Author: Press Room

Michael Campbell made it to the top.He said as a ten year old growing up in Tītahi Bay that he’d win a golf major, and he went out and did it.Only three New Zealanders have won them. He sits in the middle of two of New Zealand’s biggest names in golf, Bob Charles, and Lydia Ko.His run to become US Open champ began in 2005, and as the field dropped away it became apparent Pinehurst was about to witness a David and Goliath sized battle, with a certain Tiger Woods on the fairway.Campbell remembers: “He was playing in front of…

Christchurch Hospital is short 120 nurses, according to an internal system that is meant to gauge how many people are needed for safe staffing levels.The Care Capacity Demand Management system, known as CCDM, is filled in by nurses at the end of a shift to show what staffing was needed to provide safe care. It is intended to help with short and long-term staff planning.Data seen by RNZ showed Christchurch Hospital had 120 fewer nurses than recommended by the CCDM system, based on information gathered last year.The data showed the emergency department was short 25 full-time equivalents, and the neurology…

A study has found the cost and effort to roll out the national HPV vaccination programme was “well worth it” and has had a “marked” effect on HPV-related cancer rates.University of Otago obstetrics and gynaecology associate professor Peter Sykes led a study researching the effectiveness of the national HPV vaccination programme.The Christchurch-based study revealed the programme, running since 2008, has reduced cervical cancer by more than two-thirds – and showed the vaccine was “incredibly important and makes a real difference”.”It’s about a two-thirds reduction, a little bit more than two-thirds, 70%. If we compare that to wearing a seatbelt which…

Despite progress for women’s and girls’ rights around the world, these gains are fragile. In 2024, one in four countries in the world reported a setback in women’s rights, according to a new report by UN Women. ADVERTISEMENTThe world is more gender-equal today than at any point in history, but progress is not guaranteed and could even be reversed without sustained action, Belén Sanz, regional director of UN Women Europe and Central Asia, told Euronews in an interview. “Women have made a real shift in the world, but we are seeing that there is an alarming rollback, that discrimination is deepening, that…

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…