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Waterspouts seen in Auckland
Two small waterspouts have been spotted off the Auckland coast but appear to have caused little or no damage.Weather Watch says it warned Civil Defence on Tuesday afternoon of a "low to moderate" risk of isolated small tornadoes, and shortly afterwards the waterspouts - like a tornado over water - were seen on Manukau Harbour.It has also warned of a similar risk of tornadoes and ...
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Officers honoured for Pike River quake and balloon disasters
Two police officers have been honoured for their work with hundreds of grieving families following the Pike River, Canterbury earthquakes and Carterton balloon disasters. Inspectors Mark Harrison and Wendy Robilliard developed new police response systems for mass casualty events, first used following the Pike River mine explosion. Mr Harrison and Ms Robilliard were made members of the New ...
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EPA welcomes submissions on Peka Peka to North Ōtaki
Tuesday, 21 May 2013, 5:39 pm Press Release: Environmental Protection Agency EPA welcomes submissions on Peka Peka to North Otaki proposalMedia release 21 May 2013The Environmental Protection Authority is holding a public meeting to help people understand how they can have their say on the NZ Transport Agency's proposal for the Peka Peka to North Otaki Expressway.NZTA's ...
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Major SI Civil Defence Exercise to Use Earthquake Scenario
The readiness of Otago councils to respond to a major earthquake will be tested during a South Island wide exercise later this month.The exercise, named Te Ripahapa (loosely translated as Alpine Fault earthquake) will run from 9am to 9pm on Wednesday May 29.Otago Civil Defence Emergency Management Group co-ordinator Graeme Hall said the exercise would allow the Otago CDEM Group (Otago ...
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Wellington City Council told to Constrain its Spending
Wellington City Council told to Constrain it's Spending Wellington City Council must reduce the growth in both its expenditure and its rates take, Wellington Employers' Chamber of Commerce told councillors today in its submission on the council's 2013-14 Draft Annual Plan.The Chamber said there should be at least a zero rate rise, or even a reduction. It said it was pleased ...
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Nikki Kaye Speech to Disaster Risk Reduction Forum
Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou, katoa.It is a privilege to be giving this address at the opening ceremony of the 4th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction.New Zealand has been challenged by the major recovery and rebuild of Canterbury both in terms of scale and complexity, following the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. We have been rebuilding not just our ...
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Parata makes U-turn over special school
Education Minister Hekia Parata has confirmed a U-turn on the future of the Salisbury special school in Nelson. Parata announced last year that the school was to merge with Halswell Residential School in Christchurch, but she was forced to back down after the High Court ruled her actions illegal. Last year Parata said the school would remain open for 2013, but confirmed during a visit today ...
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Tanning firm to be prosecuted over chemcial spill
Emergency services respond to the chemical spill which injured 21 workers at Tasman Tanning's Castlecliff plant in November last year. Photo / File Tasman Tanning is to face prosecution over a chemical spill in Wanganui last November which injured 21 of its workers, two of them seriously. Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment spokesman Britton Broun yesterday confirmed ...
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Scouts employee treated charity as personal bank
File photo / NZ Herald A Scouts employee who racked up more than $20,000 of personal expenses on company credit cards has been found to have been unjustifiably dismissed despite a finding that he treated the charity as a "personal bank". Richard Uerata-Jennings was one of only a handful of staff employed by the Scouts Association of New Zealand, a registered charity that ...
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Uni professor loses bid for ERA case hearing
A university professor who claims his workplace caused him hardship akin to post traumatic stress disorder has lost his bid for the case to be heard by the Employment Court. Professor Christopher Ohms, who specialises in tax law at Auckland University of Technology (AUT), applied the the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) to have the matter removed to the higher authority. In ...
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Restaurateur honoured for services to food industry
Restaurateur Fleur Sullivan says her New Year Honour is recognition for her philosophy of championing fresh, local seafood and produce. "I think that this particular one is recognition of regions and regional food," she said at an investiture ceremony today. "It's recognition for the importance our regions play in our economy. "The owner of award-winning Fleur's Place in Moeraki, Otago, said her ...
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Kiwi holds gains against greenback ahead of Bernanke testimony
The New Zealand dollar held gains against the greenback in local trading as investors pondered whether Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke will give any hint of unwinding his money printing programme this year. The kiwi traded at 81.82 US cents at 5pm in Wellington from 81.70 cents at 8am, up from 81.20 cents yesterday. The trade-weighted index advanced to 77.10 from 76.65 yesterday. The ...
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USAR teams imitating Christchurch quake in training
Urban Search and Rescue teams spent a month crawling through suffocating spaces, often cold and wet in the pitch black, breaking through concrete walls in pancaked buildings in a desperate effort to find survivors and bodies after the Christchurch quake. It is those conditions that trainee USAR member John "Ruckus" O'Rourke knows lie ahead of him as he trains to become an internationally ...
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Visitors flocking to NZ in record numbers
Visitors flocked to New Zealand in record numbers last month, with Chinese tourists showing the biggest increase. Arrivals in April reached 200,600 - up 3 per cent from the same time last year and surpassing the previous record April high of 197,800, according to Statistics New Zealand. The number of tourists from China showed the biggest change, with 6600 more last month ...
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Wildfoods Festival ticket sales slump after 24 years
For the first time in its 24-year history, the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival has run at a loss as ticket sales slumped to 8800. The Westland District Council announced yesterday the festival had a "negative variance" of $35,709, with some further overhead charges yet to come. Chief executive Tanya Winter said the financial performance was primarily affected by lower than budgeted ...
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New Zealand to increase military presence in South Pacific
New Zealand is preparing to increase its military presence in the South Pacific, in close collaboration with the Australian government. The moves further align the two regional imperialist powers with the US Obama administration's "pivot" to the Asia-Pacific and its aggressive confrontation of China.The New Zealand government announced its plans following an inaugural meeting of ...
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Government At War with Solid Energy Board
Despite having known the scale of Solid Energy's troubles for years the Government was prepping the company for sale just days before it cut 400 jobs and revealed it was in serious trouble, says Labour's SOEs spokesperson Clayton Cosgrove. "National was determined to sell off Solid Energy, come hell or high water. It didn't matter what the cost. Despite knowing about ...
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Minister finally sees sense over Salisbury
Tuesday, 21 May 2013, 4:15 pm Press Release: New Zealand Labour Party Chris HipkinsEducation Spokesperson21 May 2013Minister finally sees sense over SalisburyEducation Minister Hekia Parata's latest decision to keep Salisbury School open is the right one - it's just a shame it took a court ruling, relentless community work and a major dose of negative press to bring the ...
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GCSB Case Bungled by Prime Minister
New Zealand First says the report by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security into breaches of the Government Communications Security Bureau Act reveals bungles by the Minister in charge - John Key.A recent review of compliance at the GCSB by Rebecca Kitteridge found difficulties of interpretation in the GCSB Act.Following the Prime Minister receiving her report, cases involving ...
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HBRC hears from Auditor General on its own compliance
21 May 2013 HBRC hears from Auditor General on its own complianceHawke's Bay Regional Council is comfortable with the response from the Office of the Auditor General relating to claims made against it by Transparent Hawke's Bay.In a letter dated 16 May 2013, the Officer of the Auditor General (OAG) responded to claims that Hawke's Bay Regional Council (HBRC) had not met its ...
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Launch of E Tū Whānau Toolbox Budget Announcement
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Only a full inquiry will restore confidence in GCSB
The claim by the Inspector-General that the 88 cases of potential illegal spying did not break the law won't reassure Kiwis who have lost confidence in the agency and its oversight, says Labour Leader David Shearer."The Inspector-General has found that there were 'arguably' no breaches in the 88 cases involving New Zealanders. Well that finding doesn't exactly ...
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Retired superintendent receives QSO honour
A shift in attitudes towards drink driving was the major change seen by retired police superintendent Paula Rose in her 27 years in road policing. "When I started with the Ministry of Transport in 1984 the amounts people would drink and the social acceptance of drink driving was light years away from what it is today," she said at an investiture ceremony today. "We've still got too many people ...
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Waterspouts spotted off Auckland coast
Raw video: Water spouts over Manukau Harbour (0:29) A thunderstorm warning for Auckland has been lifted, after waterspouts were seen off the coast this afternoon. People at Auckland Airport and in Titirangi have reported seeing double waterspouts and funnel clouds in the Manukau Harbour as the band of thundery showers crossed over the region. Waterspouts form at the base of storm clouds ...
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Real estate agent found guilty of disgraceful conduct
A South Auckland real estate agent who provided blank sale and purchase agreements which were used in a fraudulent mortgage scheme has been found guilty of disgraceful conduct. The Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal has suspended Joanne Picknell's licence for nine months and ordered her to pay a $1000 fine after finding her guilty of two misconduct charges. The charges were laid after BNZ ...
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New Zealand stepping up for regional fisheries
New Zealand is regional power in the Pacific and this is reflected in our ongoing involvement in the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency, which is the mechanism by which the region manages one of its greatest natural resources.
New Zealand has long been a regional power in the South Pacific, and in this capacity the country has lead a number of major initiatives undertaken alone or in conjunction with other Pacific Island nations, the most important of these have been policies aimed at environmental protection and sustainability, as well as monitoring and rehabilitation of important environmental resources, such as the Pacific fisheries. Read more
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