Author: Press Room
The names of five people seeking compensation for sexual abuse in state care were published online in a privacy breach by the Ministry of Social Development.The ministry has removed the link to documents naming the five, but Google searches of the names were still bringing up the MSD information in the search engine’s AI summary yesterday morning.The ministry has apologised and says the breach was due to human error.Breach found by chanceWellington human rights lawyer Lydia Oosterhoff was searching online last week for an RNZ story when she discovered an Official Information Act request from her firm, Cooper Legal, on…
A motorcyclist has died after colliding with a car in Ashburton this evening. Police said they were called to the scene at the intersection of Hinds Arundel Rd and Gills Rd around 6pm.The motorcyclist died at the scene. The serious crash unit are in attendance.The road is expected to remain closed for some time.Motorists are advised to avoid the area where possible and expect delays.
Published on 25/11/2025 – 9:27 GMT+1 •Updated 9:44 Former EU Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said Europe must stand firm by its digital rules as the United States pushes for soften implementation of landmark legislation in exchange for tariff relief. European officials and their US counterparts met in Brussels on Monday for the first time since the EU agreed to a deal imposing 15% tariffs on European products in July and made pledges to buy energy, weapons and invest majorly in America. The Trump administration is now pushing for softer implementation of EU digital rules for big tech companies in…
Economists widely expect the Reserve Bank to trim the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points tomorrow, taking it to 2.25%, while leaving the door open for further easing if the economy stumbles.November’s Monetary Policy Statement will be the last of the year — and the final one under acting Governor Christian Hawkesby before Anna Breman takes over in December.The OCR currently sits at 2.50%, following a front-loaded 50bp cut in October.ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said the central bank was likely to pair the cut with a message it remained ready to cut further if conditions deteriorated.”Going forward,…
The 28-point peace plan drafted by the US and Russia to end the war in Ukraine stunned Europeans with its sweeping provisions perceived as too favourable for Russia. The terms also implied a loss of control for the Europeans about their own security framework and would see them stripped of key leverage points over Moscow. The EU and allies are now pushing to have a say on what comes next, particularly on matters that would require their participation – from sanctions to defence. These are the key issues in the talks that directly concern Europeans: NATO accession for Ukraine in…
The Commerce Commission is taking legal action against Mobil New Zealand’s head office over alleged lack of transparency in its pricing methods. The Commission has filed proceedings in the High Court, alleging two ongoing breaches of section 16(1)(a) of the Fuel Industry Act 2020, one starting in November 2021, and the other in August 2022.”We think that the wholesale prices methods Mobil New Zealand’s head office has used to calculate what they charge petrol stations (dealers) aren’t transparent enough to meet their obligations under the Act,” Commissioner Bryan Chapple said. He said a “lack of transparent wholesale prices means that…
Published on 25/11/2025 – 7:23 GMT+1 •Updated 8:15 Ukraine’s future is at stake this week in Brussels, after Moscow has rejected a counterproposal to the US peace plan in Ukraine drafted by European countries. Putin’s aide Yuri Ushakov described the plan as “unconstructive” and said Moscow would not accept it. Another hot topic this week in Europe is EU-US trade negotiations. US officials and EU ministers met yesterday in Brussels for what was expected to be a “frank”, tense discussion about the two sides’ fraught trade deal. To comment on these topics, we are joined by Margrethe Vestager, former European…
A person has been found dead following a fire in Auckland’s Mt Roskill in the early hours of this morning. Emergency services were called to the Katavich Place at around 1.54am. FENZ sent one fire truck from Mt Roskill to respond to the blaze. “Upon arrival, the fire was extinguished, and a person was located deceased,” Detective Senior Sergeant Anthony Darvill said. A scene guard was in place, and police investigators were determining the circumstances of the fire. “However, at this stage, the death is being treated as unexplained,” Darvill said. “Further information will be provided when we are in…
Online hatred against women is rising and amplifying gender tensions in real life situations, the head of the United Nations division for women in Europe told Euronews as she warned about an increasingly hostile environment for young girls and women. “Digital violence is real violence”, Belén Sanz, Director for UN Women for Europe and Central Asia, told Euronews. “Women and girls experience it, and it has tremendous consequences because it takes out the voice of women, their rights, and their choices”, she added. 74% of women in Europe have either experienced online violence themselves or witnessed it against another woman,…
The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including a New Zealander at the heart of an affair rocking British finance, a suspicious fire prompts safety warnings, and a returning rugby star’s black jersey ambition. A New Zealand has been named in a report over an alleged affair at the top level of a major British financial institution. A suspicious fire south of Auckland has prompted safety warnings for nearby residents. Sticking points remain, even as more progress is made at peace talks over the war in Ukraine. A judge has dismissed charges against two high profile enemies of Donald Trump. Richie…