Author: Press Room

Homeownership remains a key goal for many New Zealanders – but how do you know if it’s right for you?The proportion of people who owned their own home increased in the latest census, but many are buying later in life than their parents’ generation. Particularly for those with children, it is prompting some to ask whether it is still worth pursuing.One would-be buyer who said they were “starting from the bottom” in their early 30s with no savings, no KiwiSaver and four kids, asked whether they should accept they could be lifelong renters.They said they might end up “wasting their…

The Commerce Commission is investigating amid hundreds of complaints about the cancelled Juicy Fest NZ music festival, and says it may widen that out to include another event if required. Hundreds of would-be concert goers have been demanding refunds, and answers, following the cancellation of the festival and the postponement of the Timeless Summer Tour. Juicy Fest, a four-date, single day event featuring acts such as Ludacris, Akon and Jay Sean, was scheduled for Tauranga, Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in January.However, it was cancelled in December over what organisers claimed was “an intentional” effort to stop the shows from going…

A crash which caused major delays on Auckland’s northwestern motorway this morning has been cleared. In a statement earlier, police said the crash blocked one city-bound lane near the St Lukes off-ramp was reported to police shortly after 6.30am. “It appears five vehicles, including one towing a boat, have crashed in the far right lane,” a police spokesperson said. “As this stage there are no reports of injury.” In an update shortly after 8am, police said all lanes have now reopened. “Police would like to thank motorists for their patience while the scene was cleared.”

The Government is throwing more than $6 million at developing world-first industrial-scale technology to fight caulerpa as the invasive seaweed is confirmed at major tourist hot spot Bay of Islands motu for the first time.Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard said big strides were being taken with the $6.2 million development of the new technology at Omākiwi Cove and $3.8 million for other technology at two other New Zealand locations to control the invasive exotic seaweed.Hoggard said funding was based on earlier project success.Northland Regional Council (NRC) confirmed this week that caulerpa had been found at six new locations in the eastern…

Get your popcorn popping – it’s almost time for Hollywood to crown the year’s best films.The 97th Annual Academy Awards ceremony is set to begin at 7pm LA time (1pm NZ time) later today, and we’re here to look at the biggest controversies, pick some likely winners, and see if New Zealand has any chance at Oscar gold at the big event.So what’s everyone talking about this year?This is one of the least predictable Oscars ceremonies of recent years, where past juggernauts like Oppenheimer have dashed all the way to the winners’ podium.The big talking point is the stunning rise…

Police have appealed for information over the disappearance of a man in Waikato, who has been missing for over a month, after new possible sightings were reported earlier today.Travis Langford, 24, travelled from Wellington to the Waikato region where his car was located burnt-out at a farm on Tolley Rd in Ngaroma on January 18.A search of the area where his vehicle was found involving search and rescue staff, police and the Eagle helicopter located some personal items belonging to Langford.Private searches had also been carried out by family and friends in the same area and in the south Waikato…

After five months of talks, the liberal Neos party voted to enter a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the conservative Austrian Peo ADVERTISEMENTThe three had announced the coalition deal last week, but members of the liberal Neos party still needed to approve the agreement to join the government. The new government is due to be sworn in on Monday, ending the five-month wait since the Austrian far-right FPÖ (Freedom Party) came out on top of national elections with around 29% of the vote. It had been the longest period in Austrian politics for a coalition to form.The…

A supporter of expanding citizen’s arrest powers says the changes being proposed by the Government are a sensible “clarification” of existing rules. Sunny Kaushal is the chairperson of the Government’s ministerial advisory group for retail crime victims. Before that, he was the chair of the Dairy and Business Owners Group. He told Q+A the proposal was about “empowering the victims of crime to defend themselves and their property”. The proposals were more of a “clarification” of the rules, rather than a call for vigilantism, Kaushal said. “It’s not asking that you must arrest. But I want to tell people that…

This article was originally published in Italian The Italian prime minister made the comments after holding talks with the UK’s prime minister in London ahead of the summit on European defence and Ukraine. ADVERTISEMENTItaly’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said Italy and the UK can “build bridges” between Europe and the United States in a bid to repair a rift made worse by a recent fiery meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.”I think it is very, very important that we avoid the risk of the West splitting. And I think that in this the UK…

A man who was tasered during his arrest after allegedly threatening police with a samurai sword has died.Assistant Commissioner Jill Rogers said the man was given medical assistance but was unable to be revived, after being taken into custody this afternoon at Ōrere Point Beach in rural eastern Auckland. It followed a fleeing driver incident where the driver was taken into custody without incident. The man who died was a passenger in the vehicle, which stopped at 3.20pm.”Taser, OC spray and a police dog unit had been deployed after the man challenged and threatened officers with a samurai sword and…