Author: Press Room

A house fire that killed a Southland woman and her 11-year-old son was potentially caused by a heater setting alight bedding, a Coroner says.Kellyanne Kemble, 47, and Kelly Kerr, 11, died when fire ripped through their Manapouri home early on July 4 last year.Fire investigators found the fire on View St, was caused by an industrial heater in the boy’s bedroom.There were no working smoke alarms in the house.Coroner Heather McKenzie, in findings released on Tuesday, said the temperature was very cold at the time, dropping to -0.1 degrees Celsius overnight.”[The house] was known to be cold and heaters and…

Scrapping advertising restrictions for broadcasters on Sundays and some public holidays could generate a multimillion- dollar annual boost for the industry, the government says. Media and Communications Minister Paul Goldsmith said new legislation passed its third and final reading in Parliament yesterday.  Section 81 of the Broadcasting Act prohibits broadcast television advertising on Sunday and Anzac Day mornings between 6am and noon. Similar restrictions were in place for TV and radio broadcast advertising on Christmas Day, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Goldsmith believed the move would make the media sector more competitive. “We need to level the playing field by…

The morning’s headlines in 90 seconds, including the return of all living hostages from Gaza, Te Pāti Māori hits back at a former ally, and a try scoring machine on his way to the Warriors. The Gaza peace deal has been formally signed, after the return of all living hostages. Rolling teacher strikes begin today, ahead of next week’s ‘mega strike’.Te Pāti Māori has hit back at former ally Eru Kapa-Kingi over his criticism of the party. The Warriors have signed Titans try machine Alofiana Khan-Pereira on a three year deal.

One-year home loan rates have dropped the most from their peak, but some of the longer-term fixes have moved by less than half the drop in the official cash rate.ASB has released its latest Home Loan Report, which shows how home loan rates have responded to the falling interest rate environment.The official cash rate has dropped from a peak of 5.5% to 2.5%.Senior economist Chris Tennent-Brown said home loan rates were not solely influenced by the official cash rate.”Fixed-term mortgages have been moving slightly lower across many maturities in between each Reserve Bank decision, including over the past month.”Financial markets…

Published on 14/10/2025 – 21:17 GMT+2 ADVERTISEMENT Pope Leo XIV thanked Italy on Tuesday for its efforts to combat human trafficking but urged the country to remain open to welcoming and integrating migrants as he took part in a pomp-filled meeting with the Italian president. The pontiff completed the rite of passage for every new pope by travelling across Rome to the Quirinal Palace for a meeting with President Sergio Mattarella. Escorted by the presidential horse honour guard into the palace courtyard, the pope thanked Italy especially for its welcome of pilgrims during the 2025 Holy Year, which has seen…

Education Minister Erica Stanford says “parents should be furious” as the teacher’s rolling strikes fall on exam days.Seven days of strike action by 21,000 school teachers is set to begin today.Teachers would refuse to teach certain class levels on certain days this week, take part in a full day national strike on October 23, carry out a ban on extracurricular activity on October 29 and take part in a full, national, two-hour strike on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 5.The strikes occur in the lead up and during the NCEA exams, which go from November 4 until November 28.PPTA and…

Three new charter schools are set to open in Term One of 2026, Associate Education Minister David Seymour has announced.The schools are Aotearoa Infinite Academy, which is based online, Te Aratika High School in Hawke’s Bay, and Altum Academy in Wellington.Seymour said the newly announced schools would “demonstrate the innovation enabled by the charter school model”.Aotearoa Infinite Academy will teach students in small virtual classrooms. Seymour said it will help students whose location gets in the way of their education, or who don’t benefit from being in traditional classrooms.Seymour said Te Aratika High School will “prepare disengaged Māori and Pacific…

A Mosgiel truck refurbishment company has completed the first step of a planned $10 million three-build development. Transport Blast & Paint Ltd officially opened its new purpose-built paint and sandblasting shop at its Mosgiel premises last week. Commercial manager Jarrod Hodson said the facility brought the two main components of the refinishing side of the transport industry together under one roof. “So that saves a lot of mucking around and probably money for people that are wanting to get stuff blasted and painted.” They were historically two separate industries and he believed that uniqueness could position the company as an…

D’Angelo, the Grammy-winning R&B singer recognised by his raspy yet smooth voice and for garnering mainstream attention with the shirtless Untitled (How Does It Feel) music video, has died. He was 51.The singer, whose real name was Michael Eugene Archer, died Tuesday, according to a statement from the family.The singer’s family confirmed in a statement Tuesday that he died after a prolonged battle with cancer. They called him “a shining star of our family and has dimmed his light for us in this life,” adding that they are “eternally grateful for the legacy of extraordinarily moving music he leaves behind.”In…

State Highway 1 is set to close at the Brynderwyn Hills over two four-day periods next month.New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said the closure would ensure the route is in “peak condition” ahead of the busy summer season.”It’s the final stage of the SH1 Brynderwyn Hills recovery project, and involves applying a full-width asphalt surface, reinstating lane markings and passing lanes, and returning the route to 80km/h, making journeys to and from Northland smoother.”The route would be closed from November 13 to November 16, and again from November 20 to November 23.It would reopen for three days in-between the…