Author: Press Room

The Government has revealed “common sense” changes to anti-money laundering laws to slash paperwork for small businesses and to make it easier for children to open bank accounts, the Acting Prime Minister says.David Seymour said the changes to anti-money laundering laws would “remove a lot of the insanity so that ordinary people, including parents who want their children to bank, can actually have a bit of relief”.”We want young people to learn about the benefits of saving and investing and planning for the future,” he said to Breakfast this morning.The ACT leader said families were being discouraged from opening accounts…

Childcare rebates from the Government’s flagship FamilyBoost scheme will rise with eligibility expanded, Finance Minister Nicola Willis has announced. Willis announced the changes this morning, which will see rebates increasing from 25% to 40% of weekly fees. Those with household incomes of up to $229,000 are now also eligible to apply. It comes after the programme saw lower-than-expected uptake.”This means for example that a family with early childhood fees of $100 a week could have their weekly FamilyBoost payment increased from $25 a week to $40 a week, meaning their annual payments would increase from $1300 to $2080 over the…

A store in south Auckland has lost its right to sell alcohol after their efforts to pass itself off as a grocery store was rejected, in a precedent-setting case.McLennan Grocery Store, at Swamp Kauri Grove in Papakura, was recently granted an off-licence in March by the Auckland District Licensing Committee (ADLC).However, after an appeal led by Auckland councillor Angela Dalton with the Alcohol Regulatory and Licensing Authority (ARLA), the off-licence was denied.The appeal focused on whether the shop met the statutory definition of a grocery store under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act.According to section 33 of the Act,…

A New Zealand content creator is speaking out about the harms of gambling after revealing he was offered more than $500,000 to promote offshore gambling websites.Louis Davis is a Kiwi content creator with a following of over 3 million across all platforms, and has taken to his social media platforms to warn others about the risks. Speaking with Breakfast this morning, Davis said he received the promotional offers in his email inbox.”We get hammered with emails every day, they’re pretty consistent,” he said. When asked on why he decided to turn down the offer, he said that gambling promotions are…

Early childhood centres in the government’s free lunch scheme say it is reaching children who live in poverty.Despite initial revolts against vegetables, they say children are enjoying the meals and more centres should be included.More than 8000 two to five-year-olds at more than 300 early childhood centres have been receiving food through the scheme this year.They were included at a cost of $4 million a year when the government revised the free school lunch scheme to cut per-meal costs and save $130m a year.The early childhood scheme pays charity KidsCan to send ingredients to participating centres, which then cook the…

Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi has announced he will perform two shows in New Zealand at the end of the year. The 28-year-old announced the dates for his upcoming tour — his first performances in the country since 2019. He will play a show at Christchurch’s Wolfbrook Arena on November 30 and Auckland’s Spark Arena on December 2.The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including deadly Texas floods, Australian woman attacked by a lion, and Elon Musk’s new political party. (Source: 1News)Best known for hits including Someone You Loved and Before You Go, Capaldi made a surprise return to the stage at…

Motueka locals are digging deep to put their lives back together and raise money for their neighbours, as the region reels in the wake of severe flooding.Civil Defence has called it the worst flood in nearly 150 years, and the Nelson Tasman region remains in a state of emergency.Blue Malosso, her husband and their two young kids had only moved to the Motueka Valley six months ago from Australia.Men cutting up and clearing fallen trees in Motueka Valley. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi (Source: rnz.co.nz)The pair had put their savings into a tiny home which was completely gutted and dragged…

New Zealand company Kayasand, which distributes sand manufacturing technology used to make concrete, has secured a major deal to install the more “environmentally friendly” technology in Australia. The Waikato-based company takes quarry waste products including recycled glass, concrete and slag, and turns it into premium sand which could then be used for concrete.Natural sand supplies were becoming harder to access, and traditional concrete manufacturing processes including sand dredging had long been opposed by environmental groups, particularly off the coastline of Pakiri in north Auckland. In 2023, the company received a $3.5 million equity investment, and has now sold one of…

ADVERTISEMENTDuring a visit to Vilnius on Sunday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier pledged his country’s support in maintaining Lithuania’s freedom. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier who’s visisted came as Lithuania celebrated Statehood day reiterated that “your security is our security”.”Lithuania and Germany stand together for the freedom of Ukraine, for the principle of self-determination, for European unity – as partners in the EU and NATO,” said Steinmeier.President Gitanas Nausėda welcomed his German counterpart on Sunday and took to social media platform X to express his gratitude for the visit. “The President’s visit is a strong sign of the enduring friendship between Lithuania and…

Auckland councillor Mike Lee is leading a new push to ban private helipads in residential areas of the city.The Waitematā and Gulf councillor intends raising two notices of motion at the policy and planning committee meeting on July 24.”One is for the Hauraki Gulf Islands District Plan, which covers Waiheke and Great Barrier Island, essentially, where helipads have been a major problem with local people.”The other one covers the western bays of Auckland and so that’s the Auckland Unitary Plan.””One notice of motion applies to the Auckland situation – the mainland situation – and the other applies to the Gulf…