Author: Press Room

Tauranga’s Māori ward councillor Hemi Rolleston plans to prove to the community that having a Māori ward is a “good thing”.Rolleston was sworn into his Te Awanui ward seat on Thursday after a pōwhiri at Hangarau Marae in Bethlehem.He won the recent Māori ward byelection with 543 votes, taking up the seat his nephew Mikaere Sydney was unable to fill.The byelection was triggered after Sydney resigned from his position in January.Sydney was elected to the council in July 2024 but was unable to take up his position due to illness.Sydney was one of many of Rolleston’s whanau and friends at…

Businesswoman   Punctuality was one of the principles Sue Berry inherited from her parents. So when legendary British actor Sir Michael Caine asked the young New Zealand physiotherapist out on a date in London and then turned up late, she promptly gave him his marching orders. That is just one example of how Mrs Berry’s sparkling personality opened the doors to some extraordinary encounters during a life which has aptly been described as a “cracker”. Mrs Berry, who died in Queenstown on April 6, aged 81, was the co-founder of Oamaru business success story Whitestone Cheese, a devoted wife of…

More than $150 million in undeclared income tax and GST has been uncovered by Inland Revenue (IR) from the property sector.Funded by last year’s Budget, which allowed it to increase its compliance work, IR said it has been taking a closer look at the tax affairs of developers, people with rental properties, and those covered by the bright-line test.The discrepancy found in undeclared tax adds up to $153.5 million from 1283 closed cases – an average of $119,643 per case. The figures cover the first nine months of the current financial year, but comes close to the $156.8 million amount…

After widespread backlash, Tasman District Council has reversed its decision to remove some rubbish bins and close a few public toilets.”We don’t always get it right,” councillor Glen Daikee said.In March, the council narrowly voted to remove some rubbish bins; reduce the frequency of cleaning some public toilets, while closing three others; reduce garden bedding displays; and reduce shrub maintenance.The measures would have come into effect for the last quarter of the financial year – from April to June — to save about $22,000 as the council grappled with a forecast overspend of $2.9 million for its community infrastructure maintenance.However,…

A review into the Treaty of Waitangi Act – which established the Waitangi Tribunal – will begin in the middle of the year, the Government confirmed today.The review was part of the coalition agreement between National and New Zealand First, which included a commitment to “amend the Waitangi Tribunal legislation to refocus the scope, purpose, and nature of its inquiries back to the original intent of that legislation”. Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka said today a review of the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 was “timely” given the “progress of historical claims and settlements and concerns about the Tribunal’s current…

Frustrations are growing as illegal dumping plagues Auckland and leaves ratepayers with a multi-million dollar bill.Cars, fridges, toxic waste and up to 500 mattresses per month are among the items being cleaned up across the city.Reg Walker, contracts manager with Eco Maintenance, said nothing surprised him anymore.“We get a lot of sheep carcasses. We’ve had a cow once dumped on a beach in Kawakawa Bay somewhere.“Cars, half cars, boats, dinghies with holes in them. Marijuana, just the pots and the stalks.”There were more than 1300 reports per month of illegal dumping in Auckland – more than 40 on average per…

The co-founders of a Christchurch furniture-making business are about to bring in scientists to make a finishing oil in their challenge to use only locally-made products. Innate Furniture owners Guido Loeffler and Nick Lee insist on working with sustainably harvested native timbers and domestic steel sheets for their modern and minimalist furniture designs. They want to take this a step further. After experimenting with their own recipes from natural oils and waxes, they are going to experts to help them produce a commercial-grade coating. The finishing oils must be made from plant-based materials locally grown sustainably without detriment to the…

The Tauranga City Council’s chief executive has defended a $91.9 million cost over 15 years to lease its new building, saying this enables the council to adapt to a changing workforce.The council’s 1000 or so administration staff have started moving into the eight-storey eco-building at 90 Devonport Rd in Tauranga‘s CBD.It would be the first time the staff would be under the same roof since 2014, when black mould was discovered in the now-demolished Willow St civic administration building.The lease has an annual rent of $6,129,511 plus $313,352 for 65 carparks.The council was leasing the building from Willis Bond, having…

Dunedin’s coveted reputation as one of the most attractive places in the country to make video games could be at risk without further funding to maintain the city’s momentum, councillors have heard. The concern was raised in a submission by the Centre of Digital Excellence (Code) on the Dunedin City Council’s 2025-34 long-term plan. Code is an economic development initiative by the government to grow the country’s gaming sector, its headquarters based in Dunedin. The organisation sought a suggested $250,000 per annum for seven years, from July next year – $190,000 of which would equate to one prototype and one…

A Wellington woman is recovering at home after she was forcefully flung to the ground while trying to stop someone stealing fuel from a petrol station.Police said they were called to Ohiro Rd before 8.30am after a report a person had been assaulted.Police said one person received non-life threatening injuries.The woman’s husband — who owned the BP in Brooklyn and did not want to be named — said hIS wife was behind the counter when she saw someone attempting to drive off without paying for their fuel.”When she opened the back door, the driver drove off … so she fell…