NZTA driver testing bribery inquiry becomes Operation Kea as 650 drivers must test again
Documents released under the Official Information Act show how NZTA spotted suspect driving tests and why about 650 drivers have been told to sit again.
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OceanaGold takes its $3.1 billion Macraes expansion to the fast track after pulling it from councils
OceanaGold has lodged a fast track application to extend its Macraes gold mine into the late 2030s, ten months after withdrawing the same expansion from Otago councils.
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Hospitality review finds a food truck needed 13 officials from eight agencies to open
The Ministry for Regulation has released 24 recommendations to cut hospitality red tape, but ministers have not yet decided which ones they will accept.
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Warriors playoff tickets resold for hundreds and no New Zealand law stops it
Tickets to Saturday’s NRL qualifying final sold out in minutes then reappeared on Trade Me at up to ten times face value. Reselling them at any price is legal here.
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Auckland’s tourism agency lands $975,490 to sell the rest of New Zealand to North America
The government has put $5 million into six international tourism campaigns, and Auckland’s destination agency leads the biggest partnership of the round.
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Bacon labelled made in New Zealand can come from imported pigs and the rules are not changing
The Government has refused to change country of origin labelling rules for bacon and ham, three years after a parliamentary committee said fine print on the back of a packet…
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Coroner asks for import ban on online diving device after Mana Island drowning
Coroner Amelia Steel has recommended the Wolach 919 tankless diving device be banned from importation after a Lower Hutt man drowned using one for the first time off Mana Island.
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All Blacks head to Baltimore without a captain and a game away from losing the series
The All Blacks land in the United States this week with a series to save, a squad thinned by injury and nobody yet confirmed to lead them onto the field.…
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National would give councils $385 million from the visitor levy instead of a bed tax
National would redistribute the International Visitor Levy to councils from July 2027, worth about $385 million over four years, replacing the bed tax it ruled out.
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Fake QR code stickers turn up on Auckland parking meters as the scam reaches a third city
Auckland Transport has pulled scam QR code stickers off city centre parking meters, eight weeks after the same trick appeared in Christchurch and days after Wellington removed about a dozen.
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Halberg Games South returns to Christchurch with more than 80 young athletes
More than 80 South Island athletes with physical disabilities will compete in the third Halberg Games South at Ngā Puna Wai and Rangi Ruru on 3 and 4 October 2026.
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Sockburn post counter closes on 10 November as 1500 people sign a petition
NZ Post will shut the staffed Sockburn counter in western Christchurch on 10 November, and the deed behind its store network only requires community consultation in rural areas.
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Average asking rent reaches $637 a week while rents fall in five regions
The national average asking rent rose 1.5 percent in August but fell in five regions, and the official measure of rents actually paid rose just 0.5 percent.
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Auckland gets the world squash championships in 2028 four months before the Olympic debut
New Zealand has secured the 2028 PSA Squash World Championships for Auckland, with a $1 million government investment and an Olympic qualifying window that runs right through the tournament.
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No emergency duty on cheap aluminium imports as the government waits for its own report
New Zealand’s aluminium extruders will not get emergency protection from a surge in cheap imports, at least not yet, while the investigation that could deliver a longer lasting tariff finishes…
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Eliza McCartney and Imogen Ayris head New Zealand’s team of four at the first Ultimate Championship
New Zealand will be represented by four athletes at the first World Athletics Ultimate Championship in Budapest this weekend, and all four of them are women. World Athletics published the…
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Tauranga roundabout to get safety changes after 32 crashes in six years
Tauranga City Council will add a lane, limit lines and fresh road markings at the Judea roundabout after 32 reported crashes since 2020. A resident whose fence has been hit…
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Hipkins says Labour has costed its fuel tax freeze but will not show the number yet
Labour has done the sums on freezing fuel excise duty for a full term but will not release them until Treasury opens the books on 29 September.
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Port of Tauranga wins approval to add 700 metres of wharf after seven years of hearings
The Stella Passage development has been granted fast track approval, lifting the container ceiling at New Zealand’s biggest port from 1.2 million to about 2 million TEUs a year.
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Hospitals defer elective surgery as winter illness stays above historic levels
Health New Zealand says patient numbers remain above historic winter levels and elective surgery is being deferred for at least another three to four weeks.
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Scott McLaughlin wins IndyCar finale as Scott Dixon farewells Ganassi after 25 years
Scott McLaughlin took his first IndyCar win in almost two years at Laguna Seca while Scott Dixon closed out 25 years with Chip Ganassi Racing.
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Pay rose 2.8 percent and prices rose 4.1 percent in the year to June
Median weekly earnings rose 2.8 percent in the year to June 2026 while the consumers price index rose 4.1 percent, and Stats NZ weighting data shows the squeeze landed very…
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Storm rescues in Northland and near Murchison as heavy rain moves onto the North Island
A shed blew over on an Ahipara property and a vehicle was caught in floodwater near Murchison overnight as a large trough carried heavy rain onto the North Island.
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Banks passed the full OCR rise to mortgages and gave savers as little as five basis points
The Reserve Bank lifted the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.75 percent on 2 September, and within a day the country’s biggest banks had handed every point…
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First gas security fund loans give Todd Energy $23.5 million for two Taranaki wells
Shane Jones and Chris Bishop have approved the first two investments from the $200 million Gas Security Fund, lending up to $23.5 million to Todd Energy for drilling in Taranaki.
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Imogen Ayris leads the New Zealanders home at the Diamond League final in Brussels
Imogen Ayris was fifth, Zoe Hobbs and Tom Walsh sixth, as three New Zealanders closed out their seasons at the Diamond League final in Brussels.
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Leopard seal draws about 150 onlookers to Petone Beach as officials ask for 20 metres of space
A leopard seal hauled out on Petone Beach on Saturday afternoon and DOC says more than 150 people have been down to look at it.
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National would lift the first home loan income cap to $300,000 for every buyer
National would replace the $95,000 and $150,000 income caps on the First Home Loan scheme with a single $300,000 cap, widening access to 5 percent deposits.
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Export prices rose in the June 2026 quarter and New Zealand’s terms of trade still fell 9 percent
Terms of trade fell 9 percent in the June 2026 quarter while export prices rose. Stats NZ data back to 1957 shows imported fuel accounts for the whole fall.
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Gisborne emergency nurses strike over staffing while their hospital ranks third on wait times
About 30 emergency department nurses at Gisborne Hospital walk off the job on Wednesday over staffing they say is unsafe, in a district the Government ranks third best in the…