Author: Press Room

Is your boss texting you on the weekend? Work email pinging long after you’ve left for home? Australian employees can now ignore those and other intrusions into home life thanks to a new “right to disconnect” law designed to curb the creep of work emails and calls into personal lives. The new rule, which came into force on Monday, means employees, in most cases, cannot be punished for refusing to read or respond to contacts from their employers outside work hours. Supporters say the law gives workers the confidence to stand up against the steady invasion of their personal lives by work emails, texts…

A law change is set to result in only 5% of New Zealand’s coastline being awarded as customary marine title, documents obtained by 1News suggest. The suggestion was made by Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith in a private meeting with Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones and seafood industry representatives in May.They discussed potential changes to the Marine and Coastal Area Act, legislation that allows Māori to apply for certain customary rights over the foreshore and seabed. “Changing the section 58 test should reduce the 100% of coastline subject to customary marine title to 5%,” Goldsmith told them. Te Mata…

Ministers will no longer have the final say on fast-tracked projects in the Government’s “one-stop shop” consenting bill — as the coalition announces a big shift in the proposed approvals system.A list of “sensible changes” to the legislation were announced by RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones this afternoon. The process has already attracted “huge interest” with more than 300 applicants.Cabinet has agreed to recommend five changes to the Environment Select Committee, which was currently considering the Government’s legislation. In the biggest shift, final decisions on fast-tracked projects will not sit with ministers, but instead…

A group of about 25 foreign tourists from several nationalities were exploring the caves of the Breidamerkurjokull glacier in Iceland when the ice collapsed, authorities said. ADVERTISEMENTAt least one person has died, and two others are still missing after an ice cave partially collapsed as a group of tourists was visiting the Breidamerkurjokull glacier in southern Iceland.In a statement posted on social media, local police say first responders received a call shortly before 3 pm local time (5 am CET) on Sunday as a group of about 25 foreign tourists from several nationalities were exploring ice caves when four people…

Amazon and Bunnings are among big corporations to be put in the spotlight over their treatment of suppliers, amid a renewed focus on competition as Australians struggle with the cost of living.Senior executives from the chains have been recalled to appear before a Senate inquiry that examined supermarkets to increase competition and reduce prices at the checkout.Bunnings will need to explain why it should not be covered by the industry’s code of conduct, given it sells increasingly more grocery type items.Bunnings will face the committee before Christmas, senator Ross Cadell says. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)”We’re looking anti-competition, at pressure and influence…

Scientists testing for illicit drugs at our border are concerned about the appearance of a new class of “super-opioids” 40 times more potent than fentanyl.Known as nitazenes, police say the community use of the substance is low but could already be linked to at least one death.There have been nearly 40 detections in the past three years and drug checking clinics have confirmed they are present in the community.New Zealand Drug Foundation executive director Sarah Helm said the arrival of nitazenes in the country have “kept us awake at night”.”If our methamphetamine supply was adulterated with nitazenes, we would see…

A raft of measures have been outlined by the coalition government, which it says will aim to ease New Zealand’s energy security and affordability, including a review of the performance of the electricity market. Details of that review will be finalised in the coming weeks but the government wants to ensure the market is efficient, effectively competitive and fit for the future. Energy Minister Simeon Brown said this afternoon that New Zealand currently had inadequate supply of natural gas to meet demand. “New Zealand needs abundant, affordable energy. That’s why the coalition government is taking a series of immediate actions…

Last night’s Good Sort is a Hawke’s Bay woman who felt the impact of survivor’s guilt from Cyclone Gabrielle and decided to do something about it – by making quilts. Nine people were killed when Cyclone Gabrielle tore through the East Coast last February. The natural disaster also left many displaced after it caused $1 billion in damages.”We didn’t really have much problem with us, so it’s our way of helping out others and making us feel better as well,” Margaret Wallace explained. Rounding up a group of four other women feeling the effects of guilt, they began to make…

Recent research showing young people in New Zealand are more likely to die on the roads than young Australians has again raised questions about whether Kiwis have a driving problem. 1News takes a closer look at the issue.As the saying goes, New Zealanders are generally nice people – until you put them behind the wheel of a car.A casual Google search of New Zealand driving habits reveals tales of aggressive tailgating, stubborn refusals to merge like a zip, and dangerous overtaking manoeuvres to get ahead of one car in a queue of traffic.Many New Zealanders don’t respect driving, says four-time…

Lydia Ko covered her face with her hands and cried tears of joy.An Olympic gold medal. Entry into the Hall of Fame. And now another major championship title — at the home of golf, no less.Summers don’t come much better than that.Ko completed what she described as a “Cinderella-like story” by breaking free from a logjam of world-class talent to win the Women’s British Open by two strokes at St Andrews, securing a third major title — and a first in eight years. Just two weeks ago, the 27-year-old Kiwi took gold at the Olympic Games in Paris.”This is almost…