Update – serious incident, Northcote

Source: New Zealand Police Attributable to Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves: Police are following strong lines of enquiry after four people were injured at a Hoani Street address last night. Emergency services were called to the property about 9.30pm after a report of an altercation between two parties. Four people were injured, two of whom remain … Read more

Controversial high-rise development approved in Wellington

Source: Radio New Zealand An artist’s impression of the seven-storey apartment building, Mayfair, that is proposed for Wellington’s Mt Victoria. Supplied / One to One Hundred Ltd A controversial high-rise development has been approved in Mt Victoria in Wellington, despite strong opposition from neighbours. The proposal for the seven-storey, 32-unit Mayfair apartment block was first … Read more

No guarantee Moa Point will be fixed soon – water chair

Source: Radio New Zealand Tiaki Wai board chair Will Peet. Supplied / Tiaki Wai The chair of Wellington’s new water entity will not promise the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant will be fully fixed by July, when it takes over. Tiaki Wai board chair Will Peet also will not give “absolute confidence” that people will … Read more

Parking fines more than double in Hamilton after changes

Source: Radio New Zealand RNZ / Libby Kirkby-McLeod Parking changes in Hamilton city have come with a hefty price tag for drivers, with infringements more than doubling. The total value of tickets in the central business district was also nearly five times higher the year after the changes were introduced. But the council said Hamilton … Read more

Wellington Water appoints Bill Bayfield as new chairperson

Source: Radio New Zealand Supplied Wellington Water has announced a new board chairperson after Nick Leggett stepped down amid the Moa Point plant failure. Bill Bayfield was appointed into the leadership role after having served on the water company’s board since September 2023. Leggett stepped down from the job following the sewage plant failure which … Read more

Police disrupt organised crime run through business, Dunedin

Source: New Zealand Police Police have arrested and charged three people following an operation targeting organised crime in Dunedin. On Thursday 12 February, Police conducted a search warrant at a commercial address on Willis Street, Dunedin. During the search Police located and recovered a stolen vehicle from the address, and three men were arrested. The … Read more

Black Foils begin physical, emotional repairs after horror SailGP crash with France

Source: Radio New Zealand Salvage crew survey the wreckage of Black Foils’ Amokura boat at New Zealand SailGP. James Gourley for SailGP The Black Foils are drawing heavily on the strength of injured grinder Louis Sinclair as they come to grips with the horror crash that all but destroyed their F50 boat during New Zealand … Read more

British dual nationals with NZ passports no longer need new UK passport

Source: Radio New Zealand Dual citizens face having to get both passports and keep them up to date – and to get a UK passport soon if they want to travel from the end of February. Gill Bonnett The British government is now allowing dual nationals to have a lifelong digital stamp in their New … Read more

Majority of Fonterra shareholders vote in favour of Mainland payout scheme

Source: Radio New Zealand More than 98 percent of the co-op’s 8000 shareholders voted in favour of the capital return scheme resulting from the divestment of Mainland Group. 123rf / Supplied images The multi-billion-dollar sale of dairy co-operative Fonterra’s consumer brands business is one step closer, as shareholders overwhelmingly approve another regulatory hurdle to the … Read more

Review: No Other Choice is impossible to predict

Source: Radio New Zealand You aren’t in much danger of walking out of No Other Choice wondering what it was about. But director Park Chan-wook’s idiosyncratic, dark-comedy thriller is a masterclass in how hilarious, anxiety-inducing and chilling being on-the-nose can be. When protagonist and former “Pulp Man of the Year’” Yoo Man-su loses his paper factory … Read more

Crayfishers in cut-off Wairarapa hope bridge reopens soon

Source: Radio New Zealand The bridge over Hurupi Stream on Cape Palliser Road. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone It’s not “panic, panic” yet, but Ngawi crayfishers are keeping their fingers crossed that a failed bridge reopens soon on Wairarapa’s south coast. While the bridge at the Turanganui River on Lake Ferry Road reopened on Wednesday, the … Read more

Dax Rodney Holland named as man found dead in Tauranga park

Source: Radio New Zealand RNZ A man found dead in a Tauranga park, sparking a homicide investigation, has been named as Dax Rodney Holland. He was 54. Detective Senior Sergeant Natalie Flowerdew-Brown said police were called to the Wharepai Domain on Saturday around 2pm following Holland’s body being found. A homicide investigation was launched following … Read more

OCR: Why no move was probably good news for home loans

Source: Radio New Zealand The Reserve Bank kept the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 2.25 percent. RNZ Wholesale interest rates have softened a little since the Reserve Bank’s Wednesday update, but there is unlikely to be any relief for home loan borrowers. The Reserve Bank kept the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 2.25 percent but … Read more

Government weakens housing intensification rules for Auckland

Source: Radio New Zealand Cabinet has agreed to lower the maximum number of houses in Auckland from 2 million to at least 1.6 million. Housing Minister Chris Bishop announced the new figure to Auckland leaders at the International Convention Centre this afternoon. Auckland Council had been progressing a new plan to accommodate up to 2 … Read more

How do you know when Ramadan begins? A night with the NZ moon sighters

Source: Radio New Zealand Under a drizzly Auckland sky, clusters of people gather on hilltops across the city, eyes fixed on a narrow band of horizon on Wednesday night. They are waiting for a break in the cloud — a fleeting silver curve that will mark the start of Ramadan for Muslims across Aotearoa. The … Read more

Person seriously hurt in Northland crash

Source: Radio New Zealand SH1 was closed between Kaiwaka Mangawhai Road and Mangawhai Road for a time. RNZ / Tim Brown One person has been transported to hospital in a serious condition following a crash on State Highway 1, Kaiwaka. The single vehicle crash was reported to the police at 7.35am on Thursday. SH1 was … Read more

Pirongia residents asked to conserve water a bit longer

Source: Radio New Zealand Pirongia. Phillip Capper / Flickr / Creative Commons Residents in the Waikato town of Pirongia will have to conserve water until Sunday. The Western Waikato Emergency Centre said work was underway to install infrastructure to boost resilience in the network. It said Pirongia’s water was being supplied from a bore-fed reservoir … Read more

SkyCity doubles half-year profit to $12.1m, has high hopes for convention centre

Source: Radio New Zealand RNZ / Ziming Li Casino operator Sky City’s first half profit is nearly double that of the year earlier, despite a drop in revenue associated with ongoing regulatory costs and operational changes. Chief executive Jason Walbridge said the first half reflected a planned period of operational transition, with the second half … Read more

More flexibility for Auckland housing plan

Source: New Zealand Government The Government will amend the Resource Management Act to reduce the minimum housing capacity required for Auckland Council’s Plan Change 120 from just over 2 million homes to 1.6 million homes, says Housing and RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop. “Housing growth in Auckland is critical to fixing our housing crisis, driving … Read more

Home invader caught in stolen vehicle

Source: New Zealand Police Please attribute the following to Senior Sergeant Craig Bates, Acting Waikato West Response Manager: Waikato West Police have arrested a brazen burglar who broke into a home, stealing the victim’s car and belongings in the night.  Shortly before 11pm last night, the victim was sleeping when they were woken to intruders … Read more

Warning shortage of neurologists will see struggle with demand

Source: Radio New Zealand 123RF New Zealand is facing a shortage in neurologists, despite advances in the life-saving treatments available. A new study from the University of Otago in Wellington shows neurologists will struggle to keep up with the increase in demand for the diagnosis and treatment of conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease … Read more

Person seriously injured in Auckland shooting

Source: Radio New Zealand A person was seriously injured after being shot in the Auckland suburb of Manurewa on Wednesday night. Detective Inspector Shaun Vickers, of the Counties Manukau CIB said officers were called to a property on Marumaru Lane, in Manurewa about 8.45pm on Wednesday. The person had suffered injuries consistent with a gunshot … Read more

Minister mulls changes after deadly dog attack as SPCA calls for law reform

Source: Radio New Zealand Minister for Local Government Simon Watts said he was seeking urgent advice on dangerous dogs. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone The SPCA is calling for an overhaul of dog control laws and for the government to reinstate funding for the desexing of menacing and roaming dogs. The agency said it had been … Read more

Expert warns lack of staff, experience and support will see future wastewater failures

Source: Radio New Zealand Moa Point. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Catastrophes like the recent sewage spill in Wellington will happen again due to a lack of skilled water operators, a water engineer says. Millions of litres of untreated wastewater have been discharged daily into the south coast of Wellington since the Moa Point plant failed … Read more

Warning for other investors after $11,000 in crypto lost

Source: Radio New Zealand Jonathan Raa / NurPhoto via AFP A case in which a man lost access to $11,000 of cryptocurrency has prompted a warning that some people might not realise the limits around access. The man complained to the Insurance and Financial Ombudsman scheme. He had created a cryptocurrency wallet and shortly afterwards … Read more

Wharepai Domain homicide: Name release and appeal for information

Source: New Zealand Police Attribute to Western Bay of Plenty Area Investigations Manager, Detective Senior Sergeant Natalie Flowerdew-Brown: Police investigating a homicide after a body was found in the Wharepai Domain on Saturday 14 February, can now release the name of the man who died. He was 54-year-old Dax Rodney Holland. Police were called to … Read more

The town centre section of Northcote’s new greenway is kicking off!

Source: Auckland Council Work gets underway from Monday 23 February on the final town centre section of Te Ara Awataha – Northcote’s new greenway. What is Te Ara Awataha? Te Ara Awataha, meaning ‘the path of the Awataha’, is a greenway that winds from the source of the Awataha Stream at Papa ki Awataha Jessie … Read more