Author: Press Room

A fine given to a person for starting a smoky burn-off near Hastings is being described by an advocate as giving them “an economic license to burn”.The fire in the Longlands area on July 27 was judged to have been a breach of Hawke’s Bay Regional Council airshed rules and led to a $300 fine.On the same day, a National Environmental Standard air pollution breach was recorded in Hastings, of 51 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic metre. The limit is 50 micrograms.Former Hawke’s Bay Regional Council chairman Rex Graham, who regularly sends photos to the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council,…

Electric vehicles are often advertised with a range of 400, 500, even 600km. But don’t expect yours to get that far on one battery charge in the “real world”. Transport and sustainability expert Hussein Dia explains. Many electric vehicles (EVs) now come with range estimates of 400–500 kilometres, while some premium models claim ranges of more than 600km.Drivers new to EVs may look at the range figures given by the manufacturer and think that’s how far their new car will go on a single battery charge.But this isn’t quite accurate. In reality, an EV’s actual range is usually less. Recent…

Average home values across New Zealand have dropped by 13.1% since the market peaked in late 2021, according to the latest QV House Price Index.The national average now sits at $909,671, down from $1,047,132 at the height of the boom.The latest quarterly data showed a 0.5% decline in value over the three months to the end of the July with prices largely flat compared to the same time last year.Major centres including Auckland (-1.2%), Wellington (-2.3%) and Dunedin (-1.5%) saw further drops this quarter, but some cities bucked the trend, with Tauranga (1.7%), Queenstown (2.4%) and Invercargill (1.2%) posting modest…

Drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro (known as semaglutide and tirzepatide) have changed the way clinicians manage diabetes and obesity around the world, say researchers Flora Hui and Pete A Williams.Collectively known as GLP-1 agonists, these drugs mimic the hormone GLP-1. This limits both hunger and interest in food, helping users lose weight, and helps control blood sugar levels.But two new studies published today show that people taking these drugs may have a small increased risk of serious eye conditions and vision loss.Here’s what you need to know if you’re taking or considering these medications.What damage can occur?Non-arteritic anterior…

BNZ has announced a cut to some of its fixed home loan rates ahead of next week’s official cash rate decision.Effective from 7am today, the bank has dropped its one-year fixed home loan rate 10 basis points to 4.79%. It has also cut its six-month rate by 20 basis points from 5.29% to 5.09% and its 18-month rate by 10 basis points to 4.79%. The two- and three-year rates dropped to 4.89% and 4.99% respectively. Those with less than 20% equity will pay a low equity interest rate premium. BNZ general manager for home lending James Leydon said the bank…

A coroner has not been able to find with certainty what caused the death of a new-born boy who was found after sleeping alongside his mother, who also died.Police at the time called the deaths “an absolute tragedy”.Tanatui Samuels was born at Auckland Hospital on March 13, 2020.Three days later he was dead.He was the son of Emerald Tai and her partner Tana-Tui.Baby Tanatui was born at 38 weeks after Tai went to hospital in the late stages of labour.He was healthy, but needed to be put under observation because meconium was found in the in-utero fluid during delivery.Meconium is…

Charging for Sunday parking in Dunedin has been slammed as a money grab that will kill off centre city business. Dozens of submitters made their feelings clear after the Dunedin City Council consigned free parking on Sundays in the central city to history. While the council was asking for feedback on where to charge for parking, most submitters took the opportunity to make it clear they were against any Sunday fees. Submitters described the move as greedy, irresponsible, disconnected and out of touch with residents already facing a cost-of-living crisis. The council approved central city parking fees on Sundays in…

Education Minister Erica Stanford has imposed a near total ban on Māori in new additions to a series of books used to teach five-year-olds to read.An Education Ministry report shows Stanford decided in October last year to exclude all Māori words except for characters’ names from any new books in the Education Ministry’s Ready to Read Phonics Plus (RtRPP) series.The paper showed the decision was driven by concern Māori words were confusing for children learning to read English though evidence of that was mixed.Stanford told RNZ the decision affected only 12 books that would finish the series, after which the…

Four South Korean skiers died after being thrown around inside their vehicle following a head-on crash in South Canterbury last year.It has led a coroner to issue a plea: “always wear your seatbelt”.Bum-Hee Cho, 23, Junwoo Park, 20, and Sangseo Kim, 16, died instantly in the head-on collision just outside Geraldine in August 2024.Hyunseo Han, 17, survived initially but suffered serious injuries and died later in hospital, in December.Cameron McDonald, a 24-year-old Wānaka resident, was driving the other car – a 1996 Toyota Surf – and was injured but not fatally.In her findings released today, Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale said it…

Charging for Sunday parking in Dunedin has been slammed as a money grab that will kill off centre city business. Dozens of submitters made their feelings clear after the Dunedin City Council consigned free parking on Sundays in the central city to history. While the council was asking for feedback on where to charge for parking, most submitters took the opportunity to make it clear they were against any Sunday fees. Submitters described the move as greedy, irresponsible, disconnected and out of touch with residents already facing a cost-of-living crisis. The council approved central city parking fees on Sundays in…