Author: Press Room
Dunedin’s Gasworks Museum will close for at least a week while an assessment is carried out after cracks were discovered in the site’s chimney stack.A member of the public last week noticed a lightning rod running up the structure “was no longer flush with the brickwork”, Dunedin City Council group manager property services Anna Nilsen said.A drone assessment found recent cracks in the brickwork.“The chimney is regularly inspected and, while we can’t be sure, we suspect the cracks may have been caused by last month’s large 6.8 magnitude earthquake.”The quake, centred off the southwest coast of the South Island, was…
Actor Michelle Trachtenberg died as a result of complications from diabetes, New York City’s medical examiner said today.The office said in a statement that it amended the cause and manner of death for the 39-year-old New York City native following a review of laboratory test results.Trachtenberg, who was known for Gossip Girl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Harriet the Spy, was found unconscious and unresponsive in her luxury apartment tower in Manhattan in February.Officials at the time said no foul play was suspected, and the medical examiner’s office had listed her death as “undetermined”.Trachtenberg’s family had objected to an autopsy,…
Follow live updates as a subtropical storm system targets the North Island.The worst of the weather is expected to hit between Wednesday and Good Friday.What you need to know:A large weather system is delivering heavy rain and strong winds to the upper North Island.Thousands of properties reportedly had no power overnight in Northland, and there are outages reported in Auckland too.Up to 180mm of rain could strike Northland with possible thunderstorms, and strong wind warnings also in place.Auckland and Great Barrier Island can expect up to 120kph of severe gale gusts from Wednesday night.Rain is also forecast to spread into…
ASB is the latest bank to bring its one-year fixed home loan below 5%. In recent days, ANZ, Kiwibank, BNZ and Westpac have all lowered their one-year rate to 4.99%. They previously only offered this rate for two years. BNZ also cut its 18-month rate to 4.95%. Now, ASB is lowering both its one-year and two-year rate to 4.99%. It will drop its six-month rate to 5.59%. “The rate changes reflect our ongoing commitment to supporting customers in achieving their home ownership goals. We’ve seen growing interest in the 24-month term,” ASB’s executive general manager Adam Boyd said. ASB also…
Jacob Elordi has played his fair share of heartthrobs and outsiders. But his latest role, a surgeon captured during World War II and forced to build the Thai-Burma Death Railway, might just be the one that stays with him the longest.Australia Correspondent Aziz Al Sa’afin sat down with Elordi and the cast of Narrow Road to the Deep North ahead of its release on April 18. The Narrow Road to the Deep North tells the story of prisoners of war forced to build the Thai-Burma Death Railway. (Source: 1News)Elordi starred as Dorrigo Evans in the six-part Australian mini-series based on…
A paralysed Kawerau man who needs 24/7 support was so frustrated by an ACC policy change that he took a stand that cost him dearly, meaning hospital for him, and the pound for his cherished dog. Gill Higgins reports’I just want my own carers back’: Watch this story on TVNZ+. It was 30 years ago that Dave* was paralysed after a cliff dive that went wrong. It was just two weeks after his 21st birthday. Since then, Dave has been totally reliant on his care team. He admits to bouts of depression but says two things have made a big…
Easter is a time for family, hot cross buns, and if you’re not careful, forgetting that the shops might be closed.As the long weekend approaches, several rules govern which businesses can and cannot open on certain days.There are no specific rules that impact trading on Saturday, and Easter Monday is also unaffected – it’s an ordinary public holiday.However special restrictions affect Good Friday and Easter Sunday.Under the Shop Trading Hours Act 1990, there are three-and-a-half days each year that most businesses must cease trading – they are restricted trading days.These are Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas Day and Anzac Day…
By Keiller MacDuff of RNZ Tens of thousands of people could be in line for compensation from KiwiRail, after a Commerce Commission investigation found it misled customers and may have breached the Consumer Guarantees Act in the aftermath of 2023’s catastrophic ferry cancellations. The commission launched an investigation following complaints from people who had been refused compensation after cancelled sailings of both the Kaitaki and Kaiārahi ferries – which stretched over weeks and months – including the cost of accommodation, flights and even having to abandon cars on either side of the Cook Strait. The commission investigated three incidents: A loss of…
Lorde has announced she’ll soon be releasing her first new single in four years, titled What Was That.The Kiwi singer-songwriter, whose real name is Ella Yelich O’Connor, posted on her social media revealing her new single would be “out soon”.The post was a headshot-style photo of Lorde wearing a red shirt with a dripping wet face. It was taken by New York-based photographer Talia Chetrit.The singer sent followers a voice note on April 15 where she said: “I just wanted to say hi, because everything is about to change. These are the last moments where it’s just us, which is…
Mark Lundy is scheduled to appear before the Parole Board on Thursday – the third time he has been able to plead his case for release from prison for the August 2000 murders of his wife and daughter in Palmerston North.The 66-year-old has served more than 23 years in jail since he was arrested for the murders in early 2001.But he has maintained his innocence, insisting he did not kill his wife Christine, 38, and daughter Amber, 9, in the family home.Lundy was found guilty at a trial in Palmerston North in 2002 and, again, after the Privy Council quashed…