Please attribute the following to Auckland City Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Greaves:
Police are appealing to the public for any footage they may have of the mass disorder that occurred on Karangahape Road in Auckland in the early hours of Sunday 28 December.
Emergency services were called to the disorder around 3.41am where it is estimated around over 50 people were present.
A Police investigation is underway after there were three serious assaults on and around Karangahape Road during the mass disorder.
A portal has been set up to allow the public to upload any footage they have of the disorder and the serious assaults. The portal is https://dahr.nc3.govt.nz/
Police have arrested one person but are asking for help to identify and locate others involved.
• Around 4:15am there was a serious assault outside the Crown Bar on Queen Street. A 33-year-old man received serious injuries and was hospitalised. The offender is still unknown, and the Police file number is 251228/4647. • Around 4:30am there was another serious assault on a Cobden Steet just off Karangahape Road. A 27-year-old man received serious injuries and was hospitalised. The offender is still unknown, and the Police file number is 251228/4462. • Around 5am there was third serious assault at the Mobil Service Station on the corner or Karangahape Road and Ponsonby Road. A 46-year-old man received serious injuries and was hospitalised. A 21-year-old man has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He has been bailed to appear in court again on 16 January 2026. The Police file number is 251228/4774.
Police would like to speak to anyone who has witnessed or filmed the assaults.
Witnesses can call Police directly on 105. Please quote one of the above file numbers.
The new inflight biosecurity video delivers a clear and urgent message to all international air passengers regarding their responsibility to safeguard New Zealand’s primary industries and irreplaceable environment, says Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard.
This updated video strongly emphasises the necessity for travellers to declare or dispose of any risk items, including food, plants, and animal products, prior to arrival in New Zealand.
The risk posed by threats such as foot and mouth disease and the brown marmorated stink bug could jeopardise the nation’s $60 billion primary sector export revenue, making strict compliance essential.
Additionally, the video provides explicit instructions on correctly completing the New Zealand Traveller Declaration, ensuring a thorough and efficient border screening process for all arrivals.
Biosecurity New Zealand has sent the video to international airlines to replace the existing version playing on their inflight entertainment systems. The original video has been playing on international flights since 2019. It is currently viewed by more than six million passengers each year. “The new version keeps the same friendly tone but introduces fresh faces and updated content, including more detail on the potential impacts of biosecurity risks on New Zealand’s economy and outdoor lifestyle.” The video features three current biosecurity officers guest appearances from Hugh Jackson, 2025 Young Farmer of the Year; Grace Rehu, 2023 Ahuwhenua Young Māori Grower of the Year; and Ashton Reiser, champion kayaker and biosecurity ambassador. The video will help airlines meet their legal obligations under the Biosecurity (Information for Incoming Passengers) Regulations 2023. Since 2023, it has been a legal requirement for commercial aircraft carrying 20 or more passengers (excluding crew) to provide biosecurity information to passengers before arriving in New Zealand. Mr Hoggard says the new video is one of many measures Biosecurity New Zealand has in place to manage the expected increase in passenger volumes this summer. “It’s been great to see Biosecurity New Zealand bolster biosecurity by recruiting more frontline border staff in 2025. This includes 50 new quarantine officers and 26 part-time passenger facilitators to help travellers navigate biosecurity processes at international airports over the summer. Biosecurity New Zaland has also been working with Auckland Airport to create more space for biosecurity processing during the busy holiday period. And we’ve seen the successful introduction of new ways of assessing passengers for risk, helping improve both passenger flow and biosecurity.” The inflight video can be viewed on the Biosecurity New Zealand website.
A man has died after being struck by a car in Napier on 26 December.
The incident occurred at around 10.10pm on McGrath Street. The man was critically injured and was transported to hospital.
Sadly he passed away in hospital on 29 December. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this difficult time.
Enquiries into the circumstances of the incident are ongoing and we would like to speak to any witnesses, or people who provided assistance to the man before emergency services arrived.
If you can help, please contact Police via 105 and quote file number 251227/1644.
As holiday-makers enjoy their time in the sunny Hawke’s Bay, Police have advice for both locals and visitors about how to ensure we head into 2026 on a high note.
Inspector Lincoln Sycamore, Hawke’s Bay Area Commander, says he wants everyone to have a safe and enjoyable New Year in our region.
“We welcome you if you’re in Hawke’s Bay to enjoy the weather, food, and everything else our area has to offer.
“Respect each other, don’t overindulge and make good decisions. Don’t be ‘that person’ who ruins it for everyone.”
Staff deployed across Hawke’s Bay, to beaches, events and more
“Keep yourselves safe and look after each other,” says Inspector Sycamore.
“There will be a strong Police presence in traditional holiday hotspots across our region, including our beautiful beaches.
“We all have a responsibility to ensure our friends and loved ones are safe this summer, so keep an eye out and report any concerns you have.”
Visible presence on Hawke’s Bay roads
If you can’t follow road rules, expect to see red and blue in your rear-view.
Inspector Sycamore says officers will continue to be out on our roads, targeting unsafe drivers.
“Alcohol continues to be a factor in a number of crashes across the region, and we will continue to set up checkpoints and breath test drivers,” he says.
“Wear your seatbelt, don’t drink and drive, stay off your phone and make sure you’re rested.”
When you’re shopping, we’ll be watching
As you flash your cash at the holiday sales, Police beat teams will be conducting routine patrols through retail areas right into the New Year.
Inspector Sycamore says officers will be checking in with local store workers and members of the community.
If you feel unsafe or have concerns about dangerous, illegal or suspicious behaviour, call Police on 111. For non-urgent concerns you can call 105 or visit https://www.police.govt.nz/use-105 and report the incident online.
A man has died after being struck by a car in Napier on 27 December.
The incident occurred at around 10.10pm on McGrath Street. The man was critically injured and was transported to hospital.
Sadly he passed away in hospital on 29 December. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones at this difficult time.
Enquiries into the circumstances of the incident are ongoing and we would like to speak to any witnesses, or people who provided assistance to the man before emergency services arrived.
If you can help, please contact Police via 105 and quote file number 251227/1644.
Please attribute to Inspector Mike Henwood, Area Commander Waikato West
An 80-year-old man was saved by a mum and her two teenage children after he got lost while hiking in the Kauaeranga Valley area last night.
The man was only wearing shorts and a singlet and apart from his mobile phone was carrying no other emergency supplies.
At about 10pm police were alerted to the missing elderly man who had become lost on the walk near Thames. The man had run out of water and had collapsed on the trail.
He was lucky to have his mobile phone and called his family because as soon as his son raised the alarm, emergency services were able to pinpoint his location.
He was only 100 metres from Crosbies Hut. A helicopter was deployed and although it arrived at the missing man’s location, it was unable to land due to deteriorating weather.
Enquiries by Police Search and Rescue with Department of Conservation (DOC) discovered that a tramping party, of a mother and her two teenagers, was staying at Crosbies Hut, and they were contacted to help find the lost man.
A second chopper was sent in to assist, however it too was unable to make the landing due to worsening weather.
The mother and her teens left Crosbies Hut and within a short time found the elderly man. They formed a human heat circle, helping the man to warm up, before returning to the hut to wait for a rescue team.
At first light, with the aid of Land Search and Rescue teams, Police were able to get him out of there.
The elderly man was grateful to see rescuers, but it was an uncomfortably close call.
He was very close to not being able to continue, and if it weren’t for the family staying at the hut nearby, things could have been very different.
If you’re going out on an excursion in the bush, or adventuring on tramping trails, you need to be prepared for any eventuality.
It’s important to wear appropriate clothing and take food and water even for a short walk – especially if you’re not sure of the area.
Emergency Locator Beacons are cheap to hire, and they’re capable of saving your life, even when there’s no cell phone reception.
We love hearing about and seeing you out naturing over the summer – keep tagging us in your adventures, we absolutely love it!
During this period, we get a lot, and I mean A LOT of people tagging us in posts and messaging us on our channels to ask us all sorts of interesting questions.You are such a passionate bunch!
We thought we’d help you out ahead of time, giving you all the answers and some bonus top tips to your summer questions
So, here’s a little cheat sheet we put together, answering the most common “Hey DOC…” questions you ask us over summer.
1) Hey DOC, what should I do with this wildlife that I found?
(We get this question asked of us about 15x per week over summer!) – We’re totally not bored of answering this question 🫠
Stick Insect 📷: Will McBeth
Yay! You found some of our precious wildlife, we’re stoked for you. That’s what naturing is all about. Just remember you can’t do whatever you want with it and there’s some really important things to take note of.
Under the Wildlife Act 1953 it is illegal to hold, keep or possess native species – dead or alive, or parts of it (feathers, skin, bones, eggs) without a valid permit.
If you think you found a native species and it DOESN’T look distressed or injured, it’s best to leave it alone and admire it from a distance. Put the zoom on your phone camera to work and capture moment like this.
If you think you found a native/protected species and it DOESlook distressed or injured, call us on our DOC Hotline – 0800 362 468 – our team will give some advice and might come out to help the wildlife if needed.
To report illegal activity, a conservation emergency or report sick, injured or dead wildlife Call the DOC emergency hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468)find out more here.
If you see three or more sick or dead wild birds in a group, report it immediately to MPI’s Exotic Pest and Disease Hotline on 0800 80 99 66.
2) Hey DOC, can you tell me what species this is?
Soon after you nearly fill your camera roll with photos and videos of all the birds, lizards and insects you’ve found, you may feel compelled to send all of them to us and ask us to tell you what it is. (Slight exaggeration butlooking at some of you! 😅)
Takahe footprints in Takahe Valley 📷: Sabine Bernert
While we have some really passionate experts, not every single one of our experts are available to help with an array of specific identifications on social media.
And for that reason – our expert’s time and resources – we don’t actually offer an on-demand species identification service, instead we kindly and politely suggest you use iNaturalist in the first instance.
You simply upload your photo findings to the platform, and the community of scientists, naturalists and experts will be able to identify the species for you. They might even provide some weird funky facts as some bonus information!
This is also a great place to start naturing from! Find the species you want to try and find over summer on iNaturalists, talk to the experts and then go out and find them.
3 Hey DOC, can you fix my booking for me?
www.panafoot.com“,”created_timestamp”:”1330802879″,”copyright”:”u00a92012 John Strother, panafoot@gmail.com”,”focal_length”:”10″,”iso”:”1600″,”shutter_speed”:”0.16666666666667″,”title”:””,”orientation”:”0″}” data-image-title=”120303_jtsg_4352jpg_7457701360_o_O2″ data-image-description=”” data-image-caption=”
Inside the Routeburn Falls Hut on the Routeburn Track within Mt Aspiring National Park on New Zealand’s South Island.
To read about the great places we have been go to www.panafoot.com
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If you want to modify a booking with us, the best way to do so is to log into your account, select your bookings, click on modify for the booking you wish to change and confirm. That’s basically it!.
If you need help with understanding our booking fees, how to use Backcountry Hut Passes and Hut Tickets and what to do with a change to your booking because of unforeseen circumstances, scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on “BOOKING FAQ” and troubleshoot your booking there.
If that doesn’t help and you’re truly stuck, click on “CONTACT US” and email our Bookings Team directly – this is the right place to go to, we have booking specialists taking in enquiries and we’re equipped to help you out ASAP.
We also have some incredibly helpful DOC Visitor Centres around the country that you can contact if you have a question about your upcoming trip/adventure.
4) Hey DOC, can my pet come along too?
It depends where you’re going and what you’re doing.
Not Rex… 📷: Craig Bullock
Simply put, pets and protected species don’t mix! Especially in national parks or wildlife areas and reserves, WITHOUT a DOC permit.
However, you CAN take your dog on public conservation land that we have approved dog access to – you’ll find more information about those places on our website.
Some places you will need a specific dog permit (like for hunting blocks) issued by the local DOC office, while other places you can take your dog, but you must follow the rules stated on the website and adhere to the signage around the area.
Here’s a great blog from earlier on in the year that goes into detail about dogs on conservation land
Still not Rex, from afar. 📷: Craig Bullock
P.S. No, you cannot take your cat in a backpack in our national park, then proceed to feed it while you stop for lunch… This happened a couple of years ago and the person received a fine and were prosecuted. Don’t be like these people. 😊
5 Hey DOC, where can I fly my drone?
Drones can stress out wildlife and used in the wrong areas can be a risk to wildlife, forests and people.
To use a drone, both recreationally and commercially, you will need a special drone permit from us.
Permits vary from place to place but in short, they are there to help ensure that the drone operator uses their drone responsibly, making sure that they’re not disturbing wildlife, that they’re considerate of other people’s privacy, that they respect Māori cultural values by involving hapū and iwi, they follow Civil Aviation Authority rules and that they follow relevant polices and plans.
You can find all of our detailed guidance in drone operations on conservation land and how to attain a permit here
6 Hey DOC, can I show you the marine mammal I saw today?
No, but seriously we would actually like to hear about it!
We’d love you to report it directly to our marinemammals@doc.govt.nz email. Our Marine Mammals Biodiversity experts are monitoring the inbox regularly over summer and your sightings will help them with information about population sizes, breeding rates and crucial movement patterns. All of this helps us in protecting marine mammals and their environment better.
We want to hear about whales, dolphins, seals with tags and sea lions.
It’s really important that if you come across an entangled, stranded or dead marine mammal OR a Hector’s or Māui dolphin between Raglan and Wellington, or on the south or east coast of the North Island call us immediately on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).
We would much rather you call our emergency hot line number so our appropriate teams can act with speed, without having to navigate through the extra steps.
Hopefully, these questions we’ve answered will help while you’re out-and-about enjoying your summer adventures. Keep tagging us in posts, keep messaging us and keep asking us all of your interesting questions.
If you see us out this summer, we’d love you to stop and say hi when you’re out-and-about.
Six-year-old sea lion, Tui, had a pup on Christmas Day, starting off what is hoped to be another successful breeding season for the Nationally Endangered species. The pup’s gender isn’t known yet, but may be determined as part of the tagging process when that work is undertaken in a few months.
Tui is directly descended from Mum, who gave birth to the first pup born on mainland New Zealand in 1993, following a 150-year of absence of breeding for the species.
This birth continues Mum’s legacy and the hope the growing population of pakake around Otago will help the species recovery and act as insurance for the declining population in the sub-Antarctic islands. To achieve breeding colony status, at least 35 pups need to be born every year for five years.
DOC Biodiversity Ranger Moss Thompson says from now on, rangers are expecting to encounter more mother-and-pup pairs around the coast.
“There are approximately 49 breeding-age females in our population this year and we are expecting around 35 pups. They are very vulnerable during this time so please give them plenty of space and leave them time to rest and form essential mother-pup bonds.”
“In some areas, there may be changes to access tracks on certain beaches, and signs requesting no dogs, or that they are kept on leads. These changes will be temporary while we have mums and pups using these areas.
“Please follow this signage when you’re out naturing in the area, and be prepared to use another access route or walk your pooch in the other direction.”
Over the festive season, DOC staff, mana whenua, and New Zealand Sea Lion Trust volunteers will be out and about keeping an eye on things. Feel free to say hello and have a chat about anything pakake related, Moss says.
“During this time, pakake will be crossing the roads and using parks in coastal areas so please drive carefully, and check your surroundings before letting your dog off the leash.
If you see a pup in an area which is not signposted or marked, please let the Department of Conservation know on 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).
Background information
Pakeke are one of the world’s rarest sea lion species, and found only in New Zealand.
They face threats from human activity (including fishing), diseases and pup mortality.
Pups weigh between 8 and 10 kg at birth. Breeding occurs over the summer months and breeding colonies occupy the same sites every year.
Pupping begins in early December and ends by mid-January, when the remaining bulls disperse and the harems break up.
Females give birth to a single pup every one to two years. Pups are born on the breeding beach but are moved by their mothers into nearby vegetation when they reach about six weeks old.
NATURE LOOKS DIFFERENT FROM HERE
Nature isn’t scenery. Nature is a society that we rely on for everything, every day. It’s behind our identity and our way of life.
