Author: Press Room

Sophie Barker has been elected Dunedin mayor.Barker, an incumbent councillor, had been clinging to a slim lead of just over 100 votes with the release of early results, but preliminary results released this morning showed this had widened to 726 votes.Barker received 16,001 votes, with runner-up Andrew Simms receiving 15,275 votes.In a post to Facebook, she thanked everyone who turned out and voted.”I’m so humbled and honoured to be elected Mayor of Dunedin, for the faith people have shown in me and my vision.”It’s a wonderful milestone for Dunedin to elect its second woman Mayor so I pay tribute to…

A child has died following a house fire in the Canterbury town of Rakaia, becoming the second fatality from the blaze.Emergency services were called to the residence on Dunford St in Rakaia at about 11.15pm on Saturday.Five crews were sent to the property, which was “well ablaze” and with people reported to be inside. Firefighters rescued two people from the burning building.Police confirmed an adult was found dead at the scene. A child, who was found in a critical condition, was airlifted to hospital but died on Sunday afternoon, a police spokesperson said.”The deaths with be referred to the Coroner,…

One of the country’s longest-standing mayors, Wayne Guppy has summed up his almost-certain ousting in a simple three-word text: “democracy has spoken”.Guppy has donned the Upper Hutt mayoral chains for 24 years and was vying for a ninth term, but his reign is likely over, with early results showing the city instead backed Peri Zee, an urban planner and transport adviser.Former Labour leader Andrew Little’s been provisionally elected the new mayor of Wellington. (Source: 1News)The outgoing mayor has kept his comments short and sweet for now, but indicated he would have more to say soon.Meanwhile, Zee, the only candidate who…

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including a Kiwi driver conquers Mount Panorama, more Jeffrey Epstein trouble for Prince Andrew, and the historic find in a suburban backyard. Matt Payne has won a rain soaked Bathurst 1000. More local election results are expected today after a flurry of votes on the final day delayed some counting. Aid trucks are making their way into Gaza, with hostages expected to be released in the coming hours. A new email between Prince Andrew and Jeffery Epstein has reportedly been obtained by British media. A New Orleans family have found a 1900 year old…

Two 21-year-old New Zealanders have appeared in an Australian court after allegedly attempting to smuggle 40 kilograms of cocaine through Sydney International Airport.The pair appeared in Parramatta Local Court on Saturday after Australian Border Force officers allegedly found the illicit drugs on Friday.The men were selected for a baggage examination upon their arrival in Sydney on a flight from the Middle East. Around 20kg of a white substance was allegedly found in each of the men’s suitcases, totalling an estimated 40kg.Initial testing of the substance returned a positive result for cocaine and the matter was referred to the Australian Federal…

Two sawn-off shotguns and $50,000 in cash were among the items allegedly found in a Gisborne man’s car after his arrest on Friday.Police had been looking for the man, who had an outstanding warrant, for three months.Tairāwhiti Area Commander Inspector Danny Kirk said a tactical dog team had spotted a vehicle linked to the alleged offender, followed it from a distance, and the blocked it in when it went up a driveway. The man was arrested without incident, along with a female who was also in the vehicle. When police searched the vehicle they found two sawn-off 12-gauge shotguns, cannabis,…

A large voter turnout on Saturday is expected to alter the final standings in Hamilton’s local election race.Progress results showed Tim Macindoe as frontrunner to become the city’s new mayor.However, the council declared ‘Super Saturday’ and said the volume of last-minute votes would have an effect.Saturday’s progress result excluded special votes and votes received on election-day morning.More than 5500 votes were cast on Saturday in Hamilton.If Macindoe was confirmed as mayor, then the standings in the East Ward, where he was the top-ranked candidate, would have to be recalculated under the city’s single transferable vote system (STV).STV involved ranking candidates…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ Thousands of people have had money deducted from their bank accounts in recent months as Inland Revenue steps up its efforts to collect the tax it is owed. IR spokesperson Rowan McArthur said it had sent out 16,500 notices about planned bank deductions since mid-June, 25% more than for the whole of last year. “We are targeting customers who have repeatedly not engaged with IR; and those where information we have indicates there may be funds in their bank account(s) that could be deducted from to pay off existing tax debt.” He said IR was…

If you’re in a relationship with an age gap, it may affect your financial planning, particularly when it comes to retirement.RNZ reported earlier this week that there are 3003 people who are receiving NZ Super despite being under 65, because their partners qualified and added them before the rules changed in 2020.A handful of them were aged in their 20s and 30s.Data from Stats NZ shows that such big age gaps are probably rare, particularly among people with children.Infometrics principal economist said Stats NZ collected data on different-gender partners with dependent children in their households.That shows that 47% of these…

Tūhoe activist Tāme Iti says what scares him is not responding to injustice and turning your back, as he reflects on a life of resistance spanning half a century.From his childhood in Ruatoki, he was on the frontlines of the Springbok Tour protests, the 1975 land march, and even tried to join North Vietnamese fighters during the Vietnam War. At times, the 73-year-old was a controversial figure. But after five decades at the centre of the fight for Māori rights, he reflected on his life of protest and art in a new memoir.Having purposefully walked a fine line between peace…