Flights to and from Palmerston North are back to their scheduled arrival and departure times after heavy fog caused disruptions on Monday. No large aircrafts were landing at Palmerston North’s airport on Monday morning due to the fog, Palmerston North Airport chief executive David Lanham said.
Category: New Zealand
PM Bill English: migrant levy ‘interesting idea’ but high bar to meet
Prime Minister Bill English will not rule out a levy on new migrants to pay for infrastructure, but says any new levy would have to meet a high bar. The proposal of a special levy was included in the New Zealand Initiative’s report on the impact of immigration on New Zealand.
Dropping Dunk tough
OUT: Ben Dunk has been dropped for Tasmania’s Sheffield Shield clash with Queensland at the Gabba, starting on Wednesday. Pictures: Getty Images Dan Marsh has admitted the decision to drop Ben Dunk for Tasmania’s upcoming Sheffield Shield clash with Queensland was “a very hard decision”.
Craig Murray Wins Freeride World Qualifier in Austria
New Zealander freeskier Craig Murray has claimed victory at a Freeride World Qualifier 4-star competition held in the Austrian resort of Hochfugen. Anna Smoothy finished fourth in the women’s freeski division.
Stadium takes on logistical nightmare
ILT Stadium Southland general manager Nigel Skelt takes a break as the stadium prepares for its most challenging couple of weeks. ILT Stadium Southland general manager Nigel Skelt says the next 15 days will provide the biggest logistical challenge they have encountered in the venue’s 17-year history.
Highlights: Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei’s State of the Nation speech
Labour Party leader Andrew Little during the Labour/Greens joint State of the Nation event held in Mt Albert. 29 January 2017 New Zealand Herald Photograph by Dean Purcell.
Injured Australia captain Smith out of NZ tour
Sydney, Jan 27 Australian captain Steve Smith has been ruled out of the upcoming New Zealand tour after injuring his ankle in the fifth one-day international against Pakistan, Cricket Australia said today. Smith was fielding in the match at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday when he injured his left ankle, CA said.
Ultra-fast broadband rolls out to more Waikato towns and fringes
Ultra-fast broadband is being extended to 25 more towns in the Waikato, Communications Minister Simon Bridges announced on Thursday. It’s part of Prime Minister Bill English and Minister Bridges’ launch of the second, $300m phase of the Government’s UFB programme.
Bogus building inspector reported in Palmerston North
Palmerston North City Council head of building services Leigh Sage said a couple of retailers had alerted the council when someone claiming to be carrying out earthquake prone building checks on Thursday morning aroused their suspicions. The person was wearing a high-vis vest, but was not authorised to claim to be carrying out any sort of inspections, Sage said.
Time to treat health and safety as business as usual
I challenged my heath and safety trainer the other day by saying the new Health and Safety at Work Act hadn’t changed anything. Surely, WorkSafe New Zealand’s own workplace fatality statistics told the damning story: 57 fatalities in 2013, 48 in 2014, 43 in 2015, and 45 last year – an increase in the year the new act came into being.
Body recovered from Otaki River
Emergency crews made up of the Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter, Surf Life Saving teams, Kapiti Coastguard and the Manawatu Coastguard are all helping in the search for the second person.
Centennial road trip re-enacts parliamentary tour of Northland’s byways in 1917
A century ago New Zealand was in the grip of World War I, in which 18,500 members of the country’s 1.16 million population were killed and 50,000 were wounded. Despite the gravity of the national situation, Kaitaia businessman Colonel Allen Bell managed to persuade Parliamentarians to participate in a car tour to show them the need for road improvements in the “winterless” North.
Champion schooled in some hard sheds
As a youngster growing up in Gisborne, champion woolhandler Joel Henare struggled with mainstream schooling. He left school when he was about 11 and continued his studies through correspondence.
7s surprise
THE inclusion of Vilimoni Koroi in the New Zealand 7s team brings a shock wave in the host team for the first tournament of the second leg in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series, New Zealand media reported last week. It was further reported the 18-year-old only finished at Feilding High School last year and didn’t even play at the national sevens championship last weekend.
Protesters rally worldwide in solidarity with Washington march
Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States and around the world are set to join marches Saturday to raise awareness of women’s rights and other civil rights they fear could be under threat under Donald Trump’s presidency. The key focus of the day will be the Women’s March on Washington, which organizers say could attract a quarter of a million participants.
NZ 192-4 in reply to Bangladesh’s 289
Half centuries from Ross Taylor and Tom Latham on Saturday lifted New Zealand to 192-4 at tea on day two of an evenly balanced second test against Bangladesh. Replying to Bangladesh’s first innings of 289, New Zealand still trailed by 97 runs with Henry Nicholls 19 not out and Mitchell Santner 5. Ross Taylor made 77 and passed 6,000 runs in his test career, becoming the third New Zealand player to pass the milestone after Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum.
New Zealand v/s Bangladesh: Tim Southee takes five as rookie led visitors dismissed for 289
Tim Southee of New Zealand is congratulated by team-mates after taking five wickets during day one of the Second Test match between New Zealand and Bangladesh at Hagley Oval on January 20, 2017 in Christchurch, New Zealand. Rookie opener Soumya Sarkar led a makeshift Bangladesh to a competitive 289 all out on day one of the second Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Friday.
NZDF Firefighters Hit the Ground Running in Whitianga
The New Zealand Defence Force’s five-member firefighting crew worked overnight Thursday to extinguish hotspots to prevent the massive bush fire south of Whitianga from spreading further. “We got straight to work as soon as we arrived about 10 o’clock last night and finished about 6.30 this morning,” Corporal Alex Walker, who is leading the NZDF’s firefighting crew, said.
Farmers keep wary weather eye open as Northland dries up
On the west coasts of both islands it has been bucketing down, but some east coast areas are becoming very dry. Of most concern is Northland, which may be declared in drought unless much needed rain arrives in the next few weeks.
India vs England, 2nd ODI at Cuttack: Likely XI for Virat Kohli’s men
Virat Kohli has never retained the same Test XI in consecutive games in his two-year tenure so far. Will the pattern repeat in ODIs as well? We will have to wait for the toss at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, where India and England clash for the second ODI of the series.
Grazing trial uncovers big gains
James Donaldson and his wife Kate found rotational grazing paid off when compared with set stocking during a six-month trial on their 1000ha beef-bull finishing operation at Whangarei. An on-farm grazing trial has shown Whangarei beef farmers James and Kate Donaldson that rotational grazing on vulnerable soils has significant productivity, profitability and environmental advantages over set-stocking.
Labour’s Pike River law ‘dangerous’ – Govt
Environment Minister Nick Smith has criticised a proposal by Labour leader Andrew Little on Pike River. Photo by Mark Mitchell.
Jeff Tallon: Can Bill English pick up the pace on scientific investment?
Science administration has been folded into the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the vision and focus has gone. Photo / Mark Mitchell When the Key Government came to power in 2008 it promised to place research, science and technology at the forefront of its drive to fuel the economy through innovation.
Cantabrians told to brace for power outages as ‘weather bomb’ hits
Those in the South Islands and lower-North Island are being told to brace for severe weather as a bomb low prepares to touch down. At 4am, the fire service said it had not received any weather-related callouts overnight, but the worst of the storm was expected to whip the South Island and lower-North Island with heavy rain and gale-force winds on Wednesday, through to Thursday morning.
‘Thank you NZ for buying this beach,’ say visitors to Awaroa Bay
In February 2016, nearly 40,000 Kiwis opened their wallets to buy a slice of New Zealand heaven, Awaroa Bay. Fast forward to January 2017 and the beach – tucked away in the northern reaches of Abel Tasman National Park – is now in its first summer of public ownership since the July handover.
Minute’s silence to be observed in Greymouth on Thursday to mark 1967 Strongman Mine disaster
Accompanied by a clergyman, mourners leave the mass grave of the 19 miners killed in the Strongman Mine disaster on January 19, 1967. Photo / New Zealand Herald archive A minute’s silence will be observed in Greymouth on Thursday to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Strongman Mine disaster which claimed 19 lives.
New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball to fight for Palmerston North seat again
New Zealand First MP Darroch Ball plans to have another crack at the Palmerston North seat in this year’s election. The one-term MP made it to Parliament ranked 10th on the party list, joining National’s Jono Naylor and Labour’s Iain Lees-Galloway to make up a three-strong contingent from the city electorate.
Police name couple as investigations continue into deaths in Waipukurau, Hawke’s Bay
Police have named the two people found dead at a Waipukurau, Hawke’s Bay home as Kevin Douglas Maulder, 68, and Patricia Anne Maulder, 67. They also said on Sunday afternoon that nobody was being sought in connection with the deaths and the case had been referred to the coroner’s office. The Maulders were husband and wife, and had lived and worked in the Waipukurau area for more than three decades..
Spies prise open their secret vaults to reveal foreign intelligence threats
Abdulmalik Altamimi bursts with pride as he poses with a certificate of English studies earned from the Waikato Institute of Education. Abdulmalik Altamimi poses with an English certificate earned from studying at the Waikato Institute of Education in 2012.
Tale of two cities: Tauranga overtakes Dunedin to become country’s fifth biggest city
Population estimates by Statistics New Zealand reveal Tauranga has overtaken Dunedin’s population of 127,000, clocking in at 128,200 people in 2016. The southern city’s population increased an estimated 6200 between 1996 and 2016, while booming Tauranga’s population grew by 48,400 over the same period.
Cannabis user lays complaint against police for being denied food, water during arrest
A cannabis user has filed a complaint against police for what he claims was inhumane treatment following a recent arrest. Whangarei man Nathan Tucker said he spent six hours in police cells and was denied food, water, and medicine during that time.
Motorcyclist badly injured in Waihi crash
A motorcyclist has been flown to Waikato Hospital with serious injuries after a collision with a car in Waihi on Saturday. “The person on the motorcycle suffered some serious injuries and as a result has been flown to Waikato Hospital,” Simpson said.
Rich history of Whanganui Inlet shows how much we’ve lost
OPINION: At the start of every summer for the last 20 years or so our family has headed out with the same group of friends to set up camp at Rakopi on the northern edge of Whanganui Inlet. The weather in mid-December can be dodgy, but tucked behind the forested dune amongst the sparse stands of kanuka affords good protection from whatever mother nature can dish up.
Helicopter rescues Takaka woman from cliff fall in Kahurangi National Park
The Takaka woman was taken to Nelson Hospital with a serious leg injury and potential back injuries. PHOTO/Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter The Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter picked up the 67-year-old on the Dragons Teeth in Kahurangi National Park.
Helicopter rescues Takaka woman from cliff fall in Kahurangi National Park
The Takaka woman was taken to Nelson Hospital with a serious leg injury and potential back injuries. PHOTO/Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter The Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter picked up the 67-year-old on the Dragons Teeth in Kahurangi National Park.
Fairfax NZ posts first annual loss in four years in 2016
Fairfax New Zealand posted its first annual loss in four years as it wrote off than $100 million from the value of its mastheads and buildings and more than doubled its bill to pay out redundancies in 2016, all while resuming dividends to its Australian parent and lifting executive pay. The Wellington-based unit of ASX-listed Fairfax Media Group reported a loss of $75.3 million in the year ended June 30, 2016, turning around a profit of $21.9 million a year earlier and marking the first time the books were in the red since 2012.
Timaru electrician’s leg, arm and chest tattoos are all pure Kiwi
Tattoos on Jonty Penney’s right leg read like a Kiwiana exhibition: the goodnight kiwi and cat, jandals, gumboots, Horse from Footrot Flats , a Morris Minor, a tomato-shaped squeezable sauce dispenser, Buzzy Bee, the Four Square guy and a tiki. The electrician’s first tattoo, of a tiger, at the age of 16 on his right upper arm shocked his mum and he has since covered it up with other tattoos.
NZ to benefit from Trump/Brexit?
New Zealand could be the accidental beneficiary from the election of Donald Trump as US President and the Brexit vote if it speeds up the pace of free trade talks with the European Union in a bid to stamp out protectionism. Prime Minister Bill English met with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels earlier this morning.
‘We know this won’t be a rescue’
It’s been a week today since Colin McCormick went missing on Lake Rotoiti – and his family are preparing themselves for the possibility his body may never be found. He dropped below the surface of the lake just a short distance from his partner and his 9-year-old son, who were unable to manoeuvre the boat to his aid.
Four Local Ladies to Walk 100km to Help Fight Poverty
Janet Broome-Nicholson is a participant of the Teach First NZ program teaching Te Reo Maori, Serene Rountree is a mother of one and Kapiti Photo School student and lives with Gemma Macann who is a leader at Ngatiawa River Monastery, and Liz McGimpsey a breastfeeding mum to two kids under two, hails from Shannon. They call themselves ‘Operation Friends’.