Author: Press Room

Police immediately escalated allegations about the Prime Minister’s former deputy chief press secretary Michael Forbes to the police executive — including the police commissioner and the assistant commissioner — but Forbes was told the “onus was on him” to inform his employer, documents released under the Official Information Act reveal.Forbes, a former journalist, resigned after it emerged he recorded audio of multiple sessions with Wellington sex workers, and amassed a gallery of women working out at the gym, shopping and being filmed through a window getting ready to go out.Police earlier said they got a complaint from a Wellington brothel…

Property values ticked lower in the July quarter as the winter freeze continues, but the deep South continues to buck the trend. The latest house price index from Quotable Value (QV) showed the national average home value fell 0.5 percent in the three months ended June to $909,671. Values remained almost unchanged versus a year ago, but around 13.0 percent below the peak in late 2021. The biggest rises were in Queenstown-Lakes, up 2.4 percent to $1.86 million, while Tauranga City rose 1.7 percent to $1.03 million. Wellington recorded the biggest fall, down 2.3 percent to $818,274 followed by Nelson…

Locals across a large chunk of the Bay of Plenty’s coastline are being urged not to collect or eat shellfish due to the presence of biotoxins. A warning has been issued from Whakatāne to Mt Maunganui after routine tests on shellfish in the region showed levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning toxin over the safe limit. The affected shellfish included mussels, oysters, tuatua, pipi, toheroa, cockles and scallops, as well as pūpū (cat’s eyes), and Cook’s turban.“Please do not gather and eat shellfish from this area because anyone doing so could get sick,” NZ Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said.…

By Victor Waters of RNZ  A payment of about $10,000 has been deposited into the accounts of Mahurangi Harbour oyster farmers – the only catch is they don’t know what the money is for. The 10 marine farms have been in a seven-year battle with Watercare to stop sewage overflowing into the harbour north of Auckland, which contaminates their oyster crops with Norovirus. The farmers have been unable to sell any locally-grown oysters from Mahurangi Harbour since Christmas in 2024, leaving them on the brink all year. RNZ understands this week about 40 people that work across the oyster industry in the Mahurangi…

Te Kuha Mine on the West Coast has had its application for fast-track approval declined, after failing to meet seven of the application criteria.The project has raised concerns over its impact on the environment and had already been rejected multiple times by courts.Now, a letter sent to the company behind the plan, Stevenson Mining, in March but only recently published, showed the application never got as far as the minister for final approval, with the Ministry for the Environment finding it did not comply with seven requirements in the Act.Notably, it lacked an explanation of why the fast-track approvals process…

House buyers – particularly those using money from KiwiSaver – may be being put at risk by real estate agents altering sale and purchase agreements, the Law Association warns. The association’s property law committee raised a concern with the Real Estate Institute after members noted real estate salespeople were altering agreements to waive buyers’ title requisition rights. These give buyers time to ensure the title is acceptable, even if an offer is unconditional. Changes were also being made to allow the early release of buyers’ deposits to the vendors. Law Association president Tony Herring said it was not a widespread…

It’s being proposed that North Canterbury’s Belfast to Pegasus Motorway and Woodend Bypass (B2P) would see drivers of light vehicles tolled $2.50 and truck drivers $5 for travelling its entire length.Under the Government Policy Statement on Land Transport 2024, New Zealand Transport Agency must consider tolling for all new Roads of National Significance.The north of Christchurch project will see a 10km four-lane motorway extension and bypass, designed to reduce the heavy traffic burden on State Highway 1 through the town of Woodend.NZTA said this proposal would add toll points at two different parts of the highway, which would each charge…

An inquiry into Canterbury’s Mental Health Services found “significant” problems in the service’s governance, care model and resourcing.The findings included “critical staff shortages”, staffing vacancies affecting admissions and discharge processes, a “siloed culture and care model”, concerns about the service’s governance and delayed resourcing decisions at the regional governance level.The final report, released three years after it began, has 18 recommendations aimed at addressing the key issues.Health New Zealand (HNZ) has acknowledged the “significant failings” and is committed to implementing the recommendations.The daughter of a woman murdered by a mental health patient last year says the report “confirms a very…

Two Dunedin secondary school students are taking the fight to summer sunburn. As part of the Young Enterprise Scheme, Fleur de Clifford and Lily Falcous wanted to create a business idea that their peers would use and that served a purpose. The year 12 Otago Girls’ High School students settled on creating their own sunscreen and did not want to see a single sunburn this summer. Lily said the idea came about because, as they grew up, many of their friends started giving up on sunscreen in an effort to get a “bronze tan”. However, over the past couple of…

Eight out of 11 South Waikato stores targeted by an underage drinking sting have been caught selling alcohol to minors. A second operation in Tauranga found eight out of 46 businesses selling alcohol to teens. The Waikato operation, run by police, the South Waikato District Council, and the National Public Health Service, used an underage volunteer who tried to buy alcohol from a range of on- and off-licensed premises across the area. Sergeant Greg Weston said eight out of 11 businesses failed to check the volunteer’s ID. “I’m extremely disappointed with the level of non-compliance, and genuinely shocked,” he said.…