Author: Press Room

Three of the country’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters no longer have to reveal how much planet-heating gas they produce.For the first time, the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA)’s company-level emissions data doesn’t include agriculture, after the government ended compulsory reporting for the farming sector.The change means companies responsible for around half the countries’ greenhouse gases no longer have to supply information to the EPA every year giving a rough total of their methane emissions, unless they happen to be captured by other disclosure rules (for example climate disclosure rules covering stockmarket-listed companies).Meat processors Affco and Alliance no longer have to supply…

Christchurch company MARS Bioimaging has opened the door for more investors to reach a capital raise target of $10 million for getting its colour CT scanners into medical clinics. Last year $7.6m was raised, with the remaining $2.4m to go towards scaling up commercial sales of the spectral molecular imaging scanners. The compact scanners produce three-dimensional colour X-rays for initially diagnosing hand to shoulder complaints. Among the 10 existing shareholders are father and son co-founders Philip and Anthony Butler, Pacific Channel and the Hospital for Special Surgery based in New York. MARS was the first in the world to produce…

Emergency services were called to Christchurch Airport following two separate aviation incidents within 20 minutes on Friday afternoon.The first incident occurred shortly after 1.30pm, when Fire and Emergency New Zealand responded to reports of smoke coming from a stationary aircraft on the tarmac.Crews from Ilam, Redwood, Wigram, Christchurch City, and Spreydon stations attended the scene.All passengers were safely evacuated from the aircraft. A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said the smoke was likely caused by an issue with the plane’s engine or hydraulic system.Just 20 minutes later, emergency crews were dispatched again after a light aircraft made a “forced landing” at…

Sarah Shaw, the New Zealand woman detained at the US-Canada border, and her son are set to be released from US immigration custody. Her lawyer confirmed her parole request had been granted, and Washington Federation of State Employees’ Mike Yestramski said a flight back to the state from Texas, where Shaw and her six-year-old son, Isaac were being held, had been booked for the coming days. Shaw had taken her two older children to Vancouver so they could catch a direct flight back to New Zealand on July 24 to visit family, and she then planned to travel back to…

The woman who died after being shot by police in Christchurch on Wednesday night has been named. She was 53-year-old Te Arohanui Pohio.”Our thoughts remain with her loved ones at this extremely difficult time, and we continue to offer them the necessary support,” Superintendent Tony Hill said. A 47-year-old man, also shot by police during the incident on Clyde Road in Bryndwr, was in a critical but stable condition following surgery yesterday. The woman dies at the scene in the Christchurch suburb of Bryndwr while the man was critically injured.  (Source: 1News)Police were called to the residential address at around…

High levels of switching between home loan providers has the potential to create bills for the borrower — and their mortgage adviser, brokers are warning.There has been a steady increase in switching this year. Almost $2.5 billion of lending changed to a new provider in June, up from $1.4b last June and $1.2b the year before.Some of that has been driven by an increase in competition with “cash back” offers, which give up to about 0.8% of a home loan’s value as an incentive to change to a new bank.But, if the borrower does not then stick with the new…

The Supreme Court has found the wrong legal test has been used to lock up an autistic man for nearly 20 years, but he will not walk free just yet.It has ordered the Family Court to urgently re-examine whether the man, only known as Jay, should remain detained, according to a decision released a year after the Supreme Court heard his case.Four of the five Supreme Court Justices said the Family Court must relook at Jay’s right to liberty, weighing the seriousness of his original offence, his rehabilitation prospects and current risk.The majority found he could have been moved into…

Auckland Council says it will go ahead with a plan that will cut Takapuna Golf Course to nine-holes, despite pleas from the community to preserve the course.The council met with the representatives from the course on Friday, and assessed its alternative solution to drain floodwater into nearby Shoal Bay.The plan was recently endorsed by pro-golfer Dame Lydia Ko.The council said it had decided to progress with its previous plan to turn half of the course into flood storage and understood this was challenging for the golfing community – especially those in Takapuna.It had confirmed its plan to proceed with converting…

An Otago University study has found understaffing and underfunding are compromising Christchurch Hospital’s specialist trauma assessment service.The service was established three years ago, following success by similar teams overseas at improving long-term outcomes for patients.But new research showed the service in Christchurch was never properly funded – and was failing to deliver measurable results.The study identified “critical deficiencies” in the number of trauma surgeons, junior medical staff cover and trauma specialist nursing.The lack of personnel led to other “major limitations” such as poor data management and restricted operational hours, meaning weekends weren’t properly staffed, and the entire department was closed…

A portrait of a kuia believed to be from Kihikihi has been in the Meltzer whānau for around 50 years, but the current family custodian wants to return it to her people.Painted by celebrated Waikato artist Ida Carey, the portrait is of a kuia smoking a pipe.Paul Meltzer is on a mission to find the whānau of the woman in the painting, saying it isn’t his to keep.“[I’ve] just looked after it, but I never really wanted to hang it in our house. I just wanted to keep my own whānau photos on the wall and [it] just didn’t quite…