Author: Press Room

New Zealand Customs has intercepted an estimated $3 million worth of methamphetamine concealed in speakers thanks to an international partnership disrupting a transnational drug trafficking syndicate.The Class A drugs, which were concealed in electronic devices across two parcels, were seized between April and June 2025.Customs said 10kgs of methamphetamine were found in the packages – the equivalent of 500,0000 doses.The seizure came after cooperation and the exchange of intelligence between agencies in the United States, Singapore and Australia.How intelligence was shared(Source: New Zealand Customs)Customs said it seized the drugs using information from the Central Narcotics Bureau of Singapore.In April, the…

The Green Party’s chief of staff has resigned to “focus on her health, wellbeing and her whānau”, the party announced this afternoon.In a statement, Greens co-leader Marama Davidson said Eliza Prestidge-Oldfield “has decided to step away from the Chief of Staff position to focus on her health, wellbeing and her whānau”. “This has not been an easy decision for her to make, given the huge contribution that Eliza has made to the Green Party over many years. However, the party fully supports her decision to prioritise her health and whānau.”Davidson said the process to find a new chief of staff…

A 19-year-old has been charged with murder following the death of a man in the Auckland suburb of Ōtara last month.Police were called to Wymondley Rd shortly before midnight on August 1 following reports of a group of people fighting in the street.Two men were taken to hospital after they were found with critical injuries.One of the victims, formally named by police today as Greig Kelvin Temarama-Abela, died a short time later.Police at the scene in Otara. The second victim had since been discharged from hospital.A 19-year-old man appeared in court on August 4 charged with wounding with intent to…

Auckland’s downtown train station has all but completed its name change to Waitematā Station, as Auckland Transport prepares to make the switch to surrounding signage this weekend.Formerly known as Britomart Station, the name change process began when City Rail Link (CRL) mana whenua gifted the station name in 2017.In 2023, the station was called “Waitematā Station (Britomart)”, in a period of transition supported by mana whenua.With the Britomart name phased out, Waitematā will be aligned with the three other CRL stations – Te Waihorotiu, Karanga-a-Hape and Maungawhau.AT group manager rail infrastructure Jane Small said this gave people time to become…

Facebook whistleblower New Zealander Sarah Wynn-Williams is being pushed into financial ruin by the UK arbitration system, a British Member of Parliament says.Wynn-Williams was the former global policy director for the social media platform, now owned by founder Mark Zuckerberg’s parent company Meta, from 2011 to 2017.She released a book which broke legal agreements she had with Facebook earlier this year.It recounted her experiences working for the company, including accusations of sexual harassment by a long-time Facebook executive and claims the company explored breaking into the Chinese market by appeasing government censors there.Meta won a court order barring Wynn-Williams from…

Kiwis kicking off their school holidays today should brace for a turbulent week of spring weather, with a mix of rain, wind and even snow forecast to sweep across the country.A series of active weather systems were expected to move across New Zealand over the next several days, driven by warm seas and cold air surging from Antarctica.’Lots of ups and downs’ as school holidays begin – watch on TVNZ+A red warning for severe northwest gales in parts of inland Canterbury was lifted yesterday, but MetService said some watches and warnings remained in place for the central parts of New…

Tom Holland has been taken to hospital after suffering a concussion during a stunt gone wrong while filming Spider-Man: Brand New Day in Scotland.Filming was suspended after the 29-year-old actor was taken to hospital with a mild concussion on Friday.The Spider-Man star will be taking a break “out of precaution” before returning to the Glasgow set in the coming days, a source told Deadline.According to The Sun, Holland was injured after a stunt had gone wrong.A meeting had been scheduled to adjust plans for filming, Deadline reported.The Englishman had previously detailed his excitement about filming on location again, after the…

A rare partial solar eclipse has wowed Kiwis who were lucky enough to catch a glimpse this morning.The eclipse began before sunrise and reached its peak around 7am, with the moon covering up to 70% of the sun in parts of the lower South Island.Partial solar eclipse as seen from New Brighton Beach, Christchurch (Source: Tim Doornkamp)In Auckland, the coverage was expected to be closer to 60%.The partial solar eclipse as seen from Maryhill, Dunedin (Source: Robert Aberdeen)Parts of the South Island had the best view, with people sharing their photos with 1News.Partial solar eclipse as seen from Shag Point,…

By Krystal Gibbens of RNZ A popular Wellington cafe is calling on the government to provide more pathways to residency for hospitality workers, saying its currently losing them to other sectors. The Chocolate Fish Cafe owners John and Penny Pennington have written an open letter to Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston saying that they are currently losing workers because they can’t get any pathway to residency working in the hospitality industry. John Pennington said to gain permanent residency currently, hospitality workers needed to be highly qualified, or be paid a rate the industry couldn’t afford. He said as a result some…

Patient care is being severely affected at Christchurch Hospital, with the emergency department hitting code red almost every day, and a senior doctor saying they need more resources.And Christchurch’s not alone, with ED doctors nationwide backing a call for help, saying the immense pressure is compromising both patient care and staff safety. Emergency department doctors penned an open letter to Health New Zealand on September 5, pleading for a set of solutions to be rolled out as soon as possible.Christchurch ED doctor Dominic Fleischer told 1News patients were dying because of substandard care, and the situation was hurting staff and…