Author: Press Room

Ōtāhuhu College students sang uplifting waiata, mingling their voices with mana whenua gathered in Te Taahuhu as the community celebrated the gifting of 21 te reo Māori names for sites around the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board area.The Māngere Ōtāhuhu Local Board, alongside mana whenua from Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua, Ngāti Tamaoho, and Te Ākitai Waiohua were present for the blessing, and local board chair Tauanu’u Nick Bakulich says the Māori names and narratives enrich and honour the area’s cultural heritage.“The whakarewatanga ceremony was a powerful and moving event led by mana whenua,” he says.“This initiative not only celebrates our Māori community…

Three months after a bid of liquidation failed, Dunedin’s last remaining chocolatiers are here to stay. Tim Scott hands in his golden ticket and takes a behind-the-scenes look inside the Ocho craft chocolate factory. Kyle Milner is no Willy Wonka. The brown top hat has been traded for a black hair net, and there is not an Oompa Loompa to be seen. But as he leads me through the doors to the Roberts St chocolate factory and a luscious aroma of cocoa fills my nostrils, he might as well be. “I don’t smell the chocolate any more,” he says. The chocolate-maker and head of production at Dunedin craft…

Hundreds of workers at a Timaru meat processing plant will soon lose their jobs after its owners today confirmed its closure. In a statement today Alliance Group said it would close after it stopped processing venison on the day shift at the end of December. The decision follows a two-week consultation period with staff and unions. The plant had already stopped sheep meat, calves and night shift venison seasonal processing in late September. Alliance said the “vast majority” of its 600 employees at Smithfield would be made redundant. There would be an opportunity for some staff to redeploy at Alliance’s…

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated her criticism of Israel for attacking United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. ADVERTISEMENTItalian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denounced the recent attacks on UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, telling reporters in Beirut on Friday that targeting the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is “unacceptable”.“I ask once again that all parties strive to ensure the safety of each of these soldiers is guaranteed,” she said at a joint press conference with her Lebanese counterpart Najib Mikati. Italian peacekeepers play a significant part in the 10,500-soldier strong UN force in southern Lebanon, which, among other mandates,…

A new director manning the helm of Ocho says there is a sweet future ahead for the troubled Dunedin craft chocolate company. The company was saved from voluntary liquidation this year when a vote to do so fell less than 5% short of the threshold required for it to succeed. The result was seen as a vote of no confidence by the company’s previous board, who resigned from their positions and triggered the election of a new board. Ocho director Isabelle Prosser — who was elected to the board alongside former directors Jim O’Malley and Scott Muir in July —…

The aviation industry is calling for Government intervention after new research found New Zealand is facing a dire pilot shortage.  Research from the Aviation Industry Association and the Ringa Hora Services Workforce Development Council found that, on average, New Zealand needed 100 new pilots per year to meet demand. It also found the gap was anticipated to grow should tertiary policy not be changed. Speaking to Breakfast this morning, Auckland Pilot Training Group South chief executive Irene King said New Zealand’s pilot education policy needed an overhaul. She believed the problem dated back to 2013 when the Government capped the…

An Australian mining company hunting for gold in Otago says another “highly valuable” mineral has made the project even more attractive. ASX-listed mining company New Age Exploration announced in a statement this week it had identified nine “high-priority” drilling targets within its Lammerlaw permit, west of Dunedin. Planned drilling would target gold, arsenic, antimony and tungsten anomalies which had been identified through soil geochemistry and historic workings, offering the potential for “high-value mineral discoveries”. Previous mining in the area had produced about 150 tonnes of high-grade stibnite — the chief ore of antimony — which contained more than 50% antimony…

Police are treating the death of a man whose body was found at a park in Levin as suspicious.Police were notified around 5.40pm yesterday after the man’s body was found in a building at Muaūpoko Park, near Lake Horowhenua.”At this early stage of our enquiries, the man’s death is being treated as suspicious, pending the results of a post mortem which will take place in the coming days,” said Detective Inspector Craig Sheridan, central district criminal investigations manager.A scene guard was in place and residents could expect to see a police presence in the area.

Latvia is ramping up its defence measures in response to a potential Russian invasion, with security taking centre stage at this year’s Riga Conference. ADVERTISEMENTNearly 1,000 days after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Latvia remains on high alert. The Baltic nation, home to nearly two million people, shares a 300-kilometre border with Russia, making security and self-defence the country’s top priority.The concerns are also at the forefront of this year’s Riga Conference which focuses on on foreign policy and security. Jānis Karlsbergs, chairman of the defence-focused NGO Latvian Transatlantic Organisation, said outside the annual forum that “Russia is trying to…

Agencies in Timaru have swung into gear to support the hundreds of workers who have lost their jobs as Alliance Group confirmed the closure of its Smithfield meat processing plant later this year. Staff were told of the final decision yesterday morning, following a consultation period. Chief executive Willie Wiese said the decision was made “with a heavy heart”. While the 600 affected staff would be offered the opportunity to apply for redeployment at Alliance’s other processing plants wherever possible, the decision meant the “vast majority” of employees would be made redundant. “Our thoughts are with our people and their…