About 33,000 new homes were consented with Auckland leading the way, followed closely behind by Wellington, Stats NZ said in a release. One third of all residential consents have been for apartments, town houses, flats and units – signalling a change in culture as kiwis move away from traditional houses with gardens to more urban […]

Each day, a growing number of people are launching inflatable rings and boats, kayaks and rafts to glide down the Waikato River. They launch either at the lagoon below the Control Gate Bridge or at Cherry Island, and get out at the hot pools at the Ōtumuheke Stream or at Hipapatua Reid’s Farm. From the […]

Panicked Waihī Beach residents evacuated on Sunday night, believing there was a tsunami warning, after a wave of sirens sounded across the Bay of Plenty. Civil Defence and Waikato police later confirmed there was no tsunami warning for the area and said the sirens were a false alarm. Civil Defence later sent a text out […]

A new study has found that people who cycle to work could have a lower risk of dying early. Lead researcher Dr Caroline Shaw from the University of Otago, Wellington, says people who cycled to work had a 13 per cent reduction in mortality during the study, likely as a result of the health benefits […]

The teacher shortage has eased slightly in Auckland, but is still critical in some provincial areas such as Northland, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay. While the Ministry of Education has run recruitment drives oversase which have helped ease the problem it hasn’t solved it. Foreign teachers and kiwis working oversees may be eligible to grants if […]

Auckland is hosting the country’s first expo from Chinese online retail giant Alibaba. The expo provides New Zealand producers an opportunity to showcase their products. More than 100 New Zealand brands, big and small, attended the show hoping to grab attention in China. Alibaba is also looking to expand its operations in New Zealand to […]

A large grey concrete wall in Hamilton has been transformed by what’s thought to be one of the biggest murals in the country. Two artists have been up on cherry-pickers painting the mural for the last couple of weeks. The design includes the awa, the Waikato River, tūī, the face of a wāhine representing Mātāriki, […]

Australia’s raging bushfires earlier this month saw an “unprecedented” spike in carbon monoxide levels monitored in New Zealand, NIWA says. New Zealand usually has some of the highest quality air in the world. However, in early December, it showed a jump to 150 parts per billion (ppb). But this month, it shot up even higher […]

The official date for opening the schools around the country is on 15th April. It is second term, and schools will be given aid to make sure learning continues at home even under the Lockdown. Parents have been warned by the Minister of Education, Chris Hopkins not to attend schools. A survey carried on a […]

Renowned US News platform CNN has piled praises on New Zealand and their Prime Minister, Jacinta Ardern, concerning their response on COVID-19. In an attempt to limit people’s exposure to COVID-19, kiwis are in their third week of lockdown. Senior CNN correspondent, Ivan Watson, said that New Zealand is setting very ambitious goals such border […]