Author: Press Room

Hundreds of teenagers with a health condition or disability could be cut off from the Jobseeker benefit as part of the Government’s welfare changes, official data shows.The Government is ending Jobseeker payments to 18- and 19-year-olds whose parents earn more than $65,000, saying it will encourage them to find work.It estimated about 4300 young people would become ineligible for support.The policy will also apply to young beneficiaries with a health condition or disability who have had to stop work for a period of time or reduce their hours.Those too sick to work under health and disability compensation are now also…

Two Southern Lakes cleaning and laundry businesses, both with the same director, are insolvent and have been placed into liquidation. Brenton Hunt, of Insolvency Matters, was appointed liquidator of Busy Lizzy Queenstown Ltd earlier this week after the company was placed in liquidation by special resolution of the shareholders. In his first report, Mr Hunt said Busy Lizzy operated a house-cleaning service in the Queenstown area and was incorporated in 2018. Its majority shareholder and sole director was Kristina Delgado, also director of Good Laundry Company 2023, which was also put into liquidation. She is also director of a property…

Allocating different school holiday dates to different regions is worth considering – but could create problems, says the associate education minister.An Education Review Office report on truancy – published today – said the change could reduce the incentive for families to take children out of school early to buy cheaper airfares.The report said term-time holidays were the main attendance challenge facing most schools.Associate Education Minister David Seymour said regional term dates had been discussed.”We’ve had some discussion about that. It’s quite common for example in Germany. But the thing about Germany is they’re a federal country with many different states.…

The collapse of large retailer Smiths City has liquidators expecting many creditors will go unpaid after adding up more than $26.8 million in liabilities. About 240 companies are owed money and unsecured creditors are also likely to be out of pocket after liquidators Colin Gower and Diana Matchett from BDO Christchurch combed through the company’s assets and debts in their first report. “Unfortunately, we do not anticipate that there will be any funds available for a distribution to unsecured creditors,” they said. Founded in 1918, the Christchurch institution operated nine stores mainly in the South Island with a focus on…

A major new report is warning that more than a thousand seaside homes could suffer significant damage from extreme weather by 2060.And hundreds of thousands of homes worth an estimated $180 billion are in flood-prone areas, according to Our Marine Environment 2025 from the Ministry for the Environment and Stats NZ.The fourth and latest stocktake draws together peer-reviewed research, government reports, mātauranga Māori and official statistics.The report said climate change and human activity is putting increasing pressure on the oceans and coasts, affecting communities, industries and ecosystems.Among its findings are that New Zealand’s oceans are warming faster than the global…

A fire truck has broken down after being called to a blaze at a house under construction in Auckland’s Herne Bay this evening.Fire crews were called to the scene on Sarsfield St at 5.40pm, a Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson told 1News. The fire was on the first level of the 30m x 30m structure.Three trucks were in attendance, down from four at the peak of the fire, the spokesperson said. The blaze has been contained. Crews from Auckland, Parnell and Takapuna attended.Firefighters at the scene of a fire involving a house under construction in Auckland’s Herne Bay. (Source: 1News)However,…

A vagabond sheep that grew a Shrek-like fleece is looking for a new home after being rescued from the Central Otago wilderness.Four SPCA staff took about three hours to catch the 80kg ewe, who is now called Millie, after a member of the public spotted her near Millers Flat in late September.Animal welfare inspector Alana Cowper said Millie was roaming in a scrub patch near the Clutha River, having likely separated from her mob.”Because of how woolly she was, if she got anywhere near that water, it was going to be a big problem so our plan was sort of…

Published on 09/10/2025 – 14:44 GMT+2 •Updated 15:00 ADVERTISEMENT The European Commission launched a probe on Thursday after several media reports alleged that the Hungarian secret services were trying to recruit EU employees in Brussels as informants. The agents, who reportedly posed as diplomats of the Hungarian Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels, are said to have targeted Hungarian staff at the European Commission, where sensitive files related to the country were prepared and discussed. The Commission said it took the allegations seriously and that it does its utmost to protect its staff and information from illicit intelligence-gathering activities.…

The number of new rental listings are now up 18% on year, according to new data from Realestate.co.nz.Hawke’s Bay, which was up 87% stood out amongst the regions along with the central North Island (71.9%), Marlborough (71.4%), and Nelson & Bays (70.3%).The total number of rental stock across the country is up 23.6% on September last year – and has jumped from 6555 properties to 8224 properties.Realestate.co.nz said this increase in numbers has been most noticeable in the West Coast (133.3%), Hawke’s Bay (108.9%), Wellington (105.9%) and Wairarapa (100%) regions.The fresh data follows the trend of the number of rentals…

Gold is on a tear. Prices have surged 50% in 2025 alone, marking the metal’s biggest rally since the 1970s.But with prices now trading at US$4000 (NZ$6900) an ounce, is this the result of solid fundamentals or just fear of missing out?The answer, it seems, is a mix of both.Fund manager Amova said central banks have been steady buyers of physical gold for years, typically holding it alongside foreign currency bonds as part of their reserves.Some central banks may also be diversifying away from the US dollar and other fiat currencies.The freezing of Russia’s currency reserves in European banks following…