The Dominion Post

‘Help’ calls ignored says PSA POLICE

Mental health workers allegedly assaulted by a distressed patient were left ignored by police despite multiple calls for help, according to a complaint by the Public Service Association (PSA) following sweeping changes by the Government to mental...

Renter power is rising

It’s not often housing policy expert Stuart Donovan sees the housing market in action in person. But he and his partner are in the process of moving after asking for a rent reduction and being told no. So by the end of the month they will be moving...

Inside the rise of Manage My Health

Logging in to your doctor’s patient management system to order a repeat prescription or check your lab results, you probably didn’t give much thought to who looks after that information, or how. Until now. The hack of patient portal Manage My Health...

LOCAL POLITICS Scrutiny on campaign spending

Leaked bank statements appearing to show significant undeclared spending have put Wellington City councillor Ray Chung’s Independent Together (IT) group under fresh scrutiny. The Post has obtained what appear to be the Wellington political group’s...

Big questions after health hack

As questions are raised about government oversight of health data, the Manage My Health thief says some patient information was not encrypted – an alleged lapse that has an expert saying heads should roll. Privately owned Manage My Health was hacked...

Hacker deadline looms

The Manage My Health hacker’s deadline expires this morning with 126,000 Kiwis’ health data in jeopardy. According to an online statement made by the hacker, they appeared to have given two options if the US$60,000 ($104,000) ransom was not paid...

What’s next for Maduro? INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

After a lightning military raid, a 3300km journey via Guantanamo Bay and a perp walk through the Manhattan offices of the DEA, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is now under United States lock and key. Maduro and wife Cilia Flores were snatched from...

Capital comeback

Kicking last year to touch couldn’t come soon enough for some. The year 2025 was 12 months of adjectives; challenging, tough, brutal. House prices slumped, businesses closed, there were more job cuts. In its Q3 regional economic scoreboard, ASB said:...

Health data breached

More than 120,000 New Zealanders could have their medical information caught up in a Manage My Health breach. Manage My Health, a privately-owned online portal where patients can communicate with GPs and which holds private personal health data, was...

Hopeful. Calm. Or not?

Welcome to the new year, kei te pēhea koe? As New Zealand enters 2026, a new poll asking just that – how are you feeling ? – reports a mixed outlook from voters eyeing the year ahead. More than a quarter say they’re optimistic, one in five are calm,...

‘Tech titan’ Sir Rod Drury

Business, sport and philanthropy are richly represented in the New Year Honours list with Sir Rod Drury, Sir Scott Dixon and Dame Dorothy Spotswood among the newest recipients today. Tech entrepreneur Drury has been made a Knight Companion of the New...

A tunnel and a stuck door

The earth moved for Mrs Jones. The first clue was the stuck door. Beneath her house, a cavity was being excavated through a fault line for what would become the Terrace Tunnel, which opened 47 years ago. It would become the culmination and...

Where the ocean meets the vines Creativity and community flourish on Waiheke Island

The Post political awards Politician of the year, rookie on the rise and more

Rookie on the rise: Green Party MP Francisco Hernandez Hernandez was No 17 on the Green Party list at the last election. He probably saw this – quite reasonably – as impossibly low. But the former student unionist, climate bureaucrat and inveterate...

Brown off to Sydney for sun, family and holiday reading

The Post has talked to MPs from across Parliament about what they’re looking forward to over the summer break – from Christmas meals to reading material. Today, senior National minister Simeon Brown tells Henry Cooke what he’s reading, watching, and...

Empty desks counted as staff

A $435,000 report claiming Wellington City Council had hundreds of surplus staff counted 50-plus empty desks, raising fresh questions about the document’s credibility. The council has confirmed the Deloitte Future Fit Pōneke report, which claimed the...

‘Once-in-a-generation deal’

New Zealand has concluded a free trade deal with India which, when complete, will mean tariff abolition or reductions on about 95% of New Zealand exports to India. The Post yesterday reported the deal had been finalised, but it was officially...

A very Welly Christmas

My Brother's Band French musical drama strikes a chord

Debuting to a 10-minute standing ovation at Cannes last year, veteran French director Emmanuel Courcol’s latest movie went on to become one of his homeland’s biggest releases of the year and an audience favourite at film festivals (including New...

Step up your security

Fiscal plan hinges on everything going right

The Government’s fiscal strategy is pretty simple: to constrain new spending to below the growth in nominal gross domestic product. In other words, the growth in new spending in dollar terms should be less than the growth in GDP in dollar terms, to...

Airport ready to take off

Wellington will soon have a fully fledged international airport, with the installation of new safety zones at either end of the relatively short runway clearing the way for direct long-haul services from Asia and North America. Work on the safety...

The 'angry centrist' election? Middle NZ dissatisfied but unsure about solutions

The current paradox of New Zealand politics is that the public is the angriest it’s been for decades – but has in no sense shifted decisively left or right. The country isn’t doing well: everyone knows that. The health system is a mess, our...

Red carpet for blue world

The aliens may be blue, but tomorrow, it’s the red carpet that will be laid out as Wellington plays host to its first major film premiere in over a decade. The Australasian premiere of Avatar: Fire and Ash is set for tomorrow, with Courtenay Place to...

Be my guest

There’s a certain level of planning involved in hosting an event – even a modest one. But while time might be spent refining the menu, finding enough chairs or checking if the festoon lighting still works, there’s one room in the house that is too...

Govt on tap

After what seems like a wait of many years, the Government will today release the first version of its govt.nz app, The Post understands. The app, which has been in development for some years but has been sped up under the current Government, will not...

Canes plan to win back fans RUGBY

New Hurricanes chair and investor Malcolm Gillies has made the frank assessment that the Super Rugby club has lost its connection to a lot of its fan base, contrasting the “busloads” of fans from Wellington who go to watch the Warriors in Auckland with...

Extra 3500 cars a day forecast

An “absolutely mental” 3500 extra cars daily are forecast to travel down a suburban Hataitai Rd under Government highway plans, which have united eastern suburb councillors in opposition. The Moxham Ave confirmation from the NZ Transport Agency has...

Gavel down, confidence up in property market

So you are thinking about buying a house at auction. Sounds exciting – and honestly– a bit scary. What if you scratch your nose and accidentally buy a house? That’s not going to happen, Ray White’s auctioneer Ben East says. Auckland-based East is in...

Eagle linked to Chathams inquiry

Former Labour MP Paul Eagle is now at the centre of an Auditor-General inquiry into procurement and sensitive spending at the Chatham Islands Council, where he is chief executive. The Post understands the investigation was triggered by a protected...

Coster: ‘I got this wrong’

Social Investment Secretary Andrew Coster resigned yesterday, effective immediately. He will not receive a payout – but three months pay in lieu of notice. Coster was stood down as chief executive of the agency in November after an Independent Police...

$350k paid to ex-health chief

Former health director-general Dr Diana Sarfati received $350,000 after stepping down in February – a figure that came to light just a day after MPs scrutinised a similarly sized payment at Pharmac. Sarfati left the Ministry of Health less than...

Councils face capped future

In the past year, 73 of New Zealand’s 78 councils raised rates by more than 4%. Under the Government’s new rate capping measure announced yesterday all 73 of those councils would have broken the law. You could read that data two ways. Perhaps it...

Labour told to dream smaller

While the Labour Party conference was humming down in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter, former finance minister Grant Robertson was also in town – humming a different tune. Robertson was 2km up the road at The Others Way – a music festival on Karangahape Rd...

Die My Love

Die My Love (R16, 119 mins) Directed by Lynne Ramsay Reviewed by Graeme Tuckett **** ½ Here’s a bit of news I learned today which has made me happy: Martin Scorsese is a member of a book club. I’m sure the club Scorsese belongs to is a far grittier...

Back to where they once belonged

Park Road Post creator supervisor Jon Newell on how much easier (or not) it was to tackle footage from the 1990s than from the 60s-70s. Much of the footage from the 1960s and 1970s was captured on film. Although older archival film may have blemishes,...

Birdie dream skipped

When eight-year-old golfer Elliot Pegg hit his tee-shot it looked so good he told his dad he might get his first birdie. He didn’t – his ball was in the hole. Now among the youngest New Zealand players to get a hole in one, Elliot still hasn’t had...

Collision hotspots

Auckland and Christchurch drivers hold every spot on New Zealand’s top 10 collision hotspots. AMI’s inaugural Motor Report released today showed that despite modern safety technology taking the edge off driving anxiety, many mishaps were still...

Comms bill of $1.3m revealed

Wellington Water has disclosed the extent of its reliance on consultants and contractors, admitting to a $1.3 million communications budget that senior management had kept under wraps. And when the fiasco of contractors overcharging broke earlier in...

‘An explanation, Andy’

A young woman did all she could to raise with police serious sexual offending allegations about one of their top cops, Jevon McSkimming. At first she was ignored, with McSkimming, who was rising through the ranks and 19 years her senior, passing her...

Spill the beans

SMOKED FISH & NEW POTATO SALAD with black garlic dressing Serves 4 The mellow, caramelised flavours of black garlic really bring this dish together – if you can’t find black garlic, roasted garlic makes a good substitute. 700g baby new...

Council recount limbo

Porirua’s mayor is asking the Government to reverse a local government electoral law change that dictates a new council can only convene once the courts clear all vote recount requests. Porirua council remains in limbo, with councillors unable to take...

‘Scourge on our society’ DRUGS

The Government’s pledge to buoy funding and services to target the health effects of methamphetamine use is “desperately needed”, the Drug Foundation says. “By helping people, communities and families to address substance use disorder, we can both...

'An immunisation disaster'

When Gemma Andrews and her husband went house-hunting, they looked with a little one in mind. The Lower Hutt home they landed on seemed ideal – a few doors from a daycare and close to a pharmacy and doctor. But when Andrews got pregnant and the couple...

‘It just kept escalating’

Former deputy police commissioner Jevon McSkimming told a colleague he needed different types of pornography to make him feel anything and it just kept escalating. A summary of the objectionable material offences McSkimming pleaded guilty to in court...

Small-scale flair

The Pinnacle, a 60m² tiny home by Compac Homes in Ohinewai, north Waikato, has taken the Tiny House of the Year award, as well as the best commercial build, at this year’s awards announced at the Tiny House Expo. With its oiled ply wall linings,...

Council trumpets safety award

The Wellington City Council is celebrating an international city safety award for achieving “measurable success” in reducing crime – while crime is on the rise. The $7.7 million Pōneke Promise was born in 2021 out of sexual violence concerns in the...

Stopping two nations

Who are the favourites? Caulfield Cup winner Half Yours (No 14) was the Melbourne Cup favourite last evening. The five-year-old gelding is having his first crack at the 3200 metre staying test but is bred to get the distance. The $7 favourite jumps...

A rates tale of two cities

A Wellington ratepayer who owes thousands of dollars in overdue rates is facing a forced mortgage payment despite offering to pay the amount back in instalments. Mehrdad Fatemi is one of the 7825 – or 9.3% – of Wellington ratepayers in arrears as of...

Wellington too expensive to stay

High living costs have been a drag on house prices in recent years – and nowhere is that more evident than in Wellington. And some are considering their future in the capital on the back of ever increasing costs. Professionals real estate agent...

Three years and major repairs

Six kilometres of the $1.25 billion Transmission Gully motorway needs to be completely dug up and rebuilt with works to start next week and continue through summer. NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) has warned of months of disruption as...

WOFs rejig

Two year warrant of fitness certifications for cars could be a possibility as the Government continues with its transport reforms. Transport Minister Chris Bishop yesterday said the Government was opening public consultation on three areas of land...

Secrecy shrouds plans for second city tunnel

Two Wellington City Council staff were made to sign non-disclosure agreements as NZTA worked on tunnel plans in secret and sent letters to 200 affected building owners with virtually no council input, a councillor says. “Our team is incredibly...

CHILD WELFARE Abuse in state care climbs

The first year since the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care has been marred by newly released figures showing a rise in children harmed while in state care. In the year to March, 539 children – some younger than 12 months – were reported as harmed in...

Wallet-friendly USA

From New York’s glittering streets to Los Angeles’ sandy beaches, visiting iconic United States cities can feel like a rite of passage. But with flights, accommodation and activities, the costs add up fast, and that’s before the exchange rate and...

Old rules, new media

Stewart Sowman-Lund reports on the Broadcasting Standards Authority’s move against The Platform and the fallout it sparked. The news last week that the Broadcasting Standards Authority (BSA) was contemplating considering a complaint against an online...

No silver lining

The mental and emotional toll of the Dame Noeline Taurua coaching saga might have finally floored the Silver Ferns. After a crushing 68-51 loss to the Australian Diamonds in Sydney on Wednesday, the Ferns find themselves in a 0-2 hole as the...

Cutting edge of creativity?

As a maker, crafter, arty type, I’ve never really been into gadgets. Tools, yes. Materials, absolutely. (In fact, I should probably just own up to having a materials-hoarding problem at this point.) But gadgets? Not so much. To me, they can sometimes...

Taxi firm fights airport eviction

A Wellington taxi company has pledged to pursue “every legal and commercial avenue” after Wellington Airport ditched it and 110 drivers from the cab ranks – by far the most lucrative spot in the city. Wellington Airport spokesperson Phil Rennie...

INFRASTRUCTURE

Two long-discussed Wellington roading projects – worth a combined $6.4 billion – have taken a major step forward, with investment cases signed off and fast-tracking confirmed. Newly released plans show the Wellington tunnels project – which includes a...

Inflation to test RB patience

Economists expect Stats NZ to report this morning that annual inflation has risen back up to at least 3%, reversing prior progress in bringing price growth comfortably back within the Reserve Bank’s target band. Annual inflation was last reported at...

Mega strike looms

A tense new era has dawned as the Government stares down the barrel of Thursday’s mega-strike. Both Government and unions walk a fragile line with the public – both hoping those beyond the picket support their side. It is shaping up to be the biggest...

Jim Bolger 1935 - 2025

White flowers decorate the Beehive foyer and outside flags were lowered to halfmast. Usual business in the House was paused yesterday, so politicians could pay their respects to former Prime Minister Jim Bolger, who died on Wednesday after months of...

New police union boss

After nearly a decade as the voice of New Zealand’s police officers, police union boss Chris Cahill is stepping down – and South Island sergeant Steve Watt is stepping up. From the Christchurch mosque attacks to the deaths of frontline officers and...

Big names at risk as Nats slide

Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Speaker Gerry Brownlee would both be ousted from Parliament if an election were held today, as National’s support slides and Christopher Luxon’s personal ratings hit new lows. In the latest The Post/Freshwater...

Violence support ‘red flag’

Around one in seven New Zealanders believe violence may be needed to “get the country back on track” – including one in four Te Pāti Māori supporters and one in five ACT voters, according to a new poll. The Taxpayers’ Union-Curia Market Research poll...

Happiest place on Earth?

When my husband and I booked our family trip to California, we weren’t really thinking about our infant daughter. It had been a long, miserable winter in Toronto and we needed some sun, and Disneyland was celebrating its 70th anniversary. It seemed...

Ex-PM Ardern’s surprise role in Pike River movie

Former prime minister Dame Jacinda Ardern appears briefly as herself in a new film drama about the Pike River mine disaster, The Post can reveal. Pike River, directed by Robert Sarkies and written by Fiona Samuel, follows the families of two of the 29...

‘Deep dive’ exposes gaps

A “deep dive” by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) into the Michael Forbes scandal has found gaps in how ministerial staff are vetted, managed and monitored. The review, initiated after Stuff revealed in June that the former deputy chief press...

Toxic local elections

This year’s local government elections are shaping up to be the most toxic in living memory, with fears of today’s keyboard warriors becoming tomorrow’s physical attackers. “It scares the pants off me,” said Dr Andy Asquith, an expert in local...

Mayor’s farewell kōrero

Tory Whanau is set to deliver a blistering attack on some of her colleagues, past mayors and sections of the media in one of her final acts as Wellington mayor. The Post has a copy of her planned valedictory speech for the council’s final meeting of...

‘We need to know why’

When John Nabizadah can’t sleep, he drives to the beach. He parks by the water’s edge and stares out at the ocean, sometimes for hours on end. Six months ago his father, 63-year-old Abdul Nabizadah, was critically injured and later died in hospital...

Coffee machine row to court

When barista Carolyn Peterson got into a heated argument with her boss over the cleaning of a coffee machine, she never imagined they’d be facing off in the High Court nearly three years later. The former employee of Cuba St’s Black Lion Bakery and...

Social media success

As the world becomes increasingly captured by the likes of Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X, so too do our leaders. More and more, politicians are bypassing traditional media to share their unfiltered thoughts online, straight to the voters. Senior...

Fewer leaks ... but capital still hosed off

Despite big money being thrown at fixing Wellington’s leaking pipes and ageing infrastructure, the capital’s supply remains one of the least stable in the country. Level 1 water restrictions, limiting outdoor use, kicked in last weekend, making...