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Fuaono Ken Laban, community leader and mayoral candidate for Lower Hutt. Photo: RNZ / Supplied Local Democracy Reporting | Free Public Interest News Service By Mary Afemata of Local Democracy Reporting Community leader Fauono Ken Laban has officially announced his candidacy for the Lower Hutt mayoralty, making him the first Pacific candidate to enter the race to replace outgoing Mayor Campbell Barry. He promises to unite the city and refocus the council on fundamental priorities. As the son of Sāmoan migrants who built their life in Wainuiomata, Fauono is a well-known broadcaster, community leader, and former police officer. He launched his campaign on Tuesday with the slogan “Leadership That Unites, Priorities That Deliver.” Fauono’s decision to run is rooted in the principles of service, teamwork, and practical focus. He says his experience in policing, sports, and community service has taught him that real progress comes from teamwork and putting people first. “I’ve...

The two sides met in muddy conditions at Ngati Toa Domain in the 13th and final round of the Swindale Shield. Tawa won with a last-play try, after coming back from 23-14 behind in the last several minutes. Both teams made the ‘top 4’ for the upcoming Jubilee Cup – and this result means that...

New dog walking rules has been adopted by Auckland Council, coming into effect from August and next year. Photo: Supplied / Stuff Local Democracy Reporting | Free Public Interest News Service By Torika Tokalau of Local Democracy Reporting New regional dog rules have been adopted by Auckland Council, which includes how many dogs one person can walk at a time, and where. The changes, approved at last Thursday’s Governing Body meeting, included updates on leash, off leash and dog free areas at nine regional parks, and a limit on the number of dogs that can be walked at once. Councillor Josephine Bartley said the review of Auckland’s Dog Policy and Bylaw was needed so everyone could enjoy Auckland’s shared spaces safely. “We know how much Aucklanders love getting out with their dogs, particularly in our beautiful regional parks,” Bartley said. “Our dog rules aim to carefully accommodate these needs as well as those of others who also want to use shared outdoor spaces safely...

Hugo Plummer wins the lineout for Tawa against Paremata-Plimmerton on Saturday. Photo: Stewart Baird Photography. The home stretch of the 2025 club rugby season is upon us. Opening weekend Jubilee Cup matches at a glance (the losers of the 6 v 7 and 5 v8 games drop down to the Hardham Cup for the following...

Ann-Tauilo Motuga | Reporter/Videographer Father and son creatives rekindle their show ‘Shapes In the Clouds’ for the Pacific Dance Festival and find more depth in their relationship It’s more than just a show – it’s a memory etched in time. Co-creators Tauveve Andy Tilo-Faiaoga and his son, Tofigaoleola Dallas Mitchell-Faiaoga have returned to the stage with their second instalment of Shapes in the Clouds – a heartfelt production weaving storytelling with movement, music, and poetry. Initially performed at the 2022 Measina Festival, Shapes in the Clouds was recently showcased at the Mangere Arts Centre as part of the 2025 Pacific Dance Festival. Photo: Tagata Pasifika – Jan Polak. Tauveve says the creation of the production was inspired by his son. “He wanted to be famous and then he said he wanted to be an artist,” Tauveve says. “So, what better way to do it than everything I know to offer to him and guess that could be the best gift I could ever give him.” The...

John Pulu | Presenter/ Reporter/Director At this time of the year, many of us come down with seasonal illnesses and the likes. Here to shed light on why this happens and how we get through the winter in good shape is new Director of Public Health Dr Corina Grey.

Marcia Resnick, a photographer known for documenting Manhattan’s downtown art scene during the late 1970s and early 1980s, died at age 74. Her cause of death was lung cancer, according to her sister Janice Hahn, her sole surviving relative. Resnick started out making conceptual photography and later moving toward portraiture. The shift came as she became increasingly entwined with a faction of ascendant artists and musicians who frequented New York nightclubs like Mudd Club and CBGB. That included a subset people associated with the era’s punk movement. Born in Brooklyn in 1950 to a mother and father working in publishing and art, Resnick spent her undergraduate years at New York University and Cooper Union, later pursing photography at California Institute of the Arts. She would go on to teach at both her New York alma maters. Some of her most famous subjects were male musicians, some widely known in the mainstream and others more niche. She shot Mick Jagger and Klaus Nomi; the la...

The Ontario government announced $215 million to boost the province’s shipbuilding and marine industries on June 25, 2025. This includes launching the $15 million Ontario Shipbuilding Grant Program (OSGP) to help provincial shipbuilders meet Canada’s defence needs. Through the OSGP, the province aims to align with Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy while helping Ontario’s manufacturing businesses and workers navigate challenges such as U.S. tariffs and economic uncertainty. The program will fund initiatives focused on skills development, infrastructure upgrades, and acquiring new machinery and equipment for the shipbuilding sector. “With our NATO allies meeting this week, Ontario workers are ready to step up and build the ships that will protect Ontario and Canada,” Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation stated in a press release. “As the federal government increases its defence commitment to meet our NATO spending targets, our government is ensuring Ontario workers and b...

The McNicol Homestead in Clevedon was built in 1878, and home to a museum. Photo: Supplied Local Democracy Reporting | Free Public Interest News Service By Torika Tokalau of Local Democracy Reporting A delicate heritage building that provides a glimpse of how life was once in the Pohutukawa Coast area has been re-opened after undergoing restoration. McNicol Homestead, in south Auckland’s Clevedon, closed and underwent major repair last year. The goal was to make the old building safe and up to modern standards, while keeping its special character charm and history intact. It re-opened to the public in June. Franklin Local Board chair, Angela Fulljames said in a statement that she was thrilled to see the grand old home re-opened. “Although works took longer than expected, it has been well worth the wait,” Fulljames said. Set in attractive grounds in a rural area, the homestead was once home to one of the original settlers to the district. The local board said the home...

Bob Dylan  will spotlight another side of his creative output this fall with  “Point Blank (Quick Studies),”  a new art book set for release on Nov. 18 from Simon & Schuster. The collection brings together nearly 100 of Dylan’s black-and-white drawings from 2021 and 2022, offering a rare, behind-the-scenes look at works that originally served as studies for larger paintings in his Point Blank series. The drawings, which range from portraits and still lifes to urban landscapes and fleeting moments, reflect Dylan’s sharp observational eye. Subjects include roller-skating lovers, a karaoke singer, a canal in Paris, a suit of armor, and even a simple roll of Scotch tape. Each piece is accompanied by prose vignettes from Eddie Gorodetsky, Jackie Hamilton, and Lucy Sante, adding context to the artist’s familiar ambiguous storytelling. Sean Manning, editorial director at Simon & Schuster, describes the collection as capturing “contradictory emotions in a single image...

I recently became aware of the term ‘complexity debt’ in an article from the Kellogg School of Management. It is a simple concept of particular value to those with a financial background – a group which will apparently exceed those pursuing law degrees in the future. It can be seen as the debt that is owed and must be paid by those who must navigate complexity to execute an activity that is complex. Some of the complexity is unavoidable, but much is built in over time. In its simplest interpretation, the currency of such debt is the time to complete the activity and achieve the desired goal – and time is money, which impacts budget allocations. Working through the maze of complexity like a good soldier routinely means delivering late to need and over budget, which damages credibility.  However, failure to pay that debt – to take shortcuts – often creates barriers at every institutional corner, wasting more and more time until once again the credibility of the executor is in questi...

The Hutt side won the Jubilee Cup twice in the early 1930s, the second of which was the first time they contested the famous McBain Shield against Petone, winning 6-5. More about Alexander McBain below, from an article published on this website on 12/4/18: In 1886, the small Horowhenua settlement of Manakau was created around...

Lynda and Stewart Resnick have donated a monumental Jeff Koons Split-Rocker sculpture to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), which will exhibit the 37-foot-tall work near a newly created group of galleries endowed by trustee David Geffen. Split-Rocker contains a metal skeleton and resembles the head of a children’s toy, with one half recalling rocking horse and the other a dinosaur. Planted in its surface are 50,000 flowers. Another comparably sized edition is housed at Glenstone, the Maryland private museum of Mitchell Rales and Emily Wei Rales. The version gifted by the Resnicks to LACMA has been in Versailles and Rockefeller Center in New York. LACMA did not specify the value of the sculpture, as is common when museums announce gifts of artworks, but the Resnicks listed an unnamed piece given to LACMA on their 2023 tax filings and valued it at $9.6 million. The Resnicks have a history of patronizing LACMA, which named a pavilion after them after they agreed to give $...

The Canadian Coast Guard has launched its annual Arctic summer operations. Guided by its new Arctic Strategy , the Coast Guard is collaborating with Inuit, First Nation, and Métis communities to deliver programs and services in the North, by the North, for the North. Between June and November, seven icebreakers will be deployed to support essential operations including northern resupply missions, search and rescue efforts, marine pollution response, Arctic security, and other strategic commitments across the region. June 11  – CCGS  Pierre Radisson  departed Quebec City, QC, for icebreaking, Arctic science support, Marine Environmental and Hazards Response (MEHR) vessel reconnaissance and assessment, buoy tending operations, and refueling Killiniq’s remote communication station. June 26  – CCGS  Henry Larsen  departs St. John’s, NL, for icebreaking, Arctic science support, and  Operation Pacer Goos e – to support the annual resupply of U....

Frank Crist was a leading player in Wellington club rugby for the Wellington Axemen and for the Wellington representative team, who went on to become one of the leading local First XV coaches of all time. Crist was also a World War two fighter pilot and squadron leader. William Frank Crist was born in Dannevirke...

Photo: Supplied Emotional support is now just a friendly “Talofa” away for the Samoan community in Aotearoa New Zealand.   Hato Hone St John has announced the introduction of Samoan language to their popular Community Health programme: Caring Caller, with new volunteer callers fluent in Samoan joining the team.   The St John Caring Caller programme is a volunteer-based telephone friendship service that offers companionship to those in need. This free service facilitates meaningful, regular connections that strengthen social bonds and enhance mental and emotional wellbeing. Clients who engage with a Caring Caller benefit from having someone to talk to, fostering resilience against the effects of loneliness and social isolation. Eleni Mason, Hato Hone St John Community Engagement Manager, sees Caring Caller as an essential service to the Samoan community and the wider Pacific communities in general, saying “many of our elderly community members are left alone at ...

Romania has secured a “long-term hold” on a painting by El Greco that was pulled from a Christie’s New York Old Masters sale in February, following a claim by the Romanian government that the work was unlawfully taken from its national collection. With the legal move, Romania has ensured that the painting, titled Saint Sebastian  (1610–1614), will remain at Christie’s New York “until Romania’s recovery efforts are heard and resolved by the proper legal authorities”, per a letter first shared with the Art Newspaper by Nixon Peabody, the law firm representing Romania in New York. The Romanian government has initiated litigation to recover the painting through Paris. Saint Sebastian was pulled from auction in February after intervention from the Romanian government, which claimed the work as being “unequivocally the property of the Romanian state.” It was estimated to be worth between $7 million and $9 million and positioned in February as the top lot at the Christie’s Old Mast...

The Johnsonville and Northern United sides contested their Barlow Trophy match at Jerry Collins Stadium on Saturday. Visitors Johnsonville built a 22-5 lead by the 30-minute mark, which also cemented their place in the upcoming Jubilee Cup. There were missed conversions, which opened the door for Norths who had Super Rugby player Jackson Garden-Bachop in...

Ōpaheke Park in Papakura officially opens to the public on July 17. Photo: Supplied Local Democracy Reporting | Free Public Interest News Service By Torika Tokalau of Local Democracy Reporting One of Auckland’s largest developed parks will soon open in south Auckland and a new play plan has been adopted to better connect the community with green and public spaces, especially for Pacific people. Ōpaheke Park in Papakura will officially open to the public on July 17. The 19 hectare-park features wide green fields, 2km of walking paths, 50,000 new plants and trees, wetlands, and a pump track for the kids. In a statement, Papakura Local Board chair Brent Catchpole said the park was a great example of smart planning. “It’s a space where families can exercise, play and relax, but also somewhere that helps with flood control,” Cathpole said. The park was cleverly designed to help keep nearby homes at the base of Red Hill, safe from flooding, Instead of rushing through existi...

Above: fulltime at Ngati Toa Domain on Saturday. Photo: Stewart Baird. One round to play in the Premier Swindale Shield and Premier 2 Harper Lock Shield competitions and several teams will be looking for a pot of gold to improve their chances when the Championship rounds kick off in a fortnight. Swindale Shield matches at...

Mayor Wayne Brown acknowledged the rising concerns about roaming dogs, but says the council is addressing the issue. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi / Supplied Local Democracy Reporting | Free Public Interest News Service By Mary Afemata of Local Democracy Reporting Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has rejected requests to establish a mayoral taskforce on dogs, saying it would duplicate initiatives already in place. The decision comes despite increasing pressure from Manurewa residents, who feel that roaming dogs are making their neighbourhoods unsafe. Brown acknowledges the rising concerns about roaming dogs, especially in South Auckland. But he insists that the council is addressing the issue through existing programmes. Brown supports the work of the Regulatory and Safety Committee, chaired by Councillor Josephine Bartley and supported Councillor Daniel Newman from Manurewa and the local board. The committee focuses on improving public safety and managing dangerous dogs. Brow...

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Canada’s Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, recently led the country’s delegation at the prestigious  55th International Paris Air Show . With a keen focus on Canada’s aerospace industry, Minister Joly aimed to underscore the country’s status as a global hub for aerospace innovation and attract significant investment in the sector. “Canada is open for business. Our aerospace companies and workers help lead the world, and international partners want to invest. Canada is one of the few countries in the world that has everything needed to develop and manufacture modern aircraft. Building the strongest economy in the G7 means supporting our leading industries, forging new trade partnerships and showing Canadian leadership at home and around the world,” expressed the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions. As par...

It’s the winter solstice, but the rugby will be burning bright this weekend. LIVE scoring updates Wellington club rugby (on Saturday 21 June 2025) CLICK on the link directly below for live Swindale Shield Scoring WRFU Men’s Premier WRFU Men’s Premier 2 WRFU Men’s Reserves WRFU Women’s Premier WRFU Restricted U85 WRFU Colts Alternatively, follow live scores...

Editor’s Note:  This story is part of  Newsmakers , a new  ARTnews  series where we interview the movers and shakers who are making change in the art world. More than a decade after Pussy Riot cofounder Nadya Tolokonnikova was imprisoned in Russia for two years after performing a “punk prayer” inside of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior, the artist is putting herself back into a prison of her own making.  For her installation Police State (2025) at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles (LA MOCA), Tolonkonnikova has recreated a Russian jail cell. This time, however, she reimagines the cell as a space for art. The work is a form of reclamation not only for Tolonkonnikova but also for all the Russian, Belarusian, and American prisoners whose work is also included in the installation. The effort to include them is part of a larger ongoing project between Tolokonnikova’s organization Art Action Foundation and the Artistic Freedom Initiative ...