Author: Press Room

Huntly has crafted its own starring role in a Hollywood blockbuster.The Waikato town has stacked up some screen time in the highly anticipated A Minecraft Movie which hits theatres this week.Based on the best-selling video game of all time, the film — shot in New Zealand — stars Jack Black, Jason Momoa, and a couple of our own in Rachel House and Jemaine Clement.Most of the movie was shot in front of green screens at an Auckland studio but some scenes set in the fictional town of Chuglass, Idaho, will be unmistakable to Kiwi audiences as the north Waikato town.Bringing…

More than 600 roles are proposed to go at Kāinga Ora as part of proposed changes to the organisation, including a number of vacant roles.Formal consultation started on Thursday that could drop a net total of 673 roles, predominantly in corporate, back-office and other support functions. 195 of the roles are currently vacant.”When Kāinga Ora was established in 2019, its mandate saw it rapidly expand to deliver thousands of new social houses and urban development projects and other functions,” said Kāinga Ora chief executive Matt Crockett.”That period of growth, however, was not financially sustainable. Kāinga Ora has since announced its…

ADVERTISEMENTThe pharmaceutical sector on both sides of the Atlantic appeared to have dodged Trump’s tariffs last night, as pharmaceutical products were among several categories exempted from reciprocal tariffs, according to a White House fact sheet. Copper, lumber, semiconductors and energy were among others’ escaping the tariff guillotine.The industry had been bracing for impact since February, when Trump suggested imposing 25% tariffs on medicines.Among the most exposed EU countries to tariffs on pharmaceuticals is Ireland, where US companies such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and AbbVie have recently shifted significant manufacturing operations.Other key exporters of pharmaceuticals and…

Police are seeking witnesses to a burglary involving a stolen vehicle that crashed down a bank and sank in a Te Awamutu stream earlier this week.Around 2.40am on Tuesday, police were called after a group of people allegedly robbed a service station on Ohaupo Rd, Detective Inspector Daryl Smith said. Smith said items were taken from the store before the group fled in two vehicles allegedly stolen in Hamilton the previous evening.One of the vehicles – a blue Mazda Demio – “crashed down a bank into a stream off Mutu St”.Police were alerted to the vehicle by a member of…

ADVERTISEMENTEmmanuel Macron has lashed out against Donald Trump’s decision to impose reciprocal tariffs on virtually every country, calling the move “brutal” and “unfounded” and proposing a temporary halt in future European investments in America.The pause, he said, should last “until we have clarified things with the United States.””What would be the message of having major European players start investing billions of euros in the American economy at the moment when they are hitting us?” Macron said during a meeting with French industry representatives.”We need to have collective solidarity.”During his speech, Macron did not hold back against Trump’s unprecedented initiative, which…

Staff in one of Nelson Hospital’s surgical wards say they killed around 30 wasps in one night earlier this week, and it isn’t an uncommon situation. It’s the latest unwelcome development for the hospital after eight senior doctors spoke out to 1News in recent days about ongoing staffing issues and the impacts they were having on patients. One nurse who didn’t want to be identified said there had been issues with wasps in wards 9 and 10 — both surgical wards. It had been an issue on and off for years and mainly occurred in the staff areas and patient…

ADVERTISEMENTThe chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee has criticised Pentagon “mid-level” leadership for what he said was a misguided plan to reduce the number of US troops based in Europe.”There are some who believe now is the time to reduce drastically our military footprint in Europe,” Senator Roger Wicker said at a hearing with US European Command and US Africa Command military leadership.”I’m troubled at those deeply misguided and dangerous views held by some mid-level bureaucrats within the Defence Department.”It was not immediately clear what “mid-level bureaucrats” Wicker was talking about but he warned that “they’ve been working to…

Polyfest’s 50th anniversary is lighting up Auckland’s Manukau Sports Bowl with a vibrant celebration of culture, food, and students performances this week. Local Democracy Reporting went backstage at a Diversity stage. From Tokelauan and Hawaiian items to Kiribati and Cambodian showcases, here’s what some of the students and leaders had to say.Tokelauan prideEden Enelio from McAuley High School beams backstage after performing with her school’s Tokelau group, calling it “overwhelming, but really fun”. (Source: LDR / Mary Afemata)Eden Enelio, cultural leader at McAuley High School, performed with her school’s Tokelau group.”That experience — it was overwhelming, but really fun,” she…

ADVERTISEMENTMEPs overwhelmingly backed today a proposal to delay new EU rules of corporate sustainability reporting and mandatory due diligence on the environmental and social impacts of trading partners, with the Greens joining a centrist alliance of social democrats, liberals and conservatives that they hope will strengthen the centre ground of EU politics.The ‘stop the clock’ measure proposed by the European Commission on 26 February was rushed through using an emergency legislative procedure on the grounds of an imminent threat to the competitiveness of European businesses, an issue that the president of the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, has made…

A Christchurch takeaway and restaurant business with sushi outlets under the Hachi Hachi brand has folded owing staff holiday pay and a hefty tax bill. The seven companies owned by Hachi Hachi founders and directors Titi Khemarangsan and Bundit Kijpalakorn were placed in voluntary liquidation on March 25. Initial liquidator reports for the businesses amounted collectively to a total estimated shortfall of $2.54 million, including $1.37m owed to Inland Revenue in income tax for employees’ wages (PAYE) and goods and service tax. This included nearly $130,000 in holiday pay owed to out-of-pocket staff. The liquidator noted Inland Revenue had begun…