Author: Press Room

A Kaikōura job programme has made just one sustainable placement since July, as the reality of a Government funding cut sets in.Te Hā o Mātauranga (Learning in Kaikōura) operations lead Vicki Gulleford said her staff were doing their best after the Government made changes to the Mayors’ Taskforce for Jobs programme.The programme’s funding was slashed from $260,000 to $100,000 for the year from July 1, as the Government focused support on getting people off the benefit rather than helping school leavers.”We’ve had a really quiet start because it’s specifically working with those on a jobseekers’ benefit and there’s not a…

A memorial bench swept away in severe flooding at the top of the South Island earlier this year has turned up 185km away — washing up on the Kāpiti Coast on the North Island, close to a family cemetery.The handcrafted bench was originally placed on private farmland overlooking the Tākaka River to memorialise local man Jack Robertson, who died in 2018, aged 21.His mother Jo-Anna McKay told 1News it was put there because Jack loved to swim there when he was younger.”We put it there for families, because it was a popular swimming hole. We could go there and hang…

A commercial fisherman has been fined $15,000 after trawling in a marine reserve last year.Kelly Gavin Scoles, aged 37, appeared through an audio visual link today at the Kaikohe District Court. He faced one charge under the Marine Reserves Act and one under the Fisheries Act, the Ministry for Primary Industries said.In May 2024, Scoles, as master of the fishing vessel Winbill, deployed a bottom trawl net about 1.6km outside the Kahurangi Marine Reserve off the northwest coast of the South Island.The Ministry for Primary Industries said Scoles then towed the trawl “through the entire length” of the 16km reserve.Fisheries…

West Coast Regional Council chairman Peter Haddock is bowing out of local government next month after 18 years. He spoke to Local Democracy reporter Lois Williams about the highs and lows of his time at council. Peter Haddock’s motives for standing for council in Greymouth all those years ago were – you might say –less than noble.But they led to a salutary lesson for the rookie councillor.The enterprising builder had bought the historic Speights Ale House opposite the railway station and was busy saving it when he had a difference of opinion with a manager at the Grey District Council.A…

It’s been an emotional week in the Wellington High Court with outbursts from the public gallery and tears from jurors, as the final movements of all five men killed in the Loafers Lodge fire was played.The Crown has finished presenting its case in the trial of a 50-year-old man accused of arson and murder, and his lawyers, who are pursuing a defence of insanity will open next Monday.Footage from inside the Wellington hostel revealed Liam Hockings, one of the victims, was the only person from the 92-bed lodge to evacuate the building when an earlier alarm was set off by…

Regional Development Minister Shane Jones has officially opened six new cabins in Reefton’s Domain campground, built to help accommodate an influx of workers at Edura Mining’s Snowy River goldmine.Funding for ten cabins has come from the company, a loan from Development West Coast, and Better-Off funding granted to the Buller District Council as part of the last government’s three waters project.Jones and his wife Dorothy led a party of West Coast council members including Buller mayor Jamie Cleine and Grey mayor Tania Gibson on a tour of the new units this morning. Six new cabins have opened in Reefton’s Domain…

Outdoor education teachers are calling the Government’s secondary school curriculum shake up “short-sighted”.Education Minister Erica Stanford unveiled a range of new subjects yesterday, as part of a refreshed national curriculum.The topics to be phased in from 2028, did not include outdoor education for year 11, while the course for years 12 and 13, will be vocational only and developed by industry skills boards.“A vocational pathway suits some learners, but for us, the majority of outdoor education students are looking to pursue academic university pathways,” Wellington East Girls’ College outdoor education lead Hamish Buddle said.A petition against a proposal, which includes…

A vehicle collided with three pedestrians in Auckland last night, leaving the scene before police arrived. Emergency services were called to the incident on Wordsworth Road in Manurewa at around 6.15pm. “The vehicle left the scene prior to Police arrival,” a spokesperson said. Two people were taken to hospital in a serious condition, while another was moderately injured. Traffic management was in place while the serious crash unit conducted a scene examination. “Motorists are advised to avoid the area and expect delays,” police said last night.

The Governor-General’s term is being extended, because her original end date may clash with next year’s election.Dame Cindy Kiro’s tenure was due to end on October 21, 2026, but will now end on March 31, 2027.She was appointed in 2021, succeeding Dame Patsy Reddy in the role.”As happens from time to time, 2026 will see the five-year term of the Governor-General and three-year election cycle coincide,” the Prime Minister said.While a date for the 2026 General Election has not been set, the Governor-General plays an integral part.They are required to issue the writ for each election, set the date for…

For the past three years 1News reporter Simon Mercep has made regular trips to Marokopa to report on the fugitive Tom Phillips and his three kidnapped children. This week, following the tragic confrontation that saw a police officer shot and critically injured, Phillips fatally shot, and the subsequent rescue of the Phillips children, Mercep was again immersed in this small, troubled community. On his last night in the region he talked to Emily Simpson about his experience of covering this story and why it’s one he won’t forget. You’ve spent most of this week in Marokopa. Are you finding that…