Category: MIL-OSI

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Recovery works on track – State Highway 60 Tākaka Hill

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.

The Pines, benching earthworks.

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.

Cooks underslip – ground beam construction and kerbing.

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.

Goodall’s Straight – drilling and ground beam.

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.

Drummond’s Slump, drilling and drainage.

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.

Riders slip – installing counterfort drains.

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:

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Law passed to support NZ’s defence and security

Source: New Zealand Government

Legislation ensuring national security is maintained during industrial action has passed its final reading in Parliament today, Defence Minister Judith Collins says.

“The security of New Zealand is a 24/7 issue, and our Defence Force works 365 days a year to preserve it. The Defence (Workforce) Amendment Bill allows the Chief of Defence Force to better manage their workforce to ensure New Zealand’s security,” says Ms Collins.

“The civilian staff in our Defence Force play an important role in keeping New Zealand safe – whether through providing security at military bases, testing capabilities and technology, or aircraft maintenance. 

“Under the previous legislation there were times when industrial action could put New Zealand’s national security at risk or impact the New Zealand Defence Force’s (NZDF) ability to deliver the tasks expected of it. For example, when NZDF civilian staff take industrial action, this could mean munitions and weapons stores are left unguarded.

“This issue was highlighted when civilian staff took industrial action last December. The Government moved quickly to ensure that settings are pragmatic and fit for purpose.”

This Bill broadens the Minister’s ability to authorise uniformed personnel to conduct the work of NZDF civilian staff when national security or the delivery of core defence outputs are at risk.

It also streamlines this process by removing the requirement for Parliament to debate how the NZDF manages redeployment within its own organisation. Instead, the Minister can set a time limit for an authorisation, which cannot extend beyond the period of strike action.

“These changes preserve the right for civilian staff to take industrial action, while ensuring the security and safety of New Zealanders,” says Ms Collins.  

“We’ve also made common-sense changes to the rare circumstance in which military personnel are used to backfill public servant roles outside the NZDF. These include increasing the duration of a Ministerial authorisation from 14 to 30 days and removing the requirement for Parliament to reconvene if an authorisation expires while the House is not sitting.

“In a deteriorating strategic environment, this Bill ensures that our Defence Force is ready and able to protect New Zealand and its interests.”

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Smoking rate reduces to 6.8 per cent

Source: New Zealand Government

Associate Health Minister Casey Costello has welcomed the latest New Zealand Health Survey (NZHS) results showing smoking rates reducing to 6.8 per cent. 

“Most of the survey data shows a continuation of the great progress that’s been made in the last few years – especially with falling numbers of Pacific peoples’ smokers and very low rates of youth smoking,” Ms Costello says.

“Over the last six years the Pacific peoples smoking rate has halved, while smoking rates are lowest in our young people, signalling a generational shift away from cigarettes. The smoking rate for 15–24-year-olds is 3.2 per cent, down from 19.2 per cent when the survey started 13 years ago.

Ms Costello said that New Zealand had the third lowest smoking rate in the OECD.  

“New Zealand has made some of the best progress in reducing smoking rates in the world – these latest survey results show adult daily smoking has halved in the last decade.”

“These are the sorts of results we want to see – the Government is committed to reducing smoking rates and the harm from smoking.

“However, we are now at the most challenging part of the process. The progress New Zealand has made means that those who currently smoke cigarettes are mostly older, long-term smokers and since the start of the Smokefree work, they have been the most difficult group to get to quit.

“All of the tools, supports and approaches that have worked so well over the last few years are still in place. We need to build on these and target the key populations – older smokers and especially Māori and Pacific peoples. Māori and Pacifica smoking rates have fallen significantly over the last five years, but this trend has to continue. 

The Government’s approach is to take practical steps to provide smokers the tools to quit and stay quit, Ms Costello said.

“I want to ensure we are making the best use of the resources in this area, including getting people to engage with quit smoking providers and I’m looking at further regulatory change to ensure we have a regime that reflects the harm of products and has appropriate controls on the market.

“Now that we have strengthened the rules around youth vaping, one simple thing we need to do is be very clear that vaping has been a great tool to help thousands of people stop smoking.”

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Unions call on Govt to pass corporate manslaughter law

Source: NZCTU

The NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi is calling on the Government to honour the memories of the workers who lost their lives fifteen years ago today at the Pike River Mine by supporting a corporate manslaughter law.

“Corporations should not be above the law. If they are responsible for workplace deaths, they must be held criminally liable,” said NZCTU President Sandra Grey.

“We are today releasing a policy that calls on the Government to introduce a new crime of corporate manslaughter. This would hold corporations guilty for acts of culpable killing and give the public confidence that corporations and their managers will be held to account.

“Tragedies such as the Pike River Mine disaster demonstrate that corporations can and do kill workers. It is past time that our law is updated to ensure justice for victims.

“New Zealand has a terrible record. One worker dies every week on the job, and 17 more from work-related illnesses. Every single death is preventable.

“This law would mark a paradigm shift in how health and safety is recognised and enforced at every level. It would ensure that the most extreme breaches of health and safety obligations result in criminal liability.

“The work has already been done. All the Government needs to do is support Adrian Rurawhe’s Members Bill, the Crimes (Corporate Homicide) Amendment Bill.  

“We acknowledge the incredible work of campaigners including Sonya Rockhouse and Anna Osborne who have fought tirelessly for justice. Government needs to listen to them,” said Grey.

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Special Olympics flame in Tasman this weekend

Source: New Zealand Police

Media is invited to attend the Tasman Law Enforcement Torch Run event to take photos and interview participants, including some of the local Special Olympics stars.

What: Law Enforcement Torch Run in Nelson

Where: Meet outside the Nelson Police station at 9am. Departing at 9.15am, and finishing at the church steps at the top of Trafalgar Street.

When: Saturday 22 November 2025

Who: Tasman District Special Olympics athletes, coaches, families and police

Police contact: Rupert Friend 021 191 1263

Special Olympics contact: Coen Lammers 021 730 239

Police will be part of something special this weekend supporting Tasman’s Special Olympics athletes to carry the Flame of Hope.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run will happen this Saturday 22 November at 9.15am and marks the countdown to the National Summer Special Olympics Games.

Known as Guardians of the Flame police members, along with Special Olympics athletes from Marlborough, Motueka, Nelson and West Coast, will carry the Flame of Hope to get local communities excited about the Games.

Athletes, supporters and Police will assemble at 9am, and start moving at 9.15am. The route will take us from the Nelson Police station, down Bridge Street, then up Trafalgar Street.

“Seeing the Flame of Hope means that the games are just around the corner,” says Special Olympics Chief Executive Fran Scholey.

The New Zealand Law Enforcement Torch Run, which started in Northland on October 4, is working its way down to Southland, before it ends up in Christchurch in the week before the games start.

The countdown is on:

The Special Olympics Games will be held at the new Wolfbrook Arena from Wednesday 10 until Sunday 14 December.

Inspector Rupert Friend from New Zealand Police says, “We are proud to take part in the Law Enforcement Torch Run to help raise awareness and funds for the Special Olympics movement”.

The Torch Run has grown over the years and now includes many fundraising platforms including Polar Plunges.

We held two plunges in Wellington and Christchurch this year where a total of $26,000 was raised for our New Zealand athletes.

“The Law Enforcement Torch Run is a worldwide organisation and celebrated this year raising $1 billion to support the athletes of Special Olympics.

“We encourage all kiwis to come out and show their support at Torch Run events up and down the country from October to December leading up to the games.”

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre 

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Questionnaires and Content Guide 2024/25: New Zealand Health Survey

Source: New Zealand Ministry of Health

Publication date:

The content guide describes the content of the New Zealand Health Survey (NZHS) for the year ended 30 June 2025. Data was collected between July 2024 and July 2025.

The content guide also outlines the history of the NZHS and its development into a continuous survey, describes the process for developing the adult and child questionnaires for 2024/25 and provides an overview of each section of the survey.

The module topics for adults and children in 2024/25 were:

  • long-term conditions for adults and children
  • extra questions on functional difficulties (WG-SS Enhanced) for adults
  • tobacco, vaping and exposure to second-hand smoke for adults
  • exposure to second-hand smoke for children
  • child development for children
  • functional difficulties (CFM) for children.

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Methodology Report 2024/25: New Zealand Health Survey

Source: New Zealand Ministry of Health

Publication date:

This methodology report details the procedures and protocols followed to ensure the New Zealand Health Survey produces the high-quality and robust data expected of official statistics.

The New Zealand Health Survey is a face-to-face survey with a multi-stage sampling design that involves randomly selecting a sample of small geographic areas, households within the selected areas, and individuals within the selected households. One adult aged 15 years or older and one child aged 14 years or younger (if any in the household) were chosen at random from each selected household.

Survey respondents are selected from the ‘usually resident’ population.

Of those invited to participate in the survey in 2024/25, the weighted response rate was 75% for adults and 72% for children. 9,253 adults and 2,805 primary caregivers (representing their children) agreed to be interviewed. This included 1,084 disabled adults and 260 disabled children.

Included in the methodology report is information about:

  • the survey population and sample design
  • data collection
  • response and coverage rates
  • data processing
  • weighting
  • analysis methods
  • changes in previously published statistics.

Information specific to the data collection and analysis of the New Zealand Health Survey 2024/25 is included in Section 9 of this report.

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Annual Update of Key Results 2024/25: New Zealand Health Survey

Source: New Zealand Ministry of Health

Publication date:

The Annual Data Explorer presents results from the 2024/25 New Zealand Health Survey, with comparisons to earlier surveys where possible. Results are available by gender, age group, ethnic group, neighbourhood deprivation, health regions and disability status.

Annual Data Explorer 2024/25

Published data can be downloaded from the Annual Data Explorer as a .csv file.

Data for the 2024/25 New Zealand Health Survey were collected between July 2024 and July 2025, with a sample size of 9,253 adults and 2,805 children. Details about the survey methodology are outlined in the latest Methodology Report and survey content, with the questionnaires, in Content Guide and Questionnaires.

The trends in daily smoking and vaping have been presented in Trends in smoking and vaping: New Zealand Health Survey.

While preparing this year’s release, we identified and corrected a data quality issue in the 2023/24 results. The updated figures are now available in the Annual Data Explorer. You can learn more at Corrections made to 2023/24 data.

If you have any queries please email healthsurvey@health.govt.nz. 

Overview of key findings

Selected findings from the 2024/25 New Zealand Health Survey are summarised below. See the Annual Data Explorer for results for all 180+ indicators.

Please note the following before reading the results:

  • In the New Zealand Health Survey, adults are people aged 15 years old and over.
  • Children in the total population are aged 0–14 years unless otherwise stated and disabled children are aged 5-14 years.
  • The parents or caregivers of children answered the survey questions on behalf of their child.
  • Where data is compared over time, comparisons are generally made with the previous year (2023/24) and/or five years ago (2019/20). Where data for an indicator is not collected every year, time periods may vary.
  • Results for each of the four health regions are available in the Annual Data Explorer from 2011/12 to 2024/25 but have not been highlighted in the key findings.

Most New Zealanders are in good health

  • In 2024/25, 86.6% of adults reported they were in ‘good health’, which is defined as good, very good or excellent health. This level of good health is similar to levels reported over the previous five years.
  • Disabled adults were less likely to report being in good health (61.4%) than non-disabled adults (89.0%). 
  • Nearly all children (97.5%) were in good health in 2024/25, according to their parent or caregiver.
  • Most adults reported high or very high levels of life satisfaction (83.3%), with a similar proportion reporting high or very high levels of family wellbeing (83.2%).
  • Disabled adults were less likely than non-disabled adults to report high or very high levels of life satisfaction (64.3% and 85.2%, respectively) and family wellbeing (71.2% and 84.3%, respectively).

Daily smoking and daily vaping rates are similar to last year

  • 6.8% of adults were daily smokers in 2024/25, which is similar to the previous year (6.9%) but down from 11.9% in 2019/20.
  • Daily smoking rates are higher in men (8.3%) than women (5.3%), with the gap widening over the last two years.
  • Daily smoking rates have declined over the last five years in all ethnic groups except Asian, but inequities remain: Māori (15.0%), Pacific peoples (10.3%), European/Other (5.7%), and Asian (4.5%).
  • Adults living in the most deprived neighbourhoods[1] were more likely to be daily smokers than adults living in the least deprived neighbourhoods (12.9% and 2.4%, respectively).
  • 11.7% of adults were daily vapers in 2024/25, similar to the previous year (11.1%) but up from 3.5% in 2019/20.
  • The highest daily vaping rates were in Māori (27.5%), Pacific peoples (20.0%), those aged 18–24 years (23.0%) and 25–34 years (20.5%), and adults living in the most deprived neighbourhoods (21.1%).
  • 17.1% of adults smoked and/or vaped daily in 2024/25, up from 14.5% in 2019/20.
  • Disabled adults were more likely to smoke and/or vape daily than non-disabled adults (22.1% and 16.7%, respectively).
  • See Trends in smoking and vaping: New Zealand Health Survey for more information.

[1] Neighbourhood deprivation refers to the New Zealand Index of Deprivation 2018 (NZDep2018), which measures the level of socioeconomic deprivation for each neighbourhood (Statistical Area 1) according to a combination of the following 2018 Census variables: household income, benefit receipt, household crowding, home ownership, employment status, qualifications, single parent families, living in home with dampness/mould and access to the internet.

Exposure to second-hand smoke continues to decline

  • 1.3% of children were exposed to second-hand smoke inside the home in 2024/25, down from 3.3% in 2015/16. Child exposure to second-hand smoke while travelling in a car or van decreased from 4.0% to 0.8% over the same period.
  • 3.6% of adults were exposed to second-hand smoke inside the home in 2024/25, down from 6.6% in 2015/16. Adult exposure to second-hand smoke while travelling in a car or van decreased from 9.5% to 4.5% over the same period.

One in six adults has a hazardous drinking pattern

  • Three out of four adults (74.9%) drank alcohol in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey, down from 81.6% in 2019/20. Past-year drinking rates varied by ethnic group: European/Other (82.0%), Māori (75.3%), Pacific peoples (57.7%) and Asian (54.6%).
  • One in six adults (16.6%) in the total population were classified as a hazardous drinker[2] in 2024/25, which is the same as the previous year (16.6%) but down from 21.3% in 2019/20.
  • One in 12 adults (8.2%) in the total population reported drinking six or more drinks on one occasion at least weekly. This is a decrease since 2019/20, when the rate was 12.0%.

[2] Hazardous drinking among the total population. Hazardous drinking refers to a score of 8 or more on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), which suggests hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption.

Disabled adults are most likely to experience high levels of psychological distress

  • Most adults experienced no/low (65.4%) or moderate (20.4%) levels of psychological (mental) distress[3] in the four weeks prior to the 2024/25 survey.
  • One in seven adults (14.3%) experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress in the four weeks prior to the 2024/25 survey, up from 7.4% in 2019/20.
  • Women were more likely to experience high or very high levels of psychological distress than men (16.6% and 11.4%, respectively).
  • High or very high levels of psychological distress were more common in disabled adults (35.5%), young people aged 15–24 years (22.9%), Māori (22.5%), Pacific peoples (23.8%) and adults living in the most deprived neighbourhoods (21.4%).

[3] Psychological distress was measured by the 10-item questionnaire Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10). It refers to a person’s experience of symptoms such as nervousness, restlessness, fatigue, or depression in the past four weeks. The K10 is a screening tool, rather than a diagnostic tool, so it’s not recommended to use it to measure the prevalence of mental health conditions in the population.

One in eight children likely to have emotional symptoms and/or behavioural problems

  • The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)[4] examines emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity, peer problems and prosocial behaviour in children aged 2–14 years.
  • In 2024/25, one in eight children (12.4%) were likely to have emotional and/or behavioural problems, meaning that they have a risk of experiencing substantial difficulties in these four aspects of development: emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity and peer problems.
  • Disabled children were more likely to have emotional and/or behavioural problems than non-disabled children (52.3% and 5.2%, respectively).

[4] The SDQ is a screening tool, rather than a diagnostic tool.

More people are talking to family, whānau or friends about mental health

  • The proportion of people consulting family, whānau or friends about their mental health or substance use in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey increased over the last year in adults (from 16.0% to 22.5%) and children aged 2–14 years (from 9.9% to 13.5%).
  • The proportion of people consulting a health professional about their mental health or substance use in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey was similar to previous years: 
    • 9.3% of adults and 6.2% of children aged 2–14 years consulted a psychologist, counsellor or psychotherapist 
    • 13.7% of adults and 7.6% of children aged 2–14 years consulted a GP or nurse.
  • About one in 10 adults (10.5%) and about one in 15 children aged 2–14 years (6.3%) reported an unmet need for professional help for their emotions, stress, mental health or substance use in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey, compared to 8.8% and 7.0% in 2021/22, respectively.
  • Disabled adults were more likely to report unmet need for professional mental health support than non-disabled adults (21.9% and 9.4%, respectively). Differences were even greater for disabled and non-disabled children (28.9% and 3.4%, respectively).

Most children have a parent or caregiver who copes well with parenting

  • Nearly all children (91.6%) had a parent or caregiver who reported having someone they can turn to for day-to-day emotional support with raising children. 
  • Three out of four children (76.5%) had a parent or caregiver who coped well or very well with the demands of raising children. 

One in five children live in households where food runs out

  • One in five children (21.4%) lived in households where food ran out often or sometimes[5] in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey. This indicator has fluctuated over recent years making trends hard to interpret.
  • Nearly one in two Pacific children (44.3%) and one in three Māori children (32.3%) lived in households where food ran out often or sometimes in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey. This compares to one in five European/Other children (18.3%) and about one in eight Asian children (13.2%).
  • Nearly one in four children (22.6%) lived in households where they often or sometimes ate less because of a lack of money. 

[5] This indicator was included in the annual Child Poverty Related Indicators Report produced by the Ministry of Social Development.

Fewer people meeting vegetable intake guidelines

  • 46.8% of adults and 72.9% of children aged 2–14 years ate the recommended number of servings of fruit in 2024/25, similar to previous years.
  • The proportion of people meeting vegetable intake guidelines has declined over the last year, from 9.0% to 6.8% in adults and from 8.6% to 5.8% in children aged 2–14 years.
  • In 2024/25, 80.3% of children aged 2–14 years ate breakfast every day, similar to previous years.
  • Among children aged four months to under five years, 58.2% were exclusively breastfed until at least four months of age. This is an increase from 50.0% in 2019/20.

One in eight adults little or no physical activity

  • In 2024/25, 46.2% of adults met physical activity guidelines (ie, did at least 2.5 hours of moderate-intensity activity in the past week, spread out over the week). This is similar to the previous year (46.6%), but down from 52.2% in 2019/20.
  • One in eight adults (12.3%) did little or no physical activity (ie, less than 30 minutes of physical activity in the past seven days).
  • 38.6% of children aged 5–14 years usually used active transport (eg, walking and cycling) to get to and from school in 2024/25, compared to 42.7% in 2019/20.
  • About one in three children aged 6 months to 14 years (31.8%) met recreational screen time guidelines[6] in 2024/25, which is not significantly different to 2019/20 (34.1%).
  • Children aged 10–14 years (19.7%) were less likely to meet screen time recommendations than younger children (41.2% for 5–9 years and 36.0% for 6 months to 4 years).

[6] The Ministry of Health recommends that children limit recreational screen time to the following hours per day: 0 hours for 6-23 months, less than one hour for 2-4 years, and less than 2 hours for 5-14 years.

Obesity rates in adults have increased

  • In 2024/25, 62.2% of children aged 2–14 years and 31.0% of adults were of a healthy weight, which is similar to previous years.
  • One in three adults (34.2%) were classified as obese in 2024/25, up from 31.3% in 2019/20. 
  • About one in two adults (46.8%) living in the most deprived neighbourhoods were classified as obese, compared to about one in four adults (27.6%) living in the least deprived neighbourhoods.
  • 11.7% of children aged 2–14 years were classified as obese in 2024/25. Obesity rates in children have fluctuated over recent years making trends hard to interpret. 

One in four adults gets less sleep than recommended

  • Two out of three adults (67.4%) met sleep duration guidelines in 2024/25, while about one in four (27.0%) slept less than recommended, and 5.7% slept more than recommended. 
  • The average number of hours’ sleep for adults was 7.3 hours.
  • Three out of four children (77.2%) met sleep duration guidelines in 2024/25, while 18.0% slept less than recommended and 4.8% slept more than recommended. 

Most people reported good, very good or excellent oral health

  • Three out of four adults (76.9%) reported their oral health to be good, very good or excellent in 2024/25. 
  • Nearly all children (91.6%) had their oral health rated as good, very good or excellent by their parent or caregiver.
  • About two out of three adults (66.2%) and children (62.9%) brush their teeth with standard fluoride toothpaste at least twice each day. 
  • 43.0% of adults avoided going to a dental health care worker in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey due to cost.

The most common reported reason for not visiting a GP was ‘time taken to get an appointment too long’

  • About one in four adults (25.5%) reported ‘time taken to get an appointment too long’ as a barrier to visiting a GP in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey, which is similar to the previous year (24.8%) but an increase since 2021/22 (11.6%).
  • About one in five children (19.5%) had their parent or caregiver report that the time taken to get an appointment was a barrier to visiting a GP in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey, which is an increase from the previous year (16.6%). 
  • One in seven adults (14.9%) reported not visiting a GP due to cost in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey, which is similar to the previous year (15.1%).
  • Pacific adults were most likely to report not visiting a GP due to cost (25.1%), followed by Māori (18.7%), European/Other (14.5%), and Asian (12.8%).
  • 3.6% of adults did not collect a prescription due to cost in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey, similar to the previous year (3.9%).
  • All barriers to seeing a GP were more common in disabled adults, especially the following reasons: owing money, lack of transport, and lack of support person. 

Visits to the GP and emergency department were stable

  • Three out of four adults (76.2%) and two out of three children (67.1%) visited a GP in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey, which is similar to the previous year.
  • About one in five children (19.1%) and one in six adults (17.1%) visited an emergency department (ED) at least once in the 12 months prior to the 2024/25 survey.
  • Disabled adults were more likely to visit an ED than non-disabled adults (35.0% and 15.4%, respectively).

Other health conditions

  • The long-term condition section of the survey was refreshed in 2024/25, with some questions being revised and others added. This resulted in a break in the time series for some indicators (chronic pain, arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout and rheumatoid arthritis) and the addition of a new indicator (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD).
  • 27.5% of adults reported chronic pain in 2024/25, according to the new internationally recognised definition. Rates of chronic pain were highest in disabled adults (60.8%) and people aged 75 years or older (40.3%).
  • About one in 20 adults (4.8%) had been diagnosed with gout. Rates of gout were higher in men (7.9%) than women (1.9%).
  • 4.4% of adults aged 45 years or older had been diagnosed with COPD. Rates of COPD were higher in adults living in the most deprived neighbourhoods (6.6%) than adults living in the least deprived neighbourhoods (2.9%). 
  • About one in 10 children aged 2–14 years (10.9%) had asthma and were using treatments in 2024/25, down from 13.4% in 2019/20. 

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Fishery officers stepping up pressure on fishers who break set net rules

Source: NZ Ministry for Primary Industries

Fishery officers will be stepping up pressure on recreational fishers who break set net rules during summer. 

Most recreational fishers follow the rules and the overall compliance rate throughout the country sits at 94%. 

But set nets that don’t meet regulations remain a problem, particularly in the Port Waikato, Kaipara Harbour, and Manukau harbour areas. 

Fisheries New Zealand regional manager north, Andre Espinoza says there are areas around the country that are closed or have restrictions on set netting and fishers need to know and understand this as part of their planning or face the cost of not doing so. 

“In October we successfully prosecuted 2 men who broke every rule possible, including set netting in a prohibition area, no marked surface floats, using poles or stakes to attach it to the seafloor and using a set net that was too close to another set net. This cost them $4,500. 

Our job is to protect the sustainability of our shared fisheries and help ensure protected species are not harmed by fishing activity. We take this type of offending very seriously.”

“We’ve heard all the excuses such as not knowing rules like marking surface floats with your name and contact, or that staking nets onto the seafloor is prohibited. There are restrictions around length and size of the set net too and they cannot be blocking a channel.”

“We often recover illegal set nets, and we will hold people to account who break these important rules. One of the best things you can do before going fishing is to download the free NZ Fishing Rules mobile app because it will provide you with the latest rules for the area you intend to fish – including closures and gear restrictions,” says Andre Espinoza. 

NZ Fishing Rules mobile app

More information on set nets – Code of Practice [PDF, 22 MB]

“If you’re planning to go fishing with a set net and you’re not clear about what you can and can’t do – you’re risking a large fine or in some circumstances, you may find yourself before the court. 

“We want people to have an enjoyable fishing experience – one to remember for all the right reasons,” Mr Espinoza says. 

We encourage people to report any suspected illegal activity through the Ministry for Primary Industries’ 0800 4 POACHER line (0800 476 224).

For further information and general enquiries, call MPI on 0800 008 333 or email info@mpi.govt.nz 

For media enquiries, contact the media team on 029 894 0328.

Example of an illegal set net recovered by fishery officers.

 

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Police release name following Henderson fatality

Source: New Zealand Police

Police are releasing the name of the man who died in a hit and run incident in Henderson at the weekend.

Dion Raymond Kainamu, 58, sadly died after being critically injured on Tango Place, Henderson, in the early hours of 16 November.

Police extend our sympathies to Mr Kainamu’s family for their loss at this very difficult time.

It’s alleged a vehicle struck Mr Kainamu and left the scene.

Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Bunting, of Waitematā West CIB, says a woman was arrested at West Auckland address on Sunday afternoon.

“A 47-year-old Henderson woman is currently facing charges of failing to stop or ascertain injury, as well as two counts of driving while disqualified,” he says.

“We are not seeking anyone else in connection with this matter.”

A post-mortem was carried out on Monday, and our investigation is continuing into the series of events that led to Mr Kainamu’s death.

Police thank members of the public for their assistance with enquiries to date.

The woman appeared in the Waitākere District Court on Monday and is scheduled to reappear on 18 December.

ENDS

Jarred Williamson/NZ Police