The government’s long-promised repeal of Labour’s Three Waters reforms has officially passed its third reading, clearing the way for a new framework called Local Water Done Well.
The replacement strips out co-governance, returns water management to local councils, and is being sold as a victory for “localism and choice.”
Shares in Auckland tech firm E-Road jumped 30% after the government confirmed plans to replace fuel excise with universal road user charges (RUCs) as early as 2027.
But motoring expert Clive Matthew-Wilson says the whole idea is a “shambles in the making” and may be a cover for privatising New Zealand’s roads.
An NZDF soldier has pleaded guilty to attempted espionage in the country’s first conviction for spying.
The man, whose name and target country are both suppressed, believed he was contacting a foreign agent in 2019 when he tried to share sensitive military material, including maps, phone directories, login credentials, and ID documents.
Federated Farmers and Beef + Lamb New Zealand say the Environment Select Committee has missed its chance to stop productive farmland being lost to carbon forestry.
A proposal to tighten exemptions allowing newly converted land to enter the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) after 4 December 2024 has not addressed the main problem, according to Richard Dawkins, chair of Federated Farmers’ meat and fibre section.
A 15-year-old Christchurch boy with a violent criminal history and mental health issues spent six nights in police custody after being charged with burglary. The incident involved property damage alongside a group of older teenagers, most of whom were bailed or placed in Oranga Tamariki care.
The boy, however, remained in a police cell until a space became available in a secure youth justice residence.
A Canadian nurse has been fined over $93,000 and suspended from practising for one month, because she publicly supported women’s rights to female-only spaces.
Amy Hamm, a nurse and educator with 13 years’ experience, was disciplined by the British Columbia College of Nurses and Midwives after she co-sponsored a 2020 Vancouver billboard that read “I ♥ JK Rowling.”
