Author: Press Room

Government ministers today announced more than half a billion dollars will go towards the Nelson Hospital redevelopment — but lingering questions remain about whether it will be enough beds for the growing region. Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Health Minister Simeon Brown today visited the hospital, looking at the Emergency Department expansion that’s underway and spoke to staff. In the Budget last week, a new inpatient building was announced, although the exact funding of that remained under wraps. “I can’t give you the precise figures because it is commercially sensitive and we want to make sure we get the best…

A plane passenger has described the “unnerving” sideways movement of a plane moments, before it aborted its landing at Wellington Airport on Monday.NZ417 successfully touched down shortly before midday, but a second flight bound for the capital was forced to land in Christchurch amid wind gusts of more than 100km/h.Saints basketball chief executive Jordan Mills said passengers were audibly shocked as the flight from Auckland on Monday morning abandoned its first approach into Wellington Airport.He said the flight was smooth sailing until the final 10 minutes when it got hit by turbulence.”It was definitely unusual. There was a lot of…

Police have found “no evidence” former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming acted inappropriately in relation to the vetting process for firearms licences.Last week RNZ asked police for comment on allegations that McSkimming had interfered with the vetting process for firearms licences.McSkimming strongly denied the allegation, and released a statement through his lawyer.”As the overall operational lead on firearms, at one time Mr McSkimming raised issues about how the vetting process was being applied. He took those concerns to the Executive Leadership Team and, following discussion at the ELT, the process was subsequently modified.”Today, Deputy Commissioner Tania Kura said the police…

Is it a worm, a maggot — or a not very hungry caterpillar?That’s the question being asked after a dead larva was found in a Government supplied school lunch at a high school in west Auckland this month. Labour’s deputy leader and the MP for Kelston, Carmel Sepuloni, said the presence of the immature insect raised serious concerns about food safety in the Government’s school lunch programme. “Well, I was shocked to receive photos of a maggot in one of the student’s food,” Sepuloni told 1News. “Now we see that maggots are on the menu for our children and it’s…

The Horowhenua community says it has been “blindsided” and left “absolutely gutted” after a planned expressway interchange in Levin was scaled back to a roundabout to cut costs.The Ōtaki to north of Levin highway was originally set to feature a four-lane highway with a major interchange to manage traffic in and out of Levin. That design has since been replaced with a roundabout, sparking anger and concern from local leaders and businesses.Horowhenua District Mayor Bernie Wanden said the downgrade had left people “very disappointed, and a little frustrated”.”We’ve been waiting over 10 years for this project to begin, I don’t…

An Invercargill councillor says the people who made changes to the Equal Pay Act have forgotten where they came from.Former New Zealand First MP Ria Bond made the comments after it was revealed she was one of 10 former female MPs joining the “People’s Select Committee on Pay Equity”.The unofficial committee went public today with its plan to take submissions and examine changes to the Act, which were passed under urgency earlier this month.The changes make it more difficult for those who believe they are being unfairly paid to make a claim.“[I] just feel really let down by this Government…

The BNZ has cut fixed and variable home loan rates ahead of the Reserve Bank’s decision on interest rates. The Reserve Bank is widely expected to make a 25-basis point cut to the official cash rate on Wednesday, dropping it to 3.25 percent. The BNZ said it was lowering its one- and two-year fixed home loan rates to 4.95 percent effective Tuesday. BNZ general manager home lending James Leydon said the bank was confident of a cut to the OCR. “By cutting our fixed rates across all terms, we’re giving customers more choice and the ability to lock in a competitive rate…

New Zealand’s ambitious goal of becoming predator free by 2050 may be under threat after a key state-owned pest eradication company was culled last week.The disestablishment of Predator Free 2050 Limited, announced on Budget Day, was expected to save $12.6 million in overheads over four years.The Department of Conservation would pick up the responsibilities, but some conservationists say that arrangement wouldn’t be able to handle the work.Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said closing the company would remove any duplication of work, make the programme more efficient and provide better value for money. The move has stunned those on the ground. Sarah…

First-home buyers accessing the Kāinga Ora-administered First Home Loan will pay a higher fee from July 1.The scheme allows borrowers to access loans with a deposit as small as 5%, if they earn less than $95,000 as an individual without dependents or $150,000 as a couple or single parent.These loans do not fall under the banks’ loan-to-value rules and borrowers can usually access bank special rates and do not have to pay the low-equity fees and margins that could otherwise apply.Previously, borrowers had to pay lenders mortgage insurance of 0.5% of the loan amount. But from July 1, that increases…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ First-home buyers accessing the Kainga Ora-administered First Home Loan will pay a higher fee from 1 July. The scheme allows borrowers to access loans with a deposit as small as 5 percent, if they earn less than $95,000 as an individual without dependents or $150,000 as a couple or single parent. These loans do not fall under the banks’ loan-to-value rules and borrowers can usually access bank special rates and do not have to pay the low-equity fees and margins that could otherwise apply. Previously, borrowers had to pay lenders mortgage insurance of 0.5 percent…