Author: Press Room

More KiwiSaver schemes allow investors to choose their own investments – but should you do it?This week, Sharesies expanded its ‘self select’ KiwiSaver option to include US shares and exchange-traded funds. Members can now add more than 150 New Zealand and US investments to their KiwiSaver portfolios, alongside ‘base funds’.Up to half a KiwiSaver member’s plan can be allocated to their own investment picks, with a maximum of 5% in each pick.To varying degrees, Craigs Investment Partners, NZ Funds, Nikko, InvestNow, Kernel and KiwiWRAP also allow investors to select where their money goes.Sharesies super and funds general manager Matt McPherson…

Rail Minister Winston Peters has confirmed a Māori land block south of Whangārei will not be acquired by the Government to build the Marsden Point Rail Link project. The 80-acre area is one of the last plots of Māori freehold land in the Parawhau hapū rohe and is owned by the Kopuwaiwaha Block 2B2 Trust.Chairperson Mere Kepa told 1News earlier this month she had long feared it would be compulsorily acquired under the Public Works Act to build the project.The 19km spur would connect Northport at Marsden Point to the national rail network. In a statement, earlier this month, KiwiRail…

Politicians promising to slash and reduce council rates are touting a “fantasy” given the reality of local government finances, says Hamilton City’s outgoing mayor.Councils across the country are facing mounting pressure from ratepayers demanding lower bills amid cost of living pressure. Double-digit rate hikes in the past several years have been blamed on rising costs and underinvestment in infrastructure. Panellists on Q+A’s local elections special this week suggested that councils were facing real financial pressure.Paula Southgate, who has been Hamilton’s mayor for the past six years, said she believed candidates pledging zero rate rises or to go further and cut…

The daughter of a New Plymouth councillor is claiming a victory of sorts, after facing a hefty fine and a years-long battle with the council over who was responsible for a massive pōhutukawa outside her home.Lines company Powerco has sent in contractors to remove the 15 metre-tall pōhutukawa at no cost, after it had grown through powerlines on Ballance St.Alana Brough, who is the daughter of first-term councillor Max Brough, was overjoyed and baked for the contractors, who were bringing down the tree in the rain.”The tree’s coming down, whoohoo,” she said. “I had a phone call from Powerco to…

Abilities Group employees left “heartbroken” when their factory went up in flames on Auckland’s North Shore two months ago are finally back to doing what they love. The fire tore through the charities’ recycling depot building in Wairau Valley shortly before 5.30pm on April 24, prompting beaches to close and leaving the workers without jobs, income or purpose. At the time, Abilities Group managing director Peter Fraher said the fire destroyed critical equipment and spaces essential to daily operations, and “the impact on the team has been immense”.”Abilities is more than a workplace — it’s a supportive environment where disabled…

Police are seeking the public’s help to find a 17-year-old girl who was last seen at an Auckland mall.Police said Whetu Bennett hadn’t been seen since about 12pm on Wednesday when she was at LynnMall, in the suburb of New Lynn.However, Whetu’s sister Janet Jones said her sister was last seen with her partner at Lynnmall on Tuesday about 12pm.Whetu was wearing a beige top, a black dress and sunglasses on the day she went missing, she said.Jones said Whetu’s partner contacted their mother in the early hours of Thursday to tell her that he hadn’t seen her since that…

A Civil Defence controller for Nelson-Tasman has urged residents to be cautious and vigilant of their surroundings after this weekend’s flood.Waters are receding, but the region remains under a state of emergency.Controller Rob Smith advised people to be careful as they continued clearing up.On Saturday, police said a person cleaning up died after being hit by a falling tree. A Civil Defence information hub was open in Motueka to provide any assistance, he added.Widespread flooding is threatening homes, triggering slips and shutting major highways. (Source: 1News)Civil Defence Minister Mark Mitchell will be surveying the flood-affected areas later today.Meanwhile, Marlborough Emergency…

People have known it as Base Clothing store, but the Wānaka retailer has changed its name to Corner Store. As it turns out, it is one of the longest-running clothing stores in town. Owner Chris Walsh got his first retail job when he was just 15, working across the Ditch in Newcastle, where he was brought up. That was where he got a taste of fashion and the fun that comes from working in the industry, he says. “There were these cool girls working with me and I was thinking ‘Whoa, there’s great girls, you can hang out with girls,…

Eleven homes were damaged after a tornado hit a neighbourhood in Waitara overnight. MetSerivce recorded strong wind gusts in the Taranaki areas, reaching about 130kph, along with intense downpours between 20-30mm per hour. More from this story can be found on TVNZ+Sebastian and Jessica Murrihy were home with their three children, aged three, six and eight, when the tornado ripped through their house at midnight. Shirleen Patterson outside her damaged property. (Source: 1News)”It was a huge noise,” Jessica said, adding that it sounded like intense thunder, except “more terrifying, it felt like the house was shaking”. They got up to…

Police are treating the death of a man at Mt Eden Corrections Facility as a homicide, it has confirmed.Police said it was made aware at around 4pm that a man had died at the prison.Detective inspector Greg Brand said officers “continue to follow positive lines of inquiry”.Earlier today, Dion Paki, general manager at Mt Eden Corrections Facility said police had notified the man’s next of kin.He said the prisoner was in a double-bunked cell, and his cellmate had been moved to a single cell.”We would like to express our sincere condolences to everyone impacted at this difficult time.”We acknowledge this…