1+ week, 4+ day ago (375+ words) Travellers to Auckland may find it difficult to secure last-minute accommodation as hotel room rates soar ahead of Metallica's concert at Eden Park tonight. Few hotel rooms are available as thousands of metal fans swell the city. Yesterday, Auckland Council's cultural agency said T'maki Makaurau is expected to be heaving, with 40,000 visitor nights booked and the city's hotels at 100% capacity before the massive show. The World Indigenous Peoples' Conference on Education (WIPCE) is another major event running in T'maki Makaurau and drawing huge numbers. The conference is expected to attract nearly 3800 international delegates and add a further 16,000 visitor nights over the course of the five-day event, according to Auckland Council's cultural arm, T'taki Auckland Unlimited. Popular travel agency website booking.com only has seven hotels available for a single person staying for one night from today in Auckland at the…...

2+ day, 22+ hour ago (602+ words) Kellam Conover, known as Kelly, died in a fall on Aoraki/Mt Cook on Monday. The heartbroken mother of a climber who died while trying to conquer Aoraki Mt Cook this week has described him as "extraordinary in many ways. Pamela Conover is grappling with the immense grief of losing her son, Kellam Conover, all while being on the other side of the world at her home in North Carolina. Kellam, from the United States, and his W'naka-based mountain guide, Thomas Vialletet, were part of a group of four climbers trying to ascend Aoraki Mt Cook on Monday night. The pair, connected by a rope, fell close to the summit. Pamela Conover said Kellam, who she affectionately called Kelly, was an introvert, but he found it easy to navigate the world by "making good friends and being kind and thoughtful…...

1+ week, 13+ hour ago (640+ words) Northlanders are being urged to lock in good water habits now, before water treatment plants are pushed to their limits. The Far North District Council's Water Shortage Management Committee (WSMC) said water restrictions over the next few months will depend less on drought risk and more on how residents and visitors use water. The committee members makes recommendations for water restrictions based on the latest water flow and consumption data, and the water-take consent levels set by Northland Regional Council. The committee said simple habits like catching rainwater, limiting outdoor use and keeping showers short can help ease pressure on treatment plants and "lessen the need to apply restrictions that protect our water sources. Far North District Council head of infrastructure Tanya Proctor said the west coast is generally more vulnerable to dry spells, and high visitor numbers in peak…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago (713+ words) Rotorua council will run its water services until 2028 while exploring a shared model. Rotorua Lakes Council's 10-year plan for managing the district's water, wastewater and stormwater services has been approved by the Government. The prospect of joining a merged, multi-council organisation to deliver those services from 2028, however, remains a point of debate among councillors. The council's Water Services Delivery Plan outlines how water services will operate under the Government's Local Water Done Well programme, which replaced Three Waters reform in August. Councils were required to develop and submit water services plans by September 3. Rotorua's plan keeps management in council hands until at least 2028, delaying any move to a regional body. In the interim, Rotorua will work with Kawerau, "p'tiki and Whakat'ne councils, which had their respective plans accepted this month, to investigate the validity of forming a joint organisation. A…...

3+ day, 11+ hour ago (1261+ words) View from the top: Kim Knight on the Auckland Explorer bus. I boarded at the stop outside a premium strip club. "We don't work here," clarified two visitors from Australia. Monday, 9am, and eight of us were queuing for the Auckland Explorer " the hop-on and hop-off tour bus experience that, according to the brochure, stops at the city's best attractions. Sample pre-recorded commentary: "The Spanish mission-style building with a red tile roof is part of the Auckland Grammar School, one of New Zealand's most prestigious public secondary schools for boys. Sir Edmund Hillary went there. So did Russell Crowe, although he dropped out to pursue music and acting." We could only speculate on the influence of these formative years. Did the testosterone-fuelled Latin lessons of Crowe's youth lead, inevitably, to his seminal role in Gladiator? (See also: Auckland commute times and…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago (487+ words) Possible Whakaari/White Island eruption" was the headline of an Earth Sciences New Zealand update on Thursday last week. The alleged eruption at New Zealand's most active cone volcano happened in broad daylight, but clearly, scientists did not have access to enough information to definitively say if an eruption had occurred. The following day, it was confirmed there had been two weak eruptions on Thursday, with a Monday observation flight noting that ash was produced. Part of the reason for the slow flow of information may be that small eruptions are less easy to immediately distinguish from Whakaari's usual huffing and puffing. In poor weather or darkness, it is even more difficult. There are no longer any operational sensors, cameras or monitoring equipment on the island " a situation scientists have described as frustrating" and strange". Scientists have not been allowed…...

6+ day, 13+ hour ago (448+ words) Job advertisement volumes have risen by 1% for the past four months and are now 7% higher than a year earlier, according to the Seek Employment report for October. Annual growth has not been this strong since November 2022, Seek said. However, applications per ad also rose 2% for the month and remain at record-high levels. "While we're mindful that many Kiwis are still facing real challenges in finding work, this data does indicate that hiring activity has stabilised after many months of decline," Seek country manager Rob Clark said. A more promising sign of stability returning on a wide scale was that ad volumes had grown annually in Auckland for the first time (1%), after two-and-a-half years of decline, Clark said. Aside from Gisborne (-1% for the month), all regions recorded either no change or growth in October. Job ads saw the strongest monthly growth…...

3+ week, 1+ day ago (704+ words) Biosecurity worker Brad Windust (pictured) is calling for regional buffer zones and education programmes to help stop Asian hornets from spreading. Species from left: Asian yellow-legged hornet, German wasp, Asian paper wasp, and Australian paper wasp. Regional buffer zones could be key to halting the spread of Asian hornets, Northlander Brad Windust says" and Cabinet Minister Shane Jones agrees, saying the idea is "worth pursuing. Windust, a biosecurity worker and former beekeeper, believes regions have a two-year window to act against the bee-eating hornet, which threatens honeybees, crops, and ecosystems and has devastated pollination overseas especially in Europe. Alongside buffer zones, he wants regional education programmes so people " especially beekeepers " can identify hornets early. He's calling on regional councils, industry groups, and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones - through the Regional Development fund - to step up. "Every dollar spent now saves…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (697+ words) In contrast to the rise in most other sectors, non-performing loans in the agriculture sector have declined, the Reserve Bank said in its latest financial stability report. Non-performing loans in the New Zealand agriculture sector are running at near 16-year lows, the Reserve Bank says. Non-performing loans (NPLs) include those where the borrower is at least 90 days late or is unlikely to repay the debt in full. In contrast to the rise in most other sectors, NPLs in the agri sector have declined, the central bank said in its latest Financial Stability Report. The bank's report compares with previous financial stability reports dating back a decade or so, which called out indebtedness in the agri sector " particularly dairy " as being a risk to financial stability. "Elevated milk and beef prices, improving sheepmeat prices and stabilising (albeit high) farm costs have…...

3+ week, 6+ day ago (527+ words) Rotorua's newest supermarket has opened at Rotorua Central Mall, with two other businesses now confirmed for the site of the mall's previous supermarket nearby. Ribbon was cut and treats shared as Rotorua Central Mall FreshChoice, the 70th Woolworths New Zealand group store, was officially opened today. Trustee for mall owner Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust, Rawiri Waru said the opening was a "long time coming" and "probably the worst-kept secret in Rotorua". FreshChoice executive general manager Tim Cartwright said the supermarket created up to 50 new jobs, following a "locals-first" employment approach. The supermarket is on the site of the old Smiths City store, which closed in January, and now the trust has confirmed the mall's old Countdown site will also soon be filled. Pukeroa Oruawhata Trust trustee and director David Tapsell said Timezone was set to open on December 19 " "the next best secret…...