Author: Press Room

Homeowners are sounding the alarm about a construction company who they say took tens of thousands of dollars before its director disappeared.RNZ has spoken to six of Enzed Construction’s former clients who said they were cutting their losses after paying money upfront for work that was done poorly, or not at all.Documents shared with RNZ show payments to Enzed Construction and its director Hemi Arapeta Tiopira – known as James – exceed $60,000.Dealings with the company earlier this year – in Wellington, Lower Hutt and Waipukurau – had led to police reports, Dispute Tribunal claims, and several complaints to an…

ADVERTISEMENT This past weekend, Ursula von der Leyen did something she rarely does: she wrote an op-ed defending one of her signature policies. “Solid if imperfect” was how the president of the European Commission chose to describe the trade deal that she personally struck with Donald Trump in late July. It was a partial admission of defeat, acknowledging the discontent caused by the painful 15% tariff imposed on the vast majority of EU products bound for America. The remainder of the column, published in several European newspapers, was devoted to highlighting the agreement’s greatest – and perhaps sole – benefit:…

A leading Australian criminal psychologist says he is concerned for the wellbeing of the children of fugitive Tom Phillips and fears they may have suffered irreversible psychological harm.Phillips and his three children Jayda, Maverick, and Ember, went missing from Marokopa in December 2021.Despite multiple police operations, pleas, sightings, and rewards offered to find them, there has been no success. They are currently in their fourth winter in hiding.Dr Tim Watson-Munro, an Australian criminal psychology expert, said that after such a long time away, the kids may need to “be deprogrammed” when they are eventually found. “It’s been a long time…

Vape stores setting up inside booze shops “only exacerbates the harm from both”, say opponents, but the vaping industry says liquor store age restrictions would likely limit exposure to young people.Communities Against Alcohol Harm (CAAH), which assists groups to oppose alcohol licences, says several south Auckland liquor stores have been allowed to sell vapes in the same premises in the past year.Recent off-licence renewal applications, which include variations to operate a vape shop, showed that small sections of bottle shops were being sectioned off and turned into a vape store.Bottle shops approved by the District Licensing committee (DLC) to sell…

French dairy giant Lactalis is set to pay Fonterra another $375 million for its global consumer business – which includes brands like Mainland and Anchor – bringing the total sale value to $4.22 billion.It comes after Fonterra said it had resolved a licence dispute with Bega Cheese in Australia.The settlement means Bega licences held by Fonterra’s Australia business will be included in the divestment.On Friday, it was announced Lactalis would purchase major brands from Fonterra, such as Anchor and Mainland, but the Bega licences weren’t included at the time due to the dispute. Prior to the dispute being resolved, the…

South Auckland is losing doctors, lawyers and leaders because barriers keep blocking young people from reaching their potential.That was the challenge issued by Dr Timoti Te Moke, who told locals the focus should not be on congratulating him for becoming a doctor but on the wasted potential of others.“I grew up here in Māngere with 19 other guys. I’m the only one that’s not in prison or dead,” he said.“A lot of them were smarter than me, better leaders than me. People call me an outlier, but what we should be lamenting is the loss of 19 other doctors, 19…

By Gill Bonnett of RNZ Baby boomers struggling to sell up their small businesses have got a surprise boost after the government announced a new visa for migrants who might want to buy them out. International investors could be given residence after as little as 12 months if they buy an existing firm and employ at least one more person. The new business investor visa announced on Wednesday will replace the entrepreneur visa, and has been welcomed by immigration industry members. Investors would get a 12-month fast-track to residence pathway through a $2 million investment, while those with less to spend…

NZ Post services to the US should resume within weeks, as it figures its way through the Trump administration’s tariffs.The postal service had temporarily suspended parcel services to the US because of confusion caused by the tariff regime.This included American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.NZ Post’s Jared Handcock told Morning Report the process was complex because the tariffs rate would depend on the origin of the goods.”So this falls to the sender to actually determine where the goods are manufactured.”He said NZ Post was relying on the sender therefore to declare the origin…

A man has been arrested in Christchurch following reports of female students being approached by a “suspicious person” offering cash for “inappropriate favours”. An investigation was launched by police after it received “reports of concern” in the Merivale and St Albans areas on August 4. Police said yesterday that a man was allegedly offering cash in return for “inappropriate favours”. Letters were sent to 11 schools in the area, alerting them to the incidents. Detective Constable Andrea McDowell said this “resulted in more reports of students being approached”.Officers made inquiries and checked CCTV footage. A 53-year-old man was due to…

A 20-year-old law student has won a court case against Auckland Transport after deciding to “give it a go” himself to avoid having to pay hefty fees for legal representation.Sean O’Loughlin took a case to the High Court at Auckland arguing Auckland Transport (AT) failed to follow the law when installing three speed bumps and a raised pedestrian crossing on The Parade in Bucklands Beach.Justice David Johnstone found the installation had been unlawful.”Regrettably, when making its decision to install the crossing and humps, AT did not consider whether they would unduly impede vehicular traffic.”Instead, its decision-making commenced with the assumption…