Author: Press Room

Invercargill parking wardens are facing abuse on the back of rising parking fines approved by central government.Last October, infringement costs rose by an average of 70% for overstaying or parking inconsiderately at council-controlled parking spaces.The jump in fees boosted revenue but also led to some unsavoury behaviour from the public, council manager consenting and environment Jonathan Shaw indicated.“Since the decision to increase parking infringement fees was made by central government, our compliance officers have noticed some pushback from members of the public, including several abusive incidents,” Shaw said.There were only a small number of negative interactions overall, he said, but…

Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell has criticised Hobson’s Pledge for using her image without permission in a social media post critical of Māori wards.The post also used quotes from Tapsell, which she claimed were misrepresented to “mislead” people into believing she was aligned with the political lobby group’s messaging.”You do not have my permission to use my image or comments to mislead the public that I support your campaign,” Tapsell said on Facebook in a response to the post on Hobson’s Pledge’s page.The post used quotes from Tapsell from two separate instances, taking parts of comments from May 2021 and October…

Whether it’s award-winning Napier restaurant Pacifica closing its doors or Wellington brewery Fortune Favours shutting down, it seems barely a week goes by where there isn’t a high-profile hospitality business closing.Data supplied by Centrix shows there have been 297 hospitality businesses liquidated in the past 12 months, compared to 199 in the prior year.In the past 12 months, 2564 hospitality businesses have shut, 19% more than the 2158 a year earlier.Chris Wilkinson of First Retail Group said some businesses were reaching a tipping point that they could not get past.Costs were rising and there was only so much that retail…

KiwiSaver providers are backing calls to make it compulsory for employers to contribute to KiwiSaver – even if the employee is not contributing themselves.Because the scheme is workplace-based, people who earn more, or who are in the workforce for more of their adult lives, are likely to end up with more in their KiwiSaver funds.There were concerns that could exacerbate income inequality in retirement.University of Auckland associate professor Susan St John said the Pensions and Intergenerational Equity hub wanted compulsory employer contributions for all KiwiSaver members, regardless of their age, and whether or not they were on a contributions holiday…

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand board chair Neil Quigley has stepped down.Quigley was elected as chair of the Reserve Bank board in 2016, and had been on the board since 2010.In June 2024, he was reappointed for a further term of two years, until June 30, 2026.Finance Minister Nicola Willis this afternoon noted Quigley tendered his resignation from the board and as board chair “with immediate effect”.The resignation came after five months of scrutiny over the abrupt departure of former governor Adrian Orr.In June this year, Willis criticised the Reserve Bank over sharing information surrounding Orr’s sudden resignation in…

Ministers have temporarily given themselves special powers to hike Crown board members’ fees providing they fall within the fee ranges.The change in authorisation was revealed in a Cabinet paper that was released this week, which also included details of fee range increases of up to 80%.In the paper, Public Service Minister Judith Collins justified the change by stating there was too much administration in the previous scheme.”To manage the administrative burden in the implementation of the fee adjustments, I am seeking Cabinet approval for a temporary change to fee exception requirements for 12 months,” the paper stated. ‘Cronyism’ – Public…

A divided US appeals court has ruled most of Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal, undercutting the Republican president’s use of the levies as a key international economic policy tool. The court on Friday allowed the tariffs to remain in place through October 14 to give the Trump administration a chance to file an appeal with the US Supreme Court. The decision comes as a legal fight over the independence of the Federal Reserve also seems bound for the Supreme Court, setting up an unprecedented legal showdown this year over Trump’s entire economic policy. Trump has made tariffs a pillar of US foreign policy in his second term, using them…

Landowners in north Marlborough are frustrated at the lack of action from Marlborough District Council on riverbank erosion threatening their properties, but the council says it can’t intervene without footing a bill of more than a billion dollars.Senior environmental land scientist Matt Oliver told council on Thursday that riverbank erosion in the Te Hoiere/Pelorus catchment was a serious threat to farmers’ land, and could impact power lines, roads including State Highway 6, and the Rai Valley landfill.“The river is cutting in and taking trees away,” Oliver said.“[There’s] some pretty significant damage happening to the environment up there and it places…

Video footage was shown today of a man setting a couch on fire prior to the deadly Loafers Lodge blaze. A 50-year-old with name suppression is accused of lighting two fires that night in Wellington, in 2023. The fatal one was lit in the early hours of May 16, but the first was on May 15, around 10.30pm, in a common area.CCTV cameras captured movements of a man on the night of the deadly blaze that killed five people. (Source: 1News)Footage tracked the man’s every move in the lead up to the fire being lit, from when he arrived at…

A 17-year-old has been charged with murder in relation to the death of a man in Rotorua last week.Police were called to an assault on Trigg Ave in the early afternoon of August 20, at around 12.20pm.Detective Senior Sergeant Mark van Kempen said at the time a man was found in a critical condition but died at the scene.Today, a male appeared in the Rotorua Youth Court, and was remanded in custody until his next appearance on September 12.On August 21, three others, aged 19, 20 and 64, were charged with assault with intent to injure and possessing offensive weapons.Police…