Author: Press Room

Air New Zealand has made more changes to direct flights, including ones involving Dunedin and Queenstown routes. The national carrier announced today it would now use smaller ATR-72 planes instead of the roomier Airbus A320s on three domestic routes or fly fewer times a day. On Monday, the company revealed it would cut the direct service from Invercargill to Wellington from January 19 next year. It is now changing the aircraft for two routes from a 171-seat Airbus A320 jet to a 68-seat ATR-72 – a reduction of 100 seats, citing a decrease in customer demand. It is believed the changes…

Thousands have reported feeling a quake which shook Wellington residents during rush hour.The 4.9 magnitude tremor was centred 25km northeast of Seddon in Marlborough, at a depth of 11km, according to GeoNet. The agency classed the quake as “moderate”, striking at about 5.49pm.Over 10,000 “felt reports” were received by GeoNet by 6pm, with many reports of shaking in the Wellington, Tasman, and Marlborough regions.

The Department of Conservation is warning of kākā hiding in Wellington eaves and attics.Breeding season for kākā is in full swing from September through to April.And an attic is prime real estate for these feathered flat-hunters, ranger David Moss said.”We’ve had a few calls from people checking for rats in their attic and finding a parrot with a large beak looking back at them instead.”Rangers corralled a kākā in the attic of a house in Aro Valley last week, and we expect it won’t be the last one.”North Island kākā have a conservation status of At Risk-Recovering under the New…

The health agency is suggesting the Government to consider allowing private companies to build – and potentially run – the country’s public hospitals.In addition to the new Dunedin Hospital, more than a dozen other large projects are classified as having significant risks.In Dunedin, the local hospital has been in use since the 1970s, but up and down the country, the story remains the same.In Northland, emergency doctor Dr Gary Payinda said they are “unbelievably cramped for space in the wards”, the Emergency Department, and the outpatient settings.”It’s tight.”Dozens of hospitals across the country are in line to be built or…

NZ First Minister Casey Costello’s plan to encourage people to switch to Heated Tobacco Products (HTPs) has hit a major snag with the sole supplier Philip Morris forced to pull its device from sale.Associate Health Minister Costello slashed the excise tax by 50% on HTPs at a cost of up to $216 million, in a bid to encourage people to switch to the product as an alternative to smoking.Philip Morris has a monopoly in the HTP market in New Zealand with its IQOS, where sticks of tobacco are heated to a vapour rather than burned.But the IQOS device is classified…

There are fresh calls for a new way of managing our animal welfare system – but so far, the idea has fallen on deaf ears.New Zealand has laws to protect everything from domestic companions – like cats and dogs – to our wild and farmed animals.But animal rights charity Save Animals From Exploitation (SAFE) believes the current setup isn’t working.The group wants an ‘Independent Commissioner for Animals’ to be introduced as it believes there are conflicting goals.Chief executive Debra Ashton told 1News, “I think it’s a system that is broken and it is a system that needs to be fixed.”The…

Declining interest rates, easing inflation, the recent OCR cut, and a high level of housing stock is set to tilt the market towards favouring buyers, according to new data from RealEstate.co.nz.Throughout September, housing stock remained high, while average asking prices remained flat.Average asking price increased year-on-year by 0.2% and 2.7% month-on-month. This marks 20 months of flat asking prices, which realestate.co.nz said is the “longest stretch” of price stability since records began 17 years ago.“For almost two years, our national average asking price has hovered between $860,000 and $890,000. We’ve never seen prices remain flat for this long,” realestate.co.nz spokesperson…

Ngāi Tahu Forestry has been given the green light by the Overseas Investment Office to sell the harvesting rights of its 26,700ha forestry estate on the West Coast. The rights have been acquired by West Coast Forests Ltd Partnership, a newly-established investor ultimately owned by Canadian investment funds. The underlying freehold land is owned by Ngāi Tahu Forestry, which would acquire a 15% interest in the partnership as a joint-venture partner. In the decision released this week, the OIO said consent was granted as the applicant had met the investor test criterion and the special forestry test criteria. The Minister…

Opinion: The National Director of World Vision New Zealand, Grant Bayldon, explains why claims New Zealand has adequate laws to address modern slavery are incorrect. As calls to address New Zealand’s lack of modern slavery legislation grow, the government minister responsible – Brooke van Velden – has said our existing laws are sufficient. Sadly, they are not.The truth is that New Zealand’s legal framework falls woefully short in combatting modern slavery, both domestically and in our supply chains. This is widely recognised, not just by local experts but internationally. At the recent United Nations review of New Zealand’s human rights…

Belarusian president and other officials are accused of crimes against humanity, including the mass forced deportations of refugees. ADVERTISEMENTBelarus’ exiled opposition leader, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has praised Lithuania’s decision to seek the prosecution of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and other senior officials at the International Criminal Court (ICC).Lithuania announced the move on Monday, saying the officials are being accused of committing crimes against humanity by forcing both refugees and their own people to flee the country.The allegations also include the persecution of political opponents and their detention in inhumane and degrading conditions.Tsikhanouskaya was forced into exile in Lithuania after Lukashenko was…