Author: Press Room

The Goverment’s announcement that it will provide loan funding of $30 million for at-risk regional airlines is being welcomed as a lifeline by Air Chathams to maintain its Whakatāne to Auckland route.However, Whakatāne Mayor Victor Luca thinks the Government offer falls short of what it should be doing to keep regional airlines operating.”It’s a start,” he said. “Only the operators know if it’s enough.”I still think the Government has an obligation to do more. If Air New Zealand is 51% owned by us, and they are making hundreds of millions of profit these days, then I think they need to…

Nelson-based nutritionist Julie North got her hands on the only Harricado in the country and put it to the smash – comparing NZ avos in form and flavour.The Harricado, described as creamy and nutty, is a new variety of the popular fruit discovered this year. The home orchardist who grew the avo, Harry Pearson, first stumbled upon the huge avocado tree at an open home in Nelson.”I joked with the owners after I purchased the property, I said ‘the main reason I bought it was the avocado tree’,” Pearson told RNZ.Pearson is working with the New Zealand Tree Crops Association…

ADVERTISEMENT A viral wave of disinformation targeting Spanish olive oil is shaking up the industry with claims that bottles labelled as ‘non-EU’ actually contain Moroccan olive oil.  However, while these claims are false, similar ones arguing that the Spanish government will recall olive oil products from the markets if the next harvest is too abundant are partially true. Claims on social media are leading Spaniards to believe that their olive oil industry – which accounts for nearly 50% of global production and is vital to Spain’s economy, generating around €3.2 billion and supporting close to 42,000 jobs – is being…

Nine bottles in 10 minutes.That’s how many discarded nitrous oxide canisters Manurewa Local Board chair Matt Winiata says he found across three local streets, with some far larger than the small silver “nangs” commonly scattered across Auckland.The discovery prompted Winiata to urge Auckland Council’s Safety and Regulatory Committee public forum yesterday to press central government for urgent controls on the sale and size of nitrous oxide bottles.Nitrous oxide, known as nangs, was legally sold as a whipped-cream propellant. But Winiata warned councillors that bottles now appearing on local streets were up to 3.3 litres in size, the equivalent of 300…

The co-owner of Wellington beer brand Fortune Favours says he’s “stoked” that Garage Project will be taking on their central Wellington Brewery bar after its abrupt closure last week.Shannon Thorpe said skyrocketing costs and a 45% down-turn in revenue over the last two years had forced the closure of the brewery.The announcement came just days after the brand won a top honour this year’s annual Beervana beer festival.(Source: rnz.co.nz)Fortune Favours was founded by Thorpe and head brewer Dale Cooper in 2016.Thorpe said he was grateful to all his crew who continued to work last week as the outpouring of support…

West Coast Police say there’s not a lot they can do about online death threats to Grey District councillors.The council’s chief executive Joanne Soderlund filed a complaint with the Police in Greymouth at the weekend over recent anonymous threats to the councillors and mayor that included assassination and torture.In a statement, police said they did not condone the behaviour but there was not enough evidence of the alleged offences to take further action.Officers had spoken to the council to ensure it had sufficient security in place for its staff, police said.Grey District mayor Tania Gibson said the response was disappointing.Mayor…

Like a modern day “Robin Hood minus the robberies”, a competition winner has donated their $10,000 prize money to a kai distribution charity.When former social worker Kahukura Ahau (Ngāti Porou) saw the competition ad run by sandwich chain Subway, they already knew what they would do if they won.”The first thought I had was, how can I redistribute this money from a big company back into the community?” Ahau said.The competition itself was a quest to find Subway’s biggest fan, giving contestants freedom to show how much they love the sandwich joint.”From original songs to foot-long tattoos, sub-themed decor, and…

Hato Hone St John has recorded it’s busiest month ever – with more than 50,000 ambulance incidents recorded in August. Acting DCE Ambulance Operations Rosanne Shaw said winter often brought higher demand, but said this year there had been “unprecedented demand”. “We have seen a significant rise in respiratory-related emergencies. In the past year, ambulance crews responded to almost 6000 cases of breathing difficulties, up 33% on the 12-month average,” she said. Despite the soaring demand for ambulances, the agency said it had also been helping to reduce pressure on emergency departments through other initiatives. Shaw said one of these…

Twelve new junior doctors are being recruited to Nelson Hospital following a damning review that found staffing shortages were affecting care.Health NZ’s acting executive regional director for Te Waipounamu Phil Wheble said the permanent full-time roles include five anaesthetic registrars, six internal medicine registrars and one orthopaedic registrar.The recruitment drive follows recommendations from a 25-page review released in July, which outlined “significant” staffing issues and found that Nelson Hospital has specific shortfalls in some services compared to the rest of New Zealand.The review highlighted the need to increase staff numbers to manage hospital demand and address long-term vacancies.Senior doctors say…

An increase in murder, attempted murder and manslaughter cases is putting the court system under significant strain, the country’s top judge says.Chief Justice Dame Helen Winkelmann said criminal trials are also becoming longer and more complex, now averaging 17 days – the highest level ever recorded.Just four years ago the average was 14 days.Factors behind the increase include more evidence being submitted, sometimes from electronic devices such as mobile phones.An increase in trials with multiple defendants is another factor adding to the burden.Murder, attempted murder and manslaughter – known as Category 4 offences – now make up 76% of new…