Author: Press Room

Police have announced they are treating the death of a man in Auckland’s Pukekohe at the end of last year as a homicide. Donnie Houben, 48, was found dead at a gang-associated property on Times Pl on December 30.Detective Inspector Karen Bright said police had been treating the death as suspicious since he was found.”Numerous enquiries have been underway to better understand the wider set of circumstances at play.”Preliminary findings from the pathologist indicate he was subjected to an assault prior to his death.”Investigators are still awaiting detailed findings from the pathologist.Bright said police believed people in the community had…

The Whangārei District Council has put off any likely decision about whether to change tack on its fluoridation refusal after the mayor failed in his bid to take the debate behind closed doors.In another twist in the council’s ongoing fluoridation refusal, the council today decided in a narrow 7 to 6 majority vote not to go into a public-excluded debate about fluoridation.The short-notice meeting, with a public excluded agenda, was then canned.Instead, the council has set a new extraordinary meeting date for Monday, allowing three days’ notification with fluoridation on the agenda.Some politicians are expecting this meeting to be a…

It might be a “holy grail” for retailers, but there’s a warning that shopping on subscription can be fraught with problems for consumers.One of the world’s best known subscription retail brands, HelloFresh, has had criminal charges filed against it by the Commerce Commission, which alleges it misled customers it was trying to encourage to sign up to its food delivery service again.Subscriptions are offered in New Zealand for everything from energy drinks and wine to underwear, toothbrushes and pet food.Consumer NZ spokesperson Jessica Walker said “subscription traps” were something that Consumer would focus on this year.”What we are worried about…

By Susan Edmunds of RNZ US President Donald Trump has set global financial markets wobbling… again. The NZX opened lower on Tuesday and many KiwiSaver investors checking their balances might have had an unpleasant surprise. Here are five things to do if you’re worried about market volatility.Check your risk profile against your fund type Every investor has a risk profile. This refers to how much risk you can afford to take, given your individual circumstances – particularly your investment timeframe. Growth and aggressive funds tend to be a lot more volatile, but over time they should deliver higher returns. Morningstar data shows…

Resource teachers of literacy and resource teachers of Māori are “shocked and “devastated” by a proposal from the Education Minister to stop funding 174 roles from next year.”Given that this is the Government’s mandate at the current time to improve literacy within New Zealand, it just does not make sense to take out front line, very highly trained professionals,” Resource Teachers: Literacy Association President Judith Bradley said.Both the leaders from the Resource Teachers: Literacy Association and National Association of Resource Teachers Advisory Māori reject Education Minister Erica Stanford saying the quality of the service is inconsistent.”She’s saying that we want…

By Eloise Gibson and Kate Newton of RNZ As insurers move towards individual risk ratings for properties, industry leaders have warned that a growing number of homes could be left without insurance. If a growing number of homes became difficult or impossible to insure, that could cause their value to plummet – creating a problem for the whole economy, industry members were told. ANZ chief risk officer Ben Kelleher told the recent Insurance Council conference that New Zealanders had short memories when it came to major flood events. He cited a longitudinal study showing prices drop when a major flood…

The family of an Auckland father-of-two who died shortly after being taken into police custody earlier this month is calling for the mandatory use of police body cameras.Faasala Samu Matue, 45, known as Sam, died at Ōrere Point Beach in East Auckland on March 2.The vehicle he was travelling in was sought by police over an alleged aggravated robbery of a bar on Auckland’s North Shore. A three minute video has surfaced showing some of the moments prior to and during Matue’s arrest, leading his family to raise their concerns.Police Assistant Commissioner Jill Rogers said three lengthy investigations were underway,…

Foreign companies are set to dominate New Zealand’s internet gambling market as the government auctions online casino licences for the first time.Documents obtained by RNZ show local operators fear the large offshore firms will eat up their market share – and siphon money away from the community grants they distribute from gambling profits.Unlike Lotto, the TAB, casinos or the pokies, the successful bidders for the online casino licenses will not be required to pay any money to community groups.Internal Affairs minister Brooke van Velden, deputy leader of the Act Party, told RNZ she expected large, offshore gambling companies to win…

Three people were hospitalised in the Wairarapa over the weekend after ingesting an unknown substance which they believed to be cocaine but was likely an opioid.Wellington crime services manager Detective Inspector John van den Heuvel said police were notified after paramedics responded to a residential address in Tinui after the three people became ill after taking an illicit substance.Police believed the unknown substance was likely an opioid.”They received treatment and were expected to make a full recovery,” he said. He said the property was searched and cannabis and a firearm were seized.”A man has appeared in court today in relation…

The Commerce Commission is taking meal-kit provider Hello Fresh to court for allegedly misleading consumers over subscriptions.The Commission has filed criminal charges against HelloFresh New Zealand, as it believed the company breached the Fair Trading Act by misleading consumers in cold calls used to “re-activate” customers who had previously cancelled the food delivery service.Commerce Commission deputy chairperson Anne Callinan said the claim related to conduct between February 2022 and July 2023, when previous HelloFresh customers were offered a discount voucher without it being made clear that acceptance of the voucher would reactivate their subscription.Callinan said taking payment for services customers…