Author: Press Room

Business South has been called “irresponsible and short-sighted” after rejecting an invitation to join Dunedin’s carbon zero alliance amid concerns the council’s plans are too ambitious. Last year, the Dunedin City Council resolved to invite the southern business association to the Zero Carbon Alliance — a group of major Dunedin organisations working to collaboratively reduce the city’s emissions, aiming for the city to be carbon neutral by 2030. Business South chief executive Mike Collins said it declined the invitation because it would duplicate work already under way with another organisation and over questions whether the timeline was too short. The…

The government has freed up “billions” of dollars through additional public service cuts to be redeployed into “New Zealand’s most pressing priorities”.Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced at a speech to the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday morning the government is halving its operating allowance – the new money it has available to spend at the May Budget – from $2.4 billion to $1.3b.That will result in only a small number of government departments receiving additional funding this year, with Willis characterising next month’s Budget as “no lolly scramble”.”New spending initiatives are strictly limited to the most important priorities:…

Queenstown Airport is set to start the next major project in its capital development programme. Over the next 14 months, the terminal building will be extended north towards the airfield to provide 800sq m of new office and operational space for Air New Zealand, Planebiz, and the Aviation Security Service. Fitout of the new space and renovation of existing offices will then proceed in stages. The overall project is scheduled for completion early in 2027, the airport said in a statement yesterday. “This will give airline staff working behind the scenes a much better work environment, and will also improve…

The main cause of Gene Hackman’s death was heart disease, but he was also in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s disease and likely had not eaten for a long time, according to a new autopsy report.The report documents the 95-year-old actor’s poor heart health, noting he had experienced congestive heart failure, an aortic valve replacement and an irregular heart beat. He was given a pacemaker in April 2019.Hackman’s carbon monoxide concentration was less than 5% saturation, which is within the normal range. He tested negative for the hantavirus, which is a rare but potentially fatal disease spread by infected rodent…

Santana Minerals has worked out a way to halve the amount of rock it needs to waste before it reaches its Central Otago payload. The company outlined the information in a note to the Australian Stock Exchange last week. It said the results of a study it commissioned on the Bendigo-Ophir gold mine found an improved pit design could make the project more efficient, meaning less waste material needed to be processed, which would also significantly reduce costs. Santana Minerals chief executive Damian Spring said the company initially estimated 15 million bank cubic metres (a bcm is the unit of…

Wellington mayor Tory Whanau has announced she is no longer running for a second term.In a statement, Whanau said Andrew Little entering the race had “changed the game”, and she did not want a “Green vs. Labour narrative to distract from what’s important for our city”.”I have a lot of respect for Andrew and his leadership skills. He has support from many corners and the skills and experience to unite our Council. The progressive goals I have fought for are at risk this election and I do not want a Green vs. Labour narrative to distract from what’s important for…

ADVERTISEMENTGermany will step up to the new security demands in Europe, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has said, as his country marked 70 years of NATO membership against the backdrop of the Trump administration signalling that US defence priorities lie elsewhere.”Today, with Putin’s war against Ukraine raging on in full force and with the United States putting fierce pressure on its European allies, Germany, I think, is in a crucial position,” Steinmeier said.”Germany is being called on and we heard the call. We got the message and indeed, Mark, you can count on us,” he said, standing alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte…

A Southland recycling company has decided to close the doors of one of its plants to ensure the long-term future of its operations and secure the jobs of about 80 people with disabilities, the general manager says. Recycle South announced yesterday the closure of its further processing plant at Makarewa due to the ongoing financial climate and global export unrest. The $2 million plant was opened in 2022 with the aim of sorting agricultural plastic, such as bale wrap, from Southland farms, as well as from parts of Otago. At the time, it was pitched as the first of its…

Dunedin-based cancer diagnostic firm Pacific Edge has been dealt a severe financial blow after its key testing procedure was excluded from coverage by the United States Medicare federal health insurance scheme. The firm has been battling for more than a year to overturn a draft decision by a regional manager of the Medicare scheme to cease paying for the bladder cancer tests. However, the new coverage regime has now come into force and excluded Pacific Edge’s test, which accounted for 60% of the company’s income. “We are obviously disappointed we have been unable to maintain coverage of our tests in…

ADVERTISEMENTBrazil is optimistic that the EU-Mercosur trade deal can be ratified despite some opposition, and believes the current US tariff situation will impel this, a leading Brazilian trade envoy has told Euronews. “We are very optimistic especially now that US has raised tariffs across the world,” Jorge Vian, head of ApexBrasil, Brazil’s Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, told Euronews, adding: “With the hostile environment that the world is facing right now we may collaborate to improve the implementation of the agreement.”In December, the European Commission concluded a political agreement with the Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – to…