Author: Press Room

The mayors of Whanganui, Ruapehu and Rangitīkei will receive pay increases of between 3 and 6.5%, while councillor salaries will rise by as much as 30.5%.The independent Remuneration Authority has set pay for elected members across Whanganui, Ruapehu, Rangitīkei and Horizons Regional councils.The new rates reflect updated size indices for each council and revised governance remuneration pools that account for workload increases in some areas.Whanganui District CouncilWhanganui mayor Andrew Tripe will be paid $166,304, up about 3.25% from $161,075.His councillors are in line for a 25.5% pay rise, with the minimum councillor salary rising from $39,541 to $49,644.The council’s governance…

By Nona Pelletier of RNZ Top shelf employees are expected to cost employers much more to retain and recruit as the economy recovers. Recruitment consultancy firm Robert Walters said the brain drain to Australia was already sending ripples of concern, particularly in Wellington, which saw its workforce gutted after the last change of government. Wellington-based Robert Walters associate director Tim Wright said there was a looming talent shortage, as many senior level executives had already relocated to Australia for better pay and conditions. He said winning them back would not be cheap. The strong labour market conditions seen in 2022…

Which bank consistently offers the lowest advertised home loan rates? And does it actually matter?Data compiled by economist Ed McKnight from Opes Partners shows that since August 2023, across all home loan rate terms, Westpac most often advertised the cheapest home loan rates.It had the joint lowest rates advertised 54.5% of the time, and it had the strictly lowest rates 19.3% of the time.BNZ was jointly lowest 42.9% of the time but only strictly lowest 3.5%. ASB was joint lowest 38.5% of the time and strictly lowest 2.5%.Kiwibank was joint lowest 37.7% of the time and lowest 18.1%, and ANZ…

Cyndi Lauper turned True Colours into a defiant call for courage, and the music of Outkast, Soundgarden and the White Stripes brought waves of emotion at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.Partway through the song, Lauper shouted the line “don’t be afraid!”, thrust her fist in the air and kept it there as the music stopped for a long and dramatic stretch.She was then joined by Raye to sing Time After Time and Avril Lavigne for Girls Just Want to Have Fun, backed by an all-female band that included Gina Schock of the Go-Go’s. As Lauper called…

Fire and Emergency New Zealand say “favourable conditions” including light rain have helped efforts as they tackle a massive blaze in Tongariro National Park which has burned through more than 2500ha. The large fire on the Central Plateau broke out on Saturday, triggering evacuations of trampers and residents, including Whakapapa Village.As of Sunday night, the fire was estimated to have burnt about 2500 hectares and was 20% contained, FENZ said. Fire and Emergency District Commander Nigel Dravitzki said the fire size was likely to have increased a little, with a more detailed reconnaissance to be carried out when the weather…

All skills are valued at AbacusBio. That is the message from the Dunedin-based agribusiness consulting company’s new group managing director Nadia McLean who takes over the role from Dr Peter Amer. Ms McLean, who studied veterinary nursing, always stressed to new staff that a doctorate was not required to succeed. “Those without science qualifications are just as valuable, we need everybody,” she said. Born and raised in Dunedin, Ms McLean was a self-described “horsey girl” who had family farming in the Cardrona Valley and always felt that rural connection and knew she wanted to do something in the rural sector.…

Offensive firefighting efforts will resume this morning after a massive blaze in Tongariro National Park burned through more than 2500ha. The large fire on the Central Plateau broke out on Saturday, triggering evacuations of trampers and residents, including Whakapapa Village.As of Sunday night, the fire was estimated to have burnt about 2500 hectares and was 20% contained, FENZ said. Assistant Commander Craig Gold said the evacuation of the Whakapapa Village was complete shortly after 9.30pm last night, with police checking properties to ensure that everyone had left. Firefighting efforts were suspended overnight, but FENZ said offensive firefighting will resume this…

You could say CrestClean cleaned up at the recent Westpac New Zealand Franchise Awards in Auckland. The Dunedin-headquartered company — whose franchise network provides about 3million hours of customer service annually — won three of the five major awards including business to business — franchise system of the year for CrestClean (franchisor); business to business — franchisee of the year (Christchurch and South Canterbury franchisee Navjot Kaur); and regional master franchisee of the year (Tim O’Leary, Hawke’s Bay). Co-founder and chief executive Grant McLauchlan said it was particularly meaningful to be recognised with three wins at what was the 30th…

One new measles case has been confirmed in Nelson today, bringing the total number of cases in New Zealand’s current outbreak to 18.Health NZ said the case is not linked to any previous infections, raising concerns about undetected measles circulating in the community.The individual visited several public locations while infectious. These Locations of Interest would be listed on the Health NZ website in the coming days. Anyone who lives in or who visited Nelson between November 1-7 was urged to check the site and follow the health advice provided.The outbreak remained active, and Health NZ continued to lead the response…

New Zealand has suspended two years of aid payments – around $30 million – to the Cook Islands, signalling the political relationship between the two countries has rapidly deteriorated.In June this year Foreign Minister Winston Peters stopped $18.2m in funding being paid after the Cook Islands signed several controversial deals with China without consulting New Zealand which it’s required to do as a realm country. Obtained under the Official Information Act, 1News has received a letter dated October 13 from Peters to Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown confirming the $18.2m will continue to be paused, along with a further…