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Lifting of Wellington swimming ban ‘positive shock’ for businesses

Source: Radio New Zealand

The owner of a business operating out of Lyall Bay says the partial lifting of the rāhui on Wellington’s South Coast has come as a “positive shock”.

The rāhui was put in place on the stretch of southern coast from Ōwhiro Bay to Breaker Bay after the Moa Point wastewater plant failed, leaving up to 70 million litres of raw sewage flowing into the sea each day at the beginning of the month.

Since then, local business had been reporting losses of up to 90 percent of their custom as people kept away from the coast in droves.

On Thursday, the council lifted the ban on swimming and gathering kai moana in the area – excluding Tarakena Bay, which was still off-limits due to its proximity to the plant’s shortfall pipe.

Lyall Bay beach in Wellington on Friday. RNZ/Bill Hickman

‘Suddenly it’s all good’

Owner operator of Wellington Sauna Project mobile saunas, Johan Balzer, said the “sudden” lifting of the rāhui caught him off guard.

“All of the information that we were being fed, it was looking like it was going to be months and months. So, in my mind, I was thinking the worst,” Balzer said.

“Suddenly, it’s all good, which is great and it’s fantastic – and I can’t wait to get back there myself – but I have a feeling that there’s going to be a lot of people who [might] wait a while, a few weeks, to see what it really is like,” Balzer said.

Balzer said he had previously based his sauna in Lyall Bay or Evans Bay ahead of the shutdown.

His customers typically took a plunge in the ocean to cool down and cleanse after a sauna session at the beach.

Balzer said there was an immediate 50 percent reduction in bookings in the week following the failure, despite the fact he could still operate from Evans Bay.

“Wellingtonians are a bit divided. I was looking at all the data, checking out LAWA and NEWA and they were saying that Evans Bay was good but it would still have people that – despite that information – just didn’t want to go in the ocean. But at the same time, you’ve got a lot of loyal daily swimmers out at Hataitai and they didn’t seem to be concerned,” Balzer said.

Little takes a dip

On Thursday, Wellington Mayor Andrew Little took a dip in the water to announce the lifting of the swim ban, but he said people should follow advice on the Land, Air, Water Aotearoa LAWA website before they dive in.

Wellington mayor Andrew Little swims at Lyall Bay after announcing the lifting of a swimming ban. RNZ / Mark Papalii

“We have to be realistic and practical about what we’re asking people to do. Conditions can change rapidly. There are areas where the risk remains higher, such as near the short outfall pipe at Tarakena Bay,” he said.

“A risk remains, but monitoring results so far show that it is low and it is now up to people to decide how they respond to the current information,” Little said.

Owner of Dive Wellington, Dave Drane, said he was leaving it up to diving students to decide whether they wished to swim, but his staff were happy to dive on Friday.

“[Tertiary students] will be diving across the road in Taputeranga Marine Reserve today. I’ve left it up to them, it’s their personal choice whether they want to get in the water or not. But they’re all keen to get in and see the reserve again,” Drane said.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Fairlie farmer’s accident inspired his fundraising efforts for new town helipad

Source: Radio New Zealand

supplied

A Fairlie farmer who ended up with a shattered leg after a farm accident has spearheaded a fundraiser to get his local town a new helipad.

It was a normal day on farm for Andrew Hurst, he’d just returned from a bull sale when he was driving a two-wheeler round his farm.

In a split second he was under a Hilux that he had not seen coming from the other direction.

He was airlifted to Christchurch where he spent weeks in hospital undergoing over 10 surgeries to put his leg back together.

Hurst credits the skill and speed of the rescue helicopter with saving his leg and after recovering he quickly went about fundraising $90,000 for a new helipad.

“I felt Fairlie needed something better than just a piece of grass to land on.”

The Westpac Rescue Helicopter is flying into Fairlie on Thursday to officially open the new helipad.

Hurst said it had been a real community effort, with the local Lions Club, companies the Fairlie Community Board, and the Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust getting involved.

He admitted building the helipad was more complex than he first anticipated.

“Initially I thought I’d just be able to go down with a digger, scrape a bit of grass off and pour some concrete.”

“It turns out there’s a lot more involved in a helipad than that! But the helipad is as good as it could ever be, I’m stoked with what the community has achieved.”

Hurst said he would hate to think the rescue helicopter couldn’t help someone because it couldn’t land.

“This new helipad is on an IFR route, which means helicopters can fly here in low cloud or more adverse weather conditions.”

“We are a small, rural community, the rescue helicopter is the fastest way we can access critical care – the helipad will save lives,” he said.

Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue Trust chief executive Christine Prince said the Fairlie community has shown an extraordinary level of commitment and heart throughout the helipad project.

“This helipad is a meaningful investment in the future health and safety of Fairlie which will benefit families for generations.”

She said the opening of the helipad is part of a major transformation of the region’s rescue helicopter service, known as MISSION 2026.

The Trust has purchased three state-of-the-art H145 rescue helicopters for the Canterbury West Coast region.

The first of these helicopters is now in service, with work underway to make the other two mission-ready.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Portia Woodman-Wickliffe retires from international rugby again

Source: Radio New Zealand

Portia Woodman-Wickliffe has again announced she is bowing out of the international stage. Photosport / Masanori Udagawa

The greatest of all time is hanging up her black jersey, again.

Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who came out of retirement for last year’s Rugby World Cup, has announced she is bowing out of the international stage.

She leaves an incomparable legacy behind.

Woodman-Wickliffe was a Rugby World Cup winner in 2017 and 2022, a Sevens World Cup champion in 2013 and 2018, an Olympic gold and silver medallist and Commonwealth Games gold and bronze medallist.

Whether in sevens or 15’s, Woodman-Wickliffe has lit up fields around the globe with her raw pace, power, and inexplicable eye for the try-line.

She walks away as the highest try scorer for the Black Ferns in both codes.

The Black Ferns confirmed the news on social media.

“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to represent my country, my iwi, my hapū and my whānau one last time on the World Cup stage, a moment I will cherish forever. As I step into this next chapter of my life, I feel both excited and a little nervous, but I’m ready.”

Woodman-Wickliffe was named World Rugby’s Sevens Player of the Year in 2015, Women’s Player of the Year (XVs) in 2017 and in 2020 was named as the top women’s sevens player of the past decade.

The Woodman family name carries with it a bit of weight on the rugby field.

Not only did Portia grow up with an All Black father Kawhena, her uncle Fred Woodman played in two tests in the infamous 1981 series against the Springboks.

Arguably, Woodman-Wickliffe’s high-water mark in the 15-a-side code was during the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup, in which she scored a tournament-record 13 tries.

Eight of them came in one match against Hong Kong.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Call for Ministers to stop ‘derogatory’ rhetoric against councils

Source: Radio New Zealand

Pita Tipene said he wouldn’t quote the ‘derogatory comments’ made by Cabinet Ministers. RNZ / Peter de Graaf

Northland Regional Council chairperson Pita Tipene has called on Cabinet Ministers to stop making “derogatory” comments about councils.

Representatives from local and regional councils were gathered in the Beehive’s banquet hall for the All of Local Government conference on Thursday.

Deputy Prime Minister David Seymour had just delivered a speech about his Regulatory Standards Act and how it will impact councils once it takes effect as law.

Tipene got to his feet at the end of the question and answer session afterwards.

“Too often I hear politicians who sit around the Cabinet table, and you are the highest ranking politician who will address this forum, making very derogatory comments, particularly about regional councils but councils in general,” he said.

“I can quote them but I won’t. I’m really trying to get the message across that we are in this together and those sorts of comments, while we embrace change, must stop.”

Councillors broke into applause when Tipene stopped speaking.

Seymour responded by saying he was “a lover, not a fighter”.

“You guys can probably judge from the presentation today, I’m not bagging anyone. We do need to work together, we do to be more constructive and having a focus around a better conception of what good regulation looks like is a good way to unite us.

“We are all together as one, brother.”

David Seymour says he’s a lover, not a fighter. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Speaking to RNZ afterwards, Tipene said he was sick of central government bagging on local government.

“There are comments that come from Cabinet ministers, in fact from the prime minister himself, who say things like councils have got no social licence.

“When the first media statement came out from minister Simon Watts, he said, not exactly but close to these words, nobody knows who their regional council chairs are, everyone knows who their mayors are, they’re getting on with the fluffy stuff.

“It’s really playing councils off against each other because the focus is squarely on regional councils. So my point was, we, central government and local government, are in this together.

“We need to be proactive, positive and working together, not being disparaging towards local government.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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ANZ headline business confidence down amid rising interest rates

Source: Radio New Zealand

ANZ bank’s February survey showed headline confidence falling five points to a net 59 percent optimism level. RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

  • ANZ headline business confidence down 5 points to net 59 percent optimism
  • Firms’ own outlook edges higher to 52.6 pct, manufacturing most bullish
  • ANZ puts the stumble down to the rise in wholesale interest rates
  • Profit, exports, investment indicators steady or a touch lower
  • ANZ warns price/cost indicators mixed, may test RBNZ confidence inflation headed lower

The rise in business confidence has taken a breather amid rising wholesale interest rates, but remains broadly upbeat.

The ANZ bank’s February survey showed headline confidence falling five points to a net 59 percent optimism level, but the measure of firms’ own business performance edged higher.

Chief economist Sharon Zollner said the survey overall was solid and the dip might only be temporary.

“The sharp turn in interest rates seen from late-November until mid-February has had an impact on the Business Outlook survey – expected credit conditions and profitability have taken a hit, and past activity has also seen a bit of a wobble.”

She said the Reserve Bank’s recent comments about policy seems to have helped ease rates, which may calm nerves in the next survey.

However, Zollner said there were a few inflation signs that needed to be watched, with inflation expectations the highest since mid-2024.

“The net percent of firms expecting to increase their prices eased very slightly but is still trending in the opposite direction to our and the RBNZ’s inflation forecasts.”

“The net percent of firms expecting higher costs also remains elevated.”

Zollner said the RBNZ has frequently expressed confidence that inflation was headed back into the 1-to-3 percent target band in the near term, but might yet be surprised.

She warns that inflation expectations and pressures are rising which may test Reserve Bank confidence that inflation will fall back into its target band soon.

Manufacturing was the most upbeat at the headline level, but agriculture related firms had the highest readings for export, profit and investment expectations.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Former Prime Minister Dame Jacinda Ardern moving to Australia

Source: Radio New Zealand

Dame Jacinda Ardern. RNZ

Dame Jacinda Ardern is moving to Australia.

The news comes after an Australia real estate website reported the former New Zealand prime minister had been house hunting for properties in Sydney’s northern beaches.

According to RealEstate.com.au, Ardern and husband Clarke Gayford were seen looking at homes for sale in Curl Curl and Freshwater.

The website puts the median price for homes in Curl Curl at AUD$4.1 million (NZD$4.8m) with a growth of 6 percent in the last 12 months.

In Freshwater, RealEstate.com.au said the median price was $3.9m.

In a statement, a spokesman for Ardern said her family had been travelling “for a few years now”.

“For the moment they’re basing themselves out of Australia – they have work there, and it brings the added bonus of more time back home in New Zealand.”

Ardern, Gayford and 7-year-old daughter, Neve Gayford, had been living in the United States where Ardern was working for Harvard University.

She is also a trustee of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize.

In March 2025, Ardern joined Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government as a Distinguished Fellow and member of the world leaders circle.

Ardern also recent released a memoir, A Different Kind of Power, and a children’s book, Mum’s Busy Work.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Pedestrian dies after being hit by truck in Whangārei

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police said the pedestrian died at the scene. RNZ / Marika Khabazi

A pedestrian hit by a truck in Whangārei this morning has died.

Emergency crews were called to Kamo Road just after 9:35am on Thursday.

Police said the pedestrian died at the scene after being struck.

Kamo Road is still closed between Mains Ave and Simons Street as Police clear the scene.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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Kiwi teaching academic named top Australian lecturer

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealander Roma Forbes is Australia’s top university teacher.

Ōpōtiki-born Forbes, who teaches physiotherapy at the University of Queensland, has been in Australia for 16 years, she told RNZ’s Afternoons.

“I studied physiotherapy at AUT in New Zealand and then came over to the University of Queensland to be a clinical educator, and I thought I’d last five minutes in Australia, but here I am 16 years later.”

She accepted the 2025 Australian University Teacher of the Year award, which recognises her student-centred approach to health education, in Canberra on Tuesday.

“It is quite a unique approach, like in the universities in New Zealand, we have huge numbers of students. I’ve got 200 physiotherapy students each year, and we really don’t want students to be another number, or to get lost in vast numbers. So, it’s so important that we get to know students individually.

“We’ve put them into spaces where they can work together. They can be valued and they can contribute to the group,” she says.

Her acceptance speech, which she says she delivered in her still strong Kiwi accent and included the use of te reo, emphasised the importance of student voices being heard.

“The area that I teach is pain, and particularly chronic pain. And so many people have misconceptions about what chronic pain is, so to actually hear from students, what do they understand about chronic pain? What’s been their experiences for them and maybe with their families or even their grandparents?

“To really hear what their views are, it’s so much easier, more fun to teach when we know the perspectives they’re coming in with.”

Forbes says she remains deeply proud of her eastern Bay of Plenty roots and acknowledges Te Whakatōhea and the whenua she grew up on when she speaks publicly.

She credits her upbringing in Ōpōtiki with shaping her resilience and strong sense of responsibility to community.

While she’s found great professional success over the ditch, Forbes hasn’t ruled out returning home.

“I left for personal reasons; my partner was actually over here. So, I miss New Zealand a lot. I’m very tempted all the time to come home and be able to help with universities there.”

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

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One before the courts following aggravated robbery, Ngāruawāhia

Source: New Zealand Police

Police have arrested a man following an aggravated robbery in Ngāruawāhia last week.

On Friday 20 February, Police received a report that someone had just been threatened and had their vehicle stolen from them at the Ngāruawāhia boat ramp.

Police, including a Dog Unit, were deployed to the boat however the alleged offender was not located during initial enquiries.

Following follow up enquiries, a search warrant was executed today at an address in Huntly and an 18-year-old man was arrested.

He is due to appear in Huntly District Court on 3 March, charged with Aggravated Robbery.

Police thank the public for their assistance during our investigation.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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Operation Safe Works, Canterbury

Source: New Zealand Police

Operation Safe Works begins in Canterbury next week with Police targeting speeding and dangerous driving around roadworks sites in Christchurch and the wider Canterbury area.

Acting Canterbury Road Policing Manager, Senior Sergeant Gerard Peoples says that Police are concerned about driver behaviour through roadworks sites within both urban and rural areas causing risk, and at times harm, to roadworkers and other road-users.

“There are far too many drivers exceeding the temporary speed limits and who are failing to comply with other traffic control measures.

“Motorists need to remember that these measures are in place to keep everyone safe, and this type of behaviour poses risks to roadworkers, other road-users, and yourself,” says Senior Sergeant Peoples.

Police are working with roading authorities and contractors over the next two weeks, conducting Operation Safe Works, which will focus on improving safety and preventing harm in and around roadworks sites.

Police will conduct high visibility operations to improve driver behaviour through educating drivers and taking enforcement action when required.

“Temporary set speeds are not a suggestion; they override the regular set speed for that area and should be treated with the same level of compliance as those permanent set speeds.

“I want to remind motorists that just because we are putting an increased focus on this for the next couple weeks, that doesn’t mean that enforcement action stops when the operation ends – you can expect to see us anywhere, anytime,” Senior Sergeant Peoples says.

Police remind the public that anyone who witnesses dangerous driving can make a report by calling 111, if it is happening now, or through 105 – with as much detail as possible – either online or over the phone, if it is after the fact.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre