Don’t have time to read the headlines? Watch the Focus Morning Bulletin presented by Cheree Kinnear above
National claims the Government is poised to announce a policy to remove GST tax from fruit and vegetables.
National Party finance spokeswoman Nicola Willis says she’s been handed details of the plan.
Such a policy had been previously criticised by Finance Minister Grant Robertson as recently as May, when he claimed it would be too difficult to administer and supermarkets would likely benefit more than consumers.
National understands Robertson has been overruled by Chris Hipkins, with the Prime Minister set to announce the policy as part of its tax plans.
Hipkins so far won’t confirm or deny any of the claims.
A psychiatric expert will tell a jury whether or not Lauren Dickason was insane at the time she killed her children in 2021.
Dickason is on trial at the High Court in Christchurch accused of murdering her three young daughters in Timaru.
A psychiatric expert, who focuses on why parents kill children, has given extensive evidence in support of Dickason’s defence of insanity and infanticide.
Doctor Susan Hatters-Friedman interviewed Dickason for 10 hours - over four days - revealing she had frequent thoughts about killing the girls.
Police are taking to the sky in the search for missing Christchurch real estate agent Yanfei Bao.
She was last seen more than a week ago and a 52-year-old man has since been arrested and charged with kidnapping
The police homicide investigation is focusing on the Halswell River, where the national dive squad has been using sonar tech.
Grid searches are underway in New Brighton and Lake Terrace Roads - as well as the Greenpark suburb.
Today, a helicopter will assist efforts over Lake Ellesmere.
Auckland Transport’s first speed management plan for the city is now open for public feedback.
The plan focuses on implementing safe speed limits around 358 schools, as well as in communities where there is support for change.
It’s different from speed limit work done so far, because it’s under a new speed limit rule put in place early last year.
Auckland Transport says it’s determined people should not be harmed as they move around the city, and the plan is part of achieving that.
The deadline for feedback is August 28.
And while it might not feel like it here in New Zealand, globally this month is set to be the hottest ever recorded, with deadly heatwaves and wildfires in Europe and North America and flooding in Asia.
Scientists say that such shattering of heat records is a sign of future climate-altering changes as the planet warms.
Those changes go beyond just prolonged heat waves and include more extreme weather events that put many people at risk.
The victim was tortured with drills, hot water and a metal pole.