Author: Press Room

Doors slammed as representatives of a post-settlement entity stormed out of a Hawke’s Bay Regional Council meeting over a claim its opposition to a flood spillway of the Wairoa River through Māori land could be a breach of tikanga.The meeting in Wairoa confirmed Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s support for the spillway, which is in the path of 16 homes, six hectares of Māori whenua and 18ha of general title land.The decision advances the $70 million Central Government-funded infrastructure project to the next stage, which will construct comprehensive flood mitigation measures including a spillway and strategic stop bank placements.Three organisations –…

A drug supplier based in Wellington has had nearly $340,000 in assets seized – and could stand to lose more than $2.5 million more.Included in the seized items is a 42-foot yacht, high-end art, bank accounts totalling nearly $168,000, three motor vehicles, a lithograph by New Zealand artist Ralph Hotere and jewellery – including a Hubolt watch estimated to be worth $50,000.Police said the seizure was the result of a “long-running” investigation by the asset recovery unit into the activities of Kenny Leslie McMillan – which were brought to halt in 2019.“The forfeiture orders were issued by the High Court…

A massive project upgrading Auckland’s water quality is a step closer to being finished.The central interceptor is a supersized tunnel running from Mangere Pump Station, through Mount Roskill, Western Springs, on to Point Erin in Herne Bay.When completed next year, it would be more than 16km long.With a capacity for 250,000 cubic metres of wastewater, its seven-year construction has come at a cost of $1.6 billion.It is expected to improve clean waterways and open spaces, reduce stormwater overflows, and ensure capacity for homes and people.The southern half of the tunnel was now completed, and a new pump station opened. The…

Defending a rules-based trading system based on low tariffs, the EU executive said reciprocal tariffs were unjustified and that it will react swiftly. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission will react “firmly and immediately” to reciprocal tariffs announced on Thursday by US president Donald Trump, saying it was “a step in the wrong direction”, and an open global system “benefits all partners”, in a statement issued by the executive on Friday.“The EU maintains some of the lowest tariffs in the world and sees no justification for increased US tariffs on its exports. Tariffs are taxes,” a Commission statement read, adding: “The EU will react…

Two years on, Cyclone Gabrielle’s fury is just as raw for Bill Chrystal who lost his partner Shona Wilson when a landslide tore through their property where Shona was sleeping.”I think of it every day,” said Chrystal.”The pain is very real, I don’t get sleep anymore.”“If I’m working and I hear a song, and if it’s a sad love a song or something like that, I’ll start crying.””I’m lucky to get three hours sleeping on it. It’s just something in me that just wakes me up now constantly.”Today marked two years since cyclone Gabrielle wreaked widespread destruction along the east…

A man has been arrested over the alleged armed robbery of an cash-in-transit van on Auckland’s North Shore on Tuesday afternoon.Security staff were delivering cash to the ATM machine on Birkenhead Ave in Birkenhead when they were approached just before 2.30pm.Police said a firearm was allegedly pulled during the robbery, and a person made off with money in a case.Following the search of an address in Northcote overnight, a 43-year-old man was taken into custody and charged over the robbery.The man will appear in the North Shore District Court today, charged with aggravated robbery and commission of a crime with…

Wellington City Council has revealed the final design for the Golden Mile upgrade on Courtenay Place, but a contractor for the majority of the project is yet to be signed on.As RNZ reported earlier this week, the council confirmed construction would begin on the Courtenay Place element of it in April, with the work expected to take two years.The council also confirmed it would cost $116 million, which included funding from NZTA Waka Kotahi.It would see cars banned during from 7am to 7pm between Lambton Quay and Courtenay Place, along with widened footpaths and a cycle lane.Work would begin first…

The first successful test of a train through Auckland’s City Rail Link has been hailed as “momentous” and a “colossal milestone” ahead of the project’s expected opening next year.The 3.45km journey began at Waitematā (Britomart) and took two-and-a-half hours to reach Maungawhau, passing the two new underground stations at Te Waihorotiu and Karanga-a-Hape.Moving at around 5km/h, the pace of the first trip of the three-carriage train was “deliberately slow” to allow technicians to complete checks and balances around tunnel clearance, power supply, and signalling. Five trips were completed overnight.Watch the test run on TVNZ+The 3.45km journey began at Waitematā (Britomart)…

Hamilton’s recent run of hot days likely beats anything the city has experienced since temperature records began, says a climate scientist.The place once dubbed the City of the Future by a marketing campaign is experiencing a taste of its own climate future with a run of hot days, which senior climate scientist Luke Harrington says is probably unprecedented.”The last 10 days, actually now 11, have been the hottest continuous 10 or 11 days stretch certainly of the records that I have available. They go back to the early 1990s, but I think if you went further back in time they…

Fixed home loan rates are now two percentage points lower than they were at the peak of the market, but the longest terms might not have much further to fall, ASB economists say.They have released their latest home loan report.It noted that interest markets were “volatile” and could change quickly, which could flow through to mortgage rates.Although the Reserve Bank was due to review the official cash rate (OCR) next week, the rates paid were not reliant solely on that rate, they said.”Fixed-term mortgages have been moving across many maturities since the Reserve Bank’s November cut.”They said they expected “slight…