Author: Press Room

A new $20 entry fee into the 18 themed gardens at Hamilton Gardens comes into effect this week – but city residents are exempt.Instead the fee applies to anyone aged 16 or over who does not live in Hamilton, which has caused some contention among neighbours in Waipā and Waikato.The gardens attract a million people a year, and its 18 themed gardens are the star attraction.They include the Italian Renaissance, Ancient Egyptian, Tudor, Tropical, Modernist, Surrealist, Indian Charbagh, English Flower, and Chinese Scholars’ gardens, as well as the much-loved Mansfield garden and the Japanese Garden of Contemplation.Aucklander Polly Williams grew…

A new levy intended to discourage the landfill and incineration of plastic waste is plagued by dodgy data, and may have led to an uptick in crime, auditors warn ADVERTISEMENTGovernments were ill-prepared for a new EU plastic packaging tax, the European Court of Auditors said in a report published today (16 September).  Under measures introduced in 2021, member states have to pay €0.80 for every kilogramme of unrecycled plastic packaging waste they produce, but the European Commission needs to ensure calculations and controls are uniform across the bloc, auditors said.  The revenue source helps fund the EU’s budget, worth around…

The days are lighter and flowers are staring to bloom, marking the end of winter and the beginning of spring – but what does this mean for those with hay fever? Allergy NZ chief executive Mark Dixon joined Breakfast today to discuss why some Kiwis are hit harder by seasonal allergies. “This time of the year it’s a bit warmer,” he said.”With spring, we get the flower bursts, the plants and grasses flower at this time of year, flower releases the pollen into the environment, and with the wind… perfect for spreading pollen.”Dixon said most of the pollen people are…

The decree issued on Monday came as Ukrainian forces pushed further into Russia’s Kursk region. ADVERTISEMENTRussian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered the country’s military to increase its number of troops by 180,000 to a total of 1.5 million, as Moscow’s military action in Ukraine drags on for more than two and a half years. The presidential decree, published on the official government website, will take effect on 1 December.It sets the overall number of Russian military personnel at nearly 2.4 million — including 1.5 million troops — and orders the government to provide the necessary funding.In June, Putin said…

A kiwi has died after a ferret attack on a conservation island near Whangārei earlier this month, with rangers concerned about how the ferret got there. Matakohe-Limestone Island, which has been a wildlife sanctuary since 1989, was thought to be ferret free — and at its closest point, the island is hundreds of metres away from the mainland. Despite that, kiwi patriarch Sir Ed was killed in a ferret attack in early September, leaving rangers stumped. “We suspected it was a ferret from how Sir Ed was killed… we put a camera up, and got a couple pictures of a…

Thunderstorms could be in-store for much of the country today, with Northland directly in the firing line.MetService warned an active front, moving in from the east, will bring storms to the North Island from the afternoon and evening.There is a moderate chance for thunderstorms in Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula, while Northland has a high chance of experiencing storms.”These storms may be accompanied by heavy rain, 10 to 20mm/h,” MetService said.”Note that the thunderstorms in Northland may be squally and accompanied by wind gusts of 90 to 100km/h. There is also a risk of isolated tornadoes there.”Further south, other North…

The country’s busiest Citizens Advice Bureau faces a “frightening” time as it seeks to fill a funding shortfall of $35,000.Rotorua branch manager Jane Eynon-Richards said she is determined to keep the CAB’s doors open, despite having to find the money to cover its annual costs of $95,000.Rotorua Lakes councillors in Wednesday’s community and district development committee meeting heard its Partnership Agreement funding panel had decided to allocate a total of $195,000 to community organisations.A report for the meeting detailed how the panel followed “a robust decision-making process” and discussed at length what the funding would provide each of the organisations…

After an eventful five years, the EU’s most colourful commissioner is leaving Brussels. From fighting Elon Musk to buying Covid vaccines, abusing his boss to announcing the death of NATO, Euronews takes you through some career highlights. ADVERTISEMENTIn a surprise move, European Commissioner Thierry Breton today (16 September) announced his resignation, following an apparent call by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for France to change nominees.Breton is leaving office in a blaze of fury, alleging “questionable governance” under von der Leyen’s leadership, and that she went behind his back to get French President Emmanuel Macron to find an alternative…

Pizza Hut is celebrating its 50th birthday in New Zealand by bringing back its all-you-can-eat buffet for a limited time only.The “pop-up Hut” will be held at one Auckland location and include the pizza buffet with garlic bread, chips, salad bar, soft drinks and dessert bar.From Thursday September 26 to Sunday September 29 pizza lovers will be able to relive some childhood memories at the pop-up venue in the City Works Depot near the Sky Tower.Tickets for lunch and dinner sessions are “strictly limited” and will start from $30 per person.A Pizza Hut spokesperson told the NZ Herald the first…

The hoiho has been named the 2024 Bird of the Year.Hoiho surged into first place in the second week of the competition, finishing with 6328 votes, after initially trailing the karure Chatham Island black robin, organisers said. The karure came in second and the kākāpō third.The results of the competition, which attracted more than 52,000 verified votes, were announced on Morning Report.The yellow-eyed penguin is unique to Aotearoa New Zealand and is thought to be the world’s rarest penguin species, according to Forest and Bird which runs the competition. The are found along the east coast of the South Island,…