In 2024, the commissioner's office found Bunnings had taken customers' private information without consent, failed to take steps to notify them and left gaps in its privacy policy. "Bunnings was entitled to use (the technology) for the limited purpose of combating very significant retail crime and protecting their staff and customers from violence, abuse and intimidation within its stores," the tribunal said. The extent of retail crime faced by Bunnings staff and customers was one of the "important factors" in its ruling. Threatening situations were "the worst it has ever been", Bunnings' national investigations and security manager Alexander MacDonald told the tribunal. "Our intent in trialling this technology was to help protect people from violence, abuse, serious criminal conduct and organised retail crime."

By John Gerritsen of RNZSchools and the Education Ministry are at odds over whether welcoming new students a day or two before other students return to class counts as an official school day. School websites show multiple secondary schools opted to started with only one or two year levels, such as Year 9 students, present on the first day or two of the school term. It said schools were only open for instruction if all year levels were learning, either on or off-site. She said the school would not count the day as an official school day and had added an extra day to the end of its year. The ministry said from this year schools were expected to record the days they were not open for instruction and the reason.

The reality is that NZ First can probably lean into enough support to hit double digits when you consider the sub 5% vote for anti-vaxx lunatics. The New Conservatives, NewZeal, NZ Outdoors, NZ Loyal and the Freedom Party are all crazy as fuck, and that’s why Winston is raging against the WHO! For New Conservatives, NewZeal, NZ Outdoors, NZ Loyal and the Freedom Party, the WHO is a shadowy one world government organisation run by a Satanic child abusing cabal. Micro targeting crazy sub groups of the Alt-Right is how One Australia and Reform are making in roads. The messaging sounds crazy to the rest of us, but to those alt-right sub groups who don’t get representation, the conspiracies are music to their ears.

Mighty Meats butcher Cory Orlowski has once again been voluntarily processing tonnes of venison into the small hours of the morning for Deer to Care. It had been a team effort of the Deer to Care co-founders Stuart O’Neill, Tim Cook and Wesley Baratcart to help others. ‘‘We started off as a group of mates looking to hand over excess deer to charities in Southland.’’A record 615 deer had been processed in the past year and charities as far as North Otago had reaped the benefits. Mighty Meats Butchery owner Cory Orlowski frequently volunteered into the small hours, processing donated venison into 500g tubes of mince meat, Mr O’Neill said. The Mataura Butcher had now also joined the meat processing team.

By Susan Edmunds of RNZConsumer NZ says New Zealand is facing a "really serious" situation with insurance becoming increasingly unaffordable and potentially inaccessible - and a new review needs to urgently tackle the problem. The first stage of the insurance review is expected to take six months and will be followed by a second phase, of policy development. "New Zealand's higher risk profile is likely a contributing factor, with investors demanding higher returns for the higher risk. Consumer NZ said New Zealand is facing a "really serious" situation with insurance becoming increasingly unaffordable and potentially inaccessible - and a new review needs to urgently tackle the problem. "New Zealand's higher risk profile is likely a contributing factor, with investors demanding higher returns for the higher risk.

PHOTO: ODT FILESOver the summer break, following the repeal of the previous government’s Natural and Built Environment Act and Spatial Planning Act, the government introduced replacement legislation intended to resolve long-standing issues with the Resource Management Act (RMA). Under the proposed framework, regional spatial plans would replace the current network of district and regional plans. These include sunlight access, outlook, neighbourhood character, open space, landscape values and visual quality. This creates a risk that local character and environmental context become secondary to development efficiency. Smaller centres, such as Arrowtown, rely on local planning provisions to maintain scale, heritage character and sense of place.

PHOTO: GREGOR RICHARDSONJCR Productions actors (from left) Chris Cook, Eva Clarke, Thomas Burns, writer and director Jackson Rosie and Zach Hall, all of Dunedin, attend the launch of the 2026 Dunedin Fringe Festival at the Regent Theatre yesterday. Mr Rosie’s company, JCR Productions, will make its debut at the festival with two shows, We Remember Wrong, which will play at Shore Street Studios on March 13-15, and Let the Dinosaurs on the Ark!, which will play at the DSL rooms on March 18-20.

Dr Jillian Clark. Photo: suppliedA man is facing a murder charge after a veterinarian was found dead at her Otago home last month. Milton vet Dr Jillian Clark was found dead at her rural home. A man was also found in a critical condition at the property and flown to Dunedin Hospital. In a statement, Detective Senior Sergeant Nik Leigh said a man has been charged with murder following a bedside hearing today.

On ODT Racing Chat today, brought to you by Craig's Investment Partners, we preview the Otago Racing Club's Waitangi weekend meeting, including the time-honoured Hazlett Stakes. We talk to GM Noelle Prince about what the cancellation of the big day at Gore last weekend means to the industry. We check out the family fun day at Wingatui on Saturday and how the planning is going for the Classics Day at the end of the month with over a $1 million in stakes. We talk to local trainer Terry Kennedy about why the roads are always shut out here and the chances of his 10 runners on Saturday. We finish the best tipster in the South who steers us into the "gold plated winners" of the Hazlett and the Gore Cup.

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Flowers were laid next to a newly replaced power pole after a fatal car crash in Wickcliffe Tce in Port Chalmers on Friday night. Photo: Stephen JaquieryA Dunedin man who allegedly caused a fatal crash in Port Chalmers may yet face more serious charges, a court has heard. The lawyer said he had been told further charges would be laid which could "necessitate jurisdictional changes". On January 30, at 9pm, the defendant was allegedly driving in Wickliffe Tce, Port Chalmers, when he hit a power pole. A police spokesman said as well as Mr Taylor, one person was seriously injured in the crash and another suffered minor injuries.

British citizens are set to need British passports to enter the UK. Photo: Getty ImagesFamilies waiting for news on British passports fear planned holidays to the United Kingdom will be upended by processing times and delivery delays. And so consequently I've never thought about being a British citizen because I already had my New Zealand citizenship and passport. Those plans all depended on getting her first British passport in time. "Once in the DHL system it was quickly in the UK," she said, reporting it was delivered to the UK passport office by Monday.

Morning Headlines | Wellington mayor issues warning over beaches and Christopher Luxon positive ahead of pōwhiri | Thursday, February 5, 2026Already a subscriber? Missing Pāpāmoa woman found safe after search in Kaimai RangeA Pāpāmoa woman missing in the Kaimai Range has been found safe and well, police say. Nicola O’Connor’s house bus was found on Rapurapu Track in the Lower Kaimai area on Tuesday. Search and rescue team spent yesterday searching the area without success, police said in a statement. A police spokeswoman confirmed today O’Connor had “proactively made contact with police late this morning” and that she was “safe and well”.

Bulgarian prosecutors conducted searches after beauty salon customers complained that photos of them had appeared on pornographic websites. Photo / 123rfBulgarian prosecutors conducted searches after beauty salon customers complained that photos of them had appeared on pornographic websites. Photo / 123rfBulgarian prosecutors said today that they have opened an investigation and conducted searches after beauty salon customers complained that photos of them had appeared on pornographic websites. City prosecutor Shtelyan Dimitrov said searches and seizures were carried out at several addresses, where “technical devices linked to the criminal activity have been identified”. Images of naked women were shared on the messaging platform Telegram, as well as on more than 10 subscription-based pornographic websites, the lawyer added.

Photo / Getty ImagesLast summer, Hunt insisted his proposal to Berry – who has Nahla, 18, with former boyfriend Gabriel Aubry and Maceo, 12, with Olivier – was “still on hold”. Speaking to Today.com, Hunt said: “I put out the proposal, and it’s still on hold as you can see. You know, maybe you can encourage her.”Berry added: “Well, I’ve been married three times. Van has been married once, and so no, we don’t feel like we have to get married to validate our love in any way. “And I feel like I should, we should get married, but it’s not because we feel like we have to.