Auckland train services suspended after person killed by train
A person has died after being hit by a train on Market Rd near the Remuera Train Station. Train services on Auckland's Onehunga and Southern lines are suspended after a person was hit and killed by a train. Police said officers were at the scene on Market Rd, near Remuera train station. They would be in attendance for "some time" and disruption to services is expected. Auckland Transport said traffic management was in place on Market Rd following the incident.
Source:Stuff
February 23, 2020 23:26 UTC
Drowning tragedy: School considers independent investigation
Photo: SuppliedAs the search continues for a teenager feared drowned after a class trip to Waihī Beach, his high school is considering appointing an independent investigation into the suspected tragedy. Melville High School, in Hamilton, is rallying to support its students, staff and wider community after the disappearance and presumed drowning of 17-year-old Jaden Chhayrann at Waihī Beach on Friday. The school confirmed that the incident happened during an annual two-day senior geography trip to Waihī. Christine Moeun, a friend of Jaden's, told the Herald she was still in shock about the Waihī Beach incident and kept wishing it was a dream. "It seems like today we need to have extra respect," she said, and wouldn't swim any higher than her waist.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 23, 2020 23:15 UTC
Horse pursuits draw overseas students
International students Hanna Vowmers, left, aged 17, Ismael Markria, 15, and Alina Prein, 16, are enjoying their time at Rangiora High School. Photo: David HillHorse riding is proving to be a major drawcard for European students to study in Rangiora. Rangiora High School international director Melissa Heyrink says the new school year started with 52 international students, with another eight arriving over the next few weeks. ‘‘We work with more than 25 agents in Germany and it just keeps growing and growing.’’German students Alina Prein and Hanna Vowmers have spent two terms in Rangiora as part of a one-year stay. Ismael Markria comes from Lyon in southeast France and has a horse back home, though riding at school is a new experience.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 23, 2020 23:03 UTC
Trust to run popular car gathering
Photo: FileThe wheels of Rock’n’Wheels will continue to turn after gaining registration as an incorporated charitable trust. Planning for the 10th anniversary of the show on Father’s Day, Sunday, September 6, at the Amberley Domain is well under way. It will be sticking to its popular formula of ‘‘if it has wheels, and you love it, bring it along’’. Katrina says the event is now well established, with many repeat exhibitors turning out. ‘‘They say it’s a fun day out in the country for car enthusiasts and a great way to treat dad on Father’s Day,’’ she says.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 23, 2020 23:03 UTC
Festival guarantees a colour splash
Throwing colour at last year’s Rangiora Festival of Colour in Victoria Park. Photo: Shelley ToppRangiora’s Festival of Colour will return to Victoria Park next month for another blast of colour, fun, live entertainment, cultural performances and food. Rangiora’s third colour festival will be held on Sunday, March 29, starting at 10am. ‘‘It is a lot of fun, with great food, music, performances, colour blasts and people throwing colour powder over each other. ‘‘I love seeing families throwing colour on each other.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 23, 2020 23:03 UTC
$42m Powerball: Bank it and live on interest alone
Powerball jetted to its second-largest ever jackpot in Lotto NZ history on Saturday after the $35m prize went unclaimed. But only if you, the winner, were a New Zealand tax resident, KPMG partner in tax Peter Scott told the New Zealand Herald. If you put the $42m in the bank with three per cent interest, you could earn a whopping $1,260,000 in interest each year. With a bank, they would do the withholding tax for you and it would be withheld before the bank paid out the interest, Scott said. It's more than 10 times what a secondary school teacher with more than five years' experience might earn yearly (around $71,000 to $80,000).
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 23, 2020 22:52 UTC
Charred riverbed could aid birdlife
Photo: Shelley ToppThe bed of the Ashley-Rakahuri River, scarred by recent fires, provides an opportunity to establish bird-friendly wetlands and rid a large area of pests. Ashley-Rakahuri Rivercare Group spokesman Nick Ledgard says the recent fires have stripped pests of their cover and exposed natural springs. ‘‘It has been a long-term goal to see if we could coax species like the black stilt and spoonbill back to the riverbed, estuary, and Tuhaitara wetlands,’’ he says. The rivercare group lost 37 of its 200 vermin traps to the fires. Major threats to the river birds on the Ashley are hedgehogs, followed by rats, cats, stoats and weasels.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 23, 2020 22:52 UTC
Ikea gets ready to open NZ stores in Chch, Auckland, Wellington
Photo: NZHInternational homeware giant Ikea will open three physical and digital customer "meeting points" across the country as the retailer prepares to open one of its first NZ stores in Christchurch. Last year Ikea announced it would open its first New Zealand-based stores after gaining franchise rights. But they include a full-sized Ikea store in the greater Auckland area, a planning studio in Wellington and a second smaller-format store in Christchurch. Jan Gardberg, country retail manager for Ikea New Zealand, said the company was looking forward to giving access to people across the entire nation. "While planning has been under way, we have also been getting to know more about life at home in New Zealand."
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 23, 2020 21:22 UTC
Air NZ cuts some Asia flights in wake of coronavirus
Air New Zealand said it would suspend flights to Seoul from early next month through to the middle of the year, in addition to the cuts it's already made to its services to China. The coronavirus outbreak is set to cost Air New Zealand as much as $75 million, as it moved to cut more flights to lessen the impact. Weaker forward bookings for travel on the Tasman and domestic networks have also emerged as a result," Air New Zealand said in a statement. It also said it would reduce trans-Tasman capacity by 3 percent and also some domestic services, mainly between Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown. "Air New Zealand is a resilient business and we have demonstrated the ability time and again to respond quickly to changing market conditions."
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 23, 2020 21:00 UTC
Man hospitalised after hand stuck in industrial press
A man has been hospitalised after his hand became stuck in a press in an industrial area in Motueka. Emergency services were called to a property on Douglas Rd just before 8.30am after reports a person had their hand stuck in press equipment. A southern fire communications spokesman said when a crew arrived at the site, they were told they were no longer required as the person's hand has since been freed. St John said an ambulance was called to the scene at 8.26am. They treated one person who had suffered moderate injuries.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 23, 2020 21:00 UTC
Jacinda on cover of Time: 'A big day for a little NZ made thing'
Photo: TIMEThe NZ designers of the top Jacinda Ardern wore for the cover story of Time magazine are "thrilled" the prime minister chose something made almost three years ago. Pound told First Up Ardern is a big supporter of New Zealand fashion labels and wears a range of designers' pieces on big media occasions to showcase the local industry. But it was a "total surprise" to see Ardern wearing the top on the magazine cover. It's quite a rare thing to have someone have a cover of such a big magazine and just kind of get something from their wardrobe. "It's a big day for a little New Zealand-made thing, to see the top there," he said.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 23, 2020 21:00 UTC
International garden project given permission to use red zone
The Eden Project in the United Kingdom. Photo: Unsplash/Jack YoungA group wanting to create a local version of the United Kingdom's Eden Project in Christchurch's red zone has made a big leap forward with permission to use the land, for now. The UK Eden Project has huge geodesic domes, which attract thousands of visitors each year, and the group wants to also create an attraction in New Zealand. The chief executive of the Eden Project International, David Harland, says it has now been granted permission by Land Information New Zealand to use some of the red zoned land for the next two years. The Eden Project is also working on projects in China and Australia.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 23, 2020 20:37 UTC
NZ's first modular hotel finally opens, two years late
New Zealand's first modular hotel was to be a speedy eight-month build, but consenting problems meant it finally opened more than two years late. JOSEPH JOHNSON/STUFF Christchurch's five-storey Arden Hotel on the corner of Salisbury and Colombo Sts is New Zealand's first modular hotel. JOSEPH JOHNSON/STUFF Hotel manager Kiran Rokade said bookings at the modular hotel had been heavy. JOSEPH JOHNSON/STUFF Each floor in Christchurch's Arden hotel features historic images of the surrounding area.This one shows one of Christchurch's first petrol stations built in 1927 on what is now the hotel site. Fahrensohn said that interest in modular construction was growing and the council had been working with developers of a 14-storey modular apartment building.
Source:Stuff
February 23, 2020 20:26 UTC
Back to back callouts for Nelson Rescue Helicopter
The Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter picked up one patient from the beach at Anchorage, in the Abel Tasman National Park. (File photo)The Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter was called out to two rescues in the space of an hour on Sunday afternoon. Rescue Helicopter pilot Dion Edgar said the first callout was at 1pm, at the Anchorage campsite in Abel Tasman National Park. After being picked up at the beach at Anchorage, he was transported back to Nelson Hospital for treatment. Edgar said a woman was transported to Nelson Hospital after injuring her back, ribs, and pelvis.
Source:Stuff
February 23, 2020 20:26 UTC
Small win for residents fighting toxic waste plant expansion
Photo: Geoff SloanEnvironment Canterbury will review a decision to only consult a small number of neighbours over the expansion of a toxic waste plant on the outskirts of Christchurch. Waste Management New Zealand wants to extend its plant in Hornby and discharge contaminants into the air. He said the consultation period for the application closes on March 9, and will go ahead as planned. The Waste Management Ltd site on Marshs Rd. "The quality of the argument is what will make the difference when we go to hearing on this matter," said Bayfield,"Not so much the number of submissions.
Source:Otago Daily Times
February 23, 2020 20:15 UTC