Author: Press Room

A sand mining company has been ordered to pay $500,000 in costs to community groups who fiercely opposed its plans to mine near Pākiri beach north of Auckland.McCallum Bros was ordered to pay the costs to Manuhiri Kaitiaki Charitable Trust and Pākiri local Damon Clapshaw after losing its Environment Court case in April.The award appeared to be among the largest ever ordered by the Environment Court. A $412,000 costs order against a Waiheke vineyard in 2022 was thought to be the highest at that time.McCallum Bros — which has mined offshore from Pākiri previously— was seeking to take up to…

Fire and Emergency services are at the scene of a bitumen tanker leak in Ngongotahā, near Rotorua.Police said State Highway 5 is blocked as a result of the incident, and will “likely to be shut for the next two hours”.”Motorists should expect lengthy delays,” said police.FENZ told 1News the tanker was carrying 12,000 litres of bitumen, and is leaking at approximately 4 litres per minute.”FENZ are working with contractors to isolate the leak and decant the tanker. “A small fire started in one of the trucks during this process, and has been since extinguished. All product has been contained.”Three fire…

Auckland police have seized more than $11 million worth of assets from gangs since the start of this year, in excess of four times what was seized in the same period last year.Data provided to RNZ through an OIA reveals that $11.69m worth of cash, jewellery, vehicles, residential property, and other assets were restrained from gangs in the Auckland area from January to October 2024.The value dwarfs that of the same time last year when police seized $2.82m worth of assets.Detective Inspector Christiaan Barnard of the police Financial Crime Group said the value of seizure depended on several variables.”You will…

The University of Otago has warned about a deep fake video which features a false story featuring one of the university’s leading endocrinologists.Professor Sir Jim Mann’s likeness was used in the video and advertisements online, which encourages people with type 2 diabetes to stop taking medications Metformin and alternatively use natural products.The video was posted to a Facebook page using footage of the professor, and was edited to “sound like a 1News clip”, the university said.Mann was extremely concerned people who trusted him might be misled by these advertisements in a way that could adversely influence their health.”I was disturbed…

The Treaty Principles Bill has been introduced to Parliament – and will have its first reading next Thursday, November 14.The bill was originally set to be introduced on November 18. After it was revealed its introduction was being brought forward the Waitangi Tribunal released the second part of its interim report into the bill on Tuesday.When it is debated in Parliament next week, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will not be in the country.National and New Zealand First have both said they would not support the bill beyond its first reading.Today a group of protesters opposed to the bill gathered outside…

A “taste of summer” is on the way, particularly for those who live in eastern parts of the country, according to the latest forecast.Temperatures could exceed 30C as New Zealand heads into the weekend thanks to an Australian heatwave being pushed across the Tasman.The state of Victoria was already experiencing temperatures “between six and 16C above average for early November”, ABC News reported, as officials enacted a statewide total fire ban.”For Victoria, we’ll see temperatures into the mid to high 30s, even potentially pushing up towards 40C for northern Victoria,” Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jonathan How said.”And then for New…

Rotorua residents are “battle-weary” from emergency housing hearings, a lobby group lawyer says.A three-day hearing began on Tuesday for submissions on whether the Government should be able to extend seven emergency housing motel consents by a year.Independent commissioner David Hill will consider the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s applications to keep seven emergency housing motels operating in Rotorua for up to another year after 13 motel resource consents granted in 2022 expire in December.All but one of the 37 submitters oppose the applications.The bulk of the first day centred on the ministry’s evidence, which included how it believed issues…

About 200 sushi lovers lined the street in South Dunedin yesterday to welcome a national chain’s first store to the city. The queue stretched along Andersons Bay Rd yesterday for the opening of St Pierres, at the corner of Andersons Bay and Bay View Rds. The store marks the first time the family-run sushi chain has opened a location in Dunedin in its 40-year history. Staff from Timaru, Ashburton, Christchurch and Invercargill stores had come to the city to assist with the opening. Greeting the queue, St Pierres co-founder Nick Katsoulis said he had been waiting a long time to…

Liam Payne’s death investigation has reportedly sparked raids on the homes of two hotel employees and a “friend” of the tragic singer.The 31-year-old former One Direction star fell to his death on October 16 from the balcony of his room at the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires, and it is now said police investigating his shock passing in Argentina have stepped up their probe into his passing.Law enforcement sources have told TMZ raids on two hotel workers were carried out on Tuesday night (local time), with the outlet also claiming lockers of the staffers at the hotel where Liam…

New Zealand currently has no laws that specifically address stalking, meaning victims must use other legal provisions to try and protect themselves.But after much campaigning, including an open letter to Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith and a petition signed by more than 20,000 people earlier this year, the Government has promised to fill that legislative gap.1News’ Opinion and Explainers Editor Anna Murray spoke to University of Auckland associate professor of law Carrie Leonetti about how victims of stalking are treated now and why New Zealand needs a better legal framework for tackling a crime many people will experience in their lifetime.What…