Author: Press Room

One person has died after a car hit a tree and caught fire off State Highway 5 at Tapapa, near Tīrau, late this morning.Police were notified of the crash at around 10.45am between Harwoods and Tapapa roads. The vehicle caught fire after the impact, with the blaze spreading into nearby vegetation.Hato Hone St John responded to the scene with one ambulance and one operations manager.In an update just after 3pm, police confirmed a person had died.SH5 between the intersection of SH28 and SH5 and the intersection of SH5 and Maraeroa Road was closed following the crash but was reopened just…

Police have charged a man who allegedly used stolen credit card details to purchase more than $1000 worth of petrol from multiple service stations across Auckland. Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Williams said a petrol company manager began receiving notifications of petrol thefts between September 1 and 26. Police said a man was captured on camera filling up various vehicles or walking onto the forecourt to fill jerry cans across nine different service stations, wearing the same clothing during each alleged incident.”Police and the petrol company were able to match the timings of the purchases with CCTV and identify the same…

The Department of Conservation is calling for information from the public after two “concerning” incidents at marine reserves in the Nelson-Tasman region last month.Earlier today, DOC issued a reminder about the rules within marine reserves ahead of the summer season.It was revealed last month breaches of marine reserve rules were showing no signs of slowing down. DOC said at the time compliance teams were encountering more serious and deliberate breaches, with offenders caught line fishing, trolling through reserves, kayak fishing, and setting cray pots.Marine reserves are “no take” areas and any kind of fishing is strictly prohibited. DOC said the…

Two people are set to appear in court after what police described as a ‘violent assault’ during an alleged shoplifting attempt at Auckland’s Glenfield Mall last week. Police were called to the North Shore mall at around 1.30pm Friday after receiving reports that two security guards had been attacked by alleged shoplifters. Acting Senior Sergeant Alex Waworis alleged two females had “violently assaulted three people” who were trying to stop them from leaving the mall. “Two security guards and a member of the public had been assaulted, with two of the victims needing to be transported to hospital for medical…

The acting head of the Social Investment Agency says its work has not been destabilised by the high-profile absence of its chief executive.Former police commissioner Andrew Coster has been on leave from his role as social investment secretary since the release of an Independent Police Conduct Authority report, which found serious misconduct at the highest levels of police.The report investigated how police responded to accusations of sexual offending by former deputy commissioner Jevon McSkimming.The allegations arose from an affair between McSkimming and a woman who was a non-sworn police employee at the time.Alistair Mason appeared before Parliament’s Social Services and…

MetService is forecasting a “broad range of weather” including thunderstorms, heavy rain and sunny spells this week as summer officially kicks off. The forecaster said the North Island was in for “a warm and humid start, while the south will see cooler temperatures throughout”. Meteorologist Devlin Lynden said the week would begin with “comparatively settled conditions” including cloud and showers for western areas, with sunny spells elsewhere. “The likes of Gisborne and Hastings are making the most of their sunny start to the summer season, with temperatures expected to top out at 29C and 31C degrees respectively today,” he said.…

A Swiss national wiped away tears as he pleaded guilty to a careless driving charge following a fatal crash in Canterbury.A woman died following a two-vehicle crash on State Highway 73 near Sheffield on November 19.Patrick Keusch was arrested and charged with careless driving causing death, police confirmed the following day.On Monday, the 32-year-old appeared in the Christchurch District Court in front of community magistrate Sarah Steele.Defence lawyer Grant Fletcher entered a guilty plea on behalf of his client, who appeared teary-eyed on the stand.”Clearly this case is a terrible tragedy,” he said.Keusch’s bail conditions meant he was unable to…

An investigation has been launched after an Emirates A380-861 was found to have damage to two of its tyres and wheels after landing at Auckland Airport yesterday.The Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) announced it had opened an inquiry into the “serious incident” involving an Emirates A380-861 aircraft arriving shortly after 11.30am on Sunday in wet weather conditions.”The reported circumstances were that the aeroplane landed during rainfall and then taxied to the parking gate. The post-flight inspection identified some damage to two of the aeroplane’s tyres and wheels,” the TAIC announcement read.No injuries were reported.Auckland Airport confirmed an incident had occurred…

Key diary dates Monday 1 December NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will meet with Denys Shmyhal, Minister of Defence of Ukraine, at NATO Headquarters in Brussels Tuesday 2 December EU Health Ministers council meeting on Critical Medicines Act Wednesday 3 December European Commission proposal of the Environmental Omnibus and the Economic Security doctrine European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) votes on migration Thursday 4 December EU Transport Ministers council meeting Friday 5 December EU Telecommunications Ministers council meeting: Conclusions on European Competitiveness in the Digital Decade In Spotlight Good morning, everyone. Peggy Corlin here reporting…

Police are investigating the theft of burial plaques from an Invercargill cemetery – including several from the graves of World War I and World War II veterans.Acting Inspector Mel Robertson said the plaques were stolen from St Johns Cemetery between October 28 and November 22.”Several of the stolen plaques were taken from the graves of Returned Service personnel who served in the First and Second World Wars, making this a particularly distressing crime for families and the wider community.”According to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, the St John’s Cemetery in the suburb of Waikiwi included the official war graves…