Author: Press Room

Two men, including a gang associate, have been charged following a ram raid burglary at a Flat Bush liquor store in Auckland early this morning.A third person is being sought.Counties Manukau CIB Detective Inspector Karen Bright said two allegedly stolen vehicles arrived at the store on Bishop Dunn Place just before 12.30am, and one was used to gain entry into the business.”The Eagle helicopter deployed to the area and located the offenders fleeing the scene in one of the vehicles,” she said.The trio drove to Belinda Ave, before getting into another vehicle.”One offender got out and returned to the vehicle…

Dunedin shoppers hunting for a bargain on fresh produce should skip the supermarket queue and head for the farmers’ market, a study shows. A nationwide price comparison study conducted by Farmers’ Market New Zealand found six out of seven farmers’ markets surveyed were cheaper than their supermarket counterparts. The survey, taken earlier this month, compared the cost of a basket of produce from the markets compared with an equivalent basket from their two closest supermarkets. The Otago Farmers Market, held every Saturday morning near the Dunedin Railway Station, was found to be 17.5% cheaper than the supermarkets — the second…

A woman who alleges she was sexually abused as a child by a well-known New Zealand artist wants one of his sculptures removed from Dunedin Hospital.The grandmother – who does not want to be named – has asked Te Whatu Ora Southern to not move John Middleditch’s 1980 Water Sculpture to the new hospital.In 2012 she requested the then-Southern District Health Board remove the large water feature, but when she told the art advisor Middleditch had been convicted of assaults on children in the 1970s, the woman was told she had no proof.”My complaints and requests were ignored.”In December, supported…

A Hastings councillor running for mayor has brushed off another councillor’s jibe about his European holiday amid his rate-rise-busting campaign launch.First-term councillor Marcus Buddo announced over the weekend he would run for mayor on a platform focused on financial responsibility.However, another Hastings councillor Damon Harvey posted on social media on Tuesday that he was “dismayed” that Buddo was trying to position himself as the “ratepayer saviour”.“What a load of BS,” Harvey, who is standing for re-election on council and has indicated he is strongly considering the mayoralty, wrote in a post that he has since amended.Harvey, who called 30-year-old Buddo…

A Dunedin panelbeater says their nearly $50,000 new painting machine is the “jewel in the crown” of their efforts to help the environment. Bridgman St Panelbeaters commercial manager Jarrod Hodson said the PPG “MoonWalk” paint mixing system — believed to be the only one in the city — was the latest in a series of steps taken by the business to reduce their impact on the environment. Using a handheld scanner, the machine found the best colour match for a vehicle and automatically mixed paints together to create it, ready to be sprayed on to the vehicle. The $48,000 state-of-the-art…

The surprise US vote comes after Trump decided to start direct talks with Russia to end the war, shocking Ukraine and its allies in Europe by not including them in the initial discussions last week. ADVERTISEMENTVotes on three UN resolutions demanding an end to the three-year war Russian war on Ukraine on Monday saw the United States split from its European allies by refusing to hold Moscow accountable for its invasion, marking a major shift in transatlantic relations under President Donald Trump.The surprise move comes after Trump decided to start direct talks with Russia to end the war, shocking Ukraine…

The “spectre” of agricultural tariffs by the Trump administration form a dark cloud in an otherwise cautiously optimistic outlook for a leading New Zealand rural supply company. In an announcement to the New Zealand stock market yesterday, PGG Wrightson (PGW) reported a net profit after tax of $16 million for the six months ending December 31 last year — an increase of 25% ($3.2m) from the previous corresponding period. Its operating revenue grew 2% to $570.3m, while its operating ebitda rose 13% ($4.7m) to $41.4m. An interim dividend of 2.5c per share was declared. PGG Wrightson chief executive Stephen Guerin…

Rotorua could see a freeze on new bottle stores opening and an earlier cut-off time for bars as it addresses high alcohol harm in the community.A council decision to consult on its updated alcohol policy is set for Wednesday, with the majority of changes relating to off-licences.The draft policy’s stricter alcohol sales rules include reduced trading hours for off-licences while inner-city bars would need to stop selling alcohol by 2am, an hour earlier than they do currently.Rotorua Lakes Council staff are expecting strong views from the public if it does consult, following 600 responses to a survey on the topic.The…

European court finds Google’s lack of interoperability with another company’s app an abuse of dominance even if it did not actually stymie competition on the third-party’s app market. ADVERTISEMENTThe European Court of Justice has ruled that Google’s refusal to allow a digital platform developed by Enel access to its Android Auto platform was an abuse of dominance, even if the platform is not indispensable to the commercial operation of Enel’s app.The ruling follows a referral from the Italian Council of State after an Italian antitrust authority decision fining Alphabet (Google) €102m in 2021 for preventing Enel’s JuicePass from accessing Android…

Winter is coming — and Southland’s Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is gearing up for what usually is a challenging season. After announcing last year it would ramp up its potlines at Tiwai, New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) chief executive Chris Blenkiron announced yesterday it would delay the plans until August 31. This was to ensure Meridian Energy had access to 50MW of electricity this winter, he said. “While it is always a difficult decision to reduce aluminium production, it makes sense to pause the ramp-up now and have 50MW available to Meridian this winter. “When we signed the 20-year electricity…