Author: Press Room

One person has died following a single-vehicle crash on State Highway 50 in Hawke’s Bay today. Emergency services were called to the scene on State Highway 50, north of Tikokino around midday.”Sadly, one person passed away at the scene,” a police spokesperson said. The highway was closed for a few hours for debris removal, and reopened at 3pm.The Serious Crash Unit were making inquiries into the circumstances of the crash.Fire and Emergency New Zealand said it received a call to a motor vehicle collision near Hastings shortly after 12pm. It sent one truck from Tikokino fire station and assisted police…

One person is critically injured and another in a serious condition after a two-car collision in Auckland’s Stanmore Bay.An RNZ reporter on the scene said the crash had left two vehicles were in middle of Whangaparāoa Rd outside Stanmore Bay New World.Hato Hone St John said emergency services were called to the incident at about 4.10pm.One patient in a critical condition and one patient in a serious condition were treated on the scene and then transported to Auckland City hospital, while a third patient in a moderate condition was transported to North Shore hospital, St John said. Two vehicles were…

One of the country’s most prominent plant nurseries has been left “shell-shocked” by a massive blaze at its warehouse in Auckland’s northwest last night.Firefighters worked for over two hours to contain the blaze at Van Lier Nurseries in Kumeū after being called to the scene at about 9.45pm, Fire and Emergency NZ said. Sixteen fire trucks and multiple support vehicles were deployed to the scene.Van Lier Nurseries manager Joanne Hurley said the company supplied hundreds of flower sellers and that they were “devastated” at the blaze.Emergency services responded to the blaze on Riverhead Rd in Kumeū on Saturday night. (Source:…

ADVERTISEMENT European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk arrived at the Polish-Belarusian border on Sunday, where they discussed defence and security, among other issues. The EC chief assured Tusk and the Polish people of “Europe’s full solidarity with Poland as a frontline state,” and stressed the importance of putting continued pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Putin has not changed and will not change. He is a predator,” the European Commission president said, adding that “he can only be kept in check through strong deterrence.” Von der Leyen’s trip to Poland comes as part…

Family fishing licences are set for an overhaul to fix outdated rules that have seen many women unable to fish alone.Hunting and Fishing Minister James Meager has just announced the changes ahead of Fish and Game national fishing licences going on sale tomorrow.An historic anomaly in the licensing system means the second adult on the licence, often a woman, currently cannot fish without being with the primary holder, often her husband, nor stand or vote in elections.But from tomorrow the glitches, described by Meager as an oversight, will be fixed to ensure both adults have equal fishing rights.Fish & Game’s…

Auckland Council’s plan to trial fortnightly rubbish collection in some suburbs has drawn criticism from residents who fear it will worsen illegal dumping in their neighbourhoods. Parts of Te Atatū Peninsula, Panmure/Tāmaki and Clendon Park/Weymouth have been selected for the proposed six-month trial, impacting around 10,000 households.  The council’s goal was to reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfills. The city currently sent 1.5 million tonnes of rubbish to landfill each year — enough to fill Eden Park every week. Officials said moving from a weekly to fortnightly rubbish collection could help cut waste by thousands of tonnes per year,…

A fishing crew targeting ling off the West Coast made an unusual catch last week – hauling up a smartphone from 400m deep, complete with a student ID, bank card and driver’s licence still tucked into a pocket on the back.The phone belonged to Charlie Butterfield, a keen outdoorsman who lost his phone during a late-night tuna-chasing trip off the Greymouth bar with his father earlier this month.”We were leaning over to grab dead hoki floating on the surface, probably dropped by a trawler, and his phone just slipped out of his top pocket,” said Charlie’s father Matt Butterfield.”It was…

A popular range of coleslaw and ready-to-eat salad products has been urgently recalled from supermarkets across New Zealand due to the possible presence of metal filings.The affected Speirs Foods brand salads and Woolworths brand coleslaw were sold at Fresh Choice, New World, PAK’nSAVE and Woolworths supermarkets through NZ.The recall includes Woolworths brand Classic Coleslaw, sold in 250g and 450g plastic containers with use-by dates of September 5 and September 6, 2025, as well as a range of ready-to-eat salads sold in various weights from deli counters between August 27 and August 29.New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle…

Experts have warned of the long-term psychological effects on the children of fugitive Tom Phillips, who police say has involved at least one of them in recent criminal activity — including a burglary earlier this week.Police released CCTV footage yesterday of two masked individuals, who police believed to be Marokopa father Tom Phillips and one of his children, robbing a store in Piopio on Wednesday.The pair, who travelled in and out on a quad bike, were in the area for 13 minutes.Phillips has been on the run for more than three-and-a-half years and there is a warrant for his arrest…

A years-long battle between Pākiri locals and a sand mining company has ended after McCallum Bros withdrew its High Court bid to continue dredging operations in Auckland’s north.McCallum Bros Limited (MBL) and the Manuhuri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust (Ngāti Manuhuri) reached a settlement agreement that would see the company surrender its temporary consent for sand extraction at Pākiri, abandon its legal challenge against Environment Court decisions made in 2024, and settle the costs awarded to Ngāti Manuhuri.Effective immediately, MBL would no longer extract sand under the consent.The company said a key factor in its decision was the significant time, cost and…