Author: Press Room

A man has appeared in the Wellington District Court facing charges of indecency on public buses in Wellington.Earlier this month, police investigated complaints that a man on the Metlink bus network had acted in a sexually inappropriate manner, particularly towards women travelling alone.A 27-year-old was subsequently charged with two counts of committing an indecent act.In court on Monday, he was remanded on bail.The man was not allowed to enter Metlink’s buses and was granted interim name suppression.He would next appear on April 22.rnz.co.nz

The new Interislander ferries being delivered in 2029 will be about 200m long, 28m wide, and will have rail decks, Minister for Rail Winston Peters says. He says the marine infrastructure in Picton requires replacement, so it will be replaced, while the Wellington infrastructure “has life left in it” and will be modified and re-used. A timeline shows a shipyard will be selected for the build, with the government to sign off on contracts by the end of the year. Multi-party infrastructure works will also be scoped, costed and set to begin by the end of year. Ferry Holdings, the…

Huge quantities of sand have disappeared from the protective barrier sandspit that critically protects the Northland township of Mangawhai.New Zealand’s first in-depth aerial sandspit survey has revealed more than 420,000 tonnes of non-replenishing sand have been lost from Mangawhai sandspit.An estimated equivalent of 26,000 truckloads of sand has been lost in six years according to the high-resolution drone survey.The latest research showed the spit’s major large southern dune had moved west by 10 to 25 metres and decreased in elevation. There had also been harbourside erosion up to 15 metres in places.“It confirms loss of significant volume of sand from…

Authorities have launched a crackdown on social media influencers promoting offshore online casinos, warning they face hefty fines if they fail to remove the illegal content.The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) said it had issued its first-ever takedown notices amid a surge in influencers promoting overseas gambling operators.Director of gambling regulatory services Vicki Scott told RNZ influencers had been partnering with overseas-based online casinos, promoting the sites with live streaming, promotional giveaways and links to their websites.Under the Gambling Act it is illegal to publish an advertisement for an offshore gambling operator.”We’ve been investigating this and we will be taking…

Wastewater will be directly discharged into the Shotover River from today, the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has confirmed.The council is enacting emergency powers under the Resource Management Act to pump at least 12,000 cubic metres of treated effluent into the river per day, after concerns about bird strike at the nearby airport.Problems with the water disposal area had caused ponding and an increase in the number of waterfowl flocking to the habitat.The daily discharge would be the equivalent of nearly five Olympic-sized swimming pools a day.”The use of emergency powers has been confirmed following notification by QAC [Queenstown Airport]…

By Russell Palmer of RNZ  The next steps for replacing the InterIslander ferries will be revealed by Winston Peters today, more than 15 months since the coalition scrapped its predecessor’s iReX ferry project. Peters was named the new Minister for Rail in December – a year to the day after the iRex deal was scuppered – promising a cheaper solution with ships to be in operation by 2029 when the current ageing fleet is set for retirement. In Parliament last week, he said today’s update – promised by the end of the month – would outline the type of ferries and…

Health New Zealand says it has stopped planned restructuring in three areas after cost savings were achieved.Health New Zealand interim chief human resources officer Fiona McCarthy said in a statement that change processes would stop for the National Public Health Service and the data analytics and community mental health divisions of the Planning, Funding and Outcomes Group.She said it followed voluntary redundancies, early exit processes and improved efficiency.As a result the Public Service Association will drop legal proceedings over the restructure at two of those groups.The union filed legal proceedings with the Employment Relations Authority last month saying “the proposed…

Alexander Stubb proposed 20 April as an ideal time for a deadline, citing Easter and the completion of three months in office for Trump. ADVERTISEMENTFinnish President Alexander Stubb has said he urged US President Donald Trump to set a deadline for a ceasefire in Ukraine in order to end the war, after returning from a surprise visit to Florida.Stubb made his surprise trip to the US on Saturday, when he met with Trump in Florida and discussed the strengthening of the two countries’ bilateral relations and played in a golf tournament.Speaking in London on Sunday, Stubb told Finnnish reporters that…

By Lillian Hanly of RNZ Labour is dismissing a government plan to gather information on breaking up the supermarket duopoly as “paying lip service” to their promises. But it – along with Consumer NZ – is welcoming the potential structural intervention the government may decide to make. Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis issued a Request for Information on Sunday to help determine possible regulatory and legislative changes that would support a third entrant into the grocery sector. Willis said all options were on the table to introduce more competition, including the break-up or restructuring of the two existing supermarket chains, which she…

It won’t just be a pinch and a punch for April 1, but a wave of changes affecting some Kiwis’ bank accounts will come into force as well. The beginning of April marks the dawn of a new financial year, and with it, a “modest rise” to the minimum wage, alongside benefit and student support adjustments that could impact many households.Changes to electricity transmission prices and student loans are also kicking in.1News breaks down the changes and what they might mean for you.Minimum wageThe adult minimum wage will move to $23.50 an hour — a 1.5% increase on the current…