Category: Public Media

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Body of swimmer missing at Auckland’s Bethells Beach found

Source: Radio New Zealand

The swimmer got into difficulty at Lake Wainamu at Bethells Beach. RNZ

Police say the body of a swimmer missing at Lake Wainamu on Auckland’s west coast has been found.

The 23-year-old man was in waist-deep water with three friends at the lake at Bethells Beach on Monday when he got into difficulty.

Police said he had taken a few steps before falling into a hole, and did not resurface.

The Police National Dive Squad searched the lake, helped by lifeguards from the Bethells Beach Surf Lifesaving Club.

The man’s death will be referred to the coroner.

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Tongariro fire contained: ‘It’s still a great place to come to’

Source: Radio New Zealand

The latest fire at Tongariro National Park has been contained, but local tourism businesses are already seeing a large number of people cancelling future trips because they are scared to visit the area.

Nearly 300 hectares of vegetation has burnt, after 3000 hectares of the park went up in flames last month.

FENZ incident controller Renee Potae said the containment line was completed this afternoon.

She said a crew will remain to monitor the fire overnight, while a drone crew will check for deep-seated hotspots. Three ground crews, a tanker and a helicopter will stay on the fireground tomorrow.

Damage from the latest fire to hit Tongariro, as seen from the air. Pool

But local tourism operators say the impact on businesses will take a lot longer to damp down.

John and Gill Visser own Adventure Lodge and Motel in Waimarino, and also take people for scenic van trips to Mt Ruapehu. John Visser said the fire was putting the Whakapapa community and businesses at risk.

“We’re having cancelations left right and centre, and into January. We’re now getting people internationally contacting us saying we’re not coming your way it’s too dangerous.

“Because it’s happened twice… folks overseas only get rubbish on television… and it really gets people concerned,” he said.

RNZ / Dan Jones

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a big draw card for the area, but the track and Mangatepopo Hut are currently closed to visitors because of the fire. The Department of Conservation says booked visitors have been told and it has advised people to avoid Whakapapa Village at this time.

The owner of The Station Cafe in Waimarino, Sam Wilson. Jimmy Ellingham / RNZ

However, visitors can still enjoy the southern and eastern areas of Tongariro National Park, and Rotopounamu.

John Visser said all they could do is reassure people the area is still safe to visit, and hope that they listen.

“We’ll just keep soldiering on. Everyone that calls us, Gill and the girls will talk to them and convince them it’s still a great place to come to,” he says.

The owner of The Station Cafe in Waimarino, Sam Wilson, told RNZ about how he felt hearing that a second fire was blazing through Tongariro National Park yet again.

“Disappointment.. it sort of a bit of drop in the stomach – it’s quite a demanding job we have and when you add these hazards to our trade, particularly at this time of year leading into Christmas, it can be very challenging,” he said.

He said the Tongariro Crossing was a big draw card and brings in customers, but it was obviously having an impact as the local carpark was empty.

“This carpark would be full and there’d be big campervans, small campervans and everything in between – people from all around the world and the country,” Wilson said.

Alister McDermid had just finished the Tongariro Crossing on Monday when he saw the fire. Jimmy Ellingham / RNZ

‘It was scary’

Tourist Alister McDermid had just finished the Tongariro Crossing on Monday when he saw the fire .

“It was scary – there were two policemen there trying to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher. He threw the fire extinguisher away in disgust because it was doing no good.

“The intense heat we felt inside the bus going past was unreal, I’ve never experienced anything like it,” he said.

Fire in the Tongariro National Park. Supplied / Alister McDermid and Joanna Finlayson

Tyler and Shannon – two Canadians who were tramping in the area – told RNZ they were able to get back to the camper thanks to the efforts of shuttle driver Stacey, saying she was an “absolute local legend”.

“She had extra space in her van and was offering anyone that needed a ride the option to go with her, regardless of who they were booked with. She just wanted to help get as many people out as possible. She had two seats left and we went with her.

“There were a few dozen people waiting, and one guy even had his car parked right by the fire itself. All of us in the van voted to help him get to his car and Stacey delivered!

“The emergency crews helped us also and we got to see the fire burning right by where we started the hike in the morning.

“The park staff waiting at the end of the trail were so kind, helpful, and quick to let everyone coming off the hike know about the delays and situation. We really appreciate everyone’s efforts to communicate and provide water and assurances about the situation.”

Damage from the latest fire to hit Tongariro, as seen from the air. Pool

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The school that rocks: Saint Andrews College’s latest epic prizegiving

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Christchurch secondary school’s end of year prizegiving concert has become a thing of legend.

Saint Andrews College was everywhere on the internet in 2023 with its performance of ‘Stairway To Heaven’, while last year’s rendition of Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’ has been watched more than 42,000 times.

This year’s show stopper was a heartfelt tribute to Aotearoa, with a medley of iconic Kiwi anthems, including Crowded House’s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ – sung in te reo Māori and English – Stan Walker’s ‘Aotearoa‘, Shapeshifter’s ‘In Colour’ and ‘Don’t Forget Your Roots’ by Six60.

The students played to an audience of 3500 people Christchurch’s Woolfbrook arena.

Recently graduated student Miu Kim played the violin solo on the medley and told RNZ’s Checkpoint it was all about the opportunity to play in such a big venue.

“It was really lovely to play in front of so many people. It’s such a special place to play.”

Miu – who started playing the violin and five and also plays the piano, saxophone and flute – said it was nerve wracking with the side of the crowd, but she also had trouble keeping a straight face.

“I actually had a little trip before the camera comes onto me, but I fortunately didn’t fall.”

She is off to study architecture next year, but will continue with music.

The show featured 100 students on stage, including about 60 in the orchestra, and the rest in the choir and rock band. They are a mixture of ages – some of the soloists are year 13, while others like electric and bass guitar are year 12, and the drummer is year 9.

St Andrew College head of music Andrew Ferguson said there was now clamour – both in and outside of the school – asking what song he was planning on well ahead of time, and there was also added pressure to ramp up production values.

He said the school had a couple of years to get used to the attention, but it was still intimidating to come up with something different.

He said there was a “lot of chatting” before settling on a 15-song shortlist.

“It was the middle of year before we settled on it and nutted the arrangement out.”

He said it was important to honour te reo Māori with the performance, but also could not rule out bringing out the bagpipes next year.

“I’m not going to commit to that, I actually have something different at the back of my mind, but bagpipes are a big part of the school.”

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Listen live: The Panel LIVE from Revelry Bar in Auckland

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wallace Chapman preparing for his show The Panel, broadcasting live from Revelry Bar in Auckland. Supplied

Wallace Chapman and The Panel break free of the studio and invade Auckland’s Ponsonby Road for a hit of pub politics and current affairs.

Tonight’s panellists include Heather Roy (ex-ACT MP), Holly Bennett (former adviser to Minister Paul Goldsmith and founder of kaupapa Māori government relations firm Awhi), Phil Goff (former Auckland mayor) and Simon Wilson (senior writer NZ Herald).

Auckland’s Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, Free Speech Union CEO Jillaine Heather and Sarah Helm (executive director of the New Zealand Drug Foundation), as well as other special guests, will also be in attendance and engage from the audience.

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Record warm spring across country part of climate’s ‘new normal’

Source: Radio New Zealand

Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly NIWA) is expecting above-average temperatures for most of the country heading into summer. RNZ

A record-breaking November pushed New Zealand to its warmest spring on record.

Data from Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly NIWA) shows the average temperature across the country was 13.5°C, which was 1.3°C hotter than the long-term average and the warmest spring since records began in 1909.

ESNZ meteorologist Chester Lampkin said the hotter-than-average weather sat within an overall warming climate trend, and was likely to continue into summer.

Lampkin said September and October were already above average months this year.

“Then November ended up being a record-setter… If you recall, towards the end of the month we had some very hot temperatures.”

Across the country, 51 stations recorded their warmest average temperature, and seven places set new records during late November for the single hottest spring day.

That included temperatures of close to or above 32°C in Whakatu in Hawke’s Bay, Cheviot in North Canterbury and Dunedin.

The hottest temperature recorded anywhere in the country was 33°C in Hastings, on 27 November – the second hottest day on record there.

Lampkin said the record-setting warmth was driven by a north-westerly wind flow.

“We were getting a lot of warm air coming out of the Tasman and flowing over the country, both the North and the South Island.”

The water surrounding New Zealand, especially the North Island, was experiencing a marine heatwave, he said.

“When you have warm air flowing over warm water, you’re going to get even warmer air once it hits the land.”

ESNZ’s summer outlook was for above-average temperatures for most of the country, especially in the north of the North Island.

Part of that was due to La Niña conditions that had formed, but it was also down to an overall climate trend, Lampkin said.

“It’s going to be another warm, hot summer, and that certainly points to a new normal.”

It was possible more records could tumble.

“These warmer-than-average months, record-setting months, these more-than-average seasons are more likely to occur because of overall warming of the planet,” he said.

“You’ve got warmer ocean temperatures, warmer water, you’ve got a warmer background climate state – it doesn’t take much to push temperatures to record territory.”

The World Meteorological Organisation confirmed earlier this year that 2024 was the warmest year on record, based on six international datasets.

It was the first year that average temperatures were more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified a long-term average of 1.5°C as the level of warming at which dangerous climate ‘tipping points’, such as the loss of coral reefs and catastrophic ice sheet melting, could begin to occur.

It was important to remember there could still be cooler periods, Lampkin said.

“Even though you do have these hot months… it doesn’t mean you can’t have cold weather. It doesn’t mean there won’t be cold extremes – it just makes it harder for those occur.”

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Firefighters contain large blaze at Tongariro National Park

Source: Radio New Zealand

A large fire at the Tongariro National Park is now fully contained.

Fire and Emergency (FENZ) said the containment line was completed on Tuesday afternoon.

One crew would stay to monitor the fire overnight, while a drone crew would conduct a flight to check for deep-seated hotspots, it said.

The fire started on Monday, one month after a blaze covering almost 3000 hectares ripped through the park.

RNZ / Dan Jones

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When a Margaret Mahy classic mixes with raucous sea shanties

Source: Radio New Zealand

A happy collision of events came together to inspire Nino Raphael to create The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate – The Musical.

He and his partner were in London, gorging on theatre when they took in the Matilda musical, he told Culture 101.

“I was blown away by the production due to Tim Minchin’s wonderful music. He writes great character-driven songs, that everyone can understand and relate to, children can understand what a Trunchbull feels like and what a brave Matilda sounds like and the sweet sound of a Miss Honey.”

The musical The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate is based on a Margaret Mahy children’s book.

Supplied

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More arrests after man stabbed in Auckland’s Mt Wellington

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police previously said the injured man was in an “altercation” with people in a car before he was stabbed. RNZ / Felix Walton

Police have made two more arrests after a man was stabbed in Auckland’s Mount Wellington.

A homicide investigation was launched on Friday afternoon after a man, whose identity is suppressed, was stabbed several times during a fight in a car on Harris Road.

Police previously said the injured man was in an “altercation” with people in a car before he was stabbed.

The victim turned up at a medical centre on Lunn Ave with critical wounds. He later died in Auckland Hospital.

A 21-year-old man has been charged with murder.

Detective Inspector Scott Beard says four arrests have now been made in the investigation.

In the latest, a 53-year-old man was arrested near Te Awamutu and charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.

A 32-year-old man arrested in Auckland faces the same charge.

The men are expected to appear today in the Hamilton and Auckland District Courts respectively.

The investigation is ongoing.

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Tower Insurance penalised $7m for a decade of overcharging

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tower Insurance has been fined $7 million for more than a decade of overcharging customers. RNZ / Dan Cook

  • Insurance company Tower penalised $7m for misleading customers over discounts
  • Multi-policy discounts not applied for about 61,000 customers, overcharging of $11m
  • Tower agreed with regulator in 2017 to fix systems, but overcharging continued until 2025
  • Deficient systems blamed for not applying discounts
  • Tower paid close to $12m to affected customers

Insurance company Tower has become the latest financial services company to suffer a multi-million dollar penalty for misleading tens of thousands of customers and financially costing them.

The High Court has penalised the company $7 million for more than a decade of overcharging customers because it did not properly apply multi-policy discounts.

The civil case was brought by the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) as it continued mopping up historic breaches by insurance, finance, and insurance companies of misleading fair trading laws.

FMA head of enforcement Margot Gatland said Tower’s systems were deficient, despite an agreement with the Commerce Commission as far back as 2017 to fix them.

“Tower used the advertised MPDs (multi-policy discounts) to attract and retain customers, without having systems that could reliably deliver on the promised discount.”

Agreed to fix problems, but overcharging continued

Tower self-reported the breaches in 2021, but despite its previous undertakings the overcharging went on until early this year.

About 61,000 policy holders with more than 90,000 policies were overcharged, with Tower repaying more than $11.7m to affected consumers.

The judgment said Tower was justifiably critical that the previous settlement with the Commerce Commission was intended to ensure that Tower sufficiently invested in and maintained adequate systems and processes to ensure any MPD was applied correctly.

Gatland said the FMA would continue to promote “fair, efficient, and transparent financial markets”.

“Confident participation in New Zealand’s financial markets can only exist if an intrinsic level of market integrity exists. This is why we continue to respond to fair dealing breaches like this.”

Over the past five years the FMA has taken action against 10 banks and insurance companies for misleading and overcharging customers, resulting in penalties totalling tens of millions, repayments of more than $200m to about 1.5 m customers.

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Five people linked to Headhunters arrested over arson, ram raids in Auckland’s Ōrewa

Source: Radio New Zealand

Damage done to the Sunflour cafe in Orewa. Sunflour / supplied

Five people linked to the Headhunters have been arrested over the arson and ram raids of businesses in a small seaside village north of Auckland.

Police executed a series of search warrants across the region as part an investigation into the attacks in Ōrewa.

Those arrested were aged 15 to 42, with 23 charges laid against them.

Waitematā North Area Commander, Inspector John Thornley said Operation Governor focused on offending between September and early November.

It was launched after a deliberately lit fire at Ōrewa’s Sunflour Cafe left the interior of the building destroyed.

Several fire crews responded to the blaze shortly before 11.30pm on 1 November.

It was the latest in a series of businesses targeted on the main strip of the coastal town, going back to September.

“Our CIB staff have been working hard to identify those responsible for this spree of offending,” Inspector Thornley said.

“Those enquiries have led us to believe that these events are linked, and we have laid charges as a result.”

Police are continuing to seek one offender who is still outstanding, Inspector Thornley said.

The alleged offenders are expected in North Shore District Court on Wednesday.

Inspector Thornley said the arrests were a great outcome for the community.

“It’s always concerning in such a tight knit community when a series of confronting events like this happen in such a short space of time,” he said.

“Police will continue to prosecute those who seem to think this sort of behaviour is acceptable.”

We acknowledge those who have assisted our enquiries in recent weeks, he said.

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