Author: Press Room

The Supreme Court has found the wrong legal test has been used to lock up an autistic man for nearly 20 years, but he will not walk free just yet.It has ordered the Family Court to urgently re-examine whether the man, only known as Jay, should remain detained, according to a decision released a year after the Supreme Court heard his case.Four of the five Supreme Court Justices said the Family Court must relook at Jay’s right to liberty, weighing the seriousness of his original offence, his rehabilitation prospects and current risk.The majority found he could have been moved into…

Auckland Council says it will go ahead with a plan that will cut Takapuna Golf Course to nine-holes, despite pleas from the community to preserve the course.The council met with the representatives from the course on Friday, and assessed its alternative solution to drain floodwater into nearby Shoal Bay.The plan was recently endorsed by pro-golfer Dame Lydia Ko.The council said it had decided to progress with its previous plan to turn half of the course into flood storage and understood this was challenging for the golfing community – especially those in Takapuna.It had confirmed its plan to proceed with converting…

An Otago University study has found understaffing and underfunding are compromising Christchurch Hospital’s specialist trauma assessment service.The service was established three years ago, following success by similar teams overseas at improving long-term outcomes for patients.But new research showed the service in Christchurch was never properly funded – and was failing to deliver measurable results.The study identified “critical deficiencies” in the number of trauma surgeons, junior medical staff cover and trauma specialist nursing.The lack of personnel led to other “major limitations” such as poor data management and restricted operational hours, meaning weekends weren’t properly staffed, and the entire department was closed…

A portrait of a kuia believed to be from Kihikihi has been in the Meltzer whānau for around 50 years, but the current family custodian wants to return it to her people.Painted by celebrated Waikato artist Ida Carey, the portrait is of a kuia smoking a pipe.Paul Meltzer is on a mission to find the whānau of the woman in the painting, saying it isn’t his to keep.“[I’ve] just looked after it, but I never really wanted to hang it in our house. I just wanted to keep my own whānau photos on the wall and [it] just didn’t quite…

An $8.3 million shortfall in external funding for Rotorua Museum’s exhibition space has left Rotorua Lakes Council scrambling for options.Only $1.24m of a $9.51m target has been raised, and a staged reopening of the museum has been pitched as one potential avenue to bring the overall budget in line.Rotorua Museum closed in November 2016 after failing to meet seismic standards.Last May, full funding for the estimated $73.55m building cost was confirmed.However, generating external funds for the cost of the exhibition space has proven problematic, and the council injected $181,700 towards the exhibition concept stage in June.A report for Wednesday’s meeting…

Air New Zealand customers are unable to make online bookings due to a problem with the company’s online payment system. “We are currently experiencing an issue with our online payment systems,” the airline said on social media. “Customers can’t make payments for bookings through our website or app.” Air NZ said in-person payments at airports and the Airpoints Store were not affected. “Our teams are working hard to fix the problem and get things running again as quickly as possible,” Air NZ said. “We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we work through this.”

An Australian company has slowed its fast track bid to mine the Taranaki seabed by failing to provide information demanded by officials.Officials have picked an expert panel to decide if Trans-Tasman Resources gets the green light to mine in the South Taranaki Bight under the Fast-Track Approvals Act.Announcing the five experts, associate panel convener Jennifer Caldwell wrote that a “cynical” approach by the would-be miners meant the process would take longer.”The applicant’s responses to some of my directions have provided little, if any assistance, and have in fact led to my taking a more conservative approach to timeframe,” she said.The…

A Māori health expert believes that visible success and local government action are key to shifting youth aspirations and addressing the root causes of poor health outcomes in South Auckland.Dr Timoti Te Moke has experienced the power of walking home in his scrubs from Middlemore Hospital, a deliberate act meant to normalise brown excellence and show that Māori and Pacific doctors exist.Without them, he says, people see him as “everyone else…doing it hard” and mistakenly identify him as a cleaner rather than a successful doctor.He shares his story as a testament to what South Auckland residents can achieve despite the…

Published on 15/08/2025 – 7:00 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT The European Union made the digital transition as one of its priorities and more public services, as well as advertising, are being moved online and are now received by email. This is being presented as an opportunity to modernise the economy and save paper – however the “Keep Me Posted EU” group is arguing that it is leading to a digital exclusion of a not negligible part of the population.   Keep Me Posted EU is a campaign financed by the industries of envelopes, printing, paper and posting services and supported by NGOs protecting…

While New Zealand struggles with surging vaping rates among teens and early 20-something, vape advertising gets slicker and smarter. Manufacturers are using traditional tobacco marketing techniques, linking the habit with style and sports and using global channels to get around domestic regulations. Health researchers Lucy Hardie, Becky Freeman, Christina Watts and Judith McCool reportYouth vaping is a major public health concern in many countries, with New Zealand’s youth vaping rates among the highest in the world, and rising.In 2017, 3% of New Zealanders aged between 15 and 24 vaped daily, but by 2024, this was up to 21.3%.Globally, one of…