Author: Press Room

Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po is hosting her first koroneihana event marking a year since the passing of her father, the late Kingi Tuheitia Potatau Te Wherowhero VII, and her subsequent ascension to the throne.The week-long event starts today with Tainui waka set to acknowledge loved ones who passed in the last twelve months, including the late king, with the first of two kawe mate.Kiingitanga explained and why it still matters today – watch on TVNZ+Kiingitanga spokesperson Rahui Papa said this year’s Koroneihana celebration will be significant for it being the first for Kuini Nga wai.…

Because Health New Zealand has refused to reveal how much it is paying private hospitals to perform elective surgeries under a new government contract, it is difficult to assess whether taxpayers are getting value for money, writes Kaaren Mathias.The government has committed to an evidence-based, cost-effective health system that provides equitable access to all New Zealanders.At the same time, it is actively funding private healthcare and has directed Health New Zealand to give ten-year contracts to private hospitals for elective surgeries such as cataracts and joint replacements.Private healthcare may seem alluring. Surely outsourcing services such as knee replacements frees up…

A telecommunications giant in Australia signed up a homeless, non-verbal, deaf amputee to five contracts and then resisted complaints about its sales practices, a court has been told. The disability pensioner’s plight was highlighted in the Federal Court in Adelaide on Tuesday after Optus agreed to pay a $A100 million ($NZ111 million) penalty. Optus and Australia’s competition watchdog are seeking court approval for the hefty fine after the company admitted in June this year to breaching consumer law. It has accepted sales staff acted unconscionably when selling phones and contracts to more than 400 people at 16 stores nationwide between…

Warning: This story contains graphic details of child abuse and violence that may be disturbing.Government agencies failed in their duty to protect a 10-month-old baby who was murdered by his father while high on methamphetamine.Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale has laid bare what she described as a suite of failings by Oranga Tamariki and shortcomings by police in the lead-up to the death of infant CJ White.CJ suffered unsurvivable head injuries at the hands of his father, David Sinclair, in Hokitika on July 9, 2019. The 10-month-old boy died the following day in the intensive care unit at Christchurch Hospital.A paediatric radiologist…

The Government has rejected an advisory group’s call for a more elite university system with tougher entry requirements and a separate funding system from other tertiary institutions.Universities Minister Shane Reti on Tuesday announced changes informed by the University Advisory Group, which reported to the Government in April.The group’s report, also released on Tuesday, warned that failure to treat universities as a system that worked in the national interest was a “fundamental weakness”.The report queried whether universities should provide the entry-level qualification for nursing and “several caring professions”, cast doubt on the need for two separate universities in Wellington, and suggested…

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including nurses striking again, Aussie police have a message for anyone helping accused cop killer, and social media shame for a tennis fan.Thousands of nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants are striking today. Advice to make university entrance tougher has been rejected by the government. The death toll after an earthquake in Afghanistan has hit 800, and is expected to climb. Australian police have warned anyone helping accused police killer Dezi Freeman is committing a serious crime. A Polish businessman has apologised for snatching a hat intended for a child at the US Tennis Open.

Rail Minister Winston Peters. Photo: RNZ The government is close to striking a deal with a shipbuilder to deliver the new Cook Strait ferries. Ferry Holdings – a Crown company set up to buy the ships – has signed a letter of intent with one shipyard and would soon begin the final stage of technical negotiations. The shipyard would be named once the final contracts are signed. However, Rail Minister Winston Peters said it has already agreed to a fixed price, required specifications and a completion date in 2029. The two new ferries will be 200 metres long with room…

Legendary Kiwi band Split Enz will reunite for the first time in almost 20 years. The group were announced as the headliners for next year’s Electric Avenue festival at Christchurch’s Hagley Park in February. It also marks Split Enz’s 50th anniversary.“This is the most historic booking we’ve ever made – it goes far beyond ‘just another headliner’,” festival director Callam Mitchell said. “It’s going to be a cultural landmark event of epic proportions.”Split Enz will headline the festival’s first night on Friday February 27. Also announced on the lineup, to headline the festival’s second night, was Australian house producer and…

Amazon Web Services has officially opened its new Auckland data centres, claiming the move will add 1000 jobs.It has also announced an agreement with the Government to train more than 100,000 people on cloud computing, already more than half way to that goal.The company unveiled the plans in 2021, saying the data centres would open in 2024 – but construction was halted in 2023. As of last December, the plan was to open the data centres this year.Why Labour reckons the PM is pilfering its work, watch on TVNZ+In a statement on Tuesday, it confirmed it was still investing the…

A security technician has lost his licence after accessing and sharing CCTV footage of a serious workplace accident which later went viral on social media.Matthew Armitage, who had held a Certificate of Approval (COA) as a security technican since October 2023, admitted to accessing footage from a client’s security system without permission on his final day of employment.He then distributed the video to two friends, one of whom shared it widely online.The footage captured a serious health and safety incident at a site where he had been installing cameras.The viral clip caused reputational damage to his former employer, their client,…