An Ode to .. Lord Breen of Seymour

The contentious struggle for the NZME board has concluded with former National Party MP Steven Joyce set to become chair, alongside activist shareholder Jim Grenon, whose three other nominees were withdrawn. The new board, pending a shareholder vote on June 3, will initially include Joyce, Grenon, and existing members Carol Campbell, Sussan Turner, and Guy Horrocks, with technology expert Bowen Pan joining afterward. An editorial board will also be established as part of this restructuring....

Many Kiwi rugby fans have players they believe were unfortunate not to represent the All Blacks. The author shares a personal list of local heroes who missed out on the iconic black jersey, excluding those who chose to play internationally for other countries. Among these players is Brian Going, a notable first five-eighths from the famous Going family, who played alongside his brothers Ken and Sid for Northland and the New Zealand Māori side, though...

Shyamal Shah, a 26-year-old engineer at Auckland Council's Watercare, siphoned $1.039 million using fake invoices and has pleaded guilty to obtaining by deception, facing a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. This incident marks one of New Zealand's largest public sector frauds as the country experiences a decline in its global corruption ranking, with warnings from a transparency agency about a lack of effective responses to increasing corruption. Watercare is pursuing full reparations and...

TVNZ has implemented new rules for incoming RNZ staff and builders, including noise restrictions, off-limit interviews, and floor plans for their shared workspace in TVNZ's Victoria St headquarters. The collaboration will see key figures from both organizations, such as Simon Dallow and Melissa Stokes from TVNZ and Lisa Owen from RNZ, working in close proximity, with the building set to accommodate around 150 RNZ staff by late November. This merger comes amid discussions in the...

The hip-hop music of Jacob John Heta, a beloved son, brother, and father who died in a road crash in 2023, has become a poignant reminder of his presence for his family. Heta was killed when driver Nichola Solveig Johns crashed into him while he was riding a motorcycle with his brother, Terry. This week, Johns was sentenced to jail for dangerous driving causing Heta's death, marking the conclusion of a lengthy court process at...

SummaryCardinals commenced a second day of voting to elect a new pope, having reached no consensus on the first day. Four rounds of voting are planned as the cardinals remain sequestered until a new pontiff is selected. The conclave, the largest in history with representatives from around 70 countries, has not produced a clear front-runner, and black smoke emerging from the Vatican's Sistine Chapel indicated that no candidate achieved the necessary two-thirds majority to succeed...