Author: Press Room

Popular Auckland eatery Monsoon Poon will close in May after almost 20 years. The building which has housed the Southest Asian restaurant since 2005, on the corner of Lower Hobson St, has been sold and is set for demolition. In a statement shared to social media on Tuesday, owner Nicola Richards says the closure brings with it “mixed emotions”. “We want to express our deepest gratitude to all of our incredible staff, past and present, who have helped make this place what it is. A huge thank you to our loyal customers, friends and suppliers – your support has meant…

The economic climate remains challenging with all manner of debt creating hardship for consumers and businesses alike, according to the latest report by credit agency Centrix.The January credit report indicates mortgage arrears were at an eight-year high, with personal loans, buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), retail energy and telco arrears on the rise.Consumer credit defaults also increased by 42% on the year earlier, while personal insolvencies showed signs of an uptick, but remained below historical levels.Financial hardship cases reached the highest level in five years, at 14,700 accounts, though arrears were 3% down over the year earlier — the first year-on-year improvement since…

Police are offering a $100,000 reward for information that helps lead to a conviction over the death of 51-year-old Brett Fraser in 2014.Fraser was killed on October 21, 2014 in the West Auckland home he shared with his flatmate.Acting Detective Inspector Simon Harrison said police would pay a reward of up to $100,000 for material information or evidence which leads to the identity and conviction of any person, or persons, responsible for his death.”We want to provide answers to Brett’s family, and to hold the person or persons responsible for his death to account,” he said.The offer would remain in…

A deep sea power cable hopes to bring cheaper electricity to both New Zealand and Australia.Taslink is developing a 2600km power cable to run below the Tasman Sea, enabling both countries to trade surplus electricity.The high voltage direct current cable would also be the deepest in the world at nearly 5km below sea level.Taslink’s goal was to buy power from one country at a cheaper rate and then sell it to the other, taking advantage of the differing climates and time zones.”The thing about New Zealand and Australia is that we have a two hour time difference, so we have…

By Nona Pelletier of RNZ The number of people falling behind in mortgage payments has hit levels not seen since 2017, according to credit agency Centrix. Its January credit report indicates mortgage arrears were at an eight-year high, with personal loans, buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), retail energy and telco arrears on the rise. Consumer credit defaults also increased by 42 percent on the year earlier, while personal insolvencies showed signs of an uptick, but remained below historical levels. Financial hardship cases reached the highest level in five years, at 14,700 accounts, though arrears were 3 percent down over the year earlier -…

The Ministry for Primary Industries has launched an investigation into School Lunch Collective meals served to children with plastic packaging melted into the contents, one of four food safety investigations underway into the troubled scheme.The Collective – which provides most of the country’s school lunches – has been plagued with problems since it replaced local providers this year.Murchison Area School principal Andy Ashworth said its certainly not the first problem he’d had with the School Lunch Collective programme.He has avoided criticising the quality of the food, wanting to give the companies “a bit of leeway”, but said even before the…

The suspected perpetrator in the car ramming attack which has killed at least two people is a 40-year-old German from Ludwigshafen. ADVERTISEMENTA 40-year-old German from the nearby state of Rhineland-Palatinate has been detained in relation to the car ramming attack on Monday which killed at least two people and injured 10 others.Local media have reported the man’s name is “Alexander S.”The suspected perpetrator was taken to hospital after being injured, according to Baden-Württemberg State Interior Minister Thomas Strobl.He added that there is currently no evidence of an extremist background in the attackers motivations, which could be more related to his…

A man found guilty earlier this year on sexual charges against a 13-year-old girl has been fighting to hide his identity on previous rape convictions.Auckland man Luca Fairgray, 22, can now be named over the previous offending against six teenage girls.Those offences, including rape, took place when he was a teenager and led to a sentence of home detention.He was given name suppression and that was extended to ensure a fair trial when he faced the new charges of having sex with a 13-year-old in 2023.Following his latest conviction in February, the name suppression order was extended but the Supreme…

A man has been charged after an allegedly stolen vehicle fleeing police crossed the centre line and critically injured a person in a head-on collision at the weekend.The crash occurred on State Highway 2 near Pōkeno at around 3pm on Saturday when a driver allegedly attempted to avoid road spikes and swerved directly into the path of the oncoming car.Acting Counties Manukau District Commander, Inspector Jared Pirret. said: “The driver of that car initially suffered critical injuries, and now remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.” The driver alleged to be fleeing was also critically injured and taken…

A student alcohol-harm reduction group’s concerns about a planned new bar and live music venue have been dismissed. The district licensing committee’s decision, released late last month, granted a licence to DropKicks bar on the top floor of the former Captain Cook Tavern. Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) opposed the application, citing concern about the pre-announcement of the opening of the venue ahead of resolution of the issue of an alcohol licence and describing the venue’s location as an area of high deprivation and alcohol harm. However, the decision said the location should not be an issue. “There are…