Author: Press Room

New Zealand will trial visa waivers for Chinese visitors arriving from Australia starting this November, the Government has announced.The “visa waiver status” changes would only apply to Chinese passport holders with a valid Australian visitor, work, student or family visa, and for stays of up to three months.Immigration Minister Erica Stanford said the Government was helping to boost the country’s attractiveness as a destination for Chinese tourists. “More than 240,000 Chinese visitor visas were granted in 2024, and we want those numbers to grow,” she said in a media release. “This will make it easier, cheaper and faster for them…

Whakatāne Mayor Victor Luca has made an appeal to central government for support to keep Air Chathams flying out of Whakatāne.A response from Associate Transport Minister James Meager, although not making any firm promises, has provided some hope for some support for regional air connectivity.Earlier this year, Air Chathams had requested additional support from Whakatāne District Council stating that without it, it would have to discontinue its Whakatāne to Auckland route.The council refused the majority of Air Chathams requests, taking the stance that is should not be up to ratepayers to fund a commercial operation that a large portion of…

Two people have died after a boat capsized on the sand bar at the mouth of the Pātea River in south Taranaki this morning.Detective Sergeant Chris Allemann said police had been notified that a boat with three people on board had overturned about 200m offshore at around 10.15am on Sunday.”Sadly, two people died in the incident and their bodies were recovered by 11.30am.”One person was located in the water after the boat capsized, was treated by ambulance at the scene and have been taken to hospital.Allemann said police were providing support to the next of kin and that the cause…

Former finance minister Ruth Richardson has called for an increase in the retirement age, warning New Zealand faces a balance sheet crisis without urgent action.The newly appointed chairperson of the Taxpayers’ Union, a right-wing political lobby group, told Q+A that government debt needed addressing.”We need to control our spending appetite, we need to bring debt under control, and we need to restore New Zealand’s books to a state of fiscal responsibility,” Richardson said.”From a central government perspective, it’s clear that we have a crisis, and the crisis is looming — as it is in many other countries in the West,…

A new Great White project is underway, tagging a new generation of sharks near Rakiura/Stewart Island for the first time in a decade. Dr Riley Elliott — known as “Shark Man” — led the mission to seek new insights into one of the ocean’s most powerful predators. “Put simply, it was a dream come true. But it came with pressure,” he told 1News.”It’s wet, it’s cold, it’s salty, there’s chum all over you, you’re tired, but every day is new because every day you’re looking at blank water and you may or may not see a real living dinosaur… I…

Auckland firefighters have battled a ferocious blaze that engulfed a boat at a Whangaparāoa storage yard overnight.Fire and Emergency (FENZ) crews were called to Poplar Rd, Stanmore Bay, just before 2.30am, where they found the 16-metre vessel engulfed in flames.A FENZ spokesperson said the third-alarm fire was contained to the boat. Twelve trucks attended to the blaze from multiple fire stations.A FENZ spokesperson said the fire was contained to the boat. (Source: 1News)”The fire has been extinguished, but crews are working on the hot spots,” they said.The boat, measuring 16 metres by 3 metres, was located in a storage area…

You know winter has well and truly arrived when the South Island’s commerical ski fields open for another season.The Remarkables and Coronet Peak near Queenstown, Cardorna Alpine Resort and Mt Hutt in Canterbury all opening the gates to keen ski bunnies — even with limited snow for some.Steve Hall, in his second season of running The Remarkables, told 1News, “[We] haven’t had a lot of natural [snow], but [we] have got some great snowmaking, and you can see our coverage is looking really nice for where we’re at.”Just a handful of ski areas were ready for today’s opening, but that…

New Zealand’s weather has a reputation for being unpredictable and keeping both locals and forecasters on their toes.However, behind the famous “four seasons in one day” catchphrase is a perfect storm of geography, winds, and oceans.”New Zealand is an isolated, island nation in the middle of the roaring 40s, where fast moving weather systems are not uncommon, contributing to our highly changeable weather,” said MetService.The roaring 40s refer to a belt of strong westerly winds that circle the Southern Hemisphere.These prevailing winds, paired with air masses from both the subtropics and the polar south, mean New Zealand is constantly caught…

When Breakfast presenter Jenny-May Clarkson was a kid, she felt as though life was “anything I wanted it to be”.Speaking to the Ask Me Anything with Paula Bennett podcast, Clarkson said she wanted to be a Silver Fern, and was determined to get it, while not thinking too much about any potential barriers.“I didn’t have a care in the world, there were no barriers to anything. Life was anything I wanted it to be.”But, as it turns out, Clarkson said this feeling didn’t last as she grew older.“Then of course, you get smashed a few times in life, and that…

Methamphetamine use has exploded over the past year, with the social and health-related harm yet to be seen.The Government is actively looking at ways to respond and the Prime Minister has pulled together a “meth sprint team”, which includes the justice, police, customs and mental health ministers. RNZ understands announcements about their response are expected in the next month or so.The response also comes as Associate Police and Customs Minister Casey Costello looks at how to tackle the wider network of organised crime.Monthly reports from the Ministerial Advisory Group (MAG) on Transnational, Serious and Organised Crime (TSOC) have painted a…