The Bull Ring

  Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown's diary almost empty day of the flood Ben Strang , Reporter @Benjstrang Wayne Brown speaking to the media about the Auckland flooding on 30 January 2023. Photo: RNZ / Finn Blackwell On the day Auckland was hit by the worst flooding event in recorded history, and the city's mayor came under fire for his inaction, Wayne Brown's diary was an empty slate. Released under the Local Government Official Information and Meetings Act, Brown's diary had only one item on 27 January - an unspecified Teams meeting at 7pm. But according to a spokesperson for the mayor, that meeting was merely a placeholder, "created by admin for IT purposes". Auckland's mayor was heavily criticised on the night of the flooding and in the week after for his inaction as the rain fell. Political leaders were calling for Brown to declare a state of emergency in Auckland as people were being flooded out of...

  Black Caps take historic win over England at Basin Reserve Michael Bracewell celebrates after combining with Tom Blundell to run out Harry Brook of England. Photo: Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz New Zealand have pulled off an improbable and historic win over England. The game could not have been closer with England's last batsmen at the crease and New Zealand needing one wicket. In the end New Zealand won by just one run with Neil Wagner dismissing Jimmy Anderson. Despite nerves and tension and in front of a packed crowd enjoying free tickets at the Basin Reserve, New Zealand removed England's tail enders despite what appeared to be a match-winning knock from Ben Foakes. The victory makes the Black Caps just the fourth team to win a test after having to follow on after the first innings. The test in Wellington now sits alongside classic cricket matches like the 1981 Edgbaston English victory in the Ashes and India pulling off an ext...

ℝ𝕦𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕥 𝕄𝕦𝕣𝕕𝕠𝕔𝕙 𝕒𝕕𝕞𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝔽𝕠𝕩 ℕ𝕖𝕨𝕤 𝕡𝕖𝕕𝕕𝕝𝕖𝕕 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘 𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕤 ℝ𝕦𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕥 𝕄𝕦𝕣𝕕𝕠𝕔𝕙 𝕒𝕕𝕞𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝔽𝕠𝕩 ℕ𝕖𝕨𝕤 𝕙𝕠𝕤𝕥𝕤 '𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕣𝕤𝕖𝕕' '𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕝𝕖𝕟 𝕖𝕝𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕤' 𝕕𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕕𝕖𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 $𝟙.𝟞 𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕕𝕖𝕗𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕝𝕒𝕨𝕤𝕦𝕚𝕥 𝕓𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥 𝕓𝕪 𝔻𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕧𝕠𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 F ox Corporation Chairman  Rupert Murdoch  admitted that some of his  Fox News hosts 'endorsed' false claims that the  2020 election  was stolen from  Donald Trump in his deposition for the $1.6 billion lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems.  Murdoch denied that Fox as a network endorsed the claims, but admitted a collection of his hosts shared the 'stolen election lies', according to a transcript of the billionaire's sworn testimony from last month. 'They endorsed,' Murdoch said of hosts Jeanine Pirro, Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs and Maria Bartirom...

  Cigarette smuggler's six-bedroom Auckland home seized and for sale By Geraden Cann of Stuff The upstairs of the home has three double bedrooms, a family bathroom with an open-plan kitchen and living room. Photo: Supplied / Google Maps A six-bedroom home belonging to an Auckland businessman involved in a $537,000 tobacco tax fraud has been seized and is up for sale. The Laburnum Road home in the Auckland suburb of Mount Roskill is currently under offer and is estimated by Quotable Value to be worth $1.23 million. Chief customs officer for fraud Nigel Barnes​ confirmed the home was that of Bo Lin, whose company Enternal Trading Limited​ was caught trying to smuggle 483,000 cigarettes into the country in a shipping container, disguised as food. The home is described in its online advert as situated on an 883m² section "with an attractive and private rear section that offers loads of parking, separa...

𝔻𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕟 𝕨𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕦𝕚𝕝𝕕 𝕒𝕗𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝔾𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕘 - 𝔾𝕣𝕒𝕟𝕥 ℝ𝕠𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕥𝕤𝕠𝕟 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝔾𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖 𝕒 𝕗𝕖𝕨 𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤 𝕥𝕠𝕕𝕒𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕠𝕨𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕠𝕟 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕧𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 ℂ𝕪𝕔𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕖 𝔾𝕒𝕓𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕝𝕝𝕖. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕠𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕤𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕟𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕝𝕤𝕠 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕔𝕖𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕤. S ome areas devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle may not be rebuilt, with the Cyclone Recovery Minister saying a decision will have to be made in the next month. Grant Robertson made the comments during a visit to Gisborne yesterday where he announced a $50 million package of immediate emergency support for businesses, $25 million of which will go towards restoring farms and orchards Robertson spoke to Kim Hill. . . ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕚𝕥𝕤 𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟 𝕨𝕠𝕟'𝕥 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕 𝕥𝕠 𝕣𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕤 𝕣𝕚𝕤𝕖𝕤 Ma...

𝕄𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕒 𝕎𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙: ℂ𝕝𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕞𝕚𝕟𝕚𝕞𝕚𝕤𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕗𝕠𝕠𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕕 𝕚𝕟 𝕞𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕒 𝔸𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝕄ℙ 𝕄𝕒𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕟 ℙ𝕦𝕘𝕙'𝕤 𝕘𝕒𝕗𝕗𝕖 𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕣 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕖𝕖𝕜 𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕪𝕚𝕟𝕘 ℂ𝕝𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖 𝕒𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕪𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕝𝕪 𝕔𝕒𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝕄𝕒𝕟. 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℕℤ 𝕞𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕒, 𝕖𝕤𝕡𝕖𝕔𝕚𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 ℕ𝕖𝕨𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕜 ℤ𝔹 𝕙𝕒𝕤 𝕒 𝕞𝕒𝕛𝕠𝕣 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕓𝕝𝕖𝕞 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 ℂ𝕝𝕚𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕖 ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕤. N ational MP Maureen Pugh was censured by her bosses and made to walk back her words after calling man-made climate change into question earlier this week. But similar sentiments still find a platform in the media. On Tuesday, Maureen Pugh was asked whether she thought climate change was caused by humans. She replied that she was waiting for climate minister James Shaw to help her track down some evidence for the most extensively studied environmental phenomenon of the last 50 years. ...

ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕖𝕤 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕔𝕣𝕒𝕡 𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 '𝕕𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕨𝕖𝕝𝕝' 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 ℙ𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕪 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕒 ℕ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕒𝕝 𝕘𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕤𝕔𝕣𝕒𝕡 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕎𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕞𝕠𝕕𝕖𝕝 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕒 𝕤𝕦𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕤𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕞 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕕𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣, 𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕨𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕣 - 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕨𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕣𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕚𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕝𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕝 𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕝. N national party leader Chrissie  Luxon said the current situation of failed pipes, wastage and huge ratepayer bills could not continue, but the answer was not Labour's Three Waters scheme. A National government would set strict water quality standards and require councils to invest in the ongoing maintenance of their vital water infrastructure, he said. Councils would be required to have a clear plan for that investment, with National establishing a Water Infrastr...

  Gunman turns fire on US journalists, mother and child Orlando, Florida Photo: 123RF/ Oleksandr Zhukov By Steve Gorman A gunman has opened fire on two television journalists reporting on a murder near Orlando, Florida, killing one and wounding the other before fatally shooting a 9-year-old girl and wounding her mother in a nearby home, United States authorities say. Orange County Sheriff John Mina said the suspect, identified as Keith Melvin Moses, 19, was arrested shortly after the assaults on the TV news team and the mother and daughter, about a block away from each other, in the Orlando suburb of Pine Hills. Moses was detained as a suspect in both those attacks and was formally charged in the killing hours earlier of a woman in her 20s, a shooting that the two journalists were covering when they came under fire, Mina said. The sheriff described the two journalists as a reporter and a photographer for central Florida cable TV outlet...

  Call to review regulations to prevent trees toppling powerlines Unison workers fixing power lines in Maraenui, Napier, 20 February 2023. Photo: RNZ / Tim Brown The Electricity Networks Association says half of the outages during Cyclone Gabrielle could have been avoided if there had been better tree management. "It's not just the cyclone, this happens reasonably frequently," Electricity Networks Association chief executive Graeme Peters said. "We're estimating this is a more than $100,000 fix." More than 100,000 households lost power over the course of the cyclone - more than 9000 were still without power on Wednesday morning. "Half of the outages could have been avoided if we had effective management of trees around powerlines," Peters said. The association wants the government to review regulations on managing trees around power lines. "At the moment they can grow to around half a metre of a line, ...