Author: Press Room

The South Island’s largest supermarket was officially opened in Rolleston, in Canterbury, this morning. The 8100sq m Pak’nSave Rolleston cost about $50m to build and will be the largest retail outlet in the South Island. The Levy Rd supermarket has 485 car parks and employs about 250 staff.  The new supermarket is owned by Phill and Sarah Blackburn. The Blackburns have managed New World Wānaka, New World Balclutha, New World Ilam in Christchurch and Pak’nSave Riccarton. “We’re incredibly proud to welcome our community and customers through the doors today,” Phill Blackburn said. “Our team has worked tirelessly to get ready and…

Auckland’s Ponsonby Rd stalwart Sidart will close its doors effective immediately, the restaurant’s owner and chef Lesley Chandra announced on Tuesday afternoon.”After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to close Sidart effective immediately,” Chandra wrote on Facebook.”This decision was not made lightly, and we are deeply grateful for the support, memories, and experiences we’ve shared with each of you over the years.”The fine dining restaurant was opened by Auckland hospitality icons Sid and Chand Sahrawat in 2009. In 2019 the restaurant was named Cuisine Good Food Awards’ Restaurant of the Year. In 2021 executive chef Lesley Chandra bought…

By Gyles Beckford of RNZ  The chances of first-home buyers getting a mortgage may improve, with a proposal to allow banks to lend more to low-deposit borrowers. The Reserve Bank (RBNZ) is consulting on easing loan-to-value ratios (LVR) – one of its policies to keep house prices and risky borrowing in check. Acting assistant governor financial stability Angus McGregor said the introduction of debt-to-income ratios (DTI) last year has improved the protections against risky lending, while the market was also subdued. “House prices are within our range of sustainable estimates. Growth in mortgage lending remains moderate and the share of high-risk lending…

A suspended building practitioner has been convicted and fined $10,000 plus court costs after doing restricted building work without licence or supervision.The Building Act 2004 required all restricted building work, which included design and construction affecting a primary structure, to be done or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP).Lucy Walsh’s LBP licence had been suspended since September 30, 2021 for non-compliance.When applying for building consent for a small dwelling in Central Otago, Walsh falsely claimed to be an LBP in the Certificate of Design Work, and used her employer’s LPB number and electronic signature without permission.The Central Otago District…

Police have reversed changes former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming instructed staff to make to the firearms vetting process.RNZ earlier revealed McSkimming instructed the changes be made after he was contacted by an acquaintance who told him they would lose their firearms licence, if they got any more driving demerit points.Police Commissioner Richard Chambers said he was of the view “better judgement could have been exercised and a more robust process followed” by McSkimming.The Te Tari Pūreke Firearms Safety Authority then confirmed it was considering reversing the changes.On Monday, Firearms Safety Authority director of business transformation Superintendent Richard Wilson confirmed…

Almost three in four young Australian workers, particularly those employed in the finance sector, worry artificial intelligence technology will shrink their job prospects, a study has revealed. But most working members of Generation Z (people born from 1997 to 2010) are not allowing AI concerns to stop them using the technology, with most given access to the tools by their employers and almost all using them weekly.  Microsoft Australia released the findings today in a survey designed to gauge opinions of generative AI technology from the “first AI-fluent generation”. The findings come as debate over AI regulations continues in Australia,…

Customs has announced that eligible ePassport holders from eleven additional countries and territories can now use New Zealand’s automated eGates for both arrivals and departures.Travellers aged 10 and over from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, the Seychelles, and San Marino are now eligible to use the eGates at airports across New Zealand.This update brings the total number of eligible countries and territories to 59. Work was continuing to enable further additions later this year.A series of trials were conducted by Customs and Immigration NZ to ensure ePassports from these countries met strict border security…

A man has died after hitting his head on the ground during an altercation in Hastings.Acting Detective Inspector James Keene said police were called to a Mahora property after 9.45am on Saturday to reports of an altercation between two males.During the altercation, one of the males suffered a head injury after his head hit the ground.”He was taken to Wellington Hospital where he died from his injuries late on Sunday,” Keene said.Keene added police were speaking with those involved and interested in hearing from anyone with information.Those with information were urged to contact police by phoning 105 or anonymously via…

Almost three in four young Australian workers, particularly those employed in the finance sector, worry artificial intelligence technology will shrink their job prospects, a study has revealed. But most working members of Generation Z (people born from 1997 to 2010) are not allowing AI concerns to stop them using the technology, with most given access to the tools by their employers and almost all using them weekly.  Microsoft Australia released the findings today in a survey designed to gauge opinions of generative AI technology from the “first AI-fluent generation”. The findings come as debate over AI regulations continues in Australia,…

Some mayoral hopefuls could be waiting a while yet to pop the bubbly, with single-digit margins in some areas and special votes still to be counted in local elections across the country.Voting closed at midday on Saturday with more than 1500 roles to be filled across 78 city, district, and regional councils nationwide. While progress results were released on Saturday and preliminary results were available from Sunday, final results would be available on Thursday and Friday.Local Government NZ interim chief executive Scott Necklen said early figures showed voter turnout was down from 2022, sitting at just 32.65%.Westland: Just four votes…