Author: Press Room

The Government has confirmed a preferred site for the National Erebus Memorial to honour the 257 people killed when Air New Zealand flight 901 crashed into the slopes of Mount Erebus in Antarctica in 1979.Families, members of the recovery operation and New Zealanders had been waiting for a permanent memorial ever since.The Ministry for Culture and Heritage has chosen Cracroft Reserve on Christchurch’s Port Hills as the preferred location.Wreckage from the Mount Erebus plane crash. (Source: Colin Monteith / Antarctica New Zealand Pictorial Collection)Fifty different sites in the Auckland area were investigated, but none were suitable. Bastion Point/Takaparawhau had recently…

A section of SH1 has been closed after a person died in a single-vehicle crash involving a motorcycle north of Kaikōura.Police were called to the crash near Waipapa Bay at around 10am and found one person seriously injured.”Despite best efforts by emergency services they died at the scene.”The crash closed SH1 between Blenheim and Kaikōura. (Source: NZTA Journey Planner)NZTA’s journey planner showed SH1 was closed between Blenheim and Kaikōura until further notice. Detours were in place.Motorists were advised to follow diversions and expect delays while the Serious Crash Unit examined the scene.

The Independent Police Conduct Authority says Wellington police were justified in tasering an armed man who received a serious head injury after he fell onto the road.Police were called to reports that a man, who was armed with a blade from a pair of hedge trimmers, had trapped a woman and her baby in a bus-stop on Cockayne Road in Khandallah just after midday on 9 January.One person who called police told operators the man – referred to in the report as Mr Z – was “out of control”.”I’ve got a situation at bus stop 4411 on Cockayne Rd. I’ve…

Published on 27/11/2025 – 9:01 GMT+1 •Updated 9:50 “The Americans believe everything that Putin says,” Estonian MEP Riho Terras (EPP) told Euronews’ Europe Today morning show in Strasbourg. In his view, the 28-point peace plan promoted by the US administration is “a Russian plan to make Ukraine capitulate,” and US President Donald Trump is “just a week from taking from Putin everything.” “I am very surprised that Donald Trump runs like an errand boy for Putin’s capitulation plan,” Terras said. Last week, a leaked text of a peace settlement seen as too favourable to Moscow sparked concerns among Europeans. The…

A Dunedin man has been charged with arson in relation to a suspicious house fire in the Southland town of Waikaia last year.Emergency services were called to the fire on Elswick St just after midnight on February 21, 2024.No one was injured in the blaze, but the house sustained extensive damage.Soon after the fire, police said they were seeking information about two vehicles seen in the area.On Thursday, police charged a 35-year-old man and wanted to thank the people who provided information throughout the investigation.The man was due to appear in Gore District Court on December 17.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis has urged banks to slash their home loan rates by passing on “as much as possible” of the latest cut to the official cash rate (OCR). Banks began dropping floating rates on Wednesday after the Reserve Bank cut the OCR by 25 basis points, as expected, to 2.25 percent, the lowest since June 2022. Speaking in Auckland on Thursday, Willis said the Reserve Bank would monitor how banks responded to the OCR cut, but she hoped it would flow through to mortgage-holders. “My message to the New Zealand banks is a very clear one: pass on as much…

A puppy has made a remarkable recovery after a playtime accident with a larger dog left him with devastating facial and shoulder injuries.The young pup named Maverick was taken to SPCA after his family realised they couldn’t afford the emergency surgery needed to save his life. His face had been torn open and he suffered a deep bite wound on his shoulder which threatened his survival.SPCA chief executive Todd Westwood said the family made the “heart-breaking decision” to surrender Maverick so he could get urgent care.”Maverick’s family loved him, but they couldn’t afford the urgent vet care he needed.”Veterinarians at…

Helicopters are assisting firefighters in battling uncontained blazes in the far North Island and the lower South Island this afternoon – whipped up by high winds.Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) says it has activated the Region Coordination Centre in Dunedin in response to the several large fires in Southland and Otago on Thursday.Three helicopters and six fire trucks are attending a blaze in pine trees near Goodwood, Palmerston, reported at 2.35pm.A FENZ spokesperson said it was initially reported as a shed fire but had since spread to trees.A blaze in pine trees near houses at Goodwood, Palmerston. (Source: Dianne Lewis)A…

MetService has confirmed Thursday is officially Auckland’s hottest November day since records began.MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said, for the first time in the month of November in Auckland, temperatures had surpassed 26C at its recording station.”Auckland Airport reached 26.2 degrees this afternoon, which has broken its November maximum record temperature, sitting at 25.9 degrees.”Ferris said MetService’s temperature records for the Auckland region began on December 31, 1965.He said many parts of the country had experienced warm weather on Thursday, some exceeding 30C.”With record or near-record temperatures turning up in parts of the country, it’s not too surprising to see Auckland…

Christmas has come early for Dunedin Airport with Jetstar increasing to four the number of weekly flights direct to the Gold Coast. From March next year, Monday flights will be added to Jetstar’s existing schedule along its Dunedin—Gold Coast route. The Australian airline’s service had until now only been available on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. In a statement, Dunedin Airport chief executive Daniel De Bono said he was ecstatic about the increase in flights. ‘‘We’re thrilled to be able to offer an early Christmas present to our locals and our Aussie mates who have given us outstanding support on this service since it launched…