Author: Press Room

A Lake Tarawera residents’ group says lowering sewerage scheme costs for homeowners at the lake is non-negotiable and unaffordability is “not a trivial matter”.A member suggested homeowners not sign off on allowing connection works on their properties until they have funding certainty.Rotorua Lakes Council is considering three funding options for the Tarawera Sewerage Scheme in its Annual Plan consultationThe scheme connects lake properties to Rotorua’s reticulated sewerage, replacing septic tanks blamed for declining lake water quality.The most recent cost estimate is $32.2 million, up from $29 million late last year. The council has said protests and court action added expense.Under…

Two people have been arrested in relation to an aggravated robbery at a property in Kawakawa, Northland, yesterday. The armed offender’s squad was deployed to the address on State Highway 1 after police responded to a report of two offenders carrying firearms and demanding a vehicle parked at a property.A 22-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were arrested last night, police said. They are facing charges including aggravated robbery, wounding, unlawful possession of ammunition and failing to answer to bail.”They will appear in Kaikohe District Court this morning,” police said. Cordons were placed on a section of State Highway 1…

More than 300 police officers were not assessed on their swimming abilities before graduating, a review has revealed.The recent recruits will now have to do the assessments retrospectively.It comes as Police Commissioner Richard Chambers has announced police will review the swimming training policy.On Wednesday, police confirmed 76 constables who graduated from Wing 383 and 73 from Wing 381 were unable to complete the test while at the college.Police told RNZ the constables from Wing 383 were unable to complete the test due to health and safety risks posed by the cryptosporidium outbreak across the Wellington region, while those in Wing…

Police are investigating following an armed robbery at an Auckland bar, where a staff member was assaulted and knocked to the ground. Police were called to the bar on Great North Road in Glen Eden at 9.25pm yesterday. Police said several males entered the premises and “threatened the bar staff with weapons”.”One of the offenders also assaulted one of the staff members, punching him and knocking him to the ground,” police said.The victim suffered minor injuries. The offenders stole cash from the till, police said, before leaving in two vehicles. Police asked anyone with information that could help investigators identify…

The Canterbury Regional Council says there was an agreement to open Te Waihora/Lake Ellesmere to the sea last Tuesday but sea conditions prevented it from happening before the rain storm hit.Environment Canterbury is being criticised for its management of Lake Ellesmere, with people in Selwyn telling RNZ they are frustrated the lake was not opened to the sea earlier.Taumutu farmer Tim Sanson said there had been good warning that a fairly serious weather system was on the way.He was expecting around 80 millimetres of rain but received more than 150mm on Thursday, which was “a fairly significant chunk of rain…

Russell Brand got out of a sleek black Mercedes and took his first steps toward a court where he faces charges of rape and sexual assault in a scene far removed from a walk down a Hollywood red carpet.The actor-comedian, wearing a black collared shirt open to his midsection and sporting a gold cross, was quickly mobbed by cameras. He stood bolt upright and paced slowly forward through a crush of media and onlookers, protected by a ring of bodyguards and uniformed police officers.The comedian, author and Get Him To The Greek actor gave a thumbs-up motion as he entered…

The main road to Akaroa on Banks Peninsula is still blocked, days after intense rainfall flooded State Highway 75.The highway from Christchurch has been closed from Motukarara to Little River since Wednesday night, and extreme caution is still advised on the remainder of the route to Akaroa.Photos and videos shared by residents on social media show fallen trees and other major damage on the highway, which is the only road connecting communities like Akaroa to the rest of Canterbury.Cracks in Lighthouse Road in Akaroa. (Source: Christchurch City Council)Aerial footage captured by the Christchurch City Council on Thursday evening showed farmland…

ADVERTISEMENTAt least three people have been injured after a car drove into a group of people in the southwestern Germany city of Stuttgart, police have said.The city’s police said in a post on social media that the incident happened Olgaeck district and that traffic restrictions are in place in much of the city centre.The driver of the car was arrested at the scene, police said.String of similar attacksGermany has seen a spate of such incidents in recent years.Two people died on 13 February after they were injured in a car-ramming attack on a labour union demonstration in Munich.Some 39 people…

ADVERTISEMENTGlobal economic turbulence is not shaking the determination of Europeans to travel this summer.A new consumer study of 20 European countries found that the vast majority (70%) – won’t hold back on leisure spending and are planning to tick off at least one experience from their bucket list.Travel and tourism are the most important activities for 89% of experience-seekers. Also, 32% of them say they are ready to spend over €1,000 on it.Gen Z and men more inclined towards holiday spendingAccording to the Mastercard report, Gen Z is the most hedonistic generation. Nearly half of the respondents (48%) in that…

Mr Mod is at peace with letting go a large mid-century collection of often rare design in his “grand finale”, Tim Cronshaw writes. A celestial globe picked up at a flea market is perhaps Ross Morrison’s greatest find over a lifetime of dealing and trading in decorative arts. The Christchurch collector and dealer, specialising in the mid century movement of interior design, could at once see the value of the 1810 spherical antique made by the Cary globe-maker family. “I found that in a flea market in California. First of all I saw the base sitting on the ground and I realised…