Author: Press Room

A person has died following a crash in Canterbury this morning. Police said they were called to the crash on Lake Sumner Rd in the Hurunui district around 11.30am.One person died at the scene.Another person received serious injuries.The serious crash unit has been advised.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has described attending the funeral of Pope Francis as a “tremendous privilege” and “really special”.Luxon joined dignitaries and religious leaders from around the world in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican to farewell the pontiff yesterday.US President Donald Trump and former US President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer joined Prince William and European royals leading more than 160 official delegations.Around 200,000 people attended the proceedings and millions more watched the broadcast worldwide.He said it was a “tremendous privilege” to be there representing New Zealand and…

Amongst cluster of warehouses in Tauranga’s industrial zone, there’s a large shed with no signage. Inside are workers developing some of the world’s most technologically sophisticated and revolutionary modes of transport.It’s the head quarters of Syos Aerospace, a drone manufacturer that has just signed contracts with the UK’s Ministry of Defence worth $66.8 million dollars.Syos Aerospace CEO and founder Samuel Vye spoke to Q+A the day before he left to the UK for the announcement of the deal. While he was unable to divulge the details of the deal, he was happy to talk about the work of his robotics…

Air New Zealand has apologised after a man’s kayak would not fit in a plane back to Wellington, leaving him stranded in Brisbane for two days.On April 10, Cam Butler flew from Wellington to Brisbane with three kayaks to compete with his Canoe Polo team in the 2025 Oceania Championships.Butler was meant to fly back to the capital with his three kayaks on Easter Monday, but Air New Zealand informed him he could not take the watercraft back directly to Wellington.To sort out the issue he had to stay in Brisbane for two nights longer than planned – getting back…

A small number of lambs have been euthanised after a stock truck rolled near Balclutha this afternoon.Emergency services were called to the crash at 12.38pm today on State Highway 1, between Clinton and Balclutha.Police said the driver of the truck and trailer unit had minor injuries and confirmed a stock truck was involved.”The rest of the stock on the truck has been rounded up and appear to be unharmed,” a spokesperson said.The crash closed the road and police said diversions were in place although they were not currently suitable for heavy vehicles.Fire and Emergency NZ responded with trucks from Waiwera…

A new loan scheme to help fund public electric vehicle chargers is aiming to get more in the ground across the country.Companies building EV chargers can currently apply for direct government grants to help pay for them, through a contestable fund, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said.But the Government is now putting $68.5 million in grant money towards interest-free loans instead.”Concessionary loans will bring forward private investment in public EV charging infrastructure by lowering the cost of capital,” Bishop said.”They will also provide better value for money by maximising private sector investment while keeping the taxpayers’ contribution to a minimum.”The loans…

David Seymour is defending his signature charter schools policy, after just six state schools expressed interest in converting to charter schools in the latest round of applications.Last year, the Government allowed funding for up to 35 of the country’s 2500 state schools to make the change by 2026. It also allowed funding for up to 15 brand new charter schools to open.However, just a fraction of that number now look set to be open for term one.The deadline for state schools to express interest in converting for term one in 2026 initially passed two weeks ago.More than 24 hours later,…

Heavy rain watches are in force for the upper North Island today with Northland and Auckland in for thunderstorms throughout Sunday.MetService said a front embedded in a moist northeasterly flow was expected to move slowly south over Northland and Auckland.”Periods of heavy rain, with thunderstorms and downpours possible,” the forecaster said.”Amounts may approach warning criteria and possibly exceed them in localised areas, especially in thunderstorms and downpours.”There was a moderate chance these watches could be upgraded to warnings, MetService added.”There is a lot of uncertainty with respect to the amounts and distribution of significant heavy rain.”Localised downpours of 25 to…

As the chances of another pandemic increase by the year, New Zealand should collaborate more closely with Australia to prepare, according to a Covid-19 modeller.Physicist Professor Shaun Hendy and his team at Te Pūnaha Matatini modelled Covid-19 scenarios for the Government during the height of infections. These models were instrumental in shaping decisions about lockdowns, border controls, and vaccination. In his new book, A Covid Response, Hendy said climate change, industrial agriculture, and the displacement of natural habitats “seem to be increasing our exposure rate to novel viruses by about 5% each year”. While New Zealand was better prepared for…

A live sea snake found on a beach north of Auckland this morning may have been blown ashore by recent wild weather, the Department of Conservation says.A member of the public found the yellow-bellied sea snake near the sand dunes on the southern end of Omaha Beach on Sunday.DOC senior ranger Karl Fisher said they were alerted at around 10am by an email from the member of the public.”We have sent one of our rangers to check it out, but in the meantime, we want people and their dogs to stay away from the dunes at the southern end of…