Author: Press Room

Fire and Emergency NZ is at the scene of a large fire on Auckland’s North Shore this evening, coming from the Abilities Group Recycling Depot in Wairau Valley.Large dark plumes of smoke could be seen stretching across multiple suburbs.Abilities Group, where the fire is taking place, is a recycling charity which has “a heart for people with disabilities”. “Our aim is to enrich their lives by offering fulfilling work opportunities,” its website states.FENZ said it was alerted to the fire at 5.24pm.“It is understood there are batteries on fire inside the factory,” it said.Fire in Glenfield on Auckland’s North Shore.…

ADVERTISEMENTWith the war in Ukraine entering a new phase, the number of Ukrainians heading to Europe to seek asylum appears to be in decline.Currently, the EU hosts over 4.3 million Ukrainian refugees, with 254,000 others in the UK alone, and tens of thousands more across other extra-EU countries.February saw the lowest number of new asylum decisions (41,435) made by the EU since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, according to Eurostat, a 25% drop since February 2024.Germany has the highest share of Ukrainian refugees, nearly 1.8 million, or 27.3% of the bloc’s total. Two weeks ago, Berlin became the latest…

Fewer than 50 families are likely to receive National’s full $252 fortnightly tax break, based on the FamilyBoost scheme’s lower than expected uptake, the Council of Trade Unions says.The revelation comes as a result of figures showing just 249 families have consistently been receiving the full $75-a-week FamilyBoost rebate for ECE costs, a key plank of National’s tax cuts package.When confirming the policy last March, Finance Minister Nicola Willis said about 21,000 families would receive the $75 a week.Figures provided by the Government show 1846 families received the full entitlement in the most recent three months the data covers, January…

ADVERTISEMENTThe €1.5 billion European Defence Industry Programme (EDIP) should only fund products that include at least 70% of components produced within the EU or associated countries such as Ukraine and Norway, MEPs in the industry (ITRE) and defence (SEDE) parliamentary committees agreed on Thursday.The Parliament’s position was adopted with 70 votes in favour, 46 against, and eight abstentions — following an unsuccessful attempt by several MEPs to postpone the vote to June in order to renegotiate the 70-30% ratio.“It’s time to end our dependence on external actors. A sovereign Europe is a stronger and safer Europe, and this vote on…

Today John Campbell launches Under His Command, a five-part TVNZ+ investigation into Destiny Church and the women who live in its shadows.For more than 25 years Destiny Church and its controversial leader Brian Tamaki have occupied a small, if loud, fundamentalist corner of New Zealand’s religious culture. But recently, the church has made fresh headlines due to its active stance against the LGBTQI community, with members of its Man Up division (and other Destiny offshoots) targeting rainbow events and most notably storming the Drag Story Hour at a West Auckland public library in February, resulting in injuries to the public…

ADVERTISEMENTThe European Parliament and China are “in the final stages” of the process of removing retaliatory sanctions imposed by Beijing on a handful of lawmakers in 2021, a controversial move that prompted the collapse of a high-stakes investment deal.The overture comes amid growing speculation of an impending reset in EU-China relations driven by the disruptive policies of Donald Trump, which have antagonised allies and adversaries alike and sent nations into a scramble for new partnerships.”Discussions with the Chinese authorities are continuing and in their final stages,” a spokesperson from the Parliament said in a statement.”It has always been the European…

The Prime Minister says he will not intervene over comments by Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters about RNZ’s funding.Speaking in London, Christopher Luxon said he was aware of but had not listened to the fiery Morning Report interview in which the acting prime minister accused the public broadcaster of being biased and seemingly threatened to cut its funding.Peters objected to questioning over his party’s proposal to define the term “woman” as “an adult human biological female” and “man” as an “adult human biological male” across all laws.Towards the end of the interview, he accused the broadcaster of running the line…

The family of a non-verbal autistic child are struggling to access support after their son suffered a medical injury in hospital that has left him unable to walk.TeRina Waikawa and Roman Roberts have been in limbo for 18 months and worry that autistic children can easily fall through the cracks because they can be difficult for doctors and nurses to deal with.Their son Noah Waikawa Roberts was diagnosed with non-verbal autism when he was two-years-old. TeRina left her job in IT and dedicated herself to caring for him full time.”It honestly hasn’t been easy. He’s non-verbal and has a lot…

A lucky Lotto Powerball player from Auckland has won $23.3 million in last night’s First Division draw.The winning numbers were 10 19 22 24 31 40, Bonus 37, Powerball 01.The winning ticket was sold on MyLotto to a player from Auckland. The prize is made up of $23 million from Powerball First Division and $333,333 from Lotto First Division. Last night’s winner is the eighth Powerball multi-millionaire this year. Two other lucky Lotto players will also be celebrating after winning $333,333 in Lotto First Division. The winning tickets were sold at Pak’nSave Mangere in Auckland and on MyLotto to a…

A 16-year-old youth has been remanded in custody after being charged with murdering Kyle Whorrall.He was also facing a charge of aggravated robbery.The accused youth entered no plea and would reappear in the High Court in May.A 32-year-old woman also appeared this afternoon, charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact.Charging documents alleged she actively suppressed evidence against the murder accused, by selling a vehicle, “in order to enable him to escape… arrest”.She was granted interim name suppression and remanded in custody without plea to reappear at the same time as the murder-accused, in the High Court.Sixteen-year-old charged…