Author: Press Room

The body of a man who went missing after his car crashed in the Whanganui River has been found by police. Twenty-year-old Kahukura Dilpreet Wati Woods Gill, also known as Kahu, was reported missing by his family on July 1. He was last seen on June 27, and a car matching the description of one owned by Kahu was found in the river on July 2. Police recovered his body from the river near Cobham Bridge on Monday, July 14.  “Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time,” police said. His death would be referred to the coroner.  

Slash and sediment polluted an important stream in Waihī for over a year and despite six inspections, and two abatement notices, a logging company refused to change its behaviour and continued to cause environmental damage.Forestry company Seaview Logging Limited and company director, Graeme Howard Savill, who carried out the harvest, were convicted and sentenced by Environment and District Court Judge Lauren Semple in the Huntly District Court in April on five charges of breaching National Environmental Standards for Commercial Forestry and fined $112,500.After the conviction, the defendants appealed the sentence to the High Court. However, this week that appeal has…

The defence has chosen not to call any witnesses, nor will Julia DeLuney give evidence, in the trial in which she is accused of murdering her 79-year-old mother, Helen Gregory.DeLuney denies the charge and faces a jury in the High Court in Wellington, with the trial nearing the end of its fourth week.Cross-examination of the Crown’s final witness, Detective Senior Sergeant Tim Leitch, who led the police investigation, wrapped up earlier this afternoon.Defence lawyer Quentin Duff then told Justice Peter Churchman that the defence would not call any witnesses, nor would DeLuney give evidence herself.The court has also not heard…

ADVERTISEMENTThe European Parliament’s members are deeply unsatisfied with the proposal for a seven-year budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) put forward by the European Commission on Wednesday and have threatened at the outset not to enter into negotiations on the paper.The level of information provided by Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin in a briefing to MEPs from the Parliament’s Committee on Budgets (BUDG) on Wednesday was deemed unsatisfactory by most. “Commission President’s Ursula von der Leyen is giving a press conference and she is giving to the press more information than you to us,” lamented Belgian MEP Johan Van Overtveldt, the committee’s chair.Some…

A man is under police guard in hospital after he allegedly assaulted a man, stole his car, drove the wrong way onto the Auckland motorway network with deflated tyres and caused several minor collisions.Police began investigating on Tuesday afternoon after a man at a Māngere address was assaulted by a man who then stole his vehicle at about 2pm.Inspector Dave Christofferson said police received additional information later that evening that the vehicle was in Papakura and that a firearm might be in the vehicle.Police then saw the vehicle on Mahia Rd in Manurewa and sent the police Eagle helicopter to…

The Government will stop building open-plan classrooms, the Minister of Education announced today. In a statement, Education Minister Erica Stanford said she had received “overwhelming feedback” from schools that the classrooms were not meeting the needs of students. “While open-plan designs were originally intended to foster collaboration, they have often created challenges for schools, particularly around noise and managing student behaviour.”Modern Learning Environments (MLEs), which utilise flexible layouts, fewer walls, and at times have multiple classes and teachers, were introduced by the Ministry of Education in 2011 under John Key’s National Government. They were designed to promote collaboration and flexibility.…

The Commerce Commission has moved to lower interchange fees paid by businesses to accept Visa and Mastercard payments. The regulator has issued a final decision, saying the cost was too high, and their decision would save businesses around $90 million a year. It said the average business would save around $500 each year in lower fees, but individual businesses could save more or less, depending on the mix of transactions they accept. The commission put the overall cost of interchange fees at about $1 billion for businesses, which were often passed on to customers through surcharges and higher product costs.…

The Government is putting the brakes on “pricey, pointless” council planning work ahead of its major shake-up of resource management laws.Speaking in Christchurch, RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop described the move as a “kind intervention” designed to relieve pressure on councils’ resources.He said many councils were still spending time and money reviewing plans under the existing Resource Management Act (RMA) – even though the entire regime would be replaced by 2027.”There is little point in progressing long and costly hearings on a plan change that will be incompatible with the new planning system, or probably won’t even be complete by…

A patched Barbarian Stormtrooper gang member has been charged after allegedly speeding on the wrong side of the road near Kawakawa – narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with a police car.Two police patrol cars were travelling along Ruapekapeka Rd just after 3pm yesterday when “out of nowhere a small hatchback appeared and was allegedly travelling at speed, on the wrong side of the road, and narrowly avoided hitting one of the units”, Senior Sergeant Mark Barratt said. “Staff quickly radioed in the job.”The patrol cars turned around and caught up with the hatchback. “A traffic stop was carried out and…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ  The price of a block of butter is now 120% higher than it was 10 years ago, and increases in dairy prices in general helped pull up food prices in June, according to Stats NZ. Food prices lifted 4.6% in the 12 months to June 2025, official figures show.  Stats NZ spokesperson Nicola Growden said dairy prices were a continued driver of the increase. Milk was up 14.3% for the year to $4.57 for two litres, butter was up 46.5% to $8.60 for a 500g block, and cheese was up 30% to $13.04 for a 1kg block.…