Author: Press Room

Department of Conservation and Wellington Zoo staff attempted to release a rare Adélie penguin that washed up at Petone last month back into the wild today, but the Antarctic bird had other plans.The penguin was taken to the Ōrongorongo River east of Wellington to a release point so it could begin its 30-day journey back to Antarctica.Wellington Zoo senior veterinarian Kirsten Anderson said the penguin unfortunately chose not to go into the ocean.”She wandered back up the beach and we just gave her plenty of space, plenty of time, but monitoring her over the last kind of 20 minutes or…

It is getting closer to the time when locking in a longer-term home loan rate might be worth it, ANZ economists say, with retail rates having dropped further than the official cash rate might fall, and global rates pushing up.In their latest property market update, ANZ economists noted interest rates had fallen again through October, led by a fall in floating rates which followed the official cash rate (OCR) down by 50 basis points.”Large falls were also seen in the median six-month and one-year rates — down 0.36% and 0.3%, respectively — but two- and three-year rates fell only 0.1%…

Moldovan voters are choosing in their presidential elections between pro-European incumbent Maia Sandu and challenger Alexandr Stoianoglo, who favors closer ties with Russia, this Sunday. ADVERTISEMENTOn Sunday, Moldovan voters will choose their next president. During the first round on October 20th, Sandu led with 42% of the vote but failed to win an outright majority, while Stoianoglo, a Russia-friendly former prosecutor general, received 26%. Since no candidate received more than 50% of the votes, they face a runoff election viewed as a choice between geopolitical opposites.On the same day, the country held a national referendum, and Moldovans voted by a…

A company director has been sentenced to nine months home detention and ordered to pay a reparation of $83,563.65 by the Christchurch District Court for falsifying records and dishonestly incurring debts.Colin Fitzgibbon, director of ACK Contractors Limited, entered into an invoice purchasing contract in 2018 with Canterbury Finance Limited. That company trading as FIFO Capital.ACK Contractors Limited then held a contract to undertake work on the Christchurch Northern Corridor Alliance project at the beginning of 2020.The roading project involved construction of a new four-lane motorway from south of the Waimakariri River, connecting to Queen Elizabeth II Drive and Cranford Street…

A grass fire that caused smoke to billow from the top of Auckland’s Mount Wellington this afternoon has now been contained.Fire and Emergency NZ said they received reports of a fire atop Mount Wellington at about 12.39pm.”It is 60 square metres and was spreading upwards atop the hill,” a spokesperson said.Six fire trucks and one helicopter were working to extinguish the fire at the peak of the blaze, they added.Almost half a hectare has been damaged by the fire and crews were dampening the area to prevent further damage.Tūpuna Maunga Authority chairperson Paul Majurey said he was “deeply disappointed” with…

Britain’s Conservative Party has elected Kemi Badenoch as its new leader, becoming the first Black woman to lead a major political party in the UK. Badenoch succeeds former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose tenure was marked by the Conservatives’ worst election performance since 1832. ADVERTISEMENTKemi Badenoch has been elected as the new leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, a crucial step for the party as it attempts to recover from a significant election defeat that ended its 14 years in power. Badenoch defeated Robert Jenrick in a vote among nearly 100,000 members, making her the first Black woman to lead a…

Te Arawhiti — the Office for Māori Crown Relations — is being “gutted” with 40% of staff set to go, according to the Public Service Association.Under proposals revealed to staff today, 44 roles will move to Te Puni Kōkiri, which will take over some of its key functions, while a further 42 roles of the remaining 170 will be axed.Eight new roles will be established.Te Arawhiti — the Office for Māori Crown Relations will focus on its legislative functions to progress settlements under Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act.Te Puni Kōkiri will take…

New Zealand’s summer will start with “more widespread dry conditions”,”above average temperatures” and the potential for “short and intense rain events”, according to a NIWA seasonal climate outlook released today.The outlook, which covers November 2024 to January 2025, indicates the likelihood of climate conditions being at, above, or below average for the season relative to the 1991-2020 average.NIWA said there was a “little over 50% chance” that La Niña officially develops by the end of the year.”However, this event is likely to be weak and short-lived and might stay below traditional La Niña thresholds.”La Niña is a climate pattern that…

Nelson Mayor Nick Smith has hit back at “disinformation” being spread on social media about fluoride in the city’s water.Outdoors and Freedom Party co-leader Sue Grey had applied to speak during the public forum of Thursday morning’s Nelson City Council meeting to adopt its annual report.Grey’s application was sought following a post to the party’s Facebook page a day prior that alleged that Nelson had started fluoridating its water supply after the party claimed to have measured fluoride at 0.98 parts per million in the city’s drinking water.During Thursday’s meeting, the mayor dismissed the allegation as “disinformation” which was “completely…

A large fire in a commercial building in the Auckland suburb of Ōtāhuhu has now been contained and firefighters will remain on scene for several hours to dampen hotspots.Fire and Emergency NZ were called to the building on McGee St at around 2.30pm.The building where the fire was first reported was “well ablaze” when crews arrived and then spread to an adjoining premises.”The blaze reached fourth alarm level, and currently there are still 15 fire trucks plus other support vehicles on the scene,” a spokesperson said.Incident controller James Hall said firefighters have contained the fire in the second building and…