Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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Gastro outbreak affects 30 staff at Wellington Hospital emergency department

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington Hospital’s emergency department. RNZ / REECE BAKER

More than two dozen staff are caught up in a gastro outbreak at Wellington Hospital’s emergency department.

Health New Zealand has put precautionary measures in place to try minimise its spread.

Dedicated infection control teams are also in place.

The first cases were reported last Friday and a 12 hour long deep clean was completed the next day.

Health New Zealand said about 30 people have shown symptoms consistent with the stomach illness.

It said sick leave is being managed, and patient care is continuing as normal.

There was no indication of it spreading further through the hospital.

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From saviour to sacked: Scott Robertson’s rapid rise and fall

Source: Radio New Zealand

Scott Robertson. Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images

He was heralded as the All Blacks’ saviour.

Calls for the highly accomplished, charismatic, break-dancing coach to take the country’s top job became deafening around Aotearoa. And finally, those calls were answered.

Scott Robertson, having created an incomparable dynasty in Christchurch with the Crusaders, succeeded Ian Foster as the 29th All Blacks head coach in 2024.

But the anticipated Razor-inspired renaissance instead became another dark age for the All Blacks.

Coaching departures, player dissent, and record defeats made for a tumultuous tenure for Robertson, one which has now been unceremoniously cut short.

Here is a timeline of the rise and fall of ‘Razor’:

2024:

The reign of Razor begins

Fresh off a heartbreaking one-point loss in the 2023 World Cup final, a sense of optimism enveloped the country as Robertson won a popular appointment to take over from Foster who was not exactly beloved by the notoriously rabid All Black fan base. Razor didn’t take long to ingratiate himself to the media, fronting for a stand up in early January. Rocking sandals and shorts, Razor made it clear quickly he would bring a unique flavour to the role.

All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson during a media interview at the Pullman Hotel in Auckland on Tuesday 9 January 2024. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

A rosy start

A strong English side arrived on New Zealand shores to usher in a new All Black era and while a winning start for Razor’s men. It was a scrappy and nervy debut in Dunedin, the All Blacks sneaking home 16-15. This was followed by a slightly more convincing win in Auckland 24-17. After two tests of his tenure, Robertson gave himself a “a good pass mark” for his performance.

First cracks

After dispatching Fiji in San Diego, Robertson would inherit the capital curse, suffering his first loss as the Pumas pounced in Wellington, winning 38-30. Just the third time Argentina had toppled the All Black empire.

“I’m disappointed, I’m hurt,” said Robertson after the game. “We’ve just got look ourselves in the mirror and own it.”

MacDonald departs

Just eight months in to his reign, assistant coach Leon MacDonald abruptly handed in his resignation ahead of the tour to South Africa, citing differences in attacking philosophy and coaching direction.

Robertson said he and MacDonald had “differing views” which they couldn’t overcome.

“We have been having some honest conversations with each other for a little while now and both agreed it wasn’t working,” Robertson said at the time.

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson (L) and assistant coach Leon MacDonald. photosport

Beaten back to back by the Boks

MacDonald’s dramatic departure was followed by consecutive defeats to the old foe in the republic. Both tests could have easily gone the way of the Kiwis, but Razor’s side were lacking the killer instinct of past All Black sides, and couldn’t land the decisive blow.

“Our duty demands that we win those games. We will be frank and honest around it,” Robertson said post game.

A glimmer and a glitch

The All Blacks bounced back with five wins on the trot, locking the Bledisloe away for a 20th year in a row with a 31-28 win followed by a more resounding 33-13 in Wellington over the Wallabies.

Victories over Japan and then a 24-22 victory at Twickenham was followed by arguably the best performance by Robertson’s All Blacks as they edged Ireland 23-13. However, the gloss was quickly removed in Paris as the French put a halt to the winning run.

“There were just a couple of little moments where the game swung their way,” Robertson said of the loss to Les Bleus.

Robertson ends the year with 10 wins from 14 tests.

Scott Robertson poses for a selfie. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

2025:

Understrength French sent packing

The year was again off to a perfect start as the All Blacks got their revenge and swept a third sting French side aside, racking up 103 points in the three test wins.

“We found a way to win and play really good footy,” Robertson said at the conclusion of the series.

Historic loss in South America

Another unwanted blemish on Robertson’s record as the All Blacks were beaten for the first time in history in Argentina soil, going down 29-23 in Buenos Aires. Discipline continues to plague the side, as the All Blacks were shown three yellow cards in the defeat.

“Test footy’s tough, we didn’t get a lot of little things go our way,” said Robertson.

Humiliation in the capital

A week on from their 51st consecutive win at Eden Park came the low point of Robertson’s reign and one of the darkest days in All Black history.

A shellshocked All Black outfit were subjected to a brutal second half blitz from the Boks, as scarcely believable scoreline read 43-10 when the carnage was mercifully ended.

“There were a couple of really big moments there and the game got away,” Roberston said after the rout.

Ceri Evans (Head of Leadership + Mental Performance) and New Zealand coach Scott Robertson dejected after loss to Argentina. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

Second-half surrender

Another topsy turvy end of year tour offered both hope and frustration for fans as the All Blacks produced classy wins over Ireland and Scotland, the latter being a brave comeback in Edinburgh, only to let things slip against the English at Twickenham. Second half woes struck again as England racked up 25 unanswered points to take the game away for the eventual 33-19 victory.

“The last couple of games we had finished quite well. But tonight we didn’t do that,” reflected Robertson.

Razor’s record now reads 20 wins from 27 tests, a 74 per cent win rate.

2026:

Razor gets cut

With rumours rife of a player revolt, NZ Rugby make the bold call to sack Robertson with the Rugby World Cup taking place next year.

New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson www.photosport.nz

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

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Man, 17, to appear in Youth Court after person shot on Christmas Day in Christchurch

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are not looking anyone else in relation to this incident. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Police have arrested a 17-year-old after a person was shot on Christmas Day in Christchurch, Hornby.

They said they received reports of a man being chased by a group, including a person armed with a gun, just after 6:30pm on December 25.

Detective Sergeant Luke Vaughan said a person was later taken to hospital with a suspected gunshot wound, which was not life-threatening.

He said a 17-year-old man was arrested on Thursday charged with wounding with reckless disregard for the safety of others, among other charges.

He is due to appear in the Christchurch Youth Court on Friday.

Police are not looking anyone else in relation to this incident.

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Helicopters, ambulances sent to crash in Far North’s Waipapakauri

Source: Radio New Zealand

St John said it was not yet clear how many people were injured. Supplied / St John

Emergency services are responding to a crash in the Far North on Thursday afternoon.

They were alerted to the incident in the small settlement of Waipapakauri at about 4.40pm, and two helicopters as well as two ambulances, two St John rapid response units and an operations manager responded.

St John said it was not yet clear how many people were injured.

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

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‘He lived fully. He loved deeply’: Tributes for journalist and playwright Aroha Awarau

Source: Radio New Zealand

Award winning Māori journalist and playwright Aroha Awarau. Supplied/Facebook

Award winning Māori journalist and playwright Aroha Awarau has died at the age of 49.

A post on Facebook confirmed he died on Wednesday afternoon “surrounded by care and love.”

“True to the way he lived, Aroha met this final moment with grace, courage, and his unmistakable spirit. Cancer shortened the timeline, but it never diminished the person he is. The sharp mind. The sharper tongue. The flamboyance. The creativity. The generosity of friendship. He lived fully. He loved deeply,” the post read.

Awarau’s debut play, Luncheon, starring Jennifer Ward-Lealand and directed by Katie Wolfe, won Best Play at the 2014 New Zealand Script Writing Awards.

His second play, Officer 27, loosely based on a real-life police shooting, was a finalist at the NZ Adam Playwriting Awards.

He worked again with Ward-Lealand and broadcaster Peata Melbourne for the short film Disrupt. His most recent work, the short film Puti, was released in 2025.

In journalism he worked for various New Zealand media outlets including Woman’s Weekly, Woman’s Day, Māori Television and RNZ.

He famously interviewed Oprah Winfrey for Māori Television’s Native Affairs in 2018 when she visited New Zealand while shooting the Ava DuVernay directed film A Wrinkle in Time.

Aroha Awarau with actor Jennifer Ward-Lealand and broadcaster Peata Melbourne.

Ward-Lealand took to Facebook to pay tribute to Awarau. “E te hoa piri pono, Aroha Awarau, kua wehe wawe rawa koe, ā, kei te tangi hotuhotu tēnei ngākau. E hia kē ngā wā kua mahi tahi tāua, kua katakata tāua, kua whakawhiti kōrero tāua. Ka nui taku aroha mōu,” she wrote.

Kaupapa Māori performing arts company Te Pou Theatre also took to Facebook saying “Aroha Awarau: fabulous fierce friend and storyteller extraordinairre has finished his brave fight and we are broken hearted.”

“Whether he was uplifting peoples true stories or weaving his own worlds for the stage and screen, he was always creating, always working to share those stories that needed to be heard particularly for ngāi Māori, for the pacific, BIPOC and queer community. Aroha has been a loved part of the Te Pou whānau over the past decade and we are heartbroken that we’ll not hear that laugh again in the foyer. He has mastered his craft, shared his pūkenga with others and left an incredible and brave legacy of work for the world.”

Awarau will be at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Kōtuku in Auckland until midday Friday. Final details for his funeral are yet to be released.

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

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Search for tramper in Kahurangi National Park suspended

Source: Radio New Zealand

Graham Garnett, 66, was meant to return on 30 December. Supplied / NZ Police

The search for missing tramper Graham Garnett, 66, who failed to return from a hike in the Kahurangi National Park on December 30, has been suspended.

Police Search and Rescue sergeant Jonny Evans said the decision follows extensive searches of the area.

The search for Garnett involved four specialist canyon teams who were flown to Motueka to assist, as well as a Defence Force NH90 helicopter.

Evans said Garnett’s family have passed on their immense gratitude to all who were involved in the search.

“Police continue to support the family in their ongoing efforts to bring Graham home and we remain ready to respond if new information comes to light,” Evans said.

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Crash: SH1, Waipapakauri

Source: New Zealand Police

Emergency services are responding to a crash north of Waipapakauri, in the Far North.

The two-vehicle crash was reported on State Highway 1, near Ogle Drive, at 4.45pm.

Both lanes of the highway are currently blocked.

At least seven people, from both vehicles, have sustained injuries in the crash.

At this stage three people are in a serious condition and four people are in a moderate condition.

Some of those injured will be airlifted to hospital.

Emergency services will work to reopen a lane as soon as possible.

ENDS. 

Jarred Williamson/NZ Police

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Kahurangi National Park search suspended

Source: New Zealand Police

Please attribute to Sergeant Jonny Evans, Police Search and Rescue:

The search for missing tramper Graham Garnett, 66, has been suspended.

This decision follows extensive searches of the area and is extremely difficult for all involved.

Police thank all the Land Search and Rescue New Zealand (LandSAR) groups and specialist teams, New Zealand Defence Force, Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand, and everyone involved in the search operation.

LandSAR staff from Nelson, Motueka, Golden Bay and around New Zealand all pitched in together and worked as one in both the Incident Management Team and the field.

Graham’s family also passes on their immense gratitude to all those involved in the search. They say that the support and effort from everyone has been very overwhelming for them.

Police continue to support the family in their ongoing efforts to bring Graham home and we remain ready to respond if new information comes to light. Our thoughts are with Graham’s family and loved ones at this time.

ENDS

Issued by the Police Media Centre

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North Otago Farm Safety Day

Source: Worksafe New Zealand

WorkSafe New Zealand was invited by Sven Thelning, Health and Safety Advisor at Thelning Systems and Phil Wilson, Director of Glenure Farms Limited, to lead a presentation to farmers at Phil’s dairy farm in North Otago late last year.

Two of our inspectors, Lynn Carty and Rob Bryson, attended the farm safety day and gave a presentation to about 30 farmers. Rob took the farmers through the WorkSafe priority areas and explained the inspectorate’s current focus. He also provided information about creating a hazardous substances inventory and training records, which was well received.

Inspector Rob Bryson at the event.

“The safety day was great,” says Sven Thelning, “It was excellent to get so many farmers together in one place and meet and hear from the inspectors. We saw firsthand that they don’t bite. I hope that the day has given other farmers the confidence to invite WorkSafe to their farms and get some advice firsthand. We should be more preventative rather than be stressed out that something has happened.”

Phil Wilson had organised for farm machinery to be available on site, which meant our inspectors could talk through and show the sampling process that’s used when assessing working in and around vehicles. Rob also conducted a sample of hazardous substances used in the dairy shed, and how to use the hazardous substances calculator. Farmers in attendance were really interested in information around the use, storage, and disposal of hazardous substances used on farms.

Another key topic of conversation was the safe use of quad bikes, including using crush protection devices, towing limits of quad bikes, effectiveness of emergency communications, and overlapping duties with contractors.

“Every time we speak to Lynn we learn something, it’s a different conversation every time. It’s not just about making the black and white clearer, it’s about practical experience. The best learning you can do is from Lynn, and other people’s experiences,” says Thelning.

We’re grateful to have had the chance to engage with farmers on site in this way and would like to extend a huge thank you to Sven and Phil for organising the safety day. Thank you to the farmers who attended and asked questions, we’re glad of the opportunity to share some guidance and influence safety practices on farms.

If you’re interested in hosting a safety day with WorkSafe inspectors, please get in touch by emailing engagementrequests@worksafe.govt.nz

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Kaitāia’s demolished mosaic wall finds new life in Far North town

Source: Radio New Zealand

Kaitāia’s old mosaic wall has been transformed into a public artwork which doubles as a memorial and picnic area in the tiny Far North town of Broadwood. Peter de Graaf

A community mosaic in Kaitāia that sparked protests, a petition and even police complaints when it was demolished almost three years ago has found new life as an outdoor artwork in the tiny Far North town of Broadwood.

The mosaic, which lined a wall on Commerce Street, was created in 1997 by Ahipara artist Jen Gay using tiles made by around 500 local schoolchildren.

However, when the area was redeveloped as a town square in 2023, the mosaic wall was to have been demolished and dumped.

Kaitāia’s old Pak’nSave site, which included the mosaic wall, has since been redeveloped as a town square. Peter de Graaf

In the ensuing outcry, Jen Gay collected 800 signatures in two days and locals staged a protest by linking hands along the demolition site.

Tempers grew so heated project staff complained to Kaitāia police over alleged threats.

Despite a pledge to rescue and re-use the tiles in the new square, the cut-up sections of wall instead ended up stored in a stonemason’s yard.

Kaitāia’s mosaic wall prior to redevelopment of the old Pak’nSave site. Peter de Graaf

Jen Gay believed people were attached to the mosaic wall because so many had been involved in helping to make it 30 years earlier.

“It was made by children, from five years up, and it was a bit rough. But it’s not the Sistine Chapel, it’s the main street of Kaitāia, and people related to it.”

A new use for the tiles presented itself when the artist was approached by Broadwood resident Gay Semenoff.

The pair had previously worked on a mosaic seating area at Kaitāia College.

“She asked me, is there any chance you could do something like that at Broadwood? We need an injection of some life. There’s no reason for people to stop in Broadwood. It’s all a little bit depressed, and it used to be a thriving little town.”

Jen Gay told her she just happened to have a mosaic wall that needed recycling.

Turning the fragments into something new, however, wasn’t easy.

“They were one tonne [of] pieces, all different shapes and sizes. They made no sense at all, it was a nightmare figuring out how to construct something that was going to be fit for purpose in a public area, using something that was so ruined. But I hatched a plan.”

It turned out Broadwood also had a problem with people stealing wooden tables from the picnic area next to the town swimming hole.

Jen Gay’s answer was to build, with help from locals, three theft-proof mosaic tables, four large planters, connecting seats, and decorative sculptures representing kūkupa or native pigeons.

The recycled artwork includes frivolous touches such as mosaic kūkupa (wood pigeons). Peter de Graaf

Another local donated a barbecue, which was bricked in so it couldn’t be stolen, and Broadwood Gardening Club filled the planters.

The revamped picnic area included a memorial to local farmer and community stalwart Wayne Semenoff, who died late last year.

All the work was done by volunteers with funding from Creative Communities and the Kaikohe-Hokianga and Te Hiku community boards for transport and materials.

“It’s an amazing community. Everybody wanted to help,” Jen Gay said.

“They can see that it’s brightened up the whole environment. Well, it is a farming town, so I had one person say, ‘Oh, it looks like it’s made by children’. But that’s good. It was made by children.”

Kaitāia’s community mosaic wall has found new life in Broadwood. Peter de Graaf

Jen Gay said the project was about 80 percent complete. She expected the finishing touches would take another month.

“We’ll keep working until it’s done. And it will probably never be done, because we’re just going to mosaic the whole of Broadwood. Now people are saying things like, ‘The rubbish bin looks like it needs mosaicing. Or what about those ugly concrete power poles?'”

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