Author: Press Room

A large voter turnout on Saturday is expected to alter the final standings in Hamilton’s local election race.Progress results showed Tim Macindoe as frontrunner to become the city’s new mayor.However, the council declared ‘Super Saturday’ and said the volume of last-minute votes would have an effect.Saturday’s progress result excluded special votes and votes received on election-day morning.More than 5500 votes were cast on Saturday in Hamilton.If Macindoe was confirmed as mayor, then the standings in the East Ward, where he was the top-ranked candidate, would have to be recalculated under the city’s single transferable vote system (STV).STV involved ranking candidates…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ Thousands of people have had money deducted from their bank accounts in recent months as Inland Revenue steps up its efforts to collect the tax it is owed. IR spokesperson Rowan McArthur said it had sent out 16,500 notices about planned bank deductions since mid-June, 25% more than for the whole of last year. “We are targeting customers who have repeatedly not engaged with IR; and those where information we have indicates there may be funds in their bank account(s) that could be deducted from to pay off existing tax debt.” He said IR was…

If you’re in a relationship with an age gap, it may affect your financial planning, particularly when it comes to retirement.RNZ reported earlier this week that there are 3003 people who are receiving NZ Super despite being under 65, because their partners qualified and added them before the rules changed in 2020.A handful of them were aged in their 20s and 30s.Data from Stats NZ shows that such big age gaps are probably rare, particularly among people with children.Infometrics principal economist said Stats NZ collected data on different-gender partners with dependent children in their households.That shows that 47% of these…

Tūhoe activist Tāme Iti says what scares him is not responding to injustice and turning your back, as he reflects on a life of resistance spanning half a century.From his childhood in Ruatoki, he was on the frontlines of the Springbok Tour protests, the 1975 land march, and even tried to join North Vietnamese fighters during the Vietnam War. At times, the 73-year-old was a controversial figure. But after five decades at the centre of the fight for Māori rights, he reflected on his life of protest and art in a new memoir.Having purposefully walked a fine line between peace…

Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden recently announced moves to simplify holiday and sick leave entitlements. Van Velden announced that the much-criticised Holidays Act 2003 will be repealed and replaced with a new Employment Leave Act. The Holidays Act is a notoriously complicated regime which has resulted in some large employers having to back-pay workers in the millions of dollars due to mistaken leave calculations. Previous reform efforts in 2011 and 2018 did not result in any meaningful change. In 2024 van Velden signalled the end to a draft Amendment Bill which was largely based on the work of a…

Most people have one or two names. Laurence Watkins has more than 2000. The Kiwi man holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s longest personal name – a record that’s stood for more than three decades and can’t legally be repeated in New Zealand.Watkins was 24 years old when he legally added 2310 middle names (later updated to 2253 names) to his moniker in 1990, securing the world record two years later. The list of names is so extensive that when he got married, it took his celebrant more than 20 minutes to recite his full name. Speaking to…

Westland District may be about to get New Zealand’s oldest and second transgender mayor.Hokitika businesswoman Jacquie Grant, 82, leads the tight mayoral race, but only by 64 votes, against incumbent Helen Lash.If elected, Grant would become New Zealand’s second transgender mayor, after the late Georgina Beyer became the world’s first openly transgender mayor in Carterton 30 years ago.Grant told RNZ that being her age and transgender was “probably fairly unique”.”Most people my age are getting ready for a ride on the zimmer frame,” she said.”Age is just a number and the transgender thing is really… I think people in Westland…

One of Auckland’s busiest fire stations has been cleared to reopen, one day after dust samples tested positive for asbestos.The Pitt St Fire Station in Auckland was closed just before midnight on Friday for decontamination as a result of testing from July, Fire and Emergency New Zealand Deputy National Commander Megan Stiffler said on Saturday. “This is a result we were not expecting,” Stiffler said, saying the organisation was “disappointed”. “The safety and well-being of our firefighters is of the utmost importance to us, and the station has been closed.”She said Fire and Emergency had “no reason” to believe there…

The Government’s trial of clamping and seizing cars vehicles from people with overdue court fines will be made permanent and quadrupled in scope after it recovered more than $225,000 and impounded 115 vehicles in three months.Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith, who launched the initiative in July, confirmed the expansion, saying the number of handheld licence plate scanners used by bailiffs will increase from 10 to at least 39.”We promised to find new and effective ways to force people to pay their court fines. The threat of clamping and vehicle seizures has proved a great success. Victims are our priority and we’re…

Fauono Ken Laban has been elected Mayor of Lower Hutt, making history as New Zealand’s first Pasifika mayor.Fauono secured 8704 votes, comfortably ahead of Brady Dyer on 6974, Karen Morgan on 5529, and Prabha Ravi on 3608.His victory marks a historic milestone for Pacific representation in local government. A long-time broadcaster, sports commentator, and former councillor, Fauono has been a visible advocate for inclusion, youth opportunity, and safer communities across the Wellington region. He is also the only Pasifika mayoral candidate to have been successfully elected in this year’s local elections.The long-time broadcaster secured 8704 votes in the Lower Hutt…