Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

A man remains in critical condition after being stabbed in Hastings on Saturday, and police are appealing for more information on his attackers whereabouts.

Police said they were called to a stabbing at an address in the Karamu Road North area at around 3.25am where a man was found with “severe injuries”.

“Police immediately provided first aid before paramedics transported him to hospital, where he underwent surgery,” a spokesperson said. “He remains in a critical condition.”

Police said the alleged offender fled the scene prior to their arrival.

“At approximately 6am, police received information about a man hiding at a property on Mayfair Avenue, not far from where the incident occurred.

“The man was located and arrested without further incident.”

Police said he had been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and was remanded in custody.

Police were now seeking CCTV footage from residents in the surrounding area that may have captured information between the time of the incident and his arrest.

“Residents are asked to carefully check the time settings on their cameras, including any daylight‑savings adjustments, to ensure footage covers the relevant period.”

Police also asked locals to check their properties for any items that may have been discarded by the alleged offender.

Anyone with information is asked to make a report at 105.police.govt.nz or by calling 105.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A new report says there are big gaps in New Zealand awareness, treatment and support for ovarian cancer which is the least survivable women’s cancer and takes one woman’s life every two days.

The Ovarian Cancer Foundation released new research at Parliament on Wednesday which found significant gaps in New Zealand’s awareness, diagnosis, treatment, support, research and clinical trials for ovarian cancer.

The report titled State of Ovarian Cancer Report – Aotearoa New Zealand 2025 said that there are an average of 306 new diagnoses each year and that one woman dies of the disease every 48 hours.

The foundation’s general manager, Liz Pennington, told Midday Report that there was a lack of awareness and understanding of the signs and symptoms of ovarian.

“We know that in New Zealand for example, nearly half of all women are actually being diagnosed with ovarian cancer in emergency departments across Aotearoa and we certainly know that when women are attending Accident and Emergency they’re attending because obviously they’re in pain or the presenting really acutely.”

That was a significantly higher rate of women being diagnosed in A and E than in Australia, where the rate was 21 to 28 percent, she said.

New Zealand had a very low level of research funding into ovarian cancer when compared with comparable companies, she said.

“When it comes to access to things like clinical trials currently in New Zealand women can only access five, again if we look across the Tasman in Australia women can access 44.”

Another issue is problems with accessing ultrasound for New Zealand women which meant that diagnosis was often significantly delayed, with women being encouraged to pay to go privately when and if they could, she said.

“And we’ve got 30 percent of women dying in that first year from the diagnosis that I talked about and a five year survival rate of only 42.8 percent, so a really significant issue needing significant investment and a plan of action really.”

A woman who went to the GP in Australia with potential symptoms of ovarian cancer such as bloating, feeling full without having eaten a lot and changes to bowel or bladder habits would be treated differently from one in New Zealand, she said.

“In Australia the pathway would be pelvic exam, so you know a feel of her tummy and things, a discussion and then she can be sent for both a blood test and a scan, here in New Zealand that’s not the case.”

In New Zealand, the woman may be sent for the blood test which is called CA125 and then after that she would be likely to have to revisit the GP where there could be problems getting an appointment and then she might be sent for an ultrasound, she said.

“But the large majority of GPs were telling us in the survey that access to ultrasound was difficult and that it was one of the key factors delaying diagnosis – so that’s something that needs to change.”

Three new treatments for ovarian cancer had been released in New Zealand in the last five years which had reduced the gap with Australia, she said.

But if those treatments were not funded then patients and their families had to resort to things like crowd funding or mortgaging their houses to pay for it, she said.

The report urges health decision-makers to implement the following actions:

• Add ovarian cancer symptoms education to the national cervical screening programme and clarify that screening does not detect other gynaecological cancers
• Amend Health Pathways to allow GPs to refer symptomatic women for an ultrasound at their first GP visit
• Identify people at higher genetic risk before they get ovarian cancer
• Address gynae-oncology specialist shortages
• Prioritise ovarian cancer clinical trials
• Increase funding and focus on ovarian cancer by the Health Research Council
• Address data gaps and make accurate, real-time data more accessible across the health system
• Improve medicines access and investment
• Include people with lived experience, their whānau and patient advocacy groups in service design, policy and research

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Northland secondary students cut off from their schools by a massive slip are taking lessons at a temporary ‘education hub’ until the road can be reopened.

Last month’s deluge triggered a landslide on Russell Road which has cut off the main road access for coastal communities northeast of Whangārei.

While the road to the north has reopened following repairs to a washed-out bridge, the detour via the Ōpua ferry adds at least an extra two hours each way to the journey to Whangārei.

The Ministry of Education said students in Helena Bay, Ōakura and Whangaruru normally attended four different high schools in Whangārei.

Isabel Evans, hautū (leader) for Te Tai Raro-North, said an education hub had been established at a local primary school so the affected students could continue learning.

Lessons at He Puna Ruku Mātauranga o Whangaruru, or Whangaruru School, started on Monday.

Evans said students attending the hub would remain enrolled at their usual schools. Learning would be supported on-site using Whangaruru School’s facilities, with students working at their current year levels using learning packs provided by their enrolled schools.

“School leaders will remain in regular contact with hub staff, the students and whānau. The hub will remain in place until the slip is cleared or the road is deemed safe to travel.”

Earlier, Whangārei District Council infrastructure committee chairman Brad Flower said the slip at Helena Bay Hill involved around 100,000 cubic metres of mud, boulders and trees. Some of the boulders weighed as much as 100 tonnes apiece.

Flower said even if contractors were able to shift 1000 cubic metres of debris a day, and worked every day with no weather interruptions, it would take three months to clear the road.

Only once the slip was cleared would it be known if the road itself had been damaged.

In the meantime the council had opened up an alternative ‘lifeline route’ south to Whangārei via Pigs Head Road and Kaiikanui Road.

But that route was narrow, steep and unsealed, with traffic only allowed through in convoys at set times, one direction at a time.

A local state of emergency in the Hikurangi-Coastal Ward, which included the coastal communities worst affected by the storm, was lifted on 3 February.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Northland secondary students cut off from their schools by a massive slip are taking lessons at a temporary ‘education hub’ until the road can be reopened.

Last month’s deluge triggered a landslide on Russell Road which has cut off the main road access for coastal communities northeast of Whangārei.

While the road to the north has reopened following repairs to a washed-out bridge, the detour via the Ōpua ferry adds at least an extra two hours each way to the journey to Whangārei.

The Ministry of Education said students in Helena Bay, Ōakura and Whangaruru normally attended four different high schools in Whangārei.

Isabel Evans, hautū (leader) for Te Tai Raro-North, said an education hub had been established at a local primary school so the affected students could continue learning.

Lessons at He Puna Ruku Mātauranga o Whangaruru, or Whangaruru School, started on Monday.

Evans said students attending the hub would remain enrolled at their usual schools. Learning would be supported on-site using Whangaruru School’s facilities, with students working at their current year levels using learning packs provided by their enrolled schools.

“School leaders will remain in regular contact with hub staff, the students and whānau. The hub will remain in place until the slip is cleared or the road is deemed safe to travel.”

Earlier, Whangārei District Council infrastructure committee chairman Brad Flower said the slip at Helena Bay Hill involved around 100,000 cubic metres of mud, boulders and trees. Some of the boulders weighed as much as 100 tonnes apiece.

Flower said even if contractors were able to shift 1000 cubic metres of debris a day, and worked every day with no weather interruptions, it would take three months to clear the road.

Only once the slip was cleared would it be known if the road itself had been damaged.

In the meantime the council had opened up an alternative ‘lifeline route’ south to Whangārei via Pigs Head Road and Kaiikanui Road.

But that route was narrow, steep and unsealed, with traffic only allowed through in convoys at set times, one direction at a time.

A local state of emergency in the Hikurangi-Coastal Ward, which included the coastal communities worst affected by the storm, was lifted on 3 February.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Experts say it is safe to swim at beaches in the capital’s harbour, but Wellingtonians are taking a cautious approach.

Nearly a week ago, the Moa Point Treatment Plant started pumping raw sewage into the ocean off the south coast after it completely failed early Wednesday morning.

The following Thursday evening, the raw sewage was diverted from being dumped near the coast to a 1.8km outfall pipe.

Wellington Water has warned it may need to use the short outfall pipe if it were to rain in the city.

There was no evidence to suggest sewage was reaching the city’s inner harbour, but at Oriental Bay most people RNZ spoke to thought locals were being careful around the water.

Calypso Science, a New Plymouth based oceanography research company with a focus on coastal currents, created a model of Wellington’s south coast after the sewage plant failure.

Physical oceanographer Remy Zyngfogel told RNZ based on that work, the sewage seemed not to be flowing into the inner harbour.

“I didn’t see anything near Lower Hutt, it is mainly concentrated near Lyall Bay and Ōwhiro Bay.”

See the migration of sewage in Wellington Harbour in the player above.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

All four homes red-stickered in Tauranga’s Welcome Bay after a deadly landslide last month have had their safety restrictions eased.

The large slip hit neighbouring homes on Welcome Bay Road killing two people during the storm that hit the upper and eastern North Island.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council said yellow stickers had replaced the red.

“Given the land had dried out since the weather event, and the ‘additional weight’ on the land reduced, council’s consultant geotechnical engineers deemed the risk of imminent slip had reduced to a point where the properties could be accessed, under certain conditions,” it said.

Three homes had a Y2 type of sticker which allowed short-term access, and one had a more onerous Y1 which allowed access only to certain parts of a building.

It was up to the homeowners what to do next.

“Additional geotechnical investigations for affected properties will need to be undertaken by the homeowners in conjunction with their insurance companies, to identify a way forward to remove the hazards,” council duty controller Peter Watson said in a statement.

The council was not considering an inquiry, he said.

An [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/585703/tauranga-city-council-votes-for-independent-review-into-fatal-mt-maunganui-landslide

independent inquiry] is going ahead nearby under Tauranga City Council into the Mt Maunganui campground landslide that killed six people, and the government may also do an inquiry.

No detailed survey of landslide risks

The history of landslides in the Welcome Bay area included a geotech study in 1980 that said: “Recent subdivisions in Welcome Bay should be examined by a geotechnical engineer as the area contains many inferred landslides, which may be reactivated by urban development.”

It was titled A preliminary assessment of geological factors influencing slope stability and landslipping in and around Tauranga city.

“The site of the fatal slip was not subdivided until the 1990s, with the building having been built in the year 2000, therefore it would not have been one of the subdivisions mentioned in the report,” Watson told RNZ on Tuesday.

The council had not carried out a detailed survey or assessment of landslide risks for the parts of Welcome Bay Road in the district, he said.

“We instead require that the stability of subdivisions on sloping ground … is assessed and demonstrated by an accredited geotechnical engineer or geologist as part of the resource consent process.”

Urban and lifestyle development areas that were known to be susceptible to land instability from studies done in 1981 and 2009 became a focus, but the Welcome Bay Road properties were zoned rural and not included in these studies.

The studies provided input for its district plan hazard maps, covering:

For the latter, “the scale at which this assessment was completed does not allow analysis on a site-by-site or individual subdivision scale”, Watson said.

The Geotechnical Society has a list of geotech studies in the area.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A teenager who murdered another after months of feuding will spend at least eight years behind bars.

Maxwel-Dee Repia, 18, was killed on Turangi Rd in Grey Lynn in September, 2024.

Three others he was with were also injured in the shooting.

Kayden Stanaway, who was 19 at the time of shooting, pleaded guilty to murder and three counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Stanaway was sentenced to 16 years for murder at the High Court at Auckland, with a minimum period of eight years behind bars.

MORE TO COME…

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A senior navy officer facing court martial over allegations of encouraging a junior to kiss her on the cheeks at a bar during an overseas operation in 2023 has been found not guilty of doing an act to prejudice service discipline

She can now be named as the former Ship Commander of HMNZS Canterbury – Bronwyn Heslop.

Heslop, who spent 36 years in the Navy, is currently in the role of Military Maritime Operation Orders – Instructions and Procedures – after Commander Wayne Andrew took on the of Ship Commander fo HMNZS Canterbury in September 2025.

The charge under the Armed Forces Discipline Act, which includes any act likely to bring discredit on the service of the Armed Forces, carries a penalty of up to two years imprisonment.

A panel of three senior military officers, acting as a jury would in a civilian court, delivered their unanimous verdict of “not guilty” on Wednesday morning, after more than five hours of deliberation across Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, at the Court Martial sitting at the Devonport Naval Base in Auckland.

Judge William Hastings declined to grant Heslop name suppression earlier this week, but suppressions had to remain in place, after her lawyer signalled an appeal.

However, Heslop’s lawyer told the Court Martial that today’s verdict meant they no longer had grounds for an appeal and that no appeal would be filed.

Judge Hastings lifted the interim order, which allows media to name Heslop.

On Monday, both the former junior officer who was allegedly encouraged to kiss the senior officer, as well as Heslop, took the witness stand.

The alleged interaction happened in Fiji in March 2023, when the junior officer first joined HMNZS Canterbury, and officers were given leave for a few days after docking and were drinking at a bar in town at night.

The former junior officer, who was the sole witness for the prosecution, said the senior officer first caught the attention of him and another junior officer when she tapped on a glass pane and gestured for a kiss through the other side of the glass, and later gestured for them to come inside the bar and tapped on her cheeks to gesture for a kiss.

Heslop denied seeking a kiss on the cheek from the junior officer, and said her level of intoxication was two, on a scale of zero to ten, with zero being sober, when they arrived at the bar.

Another navy officer called as a defence witness said they’d spent the majority of that night with Heslop and did not see them with the junior officer.

The former junior officer, during cross-examination by the accused’s lawyer, conceded that he didn’t tell the whole truth when first approached by the military police in August 2024, as he didn’t think he’d be taken seriously and that he was worried his career would be affected if he spoke up.

Under cross-examination by the defence lawyer, he admitted that alcohol affected his memory of some events of the night, but was adamant that he had a clear memory of the alleged core interaction with Heslop.

Heslop in 1998 became the first female officer to be in charge of a Royal New Zealand Navy vessel, when she took command of HMNZS Moa.

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