Author: Press Room

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ Reserve Bank Governor Adrian Orr’s shock resignation has created an unwelcome distraction, one economist says, and more information is needed from the Reserve Bank board about exactly what has gone on. It was announced on Wednesday that Orr was stepping down. Deputy governor Christian Hawkesby will take over in an acting position until 31 March. Orr was first appointed in 2018, and reappointed March 2023. His second term was due to end in 2028. From April 1, Finance Minister Nicola Willis will appoint a temporary governor for up to six months. Infometrics chief executive Brad Olsen…

Land Information New Zealand was a no-show at a meeting to consider the future of a Taranaki daycare centre the government agency last week evicted from a building it had occupied for 44 years.The Waitara and District Community Childcare Centre now faces a race against time to find new premises for the more than 50 tamariki in its care before losing its licence.More than 100 people crammed into the North Taranaki Sports and Recreation Centre in Waitara — most wanting answers from Land Information New Zealand — or Linz — about the daycare’s sudden eviction.Gina Blackburn says LINZ no-show was…

The Government is lowering the eligibility age for bowel cancer screening tests from 60 to 58, as part of a wider plan to progressively align with Australia. Health Minister Simeon Brown said the change would come from redirected funding of $36 million over four years set aside by the previous government to lower the eligibility age from 60 to 50 for Māori and Pacific people.”Advice from the Ministry of Health clearly states that lowering the age to 58 for all New Zealanders will save even more lives than the previous government’s approach to lower the age to 50 for Māori…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ The country’s housing downturn is over, property data firm CoreLogic says. CoreLogic has released its latest update, which shows house values across the country rose 0.3 percent in February. The median national value was $807,164, down 16.9 percent from the peak in 2021 and early 2022, but 17.1 percent above the pre-Covid figure of $689,353 in March 2020. CoreLogic NZ chief property economist Kelvin Davidson said the small increase was expected given earlier signs of a return to growth. “The rise of 0.3 percent in the national median property value is fairly modest by past standards…

Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand are investigating a string of suspicious scrub fires across Port Waikato and Tuakau earlier this year.Counties Manukau South CIB Detective Senior Sergeant Simon Taylor said the first of seven fires being investigated began on January 11.Taylor said five of the suspicious fires occurred in February, and police were working with Fire and Emergency New Zealand to understand the scope of the series of fires.In Port Waikato, 14 homes were evacuated and power turned off to more than 250 households during one of the scrub fires on February 17.”At this stage, we are keeping…

The European Commission has refused to say whether it would launch legal action over Poland’s refusal to implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum. ADVERTISEMENTBrussels remained conspicuously silent after Poland doubled down on its refusal to implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum, which was once described as a “historical” legislative achievement to allow member states to manage the arrival of asylum seekers in collaboration with each other.The scene played out in plain view on Wednesday evening, after a meeting of home affairs ministers chaired by the Polish presidency of the European Council.Tomasz Siemoniak, Poland’s Minister of Interior, was asked…

A Wellington teacher disguised himself as a drug dealer and deceived a 14-year-old student into performing a sex act on him in exchange for cannabis.A recently released Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal decision detailing the man’s behaviour revealed he was struck from the register after being convicted of the “troubling” crime. The teacher, whose name was suppressed alongside the victim’s, worked at a Wellington school between April 2019 and July 2020. The man, aged 25 at the time, was the 14-year-old’s teacher. The pair got to know each other through their teacher-student relationship, which escalated to them leaving school grounds to get…

In an evening address French President Emmanuel Macron Macron said he will confer with European allies on the idea of using France’s nuclear deterrent to protect the continent in the face of threats from Russia. ADVERTISEMENTFrench President Emmanuel Macron addressed the war in Ukraine and European defence during a live television broadcast on Wednesday, emphasising the need for continued support for Kyiv and stronger European military capabilities, and stating “Russia has become today, and for a long time, a threat to France and to Europe.”After establishing the context of the current political situation between the United States and Europe, Macron…

Coldplay vocalist Chris Martin is working with FIFA to curate the first Super Bowl-style halftime show at the World Cup final next year.The MetLife Stadium in New Jersey — to be known as New York New Jersey Stadium for the World Cup — will host the final on July 19, 2026.FIFA is also staging what its president Gianni Infantino called a “takeover” of Times Square for the final weekend of the tournament, which will be co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.“I can confirm the first-ever half-time show at a FIFA World Cup final in New York, New Jersey, in…

Two businesses have been ordered to pay more than $300,000 in fines and reparation after a forestry subcontractor was killed while felling trees in rural south-east Auckland.Misha Tremel was felling trees on a small block in Clevedon in June 2022 when he died in an accident.The 39-year-old, originally from Ukraine, had been brought in by Turoa Logging Limited, which was harvesting 7800 tonnes of pine on behalf of forest managers Pulley Contracting Limited.Tremel was manually cutting the trees, despite them being windthrown – meaning they had been bent and damaged by wind. It is strongly recommended that windthrown trees are…