Author: Press Room

Former Australian health minister Greg Hunt says vaping will cause “catastrophic public health outcomes” in the coming decades, defending his country’s prescription-only model despite black market growth.He also advocated for the creation of a single clinical trial zone between Australia and New Zealand to make the nation-pairing a “one-stop shop” for medical research.Hunt told Q+A this week that vaping was “overwhelmingly an on-ramp to tobacco use” and rejected suggestions Australia should follow New Zealand’s approach to e-cigarettes.The former Liberal minister said Australian National University research showed vaping led people to smoking, contradicting harm reduction arguments.”I don’t think it’s a solution,”…

Professor Rawinia Higgins, the Māori Language Commissioner, says te reo has made significant progress over 50 years, with over 70% of New Zealanders now supporting the language.She spoke to Q+A as Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori / Māori Language Week kicked off amid its 50th anniversary. Higgins is the chairperson of the Māori Language Commission.For the full interview, watch the video aboveQ+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air

Thousands of residents across the upper North Island are being urged to prepare for a night without electricity as crews work to repair widespread damage caused by powerful winds overnight.Lines company Powerco confirmed at the peak of the outages, there were around 13,456 customers without power.By Sunday afternoon, that number had dropped to around 8651.The worst-hit areas were the Coromandel Peninsula and western Bay of Plenty, where crews have been working since early morning to assess damage and begin repairs.Powerco head of network operations Mark Dunn said those currently without electricity should prepare to remain without power overnight.”We know it’s…

A Queenstown hotelier made a string of false claims, after the business’s luxury “heli-crayfish experience” caught the attention of fisheries officers, documents show.Rees Management Limited, which trades as The Rees Hotel, was fined $22,000 in July for illegally selling recreationally caught crayfish and failing to keep records.Company chief executive Mark Rose was discharged without conviction.Guests paid between $4650-7750 to fly to a remote location in Fiordland or the West Coast, and watch a diver, who had been paid $800 cash, take the maximum recreational limit of six crayfish, while they were entertained with crayfish facts and photo opportunities.Back at the…

The Government has announced a $70 million investment package aimed at supercharging New Zealand’s events and tourism sectors, introducing new money to attract global acts, support existing events, and drive regional visitor growth.The package – a combination of new money and widened criteria for existing funding – included a $40 million Events Attraction Fund to secure large-scale international events from 2026; a $10 million Events Boost Fund to support existing events and attract global opportunities; a $10 million Regional Tourism Boost Campaign to draw international visitors; and up to $10 million for tourism infrastructure upgrades.Major artists including Taylor Swift, Lady…

Thousands across the upper North Island have woken up to power outages after strong winds bore down overnight, lifting roofs, toppling trees and downing power lines.Lines company Powerco confirmed there were around 13,456 customers without power on its electricity network as of 9am on Sunday.The worst-hit areas were the Coromandel Peninsula and western Bay of Plenty, where crews have been working since early morning to assess damage and begin repairs.Whangamata, Katikati, and Waihi appeared to be among the centres with large outages.”What a wild night! We have extra crews in the affected areas,” Powerco said in a statement. “Thank you…

Risks of dust storms and dry bores have Lake Hāwea residents fighting Contact Energy’s plans to lower lake levels under new fast-track laws.The gentailer sought to drop the Central Otago lake by up to 2m, taking it to 336m above sea level, and down to 330m in emergencies.The company said the plan would help supply for when electricity demand is high and rainfall is low, and also told residents it would help reduce emissions and keep power prices down.But Guardians of Lake Hāwea’s John Langley told 1News: “They’re looking after their shareholders and returns to investors by way of dividends,…

Protestors have begun a tit for tat with Wellington City Council, removing fencing that blocks off the City to Sea bridge, which is planned for demolition due to seismic issues.The council fenced off the central city bridge on Monday.A court case to save the bridge failed, but demolition work is on hold until at least the end of September while the council awaits recommendations from the Government’s earthquake-prone buildings review.Wellington Civic Trust has been campaigning to save the bridge, and its chairperson, Helene Ritchie, was at the protest yesterday.”We were confronted with … our City to Sea bridge fenced off…

Andrew Little holds a commanding lead in the Wellington mayoral race, a new Q+A Verian poll suggests.The Labour candidate holds 58% of first preference votes among those surveyed who expressed a preference, according to the poll carried out between September 4-6.Councillor Ray Chung trailed behind at 16%, businessman Karl Tiefenbacher was on 10% and councillor Diane Calvert was on 6% with five others also making an appearance.Watch Q+A’s Wellington mayoral candidates debate at 9am on TVNZ+ or TVNZ1Of those polled, 58% expressed a preference for a mayoral candidate. Meanwhile, 22% said they hadn’t decided, and 20% were unlikely to vote…

Writing a CV requires important decisions, writes UK economics lecturer Tom Lane. What should you include, what should you leave out – and how honest should you be?One particularly tricky dilemma that might come up is whether to disclose weaknesses on your CV or remain silent about them. Common sense suggests it’s not advisable to advertise your flaws, but what about important information that employers might expect you to supply? Could the omission of such details look suspicious?Research my colleague and I conducted looks at this specific question, focusing on the academic qualifications of new graduates entering the job market.…