Dave

• Unemployment rises to 10 year high of 5.4 percent
• 15,000 jobs added in quarter, but workforce and job hunters grow
• Underutilisation rate steady at five year high of 13 pct
• Youth unemployment rises, more woman in the labour force
• Annual wage growth slows to near five year low of 2 percent
• Data worse than expected, backs the RBNZ holding cash rate steady in two weeks

Wellington's Moa Point wastewater treatment plant has been shut down and staff evacuated from the site, after an equipment failure flooded multiple floors.

Untreated wastewater is being discharged into the sea and that may continue for some time, Wellington Water chief executive Pat Dougherty said.

"This is a serious situation and we anticipate the plant will be shut down for an extended period," he said.

Dougherty strongly advised the public to stay away from south coast beaches.

Making the announcement in Auckland on Tuesday, Transport Minister Chris Bishop said the current system was "expensive, outdated and no longer works as well as it should".

Key changes

• No more full licence test: Drivers will no longer need to sit a second practical test to move from the restricted to full licence, saving time and money. This applies to Class 1 (car) licences only.
• Longer time spent on learners for under 25s: There will be a 12-month learner period for under 25s, an increase of six months.
• Option to reduce learner period: There will be an option for under 25s to reduce their 12-month learner period back to six months by recording practice hours or completing an approved practical course.
• New restricted periods: The restricted period will be 12 months for under 25s and six months for over 25s, with no option to reduce it with a defensive driving course.
• Cheaper to get a full licence: The total cost of getting a Class 1 (car) licence will reduce by $80 under the new system.
• Encouraging safe driving: Drivers on their restricted licence will face a further six months on their restricted if they get demerits.
• Fewer eyesight screenings: Eyesight screenings will only be required at the first licence application and at each renewal. This applies to Class 1 and Class 6 (motorcycle) licences.
• Zero-alcohol rule expanded: All learner and restricted drivers, regardless of age, will be subject to a zero-alcohol limit.
• Stronger oversight of training providers: NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) will gain new powers to monitor and suspend driver training course providers.

Resources Minister Shane Jones shut down the possibility of New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at the annual global climate summit, documents reveal.

Opposition MPs say the documents underscore the disproportionate influence that National's minor coalition partners wield over government policy.

But Climate Change Minister Simon Watts said it was "appropriate" to consult Jones because of his portfolios.

Australia, the UK, the European Union and a group of Pacific nations were among 80 countries pushing for a 'road map' to be included in the formal negotiations at COP30 in Brazil last November.

They were unsuccessful, but Australia and several Pacific nations were among 24 nations that signed the Belém Declaration on the Transition away from Fossil Fuels on the final day of the summit.

Documents released to RNZ under the Official Information Act show New Zealand's negotiating team was also considering signing the declaration - before officials back in New Zealand informed them that Jones did not want them to.

A passenger aboard a tourist boat that ran aground outside Akaroa Heads on Banks Peninsula on Saturday says some on board were panicked and crying, when they realised the vessel was in trouble.

More than 40 passengers and crew were evacuated to nearby boats, when the Black Cat Cruises catamaran ran into difficulty at Nikau Palm Valley Bay about 12.20pm Saturday.

The vessel was taking tourists to see the local Akaroa wildlife, including Hector's dolphins.

A large flash that lit up the night sky over Wellington was captured by a live feed camera and has prompted speculation it could have been a meteor.

The bright light was seen by people facing south about 11.25pm on Friday night, and travelled from east to west on an almost horizontal trajectory.

Video is in the article.

National and Labour are joining forces to get modern slavery legislation into Parliament, using a new process to skip the biscuit tin for the first time.

The MPs backing it say the process was needed because the ACT Party and its Workplace Relations Minister Brooke van Velden refused support.

Earlier today I updated Lemmy.nz to Lemmy 0.19.15

Previously we werre running 0.19.13 so there are two versions updated.

Release notes for 0.19.14.

Release notes for 0.19.15.

Only minor changes. The main things seem to be:

• Recently some malicious users started to use an exploit where they would post rule violating content and then delete the account. This would prevent admins and mods from viewing the user profile to find other posts, and would also prevent federation of ban actions. The new release fixes these problems.
• Pages are now capped to 100, as in you can only go 100 pages of content clicking "Next" on the website, and the equivalent number of posts on apps. This is to reduce the risk of DDOS attacks.

The 0.19.15 release notes also mention Lemmy version 1.0 is coming soon and include a list of new features.

Popular Wellington café, Chocolate Fish, is set to close on Sunday.

Café owners John and Penny Pennington like to think of the Chocolate Fish Café, as somewhat of a Mirimar institution. Operating since 1997, it had been at its current site since 2009.

Located at Shelly Bay, John said part of the cafe's attraction was that it had space for kids to run around, free parking and "pretty good" food. This month the cafe looked a little different however, with price tags littering the room with everything from the chairs and tables to the cutlery on sale.

The cafe site was bought by Sir Peter Jackson and Dame Fran Walsh in 2023.

Several people are missing after a landslide came down on several structures at campground at the base of Mauao, Mount Maunganui.

Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell has confirmed a young girl was among the missing, and RNZ understands other children may be unaccounted for.

At a media briefing on Thursday afternoon, Mitchell said it was still a "rescue operation" and a fluid ongoing situation.

Last thread here

Welcome to this week’s casual kōrero thread!

This post will be pinned in this community so you can always find it, and will stay for about a week until replaced by the next one.

It’s for talking about anything that might not justify a full post. For example:

• Something interesting that happened to you
• Something humourous that happened to you
• Something frustrating that happened to you
• A quick question
• A request for recommendations
• Pictures of your pet
• A picture of a cloud that kind of looks like an elephant
• Anything else, there are no rules (except the rule)

So how’s it going?