Author: Press Room

With a “growing trend” of booze-fuelled incidents in Gisborne’s central city and Kaiti, a proposed alcohol ban extension is gaining public support.Gisborne District Council has proposed an extension to the existing alcohol ban area to cover more of the city centre and create a new ban in the Kaiti area.Submissions on the plan raised concerns around “congregating and drinking, urinating and littering” in public spaces covered under the proposed bans.According to the hearings report on the topic, 77% supported extending the current alcohol ban in Gisborne City to include areas east of the Taruheru River and Gisborne Cenotaph, 18% disagreed,…

Spending almost $30,000 on a staff Christmas breakfast and morning tea is being defended by the mayor and both mayoral candidates.The figures were released on the Audit and Risk Committee‘s agenda under the Chief Executive Sensitive Expenditure for the quarter December 24 to March 25.It shows a staff Christmas breakfast for 612 employees had a price tag of $29,508. On the same day, a depot morning tea cost $480 — $11 shy of $30,000.The total bill for the quarter was $32,089 and included catering for a meeting, and the Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards.However, Mayor Kirsten Wise says this type…

A council discussion on adding funds to Rotorua Museum’s exhibition project morphed into a debate over whether the city’s “true history” would be displayed.One councillor claims another told him to “f*** off” after the meeting. The accused says he did not say those words, but his message was correctly inferred.Rotorua Lakes Council decided in a meeting on Wednesday to fund a further $181,700 through debt to progress the exhibition project, to be matched by Rotorua Trust, to cover a funding shortfall.The project is preparing the exhibitions for the museum, which is set to start reopening in 2027 at the earliest,…

A new bridge and walkway protecting the historic Hauranga Pā site near Ōākura in Taranaki has opened.The project, led by New Plymouth District Council in collaboration with mana whenua and the Kaitake Community Board, focused on a walkway given the name Te Ara Tahuri Hau (pathway of wind changes), which was supported by a rock revetment protecting the wāhi tapu site and allowing access around the headland at high tide.It also included a replacement for the footbridge over the Whenu Ariki Stream destroyed during ex-tropical Cyclone Dovi in 2022.Ngāti Tairi and Ngā Mahanga hapū raised concern that people crossing the…

A severe thunderstorm watch has been issued for Sunday morning over Coromandel Peninsula. A severe thunderstorm warning for Franklin and parts of Auckland was issued and then lifted as the weather weakened and moved to the northern Firth of Thames, MetService said. The warning bore fruition however, with cloud formations resembling funnels or twisters over east Auckland suburbs.Cloud formations threaten in the skies over Whitford and Shelly Park on Saturday afternoon. (Source: Murray Gale/Scott Davies) (Source: Other)Scott Davies said he witnessed the large funnel cloud from Lloyd Elsmore Park in Pakuranga. The phenomenon moved over the Whitford area at around…

Economic recovery from the “recession the Reserve Bank made us have” is coming, but it’s taking a lot longer than expected, Kiwibank says.Its economists have updated their forecasts, and say the economy is likely to grow just 0.9% this year. Previously, they had expected 1.4%.”The NZ economy crawled out of a deep, deep hole last year. It was a recession the Reserve Bank made us have. It’s been a tough time for many businesses and households,” senior economist Mary-Jo Vergara said.”On a per capita basis, economic activity has shrunk by more than during the [global financial crisis]. Unfortunately, we may…

Picton’s Kent St is to become the new State Highway 1, to the surprise of some of its residents.New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi has announced that Kent St, which has been a “de facto state highway” during ferry terminal works since 2023, is going to become officially SH1, with some improvements to suit.The route bypasses the Nelson Square roundabout and central Picton, taking a more direct route towards the ferry terminal.Kent St resident Pam Wharehoka, who had lived on the street since 1982, said it “used to be a quiet street”.”Hardly anyone came down [here], kids used to ride…

Auckland Grammar principal Tim O’Connor has challenged Sport NZ to take a stand on extra-year students returning to schools on sporting grounds.The issue of “Year 14” athletes has raised its head again, with Marlborough Boys’ College admitting it had five such players in its First XV, which scored a historic – and controversial – win over Nelson College last month.That 28-26 result came after Marlborough were awarded a first-half penalty and, instead of aiming for the posts, the goalkicker struck for the corner, where one of his teammates chased it down for a try that was eventually awarded.O’Connor told RNZ…

Health New Zealand has apologised after 25 Auckland City Hospital patients were incorrectly told that they had a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Group director of operations, Te Toka Tumai Michael Shepherd said clinical questioning of a result led the organisation to investigate, and the false positive result was identified on June 4. “Our initial investigation showed that the false positive result was restricted to a single test type and suggested potential contamination in the processing workflow. We identified that four test batches ran between May 23 and June 4 were affected.”We are undertaking further investigation to identify the root cause,…

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will travel to the country’s largest trading partner next week, before moving on to Europe. He will be joined by a delegation of senior New Zealand business leaders in China’s Shanghai and Beijing from June 17 to June 20. He will meet senior officials including President Xi Jinping.The visit would focus on growing trade, which was worth over $38 billion last year, as well as also look to strengthen education and tourism links and to maximise opportunities for New Zealand businesses. Luxon said China was a “vital part of our economic story” as New Zealand’s largest…