Author: Press Room

With so-called ‘March Madness’ on the roads, as students head back to school and workers get back to business, road rage has emerged as a growing concern for kiwi motorists.A nationwide survey from AA Insurance finding around half of kiwis – 49% of respondents – believe road road has become worse in the last year.That’s especially true in Auckland – 60% of residents say it’s a growing issue.”I think it’s widely held that Aucklanders are some of the worst drivers in the world, I’m tailgated constantly”, one motorist told 1News.”It’s mostly when people don’t follow the road rules”, said another.The…

France hands control of two military bases to Senegal as it begins its withdrawal process from the West African country. ADVERTISEMENTFrance has begun its formal withdrawal procedure from Senegal. On Friday, Paris announced that it had handed back control of two military facilities to the West African country.The handover follows a declaration by Senegal’s President, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, late last year ordering all foreign troops to leave the country.“The French side handed over to the Senegalese side the facilities and housing in the Maréchal and Saint-Exupéry districts on Friday, March 7, 2025,” the French Embassy in Senegal said in a…

First, it was a supermarket closure — now it’s a Flaxmere gym shutting its doors that is riling residents.The Hastings District Council-owned and run Flaxrock Gym in Swansea Rd, which was opened in the 1980s, will close on April 4 as part of a widespread review of the council’s expenditure. However, gym members are not taking the decision sitting down. A petition urging the council to keep the gym open says it is a crucial institution for many in the community.”The Flaxrock Gym has now grown to be an integral part of our daily routines. It is not just a…

The Ministry of Education has called on the Ministry for Primary Industries to expand its investigation after a Gisborne schoolboy was allegedly burnt by a school lunch provided by the Government’s revamped free school lunch programme.The alleged incident is the latest in a string of issues plaguing the scheme, following complaints of lunches arriving late and others having melted plastic in its contents.An investigation was launched by New Zealand Food Safety after it was notified of the incident late yesterday afternoon. It has since been expanded – at the request of the Ministry of Education – to include heating facilities…

A Taupō District councillor who admitted driving drunk a fourth time has resigned her seat.Anna Park appeared in the Auckland District Court last Friday and pleaded guilty to a charge of driving with excess breath alcohol a third or subsequent time.The charge is punishable by two years’ imprisonment, a $6000 fine and disqualification from driving for one year.Under the Local Government Act 2002 a councillor convicted of a crime punishable by two years’ imprisonment or more must vacate office.”It is no longer tenable under the Local Government Act for me to continue as a councillor,” Park said in a statement…

Kaikōura has faced its fair share of tests in the past decade but, according to the district council and locals, now is its time to shine. The completion of a number of waterfront projects, and the start of others, is proof the seaside community is flourishing once again, they say.The tourism-reliant community has faced back-to-back challenges — the Christchurch earthquakes, the Kaikoura quake, then Covid-19. Kaikoura District Council CEO Will Doughty says: “Kaikoura is a really humming place to be at the moment and it’s a really exciting place to be and we’ve got a really special part of paradise…

Twenty firefighters will return to the scene of a wildfire in Northland on Saturday morning.The fire started in Awarua, south of Kaikohe, at about 12.30pm on Friday and quickly spread over 10ha of scrub.It destroyed one building before fire crews established a containment line along Tokowhero Rd.Fire and Emergency said 10 firefighters had been monitoring the blaze overnight, and strengthening the containment lines.Twenty were returning Saturday morning, alongside heavy machinery and a helicopter.Assistant Commander Corey Matchitt on Friday said this may be the second fire in Northland in three days to have been ignited by grinders.All northern and western parts…

Further engagement with hapū is needed if a Whakaari memorial space is to be created in Whakatāne.Whakatāne District Council’s living together committee received a briefing from the Whakaari Memorial Steering Group at a meeting on Thursday.Steering group members Whakatāne-Ōhope Community Board’s Carolyn Hamill and Mark Inman, Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Awa general manager Romana Graham and Whakatāne District Council principal advisor Kay Borham presented information about progress to date.In late 2023, the community board began exploring options for the memorial for the December 9, 2019 eruption of Whakaari-White Island in which 22 people lost their lives and many more received…

The enormous system of Atlantic currents known as AMOC appears to be slowing, bringing changes in climate around the world and concerning climate scientists. Himadri Saini and Laurie Menviel, both researchers at the Climate Change Research Centre, UNSW Sydney, report. Europe is warmed by heat from ocean currents, which move water from the warm tropics to the colder North Atlantic. Once the warm, salty water from the tropics reach the polar region, they cool enough to sink to the depths and flow back towards the Southern Ocean. This enormous system of currents is known as the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation…

An investigation is underway into an environmental breach after materials from a power pole installation were dumped in a Southland waterway.The matter relates to a controversial PowerNet project on the outskirts of Invercargill where 21 metre-high power poles are being installed along a 19.5km route from Awarua to a city substation.A spokesperson for PowerNet, the company responsible for the installation, said some items were temporarily placed in a culvert for safety reasons, but these would not have caused adverse effects on the environment.Motu Rimu Rd resident Jacques Nel doesn’t have a problem with the lines going in, but said he…