Author: Press Room

Ex-Green MP Darleen Tana has failed in her High Court bid challenging the Green Party’s investigation into her actions.Green co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said the party welcomes the ruling and will now consider its next steps.”As we have just received today’s judgment, we will take the appropriate time to take advice and consider next steps. We will have more to say in due course.”Tana resigned from the Green Party in March after an inquiry into migrant exploitation, but wants to remain in Parliament as an independent MP.The investigation found that Tana “likely” knew about allegations of worker exploitation at her husband’s…

Two new laws set to replace the Resource Management Act will have private property rights at their core and “ditch rules that invite every Tom, Dick, and Harry to vexatiously object to peaceful use and development of private property”.The minister responsible for RMA reform, Chris Bishop, made the announcement at the Resource Management Practitioners conference in New Plymouth, alongside parliamentary under-secretary Simon Court.Bishop told conference-goers that the RMA was well-intentioned but had not worked”It’s too hard to build a house. It’s too hard to build roads, water and other infrastructure. It’s too hard to secure the energy we need, including…

An investigation has been launched into the possible presence of wallabies near Te Anau after a potential sighting was reported in the area this week.A detector dog has since found the potential presence of the animal in the area; however, a professional sighting has not been confirmed, Environment Southland said.Environment Southland biosecurity and biodiversity operations manager Ali Meade said wallabies are exclusion pests in Southland, meaning there are no established populations and “we want to keep it that way”.”We urge locals not to go out looking for the potential pest and to let specialists trained in controlling these animals do…

Police were “aghast” to find volunteers at a community police centre north of Auckland opened the station to the public without supervision.An Official Information Act response provided to 1News showed police scrambled to shut down the operation, saying in internal emails it posed a “significant risk” to the volunteers, and the police.Mahurangi Community Police station in Snells Beach was until February operated by a group of unsupervised community volunteers.In an email on February 22, Warkworth Police officer in charge Sergeant Dan McDermott said the station doors would be closed “effective immediately”, saying volunteers could not interact with the public arriving…

Prime Minister Edi Rama says he wants to promote tolerant Islam by creating the statelet. ADVERTISEMENTAlbania is planning to create its own Vatican City. This one, however, will be a Muslim one. The New York Times reported that Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama, will announce plans for a sovereign microstate within its capital, Tirana, that will follow the practices of the Bektashi Order — a Shiite Sufi order founded in the 13th century in Turkey. If all goes to plan, the so-called “Sovereign State of the Bektashi Order” will become the world’s smallest state, just a quarter of the size…

Legal experts say New Zealand’s justice system is at risk of being undermined as plaintiffs continue to wait years for decisions from the Human Rights Review Tribunal.Zelinda Doria was working at a beauty clinic in Taupō in 2017 when she found out she was pregnant.She said she was then forced to take sick leave, had her hours cut, her clients removed, and was forced to take her maternity leave early.Doria said eventually she was trespassed from the premises altogether and felt it left her with no choice but to resign.”It was extremely shocking. I was also at a place in…

As Ryan Murphy’s ‘Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story’ arrives on Netflix, Tom Murray speaks to a reporter who wrote a book on the infamous double parricide case. Nearly 35 years into their incarceration, new evidence has been uncovered that could prove the brothers were victims of vile sexual abuse at the hands of their father.On the evening of 20 August 1989, José and Kitty Menéndez were watching TV in the den of their Beverly Hills mansion when their two sons, Lyle and Erik, entered the room carrying 12-gauge shotguns. Police sources told the Los Angeles Times that a…

Wellington businesses say high rents, expensive groceries and car parking costs have sucked life out of the CBD, leaving businesses struggling with few customers.Post-Covid-19 they say the vibe has been off, with the area feeling less safe and more people choosing to stay away.Cuba Street has been long-known as the lively heart of the Wellington CBD, bustling with locals and tourists visiting locally owned cafes, shops and bars.But Ainsley Robinson, manager of Olive — a café and restaurant on Cuba Street — told Checkpoint the street had changed, as it had been especially quiet the past few months, forcing the…

Analysis: When does an ad cross the line of “acceptable” controversy? Dan Fastnedge and Melissa Gould find out.Controversial advertising holds a mirror up to society. It can unite us in laughter or outrage, spark debates that shape our beliefs – and sometimes expose our political differences.But where do lines of acceptability or offensiveness get drawn?Earlier this year the New Zealand Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) announced the most complained about ads ever.Categories ranged from political advocacy to household products. And the most complained about spot belonged to Hell Pizza’s “Lust condom” mailers. The brand’s “Hell Crossed Buns” billboard came in third.This…

At least six million people are expected to sip on the best of Bavarian beer over the 16 heady days that make up the centuries-old festival Oktoberfest in Munich. ADVERTISEMENTOktoberfest is open.Mayor Dieter Reiter officially started Oktoberfest at noon on Saturday when he inserted the tap into the first beer keg, signalling the 189th start of the festival. Thousands of beer lovers celebrated in the Munich fairground as the first to clink their steins during the world’s largest folk festival.Servers immediately began ferrying trays — each carrying up to eight glass mugs — to tables. The celebration runs through October…