Author: Press Room

Eleven people have been arrested and a cache of firearms and drugs have been seized in a police crackdown this week on an alleged international drug-smuggling ring across Auckland and Waikato. The arrests follow Operation Mexted, a joint five-month investigation by the National Organised Crime Group and New Zealand Customs into an alleged transnational organised criminal cell involved in the smuggling of controlled drugs into the country.Three US nationals were among those arrested.The operation netted five firearms, $915,335 in cash, 791g of methamphetamine, 18g of cocaine, and 54g of cannabis.The first phase of the operation began in late June when…

Thousands of tamariki are now on a waitlist to get into kōhanga reo as the demand for full-immersion education soars. The Kōhanga Reo National Trust says it’s been severely underfunded for years and can’t grow if that doesn’t change. Te Kōhanga Reo o Upokoiri ki Ōmahu in Hawke’s Bay has reopened three years after Cyclone Gabrielle hit the region, causing widespread flooding and devastation.Located in one of the worst-hit communities, Ōmahu, 10 kilometres north-west of Hastings, their buildings were severely damaged, forcing it to close its doors. This week, they welcomed the return of tamariki to its newly refurbished premises.Esmae…

A building insurance expert says the government’s plans to shake up the building and construction sector will remove the already inadequate protections in place for homeowners and lead to more of them footing large bills for shonky building. Gill Higgins reports. More misery for homeowners? – Watch this story on TVNZ+. “More misery for homeowners.” That’s the stark warning from building insurance expert Duncan Colebrook as the government pushes ahead with its shake up of the building industry. The goals sound positive: speed up building consents, and stop councils – and ratepayers – from footing huge bills, as seen during…

A contentious proposed bylaw which would have banned access to parts of the South Wairarapa coast is off the table in its current form.Instead, South Wairarapa councillors would choose between adopting an amended bylaw, retaining status quo, or developing other solutions to combat coastal vandalism.The council’s initial proposal, which attracted 3565 submissions – 84% against – was to temporarily restrict all access to a paper road in Cape Palliser for three years to allow the land to regenerate and heal.The paper road, which gives public access to a stretch of Cape Palliser coastline, traverses both privately-owned Māori land and Crown…

A latex bodysuit “that captivates the eye and refuses to let it go” has taken top honours in the 2025 World of WeareableArt (WOW) awards.The “off-the-scale” garment won Georgia-based latex fashion designer Dawn Mostow and her partner in life and creativity Ben Gould their first Supreme WOW Award after entering the competition since 2017.Tsukumogami, which also won the Wearable Technology Award, draws on Mostow’s fascination with ancient Japanese mythology and ceramics, especially the cobalt blue-and-white Shonzui porcelain.A radically innovative work that pays “exquisite homage” to centuries-old traditions was how the WOW judges – founder Dame Suzie Moncrieff, ceramic sculptor Virginia…

Three people have been injured, one critically, in two separate incidents in Auckland overnight.The first occurred in Gulf Harbour, where police were called to Clea View around 11.40pm yesterday after reports of a disorder at a party.St John responded with one ambulance, one rapid response unit, and one manager.”Our crews assessed and treated one patient who was transported to Auckland City Hospital in a serious condition,” a St John spokesperson said.Emergency services were then called to Glen Innes early this morning.Police were called to Rowena Cres at around 5.40am to reports of two people being injured.St John responded with two…

Two police officers have been injured, with one requiring surgery, after they were bitten by a dog while making an arrest in Rotorua last night.Police said the officers were at an address on Old Taupo Rd at around 9.10pm to find a person with a warrant for arrest.The offender was located and taken into custody, but during the arrest, a dog at the property attacked one of the officers.A second officer who tried to intervene was also injured.Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said welfare was being wrapped around the injured staff.”The two staff members went through to…

Police and council are investigating after a woman and her two children claim they witnessed a park ranger violently and “inhumanely” attacking pūkeko in an Auckland regional park.Katie Rodgers told NZ Herald she saw someone she believed to be a park worker “aggressively striking and injuring” the native birds with what appeared to be a large hammer or mallet at Shakespear Regional Park on Thursday.Her husband told the Herald the man “appeared to take pleasure in deliberately breaking the birds’ legs, leaving them suffering on the ground rather than dispatching them humanely”.He said that once the man realised he was…

A red strong wind warning has been issued for parts of Canterbury, with MetService warning of destructive 150km/h gusts as severe weather threatens to batter much of the South Island and lower North.MetService said an active front preceded by a strong north to northwest flow would move northeast over the South Island during Sunday and then would become slow moving over central New Zealand on Sunday.The red warning for Canterbury covered areas west of the foothills and west of State Highway 1 south of the Rakaia River, and was in place for 17 hours from 10pm Saturday to 3pm Sunday.MetService…

Outgoing Green Party MP Benjamin Doyle has launched a scathing attack on Parliament during their valedictory speech this afternoon.Doyle, who uses they/them pronouns, announced they would be resigning from Parliament earlier this month following controversy over their social media posts. They had used the term “bussy” – a slang term used by some in the rainbow community.Speaking in the House this afternoon, Doyle said: “This place is hostile and toxic, especially if you are not a cis straight white man with a blue suit and a briefcase, but most of all it is not fit for purpose.”As a nation we…