NZstuff

Security guards intervened to stop ACT Party leader David Seymour from driving a Land Rover up the steps of Parliament on Monday.⁠ ⁠ The vehicle was parked on Parliament’s forecourt. It is being driven from Dunedin to Auckland to raise funds for Manaaki Manawa – The Centre for Heart Research.⁠ ⁠ Seymour said he pulled the stunt to “re-enact an historic event”, when the same Land Rover was driven up Parliament’s steps in 1948.⁠ ⁠ “I just think we live in an insane world ... it was perfectly legal. No one was harmed in 1948. The only danger that was created was actually from the security guard who put himself in danger, and I had to stop when he put himself in the way of the wheels.”⁠ ⁠ When pressed on the point that the modern security environment was markedly different from 1948, he defended his decision.⁠ ⁠ “You really believe that there’s any danger in somebody driving a Range Rover or a Land Rover a couple of meters up a step?”⁠ #davidseymour #wellington #nz #nzstuff

Daman Kumar is a Kiwi kid. He was born in Auckland, and he’s never left the country. He’s just finished school, and he wants to go to university to study visual arts.⁠ ⁠ But if he doesn’t leave the country on Monday, he faces deportation.⁠ #nz #nznews #nzstuff

David Seymour and comedian Guy Williams engaged in a verbal joust while the ACT leader was talking to reporters at Waitangi on Wednesday.⁠ ⁠ During the speech, Ngāti Wai leader Aperahama Edwards had crossed the marae ātea, twice, to remove Seymour's microphone, and some members of the crowd turned their backs to Seymour.⁠ ⁠ When Seymour was talking to reporters later, Williams suggested that many people would say Seymour was spreading disinformation.⁠ #nzstuff #nz

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has suggested parents dissatisfied with school lunches should "make a Marmite sandwich and put an apple in a bag."⁠ ⁠ Speaking to Stuff on Tuesday morning, Associate Education Minister David Seymour said three-quarters of parents pack their children's lunches and they all have the option to do so.⁠ ⁠ Seymour also said he was taking very seriously an incident at Murchison Area School, where some lunches were overheated and overcooked.⁠ ⁠ "That was a major failure," Seymour told Stuff.⁠ #nzstuff #schoollunch #nz #davidseymour

Las Vegas is known for its bright lights, extravagant nightclubs and jaw-dropping price tags - but even seasoned socialisers like Brodie Kane and her friends weren’t quite prepared for the financial rollercoaster they experienced at Omnia Nightclub.⁠ #vegas #omnia #nzstuff #thegirlsuninterrupted #brodiekane

A solo kayak fisherman got the fright of his life after being chased by a great white shark in the North Island. Matt Wells, 19, was on day one of a three-day fishing trip before he came to close for comfort with a great white shark. Wells told Stuff he first noticed a swirl in the water behind his kayak. “My initial response was that there's a kingfish trying to eat my live bait." “So I swung my head around, turned the camera on, and by the time the camera was on, the swirl had kind of risen up to the surface, and the disturbance on the surface of the water was probably the length of two cars wide. I immediately thought that that's not a fish. What's going on here?” #greatwhiteshark #shark #nz #nzstuff

When Vicky Ngo enrolled at AUT at the age of 13, she believed she was New Zealand’s youngest ever university student. That was until her sister Alisa Pham began her own undergraduate degree at the age of 11.⁠ ⁠ Now, at 18, Vicky is completing a PhD in cyber-security while working in Air New Zealand’s cyber-security department. Alisa, at 15, has signed on to do simultaneous masters degrees at AUT and Harvard.⁠ ⁠ But when their student visas expire in October, the two highly intelligent teenagers fear they will be deported back to their native Vietnam after being declined the chance to apply for residency by Immigration New Zealand.⁠ #nz #nzstuff

Speaking to Stuff, Ngāti Wai Chairperson Aperahama Edwards said people turning their backs and taking ACT leader David Seymour's microphone was a sign for the Government to sit down and stop talking.⁠ ⁠ "We've always heard sentiments from our elders to be mindful and to be careful of the messages our children hear. Our tamariki were there and they were watching, the motu was watching," he said.⁠ #waitangi #nz #nznews #nzstuff

British YouTuber Niko Omilana landed in New Zealand with no money, no place to stay, and no idea where he’ll sleep. But he’s pretty relaxed about it.⁠ ⁠ The 26-year-old creator, best known for pulling wild public stunts and running for London mayor "for the vibes", is midway through an audacious global challenge: travelling the world without spending a single cent.⁠ ⁠ Speaking to Stuff’s Imogen Wells as she gave him a lift into Auckland city, Omilana opened up about the chaos, kindness, and sheer exhaustion that’s shaped the journey so far...And he even landed himself a place to stay the night.⁠ #nikoomilana #nz #auckland #nzstuff

A strong 7.7 magnitude earthquake has rocked Southeast Asia, prompting evacuations in Thailand and Myanmar and causing the collapse of a high-rise building under construction.⁠ ⁠ Two people are dead, at least one is missing, and 50 have been injured in the building's collapse. Seven have been rescued.⁠ ⁠ Thai authorities have declared a state of emergency in Bangkok, the country's capital, while the military junta in Myanmar has declared an “emergency situation” across large parts of the centre of the country.⁠ ⁠ At least 13 people are dead and 200 injured in Myanmar, the New York Times is reporting. Details about the extent of the damage in the country - which has been ravaged by civil war since a military coup four years ago - are unclear. ⁠ ⁠ Khit Thit Media, one of the few independent news outlets in Myanmar following a military coup four years ago, has published a number of photos following the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck the country.⁠ 📎 Head to Stuff.co.nz for live updates

Paddy Gower recently caught up with great Kiwi, Piri Weepu, in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Not only is Piri a judge in this year’s Manu World Champs, but his nephew and niece are competing. They’re good too. In fact, his niece Zerenity has won twice before.⁠ ⁠ Since December last year, the Z Manu World Champs has been making its way around the motu, encouraging Kiwis of all shapes and sizes to launch themselves off perfectly good wharves, all in the name of making the biggest splash possible.⁠ ⁠ The competition has been fierce so far, with some serious splash-making skills on display from Ōtautahi in the south to Whangārei in the north. Now, it’s Tāmaki Makaurau’s turn, with the City of Sails hosting a Super Qualifier round last weekend and another this coming weekend, followed by the Grand Final on March 1.⁠ ⁠ But regardless of whether you’re a manu master or a complete novice, this is a classic Kiwi summer pastime. So grab your togs, get practising, and see if you have what it takes to make the ultimate splash.⁠ #manu #nz #nzstuff #tfn #paddygower

Stunning footage has emerged from the North Island town of Ōpōtiki, where this week a fireball was captured falling from space, lighting up the night sky.⁠ ⁠ The video, captured by cameras belonging to David Greig of Fireballs Aotearoa - a designated Section of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand, showed the meteor at 10.49pm on Wednesday night.⁠ ⁠ Fireballs Aotearoa, a group that aims to recover freshly fallen meteorites, said it was looking to determine whether a meteorite had fallen in the area.⁠ ⁠ The group said the sky and the foreground looks very bright due to the bright moonlight and the very sensitive camera.⁠ #meteorite #fireball #nz #astronomy #nz #nzstuff

Foreign Minister Winston Peters has moved quickly to sack Phil Goff as high commissioner to the UK, after he took a jab at US President Donald Trump.⁠ ⁠ When asked if he had consulted with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon about Goff's sacking, Winston Peters said no, because he was the minister for foreign affairs.⁠ ⁠ When a journalist pointed out that Luxon was the prime minister, Peters bit back.⁠ ⁠ "This is not juvenile behaviour, I know he's the prime minister, I made him the prime minister."⁠ #nz #nzstuff #winstonpeters

A pair of rare fin whales were spotted off the Kaikōura coast on Friday.⁠ ⁠ A group of Kiwi content creators on a whale-watching trip with South Pacific Helicopters filmed as they witnessed the encounter with the rare species.⁠ ⁠ Fin whale sightings are rarely recorded in Aotearoa or elsewhere in the world, and the species are considered vulnerable to extinction. They are the second largest whale species on the planet (second only to the blue whale), and can grow up to 26m long.⁠ ⁠ Tima Savea was the first to spot the creatures and said they had been up in the air for 15 minutes without seeing anything and were beginning to lose hope.⁠ ⁠ “All of a sudden, I spotted something white in the water and told our pilot who headed in closer. At first he thought it was just some white caps in the water but once we got closer we were absolutely shocked to see the two beautiful fin whales. Even more spectacular was the fact that they are so incredibly rare,” Savea said.⁠ #whale #nz #nzstuff ⁠ 📹️ Guy Coombes, shot on Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

Summer arrived late for Christchurch, with temperatures reaching over 30-degrees on Monday. But residents are urged to enjoy the heat while it lasts because Tuesday is expected to bring rain and a 15-degree temperature drop. #christchurch #nz #weather #nzstuff

Paddy Gower opinion: How good is Mike Hosking? Really, really good. His brilliant interview with the Prime Minister has done all of us a massive favour.⁠ ⁠ Like so many others, Hosking has clearly had a gutsful of Christopher Luxon’s corporate speak.⁠ ⁠ And Hosking told him so.⁠ #nz #christopherluxon #tfn #paddygower #nzstuff

Nearly 14 years after the devastating earthquake that changed Christchurch forever, the city’s long-awaited rebuild is finally reaching key milestones. Senior reporter Juliet Speedy was granted access inside these long-anticipated projects. #christchurch #nz #nzstuff

David Seymour says he wasn’t undermining Prime Minister Christopher Luxon when he said he needed to get his facts right before commenting on a letter the ACT leader sent to police in support of Philip Polkinghorne. Luxon called the sending of the letter “ill-advised”, to which Seymour responded on radio by saying, “what is ill-advised is commenting without knowing the facts and criticising an MP for doing their job”. Speaking to media outside Parliament on Tuesday, Seymour said he held a pre-planned meeting with Luxon on Monday night, describing it as both “constructive” and “very positive”. On Tuesday morning, Luxon told reporters it was “a good, constructive chat”. The war of words over the letter is the second controversy Seymour has been caught up in during recent days. #nz #nzstuff

What would have been a normal day fishing for Aaron Laboyrie turned into an “amazing” piece of footage as a great white shark decided to chomp down on his fishing line not once but twice.⁠ ⁠ Laboyrie was snapper fishing in a small 12 foot tinny boat 100 metres off Lorenzen Bay in the quaint Waikato town of Raglan.⁠ ⁠ “Suddenly I felt something hit my line, and all of a sudden took off really quickly, and I thought ‘this is a really quick kingfish” he said.⁠ ⁠ “All of a sudden my line broke, I thought ‘oh s*** I wonder if that was a shark’, and then it lept out of the water a couple of times, and I thought ‘holy s***’,” he said.⁠ #greatwhiteshark #shark #nz #nzstuff

A fire has broken out and engulfed a Hamilton commercial building in flames.⁠ ⁠ A Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) spokesperson told Stuff around 30 firefighters were on the ground after being called to the blaze on Ellis St at around 11.30am on Monday.⁠ ⁠ Stuff understands the building involved in the blaze is at Frankton Motor WOF & Car Repair Panel Beater.⁠ #fire #hamilton #nz #nzstuff