If a person spends more than 13 weeks in hospital, their benefit is automatically cut to $55 a week. Some patients and advocates say that’s not enough to survive on and the automatic process further punishes people who are too unwell to fight it, Zoe Madden-Smith reports.Rhiannon Purves has been…

Police have released the name of a 39-year-old man who died in Mairehau, Christchurch over the weekend. A homicide investigation was launched after emergency services were called to an address on Innes Rd around 9.15pm, where a man was found with critical injuries and later died at the scene. He…

A dozen jobs have been lost in an East Otago town as a sawmill closes after nearly 40 years. At its peak, Palmerston’s privately owned sawmill and timber merchant Hewvan Timber employed 25 people. Proprietor John Millar said he made the difficult decision to wind down the business, with the…

Foreign companies are set to dominate New Zealand’s internet gambling market as the government auctions online casino licences for the first time.Documents obtained by RNZ show local operators fear the large offshore firms will eat up their market share – and siphon money away from the community grants they distribute…

Wānaka-based Mons Royale is celebrating two category wins in the International Sports Business Network (ISPO) global awards for innovation and design in the sports industry. The two garments — the Diversion merino trail pants and the Diversion merino wind jacket — were part of a new clothing line, the Diversion…

After weeks of uncertainty for Marybank residents about a speed limit increase through their suburb, the New Zealand Transport Agency has confirmed that the community will be consulted.A 1.8km section of State Highway 6/Queen Elizabeth II Drive that encompasses the suburb of Marybank was mandated by the Government to rise…

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has named Chris Seed as New Zealand’s Acting High Commissioner to London, in the wake of Phil Goff’s removal after remarks he made about Donald Trump.Seed, who previously served as the New Zealand High Commissioner to Canberra and Port Moresby, will travel to London next week.…

Police say a large blaze at a Hamilton mechanic’s workshop which prompted the callout of dozens of firefighters yesterday is being treated as an arson.Emergency services were called to the building on Ellis St, Frankton at around 11.30am yesterday.Crews from as far as Te Awamutu responded to the fire, Fire…

A homicide investigation has been launched and a person is in custody after a man found with critical injuries after an assault died in Palmerston North this morning. Police were called to Te Awe Awe Street in Hokowhitu just after 8am, where a man was found “critically injured following an…

Most councils should have critical water treatment barriers installed by the end of the year, according to an update from the country’s water authority.But far from all, according to information obtained by 1News.The Water Services Authority — Taumata Arowai has been monitoring progress on councils drinking water supplies since the…