Author: Press Room

A planned central Dunedin development has shrunk by two storeys and its apartments will now be available to rent rather than buy. Otherplaces has been granted resource consent by the Dunedin City Council to construct a three-storey commercial and residential building at the corner of Filleul and Hanover Sts. The development, to be known as “Hanover Place”, is described on the company’s website as providing an “alternative to traditional student accommodation”. The ground floor would comprise three small commercial units as well as communal facilities for a total of 16 upstairs studio apartments, a report said. A kitchen, laundry, lounge,…

The local State of Emergency on Banks Peninsula has been lifted after monitoring of a slip in Akaroa showed no further significant land movement.Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger lifted the State of Emergency at 3pm today, saying monitoring equipment at a slip in Akaroa had revealed there had been “no further significant land movement”.”With that information, we’re now in a position to make a decision on the evacuation zone, begin work on the slip remediation options and lift the State of Emergency.”Emergency services were called to Lighthouse Rd on May 1 due to a large crack in the road, with four…

ADVERTISEMENTThree associations representing victims of the storm that caused hundreds of deaths in the province of Valencia last October travelled to Brussels, to meet representatives from European institutions.The victims of the so-called “Dana” had the opportunity to share their experiences and  the challenges they are still facing in four different meetings, with the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen, the vice-president Teresa Ribera, the European Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola and a cross-party group of MEPs.The associations were “Asociación Víctimas Mortales Dana 29-0”, “Associació de Víctimes de la Dana 29 d’Octubre de 2024” and “Asociación Damnificados de la Dana Horta…

New Zealand’s grid operator Transpower wants to replace the ageing power cables underneath the Cook Strait that carry electricity between the North and South islands in an investment worth up to $1.4 billion.The 350 kV high voltage direct current link stretches from Benmore Substation in Canterbury’s Waitaki Valley to Haywards Substation near Lower Hutt.They were predominantly overhead lines but include three submarine cables across the Cook Strait.Transpower chief executive James Kilty said the cables were “really important assets” for the country.”They’re coming to the end of their 40-year life and our proposal is to replace them and extend them for…

ADVERTISEMENTThe UK’s Court of Appeal has quashed the murder conviction of a man who has spent almost 38 years in prison after fresh DNA evidence emerged.Peter Sullivan was convicted of the murder of Diane Sindall in 1987 and sentenced to life in prison. He is believed to be the longest-serving living victim of a miscarriage of justice in the UK’s history. Sullivan has maintained his innocence throughout that time, his lawyer, Sarah Myatt said.Sindall, a 21-year-old florist who had been working part-time in a bar as she saved money for her wedding, was found dead on 2 August 1986 after leaving…

Families and loved ones of those resting in unmarked graves at a south Auckland cemetery want a memorial to be a place of peace, reflection and love — where all are welcome.The unmarked graves at Pukekohe Cemetery, many of them Māori babies, have long been a source of pain to many in the rural south Auckland community.The decision to build a memorial came in the wake of the publication of Dr Robert Bartholomew’s 2020 book No Māori Allowed, which detailed historic racism in Pukekohe, and the subsequent Reikura Kahi documentary of the same name on TVNZ+.In the documentary, it was…

ADVERTISEMENTThere were around 499,000 prisoners in the EU in 2023, according to the latest Eurostat data. This represents a 3.2% increase compared with the previous year.Authorities anticipate that prison numbers could increase by as much as 200% between 2023 and 2027 due to political shifts.   “The prison population has been growing in Europe, especially following the discontinuation of post-COVID measures,” said Idil Aydinoglu, regional programme manager at Penal Reform International.”Several factors can be traced back to inadequate or inconsistent policies or legislative practices that result in an increase in the number of people in prisons.” Between 1993 and 2023, the highest number…

At least two Auckland high schools are dealing with online bullying in the form of “confession pages,” where students share secrets — and other highly personal information — about themselves and others.As the government gears up to formally look into banning social media for under-16s in a bid to protect them, RNZ has seen comments online claiming that confession pages are happening at other high schools, and even intermediates.Tāmaki College and Tangaroa College both alerted school whanau that some students were posting hurtful messages about others on Instagram pages purporting to be linked to the school at the beginning of…

ADVERTISEMENTThree Belgium soldiers were injured on Monday during live fire training in Scotland, the Belgian Ministry of Defence has said. The incident happened in Tain in northeast Scotland, a part of the country where 600 Belgian troops are currently taking part in a large-scale exercise called Red Condor, which will last until 21 May. The injured troops received first aid on site, before being transferred to two local hospitals, according to the Belgian military. Two of them suffered serious injuries and were airlifted to hospital. As of Monday evening, they were both in a stable condition. “One of them will…

Renters in many parts of the country are in a prime position, as the number of rental listings they have to choose from reaches record levels.Renting a property is taking significantly longer than in recent years and average asking prices are dropping.Opes Partners economist Ed McKnight used data from Trade Me to determine that properties in South Taranaki are taking 35 days to rent, 23% longer than this time last year.In Stratford, the 33 days it is taking to find a tenant is up 50% year-on-year.Westland’s 29 days is 30% up and Auckland’s 22 days is 10% up. Wellington is…