Author: Press Room

Hamish Cleary likes making things in building class, enjoys gardening and loves mowing lawns.Like many students, the 20-year-old is pondering what to do when he leaves school later this year.But while other students might consider going into further education, training or employment, Cleary faces more obstacles.Rangiora High School Lighthouse programme teacher Julia Malcolm said Cleary and other young people with special needs have a full programme at school.They have a range of conditions, including autism, Down syndrome and cerebral palsy, but have a willingness to learn and live meaningful lives, she said.Jessica Higgs (20) spends time in the Rangiora Community…

The Reserve Bank’s battle with inflation is over. So why doesn’t it feel like things have improved?Data released on Wednesday showed the consumer price index lifted 2.2%t in the last quarter of 2024. That’s close to the middle of the Reserve Bank’s 1% to 3% target range.”The good news is, the cost-of-living crisis is definitely over,” said Kiwibank chief economist Jarrod Kerr.”With a headline rate of 2.2% and wages in the 3 [% range].”But he said there were good reasons why that might not feel true for lots of households.”You’ve got to experience a wage rise a couple of times…

TikTok users and young people in Germany are significantly less suspicious and have a more favourable view of Moscow and Beijing, according to the study, which flags it as a concern ahead of Germany’s upcoming elections. ADVERTISEMENTYoung Germans who use TikTok are more likely to be climate sceptics, be less critical of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and believe that the Chinese political system is better than democracy, according to a new study.The liberal politics Friedrich Naumann Foundation, which commissioned the study, said that it shows how disinformation narratives and foreign propaganda are impacting Germany as its February elections approach.”Ahead of…

A New Plymouth Lotto player has won $8.3 million in last night’s Powerball First Divison draw.The winning ticket was sold on MyLotto to the person from New Plymouth.Their prize was made up of $8 million from Powerball First Division and $333,333 from Lotto First Division.The winner is the second Powerball multi-millionaire this year, Lotto said.”The win comes just weeks after a Wellington couple scored themselves $7 million – the first Powerball jackpot of 2025. The couple were driving to work when they found out they had won.”Two other players have won $333,333 in Lotto First Division. Those winning tickets were…

Michael Spindelegger, the director of the intergovernmental organization International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) told Euronews how Trump’s crackdown on immigration, including at the southern border of Mexico, could have consequences for Europe. ADVERTISEMENTDonald Trump’s immigration policies will likely influence the migration policy debate in Europe, the director of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) Michael Spindelegger told Euronews in an interview featured for Radio Schuman today.During his inauguration speech, US President Donald Trump announced a large-scale nationwide deportation campaign. On Tuesday, his administration began deporting undocumented immigrants from the country. However, several NGOs and international organizations,…

A rural community advocate is rubbishing council reasons for removing public bins and says offering locals clean-up gear is an “insult”.Rotorua Lakes Council has removed 91 public bins over the past two years and may take another 54 as it sees potential for “significant savings” from encouraging people to take their rubbish home.Bins were removed from Tikitapu (Blue Lake) in early 2023 in what the council has described as the first “test” of this, and in response to a wasp problem.The move frustrated Rotorua Blue Lake TOP 10 Holiday Park staff collecting a bag of rubbish a day from the…

Poland has reframed the debate on migration through the lenses of national security, forcing the EU to change its tune. ADVERTISEMENTThere is an eerie silence at the Połowce-Pieszczatka crossing point.Heavily armed border guards stand still, one after the other, with their gaze fixed on the other side of the snow-covered forest. A five-metre high steel fence, decked out with thermal cameras and sensor cables, stretches as far as the eye can see. The large road in between, once used for shipping everyday goods, is firmly blocked with successive lines of concrete barriers and hedgehogs, interlaced with barbed wire. Infantry vehicles…

The Government will need to get its chequebook ready if it plans to welcome more tourists to our shores, the Mayor of Queenstown says.The new Minister for Economic Growth Nicola Willis has set her sights on a wealthier economy, and says attracting more tourists would help to make that happen.”I want all tourists because, ultimately, it’s not the Government that decides how much a tourist spends when they come to New Zealand. Tourists will make that decision,” she told RNZ.”Our job is to make it easy for them to come in the door, easy for them to come to New…

Auckland’s maunga authority is considering closing mountains to the public on holidays due to “unlawful” fires.It comes after two weekend blazes on Māngere mountain, with one scorching three hectares.The fires were being investigated by police and Fire and Emergency, but Tupuna Maunga Authority chairperson Paul Majurey believed the fires were intentional.Speaking to Morning Report, Majurey said there had been some “very sick behaviours” on Auckland’s mountains and it was hard to fathom why people would do it.”It’s a few individuals who are being reckless on these sacred spaces.”Fires on the mountains was very distressing for local iwi, he said.The authority…

Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka has denied the new-look Waitangi Tribunal is a “whitewash” as suggested by Te Pāti Māori.The minister appointed eight new members to the tribunal, removing some well-known Māori academics.Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer criticised the removal as a “whitewash”.Potaka told Morning Report, Te Pāti Māori’s comments were “unhelpful” and undermined the knowledge and experience of the new appointees.The new appointees included Philip Crump, who is a board member of NZ On Air, author Rex Edward Hale, councillor Grant Hadfield, former minister of defence Ron Mark and the first Pasifika dean of law Professor Tafaoimalo Tologata…