Author: Press Room

Motorists were warned this evening to expect delays on State Highway 16 near Auckland’s Whenuapai after a vehicle caught fire.Emergency services were called to the incident at around 6.05pm after receiving a report of a vehicle on fire on the road.”The fire has been extinguished and no injuries are reported,” police said.There were delays for about an hour while the vehicle was towed and the roadway cleared.The car pictured after the fire. (Source: Hunter Lee)A witness said they were driving towards the car and “saw it on fire underneath and loads of smoke”. “The lady then pulled over and when…

Finance expert Ben Nash said there are little things you can do each day that can massively build your wealth. (Source: Supplied/Getty)John and Gina* were a young couple in their early 30s and when we met they were struggling with one of the most common money challenges: they couldn’t seem to find a way to keep up today and get ahead for the future.They had a bit of random credit card debt they just couldn’t seem to shake. It seemed like every time they started making any progress in saving, something unexpected would come up that would throw off their…

Crown scientists are hoping to drill deeper than ever into New Zealand’s crust to make the most of our geothermal energy potential.But they say the first well needs around $40 million in public funding.It comes amid the Government’s concerns about spot pricing from weather-dependant renewables such as wind, solar, and hydro power.A team of 30 GNS scientists have been researching what’s known as ‘supercritical’ geothermal energy resources in New Zealand which are not weather-affected.They have discovered the potential for an extra t30,000 gigawatt hours of electricity generation annually from this form of geothermal energy, which would be three-quarters of New…

Visa and Mastercard have warned that there could be ‘unintended consequences’ if the government bans card surcharges. (Source: Getty)Mastercard and Visa have warned of the “unintended consequences” if Labor follows through with its plan to ban card surcharges for consumers and merchants by 2026. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is looking into how the small, everyday charges are affecting the country and whether they’re still fit for purpose more than 20 years after they were introduced.Yahoo Finance understands that Mastercard doesn’t set, collect or benefit from card surcharging, and the decision to charge is made by the merchant with…

Farro Fresh Food is recalling a batch of its Farro Kitchen brand Pulled Lamb Shank Ragu due to the possible presence of glass.The affected batch has a best before date marked 18 OCT 24.The microwaveable meals are sold in Farro Fresh stores throughout Auckland, including:Farro Fresh Epsom, 446-450 Manukau Rd, EpsomFarro Fresh Grey Lynn, 34 Westmoreland St West, Grey LynnFarro Fresh Mt Eden, 422 Dominion Rd, Mt EdenFarro Fresh Mt Wellington, 80 Lunn Ave, Mt WellingtonFarro Fresh North Shore, 70 Parkway Dr, Mairangi BayFarro Fresh Orakei Bay Village, 228 Orakei Rd, RemueraFarro Smales Farm, 78-94 Taharoto Rd, TakapunaThe affected product…

The leaders’ summit in Brussels will cover migration policy, support for Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East. ADVERTISEMENTMigration is set to dominate a summit of European Union leaders as calls for outsourcing asylum procedures and speedier deportations grow increasingly louder, despite stern warnings from NGOs that the approach would endanger fundamental rights.The meeting, scheduled to begin on Thursday morning in Brussels, will also touch upon Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the crisis in the Middle East, the situation in Georgia, Moldova and Venezuela, and efforts to boost the EU’s competitiveness.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to make an in-person…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ Inflation may be back within the Reserve Bank’s target band, but the experience of the past few years has changed the economy in ways that have been described as “seismic”. Inflation as measured by the consumer price index (CPI) was running at an annual rate of 2.2% in the September quarter, down from a peak of more than 7% through the second half of 2022. Economists said the period of high inflation – and the downturn the Reserve Bank’s interest rate response to it created – had changed the economy significantly, in at least seven…

A general manager at Palmerston North Hospital told a thousand people on a WhatsApp channel that Indian nurses must stop using their language in any public space at work.A patient had complained of being “disrespected”, sparking the clampdown after an investigation last year.A three-minute WhatsApp audio file from MidCentral Health head of HR Keyur Anjaria told members of the city’s Malayli community that for nurses anywhere in hospital public spaces, “talking in the local dialect is not allowed”.It came to light following another incident where Waikato public hospital told nurses not to speak to patients in any language other than…

Patriots leaders, including Geert Wilders and Viktor Orbán, will meet at Maison de Hongrie in the Belgian capital for the group’s first such pre-European Council meeting. ADVERTISEMENTThe president of Patriots has declared the EU migration pact dead, speaking to Euronews on the eve of the far-right group’s leaders’ first gathering ahead of Thursday’s European Council. Tomorrow’s pre-summit exchange of views is a regular appointment for other political families and will include the group’s heavy hitters, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from Fidesz, Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen from France’s National Rally, Italian Deputy PM and Secretary of Lega Matteo Salvini and Geert Wilders,…

A third of Aussies admitted they have never reviewed or compared super fees across funds. (Source: Getty/AAP)Millions of Aussies don’t realise how much they are forking out in fees to their superannuation fund. It’s a common mistake that could be costing them thousands of dollars a year and as much as $100,000 at retirement.Most super funds apply multiple fees to account holders, including administration fees, investment fees, transaction fees, insurance premiums, activity fees and performance fees. These can quickly eat into your retirement nest egg if you’re paying more than you need to.Independent financial adviser and BFG managing director Suzanne…