Author: Press Room

The Transport Minister has laid out a vision for boosting Auckland’s urban density in a speech to a business group.Speaking to the Committee for Auckland today, the newly-minted Transport Minister Chris Bishop started his speech by stating he made “no apologies for being what is sometimes called an urbanist”.His ideas for the city included reigning in congestion — with a Time of Use charging bill expected to get to select committee by the end of March — removing level crossings, encouraging transit-orientated development, and taking a “fresh look” at the city’s viewshafts.Bishop said Auckland’s 73 viewshafts — which limited building…

The Carterton District Council hopes it can pull its speed review out of limbo with a request to the Transport Minister.The council, which consulted on reducing speeds across the district in 2023, has been unable to implement the proposed changes because of a new transport rule brought in by the Coalition Government.The rule required six weeks of consultation and a business case for each speed reduction, which was not previously a requirement at the time the council consulted on its speed review.Changes in limbo for Carterton included a blanket speed reduction to 80km/h on gravel roads, and speed reductions on…

An unprecedented 55 haka groups will perform at Te Matatini Festival from Tuesday in New Plymouth, Taranaki.The groups are split over four pools – Te Ihu, Te Haumi, Te Kei, Te Awa – each pool has been allocated a performance day.Tuesday – Te Ihu (Source: Supplied)Fourteen groups will perform on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and thirteen on Friday in the preliminary round.At the end of Friday, the top twelve teams – three selected from each pool – will be named to perform in Te Mātangirua, the finals day, on Saturday.Wednesday – Te Haumi (Source: Supplied)Organisers are expecting 70,000 to attend the…

A death-bed promise to solve a family mystery took Laura Ancell and her mother on a remarkable, “deeply personal” journey from the south coast of England to Aotearoa’s shores and all the way to Parliament, reports Emma Hildesley. Sitting next to their beloved father and husband on his death-bed, Laura Ancell and her mother Jayne clasped Billy’s hand and made him a promise that would change the course of their lives. Growing up in Brighton on England’s south coast, Billy had “always felt like a big part of him was missing” since being told in his 30s that the man…

When their recently purchased horse went lame, Pip Gordon felt they were owed a refund. The Disputes Tribunal agreed. But that was just the start of a long struggle to get her money back. It turned out the seller has a history of not paying, and is a repeat offender on Fair Go. In August 2022, Pip Gordon’s 20-year-old daughter Jorja was over the moon. She’d found a horse she believed was her ticket to becoming a competitive show jumper. Sally, or Sal, had good lineage, and photos showed her looking great in action. Even her mum was happy.“The fact…

At least three flights over the Tasman Sea have reportedly been forced to change routes after fears Chinese naval vessels were carrying out live-fire drills in the region. Australia has warned airlines flying to and from New Zealand to beware of warships conducting live-fire exercises, the country’s foreign minister Penny Wong said.Wong confirmed media reports that regulator Airservices Australia had warned commercial pilots of a potential hazard in the airspace between New Zealand and Australia as three Chinese warships conducted exercises off the Australian east coast.Defence Minister Judith Collins said, as on Friday night, the New Zealand Government had no…

Thousands of anti-government protesters commemorate the seventh anniversary of the killings of an investigative journalist and his fiancée in Slovakia. ADVERTISEMENTThousands rallied across Slovakia on Friday to mark the seventh anniversary of the killing of investigative journalist Ján Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kušnírová, who were shot dead at their home town of Velka Maca, east of Bratislava, in February 2018.They were both aged 27 at the time of their death and the incident sparked major street protests unseen since the 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia.The ensuing political crisis led to the collapse of a coalition government headed by…

Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews have been called to fires at four churches in Masterton this morning. It is now thought up to seven churches were targeted, although fire took hold at four sites.A Masterton church damaged in a fire. (Source: 1News)The four fires were believed to have started between 4.25am and 4.35am and the “damage to the churches ranged from moderate to significant”, a Fire and Emergency spokesperson said.”The fires are being treated as suspicious and have been referred to police.”The churches damaged were: Anglican Church Of The Epiphany, St Patrick’s Catholic Church Masterton, Masterton Baptist Church, and…

Fourteen councils have been ordered to fluoridate some or all of their drinking water. Who is following the order and who’s fighting back? Local Democracy Reporting takes a look.Deadlines are fast approaching for councils who must fluoridate their drinking water supplies or face a hefty fine.That’s caused anger in some places with one mayor claiming he’ll go to prison rather than follow the order.In 2022, then Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield issued the fluoride directive to 14 councils.Of those, five councils are yet to start fluoridating their water supplies: Far North District, Rotorua Lakes District, Waipa District, Western Bay of…

The firefighters’ union has written to Fire and Emergency requesting a review into a serious multi-property fire in a new north Auckland subdivision this week.One house was destroyed and three others were damaged on Lees Street in Wainui on Wednesday.Professional Firefighters Union vice president Martin Campbell said he wanted a review to assess crews’ ability to respond to fires in small, close together subdivisions.It would help determine whether narrow roading, speed calming measures, out of date maps or staffing and workload problems had hampered crews’ efforts to respond to the fire in a timely manner, he said.”The ideal solution would…