Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) apologises for significant delays experienced on State Highway 30A (SH30A) in Rotorua on Monday 17 November.

Traffic was heavily congested due to a combination of high traffic volumes and traffic management requirements for a road rebuild.

“We have now made the decision to postpone the SH30A work until 2026,” says Sandra King, NZTA System Manager Bay of Plenty.

“While the full closure meant this work would be completed much faster (within 15 days – day and night works), we need time to reconsider our construction and traffic management approach.

“This, along with the wet long-range weather forecast for the remainder of November, means there isn’t enough time to complete the work ahead the Christmas shutdown period.  

“Once a confirmed start date is available, NZTA will share details with the Rotorua community,” says Ms King.

SH30A is a complex urban site where the pavement has been patched for many years. It requires a full asphalt rebuild.

“A full road closure was originally chosen as the quickest and safest way to complete this rebuilding work, given the large volumes of machinery and equipment required.”

Following Monday’s disruption, all work was stopped before the afternoon peak, and as at 6am on Tuesday morning, all four lanes of SH30A were open under traffic management.  

Crews will return to site tomorrow night, Thursday 20 November, between 8pm and 5am (with Sunday night as a backup) to restore the road surface to its original level. This work will have minimal impact on traffic.

“This repair work remains a priority for next year to ensure we don’t have pavement failures next winter. In the meantime we are looking at how we can do the work differently to allow traffic to keep moving through the site while the work is completed, rather than a full closure.

“Using a different construction methodology will mean the overall timeframe will take longer but will minimise overall delays to people’s daily travel,” says Ms King.

NZTA thanks motorists in advance for their patience ahead of these nightworks.

Source: New Zealand Police

Attribute to Western Waikato Area Response Manager, Senior Sergeant Mary van Dongen: 

Police arrested two people, impounded a dirtbike and located firearms during a search warrant yesterday at an address in Te Kauwhata, after the alleged driver fled from Police on Monday.

At around 7:40pm Monday 17 November, Police witnessed a man riding a dirtbike with no helmet on Main Road. Officers signalled the driver to stop, however they failed to do so – due to the nature of driving Police did not pursue, and instead noted down the details of the bike for follow up.

Yesterday, Police made enquiries at a Te Kauwhata address where they located and impounded the dirtbike.

While at the address, Police sighted a farm vehicle, that had been reported stolen from a nearby address at an earlier date, and utensils for drug use which has subsequently authorised a warrantless search and seizure.

Police have then located an assortment of firearms and ammunition. As a result, two people were taken into custody.

A 26-year-old man is due in Huntly District Court on 25 November, charged with receiving stolen property, driving while disqualified, failing to stop for police when signalled, unlawfully possessing ammunition, and unlawfully possessing firearms.

A 24-year-old man appeared in Huntly District Court today, charged with breaching bail.

Police would like to remind dirtbike riders to do so lawfully and safely – adhere to the road rules, make sure you are always wearing protective wear and the dirtbike needs to be roadworthy with a current warrant and registration.

If you witness any anti-social road user behaviour, we urge you to report it immediately by calling 111 or to make a report via 105 if it is after the fact.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Source: New Zealand Government

The Government has officially ended the use of Contracted Emergency Housing (CEH) motels in Rotorua, taking the number of households in CEH from its peak of over 240 households across 13 motels under the previous Government down to zero today, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says.

Source: New Zealand Ministry of Health

Source: NZ Department of Conservation

Date:  19 November 2025

Trail cam photos have revealed the special story of a black-fronted tern/tarapirohe pair battling severe unseasonal weather to bring their chicks into the world.

Department of Conservation staff in Twizel downloaded photos from trail cameras focused on the colony nesting on an island in the middle of the Upper Ōhau River.

They looked at the photos in trepidation as a week before there was an unseasonal heavy snow fall. Staff were worried the tarapirohe had abandoned their nests, as many had done during a similar weather event at the same time last year.

Ranger Emily Hewison said when she saw the photos of one pair of adult terns in the snow, she knew she was seeing something very special.

“A parent tern was sitting on the nest and within a couple of hours was completely buried. It didn’t abandon the nest which is what many birds would do. The pictures show her mate peering at her through a small hole in the snow over a period of 24 hours, until the snow melts.

“You then see them have a wee cuddle on the nest, before photos show two eggs. Then amazingly three days later we see both chicks hatched. I was just so thrilled. I’m in awe of these birds, they really fight for survival,” Emily says.

Last year a snowfall came at the same time, during Labour Weekend, and wiped out the nests. Rangers were worried they would have no fledglings for the season.

The nationally endangered birds have a unique colony in the Upper Ōhau river system where around 700 nest each season. This colony is the largest in the country.

DOC Biodiversity Ranger Sam Turner says trying to protect the terns is an emotional roller coaster.

“Last season was a bit of a disaster. Many of the birds abandoned their nests and then the black-billed gulls, another threatened species, moved in and preyed on some of the eggs. The impact from the snow was devastating. We did get some fledglings fly off for the winter, but it was a stressful season.

“This year we can see around 260 active nests so that’s super exciting. The terns are such good parents; they share the incubation and mate for life. What’s so amazing about these two on the trail cam photos, is the lengths they went to protect their nest. Their lives were at risk all the time.

“These little birds are so vulnerable but also quite feisty. If people are out naturing near the riverbeds, you will see them defending their nests dive bombing and fighting off anything that comes near their nests. They are battling for survival.”

Sam wants the public to know how special the tarapirohe are and what they’re up against.

“They’re only found in our braided rivers in New Zealand that’s the reason we work so hard as rangers, because if we lose them, they’re gone for good. Looking at these photos, hopefully people will appreciate how amazing these little birds are. This season looks a lot more promising for chicks than last year, so that’s fantastic news.”

Contact

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

With Christmas and the busy holiday season fast approaching, work to repair storm-damaged sites on State Highway 60 Tākaka Hill is progressing well.

Rob Service, System Manager for Nelson Tasman, says contractors are on track to have the road open to two lanes and resealed through all six recovery sites before the summer holidays.

“This was a key target for us. We appreciate how important it is for the community to have the route open during the busy holiday and summer season.

“We have used previous construction designs and techniques to speed up our work, and we have also used local contractors with local knowledge of the route. This has helped turn a 12-month job into a six-month one,” Mr Service says.

View larger map of SH60 Tākaka Hill recovery site map [PDF, 606 KB]

Site updates

The Pines

• Contractors have almost completed work at this site to repair an overslip and remove treefall risks.
• Over 20 trees have been removed, and the slope has been benched. Around 2,000 cubic metres of material have been removed from this site. New drainage has also been installed to help prevent water damage to the road.
• Remaining work includes building new concrete kerbs, road resurfacing, and erosion control.

Cooks underslip

• This site suffered underslip damage after overland water and debris flows eroded the area under the road.
• Around 500 linear metres of steel posts and timber lagging have been used to repair this underslip site. 25 piles are embedded to a depth of 12 metres to help build a new four-metre vertical wall. A new kerb and culvert have also been installed to help improve drainage, and new pavement has been built in the uphill road lane.
• Some piling and tie-back work, as well as road resurfacing and line marking, still need to be completed.

Goodall’s Straight

• Here, the road suffered both an underslip and an overslip at a very narrow section of highway.
• Twelve new drains have been drilled into this historic slip site to help remove water from the slope and improve its stability. A new ground beam is being built across the top of the underslip to support the road. Anchored mesh, covered with shotcrete, has also been installed to reduce erosion risk. The road has been widened, and kerbs and culverts have been upgraded.
• Work on the culverts, as well as some road and drainage improvements, still needs to be completed.

Forestry Corner (resilience site with more works planned in the future)

• The highway was damaged by slumping and subsidence in the outside lane.
• Drilling has been carried out to investigate the underlying geology at this site. Information from this work will be used to help develop a long-term solution for this section of the highway.

Drummond Slip

• This is a historic slip/slump site where additional deformation was detected after the weather event.
• Geotechnical work has been carried out to gather further information about the slip’s structure and form. As part of this work, new drains were installed to remove water from the site and improve its stability. A new and larger culvert has also been installed at this site, which will improve its resilience in heavy rainfall.
• Contractors are to complete a re-levelling and rebuild of the road where it has subsided. Asphalt will be used to enhance its resilience and help reduce future maintenance costs.

Riders Slip

• Heavy rain washed out part of the outside lane of the road at this site.
• Work crews have cut back into the hill to ensure the road alignment sits on a stronger geological base. New drains, kerbs, and culverts have been installed. The slip site has also had new erosion control measures put in place.
• Road rebuilding will be completed during the upcoming planned maintenance closure on this route. Kerb and culvert work will also be completed during these closures.

Mr Service says following the damage caused by the winter storms this year, people have asked what steps are being taken to protect against future severe weather.

“It is a good question, given how critical the route is to people living and working in Golden Bay. What we are doing with our work on the route is similar to what was done on State Highway 6 between Blenheim and Nelson after the 2022 floods.

“We are building back at pace and adding extra resilience. The recovery works help future-proof these sites against weather-related damage in the future. We saw this on State Highway 6 during this year’s bad weather. Sites improved in 2022 performed well and helped keep the highway open,” Mr Service says.

He also says work on the route will continue, but not at the levels or disruption seen over the last few months.

“State Highway 60 Tākaka Hill is a critical link, a lifeline for the Golden Bay community. It requires constant monitoring and maintenance, and quick responses to significant events when they occur.

“In the meantime, I want to thank our contractors and the public for the patience and cooperation they have shown over the past four months while this work has been underway. The end is in sight and travel over the Tākaka Hill is about to get easier very soon,” Mr Service says.

Additional facts and figures

Other resources allocated to the recovery works underway on the Tākaka Hill include:

• 19 excavators
• 21 trucks
• One grader
• Two loaders
• Four rollers
• 50 workers

Upcoming maintenance closures

While recovery works are almost complete, drivers also need to be ready for planned maintenance closures for the Tākaka Hill due to begin on Monday, 24 November.

Daytime closures for chip sealing  will be in place from Monday, 24 November to Friday, 28 November. They will be followed by night closures from Sunday, 19 November to Friday, 19 December.

More information about these works can be found on the NZTA/Waka Kotahi website: