MinEd caught short by Wakatipu High roll explosionThe squeeze is on. Wakatipu High School (WHS) will almost inevitably require temporary classrooms — again — to cope when it hits its readjusted capacity only two or three years from now. Originally, the school’s second-phase build, at its Remarkables Park campus, was to allow it to accommodate 1800 students. ‘‘In this case, a potential interim solution could involve temporary spaces located on to the Wakatipu High School (WHS) site. ‘‘We will be working with Wakatipu High and the community during 2024 to develop a plan for responding to future demand for secondary schooling.

Within Wakatipu High School’s almost 1500 students this year, about 55 different ethnicities are represented by students born in 44 different countries. Third row, from left, Lutu Macawaruaivalenibula, Anna Zoon, Salanieta (Sala) Vunaki, Bailey Tiananga, Queta Cleminson, Rebeca Daiana Coelho, Joshua French and Tom Roberts. Long one of the country’s most diverse schools, Nathan says so far this year, their roll is sitting at 1459, up from 1350 a year ago. The fund, administered by the Wakatipu High School Foundation, ensures equity of access to education and removes financial barriers, enabling students to participate in curricular and extracurricular activities. ‘‘That adds to the diversity — the socio-economic diversity of the students and in the community — I like that.

These higher rates reflect the shift in market pricing as the chances of near-term Fed rate cuts recede. Another assessment of Fed rate trajectories will come this morning (8am NZT) when they release the minutes of the FOMC's January meeting. The UST 10yr yield starts today at 4.32% and up +6 bps from this time yesterday. That all means our TWI-5 starts today at just under 71.2 and little-changed. The bitcoin price starts today at US$51,382 and down another minor -0.4% from this time yesterday.

Mazda New Zealand has announced it will remove its ute, the BT-50, from sale citing a changing market. Mazda Australia confirmed the BT-50 will remain on sale in Australia, with 2023 having been a “sales record” year for the model - 17,526 units of Mazda’s total 100,008 sales. “The Mazda BT-50 remains in production and on-sale in a number of global markets including Australia,” a Mazda Australia spokesperson told CarsGuide. Mazda New Zealand has announced it will remove its ute, the BT-50, from sale citing a changing market. While the Mazda BT-50 remains a popular model in Australia, New Zealand’s total for BT-50s sold in 2023 was just 347.

New Crusaders first five-eighths Rivez Reihana was so excited to be named he didn't hear who the backs outside were for the DHL Super Rugby Pacific season opener against the Chiefs in Hamilton on Friday. Given his background, it meant a lot to him, having taken his first steps in Super Rugby with the Chiefs. Reihana, who plays his NPC rugby for Northland, said joining the Crusaders had been a period of growth for him, especially under the new coaches. pic.twitter.com/zfx3rIBZF2 — Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) February 21, 2024The pre-season trip to Ireland and England was good for team bonding and understanding the Crusaders' ethos. Aumua said he was pleased to get some time on the field on the northern tour and experience a different style of play.

Helen Meads was murdered at her Matamata home in 2009. Photo / suppliedThe Parole Board considered releasing Meads in October last year as had completed all of his rehabilitation. “We are satisfied, given all of the work he has done, that he can now be released.”Police at the scene of Helen Meads' murder. “We don’t have to do any more submissions for the Parole Board, we don’t have to deal with him. “The Parole Board have been brilliant, we have great admiration for them.”At sentencing, Meads’ offending was described as “particularly callous”.

In late September 2023 Mitchell was confronted by members of “They’re Our Whānau,” who submitted a 5,000-strong petition opposing National and ACT’s anti-gang policies. [16][17]Following the resignation of short-lived National party leader Todd Muller on 14 July 2020, Mitchell ran against fellow MP Judith Collins for the position of Leader of the National Party. [19] Following the election, Mitchell ruled out challenging party leader Collins in the wake of National’s landslide defeat. [27]Following the formation of the National-led coalition government in late November 2023, Mitchell was appointed as Minister of Corrections, Minister for Emergency Management and Recovery, and Minister of Police. [28]On 8 December 2023 Mitchell as Police Minister met with Police Commissioner Andrew Coster to set out the Government’s expectations for Police and combating gangs.

Francisco Hernandez, the Green Party’s candidate in the Dunedin electorate for last year’s election, yesterday unexpectedly found himself in the verge of entering Parliament after the sudden death of the party’s Auckland list MP, Fa’anānā Efeso Collins. He will be replaced as an MP by the next person on the Green list, the party’s Epsom candidate, Lawrence Xu-Nan. Mr Hernandez is ranked next after Dr Xu-Nan on the Green list, and would be expected to replace Mr Shaw when he leaves Parliament. Mr Shaw said the party was absolutely devastated and Mr Collins’ death was a profound shock to everyone. "Aotearoa and the Green Party have lost one of the kindest, most dedicated champions of fairness and equality.

Money-saving expert Martin Lewis has warned that millions of people could be paying for "absolutely pointless" stuff. However, he pointed out that millions of people were paying for stuff they didn't need or stuff that was "absolutely pointless". In order to check for potential "pointless transactions" however, Mr Lewis explained the three different types of regular payments. Then you have very strong rights on direct debit and what money they can take and how you can cancel. And as for recurring payments, Mr Lewis explained that these were often hidden and "could take elbow grease".

S&P Global Ratings says the credit risk for New Zealand’s local councils is rising after the coalition Government repealed Labour’s water reform legislation last week. “This is because of rising inflation and infrastructure budgets, and given the new National Party-led coalition government's promise to repeal existing water reform legislation”. It's all about making sure that local councils have the financial sustainability and what's required to invest in infrastructure over the long term”. Still ratedWhile the note warns about increasing credit risk, S&P didn’t downgrade any of the councils’ actual credit ratings. “New Zealand's local councils remain highly rated.

Focus: Chris Hipkins says he has no intentions of resigning despite the latest poll resultsLabour leader Chris Hipkins saying he will not resign after yesterday's poll results, that he will be announce some shadow line-up changes this week, and wouldn't confirm if Grant Robertson is leaving. Video / Mark Mitchell

Photo: Gregor RichardsonSouth Dunedin’s Countdown will remain closed for another day after a rat sighting today — bringing the store’s closure to two weeks. A Woolworths New Zealand spokeswoman said today a rat had been seen early this morning and the reopening of the store had been pushed back a day, to Saturday. The delay marks 14 days that the supermarket has been required to shut its doors, so the company could conduct intensive pest-control work. The spokeswoman said that the closure would not pose any risk to jobs and there was ‘‘lots of work available’’. Now, the store must remain closed until both the Ministry for Primary Industries’ New Zealand Food Safety agency and Woolworths are satisfied newly imposed additional pest-control measures have worked.

Fire investigators and police are at the scene of the house bus fire on Blue Spur Rd, Hokitika. Photo: NZ HeraldPolice are continuing to investigate what caused a house bus fire that killed a Chinese woman on the West Coast. Emergency services were called to the house bus fire on Blur Spur Road, about 6km from Hokitika in Westland at 4.15am on Tuesday. The owners of the Airbnb house bus declined to comment. A second person who escaped was staying with the woman in the house bus.

As many of you know, the recent fire in the Port Hills of Christchurch has had a significant impact on the @christchurchprk (CAP), the scheduled venue for Crankworx Summer Series New Zealand fromMarch 1-3, 2024. Firstly, we want to express our gratitude to the emergency responder crews and our mates at CAP for their swift and tireless efforts in response to the fires. The situation remains in the hands of the fire service and the full impact on the Port Hills, CAP, and surrounding areas is yet to be fully determined. It is with a heavy heart that we must announce the complete cancellation of Crankworx Summer Series New Zealand 2024. If you can, please support Christchurch Foundation’s Port Hills regeneration efforts - link in our bio.

Here’s the thing: the City Rail Link is almost certainly going to be overcapacity from day one, with crowding on the trains at peak times. In the simple terms of popular transportThis post was originally published on Linked In by Nicolas Reid. It is republished here with permission....