Author: Press Room

More than 100 leg-hold traps have been discovered in a popular Invercargill reserve, prompting warnings from council that people and animals could be seriously harmed. Invercargill City Council manager of parks and recreation Caroline Rain said staff were alerted to the presence of the traps at Sandy Point by a member of the public on Tuesday.”Our rangers acted quickly and, on searching, retrieved more than 100 traps over a large area following the report.”Rain said the council was “extremely disappointed” to see the traps put in a public place where it could endanger visitors, including young children and dogs.”Leg-hold traps…

ADVERTISEMENT Europe’s ecosystems should be functioning again by 2050. The EU’s renaturation regulation requires the rewetting of some agricultural areas. Restoring moors is good for climate protection and biodiversity, because living moors serve as carbon sinks. For comparison: Forests cover one third of our planet’s land surface, moors three per cent. And yet moors bind twice as much carbon as all the forests on earth! However, when moors are drained, the millennia-old carbon reservoirs are transformed into CO2 emitters. In order to curb greenhouse gas emissions, the EU is promoting the research, mapping and renaturation of wetlands. The EU law on…

Swedish furniture giant Ikea has shared a first glimpse of some of the products on offer when it opens its doors in New Zealand later this year.The store is scheduled to open at Auckland’s Sylvia Park, with the retailer targeting a Christmas launch, Kiwi Property chairperson Simon Shakesheff confirmed last month.Ahead of its launch, Ikea NZ home furnishing and retail design manager Edward Hincks revealed five items that would be on shelves in Aotearoa, after research explored what New Zealanders might want from the home furnishings chain. The products were selected after Ikea commissioned a Life at Home Report New…

Police have renewed an appeal for the identities of others involved in the murder of Kyle Whorrall at an Auckland bus stop earlier this year.The 33-year-old American PhD student was attacked in Auckland’s St John on April 19 and later died in hospital.Whorrall was in New Zealand pursuing his doctorate in entomology at the University of Auckland.A 16-year-old was charged with his murder, while a 33-year-old woman was charged with being an accessory to murder.Both pleaded not guilty with a trial date set for August 2026.Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said it was “time to do the right thing” for others…

A social housing initiative — described as ”like flatting for older people” — is a step closer to becoming a reality in North Canterbury.The Waimakariri District Council agreed to enter into an agreement to support and provide land for an Abbeyfields house to be built in Rangiora, at a meeting on Tuesday.An Abbeyfields house offers supported housing for single older people of limited means.Addressing the council meeting, Abbeyfield Waimakariri Incorporated chairperson Valda Reveley said it was “like flatting for older people”.She said granting the lease would allow her organisation to get on with raising the funds it needed to build…

A kuia has been left devastated after Hobson’s Pledge used her image in a billboard campaign against Māori wards.“I feel trampled. I did not do any of those. I did not give anyone permission to use my mug, my moko kauae.”Ellen Tamati spoke to Aukaha News about her experience. She said she was woken up in the middle of the night by her mokopuna who had spotted one of the billboards.“[My mokopuna] kept ringing and ringing to wake me up and she told me what was happening. I didn’t know what she was talking about, I had no idea. I…

The finance minister is bemoaning those who take a glass-half-empty view of the unemployment figures, saying they were still better than forecast. The unemployment rate has risen to 5.2% in the three months ended June, up from 5.1% in the previous quarter. Stats NZ figures show unemployment has risen 1.9 percentage points since the June 2022 quarter. Annual wage growth has slowed to 2.4%, compared to 4.3% in the June 2024 quarter. The economy shed about 2000 jobs during the quarter and 16,000 jobs over the past 12 months. There was also an increase in the number of people aged 15…

A hearing is underway to determine the fate of a fallen but living pōhutukawa tree on Auckland’s North Shore.The tree fell in 2022 in the communal area of the Sands Apartments in Takapuna.It was listed as a notable tree under the Auckland Council’s Unitary Plan.The apartment’s body corporate and residents wanted the tree gone, but its removal was opposed by iwi due to its cultural significance.The council was expected to hear submissions from residents throughout the day.Submission documents showed the tree itself was still alive, despite having roots exposed, and was infected with myrtle rust.The body corporate’s lawyer, Bal Matheson…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ Jetstar is entitled not to offer its pilots an alternative day off if they are on call on a public holiday but do not have to work, the Employment Relations Authority says. The New Zealand Air Line Pilots’ Association went to the authority alleging breaches of the Holidays Act and collective agreement for pilots. It argued that pilots were entitled to an alternative holiday when they were on standby during a public holiday, even if they were not called to work. The association – and two pilot members, Richard Greenslade and Greig Johnston – argued…

The Finance Minister is bemoaning those who take a glass-half-empty view of the unemployment figures, saying they were still better than forecast.The unemployment rate has risen to 5.2% in the three months ended June, up from 5.1% in the previous quarter.Stats NZ figures show unemployment has risen 1.9 percentage points since the June 2022 quarter.Annual wage growth has slowed to 2.4%, compared to 4.3% in the June 2024 quarter.The economy shed about 2000 jobs during the quarter and 16,000 jobs over the past 12 months.There was also an increase in the number of people aged 15 to 24 in education,…