Category: MIL-OSI

Source: New Zealand Police

Northbound lanes have now reopened following an earlier crash on State Highway 1, Orewa this afternoon.

Emergency services were called at around 12.18pm after receiving reports of a three-vehicle crash.

Diesel was spilt onto the road as a result of the crash, which has now been cleared.

One person received moderate injuries and was transported to hospital in a stable condition.

Police would like to thank motorists for their patience while the scene was cleared.

ENDS.

Amanda Wieneke/NZ Police 

Source: New Zealand Police

Police have arrested and charged a 16-year-old male following an aggravated robbery at a commercial premises in Palmerston North at the weekend.

Detective Senior Sergeant Dave Thompson says at around 2pm on Saturday 21 February, Police were called to the premises on The Square after a person armed with a knife and hammer entered the store.

“Using the hammer, the alleged offender smashed one of the display cabinets, taking several phones before running out of the store.

“Police were able to identify the youth through various avenues of inquiry, including available CCTV footage.“

The youth was located and arrested yesterday.

He has been referred to Youth Aid.

“These types of crimes are incredibly frightening for those working in the store at the time, and this robbery is no different.

“We understand other store owners would have been unnerved by this occurring. We are hopeful that the quick arrest will go some way to provide reassurance that Police will take prompt action to hold those responsible to account.”

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Source: New Zealand Police

Police want to find the owners of four historic war medals, that were recovered during a search warrant in Palmerston North.

Police conducted a search warrant today, at an address in Kelvin Grove. During the search, the pictured medals were found and recovered, and are believed to be stolen.

The medals include a 1939-1945 star, an Atlantic star, a Burma star, and the 1939-1945 war medal.

Police believe these hold significant sentimental value and would like to return them to their rightful owner.

If the medals belong to you, or you know someone who is missing their medals, please get in touch, either online at https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105 and click “update report”, or by calling 105.

Please quote file number 260215/1202.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Source: New Zealand Police

North Shore Police have arrested a man over alleged indecent assaults against high school students and a staff member in recent months.

Quick reporting meant units quickly caught up with the man in the Milford area last week.

Relieving Waitematā East Area Commander Mike Rickards says the staff member was on duty on the afternoon of 16 February, outside the school.

“A man has allegedly indecently assaulted the teacher before she confronted him,” he says.

“The alarm has been raised when other teachers saw this confrontation and immediately contacted 111.

“Our units responded urgently into the area, locating a man in the vicinity.”

The 64-year-old west Auckland man was soon arrested.

Inspector Rickards says the man has been charged with doing an indecent act.

Monday’s arrest resulted in enquiries progressing into a series of similar events on 11 November 2025.

“An extensive investigation was carried out to identify a man who had allegedly carried out similar behaviour, directed towards several high school students on the same day,” Inspector Rickards says.

Those enquiries were unable to locate the man responsible at the time.

On Friday, detectives from Waitematā East CIB laid two additional indecent assault charges against this man.

He has also been charged with assault over a separate incident allegedly involving an elderly woman at St Lukes, also in November 2025.

Inspector Rickards says: “I want to directly acknowledge the school community despite these awful events.

“The students did the right thing at the end of last year and reported the offending, this information informed the school network so on Monday staff sprang into action.”

The 64-year-old man has appeared in the North Shore District, and will reappear on new charges on 27 February.

ENDS.  

Jarred Williamson/NZ Police

Source: New Zealand Police

Five climbers have been safely rescued off Mount Taranaki following a significant search and rescue operation yesterday.

At around 2:15pm, emergency services received reports of a group of climbers in trouble on the mountain, with one person under CPR.

Acting Sergeant David Bentley, Search and Rescue Incident Controller says the Search and Rescue operation was stood up, with assistance from RCCNZ, LandSAR, Alpine Cliff Rescue and Civil Defence, and a number of helicopter companies.

“Due to the weather conditions, the helicopters called in to assist with rescue efforts were unable to reach the summit of the mountain.

“Rescue teams on the ground also began to climb up the mountain towards the group.”

The first climber, who was in a critical condition when rescue teams arrived, was extracted from the mountain at around 6:20pm.

Helicopters were able to extract the remaining four people by 6:50pm, and the group of five were all transported to hospital.

One person was in a critical condition, two people are in a serious condition and two people are in a moderate condition.

Acting Sergeant Bentley says the group are lucky to be alive.

“The weather improved for a period long enough for us to get helicopters into the area and rescue the climbers.

“We were in and out very quickly and had it not been for that break in the weather, there was a very good chance we would have been dealing with fatalities.

“We’d also like to thank all the community partner agencies that assisted with this rescue, which if it was not for their swift response, the result could have been tragic.”

More safety information can be found on the Mountain Safety Council website here.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Source: New Zealand Police

Police are currently assisting Fire and Emergency New Zealand following a diesel spill on State Highway 1, Orewa this afternoon.

The northbound lanes have been blocked following reports of a three vehicle crash at about 12.18pm.

At this stage one person has received injuries.

Motorists are advised both northbound lanes are closed from the Grand Drive off-ramp and traffic is being diverted.

Motorists are advised to expect delays and seek an alternative route or delay travel if possible.

ENDS.

Holly McKay/NZ Police

Source: New Zealand Police

Investigations into a woman’s death in Kaihu after she was attacked by dogs last week are continuing.

Emergency services responded to the rural address off State Highway 12 at about 11.25am on 17 February.

Sadly, Mihiata Te Rore had suffered unsurvivable injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Detective Senior Sergeant Shane Pilmer, Whangārei CIB, says Police have received a number of calls in relation to dogs roaming in the Kaihu area.

“Our investigation remains ongoing, however we would like to thank those people who have reached out to us and provided us with valuable information.

“Our enquiries so far have also indicated there may have been two previous incidents in the same area in November and December involving two cyclists who were chased by some dogs.

“We would really like to hear from those people – if this was you or you know who these people may have been please get in touch with us.”

Detective Senior Sergeant Pilmer says three dogs have since been euthanised following the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to please contact Police on 105 using the reference number 260217/8328.

Information can be provided anonymously through Crime Stoppers, by calling 0800 555 111.

ENDS.

Holly McKay/NZ Police

Source: NZ Department of Conservation

Date:  23 February 2026

A coastal seabird, tākapu disperse widely to feed on squid and fish in waters over New Zealand’s continental shelf, including harbours, estuaries and bays. Their detailed flightpaths have previously been unknown to researchers.

In October 2025, 15 tākapu from the Muriwai colony in West Auckland were fitted with a small 19 g tag carefully taped to their central tail feathers. The solar powered tags collect GPS location data every two minutes when the battery charge is high. The tags transmit data through the mobile network until the birds moult those tail feathers in 2026.

Graeme Taylor, Principal Science Advisor at the Department of Conservation (DOC), says we have a lot to learn about the movements of tākapu.

“This project is a first step towards better understanding how far gannets travel from the Muriwai colony, what flight paths they take and how regularly, which areas are the most important for them, and the heights they are flying at.”

More than one thousand tākapu pairs breed every year from August to March in Muriwai. Viewing platforms just metres away helps visitors get naturing – the colony attracts hundreds of thousands of local and international visitors annually.

“We’re interested in tākapu because they were identified as a species of concern in a risk assessment looking at potential impacts of offshore infrastructure, such as windfarms,” Graeme says.

“Knowing details of their flights helps both industry and government understand the potential risks of offshore development and how best to mitigate these.

“We also want to better understand tākapu movement patterns to help predict possible transmission paths of bird flu if it reaches New Zealand.”

The tracking data gathered so far shows the birds are travelling as far south as Port Waikato and north towards Dargaville Beach. A lot of birds are also going 40–60 km offshore to find food.

“Tākapu are known to circle up high over the ocean to locate shoals of fish, so we expect they might interact with offshore wind farms,” Graeme says.

The Muriwai tākapu data will add to the knowledge base from a similar project tracking tākapu from the colony at Farewell Spit (at the tip of the South Island) last summer. The Farewell Spit birds flew as far north as Kawhia Harbour off Waikato’s west coast and as far south as Ōkarito on the South Island’s West Coast. These long-distance foraging trips were a surprise to the research team, who thought the birds would mainly stay in the Cook Strait area.

You can get naturing and visit the Muriwai gannets via Auckland Council’s Maukatia Gannet Track.

Background information

For more information on tākapu visit Australasian gannet/Tākapu New Zealand Birds Online.

Contact

Source: New Zealand Police

Attribute to West Coast Area Investigations Manager, Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Brent Lyford: 

Police are appealing for information following an unprovoked assault at an address in Greymouth on the weekend.

On Saturday 21 February, around 11.15pm, Police received a report that man had entered an address on Reid Street, Blaketown and assaulted one of the occupants, before being confronted by another occupant and leaving.

The assault victim sustained minor injuries, and the pair are understandably very shaken by the incident.

Police have conducted initial enquiries, including assessing available CCTV footage, but have been unable to identify the offender and are now seeking the public’s assistance.

The man is described to be in his 40s, Caucasian, and of medium build. He was reported to be wearing a black short sleeved rugby-type top and long pants. He has dark short hair, and his face appeared to be dirty.

The home occupants also describe the man to be disoriented and seemed under the influence.

Police are asking for anyone that has seen a man matching this description, or any suspicious behaviour, in the Reid Street or immediate areas on Saturday 21 February. Alternatively, if this was you, please get in touch.

Information can be provided by going online to https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105 and clicking “update report”, or by calling 105.

Please quote file number 260222/4632.

You can also provide information anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS 

Issued by Police Media Centre

Source: New Zealand Government

Associate Education Minister David Seymour has today announced that Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei will open a charter school called Te Kura o Ngāti Whātua ki Tamaki in Term 3 2026.

“Every child deserves the opportunity to learn and grow in ways which are more specific to their needs. Today’s announcement demonstrates the innovation enabled by the charter school model,” Mr Seymour says.

“At Te Kura o Ngāti Whātua ki Tamaki, students will participate in real-world learning through iwi-led and city based partnerships. This will include collaborations with Māori businesses, partnerships with universities and tertiary education providers, and international school exchanges.

“Learning will be digitally enabled, utilising AI and emerging technologies. It will also strengthen cultural ties through kapa haka and Ngāti Whātua tikanga.

“When it comes to education, one size does not fit all.

“Charter schools show education can be different if we let communities bring their ideas to the table.

“These schools have more flexibility in return for strictly measured results.

“The charter school equation is: the same funding as state schools, plus greater flexibility plus stricter accountability for results, equals student success.

“It will join the charter schools announced in the last year which will open in 2026. This takes the total number of charter schools to 20. We expect more new charter schools to be announced before the end of the year, along with the first state schools to convert. 

“I want to thank the Charter School Agency and Authorisation Board for the work they have done getting charters open. They considered 52 applicants for new charter schools. They tell me this round the choices were very difficult. 

“This is just the beginning. I hope to see many more new charter schools opening, and state and state-integrated schools converting to become charter schools.”