Source: New Zealand Police
Newtons Road, Templeton is closed following a serious crash this afternoon.
Emergency services received a report of a three-vehicle crash at around 2.45pm at the intersection of Newtons Road and Dawsons Road.
Initial indications suggest there are serious injuries.
The road is closed while emergency services are in attendance.
Motorists are advised to follow diversions and expect delays.
ENDS
Source: New Zealand Government
The Bone Marrow Cancer Trust’s new Rānui Apartments will ensure patients and families travelling to Christchurch for cancer treatment, heart surgeries, and other complex needs will have a home-away-from-home for their recuperation, Health Minister Simeon Brown says.
“Today I was pleased to join the Prime Minister to officially open the Bone Marrow Cancer Trust’s new Rānui Apartments. These 54 new apartments will accommodate more Kiwis and their families travelling to Christchurch Hospital for life-changing treatments,” Mr Brown says.
The 54 apartments across two buildings will add to the existing 26 apartments available at Rānui House. The new facilities offered include one, two, and three-bedroom apartments, as well as studio rooms, to meet different patients’ and families’ needs.
“Travelling for life-changing treatment and surgery can be daunting. These new facilities will remove that burden by providing free accommodation and wrap-around services for eligible travelling patients and their families, located just 500 metres from the Christchurch Hospital.
“The opening of the Rānui Apartments makes the Bone Marrow Cancer Trust the largest provider of patient accommodation in the South Island. It is the only provider that serves patients and families irrespective of their age or treatment type.
“When a patient undergoes life-changing treatment, there are repercussions for the entire family. These accommodation facilities will make specialist healthcare more accessible for people in the South Island by ensuring patients and their families have support close to Christchurch Hospital.
“I would like to thank the Bone Marrow Cancer Trust for their vision, dedication, and fundraising efforts that have made this project possible,” Mr Brown says.
Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) encourages those heading off for a long weekend break to check the NZTA’s King’s Birthday Weekend 2025 Holiday Journey Planner to plan their trips and avoid the worst congestion spots over the long weekend.
NZTA’s King’s Birthday Weekend 2025 Holiday Journey Planner(external link)
The interactive tool uses data from previous years to provide information on peak travel times to avoid, maps for popular holiday routes across the country, and real-time updates on road conditions, closures, and delays.
It’s a great resource to help you plan your trip and avoid congestion during the long weekend.
NZTA is urging everyone on the roads this weekend to drive safely and follow our top tips for a safe King’s Birthday Weekend:
Source: New Zealand Transport Agency
Work will soon begin on the next stage of the State Highway 58 Safety Improvements Project between Moonshine and Murphys/Flightys Roads.
Next week, NZTA/Waka Kotahi and Downer will start project enabling works – ahead of constructing two roundabouts at Moonshine Road and Murphys/Flightys Roads, widening the road, and installing side barriers and median wire rope barriers.
Other improvements will include construction of shared paths, bus stops and drop off areas at each of the roundabouts, and new culverts to manage water flows across the project.
Current SH58/Moonshine Road intersection.
Flightys/Murphys Road roundabout design.
SH58/Moonshine Road roundabout design.
Jetesh Bhula, Regional Manager Infrastructure Delivery says the next stage of the project is crucial as it rounds out important work already completed on this part of the state highway.
“It ensures safety measures are in place along the full route between Pāuatahanui and the Hutt Valley.”
“Safe roads bring huge benefits for the community by reducing crash rates. The costs of deaths and serious injuries bring significant social costs, but also immense pain and anguish for victims, their families, and their friends,” Mr Bhula says.
He says the project’s gains far outweigh its construction pains.
“The upcoming work will ensure this important east-west highway is a much safer, more reliable, and easier-to-use connection for the more than 19,000 motorists who use it every day.”
Previous improvements between State Highway 2 and east of Moonshine Road started in 2019 and were completed in December last year.
Mr Bhula says they have already proved their worth.
“Locals will be aware of the road’s high crash rate – which includes 13 serious crashes on SH58, between Transmission Gully and SH2, from 2015 to 2025.
“Since December, we have had twenty-three barrier strikes recorded on the completed section of road. This goes to show how the improvements have been critical in reducing the severity of crashes.”
Mr Bhula acknowledges the patience of the local community given how long the project has been running.
“It has created travel delays. However, SH58 is a heavily used road that connects to numerous residents and businesses. We have had to balance the need to maintain network access for traffic and residents against completing the works as quickly as we can.”
He says every effort will be made to reduce the impact of the remaining works on the public.
“As much construction work as possible will happen off the current highway alignment, reducing impacts and delays for road users. However, some disruption is unavoidable with other parts of the project – such as when each leg into the roundabout is realigned and connected, and barriers are installed.”
“Work is expected to take around 20 months to complete, finishing in 2027. Please expect traffic management and temporary speed limits to be in place during this time,” Mr Bhula says
Planning for work between Flightys/Murphys Roads and Transmission Gully is underway and specific details for this area will be confirmed at a later date.”
More information:
Source: New Zealand Government
The Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey has announced round two of the Government’s Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund has opened today.
“The bottom line for this Government is to ensure we are delivering timely quality mental health and addiction support to those who are bravely reaching out for help in their greatest time of need,” Mr Doocey says.
“I am excited for community organisations across the country to have another opportunity to access funding. This time, there will be more smaller grassroots organisations that will be eligible to apply for funding due to the recently announced lowered matched funding limit required.
“It’s also my pleasure to announce that Tend Health Ltd is the ninth and final recipient from the fund’s first round to set up a new digital primary mental health and addiction service.
“The new service aims to make it easier for people to get primary mental health support, particularly those who are not enrolled in general practice or have difficulty accessing general practice.
“A multi-disciplinary mental health and addictions team will deliver support virtually and with extended operating hours, giving people more flexible access to help when they need it.
“Once fully operational, Tend’s new service is expected to deliver more than 15,000 sessions to more than 5,000 people, which is another significant step towards the Government’s commitment to strengthen people’s access to mental health and addiction support.
The initiative will receive $1.97 million of funding over two years from the Government which will be matched dollar-for-dollar by Tend to total just under $4 million.
“I am also proud that funding from round one has already enabled eight other organisations to start delivering new and expanded initiatives. They include MATES in Construction, the Mental Health Foundation, Youthline, Wellington City Mission, Rotorua Community Youth Centre Trust, the Sir John Kirwan Foundation, Women’s Refuge, and Just a Thought.
“By supporting these initiatives, we’re ensuring that people across New Zealand can access the support they need, while also working towards the Government’s goal of growing the clinical workforce and reducing wait times for mental health and addiction services.
“I encourage all eligible providers to take up the opportunity to apply for funding and scale-up their work to benefit the many people in the communities they serve,” Mr Doocey says.
Note to editors:
• The Request for Proposals for round two of the Mental Health and Addiction Community Sector Innovation Fund has been released on the Government Electronic Tenders Site (GETS) here.
• The match funding requirement for round one required $250,000 per application, round two requires $100,000 per application.
Source: Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE)
Mr Gilbertson has been reappointed for a second 5-year term, starting on 8 June 2025 and ending on 7 June 2030.
Mr Gilbertson is a commercial lawyer with extensive international experience in the telecommunications sector. During his first term as Telecommunications Commissioner, he led work programmes relating to the economic regulation of telecommunications services, the development of retail service quality guidelines, and the monitoring and enforcement of competition in telecommunications markets. He was also involved in the Commission’s wider competition and consumer work – including the recent market study into banking.
Prior to joining the Commission, he held senior executive positions at Vodafone Group Plc, Telecom New Zealand Ltd (now Spark) and Digicel Group Ltd, where he led legal and regulatory teams supporting the development and growth of these businesses.
The Commission comprises 4 to 8 members appointed by the Governor-General. These members include:
At least 1 member must be a barrister and solicitor of at least 5 years’ standing.
The Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs recommends Commissioners for appointment for their knowledge and experience in the fields of industry, commerce, economics, law, accountancy, public administration or consumer affairs.
The Telecommunications Commissioner is appointed by the Governor-General on the recommendation of the Minister for Media and Communications.
Source: NZCTU
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions Te Kauae Kaimahi has today released a report with detailed analysis of Budget 2025. It covers the major decisions made at this Budget, and how they might affect workers.
“This Budget is funded above all by the gutting of the pay equity system, the halving of the government’s contribution to people’s Kiwisaver accounts, and other cuts that will disproportionality impact women, welfare recipients, and working households,” said NZCTU Economist Craig Renney.
“None of the choices the government has made were inevitable. The government could have funded its spending initiatives by raising new taxes on the wealthiest New Zealanders. It could have not decided to give billions away to those who already have much, while cutting services for those with real and pressing needs.
“Budget 2025 also leaves New Zealand’s most significant structural challenges unaddressed. There is no meaningful movement on closing the infrastructure deficit; no solution to our health workforce shortage; no willingness to reduce child poverty or to address the housing crisis; and absolutely zero investment made in decarbonisation and climate adaptation.
“The coalition government continues to kick the can down the road on the most pressing challenges we face, all while making life steadily more difficult for New Zealanders who have the least,” said Renney.
Source: New Zealand Government
ACC Minister Scott Simpson has today accepted the resignation of ACC Board Chair Dr Tracey Batten and thanked her for her service.
“I would like to thank Tracey for her leadership of, and contribution to, the board of ACC since her appointment in 2019” says Mr Simpson.
“I acknowledge her decision to step down and thank her for her commitment to supporting better outcomes for New Zealanders. I wish her well for the future.
“ACC as an organisation is currently confronting a number of challenging issues, including significant financial challenges and concerns around the overall performance of the organisation.
“In the coming months I will be making announcements about my turnaround plan for ACC.”
The resignation will be effective from 11 June 2025.
Current Deputy Chair David Hunt will step up to be Interim Chair.
Media contact: Jack Rankin +64 21 849 193
Source: Privacy Commissioner
Read about our Children’s Privacy Project, two open consultation processes, how we did on Privacy Week, a Compliance Notice for Oranga Tamariki, our latest Privacy Survey and more. Read the May 2025 issue.
Source: New Zealand Police
Motorists are being advised to expect delays following a two car crash in Māngere East.
The crash, at the intersection of Massey Road and Gray Avenue, was reported to Police at about 10.54am.
At this stage there are no reports of injury.
Motorists are being advised to expect delays or seek an alternative route while the scene is cleared.
ENDS.
Holly McKay/NZ Police
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