National and Labour have teamed up with a Members’ Bill that aims to address modern slavery in Aotearoa. Modern slavery includes human trafficking, slavery, forced marriage, forced labour and debt bondage. And that's common as I understand it, in other modern slavery regimes that have been implemented worldwide." Getting it throughWork has been done in the past to look into modern slavery legislation with the Labour-led government in 2023 planning to make businesses publicly report on modern slavery risks. Modern slavery legislation was a big gap in the country’s corporate regulatory landscape, they said.

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Photo: RNZTwo people who died in a helicopter crash near Wellington were pest control contractors working on Transmission Gully. Both the pilot and passenger died in the crash near Paekākāriki Hill on yesterday morning. The New Zealand Transport Agency this afternoon confirmed the duo were pest control contractors and WorkSafe had been notified. Kāpiti-Mana Area Commander Inspector Renée Perkins said earlier today that a significant recovery operation took place to recover the victims from the crash site. A witness, who was first to reach the crash, said he was checking a body for vital signs as the Westpac rescue chopper arrived.

File photoA massive IT outage at hospitals in Auckland and Northland is being blamed on cuts to Health NZ's digital team, by a union representing public service workers. "This is entirely predictable, given the government forced cuts on Health New Zealand's data and digital experts," Fitzsimons said. In a statement, Health NZ's executive director for the northern region Andrew Brant confirmed the outage had affected several hospitals. "The outage lasted around 12 hours with services restored to all impacted hospitals in the early hours of this morning." Fitzsimons called for the government to immediately review funding for digital health services and "admit its mistakes in cutting digital services expertise."

A man, allegedly part of a trio responsible for an explosive spree of five arsons in five days around Dunedin, has denied the charges against him. Andrew Magnus Healey, 48, appeared in the Dunedin District Court this afternoon by video link from prison, where he entered not guilty pleas. An hour later, crews rushed to Lees St where the trio allegedly caused a fire by throwing “Molotov cocktails” through a window. The fire-damaged house in Lees St. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERYNearby residents had to be evacuated as firefighters fought to control the flames. Three days later, they were allegedly behind the arson of a vacant commercial building in Harrow St, which resulted in six appliances attending.

A 2021 flood in Westport left more than 100 homes uninhabitable Photo: RNZA major insurance company has temporarily stopped offering new home insurance policies in Westport because of the town's flood risk. The company said existing policies would stay in place and it had put a transfer policy in place for anyone looking to buy or sell a house that was currently insured with AA Insurance. "We continue to insure, and offer insurance, to lower risk properties within high-risk areas throughout the country, including Westport." Insurance Council chief executive Kris Faafoi said it was up to individual insurers to decide what cover they were prepared to offer, in Westport and elsewhere. "We do want them to make sure that that flood protection and risk reduction is there to protect the community."

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Dunedin City Council lantern logistics manager Bex Rowe admires a New Zealand Haast’s eagle landing on the back of a giant moa as a collection of extraordinary lanterns from China are unpacked. PHOTO: SAM HENDERSONAn extinct duo are one of thirteen intricate lanterns that will will form an illuminated display at Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and Lan Yuan, Dunedin Chinese Gardens as part of the Dunedin Chinese Cultural Festival. Dunedin Chinese Cultural Advisory Committee chairman Malcolm Wong was impressed by the scale of the works. "I didn’t know what to expect but now to see them, they are amazing." Mr Wong was in particular struck by the scale of a dragon measuring about 6m in length planned to be installed at Lan Yuan.

Street furniture is part of the active travel in Dunedin’s Town Belt. Photo: suppliedAn attempt to make a car-free section of Dunedin’s Town Belt more attractive to pedestrians and cyclists has been labelled "damn ugly" and a waste of money by a city council falling behind on the basics. Cr Walker and Cr Hall said footpath maintenance and the Town Belt trial were not exclusive matters. "People are having an allergic reaction to the appearance of the tacky-looking furniture dumped in the Town Belt," Cr Lund said. A council spokesman said staff were implementing a council decision.

The driver of an Audi abandoned an unconscious woman after slamming into a power pole and through a fence in Dunedin early this morning, police say. A passing couple took the woman to Dunedin Hospital's emergency department and police are now hunting the driver who reportedly left the scene in a second vehicle. Snr Sgt Dinnissen said police were called to the crash in Stone St, Kenmure, about 2am this morning. Power lines were also down, Snr Sgt Dinnissen said. Witnesses also reportedly saw the driver being picked up from the scene in a second vehicle, Snr Sgt Dinnissen said.

Work affecting major highways in Southland and Central Otago is under way and travellers are advised to prepare for delays. Reduced speeds should be expected and parking would not be possible along the highway in front of the tunnel building during this time. Near Cromwell in Central Otago, resurfacing work is planned at the intersection of SH8 and 8B, alongside the Clutha River/Mata-Au, near Dead Mans Point next month. A spokesman for the New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said the work would take place from February 9 to 20. The work is scheduled to happen daily from 9pm to 6am, Sundays to Thursdays.

Photo: suppliedA man who repeatedly punched a Queenstown woman in the head during an early morning fracas in the CBD has avoided a conviction. The 29-year-old Canterbury man successfully applied for a discharge without conviction, and permanent name suppression, at his sentencing in the Queenstown District Court this week. When the victim went to help her friend, the man grabbed her and pushed her against a glass window in Skyline Mall, which runs between Queenstown Mall and Cow Lane. He also held a governance role and having to disclose a conviction to the organisation’s board would potentially put it at risk. Therefore she was satisfied the consequences of a conviction would outweigh the seriousness of his offending, and a discharge without conviction was an appropriate response.

But as they crossed the swollen Mahurangi River, north of Auckland, they were swept into the water. "I fight for the goal to find him, and the success, we thank God he brought him back to us." "I thank God, and I thank all the Kiribati communities in Rodney for their support to find him. "I'm really thankful for all the Kiribati community because they all came that time, and they did their best. She said the Kiribati community had helped her get back on her feet.

Amazon is cutting 16,000 jobs globally as it focuses on artificial intelligence investments. The cuts aim to reduce bureaucracy and affect nearly 10% of Amazon's 350,000 office jobs. Photo / Matthias Balk, AFPAmazon is cutting 16,000 jobs globally as it focuses on artificial intelligence investments. The cuts aim to reduce bureaucracy and affect nearly 10% of Amazon's 350,000 office jobs. Photo / Matthias Balk, AFPUS online retail and cloud computing giant Amazon has said it will cut 16,000 jobs worldwide as the company tries to streamline amid its major push into AI.

It’s estimated that the Red Bull and Mercedes engines will allow cars an advantage of up to 0.4s per lap on their rivals. Liam Lawson and teammate Arvid Lindblad at the unveiling of Racing Bulls' 2026 Formula One car, the VCARB03. Racing Bulls enter 2026 off the back of the team’s best season since entering the grid 20 years ago, when Red Bull purchased Minardi. Interestingly, Red Bull and Mercedes finished day one 2.030s and 1.493s faster than Alpine’s Franco Colapinto in third. However, if the Red Bull engine in particular will bring advantages this season, being at Racing Bulls could prove a masterstroke for Lawson.