Author: Press Room

Passengers on the beleaguered Aratere ferry were stuck on board for hours overnight after it broke down on its way to Wellington.KiwiRail said the ferry left Picton at about 8.50pm, but then “experienced an unexpected issue with its propulsion drive” while sailing.That issue was fixed at about 1am and the vessel resumed its trip to Wellington, arriving later in the early hours. Aratere breaks down mid-service while the Kaiarahi is laid up for repairs. (Source: 1News)”Unfortunately, we will have to cancel the 6.15am Thursday morning sailing from Wellington to Picton and the 11.00am Picton to Wellington return sailing while we…

It was a blizzard in Dunedin — yet still David Prior was determined to ride to work — a 10-minute commute on the bike to the University of Otago.”I had my ski goggles on and full face coverage and I do work in Antarctica so I have Antarctic gear, so I had the Antarctic gear on top,” says Prior, a geology professor at the university.”It was kind of fun. It was exhilarating. There was nothing else on the roads and it was brilliant.”David Prior, a geology professor at University of Otago. (Source: rnz.co.nz)Prior is committed to commuting to work on…

A landlord in Northland has agreed to pay his sister-in-law nearly $6000 after renting her a property described as being in a state of disrepair and unfit for human habitation. At the Tenancy Tribunal, the man admitted that the dwelling, which sat empty on his property, was not intended to be a place someone could live in. The woman lived in the dwelling between May 2021 and March 2024, and little maintenance was done over the course of her tenancy. An investigation into the property was launched by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team…

Kāinga Ora has announced it will use wool carpet in new state homes from July, following a directive that government agencies use wool in the construction and refurbishment of their buildings.The change in procurement rules, to make wool the preferred option in government buildings, was a directive to about 130 agencies in April and takes effect from July.On Wednesday, the state housing provider announced it would follow suit, with 4500 new state houses expected to be fitted out in the next three years.The return of wool carpets to state homes was welcomed by Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis and Associate…

The parents of a teenager who starved to death alone in emergency accommodation believe that multiple agencies failed in their care.Their only child was able to keep them at a distance on the grounds they did not accept the teen was transgender – an identity the parents say the teen later abandoned.However, the couple allege that while attentive to their child’s gender identity, various care professionals failed to adequately respond to the threat from a long-standing eating disorder.Warning: This story discusses eating disorders and disordered eating, and contains disturbing content.’Mama, I love you’The 13-year-old girl in the photo, whom RNZ…

The Waitangi National Trust’s Pita Tipene is stepping down as trust chairperson after serving on the board for almost a decade.Tīpene has been a member of the board for nine years, the maximum length set out in the Waitangi National Trust Board Act 1932 before board members must step down.Fellow board members Jane Fletcher and Mita Harris will also close out their time with on the board.He joined the Trust in July, 2016 as a representative of the descendants of Maihi Kawiti, before becoming chairperson in 2018, taking over from Ngāti Hine kaumatua Pita Paraone who stepped down.The morning’s headlines…

The National Library is set to dispose of half a million books from its foreign books collection to make room for more items about New Zealand.The initial decision – made over six years ago – was met with public backlash. While a fraction of the books were saved, the rest will be pulped from today.“There are compelling reasons to remove them,” National Library’s Mark Crookston told Breakfast.“It’s a decision not taking lightly, they come from a lending collection, which is no longer being lent.“Only 1% of the items were being lent in the years leading up to the decision in…

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission is calling for tighter rules and standards after a drone nearly collided with a passenger plane.Investigators have been looking into a near-collision between an Air New Zealand passenger flight and what was likely a drone in April, 2024, after a close call at 2000 feet on the approach to Auckland Airport.The commission found the drone was in breach of rules prohibiting drones from within four kilometres of airports, excluding limited and approved circumstances.The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds including passengers stuck on ferry overnight, new flights to Sydney coming, and the weirdest things we leave…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ If you haven’t checked your KiwiSaver balance lately, now might be a good time. While investors were told to look away and try not to think about it when markets wobbled in April, they have since recovered significantly – and fund managers say some people haven’t even realised. Morningstar data shows all but the aggressive KiwiSaver category is back to where it was at the start of 2024, but even that is not far from it. Someone who put $10,000 into an aggressive fund at the start of the year would have $9957 now, based…

Don’t forget about the smaller regions is the message coming from two mayors, as the Government hopes to boost tourism spending from international visitors. The Government has celebrated figures this week, showing overseas visitors were up in April compared to the same time last year. Tourism Minister Louise Upston announced a second tranche of tourism marketing dollars in hopes of further boosting visitor numbers.But the Nelson and Whakatāne mayors want to put the focus on their regions.The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds including passengers stuck on ferry overnight, new flights to Sydney coming, and the weirdest things we leave in…