Author: Press Room

Lotto’s Powerball jackpot has grown to $10 million after no tickets won the coveted prize this evening.The winning numbers are: 03, 17, 22, 27, 29, 40, bonus ball 09, and Powerball 08.However, two lucky players from Auckland and Reporoa have won $500,000 each with Lotto First Division. The winning tickets were sold at New World Howick in Auckland and Reporoa Foodmarket in Reporoa.Strike Four has also rolled over to $1.1 million on Wednesday’s draw.

Farmers in a small South Island town are worried milk and meat produced in the area will be contaminated if a waste-to-energy plant goes ahead. The giant incinerator would be located several kilometres from a school field in Glenavy, in southern Canterbury, and turn 365,000 tonnes of trash into electricity per year.The $350 million project has already been given fast track approval and those behind the joint New Zealand-Chinese-backed project are promising the plant will meet strict air quality standards. Glenavy School board trustee Adam Rivett said, “the dioxins in the air that these things release. If you look at…

A person has died and four others have been injured following a two-vehicle crash in Ōpōtiki this afternoon.Police say they were called to the collision on State Highway 2 near Dunlop Rd in Waiotahe around 2pm.One person died at the scene. One person was taken to Tauranga Hospital with serious injuries, while another was taken to Waikato Hospital with serious injuries. A further two people were taken to Whakatāne Hospital with moderate injuries.A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said it responded with three ambulances, three helicopters, one rapid response unit, one patient transfer vehicle, and one manager.Three fire crews were…

ACT Party leader David Seymour says his coalition partners “find it exceedingly difficult” to act in good faith over the Treaty Principles Bill, but asserted that the Government remains “very robust”.The future deputy PM said his legislation to redefine the Treaty of Waitangi principles was “foundational to solving our other problems”, appearing to make a veiled reference to comments by National leader and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.Seymour spoke to Q+A after tens of thousands marched through Wellington on Tuesday as Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, in opposition to the Treaty bill, arrived at Parliament’s grounds. Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer…

A recent Education Review Office (ERO) report shows chronic school absences in high schools have doubled in the last decade and one in 10 students were chronically absent in term two of this year.Over half of the students who are chronically absent identified mental health as a reason for missing school, the report shows.In comparison, 27% of chronically absent students identified physical health as a reason for absence.Code M is the attendance code teachers put next to a student’s name if they are absent because of illness or medical reasons, which can include mental health.Former high school student Cameron Paratene…

Some roads surrounding Auckland’s Queen Street will be closed for part of today for the annual Farmers Santa Parade.Most will be shut from 11am until 5pm.”People are advised to get into the city before 11am,” the parade’s website said.The parade, which sets off along the 1.6km route at 1pm, is in its 91st year.This year’s procession is being led by High Jump Olympic gold medallist Hamish Kerr, and floats will include TV pup Bluey and one made out of Lego.At 2.30pm there will be a party in Aotea Square “filled with festive Christmas music and dance including the Bluey Live…

Two people have died after a crash involving three vehicles in South Auckland overnight.Emergency services were called to the scene in Takanini at about 12.25am this morning.The collision at the intersection of Great South Road and Walter Strevens Drive involved a truck and two cars, a police spokesperson said.”Two people in one of the cars died, while the driver of the second car had minor injuries. The driver of the truck was uninjured,” the spokesperson said.”Cordons were in place for several hours, and the Serious Crash Unit attended the scene.”A St John spokesperson said one ambulance and three rapid response…

A prisoner has been arrested and returned to custody after allegedly assaulting Corrections staff and carjacking a vehicle during a medical appointment at Waikato Hospital today.Police said they were notified of a person escaping custody and assaulting two Corrections officers outside Waikato Hospital at around 12.30pm.Detective Inspector Darrell Harpur said the alleged offender then carjacked a vehicle in the hospital carpark and fled the scene.”Police made area enquiries to locate the man in the stolen vehicle, before it was sighted by the Eagle helicopter in Te Awamutu at around 3.25pm.”The Eagle Helicopter tracked the vehicle until police staff on the…

The owner of New Zealand’s biggest opencast coal mine – Bathurst Resources – is about to embark on a round of community meetings on the West Coast to explain its plans to secure and expand its mining operations on the Stockton plateau.The company has been selected to apply under the Government’s fast-track legislation for consents that would allow it to keep mining coal for a further 25 years.Bathurst managers made their pitch this week in a presentation to the West Coast Tai Poutini Conservation Board meeting in Hokitika.The company’s environmental manger Campbell Robertson acknowledged the comment by chair Mike Legge…

Police have arrested a man in Auckland who allegedly targeted “vulnerable elderly victims” with a banking scam, taking more than $200,000.Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Bunting said a 20-year-old man was arrested as the Waitematā CIB’s Financial Crime Team executed a search warrant at a New Lynn address following a month-long investigation.”The arrest followed a short investigation into a scam targeting elderly victims, which involved fraudulent emails purporting to be from the victim’s bank requiring the victim to contact the bank via phone.”The emails included a fictitious phone number connected to the scam.”Three victims have been identified so far and have…