Author: Press Room

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…

Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick is adamant her party’s alternative Budget is “realistic” as she’s pressed over the details of the Greens’ sweeping proposals to overhaul the tax system and Government spending plans. Released on Wednesday, the “Green Budget” proposes big changes, including extending free GP visits, dental care, childcare, introducing an income guarantee, among other new programmes — funded by $88 billion in new taxes and tens of billions in additional debt.Most workers would receive a tax cut under the party’s suggested changes, but there would also be significant additional wealth and inheritance taxes. Speaking to Q+A this morning,…

Wānaka search and rescue teams are responding to more avoidable accidents as unprepared people venture deeper into the back country, lured partly by the influence of social media and websites.Volunteers said they had observed more people “lost and out of their depth” in 22 rescue operations between October and March, including nine alpine cliff rescues, three swiftwater or canyon rescues and three sub-alpine or bush rescues.Alpine cliff rescue team leader Davie Robinson said the type of call-outs had changed in his 25 years with Wānaka Search and Rescue.”We’re definitely seeing more and more accidents that generally shouldn’t be happening,” he…

Two customers have been turned away from VTNZ because inspectors deemed their cars too dirty, with dog hair.VTNZ reserves the right to reject a vehicle if it is not in a clean and tidy state, it is contaminated or it is impossible to access and properly inspect critical safety components.Lynn was going for a warrant of fitness, but the fallout from her dog was apparently too much for the inspector at the Kingsland testing station.She said the only items in her car were dog hair and bits of paper, as well as a little bag over the gear stick for…