Author: Press Room

The owner of an ambulance stolen from outside Timaru Hospital early on Tuesday morning and taken for a joyride while a patient awaited transfer to Christchurch has described the incident as “gut wrenching”.Dashcam footage provided to 1News showed the stolen ambulance travelling through thick fog at speeds of up to 82km/h.Don Gutsell, who ran health and safety training provider ProMed, said the ambulance was left running to warm up while medical staff were preparing a patient to be transferred to Christchurch.”It was a really cold, foggy night, and we left the vehicle running to heat up the back of it.”Gutsell…

Chaser Mark Labbett almost met his match in the latest episode of The Chase, threatening to quit just minutes into the show in the face of extraordinary contestants.Julie, Aaron, Elaine and Michael went on a near perfect run early in the episode, leaving Labbett – nicknamed The Beast – on the ropes.Julie, 62, answered every question correctly in her head-to-head. That earned her £8,000 in her cash-builder, which she went for – despite a high offer of $40,000.Host Bradley Walsh, noting her performance, said: “I really think you could have gone with the £40,00. What a team we’ve got here.”Second…

Schools are welcoming the Government’s $100 million maths initiatives but some in the education sector are raising concerns about finding staff for the roll-out. The initiatives include $56 million for the equivalent of 143 full-time maths intervention teachers, $40 million for intermediate students who aren’t meeting curriculum expectations to receive tutoring and $4 million for a maths test for students at the end of Year 2 to determine if they need additional support.”It is a quality investment so long as… there are hard-to-staff areas and I just don’t know what what they’ll do to make this accessible,” Cambridge Middle School…

A Taranaki health service says vulnerable patients are about to lose dedicated help during complex, often frightening medical care because of a government funding cut.Local Democracy Reporting has found that from July there will be no more money to pay some 130 healthcare guides across the country.Called kaiāwhina, they give guidance and wraparound support to people facing difficult illness and injury.Ngāti Ruanui Healthcare says its sole kaiāwhina is key to ensuring comprehensive care for South Taranaki communities and GP practices.Ngāti Ruanui Healthcare is iwi-owned and run, but non-Māori make up almost half of its enrolled patients.Graham Young, Ngāti Ruanui Tahua…

New Zealand’s illicit drug market is increasingly being shaped by gang control and digital technology, with rising methamphetamine sales by gangs and a surge in purchasing via social media, according to a new nationwide survey released today.More than 10,000 people participated in the annual New Zealand Drug Trends Survey, which asks about drug use patterns, pricing, access to services, and perceptions of drug policy.A key finding was that one third (33%) of meth buyers purchased from a gang member or gang associate, much higher than for cannabis (13%), cocaine (6%), MDMA (5%) and LSD (3%).Rates of purchasing meth from a…

ADVERTISEMENTEuropean Council President António Costa visited Sarajevo on Tuesday as part of his Balkans tour. He was given a warm reception upon his arrival prior to his meetings with members of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.In a statement, the European Council chief announced that the EU “remains committed” to European future of the country. He also praised Željka Cvijanović, Denis Bećirović and Željko Komšić and Borjana Krišto – all members of the presidency – for their role in maintaining stability and security in the country and the region.Recently, tensions have been brewing domestically over the leader of Republika Srpska…

Nearly a quarter of the money spent on National’s flagship FamilyBoost policy has gone towards running the scheme, instead of helping families.Of the $62 million spent so far, just $48m has been paid out to parents, while $14m has gone towards administration costs.Claims began being accepted by Inland Revenue (IRD) for the early childhood education rebate in October last year.Families can claim 25% of their weekly cost of childcare, up to a maximum of $75. Payments for those earning between $140,000 and $180,000 are gradually reduced and those earning more than $180,000 are not eligible.When National first announced its FamilyBoost…

Central Otago District Council is considering cutting some historic halls and facilities from its books to keep costs down as the price to maintain and earthquake strengthen them continues to climb.But residents say they are shocked to potentially lose “the glue that keeps the community together”.It is estimated that the more than 20 historic buildings would cost around $15 million to run in the next nine years, most of which related to earthquake strengthening.In its long-term plan for 2025-2034, it proposed divesting some of the buildings, including old police and railway stations, and cottages. This could mean selling a building…

The Government has pledged $140 million to improve school attendance as part of this year’s budget. Associate Education Minister David Seymour announced the package this morning and said it aimed to improve attendance over the next four years. Seymour said around $123 million would go towards delivering a new attendance service. The remaining $17 million would be used to “support and strengthen” frontline attendance services. The new service would begin at the end of this year and will become fully operational in early 2026. The level of service would depend on the needs of the school. “It will range from…

French movie star Gérard Depardieu was convicted Wednesday of sexually assaulting two women on a set and received an 18-month suspended prison sentence in a case that was widely seen as a post-#MeToo test for the country’s film industry.The 76-year-old Depardieu, one of the most prominent figures in French cinema for decades, must also pay both accusers a total of €29,040 (NZ$54,679) in fines, and the court ordered that his name be listed in the national sex offender database.The actor was convicted of groping a 54-year-old woman responsible for decorating the set and a 34-year-old assistant during the filming of…