Author: Press Room

Julia DeLuney has been found guilty of the murder of her 79-year-old mother, Helen Gregory.Gregory was found dead on January 24, 2024 at her home in the Wellington suburb of Khandallah.DeLuney denied the charge, and has been on trial at the High Court in Wellington since June 23.The Crown argued she attacked her mother with a heavy object, possibly motivated by financial incentives or following a confrontation over stolen cash, and staged the scene to look like a fall from the attic.The defence argued someone else killed her, but the jury did not agree.Crown prosecutor Stephanie Bishop laid out their…

ADVERTISEMENT Nearly seven out of ten European Union citizens believe that corruption is widespread in their country, according to a recent Eurobarometer survey.  This represents a slight increase of one percentage point since last year. Greece stands out with 97% considering corruption to be widespread, followed by Croatia at 92% and Portugal at 91%.  By contrast, Finland and Denmark report the lowest percentages of respondents perceiving corruption as widespread, at 21% and 28%, respectively.  The largest increases regarding these responses since 2024 were reported in Luxembourg and Ireland, with a rise of nine and six percentage points, respectively. Four in…

A motorcyclist has been killed in a collision with a car on State Highway 1 between Ōtaki and Levin this morning.The road was closed “for several hours” after the incident, with a nearby marae open to those waiting. Emergency services responded to the scene at Manakau between Whakahoro Rd and Kuku East Rd just before 10.20am, police said. The motorcyclist died at the scene. NZTA Waka Kotahi said the major highway was reopened at 2.25pm.”State Highway 1 has reopened following this morning’s serious crash near Manakau,” the agency advised.”While the highway is open, drivers can expect ongoing delays until queued…

A man has been arrested nearly seven years after the cold case killing of a Hawke’s Bay father in Flaxmere. Eddie Peters, 45, was beaten and left for dead on the driveway at a home on Diaz Drive in Flaxmere during the early hours of Friday, November 16, 2018. He died eight days later on November 24 at Wellington Hospital. In the years since, police embarked on a “challenging investigation” to find those responsible for Peters’ death, Detective Inspector Dave de Lange said. . “The investigation team has worked relentlessly to get today’s result, following leads, picking apart information, and…

Consumer NZ wants the Government to crack down on what it calls a systemic problem of misleading supermarket prices.The consumer organisation said shoppers were too often being stung at the checkout and paying more than the advertised shelf price for items.New World and Pak’nSave owner Foodstuffs said it took pricing accuracy seriously and had invested in systems and staff training to reduce errors. RNZ has approached Woolworths for comment.Consumer NZ chief Jon Duffy said pricing errors might seem small for individuals but the practice was costing New Zealanders tens of millions of dollars a year.He said the Government needed to…

The man who was killed in Hamilton while celebrating his upcoming 21st birthday on Sunday has been named by police. He was 20-year-old Tyreece Te Pairi from Hamilton. Te Pairi died from injuries sustained in a fight on Alexandra St during the early hours of Sunday. Three others were treated for moderate and serious injuries. Police described the incident as a “senseless act of violence” and believed two groups of people were involved. Detective Inspector Daryl Smith said police were providing support to Te Pairi’s family “as they come to terms with this tragedy and prepare to farewell him”.Smith said…

The Foreign Minister has called for a ceasefire in Gaza in a statement delivered in Parliament, but the Opposition says more action is needed.Winston Peters stopped short of promising further aid funding for Gaza, or promising to join efforts to prevents weapons being sold to Israel, or to recognise Palestine as an independent country until there is a representative to negotiate it with.But he did promise a “considered answer” on whether New Zealand would support South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice, which claimed Israel has committed genocide.He concluded the debate in Parliament by noting “just how difficult…

Thousands have signed an open letter following Regulations Minister David Seymour’s scathing response to the United Nation raising concerns over the impact of Government legislation and policies on Māori. The letter to Albert Barume, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, invites him to “remain engaged” with Māori following Seymour’s intervention last week.Indigenous rights advocate Tina Ngata, an author of the open letter, said Seymour’s response was “quite alarming” considering no conclusion from Barume’s work has been made. She said on TVNZ’s Marae: “It is [Barume’s] job, where concerns are repeatedly raised to him, to inquire more deeply…

A Porirua man has been sentenced to more than two years in jail after being found guilty of poaching 619 pāua – more than 60 times the daily catch limit.In November 2022, fishery officers searching the home of Ruteru Sufia found 65 pāua in a freezer along with 554 shucked pāua in another freezer.”This was a large amount of pāua, more than 60 times the daily catch limit and more than 30 times the accumulation limit. Also, 45 of the pāua found were undersize,” Fisheries New Zealand regional manager, Fisheries Compliance, Phil Tasker, said. The seized pāua found at the…

An Invercargill businessman who was found dead while on a fishing trip in Fiordland is being remembered as full of energy and passion.Southland KIA confirmed on social media that its dealer principal Rick Murrell had died, calling him a much-loved figure in the Southland community, who was larger-than-life, quick witted, and “a character that everyone admired and enjoyed being around”.Police also confirmed Richard Charles Murrell, 60, from Invercargill, had died in the incident.A search was launched when two experienced fishermen did not return from a fishing trip on Lake Manapouri on Sunday night and failed to check in via radio.A…