Author: Press Room

KiwiRail has unveiled the first two of its new DM class locomotives in Christchurch today which will gradually replace the current DX fleet, which is on average nearly 50 years old.In total, 66 of the DM class locomotives have been ordered from Stadler in Spain.After testing and commissioning at the Middleton depot, the South Island will receive 47 of the new locomotives, while the remaining 19 will be used in the North Island.KiwiRail said the order will be fulfilled in batches until late 2026.KiwiRail chief executive Peter Reidy said the new DM class locomotives have been purchased with government funding…

Quasi, a giant hand-face sculpture by New Zealand artist Ronnie van Hout, is leaving Wellington after spending five years atop the city’s art gallery in Civic Square.The art work was commissioned in 2016 for the roof of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, following the 2011 earthquake. It moved to its new home on top of the City Gallery in 2019.Weather permitting, the sculpture will be removed from the City Gallery roof on Saturday.Quasi is now returning to Australia, to a venue which is yet to be disclosed. Ronnie van Hout, born in Christchurch, is now living in Melbourne.The…

Britain’s new finance minister Rachel Reeves has announced the biggest tax increases in three decades in her first budget, saying she had to repair the country’s broken public services with heavy spending. Businesses and the wealthy faced the brunt of the tax hikes and Reeves also paved the way for higher borrowing for investment to speed up an economy hit by the 2007-09 financial crisis, Brexit, Covid-19 and soaring energy prices. The former Bank of England economist – who told parliament on Wednesday of her pride at being the first female Chancellor of the Exchequer – vowed no repeat of former…

Three people have been taken into custody and a loaded shotgun with ammunition seized after a road rage incident near Hampton Downs last night, police said.A member of the public contacted police at around 6pm to report that a person travelling north on State Highway 1 in a yellow car had allegedly pointed a gun at them.Inspector Matt Hoyes said the vehicle was located north of Ramarama and seen getting off the motorway at Drury “within minutes” of the report.”The Police Eagle helicopter has provided support as ground units initiated an armed vehicle stop on Chichester Dr, Papakura.”During a search…

Police are investigating in Hawke’s Bay after officers responded to multiple firearms incidents – including three that saw shots fired at properties. According to police, the four incidents took place between 3pm yesterday and 4am today. Three of the incidents saw two properties in Flaxmere, and one in Tamatea, shot at.The fourth was an “altercation” in Ahuiri at around 3.30pm yesterday, which saw the occupants of two vehicles pull baseball bats and weapons on each other. “There were no reports of any injuries,” police said. A spokesperson confirmed work was underway to see if the incidents were linked. “We know…

The Auditor-General is launching an inquiry into how government ministers handled conflicts of interest when it came to fast-tracked projects. Earlier this month, the coalition published a list of the 149 projects being considered through the Fast-track Approvals bill. It also highlighted the projects in which relevant ministers declared a potential conflict: eight for Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and one for Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop. In a statement issued this afternoon, Auditor-General John Ryan said he would investigate whether “appropriate systems and processes” were in place to ensure that ministers promptly identified all conflicts and took sufficient steps to manage them.…

Statistics on whānau Māori living arrangements and the conditions of their households have been released as an official Census statistic for the first time.Kirikowhai Mikaere, lead technician for the Data Iwi Leaders Groups and Te Kāhui Raraunga, said the datasets enable Māori to plan for future housing needs.“From today, iwi Māori have current, quality data on how people within their collective are living, including detail on household composition, income, and whether they have access to the things they need to live well, such as safe drinking water and electricity,” she said.“From the data released today, we know that most whānau…

Al Pacino rejected the offer to play Han Solo in Star Wars.The 84-year-old Hollywood legend revealed he had been approached by Lucasfilm to portray the suave space smuggler in the 1977 sci-fi epic, but ultimately decided to turn the offer down, allowing Harrison Ford to swoop in and take the part and become a pop culture icon.Speaking with Ross King on UK TV show Lorraine, Pacino said: “We don’t want Harrison Ford to hear this… Harrison, you are a great actor and I love you. I’m sorry but I made your career — let’s face it!”The actor joked the studio…

Less than three minutes passed between crew on the Aratere switching on autopilot and the Interislander ferry grounding, an interim safety report has found.The Transport Accident Investigation Commission has released an initial report into the incident in June, where the Aratere hit the shoreline shortly after departing Picton.No-one was injured and the vessel was refloated two days afterwards, with damage to its bow that required repair.TAIC will release a final report with further analysis and any possible recommendations at a later stage – today’s release sets our facts gathered so far.Aratere was fitted with a new steering control system to…

Sweden has seen a surge in shootings and bombings committed by gangs over the last year, which has spilled over the border into Denmark and Norway. ADVERTISEMENTSwedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to discuss the ways in which their two countries can combat rising gang crime and violence.It comes after a number of gang-related incidents were reported in Copenhagen, which local officials have attributed to young immigrants recruited by Swedish gangs.Sweden’s gang violence has escalated to the point where it has one of the highest per capita rates of gun crime in the…