Author: Press Room

The driver of a vehicle, who fled on foot after crashing into a restaurant during a fatal two-car collision in Auckland, is being sought by police. The two vehicles collided on Dominion Road in Balmoral just after 1am near Wiremu Street. Police said one vehicle crashed into a restaurant’s storefront, while the other vehicle had come to a stop a short distance away. “Immediately after the crash, the driver of the vehicle which crashed into the shop fled on foot from the scene,” Detective Senior Sergeant Rebecca Kirk said.Police arrived at the scene a short time later and found the…

A sheep milk cheddar has taken out the top prize at the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards this year.”Complex, waxy, balanced with a beautiful ivory paste. Delicious. Favourite of the day,” judges said about the about the Whitestone Cheese Co’s winner.The sheep milk cheddar also bagged two other awards – best original cheese and best-in-class.Oamaru-based Pukaki’s blue brie was named best new cheese and one of their cheesemakers, Jonathan Emerson, was named champion cheesemaker.Waikato-based Meyer Cheese took home five trophies, including three for their cheese (Maasdam cheese, smoked gouda, and fenugreek) and one for assistant cheesemaker Jarvis Whyte. They were…

By Susan Edmunds, of RNZ KiwiSaver members’ contributions in the March quarter were largely cancelled out by ructions in financial markets. Morningstar has released its latest KiwiSaver survey, which shows the amount of money in the scheme was about the same in March as it was at the end of last year, at $121 billion. Most KiwiSaver multi-sector funds made losses in the March quarter, as sharemarkets around the world were hit by the impact of US President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs. Morningstar noted that while all default funds fell, Simplicity and Superlife fell “noticeably more”. They are passive managers,…

The owner of a cat fatally mauled by roaming dogs this week has been horrified to learn that her pet Stormy is not the only victim of this group of dogs in Whakatāne.Whakatāne District Council dog control officers say they have impounded eight dogs over the past 10 days and are encouraging people to make formal complaints when they see roaming dogs, rather than post about them on social media.Trinaka Godsmark-Tawa’s cat Stormy was found dead on Monday morning.The James Street resident had been getting ready for work just after 5am when they heard loud and aggressive barking that lasted…

Police are investigating after a body was found in a burnt-out vehicle in a north Wellington suburb overnight. Officers were called to Ladbrooke Drive in Woodridge at around 11.40pm following reports of a vehicle fire. When emergency services arrived at the scene, a body was found inside the vehicle. “Enquiries are now underway to establish the full circumstances of what has occurred,” Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Williamson said. A scene guard was in place where the vehicle was found and at a nearby property. A scene examination was due to take place today. “While the circumstances around this incident are…

For a long time, consumers have been warned that using payment platform POLi could breach their banks’ terms and conditions.But now, one bank is partnering with POLi to allow customers to use it to make secure open banking-based payments.POLi allows payments to be made to a merchant without a service such as a card provider in the middle.It is used by many big-name brands in New Zealand, as well as government agencies.But it requires people to provide their internet banking login, which the banks say may breach their terms and conditions.But ASB said it had entered a partnership with POLi…

Ashburton Mayor Neil Brown has no plans to add truancy officer to his mayoral duties.Associate Education Minister David Seymour has sent a letter to mayors across the country asking them to help improve school attendance.But Brown said mayors have enough on their plates without adding knocking on doors and rounding up wagging students.School attendance is not a core role or focus of the council but “being leaders for the community is”, he said.“Keeping children in education has better outcomes.“If we can help with that in a small way then that’s OK but it won’t be a high priority [for council].“If…

Business South is calling for the creation of an independent economic development agency with strong business and iwi representation to drive co-ordinated, outcome-focused growth for Dunedin. This week, the organisation’s board and chief executive Mike Collins met Dunedin city councillors ahead of the formal hearings for the 2025-34 long-term plan (LTP). In its submission, Business South said a strong and adequately funded agency, led by an experienced team outside of the council, was needed to ensure the growth required to deliver the rates necessary for the LTP’s infrastructure requirements. It also suggested a private sector governance structure with council representation…

More than 5000 senior doctors have gone on strike following months of unsuccessful negotiations with Health New Zealand. Health NZ put forward an updated offer last week, but that was rejected by The Association of Senior Medical SpecialistsAccording to Health NZ, the rejected agreement would have meant senior doctors received increases to base pay ranging from $8093 to $29,911, depending on experience. Those on steps 4 to 15 would have received a $8000 lump sum payment. However, the union said Health NZ’s offer, a 1.5% cap on total salary increases over the two-year term, amounted to a pay rise of…

Two-thirds of the Gisborne public have opposed relaxing the local alcohol policy rules in the city centre, citing the need to protect schools, marae and sensitive sites from alcohol harm.However, some businesses and individuals are backing a rule change to help revitalise the city as they fear it is becoming a “ghost town”.Gisborne District Council consulted on excluding “Sensitive Sites Provisions” within its central business district after adopting its current local alcohol policy in June 2024.Sensitive site rules stop new liquor licences being issued — aside from cafes, restaurants, and special licences — within 150m of sites such as marae,…