Halfback Kyle Preston, who recently toured Argentina with the All Blacks, could be on standby for the test against the Springboks in Auckland next weekend. Read...

State Highway 1 through the tunnel was closed on Friday morning due to a fire systems problem. Read...

Parents of students at a Wellington High School are annoyed their children were marked as absent on a day when school was closed. Read...

State Highway 1 through the tunnel will be closed for some time, police say. Read...

Three flights so far had been diverted to either Auckland or Palmerston North. Read...

Wairarapa’s Greater Wellington Regional Council candidates share their views on the council’s future and the best way forward for their constituents. Read...

The Ombudsman has forced the Reserve Bank to unveil pertinent information about circumstances around Adrian Orr’s sudden resignation as Governor on March 5.  The bank has revealed Orr temporarily stepped down as Governor on February 27, as tensions between him, the board, Treasury and Finance Minister Nicola Willis over government funding reached boiling point.  Christian Hawkesby became acting Governor on February 27, and Orr agreed to stay out of the office.  On the same day, board chair Neil Quigley wrote to Orr on behalf of the non-executive members of the board, outlining a series of concerns.  Quigley noted the “apparent lack of trust” between Orr, the board, Willis and Treasury.  He voiced his concern about the “tenor of dialogue” at meetings Orr had with Treasury officials on February 20 and Willis on February 24.  And, he questioned whether Orr would be able to do his job with less government funding than he deemed necessary.  Orr responded on March 3, rejecting the assertions in the letter, but agreeing there was a lack of trust between the parties.  He then resigned on March 5 on the condition the board withdrew the letter it sent him on February 27.  His “exit agreement” was approved and entered into on March 6.  When Quigley fronted media on March 5, he refused to detail what happened, other than to say the resignation was a “personal decision” made by Orr.  It wasn’t until June 11 that the Reserve Bank said Orr resigned because he disagreed with the board over the amount of government funding to pitch for.  The Reserve Bank provided details of the letter and exit agreement in the form of a summary timeline.  This is what the Ombudsman instructed it to do, after receiving numerous complaints (including from the Herald) over the Reserve Bank’s handling of information releases related to Orr’s departure.  The Ombudsman didn’t compel the Reserve Bank to release additional documents, including the exit agreement or the letter the board sent Orr on February 27. Indeed, the board and Orr agreed for this to be scrapped.  However, information previously released by the Treasury revealed Orr lost his cool in a meeting with a Treasury staffer on February 20 and then left a meeting he had with Quigley, Willis, Treasury chief executive Iain Rennie and other staff on February 24 early.  Another previously released document shows Quigley wanted details of the February 24 meeting kept under wraps.  He had a go at Treasury for taking detailed minutes of the meeting and releasing them under the Official Information Act (OIA).  Quigley concluded, “Apart from being late with our OIA responses, the approach we took in responding to OIA requests was a reasonable one to the requests and met the overall public interest by balancing transparency with privacy and other legitimate concerns.”  Orr has declined numerous requests for comment.  Willis has repeatedly expressed her disapproval over Quigley’s handling of the matter.  She has also repeatedly declined to shed light on what happened, saying it is a matter between Orr and the board.  This is despite Willis being the person who decides who is appointed Reserve Bank Governor and board chair.  There have been calls for Quigley, whose term ends on June 30, to resign.  The board is in the process of recommending who Willis should appoint Governor for a full term.  Jenée Tibshraeny is the Herald’s Wellington business editor, based in the parliamentary press gallery. She specialises in government and Reserve Bank policymaking, economics and banking.  Read...

The Government is proposing several changes to the laws governing the sale and supply of alcohol, including making it easier to allow bars to open during major sporting events.  Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee today unveiled proposed reform of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act 2012, claiming it focuses on “restoring fairness and practicality to the system without compromising public safety”.  Among the changes, soon to be introduced to the House, was a “fairer” licensing process which would only allow objections to a licence application to come from those residing in the same council area.  It would also allow applicants a right of reply to any objectors.  The changes would enable hairdressers and barbers to supply small amounts of alcohol to customers without a licence, a change previously announced by the Government.  Premises like wineries, such as breweries and meaderies, and distilleries, would also be allowed to hold both on- and off-licences to support cellar door sales.  Digital identity credentials would be considered approved evidence of age for alcohol purchases under the new bill.  The reform also addressed calls for a simpler process to allow bars and other venues to open and serve alcohol outside their licensed hours during major sporting events.  It was an issue raised almost every time a sporting event like a World Cup was being held outside typical hours and would require the Government to pass special legislation each time to allow pubs to open.  McKee’s reform would enable the responsible minister to declare a “stand-alone exemption” to licensing requirements for national televised events.  This would be achieved through the Order in Council legal instrument, in which members of the executive advised the Governor-General to give effect to a government decision.  McKee’s bill was expected to be introduced to the House in the coming months and reach select committee by the end of the year.  Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangarei and the Herald in Auckland.  Read...

By Mary Argue of RNZ Home owners are sounding the alarm about a construction company which they say took tens of thousands of dollars before its director disappeared. RNZ has spoken to six of Enzed Construction’s former clients who said they were cutting their losses after paying money upfront for work that was done poorly, or not at all. Documents shared with RNZ show payments to Enzed Construction and its director Hemi Arapeta Tiopira – known as James – exceed $60,000. Dealings with the company earlier this year – in Wellington, Lower Hutt and Waipukurau – had led to police reports, Dispute Tribunal claims, and several complaints to an online tradie platform used by Enzed Construction to source work. Tiopira has not responded to RNZ’s multiple requests for comment. Those who spoke to RNZ after contracting Enzed Construction to repile their homes had similar stories, laying out Tiopira’s eagerness to quote the job, professionalism, and the initial flurry of activity after the deposit – about 50% – was paid. They said a request for more money upfront followed, but then after a series of delays and excuses – including Tiopira claiming he had been in car crashes, his mum was sick, he’d had a diabetes diagnosis – they were offered a refund that never materialised. Tiopira has since gone to ground. Before doing so, he told some clients that he had to close the company. ‘It really ruined me’ It had been almost three months, but Warren Fitzgerald said he was only just clawing his way back to normality after buying a house in Wellington, based on Enzed Construction’s quote to repile it. He said in hindsight, the company’s competitive $33,000 price should have been a red flag – but having done some building, thought it could be done for that price. He also knew to be flexible, because construction did not always go to plan. “That’s where the embarrassment sits, just eating up the story and giving people the benefit of the doubt. Which sounds terrible as well, because I don’t ever want to not give that [people the benefit of the doubt].” Fitzgerald paid a 60% deposit, and said Tiopira and his crew started work almost immediately post-settlement on April 7. Within days, Fitzgerald said he was asked to pay the remaining balance to help Tiopira with end of financial year invoices. He paid it, with the promise that it would also cover additional materials and work. But the initial flurry of activity did not last long, and the excuses for why the builders were not on site started coming in. Fitzgerald was told there had been an accident on-site that required hospital treatment, then a first aid course. “I wasn’t expecting them there every day and I wasn’t there to micro-manage them, but I was starting to worry about the timeline, which they said was going to be three weeks.” But by three weeks, he said the work – which was substandard – was nowhere near finished and “from there it went downhill very quickly”. “Effectively, they stopped coming to site, and I was trying to text them for weeks and call them, and no answer.” On May 7, Fitzgerald told Tiopira he would be filing a claim with the Disputes Tribunal. He said Tiopira finally responded, claiming his ute had been ploughed into in Johnsonville and he could no longer do the work. He offered a full refund. In an order issued on July 4, Disputes Tribunal referee C Bridgeman found Enzed Construction had breached the Consumer Guarantees Act and ordered the company to repay Fitzgerald the maximum amount claimable – $30,000 by July 31. Bridgeman found the work that was done was substandard and that Enzed’s failures were “substantial” – including not getting council consent and an engineer’s report. In a separate order, on August 12, Bridgeman found Tiopira had abandoned a second contract for insulation work and ordered he refund Fitzgerald $5600. The orders show Tiopira did not appear for either hearing. A screenshot of CCTV footage of Enzed Construction`s director, James Tiopira.... Read...

The first firefighters to enter the raging Loafers Lodge hostel blaze have described their narrow escape from the building shortly before a deadly flashover happened. Brady Cutting and Noel Wellington have detailed crawling blindly on their stomachs through pitch black smoke towards an “unbearable” heat as they tried to find the fire. They have both given evidence in the Wellington High Court during a trial for the man accused of lighting the fire. The 50-year-old, who has interim name suppression, has denied five counts of murder and two of arson. He is accused of killing Mike Wahrlich, Liam Hockings, Peter O’Sullivan, Melvin Parun and Kenneth Barnard in the fire, which happened shortly after midnight on May 16, 2023. Wellington told the court there was “zero visibility” on the fire floor that night. He explained how he held the thermal imaging camera directly up to his visor to try to see a thermal layout of the room, but even then smoke was obstructing his vision. The defendant has name suppression throughout the trial. Photo / Marty Melville “I started to notice sparks of flashes from within the smoke. This is a clear indication that fire was going to flash or flashover,” he said. Flashover is when a fire reaches such a high temperature that all combustible materials in the area can spontaneously ignite. His colleague, Cutting, had earlier described flashover, saying it meant “everything in the room can burst into flames and if you’re in there when it happens you’ll essentially burn to death in your equipment”. Wellington took several long pauses as he described the moment he started seeing the signs that flashover was “imminent”. “At about the time I noticed the signs of flashover, I was hit by something very heavy that had fallen from above. I was on my knees and it knocked me to the floor. I quickly realised the structure from above us was collapsing down,” he said. He sent a radio message advising of the danger and was instructed to withdraw. A short time after they left the building, the flashover happened. Cutting also spoke of the narrow escape, saying shortly before leaving they had been trying to spray water towards the seat of the fire. “Conditions, including the heat, were changing rapidly,” he said. “The heat was unbearable, we were essentially lying on the floor simply trying to protect ourselves.” After they left the building and took off their breathing apparatus sets, he said he spent some time “gathering myself for a bit and reflecting on what just happened”. Station officer Mark Powell also gave evidence, describing having to make the call to withdraw his crew. Staff advised they were still searching the mezzanine floor and had one room left to check. “I told him to leave it and get out immediately.” Crown prosecutor Stephanie Bishop said the defendant did not want to live at Loafers Lodge. Photo / Marty Melville Within seconds of exiting, the flashover happened, he said. He believed if anybody was still on the third floor at that time, they had not survived. “I had to make that call to protect the firefighters, as they would have not survived long at all in that flashover event.” The trial began yesterday, with Crown prosecutor Stephanie Bishop suggesting to the jury the defendant lit the fire because he didn’t like living at Loafers Lodge. He had lived at the boarding house for just a week before he started the deadly blaze. Bishop understood he did not dispute he was the one who lit the fire, but would likely claim a defence of insanity. Loafer`s Lodge residents Mike Wahrlich (top left), Liam Hockings, Peter O`Sullivan, Melvin Parun (bottom left) and Kenneth Barnard were killed in the blaze. She explained CCTV footage would be presented to the jury, showing the man first trying to light a fire under a couch about 10.30pm, which was put out by other residents. The footage then shows him returning and lighting another fire in a cupboard shortly after midnight. Bishop said for a verdict of insanit... Read...