Author: Press Room

Whanganui District Council has admitted it made a mistake in setting up its first citizens’ assembly, conceding members were not told they would be thrust into the public spotlight.The admission follows an Ombudsman investigation into the council’s refusal to name 39 people appointed to the citizens’ assembly on outdoor pools in mid-2025.The council has acknowledged shortcomings and apologised for a procedural error after failing to tell participants their involvement would be public.Former chief executive David Langford told Local Democracy Reporting (LDR) the assembly was a new initiative and that while care was taken to support participants, “not all aspects were…

Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić has confirmed that his country is ready to sell ammunition to the EU, even if it ultimately ends up with Ukrainian forces in their fight against Russia. “We need to sell it to someone, and we’ll sell it to whomever we can in order to earn some money, but we’ll try to take care and not see that ammunition end up in a war zone. But it happens from time to time,” Vučić said on Euronews’ flagship interview show The Europe Conversation. “At the end [of the day], we’ll have to pay our workers,” he added.…

The unemployment rate has risen to a near nine-year high of 5.3%, according to new figures released by Stats NZ today.It was another nudge up from the previous figure of 5.2% in the June 2025 quarter and 5.1% in the March 2025 quarter.”The unemployment rate has been over 5% for the last four quarters. The last time that the unemployment rate was 5.3% was in the December 2016 quarter”, said Stats NZ labour market spokesperson Jason Attewell.Which group’s hit hardest as unemployment rate hits 9-year high – Watch on TVNZ+There were 160,000 unemployed people in the September 2025 quarter. In…

Published on 05/11/2025 – 17:07 GMT+1 The EU’s environment ministers agreed on Wednesday on the bloc’s domestic climate target to cut CO2 emissions by 2040, after intense political pressure to deliver on climate commitments and maintain Brussels’ role as a climate action leader at next week’s COP30 UN climate summit. The EU27 agreed on a range to set a 2035 climate target to reduce net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 66.25–72.5% below 1990 levels, covering all sectors of the economy and all GHGs, including methane. The range takes into account the 2040 climate target, setting the path to cut emissions…

Ownership of a South Dunedin pub is down to one, but questions remain as to whether its now sole shareholder is suitable to hold a liquor licence. Dunedin’s district licensing committee reconvened to hear on-licence and off-licence applications for the St Kilda Tavern yesterday. The applications by JV Bars Ltd were opposed by police, the medical officer of heath delegate and the city’s chief licensing inspector. Police questioned the suitability of the applicant as a 50% shareholder in the company, Jaspal Singh, had “failed to disclose convictions and previous involvement with the police”, a report to the committee said. But…

Police have released the name of a woman who was found dead in a central Auckland apartment last week. She was 38-year-old Luisa Qelesenikau Mate. Police were called to a property on Day St in the Auckland CBD around 7.35pm on Saturday, where officers discovered the woman dead shortly after arriving. A 38-year-old man, who police said was known to the victim, was charged with murder. He was remanded in custody and is set to appear in the High Court on November 18. Detective Inspector Glenn Baldwin said, “our thoughts are with Luisa’s family and her children, for the loss…

Italy’s top audit court recently rejected the government’s long-standing plan to build what would be the world’s longest suspension bridge connecting the island of Sicily to the region of Calabria across the Strait of Messina. The Italian Court of Auditors — which oversees public spending — said it would release the full reasoning behind its rejection within 30 days. During a hearing on 29 October, the judges questioned whether the 2005 tender for the project still held, citing a mismatch in projected costs and whether it complied with EU competition rules. The project has also been slammed by critics as…

Auckland and Hauraki iwi Ngāti Pāoa is celebrating the passing of its Treaty settlement, marking a significant milestone in settling decades-long historical grievances with the Crown.Around 500 descendants of the iwi travelled to Parliament to witness the third and final reading of the Ngāti Pāoa Claims Settlement Bill.Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith said the Crown acknowledged the “accumulative effect” of its actions which included raupatu (confiscation) and the impact of the Native Land Courts.“These left Ngāti Pāoa virtually landless and undermined the economic, social and cultural development of the iwi, breaching the Treaty of Waitangi and its principles.“The Crown also…

A mix of political instability, inflation, and perceived crime and violence has driven France’s confidence to the bottom. According to a recent IPSOS poll of thirty countries, a striking 92% of French people believe their country is going off the rails. Moreover, almost one in three respondents claims the decline is irreversible But the French are not alone. Widespread pessimism is also apparent in all surveyed European countries, including the Netherlands (83%), Hungary (80%), Germany (77%), Italy (73%), the UK (73%) and Sweden (72%), meaning the vast majority believe the country is on the wrong path. Do French voters no…

Dr Mawera Karetai didn’t erect a single billboard or spend a cent on her Māori ward election campaign in the Bay of Plenty – so it came as a shock when she actually won.Karetai had even quipped she’d rather “eat my own eyeballs” than run, but her teenage son’s passionate campaign for Māori wards helped persuade her.In the course of the mother-son campaign, Karetai became the new Kōhi Māori councillor for Bay of Plenty Regional Council.She said she was surprised to win the seat as she only stood for the position as a platform to speak about Māori wards.”It was…