Tutors and teachers at last-chance education programmes say allowing them to keep struggling secondary students beyond the age of 16 would have a life-changing impact.Alternative education programmes enrol about 2000 teenagers a year who are at risk of disengaging from school, or already have disengaged.At a recent seminar in Wellington,…

Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has left the door open to introducing more mandatory or minimum sentences for crimes — as he defended the latest suite of policies from the Government’s law and order crackdown.The minister said the four announcements made this week – including new coward punch laws, increased penalties…

There are many differing opinions about the benefits and drawbacks of flexible working. It is now common for businesses to operate hybrid and work-from-home models. But perhaps the tide is turning. Employers are beginning to retreat from their post-Covid flexible working policies and many, including the whole public sector, are…

An Air New Zealand flight with hydraulic issues has landed safely at Auckland Airport.Fire and Emergency were called to be on stand-by just after 12pm today.Crews from the airport, Mount Wellington and Papakura attended.Auckland Airport confirmed it was flight ANZ538 from Christchurch to Auckland.Air New Zealand chief operating officer Alex…

Christchurch agritech company Onside has unravelled a complex problem to come up with a map-based tool highlighting risk areas and increasing worker safety at many agriculture workplaces. The “industry-first” PCBU Enterprise platform has potential hazards laid out on a map so drivers, contractors and other workers entering a farm get…

Five people have been rescued by Coastguard volunteers after experiencing problems crossing a bar at Motunau beach in North Canterbury yesterday. Police were alerted to the vessel in difficulty by a person on Motunau beach, about an hour north of Kaiapoi, around 5pm on Saturday. At about 8pm, the Coastguard…

Firefighters have contained a blaze which broke out at an apartment building that was still under construction in Auckland’s Māngere today. At 12.30pm, Fire and Emergency New Zealand were called to the block of flats under construction on Hain Ave. 1News footage from the scene showed black smoke billowing out…

Lifewise chief executive Haehaetu Barrett told Q+A’s Maiki Sherman that extensive homelessness is now becoming a new normal, particularly among those who are either living on the streets or sleeping in their cars. “It has unfortunately become the look for Aotearoa, and not just in Tāmaki, Rotorua, Wellington, who hit…

“Enough is enough,” says Niria Wainui-Teepa, after being continuously woken up by idling trucks in the middle of the night.He was one of the 155 members of the rural Whatatutu Mangatū community, about 45km from Gisborne, that signed a petition presented to the Gisborne District Council this week calling for…

One person is in hospital following an assault at a public pool in Dunedin.Emergency services were called to Moana Pool on Littlebourne Rd around 3.15pm.Hato Hone St John said two ambulances and a manager responded and confirmed one patient in a moderate condition was taken to Dunedin Hospital.Police said a…