“You have to question the common sense of people who are in the offices at Mt Eden prison. Ross Fitzpatrick wants answers over his brother Rob Fitzpatrick's death at Mt Eden Corrections Facility. The text message that landed him in Mt Eden prison, obtained by the Herald, said, “Hi [name redacted], coffee?”It was signed off “Rob. Rob ‘never met threshold’ for mental health interventionRob Fitzpatrick's family say they tried to get help from mental health teams when they knew he was showing signs of becoming unwell. Lack of space at mental health unitRob Fitzpatrick spent time at Whangārei Hospital's mental health unit, Tumanako.

Signed but not sealedThe Barrack Rd townhouse first went on sale in 2022 as one of several units being built and sold by OLA Homes. Under contract law, that counter-offer automatically cancelled Tieu’s original offer. Because Tieu’s original offer had been cancelled by the counter-offer, this created a new offer requiring fresh acceptance from Tieu. Developer OLA Homes built and put on sale a number of Auckland townhouses at 127 Barrack Rd in Mt Wellington. OLA Homes resold the townhouse in March 2023 for $875,000.

Photo: RNZMedia and Broadcasting Minister Paul Goldsmith has confirmed the board chair of TVNZ contacted him after the police minister expressed dissatisfaction with a 1News story about gang numbers. Following the airing of the report, Police Minister Mark Mitchell took to Facebook to express his frustration with the story. He said he "absolutely" did not bring the story up himself, and he did not discuss editorial matters with the board member. Police Minister Mark Mitchell. They said the board chair and the minister talked regularly.

The moon during the latter half of a total lunar eclipse seen from above a tower at Otago Boys’ High School yesterday morning. Photo: Stephen JaquieryBeing left completely in the dark during the total lunar eclipse was a "fantastic" experience for a Dunedin astronomer. Just before 10pm, the moon slipped into the Earth's shadow and just after 1am, the total eclipse began to end. As the moon left the total eclipse, it took on a reddish hue, which Mr Griffin said was because the Earth was "cutting off" the light between the sun and the moon. The next total eclipse people in New Zealand could see will be in 2028.laine.priestley@odt.co.nz

A Japanese yakuza member has been sentenced in New York for trafficking nuclear material, drugs and weapons. Photo / US Department of JusticeA Japanese yakuza member has been sentenced in New York for trafficking nuclear material, drugs and weapons. Photo / US Department of JusticeA member of Japan’s yakuza crime group was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a New York court today after being convicted of trafficking nuclear material as well as drugs and weapons. In February 2024, he was also accused of trying to sell military-grade nuclear material, with narcotics including heroin and methamphetamine, to buy weapons including surface-to-air missiles for armed groups in Myanmar. He pleaded guilty to a total of six charges in January 2025.

File photo: GettySupply pressure and buying interest saw dairy prices continue their climb at the latest Global Dairy Trade auction overnight. It was the fifth consecutive auction where prices have risen since the start of the year and followed a 3.6 percent rise at the previous one. "With ongoing geopolitical tensions affecting Middle Eastern logistics and trade lanes, and in the absence of recent Algerian tenders in the region, it is notable that EMEA [Europe, the Middle East and Africa] participation strengthened rather than retreated." Alvarado said the Middle East was a "significant" and "growing" market for New Zealand - among our top three buyers. Alvarado expected prices to remain steady with continued prices increases, though possibly at lesser rates.

ZB’s Barry Soper later reported that Mitchell had received the apology from a senior leader – Media Insider understands this was TVNZ political editor Maiki Sherman. The TVNZ story, by senior political reporter Benedict Collins, has sparked at least four conversations between politicians and TVNZ – Goldsmith also raised it with Collins and Sherman that evening. Jusice Minister Paul Goldsmith, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Police Minister Mark Mitchell at last week's law and order press conference. “It’s not appropriate for me to be talking about political discussions and editorial matters with the board, and I haven’t. He has held executive and senior editorial roles at NZME including managing editor, NZ Herald editor and Herald on Sunday editor and has a small shareholding in NZME.

A record portion of new bank lending to first-home buyers is going to those with small deposits. More than half of the $1.1 billion lent to first-home buyers in January went to borrowers with deposits of less than 20 percent, according to the latest Reserve Bank figures. NZ Herald Wellington business editor Jenee Tibshraeny explained further. LISTEN ABOVE

Christopher Luxon making his statement in the House last night. The Green Party's co-leader says he "snuck" into the House "late last night" to correct the record and it shows he's "not across his brief". Earlier this week Luxon admitted he "misspoke" when he said New Zealand supported "any actions" to prevent Iran having nuclear weapons. Luxon responded saying: "I understand that we are doing that, and the Minister of Immigration will continue to take advice on that too." Swarbrick said today that the Prime Minister had effectively said a blanket extension was happening when "we know it wasn't happening".

PHOTO: The Mainlander Train / FacebookA commuter rail service between Selwyn townships and Christchurch is being investigated by a community board, with planning under way for a one-off trial later this year. Community board member Samantha Samuel said the proposal is still in its early stages. “The trial is the result of community feedback calling for a commuter service in the face of increasing traffic from a growing population. “The infrastructure is already there, so it’s looking at what we can do to start the conversation towards a commuter train in the future.”The plan for the trial is a phased approach, proposed to start with a one-off event express train service and then a “move towards a commuter train”. The trial process aims to understand the costs and answer the crucial 'who pays' element of any future service.

Close to 50 homes in an Auckland suburb are being compulsorily bought to make way for new flood plains and uncover a buried stream. "It's digging up the pipe, creating the flood plain, creating the stream, upgrading Don Buck Road bridge," Mansell said. He said there will be more homes acquired to make way for flood plains in coming years as the council confirms other projects. Close to 50 homes in an Auckland suburb are being compulsorily bought to make way for new flood plains and uncover a buried stream. Macdonald said the plans to create a bigger stream and flood plain included walking paths and reserve areas.

They see the net impact of an energy shock as being more serious for New Zealand. “A disruption to Iranian production only could see the price of oil rise another US$25 per barrel to around US$100,” Westpac economists said. And a disruption of three or more months could see the price of Brent oil rise to US$185 per barrel, they said. “Reduced global trade volumes could dampen New Zealand activity and reduce inflation pressure (all else equal),” he said. “However, it is exactly under these circumstances that we’d expect the NZ dollar to soften, acting as a shock absorber.

“The rule of law on the streets of Auckland is the same as the rule of law internationally. To make it stand, somebody has to enforce it,” Peters said. “[Iran] have been financing proxies all around the world, even as far as Australia, in major terrorist activities. The statement did not directly criticise the initial US and Israeli action, which Luxon told Hosking New Zealand had not been consulted on ahead of. Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

A man who allegedly wounded a Raumati Beach woman who later died has now been charged with her murder, a month on from her death. Police rushed to the Kāpiti Coast property at 1.15am on February 8 after receiving a report of someone being injured. The 24-year-old man, who was earlier charged with wounding the woman, had his first appearance on the murder charge today at the Porirua District Court. The man, who has interim name suppression, appeared over audio visual link. He has been remanded in custody to reappear in the High Court at Wellington at a later date.

Louise Upston visited the West Coast community in January. Photo / NZMESenior Government minister Louise Upston visited Gloriavale in late January, months after refusing to rule out closing the religious community following allegations of child abuse in the community. Newstalk ZB has confirmed Upston visited the sect on January 30, alongside officials from the Ministry of Social Development. She said while there, she met with the community’s new overseeing shepherd, Stephen Standfast, and other community leaders. “I welcome the opportunity to learn about the changes they’ve made over the last few years, and am pleased to see they are supportive of the outcomes framework and working together in the months ahead.”Upston is leading a group of 10 Government ministers responding to issues at the West Coast community, and leads the Government’s response to the Gloriavale-specific recommendation of the Royal Commission to Abuse in Care.