Under the proposal, all 38 New Zealand stores and the distribution centre would shut.
Tag Archives: oceania
Australian heatwave set to cook Hawke’s Bay
Metservice has forecast temperatures as high as 36C in Hawke’s Bay on Sunday.
Police declare ‘major crime’ after suspicious disappearance of mother
The disappearance of a mother in South Australia's far north is being treated as suspicious.
Trisha Graf, 41, was last seen in the Roxby Downs area almost a month ago with her Ford Territory found abandoned east of Andamooka on the day she went missing.
South Australia Police have grave fears for her safety.
READ MORE: Three states to sizzle under worst heatwave since Black Summer bushfires
READ MORE: Home detention for assault-accused MP
Graf had been with friends at the Roxby Downs hotel until at about 12.30am on Friday, December 12.
The pair hit a kangaroo on the way home a short distance from the Andamooka township.
After striking the kangaroo Trisha and her friend continued onto Andamooka where they visited a home in the north-western area of the town.
READ MORE: Aboriginal mother of five named after dying in outback prison cell
READ MORE: Man charged after police vehicle allegedly rammed
At 2am Graf left to travel a short distance home and was last seen alive driving along Dunstan Drive.
Her car was found abandoned near Blue Dam just after midday.
"This is highly unusual and particularly out of character for her," South Australia Police detective superintendent Darren Fielke said.
"The dam has been searched by police divers, polair has been involved in aerial searching and we've also utilised specialised drone equipment," Fielke said.
"Police have spoken to a number of people and in Roxby Downs who have assisted piecing together the movements of Trisha."
Detectives are now urging anyone who saw Graf in the hours before her disappearance on December 12 to contact them.
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Hacker claiming to be behind ManageMyHealth breach: ‘I do it for the money and I’m in negotiations to get it’
‘Don’t worry, this will be over soon,’ the person identifying as the hacker Kazu said.
NZTA seeks feedback on proposed speed limit cuts on state highways
Speeds at these seven rural intersections would drop from 100km/h to 60km/h.
Lehrmann escalates ‘compromised’ rape finding fight
Bruce Lehrmann has made a last-ditch effort to clear his name of findings he sexually assaulted Brittany Higgins in Parliament House.
The disgraced ex-Liberal staffer has taken his case to the High Court in his third bid to win a Federal Court defamation case over a Network Ten report of the rape allegation.
In April 2024, Justice Michael Lee dismissed the civil lawsuit, describing it as an "omnishambles".
READ MORE: Macca's fights back after council blocks new restaurant
The judge's findings that Lehrmann raped Higgins on the balance of probabilities were upheld on appeal by the Full Federal Court in December.
The allegations were made public during an explosive interview on The Project in February 2021.
Lehrmann has now escalated the case to the High Court.
The 30-year-old's application, prepared by barristers Gabriella Rubagotti and Bryanna Workman, said Justice Lee compromised his findings by "doing his own research" having obtained extraneous non-legal material.
"Here, the primary judge's impartiality was compromised and the judicial process has fundamentally miscarried," they wrote.
The judge acted under subconscious influence, wrongly finding Higgins did not consent to the sexual intercourse or that a "reckless" Lehrmann was aware she may not have been consenting, the barristers argued.
The material which allegedly infected the judge's decision includes research that victims can remain passive or immobile during a sexual assault as well as an article on rape myths.
READ MORE: How a mystery trader made $650,000 after Maduro's downfall
Lehrmann's High Court challenge targets the judge's decision to uphold a justification defence by Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson that the rape statements made during the interview were substantially true.
He wants the High Court to toss the decisions of Justice Lee and the Full Court so that he can then be paid out an amount of damages.
The former Liberal staffer will have to argue his case for special leave before the court decides to hold a full-blown hearing.
His lawyers have urged the court to grant leave, saying the case was a matter of public importance.
A criminal case against Lehrmann in the ACT was derailed due to juror misconduct.
A further trial was ruled out and no findings have been made against him in a court of criminal law.
If Lehrmann loses his High Court bid, he could be forced into bankruptcy due to court orders he pay a $2 million legal bill to Ten.
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Aboriginal mother of five named after dying in outback prison cell
An Aboriginal mother of five has been identified as the woman who died in an outback Northern Territory prison after being arrested on Christmas Day.
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers should be advised this article contains the name of an Aboriginal woman who has died.
Kumanjayi Dempsey, 44, was found unresponsive during a cell check at the Tennant Creek Watch House on December 27, about 30 minutes after CCTV showed her falling to the ground.
A post-mortem ruled her cause of death as undetermined, but police believe she likely suffered a medical episode.
READ MORE: Three states to sizzle under worst heatwave since Black Summer bushfires
Dempsey's family have since engaged lawyers who are acting on their behalf.
"We are concerned about the ongoing inadequacy of the conditions of cells in Tennant Creek Watch House, and Northern Territory detention facilities more broadly," O'Brien Criminal and Civil Solicitors said in a statement.
Dempsey's death marked the fourth Aboriginal death in custody in the NT in 2025.
She was found unresponsive in her cell two days after she was arrested and charged with aggravated assault over an incident on Christmas Day.
READ MORE: Police arrest man over Christmas morning firebombing of Rabbi's car
At a press conference late last month, NT Police Assistant Commissioner Peter Malley said CCTV showed she was alone in her cell when she fell to the ground at 12.34pm on December 27, four minutes after officers conducted a cell check.
She was not found until officers conducted another cell check at 1.03pm that same day.
NT Police said officers conducted CPR until paramedics arrived to take her to the local hospital, where she was declared dead.
Police investigations reveal she suffered a medical episode, but due to an inconclusive post-mortem, a pathologist will conduct a toxicology test to determine the cause of her death.
Malley said Dempsey had been questioned about her health upon her arrest.
"The police officer that accepted her into custody conducted that, and there was no disclosures, no visible injuries to the female at that stage, and so everything was believed to be okay," he said.
READ MORE: How Australians can claim their slice of $2.6 billion in a few minutes
An internal police investigation is underway into Dempsey's death and will be overseen by the Professional Standards Command. The Cultural Reform Command has also been deployed to Tennant Creek.
In a statement released by NT Police, Malley said he had full confidence in the detectives investigating the death and the independent processes in place.
"The entire circumstances surrounding this incident, from the policy and procedures that govern watch house care to the medical history of the deceased, will form part of a comprehensive brief of evidence that will be supplied to the Coroner," he said.
"I extend my condolences to her family and friends who are going through an incredibly difficult time. I would also like to thank the Tennant Creek community for their ongoing assistance."
For 24/7 crisis support run by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, contact 13YARN (13 92 76).
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
All Whites striker Andre de Jong joins South African giants Orlando Pirates
The 29-year-old may make his debut for the league leaders on January 24.
Home detention for assault-accused MP
A court has approved the release of a state MP on home detention bail, 10 days after he was taken into custody, accused of assaulting a woman and breaching an intervention order.
South Australian independent Nick McBride, 56, was arrested on December 27 at Conmurra on the Limestone Coast and charged with assaulting a woman known to him.
Today, a home detention bail inquiry report presented to Adelaide Magistrates Court found McBride was a suitable candidate for release.
READ MORE: Light plane crashes at airport in Adelaide's north
READ MORE: How to claim your share of $2.6 billion in unclaimed money
His lawyer Jane Abbey KC said her client was "well aware" he would return to custody if he breached any court order.
Under the Bail Act, there was a presumption against bail and McBride was required to demonstrate special circumstances for bail to be approved.
"There is the fact of an election coming up … his incarceration will necessarily preclude him from contesting a seat that he has held since 2018," she told magistrate Roderick Jensen.
READ MORE: PM won't rule out royal commission on Bondi terror attack
McBride's 10 days in custody and the potential delay of his trial also constituted special circumstances, she said.
"I want to be quite clear that the allegations are denied and disputed," she said.
McBride, who appeared in court via video link from Mt Gambier Prison, was released to live at a property owned by his family that was between 38km and 75km from the property where the alleged victim lives.
Abbey also noted that the property was 111km from his electorate office in Naracoorte.
"When you come to read the terms of your bail agreement, you will see that home detention bail is a very strict form of bail," Jensen told McBride.
"There are what might be described properly as oppressive conditions in home detention bail.
"That is deliberately so, because it is the strictest form of bail that is available."
READ MORE: US governor who fought Trump for presidency drops reelection bid amid welfare fraud scandal
"Should you breach any of those strict conditions, it is possible that you might be taken back into custody, and if you were, you might find it more difficult to get bail on a future occasion."
Abbey offered a surety of $200,000 and three potential guarantors, but Jensen did not require a guarantor and released McBride on a $5000 surety.
McBride was also ordered not to go within 50m of the property where the alleged victim lives.
He was previously charged with three aggravated counts of assaulting the woman on April 10 at Conmurra, and another three charges of aggravated assault were added in October. McBride will return to court on those six charges, and the new charges, on January 30.
McBride won the safe Liberal seat of MacKillop in the state's southeast in 2018, but quit the party in 2023 and has since sat on the cross bench.
McBride has previously said he intends to run for his seat again at the state election in March.
He is also a grazier and his family has owned Conmurra Station since the 1930s.
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Tunnel works a ‘factor’ in massive sinkhole on Melbourne oval, project boss admits
An infrastructure boss has conceded a tunnel boring exercise in Melbourne's north-east contributed to a massive sinkhole that opened up on a nearby sports oval yesterday.
The collapsed turf was seen at AJ Burkitt Oval in Heidelberg yesterday afternoon and overnight.
Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) chief executive Duncan Elliott admitted two tunnel boring machines digging underground as part of the North East Link are located just metres from where the gaping hole emerged.
READ MORE: 'I'm a decent man': Maduro's next court date set as wife appears injured
"We are actually confident that the tunnel boring machines have been a contributing factor, not necessarily caused the problem, but certainly a contributing factor and that's part of the investigation," he said.
An exclusion zone has been created around the sinkhole and tunnelling has been paused while VIDA investigates the cause of the sinkhole, Elliott said.
"We won't be restarting operations until such time as [the investigation] is complete and it's policed by Worksafe and ourselves to ensure all plans and processes are [followed]," he said.
Meanwhile, local sporting clubs are scrambling to find replacement locations to keep their competitions running.
Banyule Cricket Club president Brad Bowler said at least 14 teams in his club would be impacted by the sinkhole.
"It's a really busy part of the surrounds down here and to have this taken away from us for a week, or heaven knows how long, is going to cause a lot of disruption," Bowler said.
"It's going to cost us a lot of money revenue wise …but you've got to move and just make sure everyone's safe.
"It's really disappointing what's happened…It's not good for what we're trying to promote down here, which is getting people out and active."
Local resident Chez Raccosta said he often heard construction work on the North East Link at night, but the noise was "nothing too overbearing".
"We came here all the time, it's a little bit nervewracking," he said of the reserve.
"I'm not sure I should be standing too close to it, but I've got faith in the engineers around here; they know what they're doing."
Locals gathered at the site last night, before police taped the area off, with authorities urging people to stay away.
Nobody was injured as a result of the sinkhole, a North East Link spokesperson told 9News.com.au.
"No injuries have been reported and there is no immediate threat to the community or residential properties," the spokesperson said.
"The area has been secured and crews are closely monitoring the site and surrounding areas – and we strongly advise people to avoid the area while investigations into the cause are underway."
Banyule City Council also confirmed on social media it was aware of the sinkhole and that it was "working closely with relevant agencies to assess the situation and determine what's next".
READ MORE: Pam stormed the Capitol five years ago. Now, she admits it was 'wrong'
Vic Emergency warned that the sinkhole might grow in size and echoed advice for people to stay away.
No further plans on repairing the sinkhole have been announced.
DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.