Author: Press Room

All southbound lanes have re-opened on Auckland’s Southern Motorway after an earlier closure during rush hour due to a police incident.Emergency services were earlier responding to an incident near the Penrose Rd overbridge at about 4.35pm.”While the lanes have reopened, there is still significant traffic build-up following the earlier closure,” a police spokesperson said. “Motorists are asked to delay travel or take alternative routes where possible.”NZTA said in a statement that State Highway 1 was closed between Ellerslie Panmure Highway and the South Eastern Highway.”Consider using SH16 and SH20 as an alternative route.”Traffic was backed up around 6km to the…

The partner of Yanfei Bao has given evidence at the second day of the High Court trial for the man accused of her murder.Paul Gooch told the court his partner of five years was still asleep when he headed to work on July 19, 2023, the day the Crown says she was killed.”I kissed her on the forehead before I left,” he said.He hadn’t known her plans for the day, but the real estate agent, who was working for Harcourts Grenadier, told him she was excited.”She was hopeful that she was meeting a client … in relation to a sale.”The…

Invercargill Mayor Nobby Clark says he will no longer “contribute” to some media outlets on the back of stories about his costly behaviour.On Friday, Local Democracy Reporting released figures on the cost of code of conduct complaints at Invercargill City Council for the past five years.It showed that of the five complaints recorded for that time, the three most-expensive belonged to Clark, with two of those coming in 2024.Clark said the story left him “no option” regarding his contributions to the Otago Daily Times, Southland Express and Stuff.“The lesson for me is that there are some media that care way…

A much-needed upgrade of a 21km arterial route in south Auckland has been included in the Government’s fast tracked list of developments.The Mill Rd project has been hanging about on various plans for some time, dropped in 2021 by the last government after costs more than doubled in a year.It has now been included in the government’s 149-project list of developments for fast-tracked resource consents.Manurewa-Papakura councillor Daniel Newman welcomed the move.He said the project was desperately needed, years late, and required a fast-track to “overcome the insufferable ideological opposition from politicians and lawyers who would otherwise kill the entire plan.”“I…

Southland will get its new museum with all the trimmings.On Tuesday, councillors voted to progress with the final design for Te Unua Museum of Southland — the most expensive option available amid a looming overspend.A public consultation was recently undertaken on whether the council should pare back the project or cough up the additional $13 million required to progress with the plan, which would push the final bill to $87 million.The public gave their preference for the more expensive option ahead of removing Green Star sustainability accreditation, delaying the car park, or reducing the digital to static ratio of the…

Baywatch actor Michael Newman has died at the age of 68.The screen star was best known for his role as lifeguard Mike “Newmie” Newman on the NBC action-drama series, for which he starred in 150 episodes between 1989 and 2000.He died from heart complications on Sunday, his friend Matt Felker confirmed to PEOPLE.Newman had a lengthy battle with Parkinson’s disease, which he was first diagnosed with in 2006.Felker said: “I got to see Mike the last time he was conscious and he looked [at] me and in typical Mike fashion said, ‘You’re just in time.'”Newman opened up about living with…

Northland has made it onto National Geographic’s list of the best travel destinations in the world to visit next year.The region was lauded as a great place to “spot rare wildlife” in the Best of the World 2025 list.”International travelers landing in Auckland usually head south, but the little-visited Northland region has fascinating wildlife and warm waters that offer excellent diving, especially in the Poor Knights marine reserve,” the article said.”Many fish species in the reserve, such as spotted black groper, mosaic moray, and Lord Howe coralfish, are found nowhere else in the country.”On land, normally elusive and threatened kiwis…

The coalition Government’s foreign policy represents the most significant shift in New Zealand’s stance in a generation, a leading news magazine suggests.The Economist noted a move away from China and towards the United States, calling it “New Zealand’s biggest pivot since the 1980s”. The magazine spoke to Prime Minister Christopher Luxon during his visit to South-East Asia earlier this month.It said he was looking to “diversify New Zealand’s diplomatic and trade relationships away from its reliance on China”, which it described as “mostly uncontroversial”.But it said Wellington was also looking for “closer alignment” with its Five Eyes partners, the United…

The country’s biggest lenders will begin answering questions at a select committee inquiry from today. 1News looks at the reasons for the parliamentary grilling.New Zealand’s banking sector has been under scrutiny for some time.A Commerce Commission study into personal banking services earlier this year found there was little competition within a sector dominated by the big four Australian-owned banks.It made 14 recommendations, including bringing in open banking and strengthening Kiwibank so it can offer “real competitive pressure” in the market. The Government said it would act on all of those recommendations.At the same time, the Government said it was opening…

Local residents fear the closure of a link road between Wellington’s Transmission Gully and Porirua will only add to their commute.Porirua City Council, Wellington Electricity, Wellington Water and Kāinga Ora would begin carrying out “critical infrastructure” service upgrades on the Waitangirua Link Road and the adjoining Whitby link road, Te Ara Kāpehu from 4 November.The link roads connected the suburbs of Waitangirua and Whitby with State Highway 1.The council said the road would be closed for up to five months, while work was done to improve electricity network resilience and increase drinking water services for the fast-growing eastern suburbs.Transmission Gully…