The Government says it acknowledges the significance of the Kiingi Tūheitia’s decision today to lower his flag at Ihumātao; and the Ministry for Primary Industries plans to survey thousands of cattle around the country to better understand the prevalence of Mycoplasma bovis in beef herds.
1.The Auckland Mayor says his confident a resolution will soon be reached on the ownership of contested land at Ihumātao. The planned construction of 480 homes has been on hold since July when hundreds of protesters occupied the land to stop the development. Kiingi Tūheitia arrived at the land this morning and removed a flag he raised a year ago in expectation of a resolution.
2.The Government says it acknowledges the significance of the Kiingi Tūheitia’s decision today to lower his flag at Ihumātao. Finance Minister Grant Robertson says he recognises the King’s expert leadership in a complex situation and commitment to finding a way through that all Parties can be happy with.
3.The World Health Organisation is expected to announce a Public Health Emergency overnight for the deadly coronavirus. So far, six people have died and about 300 have been infected by respiratory illness which began in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
4.Democrates in the US Senate are accusing republicans of trying to rig the impeachment trial President Donald Trump. Procedural debate dominated the opening hours of the trial in Washington today.
5.A 32-year-old man has been charged after a bus carrying a tour group rolled on the Glenorchy-Queenstown road yesterday afternoon. The bus carrying adults and children rolled about 7km south-west of Queenstown, about 1.30pm.
6.Rocket labs next launch will be for an American military agency responsible for US intelligence satellites. The launch window for the mission “Birds of a Feather ” is scheduled for January 31st lifting off from Launch Complex 1 on Mahia Peninsula.
7.Mountain Airs are upset at a proposed road halt for access to the Remarkables ski area near Queenstown. NZSki, which operates the Remarkables road, wants to charge $10 to use the road from February for the summer season.
8.TheTransport Accident Investigation Commission is looking into how a fishing boat and a large cargo ship collided off Lyttelton last week. The 24 metre fishing vessel ‘Leila Jo’ and Liberian registered Bulk Carrier Rose Harmony collided at about midnight on the 12th of January, four miles off Lyttelton.
9.A development on Dunedin’s waterfront is likely to create hundreds of jobs and bring millions of dollars into the city annually. The Government committed $20 million to the project through the Provincial Growth Fund last October.
10.The Ministry for Primary Industries plans to survey thousands of cattle around the country to better understand the prevalence of Mycoplasma bovis in beef herds.
11.A recently widowed Marlborough dairy farmer says a logging operation that has sprung up on a neighbouring property is likely to destroy her farm. Lone Sorensen, who farms in a valley between Havelock and Blenheim, is enraged that a paper road through her property could become a major transport route for trucks and heavy vehicles.
12.Appointing more Māori Judge’s to the Courts is expected to help inspire Maori youth and improve outcomes in the Justice system. Attorney-General David Parker has appointed 21 new District Court judge’s, including 11 who are Māoriand 12 who are women.
13.A specially adapted helicopter is completing the third part of an aerial survey over Queenstown this month. It’s measuring magnetic fields and natural radiation to find mineral deposits as well as information on faults, groundwater aquifers and soils.
14.The project aimed at getting rid of the stench that has wafted over at Timaru will take more than a year. The $500,000 project to dislodge and improve performance at Temuka oxidation pond began this week.
15.Retired Wellington trolleybuses could get a new lease on life as refurbished tiny homes or food trucks. The trollies were phased out of the network in 2017 and replaced by diesel buses as further plans to convert them to hybrid electric motors failed.
