Author: Press Room

A section of State Highway 29 over the Kaimai Ranges which was closed due to an earlier crash has been reopened.New Zealand Transport Agency said the major route connecting the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions was closed in both directions this morning between State Highway 28 (SH28) and Hanga Road, north of the Kaimai lookout.In an update shortly after 9am, police said the road had reopened. Police thanked motorists for their patience.Earlier, St John said it sent one rapid response vehicle and two ambulances to the scene shortly before 7am. “One patient, in a serious condition, was transported to…

The vast number of sheep in New Zealand relative to the country’s human population has long been the subject of jokes aimed at New Zealanders abroad. It’s true: The country is one of a handful in the world that’s still home to more sheep than people.But humans are catching up, according to new figures released Wednesday. With a population of 23.6 million sheep and 5.3 million people, there are about 4.5 sheep for each New Zealander, government statistics agency data showed.That’s down from 22 sheep per person in 1982, when farming sheep for meat and wool was New Zealand’s biggest…

Search teams will continue to look for a missing tramper in Milford Sound today.The missing tramper has been named online as Eli Sweeting, 25, who failed to return after a planned day trip to climb Mitre Peak on Sunday. The alarm was raised promptly, and a search and rescue operation began immediately, shortly before midnight on May 5.On Monday, emergency services began a large-scale air and ground search operation involving multiple agencies. In an update today, police said it was maintaining “a positive outlook as search efforts continue”. “After weather prevented search teams deploying yesterday, staff spent the day planning…

Shoppers are turning away from butter as prices soar – and there’s a warning retail prices could get another dollar higher.As global dairy prices have soared, so too has the retail price of butter.Stats NZ recorded the average price of a block of butter in March at $7.33, up 10% from its December level of $6.66.In Woolworths this week, home brand butter was selling for $8.49.The Global Dairy Trade auction price for butter has risen from US$6631/MT in December to US$7992 in the latest auction.A spokesperson for Woolworths said the supermarket was trying to keep butter prices as low as…

A Whangārei home destroyed after a speeding car crashed through its roof had been hit three times before by vehicles flying off the same stretch of road, a relative of a former owner says.She fears it will happen again and is urging the council to build a crash barrier or realign the road, before luck runs out and someone is killed.Around 11pm on Tuesday a car police say was travelling at high speed left Mill Road, smashed through a fence, sailed over one unit on Millers Lane and landed on another.The car crashed through the roof into the living room,…

Severe thunderstorm watches were in place for the upper North Island with downpours and flash flooding possible throughout Friday.1News weather presenter Dan Corbett warned conditions in the mid-afternoon were likely to provide a “sucker’s gap” where a lull in the rain might deceive people into believing the worst of the weather had passed.He said there would be more heavy rain to come around the afternoon commute time and Auckland workers making their way home should be prepared.Within the hour to 5.30pm, 23mm of rain had fallen on the North Shore suburb of Birkdale and 22mm of rain had dropped at…

Police have arrested four people and have seized drugs and a firearm after intercepting a drug run headed for communities in the South Island. Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Dye said the drug operation was allegedly supplying methamphetamine.“Intelligence gathered by district staff suggested one or more individuals were frequently travelling to Auckland to collect methamphetamine, then they and their associates were selling it into the Blenheim and West Coast communities, particularly the community of Westport.”He said police on Tuesday commenced an operation to intercept two men as they travelled down the country.When the men were met in Picton and their vehicle…

An estimated 157kg of cocaine — worth up to $60.9 million — has been seized at the Port of Tauranga from two separate ships. Customs officers, joined by colleagues from the police and navy, made the seizures from three separate shipping containers.On May 4, authorities searched a container vessel that had arrived in Tauranga from Balboa, Panama, carrying an “assortment of containerised cargo”. After navy divers searched the ship’s hull, customs officers went aboard to search. One of the cocaine bricks seized by customs officers. (Source: Supplied)Several shipping containers were risk-assessed as “suspicious”. X-rays and physical examination led to the…

The Government has announced a $774 million investment in Budget 2025 to improve the redress process for survivors of abuse in state care and strengthen protections for vulnerable children and adults.It won’t, however, set up a new independent redress entity, as recommended by a Royal Commission and Redress design group. The Royal Commission, which conducted a six-year investigation into abuse across state and faith-based institutions, revealed widespread systemic failures and made 138 recommendations.Erica Stanford, the Minister in charge Government’s Response to the Royal Commission’s Report into Historical Abuse in State Care, made the pre-Budget announcement on Friday.”We know there is…

Most of the tarseal is down, many of the barriers are up, and there’s fresh paint lining the route.The long-awaited new road connecting the lower North Island’s eastern and western sides is just weeks away from opening.The views from the lower slopes of the Ruahine Range are breathtaking, as RNZ experienced on a drive over the four-lane Te Ahu a Turanga – Manawatū Tararua Highway on Thursday.We started at the Ashhurst, Manawatū, end, beginning about where the old State Highway 3 through the Manawatū Gorge ran, before crossing the Manawatū River on the first of two viaducts, and then entering…