Author: Press Room
A crane operator who was killed as he delivered timber had earlier raised concerns with his employer about how close the power lines were.Wesley Talakai, 38, struck live lines with his truck-mounted crane outside a house building site in Greenhithe, northwest Auckland, in August 2023.WorkSafe said the crane was just 2.5m from the lines, when the legal minimum is four.”Mr Talakai raised concerns with his employer, NZ Solid, about limited space at the site and proximity to overhead power lines, however the company gave him a gate code to access the site and continue the work,” said the agency on…
The NZ Transport Agency has performed a U-turn on plans to partially close part of a major Rotorua road after the city’s eastside ground to a halt on Monday.The decision followed a stinging rebuke from Mayor Tania Tapsell and a major backlash from city businesses and residents.State Highway 30A between Te Ngae Rd and Fenton St was closed for resurfacing yesterday. Work was scheduled to continue until December 12.But road users experienced huge delays for usually routine journeys in and out of the city for much of Monday morning and early afternoon.Those delays forced Tapsell to send an “urgent request”…
Six shipping containers have been placed in the canals at Ashburton’s popular Lake Hood to be used in water quality trials.Ashburton District Council is trialling treatment options in an effort to stave off algae blooms that have plagued the lake over the last three summers.The containers have been placed to create a controlled area in part of a canal along Huntingdon Avenue, to test five different applications, and other areas of the lake will be used to monitor three different types of sonic equipment.The data collection and monitoring will be led by a team from Lincoln University.Council’s infrastructure group manager…
Experts have figured out how to move the giant Rakaia Salmon statue for a $300,000 refurbishment, but its moving date is still to be confirmed.Incidentally, a hook will be used to snag the 12m, 1.6 tonne salmon by crane and place it onto a truck to be transported.Ashburton District Council community and open spaces manager Toni Durham said the plan is to remove the salmon before Christmas for a major renovation but the exact dates were being work out.”There are still a few logistics to be sorted out,” Durham said.Original statue sculptor Phil Price, who had the successful tender for…
By Felix Walton of RNZ The Supreme Court has thrown out Uber’s appeal against treating drivers as employees. It comes after a group of four Uber drivers took the ride-sharing company to the Employment Court in 2022 over their employment status. They argued that drivers should be considered employees rather than contractors and be entitled to benefits such as leave entitlements, holiday pay and a minimum wage. The Employment Court ruled in favour of the drivers, which Uber appealed unsuccessfully at the Court of Appeal in 2024. Uber then appealed that decision at the Supreme Court, where on Monday five…
The Government’s new mandate to carry out random oral-fluid roadside drug testing marks a milestone in New Zealand’s road safety policy, writes Joseph Boden.Under recently passed laws, police can now stop any driver, at any time, to screen with an oral swab for four illicit substances: THC (cannabis), cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy).Police will begin the rollout in Wellington in December, with nationwide coverage expected by mid next year.Drivers will face an initial roadside swab taking a few minutes; a positive result triggers a second test. If confirmed, the driver will face an immediate 12-hour driving ban and have their…
An economist says US president Donald Trump’s flip-flopping on tariffs has New Zealand businesses on edge.Trump has cancelled tariffs on several US food imports, including beef and kiwifruit.Sense Partners economist John Ballingall said it was good news for a lot of businesses – but many were still finding it hard to relax.”The [frequent] changes are making life very difficult for our businesses. When businesses are uncertain they tend not to invest or hire people, and the constant flip-flopping is certainly affecting businesses’ planning,” he said.”When the global economic environment is uncertain it can be a bit risky making big investment…
By Giles Dexter of RNZ The Green Party is pledging to revoke consents for any coal, hardrock gold or seabed mining projects, including two in Otago, granted under the fast-track regime if it forms part of a government at next year’s election. “Today, we are putting the seabed mining, hardrock gold mining and coal mining industries – and their investors – on notice. Your fast-track consents are not safe and they are not secure,” co-leader Marama Davidson said. The Greens have been warning they would revoke consents as far back as December 2024, when the initial fast-track bill passed its third…
Friends are rallying around a mother who lost three children in a devastating house fire in Sanson, Manawatū. The blaze broke out around 2.30pm on Saturday, prompting a significant emergency services response.Police have confirmed four fatalities from the Manawatū home – three children and a man. In a GiveALittle page set up yesterday evening, friends of the family paid tribute to the grieving mother. “Our dear friend has suffered the sudden, unbearable loss of her three beloved children, her angels … They were the light and love of her life, and her entire world has been shattered,” they wrote. The…
Six weeks after a father and son died in a house fire, the family have spoken for the first time about what happened that night, revealing the heroic actions of a father who died trying to save his youngest son and the devastating impact their deaths have had. RNZ national crime correspondent Sam Sherwood reports.Yea Seul Park was at home in Jakarta when she received a message from her younger sister who lived in Auckland with her husband Jung Sup Lee, and their two sons, a 13-year-old and 11-year-old Ha-il.”There was a fire in the house last night,” the message…