Author: Press Room

The New Zealand Defence Force’s bomb disposal team was called in after explosive gel was found at a property in rural Northland this afternoon.Police say they were called to a house in Tangiterōria around 2pm after the homeowner located gelignite. Officers isolated the area before calling in the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team to “safely remove the gelignite for disposal”, a police spokesperson told 1News.”If anyone comes across similar substances or unexploded ordinance, please contact police as soon as possible.”The explosive material – also known as blasting gelatin or jelly – is typically used in mining and demolition as a…

Two people have been charged following a four-year investigation into an alleged multi-million dollar home burglary in Auckland. What began at an Auckland property in Westmere in late 2021, ended with a search warrant carried out at a rural property north of the city this week.A safe containing $4 million in cryptocurrency, cash, jewellery, and other priceless family heirlooms was targeted during the sophisticated burglary on September 9, 2021. An investigation picked up pace in 2024, with the Auckland City financial crime unit taking up new avenues of investigation.Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Bolton said the victim had hired a private…

Ever ordered a salad on a first date when you really wanted the burger? Academics Lauren Bell, Emily Burch and Pearl Wong explore why.Many of us eat differently when we’re around other people, often without realising it. Our food choices shift depending on who’s at the table, who’s watching, or who might see our food if it’s shared online.This isn’t just about manners or appetite. Experts are increasingly interested in the ways in which meals aren’t just eaten, but are curated. Psychologists and nutrition researchers call this “performative eating”.The most recent viral example of this comes from TikTok, in the…

Carter Holt Harvey plans to shut the Eves Valley Sawmill near Nelson, affecting 142 jobs, the city’s mayor says. The facility, 21 kilometres out of Nelson, was built in the 1980s. Nelson Mayor Nick Smith said Carter Holt Harvey, which owned the plant, wanted to shut it to consolidate its resources at its Kawerau plant in Bay of Plenty. He told RNZ that the plan was under consultation until September 1, but following a meeting with the company’s management he was not optimistic that anything could be changed. “I put to them was there anything that council or government could…

Abandoned and derelict boats in Tauranga Harbour are becoming increasingly costly with ratepayers often footing the bill for their disposal if they sink.Bay of Plenty Harbourmaster Jon Jon Peters said the problem was escalating with the team recovering three sunken vessels in the last two months and another and a fourth underway currently.”We’re seeing more and more boats left to deteriorate on their moorings,” he said.”Each one of these vessels can cost anywhere up to $25,000 to remove if they sink, and when we can’t recover the costs from the owner, the community ultimately pays for this.”Bay of Plenty Harbourmaster…

Armed police are carrying out a search warrant in Maketū this morning over a man’s death on SH33 in the Bay of Plenty.Zain Taikato-Fox, 20, was found critically injured on the side of State Highway 33 by four men shortly after 7pm on Saturday, July 26.He died from his injuries in Rotorua Hospital two days later. (Source: rnz.co.nz)Detective Inspector Craig Rawlinson said the search warrant followed other searches completed in Maketū three weeks ago as part of the same operation.“There is not believed to be any risk to public safety, however residents can expect to see some staff armed as…

Shopkeepers might have high hopes for an economic turnaround and better sales, but the data indicates otherwise. Retail NZ chief executive Carolyn Young said Wednesday’s cut to the official cash rate was unlikely to see shoppers flooding retail stores just yet. The Reserve Bank cut its cash rate by 25 basis points to a three-year low of 3 percent, and left the door open for further reductions. Young said the group’s latest quarterly report from April to June,showed 62 percent of retailers did not meet their sales targets. But she said talk of lower interest rates had them feeling more positive about the…

The intelligence service warns threats to national security need to be taken much more seriously than they currently are.The Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) has released its third annual Security Threat Environment report, containing its assessments of violent extremism, foreign interference, and espionage in New Zealand.The report said New Zealand was facing the most challenging national security environment of recent times, with foreign interference, espionage, and online radicalisation all highlighted as threats.Much of the report contained similar analysis and threats to the two previously released reports, though the NZSIS noted further deterioration since last year’s report.This was largely driven by less…

Wastewater pond desludging in Martinborough is now complete, with 660 tonnes of solids removed after more than 50 years of build-up.The work was required after new wastewater connections were paused in May 2023 because the plant was operating beyond its capacity.Although the desludging effort did not solve the capacity issue for Martinborough, it was necessary to address non-compliance issues identified by the regional council.The regional council issued an abatement notice for the plant in 2023 for exceeding hydraulic load constraints when discharging to land and river, and exceeding E.coli and nutrient limits when discharging to the river.Desludging would improve operations,…

“It’s been one hell of a ride.” Tom Sweeney is referring to the decade spent at technology recruitment agency Crew Technology Recruitment, the business he co-founded in Dunedin with Cory Richards in 2015. Mr Sweeney is leaving the business, which merged with Potentiate Group early last year to become New Zealand’s largest locally owned IT recruitment business, this month to establish a new startup in a different industry. “The business is in a great spot, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve built, the people, the culture, the growth, the memories. “It’s the perfect time for me to hand…