Author: Press Room

The concrete separators along Māpua’s Aranui Rd will be removed after community opposition to their presence — but a cycling advocate says the change puts cyclists at risk.Cycle lanes were added to the road by Tasman District Council in 2023 alongside the separators to physically keep vehicles away from cyclists using the new lanes.The changes were made as part of the largely government-funded Streets for People programme which aimed to trial active travel infrastructure that could be cheaply altered in response to feedback.However, the separators proved controversial and were vocally despised by some residents of the seaside town.Many claimed the…

A passenger on Jetstar’s Sunday morning flight to Dunedin said dozens of people were left without their bags after Jetstar off-loaded their luggage and did not tell them until they reached their destination.A similar incident the previous day resulted in 13 volunteers being asked to get off an over-fuelled Air New Zealand flight from Wellington to Dunedin or risk having their baggage left behind.On the Jetstar flight, Alison Boyce was heading south for a trip to Stewart Island but was forced to rebook her onward travel and wait for her bag, which was left in Auckland and contained vital gear…

A group of road workers helped stop a woman who was allegedly driving while three times over the legal limit with a baby in the car yesterday. Police said the road crew first spotted the woman after she drove her vehicle the wrong way through a set of works on SH29 in the Kaimai Ranges. “She came to a stop, and the roading crew noticed she was disoriented and managed to keep her stationary while police were called.”Police were called to the scene at around 2pm. The road workers told police the woman appeared intoxicated when spoken to and saw…

The UK government has been criticised for bringing in new guidance which effectively bans refugees who entered the country illegally from acquiring British citizenship. ADVERTISEMENTThere have been conflicting claims by politicians and social media users that the UK’s recent decision to make it harder for refugees to get British citizenship goes against the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.The government issued new guidance saying that anyone who enters the UK illegally having made a dangerous journey, such as via a small boat or hiding in a vehicle, will normally be refused citizenship.This is regardless of the amount of time they had lived…

A new ‘three-strikes’ system will be introduced across Southland in a bid to clamp down on reckless recyclers.Today, the Waste Advisory Group approved a system which meant offenders who received three red tags in one calendar year would lose their bin.A report prepared for the meeting showed the contamination rate in recycling bins for the three years to 2022/23 was around 20%.In 2023/24 alone, almost $340,000 was spent redirecting waste from recycling bins to landfill.Under the new system, offenders would have their recycling service suspended until they signed and returned a reinstatement form.Southland District Council strategic manager water and waste…

US President Donald Trump has triggered Europe to seek less reliance on Washington for its security. ADVERTISEMENTHow will NATO allies increase defence spending beyond 2%?Today Radio Schuman dives into European defence together with Euronews reporter Paula Soler.European NATO and EU countries agree on increasing defence spending beyond 2% of GDP but disagree on how to achieve it. Some advocate joint borrowing for large defence projects, while others believe planning should remain in the hands of individual nations.At the Munich Security Conference, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed exempting defence spending from EU fiscal limits. EU finance ministers are…

Following changes to the Government’s anti-smoking policies, University of Otago researchers Janet Hoek, Anna DeMello and Lani Teddy explain what they found when they spoke in-depth to young people who vape.New Zealand’s smokefree law was hailed around the world for creating a smokefree generation that would have lifelong protection from smoking’s harms.The smokefree generation would have ended sales of tobacco products to anyone born on or after a specific date, thus gradually phasing out smoking. This new approach goes beyond age restriction policies (such as R18 or R21), which may imply smoking is “safe” once people reach the designated age.However,…

Fourteen homes have been evacuated and power turned off for more than 250 households as precautions in Port Waikato this afternoon as a scrub fire spreads.Fire and Emergency NZ said crews were sent to the scene on Maunsell Rd at around 1.40pm.Three helicopters as well as crews from Port Waikato, Onewhero, Tuakau, Maramarua, and Otara have responded to the blaze.”It is a toetoe scrub fire approximately four hectares in size, and it is 40% contained,” a FENZ spokesperson said.”No structures are at risk but there have been precautionary evacuations.” The service confirmed 14 houses were evacuated by 4.30pm.Counties Energy said…

A Northland fishing company has been fined $16,500 for failing to use the correct fishing gear and providing a false statement on their fish landing return.Macnicol Fishing Limited was sentenced at the North Shore District Court on three charges on Friday under the Fisheries Act after a successful prosecution by Fisheries NZ.The company did not use tori lines, which were required to prevent accidental seabird capture when surface longlining.Tori lines form a physical and visual barrier around the area where line setting occurred that prevented seabirds from accessing baited hooks. They consisted of a line with streamers and a buoy…

People who bought a certain brand of chicken nuggets are being warned not to eat them. They might contain “small pieces of blue rubber”, New Zealand Food Safety (NZFS) said on Tuesday. The affected product – 1kg bag of Pams Tempura Coated Chicken Nuggets with a best-before date of 16 October 2025 – was sold at Four Square, Gilmours, New World, Pak’nSave and Social Supermarket stores across New Zealand. “Return the nuggets to the place of purchase for a refund or, if that’s not possible, throw them out,” NZFS deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle said. “As is our usual practice, we…