Author: Press Room

Police have appealed for witnesses after a motorcycle was taken from the scene of a fatal crash in Whanganui over the weekend. The crash occurred at around 4.10pm on Sunday, 25 May, when a motorcycle crashed into a parked car on Seafront Road in Castlecliff. The rider, a 25-year-old man, died a short time later. Before emergency services could arrive at the scene, a group of people on motorcycles took the victim’s bike. This morning, police urged anyone who witnessed the crash or saw motorcycles in the Castlecliff area between 2pm and 6pm on 25 May to come foward. “We…

The death of a seven year old boy at a Whanganui public pool is a stark reminder of the speed at which children can drown, a coroner says.Gerrard-Junior Raunga Williams-Boglieka died at the Whanganui District Council run Splash Centre in July 2020.Robin Kay has recommended that an extra lifeguard be rostered on at all times the complex and that the council invest in technology which uses cameras and artificial intelligence to analyse the behaviour of pool users, and alerts lifeguards to potential drowning incidents via smartwatches and office dashboards.Chief executive David Langford said after reviewing the recommendations, the council had…

The head of the government’s retail crime advisory group is relieved police commissioner Richard Chambers has scrapped a controversial directive on shoplifting.A internal police memo obtained by RNZ told staff not to investigate crimes under a certain dollar value, prompting outrage from the retail sector before the directive was publicly scrapped on Tuesday.It included shoplifting under $500, petrol drive-offs under $150 and online fraud under $1000.Retail crime group chair Sunny Kaushal said the clarity was very reassuring for victims around the country.”The clear comments from the police commissioner show police’s commitment to responding to retail crime,” he said.”And the clarity…

Christchurch’s Mr Mod is going out on a high note with a pair of 1960s armchairs selling for a world record price at the auction of his large mid-century furniture collection. Ross Morrison is signing off as a collector and dealer after the two-day auction of 674 lots last weekend culminated in bidding reaching $13,500 for the teak armchairs by Danish designer Erik Kirkegaard. By the final bid the overall total matched the $500,000 netted from a previous Auckland auction, once after-sales and a buyers’ premium of just over 17% were added up. Among the highlights was another pair of…

Beloved Australian comedian Magda Szubanski says she remains in good spirits after being diagnosed with an “obscure” cancer.The Kath and Kim star announced she had stage-four mantle cell lymphoma, which she described as a “rare and fast-moving blood cancer”.Szubanski went public with the diagnosis in an Instagram post today in which her head was shaved, which she said was in preparation for her treatment in which it would fall out.”I won’t sugar-coat it, it’s rough,” the 64-year-old wrote of her diagnosis.”But I’m hopeful. I’m being lovingly cared for by friends and family, my medical team is brilliant, and I’ve never…

A Kiwi man who won a top prize at Britain’s notorious cheese rolling competition is recovering in good spirits, but says he won’t be back next year to defend his title.Byron Smith, who clinched victory in the final men’s downhill race at Cooper’s Hill yesterday, told Breakfast he suffered “a broken rib, collapsed lung and a little bit of internal bleeding” after taking “a bit of a tumble” during the event.The cheese winner was in good spirits during the interview from hospital, saying his injuries were “nothing too serious”.”Emotionally, I’m feeling really good, but physically, I took a bit of…

By Jessica Hopkins of RNZ  McDonald’s has been given permission to open a new restaurant in the Auckland suburb of Ōrākei, despite opposition from the council. Following a three-day hearing this month, an independent panel has granted the fast food restaurant’s resource consent application to build a 24-hour drive-through at the currently vacant 152 Kepa Rd. Auckland Council and Auckland Transport opposed the application, stating the site had insufficient space for a drive-through and queues would spill onto the already busy main road. A large majority of the 381 written submissions from the public were also against the application -…

The family of a 19-year-old who died after playing an impromptu tackle game based off a competition popularised on social media is urging people not to take part in the events.Ryan Satterthwaite suffered a serious head injury while playing a game based on the controversial craze with friends in Palmerston North. He died in hospital on Monday night. Events, where participants compete in full-contact collisions without protective gear, had gone viral on social media and raised concerns about concussion and brain injury. Family speak out after tragedy – watch on TVNZ+Pete Satterthwaite, Ryan’s uncle, told 1News that Ryan and his…

By Anan Zaki of RNZ The head of Fonterra says he understands consumers’ frustration about the price of butter, but the co-op has to deliver for farmers. In its third-quarter update, Fonterra’s profit for the nine months ended April rose 11 percent to $1.08 billion (or $1.16b excluding one-offs), driven by strong demand. But the same demand has meant soaring prices for household staples such as butter. Recent Stats NZ data showed food prices rising at their fastest rate in more than a year, with butter prices up 65 percent. Fonterra chief executive Miles Hurrell said prices were driven by global demand. “We’re a collection…

As conversations around identity and culture gain momentum in Aotearoa, more Māori are choosing to reclaim ingoa whānau — ancestral surnames once lost, anglicised, or set aside through colonisation, migration, or necessity. For many, this act of reclamation is about more than just correcting documents. It is a powerful way to honour whakapapa. Re: News spoke to Tiaki Kerei (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa) and Te Rina Triponel Ruka (Ngāpuhi, Te Atiawa, Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti) about what it means to reclaim a name — and the healing and homecoming that can come with it. Watch the full story on…