Groundswell NZ leaders Bryce McKenzie, left, and Laurie Paterson will meet with members of the Climate Change Commission next month. Government officials will finally meet with the leaders of Groundswell NZ next month – but there won’t be a cabinet minister in sight. Members of the Climate Change Commission will travel to the South Island to meet with Laurie Paterson and Bryce McKenzie. MONIQUE FORD/Stuff Jo Hendy chief executive of He Pou a Rangi, the Climate Change Commission For Forever Project. Climate change Commission chief executive Jo Hendy said the commission currently had staff engaging around New Zealand as it developed its advice on the direction of the Government’s next emissions reduction plan.

Massey University vice chancellor Jan Thomas, pictured at a graduation ceremony, has enjoyed an 18% pay rise while staff have been offered 3%. Massey University staff battling over wages and job cuts are furious the vice chancellor has scored an 18% pay rise. Staff at Massey are fighting for a cost of living pay increase to match the current rate of inflation of just over 7%. She had seen commentary on social media about the low offers to university staff compared with the 18% rise. "Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University remains committed to bargaining constructively and in good faith with the unions.

The slip on State Highway 29 caused significant delays on Sunday. The Western Bay of Plenty is in recovery mode this morning following a weekend of mini tornados, downpours and power outages. The slip is understood to have covered one lane on the way up to the summit on the Tauranga side, just below McLaren Falls Road. Elsewhere, a mini tornado in Aongatete caused damage to a property on Sunday morning. Hamish Taylor/SunLive A window was torn off a house by a mini tornado on Sunday morning.

Runners begin Crush the Cargill at Bethunes Gully on Saturday. Photos: Peter McIntoshScores of Dunedin runners braved the rain to spend 24 hours running up and down Mt Cargill in a gruelling - but inclusive - race. Steve Tripp, of Dunedin, said Crush the Cargill was started in 2017 as a challenging 24-hour run. Dunedin resident Pascal Saker runs in a wetsuit and carrying a surfboard during Crush the Cargill. The inclusion of the Hang-10 division showed Crush the Cargill was branching out, he joked.

Corey Robin Woodrow has pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis and possession of cannabis for supply in November 2020. Photo / 123RFCorey Robin Woodrow has pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis and possession of cannabis for supply in November 2020. Photo / 123RFA restraining court order has been placed on a Mataura couple’s property, car and cash, which police say is “tainted” - bought from the proceeds of criminal activity. Mataura man Corey Robin Woodrow has pleaded guilty to cultivating cannabis and possession of cannabis for supply in November 2020. It also requests the restraining order is done on a without notice basis saying the property may be disposed of or concealed easily as there is no mortgage owed on the property.

In Auckland showers are expected to turn to heavy rain by this afternoon and northwesterly gales will strengthen, said MetService. Showers and heavy rain is forecast for much of the North Island on Tuesday with possibly heavy and thundery downpours forecast for the west and north areas of the South Island. Heavy downpours also continue for the west of the South Island but will begin to ease on Thursday. The weekend’s wild weather bought loud thunder, heavy downpours, a waterspout and over 7000 lighting strikes. A waterspout was spotted moving off Auckland’s coastline, after an afternoon of thunderstorms across the North Island on Sunday.

The bad weather is rolling into the new week with rain and showers forecast for most through to Friday, and thunderstorms for some areas. In Auckland showers are expected to turn to heavy rain by this afternoon and northwesterly gales will strengthen, said MetService. In the South Island, areas from Buller to Fiordland are expected to get thunder and heavy downpours this afternoon while scattered showers are forecast for most other areas of the island. Showers and heavy rain is forecast for much of the North Island on Tuesday with possibly heavy and thundery downpours forecast for the west and north areas of the South Island. The weekend’s wild weather bought loud thunder, heavy downpours, a waterspout and over 7000 lighting strikes.

Armed police are searching for man in Auckland after a firearm sighting (file photo). A person has been taken into custody after armed police and the Eagle helicopter combed the South Auckland suburb of Rosehill. Cordons would remain in place on Sunday night as police cleared the scene. A police spokesperson said the search in Rosehill was linked to a firearm sighting earlier in the day. “The Armed Offenders Squad has been called to assist as a precaution,” police said.

The woman who pulled the fingers after allegedly making off with $1500 worth of stolen clothes has appeared in court. A brazen shoplifter who allegedly took more than $1500 of clothes from a Dunedin store before giving the finger to staff, has been arrested and appeared in court. The man was charged with stealing meat, wine and a denture product from New World Stanmore in Christchurch between October 10 and 12. More charges were expected to be laid, including for Wilson’s alleged theft of more than $1500 worth of clothing from a George St retailer on Wednesday afternoon. After walking out the door with the clothing, Wilson gave pursuing staff the finger.

A man who entered a Palmerston North home before demanding the occupants' car keys and leaving in their vehicle has not been found, police say. Email editor@msl.co.nzThe man then left the vehicle before entering a residential home on Manchester St at 7pm. He demanded the occupants’ keys and left in their vehicle. The spokesperson said police were following lines of inquiry and working to locate the man. Police were unable to confirm if the man had a weapon.

Andrew King has been advocating on behalf of property investors for a quarter of a century, but the long-standing president of the New Zealand Property Investors Federation (NZPIF) has finally hung up his hat. Supplied New Zealand Property Investors Federation (NZPIF) long-serving president Andrew King will now ride into the sunsets of America after retiring. David White/Stuff King was first elected to the Auckland Property Investors Association committee in 1997. John Selkirk/Stuff Andrew King pictured in 2007, when he was vice president of the Property Investors Federation. Stuff Andrew King, photographed for the Sunday Star Times in 2005.

Jo Mckenzie-Mclean was nervous ahead of surgery to remove a rapidly-growing tumour on her ovary. When a doctor explained to Jo McKenzie-McLean she had a cancerous tumour in one of her ovaries, it was described as “kind of like a hard-boiled egg”. The 44-year-old Cromwell mother and Stuff journalist was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in January 2021 after first being turned down twice for a colonoscopy because she didn’t fit all the criteria. ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff Jo McKenzie-McLean was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in January 2021. It feels really bizarre.”ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff McKenzie-McLean in hospital the day after she had a volleyball-sized tumour in her ovary removed.

The national median rent for residential properties increased by $40 a week in the 12 months to September, although the annual rent increase in Auckland was much lower at just $10 a week. Ashburton, Timaru and Invercargill were in a three-way tie for having the cheapest median rents in the country at $400 a week, while Porirua had the most expensive median rent at $650 a week, surpassing Tauranga at $630 and Queenstown-Lakes at $620. See the first table below for the median rent in the main urban centres throughout the country. A notable feature of the latest figures is the very weak rental growth in the country's largest city, Auckland. The median rent in Auckland increased from $580 a week in Q3 2021 to $590 in Q3 2022, giving an annual increase of just $10 (+1.7%).

GP association GenPro is launching a major campaign to spotlight the “soul-destroying” working conditions family doctors are facing in an effort to spur better access to care. There were roughly 1000 GPs missing from family practice, Malloy said, “because of the lost generation through the 90s and 2000s”. The number of doctors entering general practice falls woefully short – with just 15 extra GPs practising​ in June 2022 than the previous year, according to the latest figures from the Medical Council. Key recommendationsThe report calls for three key improvements – fair pay, workforce numbers and fair contracts for GP clinics. The workforce recommendations ask for a boost in the number of registrars, removal of barriers for overseas-trained staff and more capacity and capability in the GP workforce.

The grand transition from a fossil fuel-based economy to a green one is underway. It will involve a fundamental shift in the way we generate and use energy for various purposes. Instead of drilling and mining for fossil fuels, we’ll need to mineThis is a re-post from the CCL Blog ...