Author: Press Room

An $8.3 million shortfall in external funding for Rotorua Museum’s exhibition space has left Rotorua Lakes Council scrambling for options.Only $1.24m of a $9.51m target has been raised, and a staged reopening of the museum has been pitched as one potential avenue to bring the overall budget in line.Rotorua Museum closed in November 2016 after failing to meet seismic standards.Last May, full funding for the estimated $73.55m building cost was confirmed.However, generating external funds for the cost of the exhibition space has proven problematic, and the council injected $181,700 towards the exhibition concept stage in June.A report for Wednesday’s meeting…

Air New Zealand customers are unable to make online bookings due to a problem with the company’s online payment system. “We are currently experiencing an issue with our online payment systems,” the airline said on social media. “Customers can’t make payments for bookings through our website or app.” Air NZ said in-person payments at airports and the Airpoints Store were not affected. “Our teams are working hard to fix the problem and get things running again as quickly as possible,” Air NZ said. “We apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience while we work through this.”

An Australian company has slowed its fast track bid to mine the Taranaki seabed by failing to provide information demanded by officials.Officials have picked an expert panel to decide if Trans-Tasman Resources gets the green light to mine in the South Taranaki Bight under the Fast-Track Approvals Act.Announcing the five experts, associate panel convener Jennifer Caldwell wrote that a “cynical” approach by the would-be miners meant the process would take longer.”The applicant’s responses to some of my directions have provided little, if any assistance, and have in fact led to my taking a more conservative approach to timeframe,” she said.The…

A Māori health expert believes that visible success and local government action are key to shifting youth aspirations and addressing the root causes of poor health outcomes in South Auckland.Dr Timoti Te Moke has experienced the power of walking home in his scrubs from Middlemore Hospital, a deliberate act meant to normalise brown excellence and show that Māori and Pacific doctors exist.Without them, he says, people see him as “everyone else…doing it hard” and mistakenly identify him as a cleaner rather than a successful doctor.He shares his story as a testament to what South Auckland residents can achieve despite the…

Published on 15/08/2025 – 7:00 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT The European Union made the digital transition as one of its priorities and more public services, as well as advertising, are being moved online and are now received by email. This is being presented as an opportunity to modernise the economy and save paper – however the “Keep Me Posted EU” group is arguing that it is leading to a digital exclusion of a not negligible part of the population.   Keep Me Posted EU is a campaign financed by the industries of envelopes, printing, paper and posting services and supported by NGOs protecting…

While New Zealand struggles with surging vaping rates among teens and early 20-something, vape advertising gets slicker and smarter. Manufacturers are using traditional tobacco marketing techniques, linking the habit with style and sports and using global channels to get around domestic regulations. Health researchers Lucy Hardie, Becky Freeman, Christina Watts and Judith McCool reportYouth vaping is a major public health concern in many countries, with New Zealand’s youth vaping rates among the highest in the world, and rising.In 2017, 3% of New Zealanders aged between 15 and 24 vaped daily, but by 2024, this was up to 21.3%.Globally, one of…

Teenagers can seem to have their phones glued to their hands – yet they won’t answer them when they ring, writes professor Anne Cordier.This scenario, which is all too familiar to many parents, can seem absurd and frustrating, or even alarming to some. Yet it also speaks volumes about the way 13-to-18-year-olds now connect (or fail to connect) with others. If smartphones are ever-present in the daily lives of adolescents, this does not mean they are using their devices in the same way adults do.This reluctance to “pick up the phone” isn’t just a generational trait: it signals a deeper…

A massive new housing development focused solely on a ‘build-to-rent’ model is expected to ease housing woes in Queenstown. Simplicity Living, an off-shoot to KiwiSaver provider Simplicity, has bought just over six hectares of land on Ladies Mile to build 600 build-to-rent homes and apartments.”As one of the most unaffordable and constrained housing locations in New Zealand, we prioritised bringing our high-quality, secure tenure build-to-rent housing solution to the region,” manager director Shane Brealey said.It is one possible solution to a problem that plagues the district – houses that sit empty most of the year.The Queenstown Lakes District Council estimates…

Coastal iwi could soon be stripped of their customary rights over Aotea Harbour, west of Hamilton, as the Government presses ahead with its plan to amend the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act. The legislative move would overturn recent decisions in the High Court to award customary marine title to iwi. In November 2024, the court recognised Ngāti Te Wehi and Ngāti Whakamarurangi’s customary marine title over the harbour and protected customary rights. But the Government wants to toughen up the test for customary marine title and its proposed law change would overturn the court’s decision.Aotea Harbour (Source: 1News)Negotiated…

A digital image of a new Interislander ferry that was to be built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard. Image: KiwiRail KiwiRail and the government have confirmed the final settlement costs for breaking a contract with South Korean shipbuilders is $144 million. That brings total project costs for the scrapped iReX ferry project to $671m. Some $449m was spent on landside infrastructure, project management and wind-down costs. Another $222m in total was paid to Hyundai Mipo Dockyards. Minister for Rail Winston Peters said engagements with shipbuilders for new replacement ferries were progressing well, as is remaining work on ports. The new ferries…