Author: Press Room

The financially burdened Pūkaha Wildlife Centre will stay open after agreeing to a deal with iwi and creditors. The Wairarapa sanctuary and hatchery faced imminent closure amid a dispute over an unpaid bill of $245,000, which resulted in the engineering firm tasked with refurbishing the building stripping the aviary’s doors. In early June, the sanctuary stated that it needed to raise $600,000 within a week to avoid closure, as it had been unable to secure funding from its major partners, the Department of Conservation and Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā.Today, the Pūkaha Mount Bruce Board announced that it had reached a…

Published on 02/07/2025 – 10:30 GMT+2ADVERTISEMENTThe US is halting shipments of some air defence missiles and other weapons previously promised to Kyiv amid concerns that its own stockpiles have declined too much, US officials said. Certain munitions were previously promised to Ukraine under the Biden administration to support its defences. However, the administration appears to have revised some of those decisions due to concerns for US interests. “This decision was made to put America’s interests first following a review of our nation’s military support and assistance to other countries across the globe,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement. “The…

Flood-hit residents in Nelson and Tasman face more severe weather tomorrow morning as local Civil Defence prepares for another onslaught. MetService has issued new severe weather warnings this morning, which affect the top of the south districts but also more widely across the upper North Island. Auckland, Northland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato and parts of Taranaki and Gisborne are among regions facing orange warnings or yellow watches as a large low-pressure system and associated fronts bring widespread severe weather from tomorrow.Orange rain warnings are in place for Tasman District northwest of Motueka from 3am to 6pm Thursday, with 120-150mm of…

A police officer who claimed to be “testing” the speed of their patrol car was clocked by another officer at more than 150km/h without lights or sirens. According to the Independent Police Conduct Authority, which investigated the incident, the Eastern District officer had been in a marked patrol car travelling at 154km/h in a 100km/h zone and was detected by another officer’s radar. The IPCA probe found the officer did not have their lights or sirens activated and was not responding to an incident or undertaking any urgent duty. “The officer explained they were testing the speed of the vehicle.…

Twelve further arrests have been made following a boy racer event in Levin on King’s Birthday Weekend that injured police officers, members of the public and damaged police vehicles.It brings the total number of arrests to 22 from the May 30 event, where an estimated crowd of 1000 gathered in the town — performing skids, burnouts, and other driving offences while spectators threw fireworks.Footage filmed by officers on the ground and by the police helicopter, witness statements, information provided by the public, as well as CCTV and social media footage led to some of the arrests.Inspector Ross Grantham said the…

Woolworths has issued a recall of 18% fat beef mince products sold in the North Island due to the possible plastic contamination in certain batches.The recall affected 500g and 1kg packages of Woolworths-branded 18% Fat Beef Mince with a best-before date of July 5, 2025.The packages were sold at Woolworths and Countdown stores across the North Island.”There have been no reports of illness or injury, however, anyone who has consumed any of these products and has any concerns about their health, should seek medical advice,” a spokesperson for the Woolworths Group said. New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle…

Hilary Barry is taking time off for a medical procedure, TVNZ revealed this afternoon.The Seven Sharp presenter is off-air while she recovers, a spokesperson for the broadcaster said.”TVNZ’s position is that we do not comment on presenter leave. Our presenters, like anyone else should be afforded privacy around the leave they take,” the spokesperson said.”With Hilary’s permission however, we’re letting you know that she has taken some time off for a medical procedure.”Barry is recuperating well and is looking forward to being back on the Seven Sharp couch next month.”Hilary is an immensely popular presenter, one of our most recognisable…

Regular rain may have caused issues for parts of New Zealand over the last couple of months, but it has also helped ease concerns for the country’s electricity generation. Power company Meridian Energy said its hydro lakes were “in good shape as New Zealand moves into the second month of winter” thanks to regular rain and actions from the electricity industry to boost security of supply.”Supply being managed carefully and low spot prices – this is the market doing what it was designed to do and working in the interest of all New Zealanders,” said Meridian chief executive Mike Roan.Among…

Bluebridge’s new Cook Strait ferry is set to arrive in Wellington. In a post on its Facebook page, Bluebridge said the Livia was scheduled to sail into the capital about 8am tomorrow. After completing a full dry dock in Denmark the ship had departed Europe and made its way through the Panama Canal and on to New Zealand. The company announced in March this year it was buying the vessel to replace the Strait Feronia, which first launched in 1997. At the time, StraitNZ chief executive Shane McMahon said the company was familiar with the vessel type and knew it was well suited to…

Ecologists are calling for Kiwis to report sightings of one of the world’s most invasive spiders with a “potentially sinister bite” known to cause serious infections.The noble false widow spider — named for its resemblance to the notorious black widow — had its first confirmed sighting in Porirua November last year.Watch spider expert explain the threat on TVNZ+Massey University evolutionary ecologist Steven Trewick told Breakfast more confirmed sightings were needed to understand just how widespread they were in Aotearoa.He said while small, they could be identified by their spherical bulbous bodies and long thin legs — similar to black widow…