Public Media – Page 4

RNZ / REECE BAKER

An alleged e-bike thief was caught by police after he crashed the bike he is believed to have stolen.

Police were called to reports that an electric trail bike had been taken at knifepoint from Coliseum Drive in the Auckland suburb of Albany at 7.41pm on Tuesday.

The police Eagle helicopter was already in the area, and located the suspect riding at “excessive speed” heading south down the Northern Busway, police said.

“The bike has continued to be tracked by Eagle, as it exited at Constellation Station, making its way onto the Northern Motorway,” Inspector Aron McKeown said.

The suspect was seen exiting at Tristram Avenue, heading for Beacroft Park, McKeown said.

“This reckless run came to an end after he fell off the bike on Bevyn Street.

“The 15-year-old didn’t suffer any injuries, but he did find himself in handcuffs and under arrest.”

Police charged him with aggravated robbery, reckless driving and possession for supply of cannabis.

He will appear at the North Shore Youth Court today.

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

February 11, 2026

Why are new tea towels worse at drying dishes than old ones?

Source: Radio New Zealand

There’s a peculiar ritual in many kitchens: reaching past the crisp, pristine tea towel hanging on the oven door to grab the threadbare, slightly greying one shoved in the drawer.

We all know that old faithful dries dishes better, even if we can’t quite explain why. It seems counter-intuitive – shouldn’t brand new towels, fresh from the packaging, outperform their worn-out predecessors?

Yet here we are, instinctively choosing the frayed over the fresh.

That “worn in” feeling we associate with our favourite bath towels, tea towels and even bed linens isn’t just nostalgia.

Arina Habich

. There’s genuine science behind why your tea towels actually improve with age, and understanding it might change how you think about all your household textiles.

The science of soaking it up

Tea towels are typically made from cotton or linen fibres, chosen specifically because these natural cellulose fibres are inherently hygroscopic, or water-loving.

But fibre type alone doesn’t determine how well your towel performs. A textile’s absorption is the result of a complex interplay between fibre, yarn, fabric structure, and any finishes applied during manufacturing.

Textiles absorb and hold water in two key places: within the fibre structure itself, and in the spaces between fibres and yarns. This is why fabric structure matters so much.

Think about bath towels – when was the last time you used a smooth, thin one? Bath towels are typically thick terry pile construction with lots of small loops on the surface. These loops dramatically increase surface area, allowing water to be easily wicked into the fabric.

Tea towels come in various constructions: plain weave, twill weave, waffle cloth, or terry. Plain weave towels – the kind you see with printed designs – require a smooth surface for clean, crisp screen printing.

Waffle cloth, which looks exactly as its name suggests, has a three-dimensional texture that makes it incredibly effective. Like with terry towels, this structure increases surface area and enhances water absorption.

Why old beats new

So what makes your battered old tea towel superior to its pristine replacement? Three key factors are at play.

Silicone finishes. Many brand-new textiles arrive coated in silicone softeners that provide softness and wrinkle resistance, making them appealing on store shelves.

But here’s the catch: these same finishes are often water resistant. Your brand new tea towel may literally have a water-repellent coating. The fix is simple – always wash new tea towels in hot water before first use.

The impact of laundering. Fabrics undergo significant changes during their first several washes – typically up to six cycles. During manufacturing, whether knitted or woven, fabrics are held under tension. Washing causes the yarns to relax in what’s called “relaxation shrinkage”, reverting to their natural, tension-free state. Industry typically tolerates up to 5% shrinkage.

Here’s where it gets interesting: while your tea towel’s dimensions may shrink slightly, its mass stays the same, meaning the fabric becomes thicker and denser. In waffle weave towels, this shrinkage can make the three-dimensional texture more pronounced, increasing surface geometry and absorption. This phenomenon has been documented in terry bath towels, as well.

Fabric ageing. Repeated washing and drying causes minor surface damage that actually improves performance. Small fibres gradually raise up from the fabric surface, creating a fluffier, “hairier” texture.

Really smooth tea towels aren’t very absorbent because water struggles to wet the surface – it can almost bead up due to the contact angle between water and the smooth fabric.

But as washing raises more fibres off the surface making a “rougher” textile, the contact angle decreases, making the fabric easier to wet. Waffle fabrics, with their irregular surfaces, are inherently more absorbent from the start due to favourable contact angles.

In short: washing leads to more surface texture, leading to better absorption.

Not just tea towels

The real revelation here isn’t just about tea towels – it’s about how we think about textiles in general.

That “worn in” feeling we associate with our favourite bath towels, tea towels and even bed linens isn’t just nostalgia. Many of our home textiles are genuinely performing better after repeated laundering, having shed their factory finishes and relaxed into their true structure.

So before you send your old tea towels off for recycling to replace with new ones, remember: those frayed edges and faded patterns represent months of your towel becoming exactly what it was meant to be.

And when you do buy new household textiles, wash them at least once before using to remove any residual finishes.

Rebecca Van Amber is a Senior Lecturer in Fashion & Textiles, RMIT University.

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

February 11, 2026

Government launches independent review into Reserve Bank’s Covid-19 response

Source: Radio New Zealand

The review into the Reserve Bank was to identify key lessons, the government said. (File photo) RNZ

The government is launching an independent review of the Reserve Bank’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, due to be published just months out from the election.

The review – to be released in September – will focus on the central bank’s actions, including cutting the official cash rate to 0.25 percent and engaging in money printing.

It would also look at the coordination of monetary and fiscal policy – that is, how the bank’s response interacted with the government’s.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the review’s purpose was to identify any key lessons, in light of the associated spike in inflation and house prices.

“The Reserve Bank of New Zealand took unprecedented action in response to the Covid-19 pandemic,” she said.

Finance Minister Nicola Willis. (File photo) RNZ / Nathan McKinnon

“These actions helped to preserve jobs and keep businesses afloat, but the indirect impacts included decades-high inflation, and losses of about $10.3 billion on the LSAP [Large Scale Asset Purchase] programme and a significant spike in asset values with house prices increasing 30 per cent in one year.”

In October, Reserve Bank chief economist Paul Conway told a Sydney investment conference the LSAP scheme, commonly referred to as money printing, had effectively paid for itself and helped the economy to function at a time of stress.

“By boosting economic activity during the pandemic, LSAPs increased government tax revenues,” Conway said.

“This higher revenue almost entirely covered the direct losses from LSAPs, leaving consolidated crown debt virtually unchanged over the medium term.”

Other commentators have strongly criticised the LSAP programme, the cost and the related programme of $19b of cheap loans to banks.

Monetary policy experts Athanasios Orphanides and David Archer have been appointed to carry out the independent review.

Orphanides was a former governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank.

Archer was a former Reserve Bank assistant governor and former head of the Central Banking Studies Unit at the Bank for International Settlements.

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

February 11, 2026

Police request public’s help in finding Hastings stabbing suspect

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police said the alleged offender fled the scene prior to their arrival. RNZ / Richard Tindiller

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.

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

February 11, 2026

Big gaps in awareness, treatment, support for ovarian cancer

Source: Radio New Zealand

Nearly half of all New Zealand women with ovarian cancer are being diagnosed in emergency departments across the country. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

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.

Crosses representing ovarian cancer deaths on the steps of Parliament after a petition with more than 7000 signatures, calling for national diagnostic guidelines to be developed for ovarian cancer was presented there on 16 March 2021. RNZ / Dom Thomas

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

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

February 11, 2026

‘Education hub’ opens for students cut off from schools by Helena Bay Hill slip

Source: Radio New Zealand

Students cut off from their high schools by a monster slip northeast of Whangārei are instead taking lessons at a temporary ‘education hub’ set up at a local primary school. Supplied / Ngātiwai Trust Board

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

February 11, 2026

‘Education hub’ for students cut off from schools by Helena Bay Hill slip