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Auckland couple take legal action over refusal to buy out flood-damaged home

Source: Radio New Zealand

Brendon and Stephanie Deacon at their property that was considered category one by Auckland Council despite their neighbours all being category three following flooding. RNZ / Luka Forman

An Auckland couple who had to kayak from their home in Huapai to escape flash flooding are taking the city council to court over its refusal to buyout their property after the devastating storms almost three years ago.

Brendon and Stephanie Deacon’s home near Kumeu River’s main channel has been hit by flooding multiple times and many of the neighbouring houses have been bought out and removed as part of the $1.2 billion scheme offered jointly by Auckland Council and government.

Two homes either side of theirs are among the nine gone on their street.

But according to council, the Deacons’ house is a low risk to life and not eligible for a buyout.

“You walk out your front door and you see the wasteland and you just get constantly reminded of the situation you’re in. There’s no getting away from it,” Brendon Deacon said.

Brendon and Stephanie Deacon at their property that was considered category one by Auckland Council despite their neighbours all being category three following flooding. RNZ / Luka Forman

They’ve applied to the High Court in Auckland for a judicial review of council’s decision.

“We just want to be treated fairly. We want our category three buyout, like we should have had from the start. Nothing makes sense as to why we’re still there.”

Deacon and his young family have twice had extreme flooding at their property, first in 2021 when they had to escape on a kayak in the middle of the night, and again in January 2023.

They applied for a buyout but the council deemed their property low risk, level one – category three means there is intolerable risk to life and the property meets the buyout criteria.

The Deacons then applied for a buyout under special circumstances but this was also declined.

He said they commissioned a hydrologist to assess their property’s flood risk against the buyout conditions, who found evidence it met the criteria, but council disagreed.

“It’s pretty obvious where we are, you know, like all our neighbours have been taken away.”

Deacon said they could have disputed with council its decision not to buyout their property but any resulting decision would have been binding.

Auckland Council expects to have bought just over 1200 high-risk homes by the end of this year when the $1.2 billion scheme shared with the government draws to a close.

Its group recovery manager, Mace Ward said it is the first judicial review related to the buyouts and the council will not comment specifically on matters before the court.

“We understand how challenging these situations are for storm-affected people, and we recognise that some individual outcomes may not be what people hoped for,” Ward said.

“Our priority is to support recovery in line with agreed government and council risk policies and risk frameworks, which are essential to ensure equity when using public funds.”

The Deacon’s lawyer, Grant Shand, said a judicial review would allow the process to be interrogated.

He said their property was initially categorised as three, eligible for buyout, but this was revised to one when there was a change to the criteria of “island” houses – when those surrounding are bought out.

“This is more about they’ve adopted the wrong process, they’ve used the wrong facts and they haven’t treated people equally or similarly,” Shand said.

“There are probably a lot more people than the Deacons who are in the same boat here, so if the High Court can form a view on the circumstances lots of other people can benefit from that as well, rather than a confidential dispute resolution process.”

Bredon Deacon said real estate agents won’t even list his house.

Heavy rain is forecast for next week and he is already thinking about whether the family will have to stay elsewhere.

“Multiple times this year, first thing we do is take the kids to one of the grandparents’ houses,” Deacon said.

“I guess I’m sitting here a week out worrying about what’s going to happen next week…It’s horrible. At times it’s all-consuming.”

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

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Primary principals urge Minister to slow down curriculum changes

Source: Radio New Zealand

Education Minister Erica Stanford. RNZ / Mark Papalii

Primary principals say they are at an impasse with the government over its school reforms.

In a series of open letters, regional principals associations have urged Education Minister Erica Stanford to slow down her curriculum changes and reverse her overhaul of the Teaching Council and the government’s recent removal of schools’ treaty obligations.

Association presidents told RNZ their members felt strongly about the situation and dissatisfaction was widespread.

Despite the complaints, Education Minister Erica Stanford said she was not losing the support of principals.

“In fact when I go around schools and classrooms the curriculum, as ERO has already said, is being implemented with fidelity around the country,” she said.

Asked if the principals’ concerns were unfounded, Stanford said: “Change is hard, right. Change is really hard and there are always principals who feel that there’s a lot coming at them. And we are there to support them,” she said.

“We’re there to make sure we’ve got resources, really good implementation, that we’re feeding back results early, we’re putting intervention teachers in to help those students who are falling behind, we’re doing everything we can.”

But principals told RNZ they could not possibly adopt the most recent changes to the maths curriculum in time for the new year.

They also said the government’s treaty change was “a massive mistake” and the Teaching Council overhaul was a power-grab that eliminated teachers’ control over their own professional body.

Auckland Primary Principals Association president Lucy Naylor said Stanford risked “losing” some teachers and principals if she did not compromise.

“The minister’s got a choice of knuckle down and keep going and lose some of the sector or we change direction and make some significant changes to to legislation,” she said.

“The implications of changing legislation are far reaching as well. So I do think that the minister is between a rock and a hard place at the moment, but we are going to have to have some definitive answers.”

She said the association surveyed its 428 members and found 77 percent of the 256 respondents felt negative about “the current educational landscape” and about 80 percent opposed the government’s Teaching Council and Treaty of Waitangi changes.

Naylor said many principals were likely too busy to complete the survey and she was confident the results were a fair representation of Auckland school leaders’ views.

She said the minister had agreed to a meeting.

“We’re planning to meet with her face to face in the next couple of weeks to work out a way forward, and I think that’s really important because there is so much negativity in the sector at the moment,” she said.

Otago Primary Principals Association president Kim Blackwood said Stanford often claimed that the sector supported her changes, but the association’s members were not convinced.

“The sector really feels like we’re not being listened to,” she said.

“The minister often makes remarks to say ‘the people have said’. When we get together, we’re all like, ‘Well where is this information coming from? That’s not what we’re saying on the ground’.”

Blackwood said schools were trying to cope with an unreasonable amount of change.

“On one hand, they’re saying, ‘this is for the betterment of children’. But actually, you’ve got the sector saying ‘I’ve got 30 kids in my class every day and I can’t get on top of what it is that I need to do because you keep changing it’,” she said.

Blackwood said schools were being asked to make a lot of effort to introduce changes that would likely be rolled back if there was a change of government next year because education was a political football.

“There’s no real traction because we’re always in a state of change,” she said.

Wellington Region Primary Principals Association vice-president Suzanne Su’a said the pace of change was putting unreasonable pressure on teachers and principals.

“Schools, principals, teachers, we’re not resistant to change. That’s not the issue at all,” she said.

“We’re absolutely open to change, but it needs to be change that is transparent, we need to be consulted around the change in a timely manner that’s manageable and achievable. It needs to all be evidence-based and we need to be involved in that process for change and that hasn’t really been the case,” she said.

Sua said the fourth school term was “chaos” and there was no way teachers and principals had the capacity to even think about changes to the English and maths curriculums.

“It’s not the time for teachers to be exploring the changes, particularly in English and maths and the maths changes that were recently introduced to us were quite different to what we’ve seen before. So to put into implementation at the beginning of next year is virtually impossible. It just it just can’t be done effectively, which then impacts on our kids.”

Rotorua Principals’ Association senior vice-president Hinei Taute said principals were feeling frustrated and let-down.

“There seems to be one thing after another,” she said.

“It just keeps coming at us.”

Principals Federation president Leanne Otene said the government was ignoring peak bodies like the federation, but it could not ignore local associations.

“This is hugely significant and it is coming from the regional associations,” she said.

She said the organisations consulted their members after an emergency meeting earlier this month and the feedback was clear.

“It was absolutely unanimous that the sector was reeling from all of these announcements,” she said.

Otene said the government had indicated schools did not have to use the revised English and maths curriculums from day one next year, but that was not good enough.

She said schools wanted to do the job properly and they needed more time to prepare.

Otene said teachers would also struggle to respond to consultation on drafts for other curriculum areas by April next year.

She said rushing would do more harm than good.

“When you have a curriculum where there’s not adequate professional development, where teachers and principals are not given the opportunity to be consulted on the process, where they’re not part of co-designing, where they don’t own the curriculum and they don’t understand the curriculum, what is going to happen is that it is going to be half-hearted,” she 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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The rising cost of taking a gamble on the what-ifs

Source: Radio New Zealand

Generic image of insurance, homes, houses. 123rf

From house insurance to health insurance, mortgage to pet to funeral, the list of what can be insured seems to be growing. Insurance experts list the ones you can cancel.

As the cost of insurance balloons to more than $16 billion a year, more New Zealanders are taking money-saving risks by cutting cover on their homes and resorting to self-insurance.

Consumer NZ’s head of investigations Rebecca Styles says its annual surveys show people are increasingly dropping insurance altogether because they cannot afford to pay the premiums.

She says most worrying is the decision to cut house insurance. The number of house insurance policy holders who cancelled their policies has risen from seven percent in 2022 to 17 percent last year.

“We’re still crunching the number for the 2025 survey but I wouldn’t be surprised if that goes up a little bit again,” she says.

Extreme weather events drove a sharp increase in premiums in that time, but for that very reason dropping the insurance is a “huge risk”.

Today, The Detail looks at the steps people are taking to tackle soaring premium costs.

Figures from the Insurance Council show that the amount New Zealanders spent on insurance has jumped from $6.9 billion in 2020 to $10.7b last year.

On top of that are life and health insurance, which together rose from $4.58b to $5.73b in the same period, according to the Financial Services Council.

“Where does it all stop? How many costs in my life are taking a gamble on the what-ifs,” says Bianca Russell, who spends hundreds of dollars every month on several insurances.

Former hocky Olympian Bianca Russell spends hundreds of dollars every month on several insurances. Kelly Wilson

The 47-year-old is a former hockey Olympian who lives in Auckland on a middle management salary. She says her previous career in top level sport and her current high-risk, expensive hobbies mean she needs the cover.

But a closer look at her premiums before her interview with The Detail gave her a shock, she says.

Russell jokes that she’s permanently broke because of her “bougie lifestyle” but she’s very happy to keep paying insurance because she doesn’t want to be a burden to her family.

Overall, insurance has had the largest price rise of any item tracked in the consumer price index since 2000, but Styles says health insurance is one of the biggest concerns as premiums have shot up in the last year.

Stats NZ data shows that health insurance premiums, as measured in the consumer price index, were up almost 20 percent year-on-year in September and more than 200 percent over 15 years.

While Consumer NZ’s surveys show the number of people dropping their house insurance has risen to 17 percent, the Insurance Council says its own figures show that figure is four to six percent and that roughly 95 percent of homeowners retain house insurance.

Chris Walsh of the MoneyHub research website says people need insurance now more than ever because of climate change, and worries about the health system, but many are over or under-insured because they don’t understand their policies.

He’s also seeing a trend in ‘self insurance’.

“Self insurance is popular and I’m seeing it more and more … [with] health insurance for older New Zealanders. They are being faced with quite large bills once they reach 70, 75 and they look at that and they think actually if it’s a $10,000 renewal fee, or a $15,000 to $20,000 [fee] for a couple, [they would rather] take that money, cancel the policy and put that money aside.

“I certainly wouldn’t recommend people self insure a house … and the same with travel.”

MoneyHub’s website has a list of five insurances you don’t need, which Walsh says upset some people when it was first published in 2019 – but he still backs it.

“One of those was pet, it depends on the pet. Look we got a bit of backlash on this but I’ll stand by it because it is true.”

Also on this list: “certainly funeral [insurance] and certainly things like life insurance when you just don’t have the risk,” he says.

Both Styles and Walsh say they are not financial advisors and they recommend people with a range of insurances get expert help.

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

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

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‘I was engulfed in this huge cloud of orange and green slime’

Source: Radio New Zealand

One of the most explosive tales in underwater cameraman Andrew Penniket’s new memoir comes courtesy of a snoozing sperm whale in Tonga.

“It was a big bull, and he was just floating along. And it was incredibly clear water.”

Penniket swam out to the whale, but the current had placed him in an unfortunate position behind its tail, he told RNZ’s Nine to Noon.

A close encounter with a Humpback calf.

Kim Westerskov

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

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Worried savers look for other options as interest rates fall

Source: Radio New Zealand

Falling interest rates are driving savers to look for other ways to get a better return on their money. RNZ

Falling interest rates are driving savers to look for other ways to get a better return on their money – but there’s a warning that they should understand the risks they are taking.

The Reserve Bank is expected to cut the official cash rate on Wednesday, which is good news for home loan borrowers but not so good for savers.

Households have $80.5 billion in savings accounts and $144b in term deposits. But from interest rate peaks, one-year term deposits have fallen from offering more than 6 percent to 3.5 percent.

Two-year rates have fallen from 5.75 percent to about 3.5 percent. Savings account rates have fallen from an average of more than 4.5 percent for conditional saving accounts including bonuses, according to the Reserve Bank, to less than 2 percent.

Unconditional savings account rates are now offering less than 1.5 percent on average – and much less in some cases.

Ana-Marie Lockyer, chief executive of Pie Funds, said her organisation was seeing increased interest from investors wondering what might give them a better return.

“With term-deposit rates falling in real terms, many investors are recognising that once inflation is taken into account, they’re effectively going backwards. That’s prompting some to look beyond traditional cash and term deposits in search of better long-term outcomes.

“At the same time, any move out of cash needs to be made carefully. Cash and conservative funds – or even other investments – each carry different levels of risk and are suited to different investment horizons. The key is ensuring investors are making decisions aligned with their goals, timeframes, and appetite for risk – not just reacting to the interest-rate environment. Our role is to help people navigate those choices so they can stay positioned for long-term financial wellbeing.”

Pie Funds chief executive Ana-Marie Lockyer. Supplied / Pie Funds

MAS chief executive Jo McCauley said cash funds could be an option.

“Unlike term deposits, which lock money away and may penalise early withdrawals, a managed cash fund provides members with flexibility, potential for higher returns, and low risk – making them an attractive alternative for savers.”

She said there had been a 35 percent increase in new cash fund investments over the past six months.

Dean Anderson, founder of Kernel, said while term deposit balances were still near record highs, the growth had clearly stabilised. He said as people rolled off fixed rates they might wonder what to do.

“What you tend to find is term deposits, because they are locked up they tend to have a bit of a lag and then people tend to roll them into something else… what you see first is people pulling out of on-call savings accounts because they are more accessible and interest rates are falling.”

He said people who were reliant on interest income would need to look at other options. “If you are looking at rates that are 3 percent and then you take out tax and inflation you’re probably not getting a return that is going to meet your income needs.”

But he said there was no easy solution for investors. “We’ve got a housing market that’s flattened down, you’ve got a lot of media headlines that are talking about peaks in the share market and they’re probably thinking ‘where do I put my money?’ which may be why there is still this lag in term deposits coming down or savings because people are in that paralysis state and don’t know what else to do.”

He said people might “bury their heads in the sand” through Christmas and then think about it in the new year,

“I think the key call out here is, if they’re feeling concerned or it’s a bigger balance, financial advice is really key to help with this process.

“I think you’ve got to be cautious that they don’t just sort of jump on something as a FOMO (fear of missing out) because they’ve, you know, seen a great headline or past performance.”

Fisher Funds general manager of managed funds Robyn Conway said she was seeing a lot of people wanting to have conversations about managed funds and whether they were a suitable option.

“But term deposits as a comparison to managed funds are quite different in terms of how they operate.

“It is important that if someone is invested in a term deposit that they do speak to an adviser and ensure that a managed fund is right for them.

“Typically with a managed fund you’ll be investing for a certain period of time in order to reach the goals that you’re after from an investment perspective. And because they’re invested in share markets you do have to be aware of market volatility and there is a higher risk with managed funds as opposed to a term deposit which is more stable and people like that stability. If they are after certainty and a much shorter time frame for an investment, then a term deposit might be suitable but in saying that depending on what their goals are and what they are looking to achieve within a certain time period then a managed fund might be a good option to consider.”

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

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Local government reforms: Need for local voices stressed

Source: Radio New Zealand

Regional councils such as ECan may not exist for much longer, under new government plans. File photo. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

While opposition parties agree more needs to be done to make local government work better for everybody, they say the government’s proposals to scrap regional councils could remove a layer of community voice and expertise.

Under the proposals revealed on Tuesday, district and city mayors would take on the regional councils’ roles, forming Combined Territories Boards.

Those boards would then be tasked with coming up with plans to reorganise how their councils are structured long-term.

How those plans look is up to the boards, but they would be assessed against criteria like whether they are realistic, are financially responsible, provide fair and effective representation for communities of interest, and whether they support national priorities, strategies, and goals, are financially responsible.

They would have to be given the final sign-off by the Minister of Local Government.

The government has also stressed it would be “highly unlikely” the status quo is maintained, with Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop saying it would be a “fair summation” that they ended up being unitary authorities.

“The status quo can’t remain locked in formaldehyde forever,” Bishop said.

Deon Swiggs RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Deon Swiggs is chair of Environment Canterbury, as well as chair of Local Government New Zealand’s regional sector.

He also recognised that the current model was “unsustainable,” but said it was important that accountability, localism, and local voice was transferred to whatever happened in the future.

“We all want to see our economy thrive. We all want to see things get done. And reorganising local government may not achieve those outcomes. It might achieve efficiencies in some areas, but it might not achieve the outcomes that the government wants to see.”

Wiggs was also a Christchurch City Councillor from 2016 to 2019, and said while there were tensions between district and regional councils, it was constructive.

“It’s never been ‘oh, the regional council’s stopping us from doing this’ or ‘the district council’s stopping us from doing that.’ It’s about outcomes,” he said.

“The regional council has a different focus, and the city council has a different focus. They want to drive down costs, and the regional council wants to drive environmental outcomes. Those constructive tensions shouldn’t be looked at as a failure of the system. They should be looked at as actually getting the best outcomes that have longevity in our system.”

Central Otago mayor Tamah Alley said it was a “dramatic shift,” and while mayors put their hands up to represent their communities, “sometimes that asks more of us than we thought at the beginning”.

“It will be a challenge for local government, already under the pump with so much reform on our plates to pick up the additional workload. If that’s the direction that comes from this consultation,” she said.

Alley, who is a Local Government New Zealand national council mayor, said local government had been talking about how to do things in a more efficient and economic way for a while, and the proposals had “pushed the conversation”.

Selwyn mayor Lydia Gliddon said while she could see the intention to streamline decision making, it raised big questions.

She said any new model must not be a restructure for the sake of it.

“These are not small responsibilities. If those functions are reorganised or absorbed, we need absolute clarity that oversight won’t be weakened.”

Nelson is one of the councils that currently operates under a unitary authority model, along with Tasman, Marlborough, Auckland, Chatham Islands, and Gisborne.

Nelson mayor Nick Smith. LDR / Max Frethey

Mayor Nick Smith said the proposed changes would make councils “simpler, less costly and will help deliver better services”.

He said the unitary model had meant the Nelson, Tasman, and Marlborough councils had worked “much better,” and it was a “no brainer” to merge Nelson and Tasman.

The Northland Mayoral Forum, which comprises the region’s three district mayors and regional council chair, agreed it was time to review the way local government was structured.

Far North mayor Moko Tepania said all four forum members were unanimous that whatever the outcome of reform, “we want to make sure it’s in the best interests of Northland as a whole. We do not need a ‘one size fits all’ solution imposed by Wellington”.

Whangārei mayor Ken Couper said the priority was “ensuring that any changes deliver real benefits for our communities and our region,” while Kaipara mayor Jonathan Larsen said he looked forward to working with the other Northland councils to get the best possible outcome for ratepayers.

With just under three months of consultation before a final draft, the legislation is not expected to be introduced to Parliament until the middle of next year.

Bishop said what the government had put forward was its preferred model, but it was open to “sensible changes” all the way through the process.

The government would seek to pass it in 2027, lining up with the phasing in of the resource management reforms.

It means, with an election in 2026, a change in government could mean the legislation is dropped.

But Labour’s local government spokesperson Tangi Utikere said Labour would need to look at the implications of the proposal first.

“We are open to looking at how we can make local government work better for everyone, and I think even people within the sector would accept that as well, how we simplify things. That’s where the focus needs to be on right now.”

Simon Watts & Chris Bishop. RNZ/Mark Papalii

The Minister of Local Government Simon Watts said the proposals were “absolutely” consistent with National’s advocacy for localism.

But Utikere disagreed.

“The government talks a lot about the need to empower local communities, but they’re looking to strip away what is a key layer of that.”

Utikere said with such long-lasting implications he was disappointed a bipartisan approach was not taken.

“What we want here is a real look at what works for communities, that local voice is part of that conversation, and also that those key sort of areas of environmental protection, public transport, waste, minimisation and management are taken care of.”

Bishop said consultation was open to everybody, and as Labour was part of the “ecosystem” it would get a chance to have its say.

The Green Party’s local government spokesperson, and former Wellington mayor, Celia Wade-Brown believed mayors had a different skill set to regional councils when it came to public transport, environmental protection, harbour management, and monitoring rivers.

“There is a complete disregard for the expertise for both officers and staff and elected members in these proposals. I think most of us think that there needs to be consideration of reform, but this has jumped to the end game of getting rid of regional councils,” she said.

Wade-Brown acknowledged there was a need for new funding models, and a conversation about planned reorganisation, but starting with getting rid of regional councils was not an inviting way to start.

“This is Christopher Luxon talking about localism and doing the opposite.”

The Combined Territories Boards’ plans would still need to uphold Treaty of Waitangi settlement commitment, but there was no requirement for iwi representation.

Te Pāti Māori co-leader Debbie Ngarewa-Packer said there were “great relationship agreements” between iwi and regional councils, and she did not want that to change.

“It’ll be really important that it doesn’t sideline the Treaty, and sideline the progress that Māori iwi and communities have achieved within these spaces,” she said.

She also agreed there needed to be a more efficient and effective way to manage the layers of bureaucracy, but said abolishing regional councils was a “direct assault” on Treaty settlements.

“We have to make sure that they’re not removing Māori and iwi from decision making, that they’re not removing environmental protection. And when you centralise power to Cabinet ministers, there’s a political imperative that takes over everything else.”

“It’ll be really important that it doesn’t sideline the Treaty, and sideline the progress that Māori iwi and communities have achieved within these spaces.”

Meanwhile ACT’s local government spokesperson Cameron Luxton called it a “good day for local democracy,” and it would remove overlap.

“For too long we have had territorial councils, regional councils, mayors, local MPs, area ministers and Cabinet all overlapping. People are left wondering who is responsible for what. Voters look at their papers for regional council and see a list of names they do not recognise and shrug their shoulders,” he said.

“Ratepayers don’t know who their regional chair is, but they do know who their mayor is. Under these reforms, they’ll know who to hold to account. By removing a layer of governance, we are making it clearer where responsibility sits.”

The Taxpayers’ Union wanted to see rates relief alongside the announcement.

Spokesperson Tory Relf said the government’s proposals were a “real chance” to cut back bureaucracy and reduce the costs to ratepayers, but would only work if the changes were genuine.

“That can’t mean shifting the same responsibilities and the same staff into district councils and pretending that’s reform. And it certainly can’t mean creating new roles or bodies in a manner that isn’t democratically accountable. Ratepayers need less bureaucracy, not a reshuffle from one layer to another,” she said.

Watts is still expected to bring a policy proposal around rates capping to Cabinet before the end of the year.

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

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All Blacks: What will the end of season review reveal?

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand head coach Scott Robertson www.photosport.nz

Analysis – Ten wins, three losses. That’s how it stacks up for the All Blacks this season, although as per usual those numbers don’t tell the full story behind Scott Robertson’s campaign. There are more figures to help put some context around it all, however, it’s fair to say that no matter how it’s spun, the All Blacks could have done better in 2025.

NZ Rugby will have a review, which they do at the end of every test block and season. This one feels different though – Robertson is now two years into his tenure and should have his feet under the desk by now, so the sort of explanations that presumably were used last year probably won’t wash this time around.

Read more:

Here are the things that will likely be considered when the review happens:

Titles

Cam Roigard and Simon Parker with the Bledisloe Cup. ActionPress

The Bledisloe Cup is safe for the 23rd year in a row, plus both tests were won in convincing fashion. However, that may well be more indicative of the Wallabies considering they’ve been god-awful in the second half of the season.

Other than that, it’s a couple of sponsor’s series trophies but no Rugby Championship. That’s the first time since 2001 the All Blacks have failed to win it over a two-year period, so now something fans used to take for granted is becoming an elusive prize.

Job titles

All Blacks coach Scott Robertson, centre, with coaching staff Jason Ryan,left, Jason Holland, Scott Hansen and Leon MacDonald following the All Blacks Squad Announcement. Joseph Johnson/ActionPress

Two assistants leaving in two seasons isn’t good, no matter how you spin it. Especially since Leon MacDonald and Jason Holland had no firm plans on what to do next when they headed for the door.

Captaincy

Scott Robertson (left) and Scott Barrett after the England v All Blacks at Twickenham Stadium, London. www.photosport.nz

Robertson went with Scott Barrett off the bat for his skipper, which made sense given that was the dynamic at the Crusaders and Barrett’s spot in the team has been assured in his 91-test career. From the start, the debate between him and Ardie Savea has been vocal, and after this season is a very compelling one.

However, it’s not particularly negative given the reasons why.

Savea started four tests and finished a couple more as captain, and generally made the correct calls and big plays expected of him. Plus, the emergence of Fabian Holland and Josh Lord means there is now a bit of depth in the second row, so it will be interesting to see what the picture looks like at the end of next year’s Super Rugby Pacific competition – one that Barrett is sitting out.

The way the All Blacks won

Sky is seeking to bid high to again secure exclusive live rights with NZ Rugby. Brett Phibbs / www.photosport.nz

The first and third tests against France, the first against Argentina, Ireland and Scotland, but most of all the win over the Springboks at Eden Park showed what this team’s mental fortitude can be when they are put in a tough situation.

All of those saw very assured performances at the business end, with the right calls and key plays made.

Damian Williamse of South Africa celebrates. Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz

Which is why the three losses are, in contrast, so disappointing. One week after Cordoba the All Blacks collapsed, unable to cope with a Pumas game plan designed to exploit their weaknesses. One week after Eden Park, they were destroyed by the Springboks for a record loss, basically giving up with 20 minutes to play. One week after Scotland, completely out-thought by England.

Nic Berry shows a yellow card to Sevu Reece. www.photosport.nz

Crucial yellow cards played big roles in the losses to Argentina and England, but the All Blacks were more unlucky than malicious overall. Especially when you compare them to the sort of craziness that happened in other tests over the last few weeks, so it’s probably likely that while these fine margins will be highlighted, so will the fact that not one All Black was suspended for foul play this season.

Maro Itoje of England lifts the Hilary Shield. England v All Blacks at Twickenham Stadium, 2025. www.photosport.nz

While Rassie Erasmus and the Springboks are firmly in control of the narrative of test rugby and the way it’s played, you could make a fair case that England are ahead of the All Blacks in the innovation stakes right now too and not just because they won that match on a very flexible game plan.

Robertson has talked about the need for his players to be adaptable, meanwhile Steve Borthwick has literally started Ben Earl in his midfield. They’ve developed their own ‘Pom Squad’ that took that test away from the All Blacks, and while the English media love to overhype the slightest bit of promise, they are looking like becoming a consistent powerhouse two years out from the next World Cup.

If anything, this review should be asking how the All Blacks can start being talked about in the same way again.

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Mountain guide who died on Mt Cook described as ‘careful and diligent’

Source: Radio New Zealand

On Tuesday police recovered the body of a mountain guide from Aoraki Mt Cook. Unsplash / Corey Serravite

The New Zealand Mountain Guides Association (NZMGA) says a guide who died on Aoraki Mount Cook was a careful diligent guide with experience climbing the mountain.

On Tuesday Police recovered the bodies of an internationally-recognised mountain guide and their client who died in an overnight fall on Aoraki Mount Cook .

The climbers were in a party of four, roped together in pairs, climbing from Empress Hut to the summit when the two fell from the mountain’s west ridge.

NZMGA president Anna Keeling said the guide, who was a member of their organisation, was “careful and diligent”, and had been guiding for at least 12 years.

She said the man was married with two young children.

Keeling said he was an internationally certified mountain guide, originally from overseas, but had been based in New Zealand for a decade.

She said the guide last climbed Aoraki Mount Cook just two weeks ago, “via the quite difficult East Ridge”.

“He was very qualified to be up there and knew the route well and knew the conditions well this year. So it’s very shocking.”

Keeling said the conditions on Aoraki Mount Cook at the moment were favourable after all the snow in the past couple of months, but that there was always some risk.

“We make our clients aware also that we are risk managers, that we cannot entirely eliminate risk.”

“But they’re willing to accept it for the opportunity for a really tremendous experience, especially on New Zealand’s highest peaks.”

“Being up on the summit ridge of Aoraki is an incredible experience with amazing views, […] it’s actually indescribable how amazing it is up there. But that reward comes with risk.”

She said Aoraki Mount Cook was considered a riskier mountain to guide.

“I have guided Aoraki a number of times. I would say it’s the hardest thing we do as New Zealand guides.”

Keeling said it was a difficult, arduous and incredibly long climb, and also involved climbing in the dark.

“Climbing at night is typical because it typically freezes at night and we like to travel on our crampons in firm snow rather than really punchy, soft snow,” she said.

Keeling said where the climbers fell was a very exposed spot with “no margin for error.”

She said the New Zealand mountain guiding community was like a family and the guide’s death was a huge blow to the community.

She said their hearts also went out to the guide’s family and friends.

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Social housing agency Te Toi Mahana hikes rents at double the rate ministry initially agreed to

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Wellington social housing agency has hiked its tenants’ rent at double the rate the housing ministry initially agreed to. RNZ / REECE BAKER

A Wellington social housing agency has hiked its tenants’ rent at double the rate the housing ministry initially agreed to, citing “financial pressures”.

Earlier this month RNZ reported Te Toi Mahana (TTM) tenants were despairing as their rent was put up while the cost of some private rentals were dropping across the capital.

A letter to tenants did not give a reason for the rent increase, which came into effect at the start of November.

When RNZ asked TTM why it was upping the rent, it said its costs had increased due to a rise in the consumers price index (CPI) – a measure of inflation.

However, emails between TTM and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) reveal that’s not the whole picture.

An angry tenant says her landlord has not been transparent.

What the emails say

TTM has raised the rent an average of 2.2 percent, but emails between it and the housing ministry showed they had initially agreed on a 1.1 percent rise.

The emails, released under the Official Information Act, showed TTM had first asked HUD to approve a proposed rent increase of 2.7 percent, which it said was a “CPI indexed adjustment”.

But the ministry wrote back: “…the 2.7 percent relates to all inflation across New Zealand for all goods and services rather than actual rentals. HUD uses the actual rentals CPI for the appropriate region.”

It asked TTM to drop the rent increase.

“The CPI for the Wellington region is 1.1 percent, please recalculate your market rent increases with this percentage and resend it through for review.”

TTM recalculated its rents with a 1.1 percent increase, which was approved – but the following day, TTM asked the ministry to reconsider.

“While we understand that the proposed increase is consistent with rental CPI movement for the Wellington region, it does not adequately reflect the financial pressures Te Toi Mahana is currently facing,” wrote tenancy general manager Daniel Tai.

“Specifically, we are locked into a fixed 2 percent per annum increase in lease payments to Wellington City Council and our overall costs inflation (which includes both lease payment and incurred operating expenses) have increased by 2.2 percent.”

Tai proposed a 2.2 percent rent increase, saying it “strikes a fair balance between affordability for tenants and the financial sustainability of our services”.

The housing ministry approved that, but said: “For next year’s increase we must use the actual rentals CPI for Wellington.”

The ministry told RNZ that it worked with community housing providers (CHPs) to determine market rent for specific regions, and raising rents was not strictly tied to CPI.

“In cases where CHPs make reasonable and substantiated arguments for increases higher than local rentals CPI, we consider those requests seriously,” it said.

Tenant says landlord’s comments are ‘deeply misleading’

A TTM tenant, who RNZ has agreed not to name, is furious.

She said her landlord was passing its lease costs directly to tenants.

“But that’s not how the CPI system is supposed to work. CPI is meant to reflect market rental movements, not a landlord’s internal cost structure.

“If every landlord increased rent based on their own costs rather than the market, there’d be no limit.”

There was no mention of tenant affordability in the email chain between TTM and HUD, she said.

“No mention that tenants are using food banks. No mention of the $8 million support fund sitting unused.

“The entire negotiation was about Te Toi Mahana’s costs and what they wanted – not what tenants could afford. That tells you everything about whose interests are being prioritised.”

TTM’s comments to RNZ earlier in November that referred to a CPI increase of 2.7 percent were “deeply misleading”, she said.

“Te Toi Mahana knew they were comparing their rent increase to the wrong benchmark when they spoke to media – therefore the public was misled about the CPI justification.”

Landlord defends rent rise

In a statement, Te Toi Mahana said it would have been able to manage a rent increase lower than 2.2 percent.

“However, such a rental adjustment would not reflect the increase in costs that we face, [and] lead to a reduction in revenue and put greater pressure on rent increases in the future.”

It said the 2 percent increase in the payment to Wellington City Council was “standard practice” in commercial property leases.

Residential rents tended to track overall inflation “in the long run” as rising prices and wages were often correlated, it said.

“However, that relationship is imperfect as rents also reflect broader considerations such as housing supply, population growth, wage growth and so forth.

“This was the case in Wellington last year where consumer price inflation at 2.7% was higher than regional housing inflation at 1.1%.”

It said it would continue to work with HUD to agree appropriate rent changes for future years.

Wellington City Council said TTM had to pay the 2 percent lease payment increase for two more years, then it would be indexed to CPI.

What do tenants pay?

Te Toi Mahana said about a quarter of its tenants received the government’s rent subsidy (IRRS), meaning they paid no more than a quarter of their monthly income.

“Subsidies vary for those tenants which are not eligible for IRRS, but on average they pay less than 70 percent of market rent.”

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Heat alerts possible as temperatures continue to rise

Source: Radio New Zealand

Forecast maximum temperatures for Wednesday 26 November. MetService/Facebook

MetService says heat alerts could be issued as temperatures begin to soar on Wednesday.

Timaru is expected to hit 30° on Wednesday, while it’s set to be 28° in Dunedin and 29° in Christchurch.

The high temperatures are set to also run into Thursday, when Christchurch is tipped to hit 30°.

Heat alerts are normally available from December through to February but conditions meant monitoring had started earlier this year, lead forecaster Chelsea Glue said.

“There are two things that can trigger a heat alert, the first is a one-off extreme high temperature for the maximum temperature for the day,” she said.

“The second is prolonged period of not quite so extreme, but still warm days and nights as well and it’s the second situation we might be finding ourselves in.”

MetService first started issuing heat alerts in 2021, and last summer they covered 46 towns and cities.

Thresholds for triggering a heat alert vary from one region to another.

Glue said the temperatures coming on Wednesday and Thursday, caused by warm north-westerly winds, were higher than usual.

Forecast maximum temperatures for Thursday 27 November. MetService/Facebook

“They are on the more extreme end and that’s why there is the potential for triggering an alert to warn people it could be a lot warmer than you might expect for this time of the year,” she said.

MetService’s advice was for people to stay hydrated and in the shade and to check on any vulnerable people and animals.

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