Author: Press Room

Auckland Council is deliberately setting controlled fires inside rubbish trucks to try and better understand and mitigate the dangers posed by lithium-ion batteries in household waste.The council says the batteries, commonly found in e-bikes, smartphones, and e-scooters, were responsible for a growing number of fires during bin collection runs.Fourteen fires had been recorded so far this year, matching the total for all last year.Senior waste operations collections safety specialist Lyndon Collie said all batteries could combust, generating extreme heat and sometimes an explosion.”It doesn’t matter if it’s a small battery, big battery, flat, fully charged, they still go off the…

World War I medals stolen from the mailbox of a veteran’s grandson have been anonymously returned to a war memorial museum in Wellsford, police say.The medals belonging to decorated soldier Elmer James Conlon were discovered in the returns bin at Wellsford War Memorial Museum yesterday.On Wednesday, grandson Pat Conlon made a report to police after the valuable parcel, containing the medals, was allegedly stolen from his mailbox.Pat told Breakfast earlier this week the theft was “gut-wrenching”. Police then appealed to the public for information that could help locate the medals, or for any locals to report if they’d seen any…

Two homes and a block of units have been evacuated in Porirua this morning after a landslip struck two apartments beneath a cliff in the suburb of Paremata.Fire and Emergency NZ said it received a call at about 9.38am to a landslip between Walker Ave and Acheron Rd.The service responded with two trucks from Paremata and Porirua as well as a command checkpoint from Wellington.”We evacuated two houses above the cliff, as well as the apartments below that had been breached,” a spokesperson said.Search and Rescue provided a drone to assess the damage and the council sent a geotechnical engineer…

Labour has confirmed MP Peeni Henare will contest the by-election for the Tāmaki Makaurau seat, competing against Te Pāti Māori’s Oriini Kaipara.Henare held the seat between 2014 and the most recent general election, when he narrowly lost to the late Takutai Tarsh Kemp, who stood for Te Pāti Māori.The list MP said his focus would be on fighting for “real solutions”.”Everywhere I go, communities are saying loud and clear, that jobs, access to quality and affordable health services, affordable housing and relief from the rising cost of living must be a top priority,” Henare said in a statement. “Tāmaki Makaurau…

An alleged drunk driver has a date with court after his vehicle became stuck on a Taranaki state highway median barrier in the early hours of yesterday morning.Police were called to reports of a vehicle stuck on the median barrier on State Highway 3 near the Waitara River Bridge at about 2.10am on Saturday.Footage provided to 1News showed wheels spinning as the driver appeared to try moving forward and back from the stranding.”I don’t think it’s coming off there, buddy,” an onlooker could be heard saying.Chris Cooper, who was on the scene, told 1News he was driving down State Highway…

A Kiwi entrepreneur who held senior roles in Facebook says “it’s hard to say” if the social media platform represents a net good in the world.Leaving Auckland for California, Bowen Pan went on to spearhead the development of Facebook Marketplace from 2014 to 2018. Facebook app log-in screen (file image). (Source: istock.com)He then became a product leader for Facebook Gaming from 2018 to 2020. Q+A asked Pan to reflect on the issues raised by fellow Kiwi Sarah Wynn-Williams in Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, her memoir where she recounts her time as Facebook’s public…

New Zealand Youth Choir has won the top award at an international competition in Wales.The singers, aged between 18 and 25, have been awarded Choir of the World at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales.The choir blends waiata and kapa haka with traditional choral repertoire. It is comprised of around 50 singers and operates on a three-year membership.The award came hot on the heels of another win at the European Choir Games in Denmark earlier in the week, where they won the Grand Prix of Nations, with a score of 97.5 in the Folklore Category.The judges called the New…

Hundreds of homes in the Tasman region remain without power as assessment teams visit flood-damaged properties and tackle a major clean-up ahead.Assessment teams are visiting properties today, focusing on Mārahau, Motueka Valley, Tadmore Valley, Tapawera, Wangapeka, Sherry River Valley, Riwaka, and Brooklyn.The Nelson Tasman region remains under a state of emergency. Parts of State Highway 6 remain closed in the region due to slips and flooding.Currently, 357 households remain without power, according to the Tasman District Council, with work on repairing the network recommencing this morning. Temporary boil water notices are in place for residents of Tapawera, and permanent boil…

A “wall of water” filled with forestry slash has laid waste to parts of a Kaiteriteri holiday park, forcing a daring escape in a digger bucket and leaving locals heartbroken.They say the relentless rain was like nothing they had ever seen and, by mid-afternoon, a torrent of water – waist-high and full of forestry slash – was barrelling through parts of Kaiteriteri’s Bethany Park camp.Picking her way through deep silt, Waka Abel Tasman tourism business co-owner Lee-Anne Jago showed RNZ damage caused to boats, shelters and caravans that were usually stored at the back of the campsite.She said the mess…

Is cash still king? Is it legal for businesses to insist customers pay by credit card or bank transfer? 1News reporter Taylor Rice follows the money to uncover where transaction trends are taking us.Restaurants are deciding to refuse cash payments in a trend that is “growing steadily”, according to the Restaurant Association of New Zealand.The association, with 2000 members across the country, told 1News some restaurants are making the switch to save costs on bank deposit fees, for safety concerns, or for time-consuming reconciliations and to reduce human error.”It’s not just about convenience — it’s a financial and operational decision…