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RNZ / Keiller MacDuff

Three men have been arrested after four people were injured during a gang-related robbery at a home in Christchurch.

Emergency services were called to an address on Hoani Street in Northcote at about 9.30pm on Wednesday.

Police cars, vans and mobile units crowded into the quiet Papanui street. Armed scene guards stood at the first of several cordoned areas, with a large tent visible beyond several strings of police tape.

One person was in a critical condition, and another suffered serious injuries. The two other people were in a moderate condition.

Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves said the robbery was a gang-related incident and was targeted towards parties at this address. Police also believed a gun was shot during the robbery.

RNZ understood the incident was believed to involve members of rival gangs Black Power and Mongrel Mob.

Superintendent Tony Hill said in an update on Friday morning that three men had been arrested.

The men, aged 19, 31 and 40, have been charged with aggravated wounding and aggravated robbery. Two of the men are due to appear in the Christchurch District Court today, and the 40-year-old is due to appear in Dunedin.

Police are not seeking anyone else in relation to the incident, Hill said.

“This was a coordinated effort focused on one clear outcome: holding those responsible to account and protecting our community,” Hill said.

“We will not tolerate this type of offending. If you choose to commit serious violence, we will act swiftly.

“Incidents like this understandably concern people. Please be reassured this was a contained incident, and there is no ongoing risk.”

He said residents can expect to see police at the Hoani Street address again on Friday as a scene examination continues.

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

February 20, 2026

Writing an adoption memoir helped Sue Watson find Cynthia

Source: Radio New Zealand

“I just want to smell you. You’re so beautiful,” were the first words Sue Watson heard when she met her birth mother ‘Lizzy’.

Watson had always known she was adopted. She grew up as part of a happy family in West Auckland.

It wasn’t until she was in her 20s, in the 1980s, that she got a letter from her birth mother asking to meet, she told RNZ’s Nine to Noon.

Sue Watson with her son Max, lake Taupo.

Sue Watson

. A brown envelope, stamped OHMS, as they were in the day, arrived in the letterbox. I didn’t even have to open the envelope. I knew that that was going to be my birth mother knocking on my door.”

It was not something she had sought, she says.

“I hadn’t chosen to deny her the opportunity to be able to have contact with me, which adopted children could do under that Adult Adoption Information Act. So, I guess I’d had a vague sense that it might happen but hoped it wouldn’t. And suddenly there it was.”

Lizzy fell pregnant as a young woman in the 1960s when she was training to be a nurse in Wellington. She didn’t know who the father was, she was involved with two men at the time, Watson says.

“And she told neither man. She simply ran away, basically. She ran away to Auckland, where she was picked up by the Motherhood of Man.”

That was an organisation that took in unwed pregnant women, she says.

“Effectively as domestic slave labour, frankly, to a family where they could hide their pregnancies or they’d be kept inside.”

When Lizzy later gave birth to Watson in hospital, she wasn’t allowed to hold her baby, Watson says.

Sue Watson’s sister Wendy holding her as a baby at their home in Auckland.

Sue Watson

“When I was birthed, they said, you can’t touch or see that baby. You’ve given it up for adoption. And they took me away. And she was never allowed to touch me.”

But Lizzy, who didn’t even know if it was a boy or girl, was determined, to see her child, she says.

“She told me that they held me up behind the glass window in the nursery. And she said, ‘unwrap her hands and feet’. And she counted that I had ten toes and ten fingers. And that I was, in inverted commas, normal.

“And that meant that she could leave because she felt that I would have a good chance of being adopted.”

Watson, who has written about her experiences in the memoir Finding Cynthia Winters, stayed in touch for a while, exchanging letters, before she decided to end contact with her birth mother.

“It was just, I felt it was too much for me. And I was very protective of mum and dad. I felt like I’ve got my parents. I don’t need another mother. I have an amazing mother.”

Wendy and Sue at Mum Cicely’s 80th birthday.

Sue Watson

Lizzy had a raw need connection, Watson says, “which I just didn’t feel equipped to give her”.

Later, when she learned Lizzy was dying, she went to see her.

“And it was this deeply, of course, profound moment of seeing this woman who I hadn’t seen for more than 20 years, as I describe her, a frail scrap of a person because the cancer had been incredibly damaging to her.

“And it was the first time in her life that she said to somebody in public, in fact, it was one of the nurses, this is my daughter, Susan.”

They had a short time together reconnecting, Watson says.

“She was extremely unwell and she was literally on her deathbed. But it was a time where I felt that there was an unspoken, deep acceptance and love for each other.”

Letters to Sue Watson from Lizzy.

Sue Watson

The process of writing about her life has given her compassion for Lizzy and for herself, she says.

“And of course, the person I’ve met, and I only found her a year ago, is Cynthia, and that’s me. That’s the baby. So, I was given a name by Lizzy, which I only found out a year ago when I got my original birth certificate.”

At the launch of her memoir somebody asked Watson if she felt lighter having written the book.

“And I said, ‘I feel lighter, but more substantial’, because I feel like there’s two of me now. There’s this dear little baby Cynthia, and all she knew was abandonment, and she’s been with me this whole time.

“And now it’s my turn to look after her, because she’s been trying to look after me for more than 60 years now and to keep me safe.”

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

February 20, 2026

Higher KiwiSaver contributions may mean lower pay rises

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ

You might be going to get a bigger contribution to your KiwiSaver this year – but will it be at the expense of your pay rise?

The first step in the increase in KiwiSaver contribution rates takes effect on April 1, for people who do not opt out.

The default rate rises to 3.5 percent from both employer and employee – so many employers will be contributing an amount equal to an additional 0.5 percent of their wage bill from that date.

This only applies for employers who have structured KiwiSaver contributions in the traditional way, where an employee contribution is matched by an employer contribution on top of their pay. People who are paid by total remuneration will have to cover the full increase themselves.

When the change was announced, Treasury said it expected 80 percent of the employer cost to be met by lower than expected pay rises.

Kelly Eckhold, chief economist at Westpac, said it was likely that all else being equal, pay rises this year would be lower.

“In the end, employers will pay a total level of remuneration in line with prevailing supply and demand trends in the market. Changing the allocation of what employees do with that remuneration is not likely to change that assessment. Having said this it will be impossible to know the counterfactual as we can only observe what employees are paid as opposed to what they might have been paid.”

Catherine Beard, director for advocacy at Business NZ, said businesses had to consider the total cost of employing someone.

“ACC charges, potentially fringe benefit tax, you’re going to have training costs, you might have uniforms… as someone who is hiring you think about what is the total cost to me and my business. So over time, any cost of employment does end up being factored into how much it costs to hire someone… superannuation KiwiSaver will be part of it.”

Apparel sector retailers example of hard times

Carolyn Young, chief executive of Retail NZ, said it was still a tough environment for retailers.

“Consider a retailer in maybe the apparel sector. They’ve been heavily hit over the last 12 months.

“Last year apparel monthly sales were down 5 percent in January, 9.1 percent in February, down 8.5 percent in March, down 7.8 percent in April, down 4.4 percent in May, down 1 percent in June… the whole year was really tough.

“They’re really running by the skin of their teeth – there’s no fat in the business… we do know that increasing KiwiSaver … is a place where as a country we need to head.

“The real difficulty is, it’s so challenging right now for retail to navigate increasing costs.”

She said until the economy clearly improved, the contribution increase was likely to mean smaller pay rises.

“It’s definitely a tricky time and definitely a space where employers will have to navigate their budgets really carefully around how they can recognise and reward staff alongside other increases that have been put in place.”

Craig Renney, who is Council of Trade Unions chief economist and policy director and also a Labour candidate in the upcoming election, said it was likely to mean that more low-income people opted out of KiwiSaver. “If you’re struggling with the cost of living, 1 percent on your salary is quite a lot.”

He said a better solution would be an Australia-style system where it was up to the employer to cover the cost of superannuation savings and employees who did not take it up missed out, rather than receiving it in their pay packets.

Meanwhile, a survey by ANZ showed a third of KiwiSaver members intended to stick with the new 3.5 percent default rate when it took effect. Another 21 percent would contirbute more if their employer matched it.

Only 10 percent intended to request a temporary reduction.

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

February 20, 2026

Liam Lawson completes Formula 1 preparation with top 10 finish

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand F1 driver Liam Lawson. ERIC ALONSO / AFP

New Zealand driver Liam Lawson has completed his official testing ahead of the new Formula 1 season.

Lawson spent the first few hours of his final Bahrain pre-season test in the garage before his Racing Bulls team was able to get their new 2026 car out on the track.

He then managed to get through 106 laps, the fourth most of the day.

The 24-year-old was 10th fastest, 1.7 seconds behind the quickest, Kimi Antonelli in a Mercedes.

In last week’s first testing session, Lawson [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/sport/586732/issues-for-liam-lawson-at-f1-testing-something-i-haven-t-mastered-yet admitted to some struggles in the new specification car, but this week did say that he was more comfortable and happy with the progress they were making.

The McLaren of Oscar Piastri was second quickest, followed by Max Verstappen, who got through the most laps today with 139.

New Zealand F1 driver Liam Lawson during testing in Bahrain, 2026. ALBERTO VIMERCATI / AFP

Lawson’s team-mate Arvid Lindblad will have use of the car on the third and final day of testing in Bahrain.

Aston Martin and new team Cadillac struggled with pace today.

There are significant changes in 2026 with the cars smaller and lighter and no longer running DRS, while half of their power is now electrically generated.

The first round of the 2026 championships is in Australia on 8 March.

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

February 20, 2026

Police seek help as 5-year-old boy found dead in water

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are continuing to appeal to the public for information as they investigate the “water-related” death of a five-year-old boy in Napier.

The boy went missing around the Westshore area on Thursday, 5 February, between 6pm and 8.30pm.

He was found dead in the water off the Esplanade at Westshore, at around 1.30am on Friday, 6 February.

Police said they want to hear from anyone who saw an unattended child.

“We are particularly seeking a group of four people, who were riding bikes and walking, near the corner of Fenwick Street and Fergusson Avenue at approximately 7.30pm,” Detective Sergeant Kate Hyde said.

“If this was you, or if you have any information that could assist us in our investigation, please contact us online at 105.police.govt.nz, or call 105, and use the reference number 260206/9567.”

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

February 20, 2026

Arrests made, Northcote incident

Source: New Zealand Police

Attributable to Superintendent Tony Hill, Canterbury District Commander:

Three men have been arrested in relation to the serious incident at a Hoani Street, Northcote property on Wednesday night that left four people injured.

The men, aged 19, 31 and 40, have been charged with aggravated wounding and aggravated robbery.

Two are due to appear in the Christchurch District Court today, and the 40-year-old is due to appear in Dunedin.

Police are not seeking anyone else in relation to the incident.

This was a coordinated effort focused on one clear outcome: holding those responsible to account and protecting our community.

We will not tolerate this type of offending. If you choose to commit serious violence, we will act swiftly.

Incidents like this understandably concern people. Please be reassured this was a contained incident, and there is no ongoing risk.

Residents can expect to see Police at the Hoani Street address again today as our scene examination continues.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

February 20, 2026

North Brave duo set to debut for White Ferns

Source: Radio New Zealand

Nensi Patel of the Northern Brave. www.photosport.nz

There are two new players in the White Ferns squad named to take on Zimbabwe later this month.

Northern Brave duo Nensi Patel and Kayley Knight have been included for the series, which will be the first between the two nations and includes three T20I’s and three ODI’s.

Off-spinning all-rounder Patel returns to the group after being centrally contracted for the 2022-23 season.

She was the Brave’s top run-scorer in the Super Smash this summer and second-equal wicket-taker alongside Knight.

Knight, a former New Zealand under-19 representative, is available for just the T20 series, with Molly Penfold to replace her in the ODI squad.

“We’ve prioritised players that could make the T20 World Cup squad in June, whilst also providing international exposure to high-potential talent whose skillsets align with long-term White Ferns planning,” said coach Ben Sawyer.

“Nensi and Kayley have both been solid performers over the last 12-18 months, so it’s really pleasing for them to get this opportunity.”

The squad will be captained by Melie Kerr in her first assignment as New Zealand’s permanent captain.

Suzie Bates (quadricep) and Eden Carson (elbow) were not considered for selection due to their respective injuries, and Lea Tahuhu was not considered for the T20I squad due to physical preparation planning for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in June.

Sophie Devine, who is on a casual contract with NZC, was not available for this series.

Northern Brave Women’s Kayley Knight bowls. DJ Mills / PHOTOSPORT

WHITE FERNS Squad v Zimbabwe

Flora Devonshire Central Hinds

Izzy Gaze Auckland Hearts

Maddy Green Auckland Hearts

Brooke Halliday Auckland Hearts

Bree Illing Auckland Hearts

Polly Inglis Sparks (T20I only)

Jess Kerr Wellington Blaze

Melie Kerr Wellington Blaze

Kayley Knight* Northern Brave (T20I only)

Emma McLeod Central Hinds (ODI only)

Rosemary Mair Central Hinds

Nensi Patel* Northern Brave

Molly Penfold Auckland Hearts (ODI only)

Georgia Plimmer Wellington Blaze

Izzy Sharp** Canterbury Magicians

Series against Zimbabwe

Wed 25 Feb: 1st T20, 7:15pm, Hamilton

Fri 27 Feb: 2nd T20, 7:15pm, Hamilton

Sun 1 March: 3rd T20, 1:15pm, Hamilton

Thurs 5 March: 1st ODI, 11am, Dunedin

Sun 8 March: 2nd ODI, 11am, Dunedin

Wed 11 March, 3rd ODI, 11am, Dunedin

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

February 20, 2026

Injury woes for Phoenix women and men

Source: Radio New Zealand

Lara Wall of Wellington Phoenix. www.photosport.nz

There are major injury concerns for both the women’s and men’s Wellington Phoenix sides.

They have lost two New Zealand internationals to serious injuries ahead of their respective round 18 A-League matches.

Football Ferns fullback Lara Wall and All Whites attacking midfielder Sarpreet Singh will both be sidelined for up to eight weeks.

The Phoenix women have had more than their fair share of injuries this season.

Wall tore her left calf in the defeat to Central Coast Mariners at Porirua Park on Sunday, while Singh injured the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee in his much-anticipated Phoenix return against Western Sydney last Friday night.

Sarpreet Singh waves to fans. www.photosport.nz

As well as potentially sidelining her for the remainder of the Ninja A-League regular season, the calf injury unfortunately rules Wall out of the Ferns’ upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 qualifiers in the Solomon Islands.

Singh is likely to miss the All Whites matches against Finland and Chile at Eden Park at the end of next month, on top of the Phoenix men’s next five Isuzu UTE A-League matches.

All Whites fullback Tim Payne has also been ruled out of Saturday’s derby against Auckland FC with a hamstring injury.

The second-placed Phoenix women play at Melbourne Victory on Friday night.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

February 20, 2026

Back off the tools – man arrested in Hamilton

Source: New Zealand Police

Please attribute the following to Sergeant Mike Palmer, Waikato Police:

A man’s been arrested in Hamilton in relation to a series of burglaries of tools worth more than $40,000.

The 36-year-old is due in Hamilton District Court today on three charges of burglary. Additional charges are being considered.

The burglaries, targeting tools in the industrial Te Rapa area of Hamilton, were reported on 2, 4, and 13 February.

The arrest follows investigation by the Waikato Tactical Crime Unit. The tools were valued at more than $44,000. Some of the tools were on-sold, and Police are working to recover them so we can get them back to their rightful owner.

Police recommend businesses consider crime prevention methods to reduce the risk of burglary.

Quality CCTV, alarm systems, engraving tools and accurately recording serial numbers helps Police in investigating burglaries in the unfortunate event they occur.

Tools can be expensive and hard to replace. To reunite stolen tools with their rightful owner we need to identify unique features, so we encourage businesses and tradies to take the time engraving their tools and recording serial numbers.

If you are aware of, or come across, tools that may have been stolen please let Police know via our 105 service. Alternatively, information can be passed anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 or https://crimestoppers-nz.org/

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

February 20, 2026

Live: Former prince Andrew arrested by UK police over Epstein ties

Source: Radio New Zealand

Follow updates with RNZ’s live blog above.

Britain’s former prince Andrew has been arrested overnight over allegations he sent confidential government documents to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

King Charles’ younger brother – now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after he wasstripped by his older brother of his titles and honours last October – was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Thursday, his 66th birthday.

The second son of the late Queen Elizabeth is now in police custody. He has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and said he regrets their friendship.

Follow updates with RNZ’s live blog at the top of this page.

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

Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Three men arrested after several hurt in gang-related robbery in Christchurch

Writing an adoption memoir helped Sue Watson find Cynthia

Higher KiwiSaver contributions may mean lower pay rises

Apparel sector retailers example of hard times

Liam Lawson completes Formula 1 preparation with top 10 finish

Police seek help as 5-year-old boy found dead in water

Arrests made, Northcote incident

North Brave duo set to debut for White Ferns

Injury woes for Phoenix women and men

Back off the tools – man arrested in Hamilton

Live: Former prince Andrew arrested by UK police over Epstein ties