Gore’s mayor Ben Bell has survived a vote of no confidence – because nobody ended up pushing for one.

A vote was set to be held during a special council meeting this evening, but when asked if anyone wanted to move the motion, no councillor opted to do so.

This was met with widespread applause and cheering from within the council room and public gallery.

Earlier, councillors spoke of their intention to try and work with the mayor to repair some of the public damage caused by the ongoing spat. One suggested that the move to push for the mayor’s resignation was more a “call for help” than an actual vote of no confidence.

Local government minister Kieran McAnulty has thus far refused to get involved, but told media today he hoped for the sake of Gore ratepayers that a resolution would soon be found.

The mayor of Gore is set to face a symbolic vote of no confidence from his own councillors.

At what’s being called an “extraordinary council meeting” (likely in both senses of the word), councillors will vote to determine whether they still support Ben Bell, the country youngest local government leader, as mayor.

If you’ve somehow missed the saga, The Spinoff’s Toby Manhire has the key details here.

You can tune in below: 

Police have urged anyone who was at the Loafers Lodge in Newtown over recent days, and is safe, to get in touch.

The information will be used to determine who was in the building at the time of the devastating fire and ensure their welfare.

The number of deaths has still not been confirmed, though police earlier said it was believed to be fewer than 10. There have been reports circulating that a number of people remain unaccounted for. However, police said they could not yet confirm any numbers.

Anyone who was in the hostel, or is concerned for another person, should call 105 and reference Operation Rose. Or get in touch via this webpage, using the “something else” form and referencing Operation Rose.

An “extraordinary meeting” will be held at 3.15pm in Gore today as councillors vote to oust mayor Ben Bell.

It’s technically a symbolic gesture as Bell was voted in by local constituents, meaning councillors do not have the power to officially see him sacked from the top job. Though it would be fairly tricky for a mayor to work with a council that does not support him.

An agenda posted to the district council website showed councillors would also vote on whether to call on the local government minister Kieran McAnulty to intervene after what has been a dysfunctional few months.

Bell has so far remained defiant and told media he would not be resigning. On TVNZ’s Sunday programme, he expressed upset over comments from his councillors and denied the claims made about him.

A bit confused about what’s actually been going on in Gore? The Spinoff’s Toby Manhire has broken down the charges against Bell ahead of this afternoon’s meeting.

Te Whatu Ora has asked non-urgent patients in the capital to stay away from Wellington Hospital following this morning’s fire in Newtown.

“Due to the active fire scene in Newtown today, emergency services have closed Adelaide Road between John Street and the Basin Reserve, limiting access to the hospital,” a statement read.

“Patients who have non-urgent and safely-deferrable appointments are being rescheduled. People are asked not to call about appointments as they will be contacted if their appointment is affected.

“Anyone who requires urgent or emergency care will receive it. Anyone unsure if they require urgent care should contact their GP or medical centre, or phone Healthline (0800 611 116) for advice. In an emergency, call 111.”

The prime minister will visit the site where as many as 10 people have lost their lives this morning.

A spokesperson said Chris Hipkins, accompanied by fire and emergency minister Barbara Edmonds, would head to Newtown later this morning and be taken beyond the cordoned off area. He will then speak to media.

Earlier this morning, Hipkins told Newshub’s AM the fire at Loafers Lodge was a tragedy. He thanked emergency services for rescuing people under dangerous circumstances.

The official death toll remains unknown. Hipkins said he was aware of six fatalities, with police later adding they believed it was “fewer than 10”.

According to Newstalk ZB, authorities have confirmed the Loafers Lodge did not have any sprinklers.

An update this morning on a story I’ve been following closely over the past few weeks.

Invercargill mayor Nobby Clark has stood down as the council representative on the Southland Indoor Leisure Centre Charitable Trust ahead of an investigation into the handling of sexual harassment allegations.

It stems from complaints, first reported by The Spinoff, against former Invercargill councillor Nigel Skelt during his tenure as manager of Stadium Southland. Before the allegations came to light, Skelt quit his role at the venue for personal and medical reasons. He later resigned from council after media reporting of the claims against him,.

Documents released to The Spinoff at the time showed mayor Clark was involved in brokering a deal for the teenage complainant that involved money, job offers and counselling.

Today, the Southland Tribune has reported that Clark would be replaced by his deputy Tom Campbell on the board for the remainder of the council term.

“I made the call on that,” Clark said. “I just think given there is a review on, and that review will involve what I undertook with the issues that were raised by the complainant, it would be unwise for me to be on the trust.”

Campbell previously told us that he did not believed the mayor had covered up the allegations against Skelt, though believed Clark was the wrong person to be investigating the complaints.

RNZ’s John Gerritsen has the latest on international student numbers, reporting that foreign students are returning to New Zealand at a faster rate than before the pandemic began, but polytechnics and schools are missing out. India had become the single largest source of foreign students in New Zealand’s main competitor nations with combined visa approvals more than doubling since 2019. The value of international education to the economy was $3.7b in 2019.

The news will be welcomed by the teritary education sector but it doesn’t look like it will be enough of a boost to stave off job losses at Victoria University of Wellington. As The Post’s Gianina Schwanecke reports (paywalled) Chancellor John Allen said the university could not “avoid change or delay action” and job cuts now appear inevitable.

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Wellington Central MP Grant Robertson has posted to Facebook, paying tribute to those hurt or killed in the Newtown fire at Loafers Lodge.

“Absolutely devastating news to wake up to. My heart goes out to everyone who has been hurt and to the friends and families of the victims,” he wrote. “If you are in the neighbourhood of the Loafers Lodge (just by corner of John St and Adelaide Rd) please heed the warnings about staying indoors and shutting windows.”

Robertson advised those in the area to wear a mask due to the risk of asbestos.

“Obviously there will be thorough investigations of what has happened here, but for now the most important thing is that everyone stays safe and we look after those who has been affected,” added Robertson.

Police have confirmed a “number of fatalities” following the fire at the Loafers Lodge in Newtown, Wellington overnight. A new statement from emergency officials hasn’t confirmed the number of deaths at this stage, though they said it’s believed to be “fewer than 10”.

“We are not in a position to be any more specific until we can access the building,” the statement continued. “It is currently unsafe and until we can access the building – and reconcile numbers of people who are safe – we are not in a position to determine how many people are deceased or unaccounted for.”

Anyone who had been staying at the property was asked to come forward so police could “eliminate them from our inquiries”.

There was still no known cause of the fire and police would be working alongside fire and emergency to determine the cause.

Adelaide Road between John Street and the Basin Reserve was expected to remain closed for much of the day.

The next update will be given at 8.45am.

There have been dozens relocated from Loafer’s Lodge in Newtown this morning after a huge fire consumed the building overnight.

The death toll is understood to be at least six, though there are fears this figure could increase.

Stuff has reported from a press conference in Wellington where a council spokesperson said about 50 evacuees from the building have been taken to Newtown Park.

On Newshub’s AM, local MP Paul Eagle spoke more about the building at the centre of this disaster. “Newtown’s the world in one city. You’ve got everyone, people feel they can come here and and call it home. Loafer’s Lodge certainly reflects Newtown,” he said. When he was told the incident was on Adelaide Road his heart sank as he realised where the fire must be, Eagle said.

Prime minister Chris Hipkins said he has been told at least six people have died after a devastating fire at a Wellington hostel overnight.

It’s feared that could just be the tip of the iceberg, with fire and emergency officials describing this as a “multi-fatality” incident and a “once-in-a-decade fire”.

Emergency services were called to Loafers Lodge, on Adelaide Road in Newtown, just before 12.30am today.

Speaking to Newshub’s AM, Hipkins first extended condolences to the families of those who had died and acknowledged the “incredible effort” of the fire services for helping people evacuate from the burning building. This was a tragedy, he said.

“One of the reasons that we don’t have more information about the number of people in the building is because a number were shift workers,” Hipkins said. “We don’t know how many were at work at the time the fire broke out.”

Earlier, it was reported that 52 people had been accounted for however it was possible, said FENZ, that 100 people may have been in the building at the time the fire broke out. The property’s manager, Marie Murphy, told Stuff she believed there were about 94 people in the hostel.

Hipkins said there would be plenty of time to look at possible causes of the blaze and he had not been given any information at this stage.

An emotional Tory Whanau, the mayor of Wellington, appeared on TVNZ’s Breakfast and said she was devastated. “I dare say it’s been a shock to the system – a very emotional few minutes with the crew here,” she said. ”I’m feeling a lot of pain and emotion at those who have been lost.”

We’ll keep you updated as more information comes to hand.