North Shore Chinese restaurant axe attacker acquitted on grounds of insanity
Photo: STUFF / Lawrence SmithThe man who used an axe to attack people at Chinese restaurants on Auckland's North Shore has been acquitted on all charges due to insanity. But Judge Bonnar KC found him insane at the time of the offending so he was not legally responsible for his actions. This victim continued to be attacked but managed to grab the axe before falling to the ground, maintaining his grip. He managed to stand and leave the restaurant with the offender, each holding an end of the axe until police arrived and made the arrest. Another report by Dr Skipworth said the offender "went to the restaurant because after he had been 'attacked' he thought the people in the restaurant had the same faces as those that attacked him".
Source:Stuff
November 29, 2023 12:50 UTC
As it happened: Christopher Luxon’s first post-cabinet press conference as PM
Christopher Luxon was sworn in as prime minister yesterday (Photo by Marty MELVILLE / AFP) (Photo by MARTY MELVILLE/AFP via Getty Images)After two days of pretending not to see or hear Winston Peters, new prime minister Christopher Luxon has just faced a lot of questions about him, and more. Relive every moment of what was a very busy (but brief) first post-cab. Thanks to the Herald, here’s a stream so you can follow along with us. Find our live blog below.
Source:New Zealand Herald
November 29, 2023 09:57 UTC
Peters blames media for long Auckland lockdown
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has continued his war on the media, blaming it for allowing the long Auckland Covid-19 lockdown. Photo: ODT filesThe second lockdown began in Auckland on August 12 in 2020, when Peters was still a member of the government, however that lockdown was triggered by three cases. Peters said that Robertson “went behind our backs and told the media Winston Peters was the roadblock trying to stop it from happening”. “The behaviour that we’ve seen from Winston Peters in the last 48 hours is just wrong. Christopher Luxon needs to show that he is actually the Prime Minister and stamp down on that very quickly.
Source:New Zealand Herald
November 29, 2023 08:24 UTC
Car nicked from wreckers spotted on street
A car stolen from a Dunedin wreckers' yard was later spotted parked in a central city street, police say. Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said police were called to Bond St yesterday at 6.55pm when a person associated with the wrecking business saw it. The vehicle had earlier been stolen from Autoparts Otago Car Wreckers. Officers located a 30-year-old man who was arrested for allegedly stealing the car. He was due to appear in Dunedin District Court today.
Source:Otago Daily Times
November 29, 2023 07:42 UTC
Stepdaughter accused of lying to please mother
The stepdaughter of a man on 17 child abuse charges has been accused of making up the allegations in order please her mother, a court has heard. The man, who has name suppression, faces a jury trial this week before Judge David Robinson in the Dunedin District Court. The woman said the groping mainly happened when her siblings were not around and she only told her mother after her sister disclosed her own alleged abuse. Both stepdaughters said they feared for their own safety and the safety of their family, so they did what the man told them to do. Both were accused of "being swept up in a web of lies" and making false allegations to please their mother, the court heard.
Source:Otago Daily Times
November 29, 2023 05:35 UTC
New Zealand’s new government says it will repeal groundbreaking anti-smoking law
Owen Dyer MontrealNew Zealand’s revolutionary anti-smoking law, which drew headlines around the world when it passed last year1 and was widely credited as the inspiration behind the UK’s recently announced smoking bill, will be repealed in its entirety by the incoming coalition government, new prime minister Christopher Luxon has said. The law would have introduced a generational smoking ban starting next year, barring anyone born after 2008 from ever legally buying cigarettes. Plans for a similar measure were announced by the UK government last month.23But New Zealand’s law went further, reducing the number of shops allowed to sell cigarettes from about 8000 to 600. It also aimed to dramatically reduce the level of nicotine permitted in cigarettes, making them unsatisfying to addicted smokers. All of these measures must instead be repealed by March 2024, under the coalition agreement between the conservative National Party, led by Luxon, and the right wing populist New Zealand First party, led by Winston Peters.4 …
Source:New Zealand Herald
November 29, 2023 03:46 UTC
Donald Trump quit Mr. Big Stuff video over pay row
Big Stuff' video but a row over pay meant it never happened. Big Stuff’ - it was just so universal. Jean recorded 'Mr. Big Stuff' when she was a churchgoing New Orleans housewife who worked in the cafeteria of a Dominican all-girls college. Big Stuff' over the subsequent decades meant that she kept earning royalties from it until her passing.
Source:Stuff
November 28, 2023 23:55 UTC
Open mike 29/11/2023
“And there’ll be no shortage of ‘events’ to test Luxon’s political skills. David Seymour wants a referendum on the Treaty. Winston wants a Royal Commission of Inquiry into Labour’s handling of the Covid crisis. Talk about cans of worms!”were very fond of their local. It was nothing ...
Source:Stuff
November 28, 2023 23:26 UTC
Breakfast briefing: US retail up, Aussie retail down
With their population growth running at +2.4% per year and retail price inflation running at +3.6% in the September quarter, this October retail trade result implies a very large real, per capita decline in the -4.5% to -5% range. The overnight GDT Pulse auction for WMP and SMP wasn't encouraging with lower prices from both the last full auction, and the prior event. Overnight, European markets were mixed in the -0.2% / +0.2% range. The Kiwi dollar starts today at 61.4 USc and up +½c from yesterday, but a new high since July. Against the Aussie we are -10 bps lower at 92.2 AUc.
Source:Stuff
November 28, 2023 21:49 UTC
Do males still earn more than females?
nzherald.co.nz published this video item, entitled “Do males still earn more than females? Julia Gabel from The Herald examines whether there has been any improvement in the gender pay gap between women and men. Full story: https://bitly.ws/33qAJ Subscribe and be notified of breaking news: https://goo.gl/LP45jX Check out our playlists: https://goo.gl/Swd249 Like NZ Herald on Facebook: https://goo.gl/tUC4oq Follow NZ Herald on Instagram: https://goo.gl/oLicXe Follow NZ Herald on Twitter: https://goo.gl/Wi6mbv nzherald.co.nz YouTube ChannelGot a comment? Leave your thoughts in the comments section, below. Please note comments are moderated before publication.
Source:New Zealand Herald
November 28, 2023 20:20 UTC
Video: WynTV's Dodzy Memorial Enduro 2023
Words: Wyn MastersWyn heads back to NZ for the 10th and final edition of the Dodzy memorial enduro, definitely NZ's best enduro and all in memory of the great man James "Dodzy" Dodds who had a massive impact on the MTB scene in NZ!All event results here https://www.dodzymemorialenduro.com/results And to book a spot to ride this epic hand built MTB park check out https://mtbtrails.nz/ Video by Henry Jaine
Source:New Zealand Herald
November 28, 2023 18:47 UTC
Stuff short circuits
One of the country’s top investigative journalism teams, Stuff Circuit, has surprisingly missed out on the annual round of public funding through NZ on Air. Stuff Circuit, presented by Paula Penfold and with four team members, has won multiple awards for Stuff.co.nz, which has regularly lauded the unit’s achievements. But in the list of current affairs programmes to be funded for 2024 through NZ on Air, Stuff Circuit was a glaring omission. There are fears the Stuff Circuit programme might not return at all. Last year Stuff Circuit produced a bold and controversial video documentary, called Fire And Fury that examined the groups behind the Parliament anti-mandate protests.
Source:Stuff
November 28, 2023 18:43 UTC
Flag compromise over Gaza conflict
The public gallery was packed at a Dunedin City Council meeting yesterday, as speakers debated whether the Palestinian flag should be flown from city buildings. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSHThe New Zealand flag will be flown at half mast in Dunedin today to recognise the suffering of both sides of the conflict in Gaza. The move from the Dunedin City Council followed discussion yesterday about whether the Palestinian flag should be flown from city buildings. In the end, most councillors backed a compromise put forward by Cr Andrew Whiley, that the New Zealand flag be lowered to half mast on city council buildings. Both had been wary of the city council getting involved in matters they said were not core council business.
Source:Otago Daily Times
November 28, 2023 15:36 UTC
Govt's plan to axe sex, gender guidelines in schools 'concerning'
The new government's plan to remove sexuality and relationship guidelines from schools, introduced in 2020, is facing push back from some educators. The agreement between National and New Zealand First included refocusing "the curriculum, on academic achievement and not ideology, including the removal and replacement of the gender, sexuality, and relationship-based education guidelines". ADVERTISEMENTFitzpatrick was a lead writer on the document that formed the guide for principals, boards of trustees, teachers and parents on sexuality education in 2015, and said parents would want a mix of both at school and in-home sexuality education. Fitzpatrick said gender is everywhere in how we live our lives and the idea of removing discussing gender from schooling altogether is "ridiculous." (Source: 1News)Cambridge Middle School Principal Daryl Gibbs said the relationships and sexuality education guidelines are there, with resources endorsed by the Ministry, but there are still "grey areas" for schools around the subject.
Source:Stuff
November 28, 2023 14:11 UTC
ANZ economists say the housing market is softer than expected
"It's not just house prices that were on the weaker side this month," the report says. "We have revised down our 2023 house price forecast and now expect house prices to fall 0.4% in 2023, versus a 0.2% rise previously. The report also notes that new residential listings are above year ago levels for the first time this year. "This lift in listings is on top of an already large stock of inventories, which needs to decline before meaningful rises in house prices are likely. On the interest rate front ANZ says a weaker than expected labour market has prompted the bank's economists to soften their expectations around the Official Cash Rate (OCR).
Source:Stuff
November 28, 2023 13:03 UTC