Author: Press Room
The Department of Conservation is cutting 71 roles in an effort it says to modernise the government agency.The announcement was a result of a change process released in May which originally pitched axing 84 jobs.The agency would disestablish 143 administrative and assistant roles and create 72 new ones which would result in a net loss of 71 jobs.Of the new jobs 25 would be part time.DOC’s deputy director-general of organisation support, Mike Tully, said the decisions weren’t made lightly but are needed to modernise and operate sustainably.”This review is about making DOC work better. DOC needs to change the way…
National MP Sam Uffindell told a meeting of retirees if the Government didn’t take action on reforming retirement villages legislation people would be disgruntled.He said National hadn’t delivered while Labour was doing something about the issue.Audio of the meeting was leaked to 1News, featuring Uffindell praising a private member’s bill from Labour MP Ingrid Leary.If drawn out of the tin in Parliament and passed, the bill would require retirement villages to pay, within five days, 10% of what was owed to residents or their families if they moved to higher care levels or died — and the rest within two…
A teenager has been arrested in relation to the death of a Hamilton man out celebrating his upcoming birthday over the weekend.Tyreece Te Pairi, 20, was critically injured in a fight between two groups of people on Alexandra St around 12.10am on Sunday. Te Pairi died of his injuries in hospital. Three others were treated for moderate and serious injuries.The 18-year-old appeared in Hamilton District Court today and has been remanded in custody.Detective Inspector Daryl Smith said all facts in relation to the charges and ongoing investigation has been suppressed.Smith said while the arrest is great progress in the investigation,…
Two kororā whose nesting box was buried by a mud slip at Auckland’s Muriwai have been rescued, cared for and relocated to a safer site.In a social media post, the Muriwai Environmental Trust said its penguin team discovered the nesting box which had been completely buried by mud over the weekend.Only a small beak was visible, but thanks to quick action both little blue penguins were found alive, it said.The pair were checked and gently cleaned before being located to a safer site with new housing so they could continue their breeding season, it said.The kororā were gently cleaned and…
ADVERTISEMENT The city of Odesa in southern Ukraine was the target of a major Russian drone attack on Wednesday night, destroying a nine-storey building and damaging several historic monuments in the old town. The Russian drone attack damaged UNESCO-protected landmarks, such as Prymorskyi Boulevard and the Pryvoz Market, both part of the historic centre of the Black Sea port city, Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa regional military administration, said on Telegram. Various fires broke out in the region as a result of the strikes, including at a nine-storey residential building. At least four people were injured, spokesperson for the…
Same-day enrolment for elections is set to be scrapped, with the Government announcing legislation to overhaul electoral laws it says have become unsustainable.Previously, voters have been able to turn up to the booth at any time during the advance voting period and enrol at the same time, as well as on election day, with their vote being counted as a special vote.Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith said late enrolments, while well intentioned, were resource intensive and had placed too much strain on the system.Ballot boxes (file image). (Source: istock.com)”The final vote count used to take two weeks. Last election, it took…
Star Australian actor Rebel Wilson is facing more legal action, accused of trying to block distribution of the first film she directed.Filed in the NSW Supreme Court today, production company AI Film has alleged Wilson falsely accused it of trying to block the release of her directorial debut.The lawsuit also alleged Wilson falsely accused a producer of sexual misconduct towards the lead female actor on the movie.The film in question is the 2024 musical The Deb, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.Months earlier, Wilson is accused of using her Instagram account to make “false and derogatory…
Te Papa has been named in the top 1% “Best of the Best attractions worldwide” in the TripAdvisor 2025 Travellers’ Choice Awards.The museum in the capital was also labelled the best attraction in New Zealand, and the fifth best attraction in the South Pacific.Its recognition was backed by exceptional visitor feedback, with the museum maintaining a 4.7-star rating out of 5 based on over 14,415 reviews, with 11,127 five-star reviews contributing to the museum’s outstanding reputation.Visitors frequently highlighted the museum’s Māori taonga, its Gallipoli: The Scale of Our War exhibition, and the Te Taiao Nature immersive natural history area, according…
New Zealanders are losing millions of dollars a year to “subscription traps”, one bank says.Westpac said it had helped to stop more than $25m in unwanted charges being processed on to the cards of unwitting customers.Westpac NZ head of customer care operations Peter Barnes said many overseas-based websites were selling goods and services that hooked customers into recurring subscription payments.The bank implemented a block in April 2024 and had stopped 20,000 customers from making these sorts of payments within the past three months.Barnes said the block was implemented after a spike in customer complaints and feedback on overseas subscriptions. Many…
ADVERTISEMENT The European Union needs to “do more and faster” to project its influence against an increasingly dominant China, former European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has told Euronews. “Europe should not be a kind of geopolitical teenager. We have to become adults responsible for our own future,” Barroso, who helmed the EU executive between 2004 and 2014, said in an interview ahead of the EU-China summit taking place on Thursday in Beijing. “Instead of criticising others, what we have to do is our own homework,” he went on, adding that “it’s not because of China or the US” that…