Author: Press Room

The landlord of a central Auckland boarding house has failed to pay $240,700 in exemplary damages, having agreed to the penalty for serious breaches affecting 64 tenants.MBIE’s Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT) had launched an investigation into Beach Road Hotel Limited, which operates as The Station Hotel or The Station Backpackers, following a nationwide boarding house inspection initiative prompted by the fatal Loafers Lodge fire in 2023.The company was owned by Prakash Pandey, director of C P Asset Management Limited, part of the C P Group, one of New Zealand’s largest hotel owners and developers.The property was among 37…

A heavy dumping of snow prompted some road closures for parts of the South Island earlier today. MetService lifted most of its watches and warnings issued over Labour Day early this morning, with just some snow watches and road snowfall warnings remaining in effect. ‘Can only get better’ – Wind-battered region dealt spring dump amid storm recoveryIt reported earlier that Mount Cook had received about 20cm of snow last night, while Crown Range saw between 20 and 30cm and the Milford Rd saw 10cm of snow. “As the day goes on, the Desert Rd will see up to 4cm of…

The government needs to include employee representation on the WorkSafe board, says the Council of Trade Unions. Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brook Van Velden has announced three new members to the safety watchdog. They are Murray Jagger, Brett O’Riley and Christopher Alderson. Jagger will become board chair and was the director of his family farming business Manaia View Farms Limited, and former chair of Marsden Maritime Holdings Limited. O’Riley was chief executive of the Employers and Manufacturers Association. Alderson was the chief executive of Construction Health and Safety New Zealand, a chartered account, a health and safety professional and…

An Auckland councillor says he’s disappointed with the level of misinformation circulating about a fatal collision involving an electric bus and car last week.The bus driver died as a result of the crash after the Auckland Transport bus was engulfed in flames on Tāmaki Drive last Wednesday.North Shore councillor Richard Hills said he was saddened to see misinformation about the incident and the “bizarre anti-EV propaganda” on social media.He took to social media to reassure people that catching a public bus was perfectly safe.”Just like all types of vehicles, there will be times we sadly have EV bus collisions and…

When travelling for personal reasons, EU citizens generally prefer to stay within their borders. The latest Eurostat data shows a clear preference for domestic travel (71%) over intra-EU (21%) and extra-EU travel (8%). Spaniards are the most “loyal” to their country, according to the figures: only 8% of their journeys within the bloc take place outside of Spain. The French and the Romanians place second, with just 9% of trips spent abroad but within the EU. At the other end of the scale, and perhaps unsurprisingly, are countries of relatively small size: Luxembourg (78%), Belgium (62%) and Malta (48%). Spending…

Residents of a Wairarapa beach town are reporting a holiday weekend spoilt by antisocial behaviour including property destruction.Riversdale Beach locals described how a small group of drunk teenagers rampaged through town destroying signs, harassing pedestrians and generally behaving badly. The small, normally peaceful, rural town has a permanent population of about 180 which increases during holidays.The reports come as the recently elected Masterton District Council prepares to discuss a review of its alcohol bylaw policy at its first meeting on Wednesday.”There was broken glass everywhere and a lot of broken signs,” said one local who asked not to be named.”It…

Published on 28/10/2025 – 7:30 GMT+1 While EU enlargement is gaining new political momentum, a new poll indicates that more than half of Europeans support the process. To be precise, 56% of citizens approve of opening up the European project to other countries. According to a Eurobarometer poll, the most supportive Member States are Sweden (79%), Denmark (75%) and Lithuania (74%). Conversely, Austria (45%), the Czech Republic (43%) and France (43%) are the least receptive. Young Europeans in particular support enlargement. 67% of 15-24 year olds are in favour, ahead of 25-39 year olds at 63%. Overall the survey indicates…

Closures or lower speed limits could hit the Auckland Harbour Bridge today, with gusts of just over 90km/h possible.In a bulletin released by the NZTA, motorists were advised to “drive to the conditions and pay attention to electronic message boards”.Gusts of 75-85km/h are possible until midday, and from midday until 2pm they could top out at just over 90km/h.”When wind gusts reach 90km/h, we close all lanes because it’s unsafe for any vehicle to be on the bridge and the bridge structure is vulnerable to vehicle impacts,” the agency said. Trees downed by wind at Albert ParkA downed tree covers…

Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he will discuss new US sanctions on Russian oil with President Trump in Washington next week. The US slapped sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, last week, with the former also being blacklisted by the EU. “We are discussing how to build a sustainable system for my country’s economy, because Hungary is heavily dependent on Russian oil and gas. Without them, energy prices will skyrocket, causing shortages in our supplies,” Orbán told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica during a visit to Rome. When asked if Trump had made a mistake…

New Zealand is short of around 100 pilots this year and flight schools say the shortage is putting pressure on regional routes, airlines and training providers already struggling to keep up with demand.Aviation leaders warn outdated rules and high costs are slowing down new pilots from getting airborne, even as the Government confirms long-awaited reforms are finally underway.At Auckland’s Ardmore Flying School, about 250 people turned up to an open day, including 13-year-old Alastair, who had his first chance to take flight.“It was really fun experiencing the plane. We did a lot of turns, and the G-force was also really…