Official Assignee. Aaron Drever had his real estate licence cancelled in 2016, when the Real Estate Authority said the “public needs to be protected from him”. He was bankrupted in 2019 with claims totalling $246,430.56 against him, jailed in 2022 for stealing from Avondale Bowling Club and Auckland Speedway and sentenced to 15 months in March this year.  His latest jail term is eight months.  In a statement, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said the latest offences were aggravated because…

OPINION: Blaming the state of the economy on Finance Minister Nicola Willis’ leadership ignores the bigger picture and the period of ‘stagflation’ New Zealand entered under Labour-led governements, writes economist Dennis WesselbaumFinance Minister Nicola Willis has called them the “merchants of misery”, but critics of her government’s economic performance doubled down when the June quarter GDP figures showed a contraction in many sectors.No government or finance minister can be expected to make flawless decisions, of course. But blaming the current state of the economy on Willis’ leadership ignores aspects of the bigger picture.Since the National-led coalition took office nearly two…

Graham Bell, the straight-talking veteran police officer who became a household name as the host of Police Ten 7, has died following a battle with cancer. He was 78.His family confirmed the news in a statement, who said he died peacefully surrounded by loved ones yesterday. Bell served 33 years in the New Zealand Police, rising to the rank of Detective Inspector and leading some of the country’s most high-profile criminal investigations. His work earned him the Queen’s Service Medal in 2001 for his contribution to policing and criminal investigations.But it was his second career as the face of Police…

A 29-year-old man has been charged after a window was smashed with a crowbar at Winston Peters’ Auckland home late yesterday afternoon.Police were called to a residential address in St Mary’s Bay after a report was received of an unknown person smashing a window at the property shortly before 6pm yesterday.Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters condemned the attack on X, saying that he wasn’t home at the time but his partner and a guest were present.Foreign Minister Winston Peters told Breakfast a note was put on his door that read “welcome to the real world”. (Source: Breakfast)Glass shattered “all over”…