Author: Press Room

British TV presenter Noel Edmonds has shown the damage done to his River Haven estate in Ngātīmoti after the extreme weather which lashed parts of the country last week.The 320ha estate near Motueka was purchased by Edmonds and his wife, Elizabeth Davies, in 2022 and also houses a cafe, pub, vineyard, general store and wellness centre.In a video uploaded to YouTube, Edmonds explained he was reviewing his business in New Zealand after he lost “three years of hard graft” in “just a few hours”.While showing damage to the wellness centre, Edmonds said it was built “in accordance with all the…

A forensic scientist giving evidence in the Khandallah murder trial says there was evidence of blood around the kitchen sink, as though someone tried to clean up.Helen Gregory, 79, was killed at home in January last year, and her daughter Julia DeLuney is on trial for her murder at the High Court in Wellington.The Crown says DeLuney attacked her mother before staging it to look like she had fallen from the attic, but the defence says someone else caused those injuries in the 90 minutes in which she had gone to get help.Glenys Knight from ESR told the court today…

US country music star Jason Aldean is coming to New Zealand for one night only next year.The singer will be performing as part of his Full Throttle World Tour at Auckland’s Spark Arena on February 19.Aldean would start his Australasian tour in Auckland before heading to Australia for six additional headlining dates, including in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.He has had nearly 20 billion streams, and sold more than 20 million albums.His songs included Dirt Road Anthem, Don’t You Wanna Stay, Fly Over States, She’s Country, Big Green Tractor, Amarillo Sky, and Whiskey Drink.One NZ customers couldn secure tickets during a…

A person has been taken into custody following the death of a man after an incident at a lodge in Auckland’s Ōtāhuhu last night.Emergency services were called to a property on Beatty St at about 8.30pm on Sunday following a report of a person being seriously injured.Detective Inspector Karen Bright said police found a man in a critical condition on arrival.Hato Hone St John said it responded with one ambulance, one raid response vehicle, and one manager.”One patient was assessed at the scene and transported to Middlemore Hospital in a critical condition.”Emergency services were called to a property on Beatty…

Time is up for landlords who have failed to bring their properties up to standard, with all New Zealand rental homes now legally required to comply with the Healthy Homes Standards from today.The standards, passed into law in July 2019, introduced minimum standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress, drainage and draught stopping.They came into force gradually, but from July 1, 2025, all new and existing tenancies must abide by the rules.Time is up for landlords who have failed to bring their properties up to standard. (Source: Breakfast)Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment (MBIE) head of tenancy Kat Watson said…

 – Customer arrears edge higher in May on April, but lower than year ago  – Vehicle, mortgage, personal loan arrears drop, buy now pay later rise  – Financial hardship increases, company liquidations higher  – Consumer and business credit demand rises Households are generally managing to stay on top of their debt, but hardship cases and business liquidations continue to rise. The latest report from credit bureau Centrix showed a marginal increase in the number of customers in arrears to 485,000 in May on the month before, 12.5 percent of the credit active population, but down 1 percent on a year…

TVNZ has revealed the most-watched shows on its streaming service this year – with the 6pm news, Demi Moore’s The Substance and kids’ favourite Bluey proving top audience hits.The most-streamed show on TVNZ+ is the broadcaster’s flagship 1News at Six, which has amassed 698,000 logged in viewers so far this year.The Substance, The Rookie, Rogue Heroes and Bluey round out the top five.In total, TVNZ+ has reached 2.17 million viewers, who have collectively engaged with 205 million minutes of content each week.Demi Moore’s Golden Globe-winning performance secured the second spot and reached 251,300 viewers.Premium dramas such as Rogue Heroes and…

Four years of failed attempts to get a dedicated student bar in Dunedin have pushed scarfies to prepare a public campaign to find a new site.The last dedicated student pub – Starters Bar – was shut down due to earthquake risks and is now demolished.The Otago University Students’ Association is searching sites for a new licensed bar, but hasn’t secured one yet.President Liam White told 1News: “We had a great location but unfortunately we were outbid on the building.”However, this coming semester, the association plans to gather public support.”We’re looking at a community campaign of trying to get key stakeholders…

Wellington’s troubled water services provider will be replaced with a new stand-alone entity by this time next year, which councils say will be less costly for ratepayers.Upper Hutt City Council today agreed to back the “reset”, which already had the support of Porirua, Lower Hutt and Wellington City Councils and Greater Wellington Regional Council.Lower Hutt mayor Campbell Barry, who chairs the Wellington Water Committee, welcomed today’s “milestone”, saying the decision marked “a reset for water services in the region”.Unlike Wellington Water, the new entity would own the water infrastructure that was currently owned by councils, which meant it would be…

New Zealanders across the country can now access trusted primary healthcare around the clock with the launch of a new 24/7 digital health service, Health Minister Simeon Brown has announced. “A new 24/7 digital health service, launched today, means people can have virtual consultations with New Zealand-registered doctors and nurses, anytime, anywhere,” Brown said. “This is about making sure Kiwis can get the medical help they need when they need it, especially when they can’t get a timely appointment with their regular general practitioner (GP), or outside normal clinic hours.” Using secure digital technology, the service connects patients to doctors…