FENZ turns down request to help US urban search and rescue teams

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Source: Radio New Zealand Emails seen by RNZ showed FENZ turned down the US State Department in March. RNZ/Marika Khabazi Fire and Emergency has turned down a request to help one of the United States’ top two urban search and rescue teams. The USA-02 team in Los Angeles county wanted a specific expert to mentor … Read more

Buses refusing to take child not acceptable, Children’s Commissioner says

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Source: Radio New Zealand The Children’s Commissioner says it’s not right what happened to the student. Duoya Lu The Children’s Commissioner says it is unacceptable a young student was denied boarding buses to school after she mistakenly left her wallet at home. The schoolgirl’s plight was highlighted last week by the girl’s grandmother who said … Read more

How OECD’s tax change could give you more money in KiwiSaver

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Source: Radio New Zealand RNZ / REECE BAKER A 25-year-old earning an average income could end up about $90,000 better off over the course of their working life if reforms suggested by the OECD for the retirement savings system were implemented. But not everyone is convinced it’s the right way forward. The OECD’s latest economic … Read more

First-ever stone skimming national championship to take place this month

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Source: Radio New Zealand File photo. The stone skimming competition will take place at Lake Hāwea. Harrison Fitts / Pexels New Zealand’s best stone skimmers will have the chance to show off their talents on the shores of Wānaka’s Lake Hāwea on Saturday. Organiser of the Aotearoa Stone Skimming Championship, Richie Laming, told First Up … Read more

How to ask for a pay rise

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Source: Radio New Zealand Asking for more money can feel daunting — two in three workers told recruitment website SEEK they don’t feel confident doing it. Yet fewer than half of New Zealanders are happy with their current salary, and more than 45 percent say they’ve never asked for a raise, according to SEEK’s survey … Read more

Ten hours of mahi a week – can you handle off-grid life?

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Source: Radio New Zealand When the owner of a Mākara lifestyle block just 30 minutes from Wellington’s CBD, moved there in 2009, everyone doubted he could live off the land.  “When we arrived to the place, people told me ‘you cannot grow vegetables in Wellington and fruits’,” owner Eran Benn says.   But Benn made something … Read more

Letter reveals ex-Police Commissioner’s concerns over investigation into McSkimming

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Source: Radio New Zealand Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster. RNZ / REECE BAKER Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster told the chair of the police watchdog that a woman who was accusing Jevon McSkimming of sexual offending had “effectively acknowledged her desire to ruin his career”. In the letter, obtained by RNZ, Coster said the disgraced … Read more

Friend tried to save rafting companion trapped in water

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Source: Radio New Zealand The Mohaka River in Hawke’s Bay. 123RF Volunteer fire-fighter Alex Scarrow died days before Christmas rafting the Mohaka River with friends A Coroner says it was misadventure and has put forward recommendations for a new safety code for recreational rafting They were told the rafting trip turned fatal because a knife … Read more

Far North settlement could be first place in NZ to entirely relocate

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Source: Radio New Zealand Aerial view of Whirinaki after the flood receded. Bridget Wallace’s home is in the foreground at centre. Supplied / Whirinaki Trust A small Far North settlement could be the first place in New Zealand where an entire community relocates to higher ground to escape repeated floods. The idea of shifting homes, … Read more

Morgana O’Reilly is an expert on what triggers her ‘sh…ty self-talk’

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Source: Radio New Zealand In the past, when she didn’t get an acting role, Morgana O’Reilly often blamed her body. Now the 40-year-old understands that her physical appearance and her acting ability are two different things. While an actor’s looks are important, O’Reilly says, a huge part of casting is about whether or not someone … Read more

Tax I paid in 1962 was meant to give me a pension. Where did that go? Ask Susan

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Source: Radio New Zealand RNZ’s money correspondent Susan Edmunds answers your questions. RNZ Got questions? RNZ has launched a podcast, ‘No Stupid Questions’, with Susan Edmunds. We’d love to hear more of your questions about money and the economy. You can send through written questions, like these ones, but even better, you can drop us … Read more

Your guide to booking a Great Walk (or hut or campsite)

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Source: NZ Department of Conservation Surprise, surprise, the Great Walks booking opening is the biggest event in our booking calendar, with thousands of people from all around the world logging in on each opening day to nab spaces for Great Walks huts and campsites, high demand lodges, sole occupancy and popular campsites. : Tramper on … Read more

Iron Maiden: Burning Ambition documentary a fan-focused look at metal icons

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Source: Radio New Zealand Steve Harris was a bass player who loved rock’n’roll, but couldn’t connect with the new wave and punk rock sounds dominating music at the time. He soon found like-minded friends who shared his passion for rock, had similarly prodigious musical talent, and, perhaps most importantly, were willing to work hard. Naturally, … Read more

Government taking 10 initiatives to safeguard undersea internet and power cables

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Source: Radio New Zealand Growing international threats prompted Assistant Transport Minister James Meager to ask for “no-cost, low-effort” options to counter the greatest vulnerabilities. RNZ / Nathan McKinnon The government is taking 10 initiatives to protect vital undersea Internet and power cables. Sabotage and accidental damage of cables in Europe and Asia have sparked efforts … Read more

Three injured as police respond to reported stabbings in Christchurch suburb Linwood

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Source: Radio New Zealand Police are at a property on Jollie Street in the suburb of Linwood (file image). RNZ Three people are injured – one seriously – after a reports of possible stabbings in Christchurch. Police are at a property on Jollie Street in the suburb of Linwood. Police said they were responding to … Read more

Dargaville residents support merger with Whangārei District Council over Auckland

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Source: Radio New Zealand RNZ / Peter de Graaf Residents in the Northland town of Dargaville believe their best option is to merge with Whangārei. Local Democracy Reporting said Kaipara District Council had backed a proposal by North Rodney Action Group to merge with part of the former Rodney District Council, now part of the … Read more

Wellington Phoenix v Brisbane Roar A-League women’s semi-final

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Source: Radio New Zealand Wellington Phoenix celebrate their A-League semi win over Brisbane Roar. Marty Melville/Photosport Wellington Phoenix women have made club history, booking a place in the A-League grand final for the first time in an extra-time thriller. Wellington won the second leg 2-0, sending them through to next weekend’s A-League decider with Melbourne … Read more

The House: Learning on the (ministerial) job

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Source: Radio New Zealand National’s Chris Penk, sitting at the conference table in his Beehive office. VNP/Phil Smith When there is a Cabinet reshuffle, I tend to feel a little sorry for fresh ministers who get elevated up the rankings and landed with a big new job, or three. A new ministry to run may … Read more

Committee recommends disestablishing Environment Ministry despite public opposition

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Source: Radio New Zealand The Environment Select Committee has recommended by majority that the bill be passed, despite strong opposition from Labour and Green Party members. RNZ / Angus Dreaver The Environment Select Committee has recommended disestablishing the Ministry for the Environment, despite overwhelming public opposition. In its report, the committee said the creation of … Read more

NZers on cruise with hantavirus outbreak could face quarantine on return

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Source: Radio New Zealand The cruise ship MV Hondius is due to dock in the Canary Islands after a hantavirus outbreak. AFP Anyone returning to New Zealand from the cruise with the deadly hantavirus outbreak, could be put into quarantine. It’s believed only one New Zealander is on board the MV Hondius, which is docking … Read more

Call for Rotuman people to speak language or it could be ‘lost forever’

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Source: Radio New Zealand Rotuma is an island about 650km north of Fiji and is a dependency of Fiji. RNZ / Anric Margraff Sitanilei A community leader from a tiny island nation says preserving her native tongue is more important than ever, as schools on the island itself have stopped teaching it. Rotuma is an … Read more

From snowflakes to black holes, Professor Brian Cox examines intricacies of the universe in new show

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Source: Radio New Zealand Four hundred years ago, German astronomer Johannes Kepler pondered the perfect structure of the snowflake. He asked a simple question – why do snowflakes have six corners? That is the starting point of Professor Brian Cox’s latest show Emergence, which he brings to New Zealand next month. Professor Brian Cox 2017 … Read more

Mother fears disabled son’s new transport provider isn’t up to the job

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Source: Radio New Zealand 123RF An Auckland mother says changes to ministry-funded school transport for disabled students are putting vulnerable children at risk. The Ministry of Education is overhauling the Specialised School Transport Assistance (SESTA) scheme. For Auckland’s North Shore, specialist transport provider R&R Total Mobility has been replaced by Ritchies Transport. One mother, who … Read more

Illegal tobacco crackdown group could make difference, criminology professor says

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Source: Radio New Zealand An “action group” of Customs, police and health officials has been announced, with improved planning and joint operations to fight the illegal tobacco trade. NZ Customs Service An Australian criminology professor says a group to crack down on New Zealand’s black market tobacco trade could make a difference. An “action group” … Read more

Investigation into sex attack complaint involving international footballer

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Source: Radio New Zealand Cape Verde contested the four-team FIFA series in Auckland in March. Photosport Police are investigating a complaint of a sex attack in an Auckland hotel linked to a visiting international footballer in March. The NZ Herald reports the case involved a player from the Cape Verde football team during a four-team … Read more