Author: Press Room

A police officer killed in central Nelson early on New Year’s Day is being remembered as a “beautiful soul” and an “outstanding police officer”. Police Commissioner Richard Chambers confirmed the death of Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming this afternoon following the incident that also saw a colleague critically injured.A 32-year-old man was arrested at the scene after being tasered by other officers. Fleming and Adam Ramsay were struck by a vehicle in the Buxton Square carpark around 2.10am. The Police Minister has called the situation “tragic” and the mayor described it as “reckless” and “heart-wrenching”.Chambers said Fleming, 62, and Ramsay had…

A person is in hospital after being assaulted with a weapon while their car was stolen in Auckland’s Ponsonby overnight. The incident occurred after police spotted a stolen vehicle in Ponsonby at around 4am. Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Allan said after following the vehicle briefly, the car took off “at speed” despite not being signalled to stop. “Police did not pursue, and successfully deployed road spikes in the Wynyard Quarter area,” he said. The vehicle came to a stop on State Highway 1, where all four occupants got out. Allan said the offenders then stopped a passing vehicle and assaulted…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ  Kate says her KiwiSaver balance is about $15,000. She’s been largely out of full-time work for the past 13 years, caring for children. In contrast, her husband’s balance is $120,000 – and the disparity is something that’s started to play on her mind again recently. “I was worried when the kids were little and I saw his going up and mine staying static. Working was impossible then – two super-energetic kids, one of whom kept getting sick, and no local family to help out so I could work. “Now I see my parents getting older…

A police officer has died, and another was in critical condition after a patrol car was rammed in Nelson in the early hours of this morning.Police Commissioner Richard Chambers confirmed the death this afternoon. The officer was named Senior Sergeant Lyn Fleming. A 32-year-old man was arrested at the scene after being tasered by other officers. The Police Minister has called the situation “tragic” and the mayor described it as “reckless” and “heart-wrenching”.Chambers said a vehicle driven by a member of the public struck a police vehicle at a gathering in the Buxton Square Carpark in Nelson at approximately 2.10am.Police…

Russia begins scaling-down gas supply to Europe via Ukraine as a five-year pre-war deal expires on New Year’s Day. ADVERTISEMENTRussian gas supplies to European Union countries via Ukraine is set to end on the first day of 2025. Ukraine’s gas transit operator says Russia has not nominated any gas flows via Ukrainian pipelines for 1 January.It marks the end of a five-year deal singed in 2019 between the two warring countries, that allowed Moscow’s exports of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) to the continent to transit in Ukraine before being rerouted to its final destination.The deal was highly lucrative, paying out…

Emily Rutherford says she feels “personally victimised” by iPhone’s weather app.Rutherford, who co-owns the Kiwi Water Park in Lake Dunstan, Central Otago, said the app kept reporting the temperature in her area was up to 5C cooler than MetService predicted — and even MetService could be under-estimating the summer heat.She worried it was putting off potential customers.”It keeps saying the weather is awful in my location and it means people think it’s awful… they aren’t coming along on the days that it says it’s awful.”At the moment, it says it’s 18C and raining — but at the moment it’s 25,…

An injured man is under police guard in Waikato Hospital after a person was killed in Hamilton — and two others seriously injured — in a violent incident shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day.Police said this morning a homicide investigation has been launched after the incident in Douglas Crescent, Fairfield, overnight that left one person dead and three others seriously injured.Emergency services were called to a report of an assault at the property shortly after midnight.When police arrived they found one person dead and two others seriously injured, who were transported to hospital.Emergency services were called to a report…

Rhythm and Vines organisers are defending a $5 fee for optional pre-driving breath testing.The Gisborne festival, which attracted more than 26,000 punters, concluded on Tuesday after three days.In a Facebook post, the festival shared a checklist for people leaving the festival, which promoted a breath-testing service.”For $5, breath testing will be available at the General Store in Grand Central. Be sensible and responsible drivers,” the post said.”Be warned that police will be conducting random breath-testing outside of Rhythm and Vines. Please make responsible decisions before getting behind the wheel.”But some commenters were frustrated the service would cost money.”Breath testing should…

A prisoner who made a dramatic escape from corrections custody at Waikato Hospital last week has been arrested after nine days on the run.The 48-year-old remand prisoner had “absconded from Corrections staff” while on a hospital visit at around 1.30pm on December 23.Footage emerged on December 24 showing how the man pulled off the escape by clambering down a large pipe on the side of a hospital building. Once near the ground, he jumped to safety and jogged around a corner onto a footpath wearing only a pair of shorts.Today, police said he was found early this morning at an…

Wally Hirsh — who died on New Year’s Eve, aged 88 — was New Zealand’s fourth race relations conciliator.Brought to this country by his German Jewish refugee parents in 1938, he grew up at Milton in South Otago, and worked for 30 years as a teacher and teachers college lecturer.His daughter Leora Hirsh told RNZ at the time of his appointment in 1986 he was a leader in the Jewish community, and had recently organised New Zealand’s first major Holocaust commemoration.Several Māori groups and leaders expressed unhappiness at the appointment because he was not of Māori heritage. Legally there was…