Author: Press Room

The felling of a large stand of mature gum trees next to Kerikeri’s town centre appears to be on hold after concerns were raised that kiwi could be living in the area.Work had been due to start in mid-October to cut down a roughly 24-hectare block of trees known as the Bing Property, bordered by the town centre, Kerikeri River and the Heritage Bypass.The trees are mostly 90-year-old eucalypts and redwoods, forming the town’s distinctive skyline, with some natives in the understorey.The land is zoned residential and no permission is required to fell the trees.The Department of Conservation has confirmed,…

A person has been seriously injured in a shooting in the southern Auckland suburb of Wiri.A spokesperson for Hato Hone St John told 1News it was called to an incident at 1.08am, sending an ambulance and a rapid response vehicle.”We transported one person with serious injuries to Middlemore Hospital.”In a statement, police said an investigation was underway after “a firearms incident”.”Police were called about 1am to Felicia Place, after a report of a disorder incident involving two groups of people.”Shots were reportedly fired, and one of the groups left in a vehicle.”Police said one person had minor injuries and was…

As councils around the country grapple with ever-tighter budgets and larger increases in rates, Nelson Mayor Nick Smith says it’s time to consider moving to four-year terms. Speaking to Q+A, the former local government minister and now-mayor said New Zealand’s three-year terms were unusual internationally. Smith previously spent 31 years as a National MP, with multiple stints as a Cabinet minister.He said: “When everybody’s looking for more efficiency because things are financially tight, I don’t think the public appreciates the cost of putting the bureaucracy of councils into standby mode during those three or four months as you approach an…

It’s the sign of a mature relationship that New Zealand’s High Commissioner to Canberra has no qualms recommending Kiwis become Australian citizens.And increasingly, they are doing so: either translating long residencies in Australia to becoming citizens, or taking that leap to move from New Zealand in search of economic opportunity.New Zealand has almost always bled citizens to Australia, a core function of the asymmetric relationship between the allies.The opportunity was formalised in 1973 with the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement allowing citizens to visit, live and work on both sides of the ditch.However, a 2001 change made many Kiwi migrants ineligible for…

Russian air defences shot down more than 100 Ukrainian drones on Sunday over Russia’s western regions, Moscow officials said. ADVERTISEMENTThe Russian Defence Ministry said 110 drones were destroyed in the overnight barrage against seven Russian regions. Many targeted Russia’s border region of Kursk, where 43 drones were reportedly shot down.Social media footage appeared to show air defences at work over the city of Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod region, close to a factory producing explosives.Local Gov. Gleb Nikitin wrote on social media on Sunday that four fighters had been injured repelling a drone attack over Dzerzhinsk’s industrial zone, but did…

Two people have been injured, one seriously, after a car crashed into a house in the west-central Auckland suburb of Avondale this morning.Police confirmed to 1News they were called to a single-vehicle crash on Nacton Lane, reported at 10.30am.”The vehicle appears to have collided with a house,” a spokesperson said. “One person has been seriously injured.”St John said it responded with two ambulances, one rapid response unit and one manager.”Our crews assessed and treated one patient in a moderate condition and one patient in a serious condition who were both transported to Auckland City Hospital,” a spokesperson said.A 1News reporter…

German authorities have arrested a man with suspected ties to the extremist group Islamic State who was allegedly planning an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Berlin. ADVERTISEMENTThe man was detained on Saturday in Bernau, a town just outside of Berlin. The German news agency dpa reported that the suspect was expected to be brought before an investigating judge at the country’s highest court, the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe, on Sunday.A spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Berlin confirmed to dpa that there had been a plan to attack the diplomatic mission. Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor thanked the…

Outgoing Police Commissioner Andrew Coster says he has been misunderstood at times during his tenure as the country’s top cop — adding that law and order policy is too complex to be distilled into “media-sized soundbites”.In a wide-ranging Q+A interview ahead of his departure, the commissioner emphasised the need for a “balanced” approach — which he said he brought but hadn’t always resonated with everyone — and that there needed to be a “nuanced” debate over policing. “I bring a very balanced approach to my role and to what we do inside of police,” he said.Andrew Coster was interviewed by…

Three people have died in crashes overnight in Waikato and Auckland, while police are appealing for information about two others in Invercargill and Hawke’s Bay.One person died after a two-vehicle crash involving a motorbike and a car in Morrinsville. Police said the crash on Coronation Rd was reported around 6.50pm. A person also died following a single vehicle crash on Ohaupo Rd, south of Hamilton. Police were called to that crash just after 10pm.In the early hours of Sunday morning, a motorcyclist died following a two-vehicle crash in the south Auckland suburb of Clendon Park.Emergency services were called to the…

Thirty-six vehicles have been ordered off the road by police as they target antisocial road users and illegally modified vehicles in Invercargill – including one using a pair of jandals as suspension bump stops.Senior Constable Paul Moylan said Operation Hoon on Friday and Saturday targeted drivers who regularly do a lap of the Invercargill CBD before going to organised “skid meets” in rural locations around the city.Police took advantage of legislation which allowed for vehicles stopped within 5km of a VTNZ testing station to be inspected immediately.”Aside from examples of extremely risky driving behaviour, many of these vehicles are illegally…