Author: Press Room

A Paeroa business has been fined more than $150,000 after migrant workers were forced to work up to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, without being paid their lawful entitlements. Chetna Dave and her husband Hitesh Dave – the directors of Dev Trading Limited (DTL), trading as Super Clearance – recruited two Indian nationals under the Accredited Employer Work Visa (AEWV) scheme. Dev Trading has since been sold and is under new management. An investigation into the company revealed that the workers were subjected to unlawful employment practices, Immigration NZ said. It included being required to work extremely…

A man has been taken into custody after he was found hiding under a child’s bed in Auckland – having allegedly run off from police while trying to ditch a gun.Inspector Nina Pedersen said the dramatic scenes began to unfold when officers spotted a speeding vehicle on the Northern Motorway near Puhoi. The vehicle was confirmed as stolen and was tracked speeding off the motorway at Ōrewa, carrying on through Silverdale and south to Albany. The Eagle helicopter then continued monitoring it. The vehicle was spiked on Oteha Valley Rd, and the two men got out of the vehicle on…

By Amy Williams of RNZ In Auckland, businesses near the new Ikea store are steeling themselves for a stampede to the homeware giant’s opening on Thursday. Traffic experts have run their numbers and expect crowds of up to 20,000 a day, with a 40-minute crawl on the nearby motorway and another 40 to find a car park. Ikea’s three-storey blue box consumes a whole block at Mt Wellington, with 544 carparks, close to 37 bike racks and 28 motorbike bays – for those not taking home the flat packs. Just a few doors down, Cloud 777 Cafe manager Vicky John is expecting local roads to…

Police have released the name of the man who was killed in central New Plymouth on November 19.He was Martin James Mooney, aged 68, from New Plymouth.Emergency services were called to the scene on St Aubyn St after a report of an altercation which occurred shortly before 7pm.On police arrival, a man was found with critical injuries.”CPR was performed, however he died at the scene,” a police spokesperson said.A 44-year-old was arrested, and has been charged with Mooney’s murder. He was remanded in custody and is expected to appear in New Plymouth High Court on December 5.Police said the investigation…

The impulse to own a house remains a core driver for many New Zealanders seeking security and future wealth, but a large number think that will never happen, according to a new bank survey. The second Kiwibank State of Home Ownership report showed 85 percent of respondents agreed home ownership was at the core of what it called the “Kiwi Dream”, unchanged from the 2024 report. Confidence in achieving that was improving, but 57 percent still felt locked out of the market, and 46 percent of non-owners said they had “given up hope” of their own house. Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich said the survey…

Next year’s opening date of the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) has been revealed – a milestone which marks the end of a decade-long construction project.SkyCity revealed the date, February 11, earlier this morning as it gave media a tour of the new central Auckland venue. The NZICC project, located on Hobson St in the city centre, is adjacent to Auckland’s Sky Tower and spans 32,500 square metres over four floors. (Source: Supplied)The gambling and entertainment company promised a series of “special events” during the first few weeks of the centre’s operation. The NZICC project, located on Hobson and…

One person has died after a car hit a tree and caught fire off State Highway 5 at Tapapa, near Tīrau, late this morning.Police were notified of the crash at around 10.45am between Harwoods and Tapapa roads. The vehicle caught fire after the impact, with the blaze spreading into nearby vegetation.Hato Hone St John responded to the scene with one ambulance and one operations manager.In an update just after 3pm, police confirmed a person had died.SH5 between the intersection of SH28 and SH5 and the intersection of SH5 and Maraeroa Road was closed following the crash but was reopened just…

Police have charged a man who allegedly used stolen credit card details to purchase more than $1000 worth of petrol from multiple service stations across Auckland. Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Williams said a petrol company manager began receiving notifications of petrol thefts between September 1 and 26. Police said a man was captured on camera filling up various vehicles or walking onto the forecourt to fill jerry cans across nine different service stations, wearing the same clothing during each alleged incident.”Police and the petrol company were able to match the timings of the purchases with CCTV and identify the same…

The Department of Conservation is calling for information from the public after two “concerning” incidents at marine reserves in the Nelson-Tasman region last month.Earlier today, DOC issued a reminder about the rules within marine reserves ahead of the summer season.It was revealed last month breaches of marine reserve rules were showing no signs of slowing down. DOC said at the time compliance teams were encountering more serious and deliberate breaches, with offenders caught line fishing, trolling through reserves, kayak fishing, and setting cray pots.Marine reserves are “no take” areas and any kind of fishing is strictly prohibited. DOC said the…

Two people are set to appear in court after what police described as a ‘violent assault’ during an alleged shoplifting attempt at Auckland’s Glenfield Mall last week. Police were called to the North Shore mall at around 1.30pm Friday after receiving reports that two security guards had been attacked by alleged shoplifters. Acting Senior Sergeant Alex Waworis alleged two females had “violently assaulted three people” who were trying to stop them from leaving the mall. “Two security guards and a member of the public had been assaulted, with two of the victims needing to be transported to hospital for medical…