NZ Has No Capacity to Deal with Deep Sea Oil Drilling Leak

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

The Government is expanding its risky deep sea drilling programme despite knowing that New Zealand does not have equipment to deal with a subsea leak, according to papers released to the Green Party under the Official Information Act.The papers state that Maritime New Zealand, "does not have a subsea response capability," and contradicts statements made by Energy Minister Simon ...

Have your say on the new public transport network

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Monday, 20 May 2013, 11:01 am Press Release: Auckland Transport Have your say on the new public transport networkWelcome to our first newsletter Over the next few years Auckland Transport is moving to a simpler, more integrated new public transport network for Auckland.The New Network will change the way people travel. It is a region wide public transport network which is proposed to ...

Far North District Council Reneges on Promise to Save Cats

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Monday, 20 May 2013, 11:10 am Press Release: SPCA Cat Coalition MEDIA RELEASE 20 MAY 2013Far North District Council Reneges on Promise to Save ...

Investitures at Government House Wellington

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Senior judges Dame Judith Potter and Sir Mark O'Regan, former senior police officer Superintendent Paula Rose, USAR leader Jim Stuart-Black, former mayor Sir Robert (Bob) Harvey, Maori leader Sir Mark Solomon, Otago Daily Times proprietor Sir Julian Smith, meteorologist Bob McDavitt and actor Jacob Rajan among more than 130 people whose diverse achievements will be celebrated at ...

Unique Ukulele Building Workshop On Offer In Wellington

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Wellington, New ZealandLocal guitar and ukulele making business GOLDBEARD GUITARS has teamed up with theWellington High School CEC (Community Education Centre) to offer a unique one week workshop in ukulele making this winter (14 - 20 July).A rare opportunity to learn more about one of New Zealand's favourite instruments, the workshop is designed to suit anyone game enough to give it ...

Mt Hutt launches New School Holiday Programme

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Mt Hutt launches New School Holiday Programme NZSki's Kruiser Squad school holiday programme - a three-day professional instruction course for kids aged 5 to 15 - kicks off this July at Canterbury's Mt Hutt. Perfect for domestic visitors, locals and Australian families, the programme runs every week in July for three days, and complements the existing five-day programme at Mt ...

Vote For Your Favourite Public Transport Artwork

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Vote For Your Favourite Public Transport Artwork! Public voting opens today (20 May) for Metlink's inaugural public transport art competition.Peter Glensor, Chair of Greater Wellington Regional Council's Economic Wellbeing Committee, says 16 finalists have been selected."I understand the selection panel had some tough decisions to make as while each of the entries was very ...

CTV engineer wont face charges in Austraila

TVNZ - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Source: ONE News A fake engineer who supervised construction of Christchurch's CTV building will not face criminal charges in Australia, but the investigation remains open in New Zealand. New Zealand Police said they have been liaising with Australian Federal Police, but have yet to receive the official findings from their investigation. "We would expect to give consideration to ...

One injured after train derails in Wellington

TVNZ - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Source: ONE News One person has been injured after a train derailed north of Wellington this morning. KiwiRail confirmed that at 8:14am, the 7:43am Porirua service derailed at Kaiwharawhara, affecting all services coming into Wellington on the Hutt Valley and Waikanae lines. KiwiRail's General Manager, Passenger, Deborah Hume told ONE News one passenger had been injured. Hume also ...

The Jazz Apple Big Crunch Confirms New World Record

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

The new world record for the most people eating an apple simultaneously is now 17,064, smashing the previous record of 9,329 set in 2011 by pupils from the Whitehall Schools District in Michigan, Ohio. The Jazz Apple Big Crunch was held last Friday 10 May 2013 and involved 69 schools from Kaitaia to Invercargill. "We had a fantastic time, the kids had fun, we broke the world record ...

Temporary Closure of Papakura off-ramp Over Queens Birthday

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Monday, 20 May 2013, 10:14 am Press Release: New Zealand Transport Agency HEB Construction, on behalf of the NZ Transport Agency, will be temporarily closing the Papakura southbound on and off-ramp onto the Southern Motorway (SH1) ...

Missing person located by Coastguard

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Monday, 20 May 2013, 9:50 am Press Release: Coastguard Coastguard's Northland units kept busy in search for missing personAt 1340 hours yesterday Coastguard's Operations Centre was informed by Police that a young female had left Matauri Bay with minimal clothing swimming in the direction of Motukawanui Island. She had not been seen or heard from since 1100 hours in the ...

Rodney Police Investigate Serious Assault In Snells Beach

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Monday, 20 May 2013, 9:27 am Press Release: New Zealand Police Location: Snells Beach, Auckland District: Waitemata Serious Assault Short description: Serious Assault Full ...

Funding For Post Disaster Building Management

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Funding For Post Disaster Building Management Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson says $1.2 million has been provided in Budget 2013 to improve post disaster building management.The Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission made 51 recommendations in relation to this area."The management of buildings following a disaster is the one significant gap in the building ...

SkyCity agrees to buy Queenstown’s Wharf Casino for $5M

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

May 20 (BusinessDesk) - SkyCity Entertainment Group has agreed to buy Queenstown's Wharf Casino for $5 million from Malaysia's Lasseters, adding 74 electronic gaming machines and six gaming tables to its existing operations in the resort town.The deal is subject to Commerce Commission and Gambling Commission approvals. The company moved to 100 percent ownership of Queenstown ...

Horizons releases snapshot of natural environment

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Monday, 20 May 2013, 9:32 am Press Release: Horizons Regional Council MEDIA RELEASE Monday, 20 May 2013Horizons releases snapshot of natural environmentHorizons Regional Council has released its latest State of Environment report, providing a snapshot of the Region's land, air and water resources over the past seven years. The report, produced every 5-7 years, is split into four ...

Ashburton Is Environment Central This Week

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Federated Farmers believes Ashburton this week will become the environmental centre of New Zealand."If you are interested in how to positively farm with the environment, then Ashburton is the place to be this week," says Ian Mackenzie, Federated Farmers Environment spokesperson."First up on Tuesday (21 May), Federated Farmers with ATS is holding "Farming with nutrient ...

Heritage Heavyweight Partners Auckland 2040

Scoop - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Monday, 20 May 2013, 9:18 am Press Release: Auckland 2040 Heritage Heavyweight Partners Auckland 2040Auckland's Character Coalition isn't leaving any room for error in the on-going battle with the Council's Draft Unitary Plan (DUP) announcing it's to partner Auckland 2040. Newly formed, Auckland 2040 is a coalition of local non-political groups passionately concerned ...

POLL RESULT Was the government right to shelve the MMP review

National Business Review - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Matthew Horton (right) catching the keys to his new Peugeot 508 from NBR publisher Todd Scott (centre), with Sime Darby Automobiles divisional manager Simon Rose ...

Nothing sinister in China meat block - Key

TVNZ - Sunday 19th May, 2013

China steps up inspection of meat trade after fake lamb scandal China fast-tracking sign offs on Kiwi meat plants is why tens of millions of dollars of meat is being blocked at the country's border, says Prime Minister John Key. It emerged two weeks ago all meat exports to China had been blocked from entering the country since the last week of April. Some industry sources speculated it ...

Gehan Gunasekara MPs bill step in the right direction

New Zealand Herald - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Leaks this year include those from ACC, Winz, IRD and EQC. Photo / Supplied At the Privacy Forum held in Wellington last year, Justice Minister Judith Collins promised that a new Privacy Bill would be introduced in May this year to replace the now 20-year-old Privacy Act 1993. There is as yet no sign of its introduction. The promise was made following the completion, in 2011, of an ...

Keith Rankin IRD could be simpler and not need new IT system

New Zealand Herald - Sunday 19th May, 2013

Almost every New Zealand taxpayer or beneficiary receives something back from a government agency. Photo / Janna Dixon In the wake of the Novopay debacle and other underwhelming government IT projects, Inland Revenue is embarking on the biggest project yet. It is required to be on a multi-billion dollar scale, according to Revenue Minister Peter Dunne, because "IRD's functions ...