Author: Press Room

Key diary dates Thursday 30 October – Friday 31 October : G7 energy and environment ministerial meeting in Toronto, Canada. Monday 27 October – Tuesday 28 October : Agriculture and Fisheries Council, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will be in Sweden for her first-ever participation in a Nordic Council meeting, where she will discuss competitiveness, defence readiness and the Arctic with the region’s leaders. Tuesday 28 – Thursday 30 October : European Flagship Conference on Research Security, co-organised by the European Commission. In spotlight France and Spain urged EU leaders to “stay on track” and reject to…

More than 60% of retailers don’t plan to hire additional staff for the Christmas and New Year period, a Retail NZ survey has found.Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said these results – from about 350 respondents to their Retail Radar survey for July to September – were a reflection of the current market.She told RNZ these businesses faced ongoing pressure, with tight margins, cost-of-living concerns and subdued consumer confidence.”The reality for retailers right now is they’re looking at their margins, they’re looking at the stock they’ve got to move and they’re thinking, ‘Where can I trim costs or look…

A surfboard lost off Tasmania’s coast more than a year ago has washed up thousands of kilometres away on a beach in Raglan – remarkably intact after its epic journey across the Tasman. Kite surfer Albarito Bueno spotted the board while out on the water near Raglan. Covered in mussels and half-buried in the sand dunes, it was clear to him it wasn’t owned by a local. “The shape of the board is made for very big waves – it’s not the kind we use in Raglan every day,” Bueno told 1News. “I removed a few mussels to check the…

Another round of severe weather is forecast to hit today in both the North and South Islands, with travellers urged to “drive to the conditions” when heading home from the long weekend. Yesterday, the forecaster said an active low pressure system would sweep over large areas of the country from this afternoon into Tuesday, bringing rain and severe gales just as holidaymakers were likely to be heading home. A state of emergency remained in place for Southland, Clutha District, and the Kaikōura District as nearly 8000 properties in the lower South Island were without power following last week’s weather event.…

Hundreds of students and several staff at two of Wellington’s largest high schools have been asked to stay home after two confirmed measles cases linked to a rising number of cases nationwide.A student who attended Wellington College from October 13 to 15 while infectious prompted the school to instruct all Year 11 students and more than 20 staff to isolate. The student also travelled on the school bus 736 during that time.Meanwhile, a relative of the student, also infected, attended Wellington Girls’ College for half a day on October 13, exposing about 60 students and four staff.The cases were part…

Part of State Highway 1 north of Dunedin has reopened this afternoon, hours after a collision involving two cars — one reported to be towing a caravan. Emergency services were called to the crash site at the Waikouaiti River bridge on Waikouaiti-Waitati Rd near Waikouaiti, north of Dunedin, around 10.20am this morning.The road was reopened at 2pm.”Road users are asked to drive with care through the area.”New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) earlier said traffic was being diverted onto McGrath Rd to the south, and Ramrock Rd to the north, for light vehicles only. The scene of the crash…

A person has been rescued after issuing a mayday call from a yacht in the Marlborough Sounds.Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre (RCCNZ) said it received a distress beacon alert from a yacht in Cook Strait around 1am on Sunday. Maritime radio confirmed to RCCNZ the yacht was sinking with one persona board, approximately 24km from Cape Koamaru.Two commercial vessels and Marlborough Coastguard were sent to the location. The Seapatroller vessel rescued the uninjured person on board, who was taken back to shore. Maritime NZ said the rescue took about five-and-a-half-hours, with challenging weather conditions affecting access to the vessel.…

Immigration New Zealand says 1000 people each week submit photos that have been filtered or airbrushed.The agency receives about 20,000 visa requests per week, so about one in 20 photos has been altered.On Friday, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment deputy secretary Alison McDonald told the Association for Migration and Investment conference in Auckland that the number of touched-up pictures was increasing and was creating big problems.She told immigration advisers they may have to find a diplomatic way of telling clients they do not look like their photos.McDonald said she could see through her children’s social media that altering photos…

Proposed changes to New Zealand’s earthquake prone building system may trigger the possibility of reopening Rotorua’s famous Blue Baths, according to Rotorua Mayor Tania Tapsell.Last month, the government proposed changes to New Zealand’s earthquake-prone building rules which would result in 55% of buildings being removed from the current national earthquake prone building register.Current regulations, introduced after the Canterbury earthquakes, require buildings below 34% of the new building standard (NBS) be strengthened or demolished.As Rotorua is in a medium-risk seismic zone, a timeframe of 10 years for initial assessment and 25 years for strengthening existed. These deadlines were extended by four…

Another round of severe weather is forecast to hit today in both the North and South Islands, with travellers urged to “drive to the conditions” when heading home from the long weekend. Yesterday, the forecaster said an active low pressure system would sweep over large areas of the country from this afternoon into Tuesday, bringing rain and severe gales just as holidaymakers were likely to be heading home. A state of emergency remained in place for Southland, the Clutha District, and the Kaikōura District as nearly 15,000 properties in the lower South Island were without power following last week’s weather…