Author: Press Room

Spring may be here, but winter is making a brief reappearance with drivers in the South Island warned not to get caught out by snow tonight and tomorrow.A cold front sweeping up from the south was forecast to bring sleety showers, snow and a “noticeable wind chill” to Te Waipounamu, MetService said.”These areas in the south may see snow down to 300 metres but likely falling even lower in Southland, the forecaster said.New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) urged motorists to take extra care and warned snow and ice could catch some drivers off-guard after a stretch of warmer…

ADVERTISEMENT Modern EU equality policies must also address the challenges faced by men and boys, particularly to counter polarisation and backlash against gender equality, Magnus Heunicke, Danish minister of Gender Equality, told Euronews.   “We must include men and boys in our gender equality efforts, not just as allies for women and girls’ rights and empowerment, but in their own right,” Heunicke said, adding that the bloc should increase efforts in areas where men and boys are overrepresented or face gender-specific difficulties, such as health, loneliness, or social exclusion.  The perception among some men that women’s rights threaten their own is…

Workers at Carter Holt Harvey’s Tokoroa plywood plant have been told that 119 jobs will be lost. The company delivered the news to workers this afternoon. The plant was expected to shut down in November. A union delegate confirmed the news to RNZ. He said a handful of workers would keep their jobs to process imported timber. The future of the factory has been up in the air for the last two weeks after the owners began consultations on closing the plant. Owner of Morrissey’s clothing store Larry Sullivan said most of the plywood factory workforce were locals. It was a hard…

An increasing number of electric motorbike riders are using council-owned parks and reserves for riding.A spokesperson for the Hastings District Council said E-motorbikes are heavy, fast, and almost silent.“This makes them a serious risk to parks, reserves, and reserve users,” the council spokesperson said.“An increasing prevalence of electric and other motorbikes has been seen across Hastings, Flaxmere and Havelock North by the community, Council staff and Police over the past few months.“In the past two weeks, one official complaint has been made to the Council about E-motorbikes in Tainui Reserve from a member of the public.”A police spokesperson said a…

Invercargill’s oldest carved meeting house is being returned to its former glory.Invercargill City Council said the decorative wooden carvings at the 100-year-old Te Wharepuni o Anehana in Anderson Park would be removed and restored.Council parks and recreation manager Caroline Rain said the project would also repair structural damage to the building.The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including a big bank’s prediction for interest rates coming down, Trump’s warning over a Gaza peace plan, and the Wallabies get reinforcements for the weekend’s All Blacks clash. (Source: 1News)”With the carvings safely removed, we can get stuck into re-piling the building and repairing…

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s attempts to get bipartisan support for offshore exploration for natural gas has been written off an an “ham-fisted political stunt” by Labour leader Chris Hipkins.  Luxon on Monday wrote to Hipkins, asking him to commit to supporting offshore exploration for natural gas for at least the next 10 years. Speaking to media this afternoon, Hipkins said if the letter was a serious attempt to get bipartisan agreement on energy policy, “it really hasn’t come out that way”. Labour was “certainly open to having conversations with the government”, but he said his party had been clear about…

Labour leader Chris Hipkins says he doesn’t believe a letter from Christopher Luxon asking him to commit to supporting offshore exploration for natural gas for at least 10 years is a genuine attempt at building bipartisan consensus.Prime Minister Christopher Luxon wrote to Labour leader Chris Hipkins asking him to commit to supporting offshore exploration for natural gas for at least the next 10 years.Hipkins told Morning Report it was a “desperate attempt” by Luxon to preemptively blame the previous government if oil and gas companies don’t see the prospect of finding more gas in New Zealand attractive.However, he is waiting…

The Rakaia Salmon sculpture is in need of an estimated $300,000 refurbishment.On Wednesday, Ashburton District councillors will be asked to sign off on the expense, with funding being pulled from the Reserve Contributions pot to cover the unbudgeted project.The work was first signalled to the council in June last year when a structural and maintenance assessment revealed that the 12-metre-high statue required extensive repairs.The project was put out for tender, and only one proposal was received: Phil Price Sculptures Ltd, the original creator of the famous fish.The submitted price of $215,000 was based on completing the refurbishment on site; however,…

Actress Nicole Kidman and country singer Keith Urban have reportedly separated after nearly 20 years of marriage. According to TMZ, “multiple sources” had told the outlet the couple had been living separately for several months. Sources also told Page Six that Kidman “did not want the separation and was trying to save things”.“[Kidman is] holding the family together through this difficult time since Keith has been gone,” another source said.TMZ said it was told Kidman had been looking after their two children, while Urban, who was born in Whangārei, was in his own residence in Nashville after leaving the family…

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including Christopher Luxon defending the decision not to recognise Palestine, a Silver Ferns star has spoken out about the team’s coaching drama, and 2025’s Bird of the Year is named. The Prime Minister is defending New Zealand’s stance on Palestine, after our government did not follow the lead of international partners in recognising it as a state. Russia haslaunched one of its biggest attacks on Ukraine, with hundreds of drones and missiles. A shooting at a Mormon church in Michigan has killed at least two people. Star Silver Ferns shooter Grace Nweke has addressed…