Author: Press Room

Tonight’s Good Sort Trevor Goodin runs a health shuttle between Oamaru and Dunedin — but his business model is less about money and more about compassion.He started after a desperate call from Janice, who had already missed an urgent oncology appointment. The old transport service had stopped suddenly, and Trevor stepped in. That was two years ago and he’s been driving ever since.His passengers pay what they can. Some give nothing , and sponsors help, but Goodin says he’s about $40,000 out of pocket.”I bought the shuttle myself. If someone’s loved one died because they couldn’t get to an appointment,…

Police have arrested and charged a man after fires were set at six churches and a business in Masterton earlier this year.Emergency services responded to a series of suspicious fires on February 22 believed to have been started between 4.25am and 4.35am.The Anglican Church of the Epiphany, St Patrick’s Catholic Church, Masterton Baptist Church, and Equippers Church Masterton all suffered damage ranging from “moderate to significant”.Crews responded from across the Wairarapa region and from as far away as Avalon Station in Lower Hutt.Police said officers had carried out checks at other churches in the town on Saturday morning — and…

The Government has announced $164 million in Budget 2025 to expand urgent and after-hours healthcare services across the country over the next four years, aiming to improve access and reduce pressure on hospitals.New 24-hour urgent care services would be established in Auckland’s Counties Manukau and Dunedin by the end of 2025, Tauranga in 2026, and Whangārei and Palmerston North in 2027.New and extended daytime urgent care services were expected to roll out in Lower Hutt in 2025, Invercargill and Timaru in 2026.Trials of rural and remote services were planned to take place in Twizel, Tākaka, Tūrangi, Te Kūiti, Coromandel and…

Two people have died following separate single-vehicle crashes in the Hawke’s Bay region overnight.Emergency services were first called to Kopu Rd in Wairoa at around 1.05am on Sunday.”One person died at the scene,” a police spokesperson said.At around 4.05am, a second single-vehicle crash was reported on Racecourse Rd in Waipawa.One person also died at this scene, police said.The serious crash unit had examined both sites and inquiries into the circumstances of the crashes were ongoing.

Opened with great fanfare 18 months ago, Queenstown’s Wahlburgers – part of a burger chain created by Hollywood A-lister Mark Wahlberg – has quietly shut up shop. The restaurant, advertised for lease, was on the ground floor of the Upper Village entertainment precinct, below the Skyline gondola, which originally opened for business in late 2021. Boasting itself as North America’s fastest-growing burger chain, the Queenstown franchise was its 112th store and the second in New Zealand after Auckland premises opened eight months earlier. At the time, Wahlberg stated: “The opening of our store in the adventure capital of the world…

Stars in glamorous gowns often peacock on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet, but one attendee Saturday night literally came as a bird.Ahead of the the premiere of Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love, with Robert Pattinson and Jennifer Lawrence, a man came fully dressed as bird, complete with a beak and feathers.The costume had a purpose. It was a tie-in with the documentary I Love Peru, which is playing in the Cannes Classics section. The costume was specifically a condor, which in Peru has been seen as a creature connecting heaven and earth.A person dressed in a bird costume, centre,…

The head of the Government’s Social Investment Agency says he can’t rule out commissioning for-profit social service providers in future, but that it isn’t the focus.Andrew Coster, the former police commissioner turned Social Investment Agency (SIA) chief executive, spoke to Q+A shortly after the Government announced an additional $279 million over the next four years for its social investment strategy.The package, with more details expected in this week’s Budget, included $190 million for a fund that will invest in at least 20 social service initiatives over the next year. It’s anticipated the SIA would oversee the fund’s establishment and use…

A new members’ bill from MP Suze Redmayne will help service tenants, like farm workers and Defence Force employees, to use their KiwiSaver to buy a first home.Speaking to Q+A, the National Party and Rangitīkei MP said she wants to help farmers – “the backbone of New Zealand” – to buy their first farm.Redmayne said she was inspired to push the legislation after a stock manager working on her Tunnel Hill farm couldn’t use his KiwiSaver to buy his first house.“But the current regulations meant that he couldn’t because he wasn’t able to live in it for six months because…

Classically trained Austrian singer JJ won the 69th Eurovision Song Contest with Wasted Love, a song that combines operatic, multi-octave vocals with a techno twist.Israel’s Yuval Raphael came second at an exuberant celebration of music and unity that was shadowed by the Gaza war and ruffled by discord over Israel’s participation.JJ, whose full name is Johannes Pietsch, was Austria’s first winner since bearded drag queen Conchita Wurst in 2014. JJ, who sings as a countertenor with the Vienna State Opera, has called Wurst a mentor. It was Austria’s third victory overall in Eurovision.”This is beyond my wildest dreams. It’s crazy,”…

Severe weather is expected to lash the North Island today, with possible thunderstorms, gales of up to 120km/h in parts and heavy rain forecast to affect several regions.Parts of the North Island may experience short periods of heavy rain and strong northwest winds this afternoon, according to MetService.Northland, Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island were put under a yellow severe thunderstorm watch this morning, with a moderate risk of thunderstorms and localised downpours from 5pm on Sunday until 5am Monday.”Thunderstorms are expected to enhance local rainfall rates (up to 25 mm per hour) and localised downpours will generate…