semi-rural school west of Wellington City are trapping rats in the playground and feeding them to the eels Mākara Model School is helping protect the 200 kiwi now living in Wellington's eastern hills, as part of the Capital Kiwi project Conservation Minister Tama Potaka and Department of Conservation (DOC) representatives Discussion documents were released, seeking public feedback on DOC's future work programme - including the goals of Predator Free 2050 - and the minister took the opportunity to tour the school's trapping regime was part of a small group of Mākara students tasked with checking the schools traps She said they checked the traps each morning resetting them with replenished bait in the form of peanut butter and then feeding any trapped rats to the eels in the nearby stream had eagerly taken up the mantle from the previous year's group of seniors Checking and resetting the traps was "pretty fun" until there was a live rat to contend with Upon discovering a not-quite-dead rat on their rounds Molly said the solution was to finish the job with a rock "It's pretty freaky the first time," she said but both girls were focused on the wider cause With the Capital Kiwi project regularly releasing birds in the surrounding hills reducing rat numbers was even more important New principal James Appleton said students also learned about the circle of life "It's skills they probably wouldn't be learning at a school in the city." The school had trapped rats for more than a decade both to protect the area's biodiversity and to keep rodents out of the classrooms Capital Kiwi founder Paul Ward said his relationship with the school went way back - his mum actually got her first teaching job there "We've got really close connections with the kura since the beginning of the project," he said and if we're wanting to do something as long-term and ambitious as restoring kiwi to the hills of our capital city getting those tamariki engaged is a critical part of that mission." Their efforts had contributed to making the place safe for kiwi to breed and thrive "These are kids that know the difference between a Norway rat and a ship rat," he said "One of the most awesome things to note was when we asked them today 'Do you know what a kiwi sounds like?' and virtually every hand in that school of 70-odd kids went up." Minister Tama Potaka said protecting the environment was a team effort "The government sets the regulatory framework and the statutory framework Businesses who can move with alacrity and really quickly around decision-making often bring the muscle - the woman power and the manpower - to do things." DOC director general Penny Nelson said work by groups like Mākara Model School was "absolutely critical" to achieving predator-free status "We've got a really big goal to be predator-free by 2050 but there's no way DOC can do it on their own What I've loved about this morning is just seeing how excited the kids are to get out there trapping." Molly said the number of rats they were logging from their traps was declining "We had this chart and it was [tracking] how many rats we got each term There were so many rats in the beginning and now we get maybe two each day That means less food for the eels - but a safer haven for the capital's kiwi population to thrive Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday Wellington Airport is about to have its wings clipped Its two giant eagle sculptures - each of which weighs more than a tonne - are to be packed away and what will replace them is being kept under wraps "It's not unusual to see airborne departures from Wellington Airport it will be emotional for us," Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke said "They have been a huge success and travellers from around the world have loved admiring them After 12 years it's the right time for them to fly the nest." were installed in 2013 as a tie-in with Peter Jackson's The Hobbit movie trilogy who is riding one of them - will be dismantled on Friday night and placed into storage Their future however remains up in the air "We're working with Wētā Workshop on some exciting plans for a unique locally themed replacement to take their place," Clarke said By the end of the year the whole terminal is going to have a spectacular new look with the new multi-level hospitality venue open as well." Wētā co-founder and chief creative officer Richard Taylor said it was a bittersweet farewell and we're looking forward to working with Wellington Airport on bringing a new chapter to life." One of the eagles has come down before, falling to the ground during an earthquake in 2014. A WorkSafe investigation found it was probably due to shortcomings in the engineering process including underestimating the bird's weight Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday Faulty suspension wires and poor engineering are being blamed for a large eagle sculpture plunging to the ground at Wellington Airport during a 6.2 magnitude earthquake Wellington and the Wairarapa Coast are bracing for some of the strongest winds in a decade Ashleigh McCaull is overlooking Wellington Airport and she spoke to… Audio Workplace safety investigators are looking into why a large eagle sculpture at Wellington Airport plunged to the ground during an earthquake Faulty suspension wires and poor engineering are being blamed for a huge model eagle installed to promote the Hobbit films falling to the floor at Wellington Airport the changes would include more runway space Wellington Airport’s iconic giant eagle sculptures will be removed this week to make room for a new display The two eagles and Gandalf from Lord of the Rings will be dismantled on Friday night 12 years after being installed in the terminal It will be the end of an era for the airport and travellers from around the world have loved admiring them After 12 years it’s the right time for them to fly the nest “It’s not unusual to see airborne departures from Wellington Airport “We’re working with Wētā Workshop on some exciting plans for a unique locally themed replacement to take their place the whole terminal is going to have a spectacular new look with the new multi-level hospitality venue open as well.” Each eagle weighs 1.2 tonnes and has an internal steel framework and a polystyrene body They have a 15m wingspan and a combined total of 1000 feathers Made by Wētā Workshop and unveiled in December 2013, the eagles caused a stir not long after their installation when an earthquake in January 2014 shook one of the eagles loose, sending it crashing onto the food court. There were no serious injuries reported after the incident the eagles have each remained in place through multiple quakes Wētā Workshop co-founder and chief creative officer Richard Taylor said the retirement of the birds is a bittersweet moment and we’re looking forward to working with Wellington Airport on bringing a new chapter to life,” he said with long-term plans for them still to be decided Smaug the Magnificent remains in the check-in area. The only high-reach ladder truck in Auckland broke down last night Graham Bloxham, who in January announced he was running for Wellington mayor posted in a Wainuiomata community Facebook page on Saturday detailing his alleged arrest arrested for failing to stop after he said I was driving dangerously thrown in the back of a Skoda and my car was impounded fir 6 months [sic]” the post from Bloxham’s personal Facebook account read “The copper cuffed me so hard my wrists nearly bled and I can hardly feel my thumbs nearly 24 hrs later Contacted by the Herald about the incident Bloxham initially said it was posted on behalf of someone else A screenshot of Bloxham’s post was then shared on popular Wellington community Facebook page Vic Deals Another photo posted to Vic Deals appears to show Bloxham’s distinctly branded miniature car on the back of a tow truck The Herald has confirmed it was impounded over the weekend Asked again about the incident after the photo of his car emerged “If yiu want to post faked stuff over to u But I’ll never employ you if u do [sic],” Bloxham said in a statement Police would not identify Bloxham but confirmed the details of the incident “A man is due to appear in the Wellington District Court on 29 May charged with failing to stop for Police” a Police spokesperson said in a statement Wellington District Court confirmed Bloxham was appearing in court on the 29th While Bloxham’s post was deleted from the Wainuiomata page a similar post remains up on his Threads account He said it happened after a police officer thought they saw him take a photo of the closed Terrace Tunnel while driving “I couldn’t pull over as it was on the terrace he then arrested me for not stopping,” Bloxham said “The nice officers gave me and my dog a ride to the station gave me a form to get the ONENETWORK WELLINGTONLIVE car back “An absolutely crazy experience that I’m sure this officer would rather he didn’t do There was absolutely no reason to do what he did and I still can’t feel my thumbs,” Bloxham’s statement said When Bloxham announced his mayoral campaign earlier this year he said he’s “always loved politics and I love this city He said at the time he had sold the Wellington Live Facebook page but the companies register shows a Graham Harold Bloxham as the current sole shareholder of Wellington Live Limited through holding company In Your Pocket Media Limited There is no registered company named One Network Group listed on the companies register Ethan Manera is a multimedia journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 and is interested in local issues, politics and property in the capital. Ethan is always on the lookout for a story and can be emailed at ethan.manera@nzme.co.nz A Wellington mayoral candidate was arrested and charged with failing to stop for police in the central city on Friday runs the Facebook page WellingtonLive and told RNZ he was on his way to cover an incident involving "a distressed person" in The Terrace Tunnel but found the road south blocked by police Bloxham - who announced in January that he is running for mayor in this year's local body elections - exited the motorway but a police officer at the blockade thought he had seen Bloxham take a photograph while driving "He followed me up The Terrace off-ramp," Bloxham said Once he realised the lights were flashing for him so he did a u-turn on The Terrace and turned into a driveway The police officer told him he had failed to stop and then slammed him against the car and cuffed him so hard it had to be re-done He is due to appear in the Wellington District Court on 29 May charged with "failing to stop for red and blue lights" on The Terrace Bloxham declined to confirm whether he would be laying an official complaint about his treatment but told RNZ he expected the charge against him would be dropped Police confirmed a man was due to appear in the Wellington District Court on 29 May When asked to respond to Bloxham's accusations a police spokesperson said "anybody who wishes to make a complaint about police can do so through the appropriate channels" Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday RNZ's list of who is running for the capital's top job and what they are standing for Correction: The second to last sentence of this story has been corrected to say that anyone without power should call their electricity retailer directly Frustration is mounting among residents in Wellington who have been without power since early Thursday Thousands of homes lost power during last week's storm which battered the region Most have since been restored, but Wellington Electricity says some repairs will continue until the middle of the week Natasha Eagle and her two children have been coping without electricity at their Island Bay home for four days She said communication had been muddled and sparse and it was difficult having no idea whether restoration was hours or days away That view was backed up by Brooklyn resident Sean Keaney He said he and his family of five had been without electricity since midnight Thursday He said they were the only house in the street affected and an electrician had confirmed the problem was at the pole Keaney said communication from Wellington Electricity had been appalling "However there is absolutely no information for us and others like us I've called multiple times to be told 'we have no ETA' we don't have any information on when someone will be there' and when I pushed and asked to talk to someone to escalate this was told they 'don't want to talk to you and you can make a complaint when it's all resolved' "This is appalling communication from Wellington Electricity - they will have a schedule of work and an idea of when they could be out to fix but refusing to share it as our family of five approach 60 hours without electricity not knowing how long it will be and unable to plan." venting frustration about the lack of communication and updates from Wellington Electricity Wellington Electricity said it was progressively restoring power to single-premise outages - with faults being prioritised by how long they had been out "After the strongest winds in a decade lashed the Wellington region on Thursday Wellington Electricity has restored power to the bulk of affected customers," it said in a statement to RNZ on Sunday afternoon adding that 8000 customers had been impacted "Crews have worked 14-hour days since Thursday managing safety with regular check-ins and roster rotations to manage fatigue." "Wellington Electricity anticipates restoring the bulk of its remaining customers without power by Monday evening however further repairs will be necessary including streetlight circuit restoration." Anyone without power who has not been contacted should call their electricity retailer directly so repair crews can be dispatched to restore supply "Wellington Electricity acknowledges the extended disruption these outages have caused and thanks customers for their continued patience while final restoration work is completed." The blustery wind and driving rain may have died down but power cuts flight backlogs and rubberneckers still confound the capital Continued high winds have seen new and repeat outages Emergency services are still warning residents to to be "extra careful" in extreme conditions Weather warnings lifted around the country Power bills have gone up for lots of households this month as new lines charges and other price changes filtered through BURSASGXHomeBy PUTRAJAYA (May 3): The Foreign Ministry via the High Commission of Malaysia in Wellington is closely monitoring the aftermath of severe weather that affected New Zealand particularly in the Wellington and the Canterbury region It confirmed that no Malaysian nationals have been reported to be injured thus far “Malaysians in New Zealand are advised to stay alert and informed through local authorities and take the necessary precautions “The High Commission of Malaysia in Wellington is in contact with local authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of Malaysians in the affected areas,” it said in an advisory on Saturday It added that Malaysians requiring consular assistance can contact the High Commission of Malaysia in Wellington at 10 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, PO Box 9422, Wellington or via phone at: +64-4-3852 439/+64-210 440 188 (for emergencies) or by email: [email protected] announced that most of the severe weather warnings have now been lifted Wellington was hit by the strongest winds in more than a decade both Christchurch City and Selwyn District remain in states of emergency due to ongoing surface flooding and road closures Wellington International Airport has since reopened The sun is making a much-awaited appearance as clean-up efforts begin after a stormy few days with one region set to have a five-day stint of sun with several areas plunged into states of emergency The “really nice easing trend” Kiwis saw today is set to continue and people should expect “things to get a lot sunnier with some colder nights” MetService meteorologist Katie Hillyer told the Herald: “We’ve got a lot of sunny spots at the moment but we have got some cloud around eastern parts of the North Island and far south of the South Island but nothing that will really dampen any clean-up efforts by any of the crews [in Canterbury].” She said most of the showers sit further inland so people in the plains and Christchurch will only be affected briefly Wellington residents were told to seek shelter this week after MetService put out a rare wind warning saying people faced a threat to life from “destructive” weather It was the first time Wellington had received a red warning since the colour-coded system was introduced in 2019 Hillyer said: “Wellington is a very similar vein to Christchurch.” She said Wellington residents should expect to see some cloud and showers overnight “They’ll probably last till around early to mid-morning and then gradually clear into a fine afternoon.” Hillyer said the showers might be “a little bit annoying” for people but won’t be anything like what we was experienced this week Hillyer said April was one of Auckland’s wettest which would have felt like a stark contrast considering it had an “extremely dry summer.” She said Auckland should expect “quite the yo-yo effect” are set to be very lovely and sunny for Auckland,” Hillyer said Auckland is sheltered from a lot of the things Christchurch Aucklanders were under severe thunderstorm warnings last month after being hit by the wrath of Cyclone Tam which left thousands without power and safe homes amid devastating floods Hillyer said some central areas of the North Island and quite a few places in the South Island will feel the bite in the air during the next few mornings “With this oncoming high pressure and clearer skies we have the potential for some colder nights and some frost it will feel like “your classic autumn day” “You wake up and it’s quite chill in the morning Sign up to The Daily H a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday PETALING JAYA: The Foreign Affairs Ministry via the Malaysian High Commission in Wellington particularly Wellington and the Canterbury region on Thursday (May 1) Wisma Putra said that the New Zealand government had announced that most of the severe weather warnings had been lifted Wellington had been hit by the strongest winds in more than a decade The Malaysian High Commission in Wellington is in contact with local authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of Malaysians in the affected areas No Malaysian nationals have been reported to be injured thus far Malaysians in New Zealand are advised to stay alert and informed through local authorities and take the necessary precautions For consular assistance, Malaysians in New Zealand can contact the High Commission at 10, Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, PO Box 9422, Wellington or call ‪+64-4-3852439‬ / ‪+64-210440188‬ (for emergencies) or email mwwellington@kln.gov.my We would love to keep you posted on the latest promotion Wellington City Libraries are seeing a 30 percent surge in new customers and over a million books borrowed by children and teenagers each year since introducing their popular fines-free policy almost three years ago when did the road cone become universally known as a symbol of caution The new look Te Ara Whānui Ki Te Rangi Space Place is open Hundreds of thousands of items will be brought back into Te Matapihi officially marking the return of the books to Wellington's Central Library one-time politician and Wellington icon Sir Bob Jones died last week at the age of 85. built one of New Zealand's largest commercial property companies - as well as founding the New Zealand Party in 1984 and writing a series of bestselling books. said Jones was a loyal friend who enjoyed excessively long lunches. He joined Nick Mills to remember one of Wellington's greatest personalities. A pedestrian has been injured in a vehicle crash in Wellington The incident was on Main Rd in Tawa about 4.10pm “One person has received moderate injuries and was transported to hospital,” police said Police have arrested and charged a 37-year-old man with wilful damage and assault after footage emerged of a man walking down the centre of the road in Wellington punching wing mirrors off cars Police said they received reports of a man acting erratically and causing damage to vehicles on Cuba Street at around 5.45pm Saturday they arrested and charged a man with wilful damage and two counts of assaulting police He is due in Wellington District Court on 5 May There are still 286 households without power across Wellington since the storm that tore down numerous trees and power lines last week The outages are down from a total of 8000 in the region following a rare "threat to life" warning with the strongest wind in over a decade last Thursday Wellington Electricity chief executive Greg Skelton said restoration of the high-voltage network had taken priority over the low-voltage network and individual households Share your stories and pictures with us at: hamish.cardwell@rnz.co.nz Skelton said 142 jobs were logged for Monday and the remaining 146 jobs were logged for Tuesday However, there has been frustration among some residents about a lack of communication from Wellington Electricity since Thursday Brooklyn resident Sean Keaney told Morning Report he had been ignored by both his retailer and Wellington Electricity He had received only one phone call from Wellington Electricity to confirm whether his house was without power on Friday and one text message late on Sunday night which said his house had been identified as being without power "You just end up in a merry-go-round," Keaney said "The retailer says 'Call the lines company.' And the lines company says 'Call the retailer' they say 'All we do is log it and report it - we can't do anything else for you' they say 'We can't tell you anything - we don't know - there's no ETA' "When I asked if I could speak to someone else to kind of escalate the issue .. You can make a complaint when this is all resolved'." Keaney said his was the only house on his street without power and an electrician had confirmed the problem was at the pole He said updates on Wellington Electricity's website were only for areas that affected 10 or more households A neighbour of a Miramar woman who had been without power since Friday echoed what Keaney said said the woman had not heard anything from Wellington Electricity and her property did not even appear on a map of power outages on Wellington Electricity's website a Brooklyn resident said they had called Wellington Electricity every day since their power went out on Thursday night They said the first response they received was a text message with a "vague update" around 10.40pm on Sunday "The lack of communication has been painful We would have moved out if I had known earlier." They said their biggest issue was that Wellington Electricity had not sent a text message earlier and then getting to individual ones like you ETA is Tuesday at this stage.' We would have made plans." Skelton defended the response of Wellington Electricity and told Morning Report it had been "fantastic" "We can't put people up repairing overhead line faults in 160km/h winds so we really had to sequence the patrolling and making sure we had good plans in place for getting the 8000 customers back on through high-voltage faults and then we can sequence the low-voltage customers - 800 down to the last 300 in the next two days." He said Wellington Electricity had contacted a number of customers Kiwirail said it is still trying to clear a backlog of freight following "several days" of cancelled Cook Strait sailings Interislander crossings were cancelled last week due to the severe weather Additional sailings were put on when operations resumed on Saturday Kiwirail said it expects to have resolved the freight backlog by Tuesday night "The severe weather system impacted all Cook Strait sailings for several days leading to a backlog of freight," a spokesperson said "We expect to have this resolved within the next 36 hours "We thank all those affected for their patience." but local councils warn that storm damage repairs could take weeks The Emergency Management Minister says officials are out checking on residents while further north Cook Strait ferries are sailing again The state of emergency put in place in response to flooding has been lifted in Christchurch but it remains in place for Banks Peninsula The Airs have won two straight home games that came down to the wire and now welcome Wellington who have gone four and one on the road this season and are coming off their first loss after rolling a five game winning streak These top four teams met in the first week of the season when the Saints took a double overtime classic Purchase Tickets Here Taranaki hosted the Whai who had traveled to New Plymouth looking to stop a two game slide and hold their position in the top six but with Armon Fletcher out the Airs would start with a massive size advantage as Dom Kelman0-Poto joined an already big lineup That size would translate to results as as Harry Froling (15pts 4ast) and Jack Andrew got loose on the interior (29pts 15rbs) the Airs grabbed an 11point lead early in the second quarter But the Whai found a way battle back and a Sean Baristow (22pts 6ast) reverse layup would tie things up early in the third Tthe Airs would seem to take control again but the Whai would battle back behind to tie the game again in the fourth quarter the efforts Chris Jones (19pts 8ast) and others to see the lead down to a single point with 25 seconds left 7ast) backdoor slam would give the Airs the space they needed to claim a huge 95-90 victory The ladder leading Saints hosted a Hawks team that were down Darnell Cowart when Dan Grida was a late lay-up line scratch making a for daunting matchup on the road 6rbs) came out firing as Luca Yates (14pts helping to hold the Saints to 27 points in the first half to build a 12 point halftime lead 3blks) would power the defense and Nick Marshall (26pts 13rbs) lifted the O to see the Saints claim back a few buckets and shrink the deficit with input from Shea Ili (17pts A Nick Muszynski lay up would bring the Saints with two with less than 7 minutes remaining but that was as close as the Saints could get as the Hawks offense would rally down the stretch to snatch a 87-75 road win With Armon Fletcher (injury) out once again the Airs can put possibly the biggest lineup in the league on the court 5.7apg) has been a do-it-all-tool for the Airs even while developing his all around game moving up and down the lineup from pg to power forward 2.4blks) have been a powerhouse on the interior while Owen Foxwell (18.9ppg 5.1rpg) has been key for keeping the offense balanced with his distribution while occasionally hitting huge offensively Dom Kelman-Poto is back in the lineup helping lift the depth with Quintin Bailey and Scott Telfer but they will be heavily dependent on the starting lineup The Saints can be a machine on both sides of the ball but have found stages of in consistency like when they scored 75 last time out after scoring 93 7.5rpg) has become the carrier of the scoring load with an ability to find the rim in transition or the half court 5.8apg) are tenacious as ever defensively and can lift the offense with penetration and passing but the shooting from deep hasn't yet reached the level they are capable of 8rpg) will have his hands full as the lone true size for the squad and staying out of foul trouble will be key But the Saints often go as Hyrum Harris (15.1ppg the good news being that he often goes at a high level Matchup to Watch - Owen Foxwell v Shea Ili - The bigs will be have heaps to say about the winner but the guard match-up might have more influence When Foxwell has been at his best he's facilitated with ease while finding scoring from inside and out but Ili has the ability to put any guard in the league on lockdown and if he does so today he will give his team the upper hand all advanced stats courtesy of spatialjam.com Tory Whanau launches Golden Mile project yesterday Become a Wellington.Scoop Supporter » Round 5 teamlists at this link in the line below (an internal link on our website): Wellington club rugby Swindale Shield Round 5 teamlists Radio Commentary. This Saturday, the E Tū Whānau Footy Show comes from Kilbirnie Park in the fixture between Pōneke and Johnsonville. On air from 2.00pm Catch all the action on Te Upoko Radio – 87.6FM in the central city, 1161AM across the region, or stream it on iHeart Radio, the Whare Kōrero app, and online at www.teupoko.nz Live streaming options: There will be some live streaming by clubs of their matches such as Poneke v Johnsonville (Poneke feed): Marist St Pat’s v Petone (MSP feed) – MSP Facebook link here: https://www.facebook.com/msprugby Avalon v Tawa (Tawa feed) – Facebook link here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063655984264 Wellington College v Napier Boys’ High School (Huddy Sports) Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Tory Whanau will not run for a second term as Wellington Mayor Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has decided not to seek a second term, reversing her previous decision to run again for the mayoralty at the local body elections in October Whanau said two events helped change her mind she turned the first sod on the Courtenay Place section of the redevelopment of the city’s “Golden Mile” – a project that has been kicking around since 2016 The second event was the decision of former Labour leader Andrew Little to throw his hat in the ring earlier this month I’ve decided I’d like to step aside to give him a clear runway to win the mayoralty,” Whanau said “I think this is actually a better outcome for everyone involved I can keep fighting for what I believe in for the city “I want to acknowledge Tory Whanau for her service to Wellington Tory took on the mayoralty during a tough time for Wellington and regardless of our differences in approach I want to recognise her hard work and her dedication to the city” who is the city’s first mayor of Māori descent publicly hinted she might not seek a second term at the end of last year telling Newstalk ZB she’d be having “conversations with family and friends” about her next steps “Over the summer, there were no viable candidates running for the mayoralty, so I thought because I still care about the outcomes of the city,” Whanau said “I don’t want this mayoral campaign to be about Labour versus Green, progressive versus progressive. That’s not what it should be about we ought to be coming together and working as a team to deliver the best outcomes for our city Whanau told Little about her plans last week Little told Newstalk ZB’s Ryan Bridge this morning that that conversation with Whanau was a brief one “I wished her all the best and that was really it,” Little said Little said Whanau took on the mayoralty at a “challenging time” but she had made some positive changes The former Labour leader said one of the main reasons he stepped up to be a candidate was so he could restore the faith in the council it is simply not acceptable for rates to increase about 30% in the last two years,” Little said council not getting a grip on their own finances.” Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Wellington Mornings Host Nick Mills Whanau said she was confident she could have retained the mayoralty but thought the council would be better with both her and Andrew Little around the table Asked about rumours the Green Party had withdrawn its support for her “I knew it could’ve been won with a really strong campaign” Mills asked Whanau whether a deal had been done between the pair for her to become Little’s deputy mayor She said there was no deal but expressed her interest in the role hey feel free to consider me if he’s elected next year that would be great.” A spokesperson for Little’s campaign said there was no deal for the deputy position Whanau told Mills she would continue to work on signing contracts for the Golden Mile while she’s mayor Asked how she would rate her mayoralty on a scale of 1 to 10 Whanau said she should have campaigned to do a term on council before running for the mayoralty as well as wishing she trusted her political instincts better everything I campaigned on is in train and I’m really proud of that” Whanau won the mayoralty in 2022, beating Labour’s Paul Eagle and incumbent Wellington Mayor Andy Foster in the closest thing to a landslide possible under Wellington’s STV voting system Whanau is proud to have lifted the city’s water investment to $1.8 billion in the 2024-34 Long-Term Plan The council’s district plan will enable thousands of new homes The council has also planned to upgrade over 800 social housing units It has built 27km of new cycleways and bus priority lanes have doubled from 4km to 8km that is exactly what I was elected to deliver and now with the Golden Mile project starting officially I feel very proud we’re in the middle of transformation,” Whanau said Projects like the Golden Mile had been “a battle” but one that was ultimately worth fighting When asked how her mayoralty might be remembered Whanau admitted there was “a lot of negativity” around her now but she believed Wellingtonians will look back fondly on the transformation the city has undergone “I like to try and remind people that if you see road cones That means something is going to be delivered.” we’ll have Courtenay Place finished – it’ll be the best entertainment precinct and we’ll have a new waste minimisation plant," she said “I can understand the frustration that people have Whanau admitted that she personally had become a “distraction” – one that threatened to undermine what she wanted to achieve “I’m glad that I’m no longer going to be a distraction to some of that,” she said “That kind of helped me decide this pathway .. I’d rather just put myself aside and keep focusing on the work,” she said When asked what she might have done differently Whanau said she would have sought to spend some time on council before becoming Mayor Council officers recommended diversifying the council’s investments rather than having them concentrated in the airport (which would itself be vulnerable to Wellington earthquakes) pitting Whanau against her Labour allies around the council table and even some Greens “It got quite ugly, and I think we weren’t being the best versions of ourselves,” Whanau said when I look at that particular project and maybe Reading [Whanau backed a deal to revitalise the privately-owned cinema complex] I may not have been quite as supportive if I trusted my instincts.” Whanau said after those twin challenges – both proposals eventually fell through – she learned to trust her instincts “It was actually directly after the airport decision where I really started to trust myself more,” she said While she pledged not to support a sale of the airport shares in future she says the problem the sale was trying to address still exists The council is up against the wall financially and it has an under-insurance risk – a risk that has a good chance of turning into a real problem; the latest modelling reckons there is a one-in-10 chance of Wellington being hit by a significant earthquake in the next 50 years it seemed like a logical way to address that but it’s not what the people wanted,” Whanau said The sale put severe strain on the council’s relationship with mana whenua which Whanau “absolutely” hoped to repair if elected as the Māori ward councillor “Politics is dramatic and it’s hard and sometimes relationships become a bit fractured but that’s because the decisions that we’re making are really hard and people care about them Whanau was dogged by personal struggles while mayor. After two high-profile incidents, Whanau admitted to a drinking problem Last year, she was also diagnosed with ADHD Whanau said her generation of politicians was “more open” about challenges than generations that had gone before “I suppose the personal challenges that I’ve faced are probably not dissimilar to what many people have faced whether it’s needing to reduce drinking or getting an ADHD assessment or just wanting to be a bit more private,” she said “These are the issues that my generation are facing – Millennials Reflecting on 10 years in politics (she began working for the Green Party as a staffer a decade ago) Whanau noticed an increase in abuse copped by local and central government politicians She thought the turning point was the pandemic and the subsequent restrictions “I think it was the Covid lockdown that really accelerated that behaviour,” Whanau said She thought that while politicians copped abuse before Covid the rhetoric has become far more violent since “Violence has definitely increased post-Covid .. are very happy to say the most hideous things about women in politics which have nothing to do with their character,” Whanau said She said she was “looking forward to being less of a target” of that kind of behaviour but it was not enough to make her quit politics altogether – in fact Whanau said one day she would consider running for Parliament so it’s a natural pathway for me to go to Parliament and become a minister I still have plenty in me to keep going,” she said Thomas Coughlan is the NZ Herald political editor and covers politics from Parliament He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the Press Gallery since 2018 The Prime Minister's new chief science adviser is Dr John Roche from MPI More people are throwing their hat into the ring for Wellington's mayoralty as local body elections draw nearer The capital will have a new leader after the public vote on 11 October, with current mayor Tory Whanau withdrawing from the race in April Check out RNZ's list (in alphabetical order) of who's running for the capital's top job who has run prominent local Facebook page Wellington Live he calculated - would be the best way to save money He described Wellington as being "in the s..." facing declining property values and a struggling hospitality sector He wanted to take a "really good look" at the council's culture the silly ones" like the town hall upgrades cycleways and the Moa Point sludge minimisation project Wellington City Councillor Ray Chung announced his second mayoralty bid early He hoped by announcing his candidacy early voters would have time to consider what they wanted to see in the city before the "hoopla" of the electoral campaign social and cultural state was the worst it's ever been and wanted to bring costs down and improve fiscal understanding around the council table Former Wellington City Councillor Rob Goulden said he wanted to run a council that was not divided by politics smart team that's got Wellington's interests at heart." He told RNZ he wanted to ask central government what it would do for the capital like investing in a four lane road to the airport Goulden said some projects should be deferred - like the Lambton Quay section of the Golden Mile - or rethought paint could be used rather than digging up roads and changing layouts Goulden also suggested a new measure for safety in natural disasters - putting a first aid kit in every car in Wellington who started Predator Free Crofton Downs to eliminate pests from the suburb said he was running to make Wellington "the best it could be" but it was "last minute" to see how he felt about the campaign process - so he would put in a lot more effort this time around Hastie said he would bring rates rises down as low as possible without selling the council's airport shares and he wanted to "pause all projects" including the Golden Mile the composting scheme and the City to Sea bridge demolition He also wanted to consult the public on amalgamating the region's councils - Wellington Hutt City and Upper Hutt - to cut rates and duplication of work The former Labour Party leader and minister said he would prioritise fixing the pipes Little - currently a consultant for a law firm in Wellington - left Parliament following Labour's 2023 election defeat after first entering politics in 2011 He said Wellingtonians did not vote for asset sales or closing community facilities - if elected mayor and honour commitments for Karori community facilities With plans for a new water entity consisting of all the region's councils underway he said he would ensure Wellington got a good deal He said he would "rephase" the Golden Mile project to reduce disruption to local businesses amid a difficult time for retail and hospitality "My focus as mayor will be getting the best for Wellington That means being able to work constructively with the government in the city's interests and it means standing up to the Beehive when needed," he said He ran for council last year in a by-election to fill a set left empty by Green MP Tamatha Paul when she was elected to parliament. He narrowly lost to the Greens' candidate Geordie Rogers Tiefenbacher told RNZ he would not seek a political party endorsement but would have a conversation if he was approached He said he wanted to get the city "back on track" which included changing the council's culture and the way councillors work with officers, managing debt levels, keeping rates rises to a minimum, focusing on core infrastructure and stopping some "pet projects" like cycleways, the Golden Mile "There's a lot of money that we're actually spending that we don't need to be spending and it has to be done on a 'need to' rather than a 'want to' basis." you’re so weird': Huge crowd gathers to watch a man fold a fitted sheetAbout 700 people squashed together on Cuba Street to catch a glimpse of Dan Boerman's linen skills why are you here?'"Photo credit:Freya DuffyComedian Dan Boerman arrived in Wellington jetlagged and delirious in front of a raucous crowd on Cuba Street he would perform his ability to fold a fitted sheet to all everyone was so hyped and then as soon as I walked out with a sheet on my head The stunt was part of a wider marketing plan to promote Boerman’s upcoming show in the New Zealand International Comedy Festival aptly titled ‘Dan Boerman Folds A Fitted Sheet On His Own “I’m ballparking about 700 people showed up, and from the videos, there were people standing on bins to try and see. It was like a Fred Again concert.” Boerman is a Wellingtonian now based in Edinburgh doing comedy full time He arrived in the capital on Saturday with just 36 hours to spare – a short stint ahead of his shows in Melbourne and Wellington “Mum didn’t even know I was showing up on Saturday I just went into her work to surprise her dressed in a disguise; it was super funny.” Boerman says the show is “a spicy love-letter to our better halves – and a nod to how useless we are as men when we’re kind of on our own.” He wrote it about six months ago after a relationship breakup “There’s too many shows already of dudes going up on stage they’re chatting about being on [dating apps] Hinge so this is a refreshing take on the recently single millennial man story “It’s more of an acknowledgement of chicks and how we’re useless without them They kind of keep us sane but also make us insane sometimes "People felt real good coming together and chanting on a stranger: 'Fold that sheet!' The fitted sheet skit in Wellington was six months in the making “I’ve always got shenanigans in the pipeline I wanted to be able to promote the show remotely “I’m not living around the corner from Cuba Street anymore so I thought what I’d do is just a guerilla marketing event something people will talk about themselves.” Boerman started with one big poster in town advertising the event it was me that posted it under an anonymous account Boerman estimates the fitted sheet stunt drew a crowd of 700 people in Wellington The post got some traction and eventually led to stickers being posted around Cuba Street with a QR code linking to a dedicated Instagram page – also anonymously run by Boerman he posted a reel to gauge how many people might attend the event The post received 50,000 views and some 1500 likes this is gonna be way bigger than I thought' I’ve bit off more than I can chew and I’m only in the country for 36 hours at this point Boerman estimates 90 percent of the crowd were students 21 and under - free on a Monday afternoon and absolutely loving it "As soon as I walked out with a sheet on my head “They were so stoked on the idea and it was such a fun I don’t think anything like that has happened in Wellington in a long time stuff was real wacky and the world wasn’t that serious everyone’s indoors and on their phones and we’re not chatting to each other “Loads of people were saying to me afterwards this is what we needed in Wellington’ and it was kind of profound in a sense I was just being silly and putting together something nonsense but people felt real good coming together and chanting on a stranger: ‘Fold that sheet!’ "No other city in the world would respond like that.” More from CultureCourt Theatre's new $61 million playhouse opens in central ChristchurchThe long-awaited new home for Christchurch's Court Theatre has officially opened its doors in the central city, 14 years after the devastating quakes that drove it out of the Arts Centre. The Royal New Zealand Ballet's performance of a 115-year story has plenty of spark. The artwork was originally thought to be worth about $200 until it was identified as a possible Colin McCahon on the day of the sale. After being fired from a corporate job, David Stuart relocated to New Zealand from Scotland and now has a burgeoning comedy career. Homes have been evacuated tonight in Christchurch because of landslides after torrential rain sparked widespread flooding And a rare red wind warning in Wellington has been downgraded tonight but residents remain on alert for high tide amid fears of coastal inundation Some residents in the capital have been urged to self-evacuate as monster waves pound the city’s south coast Severe winds of up to 150km/h have smashed Wellington today closing roads and sparking more than 100 emergency callouts With high tide expected about 8pm increasing the risk of coastal inundation Wellington City Council said some residents are advised to leave their homes and seek safety “Wellington City Council is strongly advising residents of the south coast to consider staying somewhere else tonight if possible please be aware you may not be able to access your property by vehicle after 5.30pm tonight.” Christchurch has been placed under a state of emergency after torrential rain triggered widespread flooding with some people rescued from water-logged cars The announcement was made by Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell who travelled to Canterbury this afternoon to survey the damage A local state of emergency has also been declared for the Selwyn district MetService upgraded Wellington’s wind warning to a rare red level with destructive gales and a threat to life from flying items and falling trees “Stay indoors or seek sturdy shelter away from trees Be ready for power and communication outages.” This was later downgraded with an orange strong wind warning and heavy rain warning currently in place Flights have been cancelled for the rest of the day at Wellington Airport with warnings of more wild weather and further disruptions in coming days Follow the latest updates from the wild weather in our blog below Sign up to The Daily H Billboards attacking Green Party MPs Chlöe Swarbrick and Tamatha Paul have appeared in Auckland and Wellington with the group responsible saying the party has an "anti-victim mentality." which resemble Green Party campaign hoardings contain the slogans "Defund the Police" and "Vote Green" Defund da Police," a reference to KRS-One's track Sound of da Police which Paul played during her DJ Set at Cuba Dupa last month The pictures of Paul have appeared on a screen on a building on Whitmore Street The billboards look similar to the campaign hoardings Paul used in her successful bid to win the Wellington Central electorate in 2023 An authorisation statement at the bottom of the billboards confirmed the Sensible Sentencing Trust was behind the campaign the group said Auckland and Wellington's CBDs "face significant challenges in relation to public safety and crime but the Green MPs representing these communities would have the police 'defunded' and even prisons 'abolished'." Spokesperson Louise Parsons said the "vast majority" of Green voters would be "shocked by the radical views of the Green Party's electorate MPs in Auckland Central and Wellington Central" The Sensible Sentencing Trust is a group which advocates for tougher penalties against offenders The billboards were later changed to use photos captured from Parliament TV The Sensible Sentencing Trust said the Greens had complained to the billboard company asserting copyright breaches as they owned the copyright to Paul's official candidate photo it "reactivated" in order to oppose the government's Three Strikes sentencing bill which it said was "watered-down" and a "betrayal" to voters who were promised a tougher regime said her party had always pushed for "real evidence-based debate on policy," though the party would not comment on whether it would take action against the billboards "After 40 years of trickle-down politics and economics calm discussion about how to genuinely make our communities safer or will we stay stuck in the knee-jerk shock politics?" Swarbrick said "It's clear right wing organisations and political parties are keen to shut down any civil discussion about where things have gone wrong and how we could improve - so much for being free speech advocates." Defunding the police is not Green Party policy At a panel last month Paul said police resources could be used more productively and suggested other agencies and organisations were better placed to take on some of police's functions She said a "visible police presence" was making people feel more on edge and she had received "nothing but complaints" about police beat patrols A spokesperson for the Electoral Commission confirmed the Green Party had contacted the Commission about the advertisements the billboards complied with the Electoral Act While third-party promoters are required to obtain authorisation from a party secretary to publish an advertisement that may reasonably be regarded as encouraging or persuading voters to vote for a party they do not need authorisation if the advertisement encourages voters not to vote for a party based on the overall content and context of the billboards our view is that they may reasonably be regarded as encouraging or persuading voters not to vote for the Green Party the prior written authorisation of the party secretary is not required," the spokesperson said The billboards also included a promoter statement with a name and address The spokesperson said the Electoral Commission does not regulate the content of election advertisements and if a party was concerned the content did not comply with advertising standards it could go to the Advertising Standards Authority She says a "visible police presence" makes people feel "more on edge." "This tragic accident is bigger than politics and Tamatha Paul should be ashamed of herself" The Greens say Benjamin Doyle is feeling "scared and worried about their whānau" A Wellington Library is trialling a new way of cataloguing its mātauranga Māori books organising them by atua (deity) rather than by the Dewey Decimal system The trial shelves can be found on the second floor of Te Awe Library in central Wellington and have been integrated with the online library catalogue Bridget Jennings is the Senior Cataloguing Specialist at Wellington City Libraries she said they wanted to create a structure for the library's collections based on how knowledge is organised in te ao Māori "Libraries around the world have been thinking about this for a long time how to reflect indigenous ways of knowing and certainly libraries in New Zealand have been thinking about this." Jennings said the idea began almost by accident during a conversation with fellow librarian Ann Reweti where they both expressed frustration with the lack of a classification system for Māori books They eventually settled on a structure with 13 atua classes one with Ranginui and Papatuānuku together then 12 individual atua The Dewey Decimal system was first developed in the United States and organises library books by discipline or field of study with numbered classes such as 300: Social Sciences and 900: History and Geography Jennings said within those classes it is organised by subjects such as psychology Before becoming increasingly granular within that because it is difficult to deal with what the system considers to be the other Librarian Shane Caldwell said they wanted to get away from a system where indigenous people are an afterthought a lot of non white peoples are in the end of the nine hundreds because when they did it they thought they were going extinct so they just tacked them on to the end because their histories don't matter that much because they'll be gone soon obviously they do matter and so we're bringing them out of that." there is some difficulty at times decided which atua a book should come under Often it's not immediately obvious how a certain book connects to an atua for example Caldwell said books about music come under Tāwhirimātea god of the weather because it's the wind or hau creating the sound "It's like a a mix of things and some things can go in multiple places and you know there'd be some topics where in an ideal world would have five copies of a book and it would be in five different places because lakes and rivers - and all life within them and the guardian of knowledge of carving - you can find books on bodies of water the kūmara and cultivated food is where you find te ao Māori books on peace the response has been a combination of enthusiasm and people just going about their regular library business "It's kind of integrated itself into the overall collection quite well and people can search for and find things and but at the same time people are also enjoying the different different perspective that it brings when you're browsing the shelves and Librarians are particularly getting a a bit of a kick out of it." Libraries in other parts of the world doing similar things For example there is a tribal library in the United States which has organised it's collection in a similar way "I find it quite encouraging and quite exciting to see these developments in the library world," she said The library is looking for feedback from the public and Jennings said they are keen to roll it out to other libraries around Wellington Alongside the 130 films and shown at the Māoriland Film Festival indigenous art has been a sight of its own throughout the streets of Ōtaki Many people have little idea that Māori scholarship stretches back to the earliest books published in this country A person's genetic information can help medical professionals carry out screening diagnosing and treating patients more accurately Former Labour Party leader and Minister Andrew Little is actively considering running for Wellington Mayor Little - who is currently a consultant for a law firm in Wellington - has confirmed to RNZ he is considering taking a tilt at the October election He left Parliament following Labour's 2023 election defeat after first entering politics in 2011 Little has been sought after by Labour to run on the party ticket for mayor - up against incumbent Tory Whanau who is running on the endorsement of the Green Party but stood down just two months out from the 2017 election Little held 12 ministerial portfolios - the most difficult of his tenure being Health Minister during the Covid-19 response years He was given the role by Ardern following the 2020 election and was the minister who oversaw the seismic overhaul of the sector scrapping all 20 district health boards and replacing them with two new entities - Health New Zealand and the Māori Health Authority Other senior ministerial roles he held included: Minister for Treaty Negotiations Six contenders, including Whanau, have already announced they plan to run for the capital's top job The other five consist of current councillor Ray Chung Despite the news Little was considering running for Wellington's top job Whanau told RNZ she was the right person for it I also want to continue our massive progress on water infrastructure climate initiatives and to continue leading a diverse and inclusive city." Whanau said having several candidates for the mayoralty was good for democracy "I also respect Andrew Little from my time at Parliament especially when he stepped aside as leader for the Labour Party." But she said to keep up momentum toward a future-focused city Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters told RNZ whilst he was not giving an endorsement he believed that Andrew Little would beat Tory Whanau if he did run he's got a whole lot more experience and he's got more common sense." Peters said despite former Wellington Mayor Andy Foster being in New Zealand First's caucus the party does not involve itself in local government On the question of whether Peters could work with Little as Wellington's Mayor he said that it was one of the "brighter" pieces of news for the city in a long time Labour Party President Jill Day told RNZ she was not in a position to comment on the matter at this stage The former Cabinet Minister and Attorney General is quitting politics after 23 years Andrew Little has announced his retirement from politics - but not without taking a parting shot at the "sheer and utter ignorance" of the incoming government's views on the Treaty of Waitangi Analysis - Andrew Little's time at the top was brief - in keeping with the trend followed by recent Labour Party leaders A Wellington professional has escaped conviction for filming his coworkers using the office toilet saying he only did it to get himself fired While a judge said the excuse seemed “implausible” he has accepted the explanation after reading reports by a psychologist and a counsellor The 37-year-old, who has permanent name suppression, applied in the Wellington District Court for a discharge without conviction on one charge of making multiple intimate visual recordings of seven identified people In a court decision made in March but only recently released to the Herald Judge Ian Carter said the offending happened in a Wellington workplace “Sometime between the start of his employment with the particular employer and his finishing in that employment on 22 April last year he concealed a covert recording device in a workplace unisex toilet cubicle,” Judge Carter said in the decision “The camera was concealed on at least two separate occasions and the second date was the day the device was found on 19 April last year.” The defendant adjusted the device and tested the camera angle to ensure it captured the immediate area around the toilet seat The device activated when it detected motion or sound and sent footage directly to the defendant’s phone Investigators were able to retrieve footage of seven of the man’s adult colleagues using the toilet The victims range in age from mid-20s to early 50s Judge Carter said he had read the victim impact statements “All expressed a range of emotions including embarrassment They felt upset and unsettled and much less trusting than they were before including in particular when using any toilet or bathroom which is accessible by others whether in a public space or workplace situation.” Many of the victims said they now feel paranoid and will check and scan around bathrooms before using them “There was undoubtedly a significant and serious impact on them all.” Judge Carter said he needed to assess the gravity of the offending and whether the consequences of a conviction might be out of proportion He said the man had taken steps since being charged to engage with a counsellor and psychologist both of whom provided reports to the court “Both of those professionals express the opinion that the offending was not sexually motivated That may at first glance seem surprising as the nature of the offending would suggest to most people that that is the likely motivation,” he said The psychologist’s report recorded the defendant’s explanation was that he felt he was being bullied by a manager which stemmed from a background of social isolation The psychologist also diagnosed him with ADHD The defendant had explained due to his mental health at the time he planted the device as a way to try to get dismissed from his job seems an implausible explanation,” the judge said But based on the context in the psychologist’s report Judge Carter said he was persuaded that it was an accurate and honest explanation “[The defendant] accepts that it was naïve and foolish to have used that particular method to try and end his employment relationship but in context it does seem likely.” Judge Carter said the psychologist was also trained in dealing with sexual offenders Both he and the counsellor expressed a belief there was a low risk of the man reoffending The judge also noted there was no evidence the footage was shared with anyone else Other factors the judge considered included that he had no previous convictions had prepared letters of apology to each victim and that he voluntarily did 233 hours of community work He said the primary consequence of a conviction was that the man would lose his career for which he has almost completed his qualifications effectively loss of [the defendant’s] career and employment prospects in his chosen field would be disproportionate to the low to moderate gravity of the offending which I have assessed.” He said the interests of the defendant outweighed the public interest in him being convicted The man had indicated he had been unemployed for some time but that he had saved enough money to make emotional harm reparations of $100 per victim and ordered the man pay $350 to each victim Judge Carter also granted permanent name suppression saying he had evidence of the man’s “fragile mental health” and noted the discharge without conviction would be undermined if he was to be named publicly Police opposed the discharge and name suppression applications Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years A new workshop space in Wellington aims to encourage more women and gender diverse people to learn how to build The Cahoots Workshop is a traditional makerspace - like a MENZSHED - but it is only open to women and gender diverse people Founder and director Jade Musther said the workshop was the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere It would offer those groups a safe and supportive space to build practical skills and confidence as well as foster community in the trades and hands-on creativity Classes might range from learning to repair holes in plasterboard to making garden furniture out of pallet wood to 3D printing There was still an extreme gender inequity in the trades with less than three percent of tradies in Aotearoa identifying as women The former engineering and construction worker said that she had always been "very aware of the extreme gender inequity in those spaces and in wider sort of practical spaces like DIY" Musther said she originally set up Cahoots Limited a sort of unified brand with non traditionally gender diverse and queer tradies" The idea of the workshop came about after teaching a community class specifically for women and gender diverse people "When we ran that class it became extra apparent to me how much need there is in the space for those skills how much desire there is for those skills and how excluded from those spaces these communities have traditionally been It was just really wonderful to see the sort of empowerment that came through in that space we had folks who had come in scared of tools teaching each other things that they had learned and just having these deep conversations about sort of the difference between a drill and an impact driver Everyone was very passionate to get into this space in a way that they feel safe and empowered and supported which is such a contrast to how women and queer folks typically feel in those spaces." Keeping the space exclusive to those groups was crucial "Even when you bring cis-gendered men who are really well-meaning into that space it can trigger the responses that have been conditioned into these people to minimise themselves The few women that we do see in trades have often pushed through that have been really marginalised in that space and that's triggered even if there's just one really well-meaning cis-gendered man we decided it was really important to make it an exclusive space." giving members direct access to the workshop while also providing the chance for people in the community on low incomes who could not afford a membership Cahoots would not be a training establishment but it would offer people "an indirect pathway into trades" "I would really love to take folks who are using the workshop .. who are interested in getting some sort of job site experience and we can go and build a fence Musther said Cahoots hopes to raise $50,000 by 16 May to fully finish the workshop Trans and non-binary New Zealanders say they have been threatened in the street and run off the road on their bikes the coalition government asked the health ministry to review how that is currently handled prompting officials to call for a more cautious approach Associate Health Minister Casey Costello has directed Health NZ to say "women" instead of "pregnant people" We spend our days thinking about existential questions Though road cones recently have had their fair share of controversy it’s important to remember the origins of why they were created Their purpose is to keep people safe and make sure all workers and people using the roads get home each night. A definitive list of the types of street definitions used in Wellington from alley to way and everything in between From pre-European ara to mass rapid transit discover the history of Wellington's streets with local historian Gábor Tóth How do we come up with the names for Wellington's streets They will be replaced by a new display that is currently being kept under wraps. Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke said that the departure of the birds (and their passenger Gandalf) will be emotional for staff. "They have been a huge success and travellers from around the world have loved admiring them. After 12 years it's the right time for them to fly the nest. “We’re working with Wētā Workshop on some exciting plans for a unique, locally themed replacement to take their place." The eagles were created by Wētā Workshop as a tie-in with the Hobbit movies and unveiled in December 2013. Each bird weighs 1.2 tonnes and has a 15-metre wingspan, with a combined total of 1000 feathers. Wētā Workshop co-founder and chief creative officer Richard Taylor said it's a "bittersweet moment" saying goodbye to them. "There are many more stories to be told, and we're looking forward to working with Wellington Airport on bringing a new chapter to life." The eagles will be taken down and disassembled on Friday May 9 and placed into storage, with long-term plans for them still yet to be decided. "We’ll unveil what’s next later this year so keep watching the skies," Clarke said. Tolkien fans will be relieved to know that Smaug the Magnificent will remain in the check-in area. Wellington Airports iconic eagle and Gandalf. (Source: Supplied) Wellington's famous eagles will take flight from the airport this week after 12 years in the terminal. Gandalf and the eagle. (Source: Supplied) Film industry anxiously awaits details on Trump's 100% movie tariff The US President said Hollywood was dying a "very fast death" due to the incentives that other countries are using to attract American filmmakers New Zealand Search underway for Masterton man John Rafferty was last seen at Masterton Railway Station at about midday on May 4 Victoria Uni law students to sit handwritten exams due to AI fears Professor Geoff McLay said he had become "increasingly worried that the embedding of artificial intelligence in many students' laptops" Man charged after gun allegedly fired in Masterton MSD office Police said it was believed to be an isolated incident with no wider risk to the public Crime and Justice Qantas confirms new Auckland-Perth flights Flights between Auckland and Western Australia's capital would begin in December Business Man's cigarette smuggling attempt stubbed out Customs said the body-packing of the more than 1600 cigarettes was "an attempt to defraud Customs revenue" Film industry anxiously awaits details on Trump's 100% movie tariff 7:17pm Search underway for Masterton man, 74, missing since Sunday 7:07pm Crooks, culture first order of business for Mike Bush in Victoria 7:05pm Charges filed against Woolworths over pricing, misleading specials 6:45pm Police, experts warn 'emerging risk' of 3D-printed firearms rising 6:33pm Trade war: Sir John Key's 'optimism' on Trump's next tariff moves 7:28pm 1US woman who disappeared for more than six decades found safe Govt halts all current pay equity claims, makes it harder to lodge new ones NRL: Sharks centre Iro wants to be known by new name Two men's shared name brings years of trouble and a hefty bill to one Photos: Lorde among stars at 2025 Met Gala A$AP Rocky and Rihanna also revealed they are expecting their third child. Two arrested over alleged plot targeting Lady Gaga concert in RioBrazilian police said they thwarted an alleged bomb attack planned for Lady Gaga's concert on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro. Lady Gaga rocks Copacabana Beach with free concert for over 2 million fans Sun, May 4 Lorde announces new album name, date Thu, May 1 Kim Kardashian to testify in Paris trial over 2016 armed robbery Mon, Apr 28 Chubby Checker, Outkast, Cyndi Lauper join Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Mon, Apr 28 Kim Kardashian to testify in Paris trial over 2016 armed robbery Mon Wellington's famous eagles will take flight from the airport this week after 12 years in the terminal They will be replaced by a new display that is currently being kept under wraps Wellington Airport chief executive Matt Clarke said that the departure of the birds (and their passenger Gandalf) will be emotional for staff "They have been a huge success and travellers from around the world have loved admiring them After 12 years it's the right time for them to fly the nest locally themed replacement to take their place." The eagles were created by Wētā Workshop as a tie-in with the Hobbit movies and unveiled in December 2013 Each bird weighs 1.2 tonnes and has a 15-metre wingspan Wētā Workshop co-founder and chief creative officer Richard Taylor said it's a "bittersweet moment" saying goodbye to them "There are many more stories to be told and we're looking forward to working with Wellington Airport on bringing a new chapter to life." The eagles will be taken down and disassembled on Friday May 9 and placed into storage with long-term plans for them still yet to be decided "We’ll unveil what’s next later this year so keep watching the skies," Clarke said Tolkien fans will be relieved to know that Smaug the Magnificent will remain in the check-in area A search and rescue operation is underway for a Masterton man in his 70s missing since Sunday John Rafferty was last seen at Masterton Railway Station about midday on May 4 The 74-year-old did not board a train and left on foot about 20 minutes later Matheson said it was possible Rafferty was staying with a friend but police and loved ones "want to know he’s safe" and John doesn’t have his cell phone or wallet," he said A search team and a helicopter has been out looking for the missing man "We are really keen to know that he’s safe." Police have released an image from CCTV showing Rafferty on a station platform on the day of his disappearance He was wearing a blue jacket with 'NASA' written on the back Anyone who saw him was asked to contact police on 111 or online at 105 if there was Information after the fact A law student at Victoria University of Wellington said students had been "left in the lurch" after an announcement on Monday that said next month's exams for two law subjects would have to be handwritten also said a timetable had still not been provided he said he had become "increasingly worried that the embedding of artificial intelligence (AI) in many students' laptops makes ensuring that students' work is their own very difficult" He had hoped the university would have a technical solution although he hoped one would be available at the end of the year "This means that we will not be able to allow students to use laptops for exams next month," McLay wrote "I want to make this announcement as soon as possible so students have time to prepare for handwritten examinations." McLay added that there would be an exception for students with a disability that required them to use a keyboard The situation affected the LAWS 312 Equity and LAWS 334 Ethics exams The student said the announcement was stressful during an already stressful time a representative of the Victoria University of Wellington Law Students' Society said the Council of Legal Education had to be certain that everyone who passed the exams in Equity and Ethics deserved a pass (and did not cheat) "Previously in person invigilation has been sufficient to manage these concerns due to the increasing ability and sophistication of AI the faculty were concerned about the reliability of the exams leading to their decision to make the Equity and Ethics exams handwritten." The representative said the law students' society had expressed that students' preference was for typed exams — "reflecting how our professional lives will look" once it became clear that the faculty felt they needed to proceed with handwritten exams we emphasised that students should be informed as early as possible accessibility options should be made clear and exam content and timing should reflect the fact that many students have not done handwritten exams since high school and are not used to writing for extended periods of time." The representative added it was separate from the delay to the exam timetable Victoria University Provost Professor Bryony James said students' handwriting their exams meant the university could be confident that the results truly reflected the students' own knowledge and effort — free of any suggestion of the influence of AI James said she would ensure that no student was disadvantaged and was committed to working with students — including those with disabilities — who might need further support to participate in exams and final assessments as a result "As part of this undertaking the Faculty of Law will review this Trimester's exam results to ensure this cohort's performance is in line with previous years and confirm that students are not significantly impacted by this decision." President of Victoria University's Students' Association Liban Ali told Morning Report he was aware that this could happen as early as last year "It has been on the card as of last year I feel like there was something that was going to happen." Ali said the announcement had come at the wrong time and that the Students' Association were very concerned for students He said the Students' Association had engaged the Law Society and the faculty to determine the best way to support students He added that he would make sure that any changes were communicated early in the future rnz.co.nz A 25-year-old man has appeared in court after he allegedly fired a gun at another person inside a Ministry of Social Development office in Masterton yesterday Police were called to the incident on Lincoln Rd at around 12.40pm on Monday Wairarapa Area Commander Inspector Nick Thom said there were no reports of injuries from the incident "Following police's initial enquiries one person was taken into custody a short time later nearby." Cordons were put in place around the area and some staff were armed as a precaution Thom said it was believed to be an isolated incident with no wider risk to the public "Police would like to commend Ministry of Social Development staff for their prompt actions in following their lockdown procedures as this enabled police to provide a swift response to resolve this incident quickly." A 25-year-old man appeared in Masterton District Court today charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and conducting a dangerous act with intent to cause grievous bodily harm Qantas has announced that direct flights between Perth and Auckland will take off later this year Flights between Auckland and Western Australia's capital would begin in December The airline also added flights between Perth and Johannesburg and Sundays with an approximate flight time of 8 hours Perth to Auckland flights would operate as QF111 on Monday The approximate flight time was around six hours and 45 minutes Both flights would use Qantas A330 aircraft with 27 business class seats and 224 economy seats The new flights would allow a one-stop route to London via Perth It would also allow for connections via Perth from Auckland to airports across South Africa the new flight to Auckland would also allow a one-stop connection to New York on the airline's QF3 service “We’re so excited to be launching two new international routes unlocking more options and greater choice for all Australians to connect to the world through our growing network," Qantas International chief executive Cam Wallace said “By connecting Perth directly with Auckland and Johannesburg we’re supporting the local economy by opening valuable inbound tourism opportunities for Western Australia as well as generating new jobs for the state These routes also enable further growth throughout Australia with connections across our domestic network." The next top cop of the troubled Victoria police force embraces his "outsider" status to curb its leadership malaise and has a stern warning for crooks Former New Zealand Police commissioner Mike Bush won the race to become Victoria's chief commissioner after months of top-level staffing woes The 40-year police veteran steps into the role on June 27 with a five-year contract The Kiwi conceded the job will be no picnic with Victoria's crime rate hitting an almost decade-high in 2024 everyone knows that," he told reporters today "These crime issues are actually global they are quite similar wherever you go but it's not good enough just to turn up after the act Rising youth crime and high-profile cases of alleged offenders committing crimes while on bail spurred the Victorian government to strengthen laws in March Bush said he was familiar with the crackdown but bail laws were just one part of the solution to tackling youth crime along with a "prevention mindset" He retired from the NZ police force in 2020 after joining in 1978 and spending his final six years in the top job Whakaari/White Island volcano eruption and Covid-19 pandemic were among the biggest crises Bush confronted during his tenure Bush also made headlines in 2022 after it emerged he had a past drink-driving conviction when unsuccessfully applying to become head of the UK's Metropolitan Police Former New Zealand police minister Stuart Nash describedr Bush as hard but fair He said Bush regularly met with police forces across the Tasman in his previous role and recalled travelling with him to every district across New Zealand once a year to chew the fat with communities and then we all had biscuits and a cup of tea," Nash told AAP "Mike is someone who had deep credibility in policing." The state government has not handed the reins of Victoria Police to an outsider since former NSW Police assistant commissioner Christine Nixon in 2001 The Kiwi was happy to wear the "outsider" tag and is already hatching plans to hit the ground running "I've got a lot to do to come up to speed," Bush said "Culture is a consequence of leadership." establishing relationships with community groups amid rising tensions and increasing police visibility on the beat were among his other top initial priorities Victoria Police was thrust into leadership turmoil in February with a no-confidence vote from officers costing chief commissioner Shane Patton his job Emergency Management Commissioner Rick Nugent became acting chief and expressed an interest in making the move permanent before throwing in the towel in April Deputy Commissioner Robert Hill will serve in an acting capacity until Bush takes over Bush intends to speak with Patton before starting and said he wouldn't shy away from pushing back if he disagreed with the government Premier Jacinta Allan said a recruitment agency was hired and instructed to find a leader capable of addressing the "challenges" plaguing the force "Mike Bush is the best person for the job," she said whose union led the no-confidence vote against Patton following a bitter pay dispute admitted there was a disconnect between members and leaders The state police union secretary welcomed Mr Bush's appointment and pledge to listen to the mounting workforce concerns "We have a police force that is currently under-resourced that needs fresh officers," he said The Commerce Commission has filed criminal charges against Woolworths NZ for alleged inaccurate pricing and misleading specials that may have breached the Fair Trading Act The commission filed the charges against Woolworths in the Auckland District Court It indicated in December last year that it would be filing separate criminal charges against Woolworths and two Pak'nSave supermarkets the commission said there were ongoing issues with pricing in the supermarket sector and the operators may have breached the Fair Trading Act deputy chair Anne Callinan said operators should know what the expectations were "Supermarkets have long been on notice about the importance of accurate and clear pricing and specials and we're not satisfied with the continuing issues we're seeing across the industry "Pricing accuracy is a consumer right and an expectation of a competitive market well-resourced businesses that should invest the time and effort to get pricing and promotions right." She said the charges were filed to remind all supermarkets that they are expected to fix the pricing accuracy issues and implement better processes In a statement when the charges were announced Woolworths managing director Spencer Sonn said it was important customers could trust prices advertised at their supermarkets Woolworths said it has cooperated with the Commerce Commission's pricing investigation for some time rnz.co.nz Former prime minister Sir John Key says he remains optimistic about Donald Trump's domestic economic policy despite opposing the tariff strategy that has sent global markets into turmoil in recent months who served as prime minister for eight years was the keynote speaker at an Auckland business summit earlier today Sir John told 1News he believed Trump would ultimately take a more moderate approach to tariffs than initially proposed "I'm not a fan of tariff policies I don't think they really work," he said as I think the stock market is telling you at the moment that actually there will be a more sensible landing place for the tariffs that he's wanting to impose." Sir John said he "wasn't entirely surprised" at Trump's call to go ahead with the policy "They're just a negotiating point I think he simply put on widespread and high rates of tariffs on every country to give himself a leverage point and a negotiating point "What I think he actually grossly underestimated was the stock market reaction You can actually make the case that his own strategy hasn't worked The reason the markets have recovered is because he's taken those tariffs off the most part 'I'm going to negotiate case by case'." Sir John suggested Trump's economic policies could still generally be positive for the US but the tariffs could be trickier for the global economy Asked whether he stood by his October comments that Trump would be good for the economy he said: "Do I think he's going to reduce regulatory burden in the United States It depends on where things shake down in terms of tariffs." Sir John acknowledged that for certain industries Trump's policies could be "a really negative thing" particularly if the president's proposed 100% tariff on the film industry were to be implemented "I can't see how it would be cost-competitive to make a movie in New Zealand with a 100% tariff on it," he said noting that films such as The Hobbit would not have been made in New Zealand without government subsidies who now served as a director of US tech company Palo Alto Networks said he had "always been opposed" to Trump's tariff policies but believes they won't be the "dominant part of his economic solutions" "I don't think it's perfect from New Zealand's point of view but I don't think we should panic either and America will still be a very big market for us to sell things to," he said "There are growing markets around the world It's not a great thing from New Zealand's point of view We've got a very sound economy with lots of options in front of us." Sir John suggested a belief that the Republican Trump was was better "on balance" for the US economy than Democratic opponent Kamala Harris he expressed concerns about Trump's tariff approach: "China doesn't pay those tariffs middle-income consumers or consumers in America do because when a tariff goes on a good that you bring into a country He added: "I don't agree with the massive tariffs and I don't think you'll follow through with all of that and I certainly don't agree with this view on trade." Audrey Backeberg disappeared from a small city in south-central Wisconsin after reportedly hitchhiking with her family’s babysitter and catching a bus to Indianapolis Nobody ever knew where she went or what happened to her All that changed last week when she was found alive and safe in another state thanks to the fresh eyes from a deputy who took over the case in February Detective Isaac Hanson discovered an out-of-state arrest record that matched Backeberg which triggered a series of investigative moves that led to finding her alive and safe in another state Turns out Backeberg chose to leave the town of Reedsburg on her own accord – likely due to an abusive husband safe and secure; And just kind of lived under the radar for that long,” he said Hanson was assigned the case in late February and he and other officials met with Backeberg’s family to see if they had a connection with that region They also started digging through Backeberg's sister's Ancestry.com account obituaries and marriage licenses from that region they found an address where a woman was living that Hanson said shared a lot of similarities with Backeberg including date of birth and social security number Hanson was able to get a deputy from that jurisdiction to go to the address "I was expecting the deputy to call me back and say ‘Oh nobody answered the door.’ And I thought it was the deputy calling me I could sense that she obviously had her reasons for leaving.” Most of the information he learned during that call he declined to share saying that it was still important to Backeberg that she not be found “I think it overwhelmed her of course with the emotions that she had having a deputy show up at her house and then kind of call her out and talk with her about what happened and kind of relive 62 years in 45 minutes,” he said Hanson described discovering her safe after more than six decades practically unheard of And while he doesn't know what will happen next in terms of her family reconnecting he said he was happy that she can reach out if she wants to so she has my contact number if she ever wants to reach out or needs anything any phone numbers of family members back here," he said "Ultimately she kind of holds the cards for that.” The government is making it harder to make a claim for pay equity that will cut costs There have been massive pay equity claims in recent years for nurses and resthome workers Workplace Minister Brooke van Velden announced the moves to raise the threshold for proving work has been historically undervalued to support a claim on Tuesday saying changes back in 2020 had created problems "Claims have been able to progress without strong evidence of undervaluation and there have been very broad claims where it is difficult to tell whether differences in pay are due to sex-based discrimination or other factors." Claims were concentrated in the public sector with costs to the Crown of all settlements so far totalling $1.78 billion a year "The changes I am proposing will significantly reduce costs to the Crown," she said "The changes will discontinue current pay equity claims." Van Velden told Midday Report she believes in pay equity but the current thresholds were "a bit too loose" Asked how she ensure women were not hurt by this the minister said "I'm a woman and I support women who work" "I also support removing gender based discriminations from our workforces but what I don't support are muddied laws and unclear laws," she said "So these changes are better for all women who are working where we can genuinely say hand on heart that what they are finding with their claims is genuine gender based discrimination." Van Velden told reporters at Parliament any current claims would be stopped and need to restart under the new threshold to show "genuine" gender discrimination and make sure the comparators were right She gave a figure of 33 current claims that would be stopped as the legislation was put through under urgency "You have librarians who've been comparing themselves to transport engineers We have admin and clerical staff at Health New Zealand comparing themselves to mechanical engineers." Social workers had compared themselves to air traffic controllers "We don't believe we have that setting right." Any comparison would now be between female employees and male employees at the same employer "But you cannot go fishing for discrimination across the New Zealand workforce." All current settled claims would continue but the government was drawing "a line in the sand" "We're not stopping claims." The nurse's union has this year had at least 10 pay equity claims in play The PSA union has said pay equity claims and settlements had resulted in significant improvements in pay and working conditions for many workers The union said the changes would make it "impossible for people in female-dominated professions to be paid fairly" "Women across the country will pay the price for this," PSA national secretary Fleur Fitzsimons said "The government's changes today are a dark day for New Zealand women as the government says it will repeal the pay equity law and extinguish 33 existing claims in a constitutional overreach "The PSA is exploring all possible avenues to oppose these unconstitutional amendments and stop this attack on women We will not be deterred in our fight to achieve pay equity for all." "This is a blatant and shameful attack on women," New Zealand Nurses organisation chief executive Paul Goulter said "Women in workforces predominantly performed by female employees have been underpaid and undervalued for generations That is what pay equity claims seek to rectify," he said "This move by the government will widen the pay gap between men and women." The union had at least 10 pay current pay claims across Aged Care These cover many nurses and support workers The E tū union also called the changes an attack on women and a green light to pay them less for work of equal value The government was pulling the rug out from under a 13-year-long fight in aged care "These changes are not about evidence — they are about saving money by keeping women underpaid," national secretary Rachel Mackintosh said in a statement A number of unions have called a snap rally at Parliament at 1pm today in light of the announcement the Council of Trade Unions and representatives of other unions say they will be "protesting the government's attack on women and the destruction of progress on pay equity..." rnz.co.nz The Cronulla player formerly known as Kayal Iro has explained his decision to change his first name midway through the NRL season Iro made a tryscoring return from a hamstring injury in the Sharks' Magic Round win over Parramatta last Friday sporting a new name on Cronulla's team list The 25-year-old has now requested he be referred to as 'KL Iro' The centre is named after his father Kevin Leslie Iro who enjoyed a decorated career in England and represented New Zealand with distinction The left centre's official documents will still read "Kayal" but the Sharks flyer said he made the switch to 'KL' to avoid any doubt as to how his name should be pronounced "Mum didn't want it to be a two-letter name when I was a kid," Iro said "She's the one that changed it to 'Kayal' I think it was just foreign back then to have a two-letter name "But my dad always wanted it to be 'KL' and I like it that way too because it's easier to pronounce and there's no confusion I was too scared to step on anyone's toes "I guess I've built a bit of a relationship with these fellas now so I asked the question and got it done pretty quick." which was often mispronounced by commentators when his father and uncle Tony were playing "Even my dad and uncle when they were playing the Pommies would pronounce it 'aye-ro' rather than 'ear-ro'," Iro added he loved it but it's pretty cool to hear a commentator saying our family name." Iro was born in England while his father was playing for Leeds but spent most of his childhood growing up in the Cook Islands While he hinted he would be open to facing the Kangaroos in the end-of-season Ashes series "I wouldn't say no but my first thing is getting the Cook Islands qualified for the World Cup next year," he said Iro and the sixth-placed Sharks (5-4) will face one of the most daunting challenges of their season to date when they travel to take on Manly (4-4) at Brookvale Oval on Sunday "They've got a strong right edge and also [Tom] Trbojevic at the back," Iro said "[Trboejvic] is a strike weapon in attack and things happen around him we've got to be aware of him." Shane William Pritchard has been charged with crimes he didn’t commit and chased for debts he doesn’t owe That’s because the Dunedin man is not the only Shane William Pritchard in town While the duo’s shared name and age has sometimes been a handy loophole for one Shane for the other it has caused problems for 36 years It’s been years of fearing every knock on the door Years of wondering if he’ll be hand-cuffed and taken to jail to be honest,” says Shane William Pritchard a scout and a member of the Air Training Corp remembers getting quite a shock when her friend called one evening She'd been acting as a referee for a gun licence for Shane whose friend informed her that the police had a long list of offences against Shane’s name Not long after that the police turned up to where Shane was working at the local tannery to arrest him “You're scrambling in your head to think of ways that you can prove it's not you.” Another Shane William Pritchard had been born in Otago They were separated by just two weeks and about 50 miles – one growing up in Mosgiel the other in Milton – but also by the lives they’d been leading To watch the full video story go to TVNZ+ Shane from Milton had huge problems focusing at school He was raised in foster care and then boys’ homes I just wanted to look cool and get in trouble,” he tells Fair Go Milton Shane was used to run-ins with police he got pulled over in his car and asked about his driving licence one’s got a licence and the other hasn’t.’ And I’m like ‘obviously it must be the one with a licence’.” he went to his bank to draw out an ACC payment and was asked which bank account was his He says that at that point he was trying to figure out what was going on “I thought it was just an error.” But he took advantage of the situation and withdrew a large sum of cash Mosgiel Shane became aware of the withdrawal when a scheduled car payment was declined and when Milton Shane turned up at the bank to withdraw more money Identity fraud was considered but Milton Shane was legitimately expecting an ACC payment so the withdrawal appeared to be a genuine mistake and the police couldn’t take any action 'Anything I could get away with Mosgiel Shane thought the bank incident would have alerted police to the problem But his nemesis had cottoned on to the advantages of having a second identity to use Milton Shane acquired a suite of furniture on hire-purchase Milton-Shane clocked up more driving offences Mosgiel Shane thought about changing his name but realised he’d have to provide his previous name in the process the courts and debt collectors such as Baycorp should be able to distinguish between himself and Milton Shane The police first addressed the issue in the 1990s after Mosgiel Shane went to the media He was given a letter to carry with him should he be apprehended He and his parents felt his situation wasn’t being taken seriously Mosgiel Shane went to the media a second time in the mid-2000s the police gave their word that a record in their system would stop the misidentification from happening again This does appear to have worked as far as police action goes But while Mosgiel Shane was given the same reassurance by the Ministry of Justice he continued to receive demands from the courts for unpaid fines He’d also get stopped and questioned whenever he left the country for work trips or holidays It took a huge toll on Mosgiel Shane’s mental health not realising the constant stress it placed on his life John Pritchard says that at times his son felt his life wasn’t worth living worrying about what he was going to do to himself and that really ate me up.” he and his son were in tears as Shane admitted he was at breaking point He described going for days at a time unable to eat or sleep wondering what might happen next "Am I going to be in a position where they've got me in handcuffs or I've got debt collectors coming to the door?" ...You're spiralling into this black hole." He started taking anti-anxiety medication which helped And events regarding Milton Shane seemed to settle Milton Shane was charged for fishing without a licence in Twizel and failing to comply with fisheries officers But a court registrar incorrectly entered the birth date of Mosgiel Shane in the system both Shanes were being chased to pay the $1530 fine It was Mosgiel Shane who spotted the error and rang the court He also sent a statement from his manager saying he’d not been fishing in Twizel that day The reply he got was to say he’d been given the wrong form and that they wouldn’t accept his proof They just wanted to know how I was going to pay the fine.” The first Milton Shane knew about this was when Fair Go told him Mosgiel Shane had been chased for the fine He was told to pay up or face the consequences feeling he shouldn’t have to pay good money to correct someone else’s mistake But it cost Mosgiel Shane over $5000 in legal fees and took months of back and forth between him “Why should anybody have to pay their own money to right somebody else's wrongs and prove who they are I’m sick and tired of proving who I am all the time.” He wanted the Ministry of Justice to take responsibility and reimburse him for his legal costs saying court staff such as the registrar in this case have immunity if they make mistakes such as the one made here and if I make a mistake and it's affecting my client that it's going to cost them money to rectify a mistake that I've made.” he deserves a million apologies from those guys,” she says Milton Shane told Fair Go he still gets in trouble but wants the other Shane to know he doesn’t use his birth date anymore And he had a message for him: “We’ve got to get it sorted for you so you can have a good life with you and your family because I’m trying to get my life together with my son and my grandson” He offers to meet to see if they can sort it out together but I’m not interested in meeting him,.” says Mosgiel Shane He says he doesn’t hold any grudges and accepts Milton Shane’s apology And he believes the only way for that to happen is for the courts and the Ministry of Justice to give him a guarantee that mix-ups won’t occur in the future Fair Go asked the Ministry of Justice to appear in person to apologise and provide reassurance to Shane of its plans to guard against these mistakes The Ministry declined our request to be on camera saying any comment on an individual case would compromise the independence of the courts as the Ministry operates separately But it did send a written apology directly to Mosgiel Shane It also admitted mistakes can occur in clerical records but said instructions were clear and the importance of getting things right had been emphasised to staff Mosgiel Shane isn’t totally convinced that’s the end of it “All I want is for the Ministry of Justice and the courts to do their job I'd like to live without this hanging over me all the time his criminal check has come back showing a clean slate Lady Gaga gave a free concert Saturday night in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach for the biggest show of her career (...) Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd kicked off the show at around 22.10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary Cries of joy rose from the tightly-packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand Concert organisers said 2.1 million people attended the show switching between an array of dresses including one with the colours of the Brazilian flag Some fans – many of them young – arrived on the beach at the crack of dawn to secure a good spot “Today is the best day of my life,” said Manoela Dobes a 27-year-old designer who was wearing a dress plastered with a photograph from when she met Lady Gaga in the United States in 2019 Madonna also turned Copacabana Beach into a massive dance floor last year The large-scale performances are part of an effort led by City Hall to boost economic activity after Carnival and New Years’ Eve festivities and the upcoming month-long Saint John’s Day celebrations in June “It brings activity to the city during what was previously considered the low season – filling hotels and increasing spending in bars generating jobs and income for the population,” said Osmar Lima the city’s secretary of economic development in a statement released by Rio City Hall’s tourism department last month Rio’s City Hall said in a recent report that around 1.6 million people were expected to attend Lady Gaga's concert and that the show should inject at least 600 million reais (NZ$178.3 million) into Rio’s economy Similar concerts are scheduled to take place every year in May at least until 2028 Lady Gaga arrived in Rio in the early hours of Tuesday The city has been alive with Gaga-mania since as it geared up to welcome the pop star for her first show in the country since 2012 Rio’s metro employees danced to Lady Gaga’s 2008 hit song LoveGame and gave instructions for today in a video A free exhibition celebrating her career sold out While the vast majority of attendees were from Rio the event also attracted Brazilians from across the country and international visitors More than 500,000 tourists poured into the city in the days leading up to the show according to data from the local bus station and Tom Jobim airport Rio’s City Hall said in a statement yesterday made a cross-continent trip from Colombia to Brazil to attend the show “I’ve been a 100% fan of Lady Gaga my whole life,” said Serrano who was wearing a T-shirt featuring Lady Gaga’s outlandish costumes over the years the mega-star represents “total freedom of expression – being who one wants without shame” Rio officials have a history of organising huge concerts on Copacabana Beach Madonna’s show drew an estimated 1.6 million fans last year while 4 million people flooded onto the beach for a 1994 New Year’s Eve show by Rod Stewart in 1994 that was the biggest free rock concert in history sixteen sound towers were spread along the beach Rio state’s security plan included the presence of 3300 military and 1500 police officers Among those present were Lady Gaga admirers who remember their disappointment in 2017 when the artist cancelled a performance scheduled in Rio at the last minute due to health issues “She's the best artist in the world,” the 25-year-old said I love you” in Portuguese rose from the crowd behind him whose real name is Ella Yelich O'Connor which also displayed what appears to be the album cover art — an X-ray of a pelvis "100% written in blood," the website read The new album's announcement came a week after she released her latest single What Was That The song's music video was filmed at a mysterious pop-up event in New York City's Washington Square Park that was initially shut down by police. The event ended up going ahead after all, and fans who stayed got to hear the new song for the first time. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lorde (@lorde) It was the first sign of a follow-up to Lorde's previous album Her other albums were 2013's Pure Heroine and 2017's Melodrama she collaborated with British singer Charli XCX on a remix of Girl so confusing — on a re-release of the Grammy award-winning Brat Kim Kardashian thought she was going to be raped and killed when criminals broke into her bedroom in central Paris tied her up and stole more than US$6 million in jewellery 10 people will go on trial in Paris over the robbery abduction and kidnapping of the media personality and the concierge of the residence where she was staying during Paris Fashion Week the night of October 2 Kardashian’s lawyers said she will testify in person at the trial starting Monday and scheduled to run through May 23 "Ms Kardashian is reserving her testimony for the court and jury and does not wish to elaborate further at this time," they said "She has great respect and admiration for the French justice system and has been treated with great respect by the French authorities "She wishes the trial to proceed in an orderly fashion in accordance with French law and with respect for all parties to the case." In interviews and on her family’s reality TV show Kardashian has described being terrified as robbers pointed a gun at her In a 2020 appearance on David Letterman’s Netflix show she tearfully recalled thinking: "This is the time I’m going to get raped Twelve people were originally expected in the defendants’ box and another is seriously ill and can't be tried five of the 10 defendants were present at the scene of the robbery The French press has dubbed them The Granddad Robbers because the main defendants are elderly and have careers as bank robbers with long criminal records Kardashian told investigators she was taken to a bathroom next to her bedroom and placed in the bathtub Her attackers fled on bicycles or on foot and she managed to free herself by removing the tape from her hands and mouth She had also removed the tape from her feet and rushed to her stylist’s room She called her sister Kourtney to tell her about the theft Kardashian told investigators that she had not been injured adding that she wanted to leave France as soon as possible to be reunited with her children According to her testimony and that of the concierge at least one of the suspects had a handgun The gangsters stole many pieces of jewellery estimated to be worth more than US$6 million (NZ$10 million) Only one piece of jewellery — a diamond cross on platinum that was lost during the suspects' escape — has been recovered Two of the accused have partially confessed to the crime is one of two suspected robbers who allegedly entered the apartment his genetic profile was found on the tape used to gag Kardashian who was waiting for him in a parked car at a nearby train station The second robber said he tied up the concierge with cables but did not go up to Kardashian’s apartment said he acted as a lookout in the ground-floor reception area He said he was unarmed and did not personally threaten Kardashian but admitted he shared responsibility for the crime Abbas was arrested in January 2017 and spent 21 months in prison before being released under judicial supervision he co-authored a French-language book titled I Sequestered Kim Kardashian is the second alleged robber suspected of entering the flat although he was filmed by CCTV cameras and numerous telephone contacts with the other co-defendants show his involvement The other defendants are suspected of providing information about Kardashian’s presence in the apartment Others are accused of playing a role in the resale of the jewellery in Antwerp Joe Cocker and Bad Company will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — in a class that also includes pop star Cyndi Lauper the rock duo the White Stripes and grunge masters Soundgarden the first female rap act to achieve gold and platinum status and the late singer-songwriter Warren Zevon will get the Musical Influence Award pianist Nicky Hopkins and bassist Carol Kaye will each get the Musical Excellence Award who sang at Woodstock and was best known for his cover of The Beatles’ With a Little Help From My Friends a member of Elvis Costello & The Attractions who argued that Cocker is "about as rock and roll as it gets" Soundgarden — with the late Chris Cornell as singer — get into the Hall on their third nomination They follow two other grunge acts in the Hall — Nirvana and Pearl Jam Bad Company get in having become radio fixtures with such arena-rock staples as Feel Like Makin’ Love Can’t Get Enough and Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy The Ahmet Ertegun Award — given to nonperforming industry professionals who had a major influence on music — will go to Lenny Waronker Some nominees that didn't get in this year included Mariah Carey and subsequent Let’s Twist Again are considered among the most popular songs in the history of rock 'n' roll The 83-year-old has expressed frustration that he hadn't been granted entry before including telling the AP in 2014: "I don’t want to get in there when I’m 85 years old so you better do it quick while I’m still smiling." Lauper rose to fame in the 1980s with hits such as Time After Time and Girls Just Want To Have Fun and went on to win a Tony Award for Kinky Boots have six Grammys and a reputation for pushing the boundaries of hip-hop The White Stripes — made up of Jack White and Meg White — were indie darlings in the early 2000s with such songs as Seven Nation Army Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction The induction ceremony will take place in Los Angeles this fall Nominees were voted on by more than 1200 artists historians and music industry professionals The selection criteria include "an artist’s impact on other musicians the scope and longevity of their career and body of work as well as their innovation and excellence in style and technique" Dave Matthews Band and singer-guitarist Peter Frampton were inducted Wellington Airport’s iconic giant eagle sculptures will be removed this week to make room for a new display The two eagles and Gandalf from Lord of the Rings will be dismantled on Friday night Richard Taylor with one of the giant great eagles created by Wētā Workshop and installed at Wellington International Airport The giant eagle hanging from the roof of Wellington Airport to promote the Hobbit trilogy fell on the food court during an earthquake in 2014 Smaug the Magnificent remains in the check-in area. Graham Bloxham, who in January announced he was running for Wellington mayor and I can hardly feel my thumbs nearly 24hrs later Contacted by the Herald about the incident Bloxham initially said it was posted on behalf of someone else A screenshot of Bloxham’s post was then shared on popular Wellington community Facebook page Vic Deals The Herald has confirmed Graham Bloxham's unique vehicle was impounded over the weekend The Herald has confirmed it was impounded over the weekend he said he was handcuffed "so hard my wrists nearly bled" He said it happened on Wellington’s Urban Motorway after a police officer thought they saw him take a photo of the closed Terrace Tunnel while driving The 37-year-old, who has permanent name suppression, applied in the Wellington District Court for a discharge without conviction on one charge of making multiple intimate visual recordings of seven identified people In a court decision made in March but only recently released to the Herald