Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

Settled and warm weather is forecast this weekend, with temperatures expected to reach the high-20’s for some places.

It comes as a welcome relief for those who enjoy warmer and drier weather after last week’s heavy rain.

“It’s pretty much settled weather, maybe the lower South Island might see some showers, especially in the southern and western regions on Saturday, otherwise it’s mostly dry,” MetService meteorologist Samkelo Magwala told RNZ.

Magwala said the east of the North Island is forecast to see the warmest temperatures, with Gisborne, Napier and Hastings expected to reach the high-20’s on Thursday.

It comes after the east coast experienced the brunt of the severe weather last week. Tauranga, Whitianga, and Whakatāne all saw their wettest day on record on Wednesday. Tauranga received 274mm of rain, while Whitianga saw 247.6mm, and 114.2mm for Whakatāne.

A ridge of high pressure brings settled weather to much of the country on Saturday and Sunday, with temperatures forecast to be in the mid-20’s for most places in the North Island, and slightly cooler for the South Island.

But don’t get used to the warmer weather, MetService said a frontal rain band, preceded by a strong northwest flow, is expected to move over the South Island on Monday and on to the North Island later in the day.

“Things are changing on Monday, with another system coming, giving us some rain in most parts of the country,” Magwala said.

Magwala said the front was expected to mostly affect western parts of the South Island and bring some showers to the central North Island.

There is low confidence for warning amounts of rain in Fiordland, the ranges of the districts of Westland, Grey and Buller, the west of the Tasman District, the headwaters of the Otago and Canterbury lakes and rivers, and also about the Tararua Range.

Additionally, there is low confidence northwest winds could reach severe gale strength in exposed places of Southland, including Stewart Island, Clutha, western parts of Otago, the Marlborough Sounds, Wellington and Wairarapa.

“The change of weather on Monday might affect the school openings, so people should keep an eye on the MetService website to keep up to date,” Magwala said.

MetService’s forecast temperatures this weekend:

Friday

• Auckland – High of 25C, low of 16C
• Hamilton – High of 27C, low of 12C
• Tauranga – High of 25C, low of 17C
• Wellington – High of 20C, low of 14C
• Christchurch – High of 18C, low of 9C
• Dunedin – High of 19C, low of 11C
• Invercargill – High of 16C, low of 9C

Saturday

• Auckland – High of 25C, low of 16C
• Hamilton – High 26C, low of 12C
• Tauranga – High of 25C, low of 14C
• Wellington – High of 19C, low of 15C
• Christchurch – High of 23C, low of 11C
• Dunedin – High of 20C, low of 12C
• Invercargill – High of 19C, low of 10C

Sunday

• Auckland – High of 25C, low of 18C
• Hamilton – High 25C, low of 12C
• Tauranga – High of 27C, low of 15C
• Wellington – High of 19C, low of 15C
• Christchurch – High of 22C, low of 14C
• Dunedin – High of 22C, low of 13C
• Invercargill – High of 21C, low of 10C

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

Fire and Emergency says some of its firefighters are afflicted by angst over union signs on fire trucks, feeling their image is being tarnished.

The signs – such as ones saying ‘dire emergency’ – have been emblazoned on trucks and fire stations for months.

National MPs questioned what FENZ was doing about the signs – and about damaging fires during strikes – at a parliamentary select committee on Wednesday.

The agency said it could not do anything about the signs, and the firefighters’ union said nor should it.

The industrial dispute has gone on for over a year and a half, and the two sides remained far apart, according to both FENZ and the union on Thursday.

MPs had been quizzing the agency over its plans to both save $150 million – the money does not return to the government’s consolidated fund but will be reinvested or act as a buffer because levy income has become more volatile – and adapt to the likes of more wildfires and extreme storms, during the routine annual review of FENZ.

‘That can’t be what a professional workforce does’

Ōtaki MP Tim Costley raised the issue of the protest signs, stating, “That can’t be what a professional workforce does can it?”

FENZ chairperson Rebecca Keoghan responded: “We have asked the same thing at board level and I know the team has looked into it.”

Chief executive Kerry Gregory then said he was picking up on “a lot of angst” – even from some career firefighters – but mostly volunteers.

“I get a lot of feedback from our volunteers saying we need to do something about this, you know, it’s disrespectful, it’s not professional, it’s affecting our image.”

He had checked legally to ensure there was nothing they could do, and confirmed the signs were covered by the notified strike action.

“Effectively you haven’t done anything because you believe you can’t?” Costley asked.

“Essentially,” Gregory said.

The Professional Firefighters’ Union national secretary Wattie Watson said it was FENZ that had disrespected personnel in the dispute.

“Putting information on the appliances so that the public can understand what we are fighting for is not disrespectful.”

People regularly came up to ask firefighters to explain the signs, she told RNZ on Thursday.

‘There are delays and the risk of those almost daily’

As for striking firefighters, National MP Melissa Lee said it was “utterly frustrating” how fire had destroyed a Pakuranga business on 9 January when firefighters a few minutes away were on a notified stopwork for an hour.

It took volunteer crews half an hour to get to the Pita House shop run by Syrian brothers. One brother went to hospital from stress and heat.

FENZ executives and Keoghan told MPs they had asked the union multiple times if it could budge but it would not.

“To not be able to sit down and say when human life or property is at risk these are the conditions our firefighters can be made available I think is unacceptable,” deputy chief executive Megan Stiffler said.

On 9 January in an online post, FENZ accused the union of “gambling with the public’s safety”. Government ministers also criticised the union at the time, which the union rejected.

Stiffler told the select committee on Wednesday that senior officers who went to the fire had to stand and wait, causing stress.

“I spoke with the incident controller – it had a huge impact on him, seeing that family’s livelihood go.

“We have to find a solution where the community is safe,” she said.

Gregory said they should be able to reach an agreement with the union and would keep trying, adding it was pleasing the union called off another one-hour strike due during last week’s storms.

“We’re not seeking legislative change in there,” he said.

The government has said it would consider a law change over striking doctors.

Watson rejected the criticism.

FENZ had presented them with a “long list” of types of incidents the union might call off the strikes for, though the action had strict legal parameters around it, including advance notice.

“FENZ is attempting to go behind that notice, and any change that we give them would give them an argument that these notices are no longer valid,” she said.

The Pakuranga fire was not an insolated event.

“Unfortunately that fire occurred, but those fires occur and there are delays and the risk of those almost daily in FENZ.”

The agency did not inform the public when it did not have enough staff to cover shifts, or trucks were out of action.

“That hour that the firefighters are striking, yes, there is that risk but we want the public to understand that risk can occur at any time … and they won’t know that.”

The agency should more focus on settling the industrial dispute, Watson said.

The two sides were in talks early this week and meet again next week.

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

A gang funeral procession is expected to make the six-hour journey from Auckland to Foxton this week, after the death of the son of a former Head Hunters gang leader.

Mossy Hines, the son of late William “Bird” Hines, died on Monday, aged 49, according to posts from whānau on social media.

His body was taken to Haven Falls Funeral Home in Henderson, Auckland, and would make the journey to Foxton on Friday, to be buried at the Motuiti Pā Marae beside his father, who died in November 2023.

A funeral service was expected at 11am.

Inspector Steve Richards said police were aware a large group of mourners, including gang members, would be arriving in Foxton over the coming days.

There would be more officers in the area than usual, to ensure the safety of everyone in the small community.

“We do not expect any major disruption to road users or the public, however State Highway 1 in the area of the Urupā may experience delays for a short period of time, and we ask motorists for patience during this time.”

He said police would be monitoring the roads to ensure safe driving, and to remind those travelling that any breaches of the law would be either dealt with at the time or followed up later.

Horowhenua mayor Bernie Wanden said police had a template for these kinds of events, and he wasn’t expecting any major disruption.

“This is not new for us,” he said. “Police have had to deal with a similar event only about a year or so ago, so I’m sure they’re planning well for it. The last event went without any hiccups, and I’m hoping that this does the same.”

As the marae was north of the town, he didn’t expect the funeral procession would disrupt daily activities for most residents.

He hadn’t spoken to police, but he expected they would keep him informed of logistics across the weekend.

The funeral for Mossy Hines’ father briefly blocked State Highway 1, but police said there were no significant issues reported – although police said one person was arrested for a driving-related matter immediately after the tangi.

Mossy Hines was jailed in 2009 for “a prolonged attack” with a Stanley knife on someone he thought was a nark.

According to a judicial decision available online, in March 2021, police executed a search warrant at Mossy Hines’ home in Pakuranga, Auckland “and found a total of $63,610 in cash, including $20,000 hidden in his underpants”.

They also found a gun, ammunition, and small amounts of controlled drugs, and he was arrested and charged with various offences.

In June 2022, they arrested Mossy Hines again, this time at the SkyCity casino in Auckland, after a search warrant at his home in Howick uncovered ammunition and what appeared to be a cannabis plant.

In September 2022, police searched a Gucci bum bag he was carrying while walking in Highland Park and found 43 grams of methamphetamine, some cannabis plant, and $15,296 in cash.

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

Video has been shared online of a mass brawl on Auckland’s Karangahape Rd last year.

Emergency services were called to the scene of the fight at 3.40am in late December, which police believed involved over 50 people.

Three men, aged 27, 33, and 46 were hospitalised with serious injuries.

Police charged a 21-year-old man with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, but had previously asked the public for information about two identified through CCTV.

In the video of what appeared to be the December brawl posted to social media, a group of men could be seen stomping and kicking another man as he lay motionless on the ground outside of the shops on Karangahape Rd.

Do you know more? Email finn.blackwell@rnz.co.nz

It panned quickly to show another man laying on the pavement as someone tried to pull him up.

The video then cuts to a man shirtless, standing with his fists up before another fight breaks out.

He was knocked to the ground and kicked repeatedly.

After a second cut, the video jumped to a number of people trying to break up the fight, getting in between those involved, as the shirtless man staggered away.

Small pools of blood could be seen on the pavement.

It wasn’t long until more fighting spilled onto the street.

The video continued with more people knocked to the ground and screaming could be heard from onlookers.

Detective senior sergeant Martin Friend said police were aware of video clips being shared on social media.

He said no further arrests had been made.

Friend said they were still appealing for information around three assaults.

They wanted to hear from anyone with information about serious assaults on December 28, at roughly 4.15am outside Crown Bar on Queen St, 4.30am, on Cobden St just off Karangahape Rd, and about 5am, at the Mobil petrol station on the coroner of Karangahape and Ponsonby Rds.

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

A grandmother who fled rising floodwaters with her moko is overwhelmed by the scale of destruction in her East Coast community.

“I’ve probably walked around in circles a thousand times,” Philippa Wright told RNZ from her Te Araroa home, “not really knowing where to begin”.

As a digger shifted mud and logs on the property, Wright said she, her 10-year-old grandson, and husband Steve were “extremely lucky” to survive the storm that laid waste to the township last week.

“Seeing what they’re digging out … I knew it was deep, but it’s deep alright, and you couldn’t see the logs for the mud, but now … they’re scraping them all out.”

As the rain came down on 21 January, Wright and her moko sat in the car, poised to evacuate.

She periodically flicked the headlights on watching the water, while her husband monitored the levels from inside their tiny home.

The property, which now had a few dwellings and a deck, was just a bare paddock with some trees when they bought it five years ago.

“And as soon as we walked on this land we just knew it was us,” Wright said, and after years of work, they had finally made it their off-the-grid dream.

“Punaruku Stream is our boundary between us and the camping ground, and it was just a little trickler.”

That night, however, her neighbours told her that the stream was climbing up the bridge – and that this time, the rain and the water levels were different.

“The first thing I noticed was the smell changed, the earth, the debris.

“I flicked on my lights and all I could see was this wall of water – logs, debris, in the neighbour’s section come flying towards me … and I just planted it.”

On the phone to Steve, she yelled at him to “get the hell out of there”.

“He just heard the logs hitting our tiny home. He couldn’t go out the front door because of the water level and the debris.”

While he escaped with the dog out the back, Wright and her grandson found a “pocket” at the base of the hill – but with slips in front of them and the bridge impassable behind them, they were trapped.

“There were slips going all around us, so we were having to shuffle backwards and forwards because we could hear the crackling and stuff coming down.”

It was a sleepless night.

Wright’s neighbours had escaped with their five children onto the roof of their house and on the phone to Te Araroa Civil Defence, all she could do was flash her headlights at them.

“They were asking us if we could see them, and thankfully … one of them had a high-vis on … so I could tell them, “Yes, they’re still on the roof”.”

Huia Ngatai and her family, the youngest only three-years-old, survived their ordeal and were evacuated by helicopter the next morning.

Wright said their property was “total devastation”.

A Givealittle page dedicated to the Ngatai family’s recovery has received numerous donations and messages of support.

To Wright’s surprise, a page had also been set up for her and Steve – by their daughter – detailing what they had lost and the tough clean-up ahead.

“She didn’t tell me she was doing it, I didn’t request it at all. I’m totally humbled by it and just so grateful for people’s love and support.

“[There] are so many people that need help, we’re just one of many [families]. It’s not just us.”

Wright said she had evacuated to the Hinerupe Marae the morning after the storm, where she had been well looked after.

“They’re very beautiful people, they’ve been amazing. I’m so glad I’ve moved to a community where people are just amazing, and make you feel so loved.

“In these times just a hug’s all you need.”

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

National and Labour are joining forces to get modern slavery legislation into Parliament, using a new process to skip the biscuit tin for the first time.

National’s Greg Fleming and Labour’s Camilla Belich have agreed to co-sponsor the bill.

The bill strengthens reporting to Parliament, brings in public naming and potential liability for directors and senior managers, along with fines up to $200,000 for companies that fail to report on modern slavery.

The move marks the first time Parliament has used a new rule allowing a bipartisan majority to have a member’s bill progress without being pulled from the ‘biscuit tin’ ballot.

It would also introduce civil penalties of up to $600,000, give the Human Rights Commission a formal role and create a public register of reports.

A capacity for future reviews would include the potential for establishment of an anti-slavery commissioner.

In a statement, Fleming said the issue of modern slavery was close to his heart and he had been working on the legislation since coming to Parliament.

“It’s time that New Zealand has a coordinated framework to deal with modern slavery, and this bill does just that,” he said.

Belich said the legislation would also bring New Zealand into line with partners like the United Kingdom and European Union.

“Workers in New Zealand and around the world should never face the horrors of modern slavery. It’s time New Zealand stood with other countries and acted,” she said.

“When we signed free trade agreements with these partners, we said we would act on modern slavery, and through this joint Bill we are keeping that promise. I’m proud that both sides of the House have come together to stand against exploitation, and grateful to the advocates, organisations and businesses who have pushed for this change.”

Parliament’s internal rules – called standing orders – were updated as part of a 2020 review with a new process enabling the automatic introduction of a member’s bill if it gets formal expressions of support from at least 61 non-executive MPs – those who are not ministers or Parliamentary under-secretaries.

The bill was lodged this morning, and with that rule – standing order 288 – invoked, it will be introduced to Parliament on the next sitting day, 10 February.

Thousands enslaved

One tracker estimated 8000 people in New Zealand were living in modern slavery, comparatively low compared to other countries – placing it 148th out of 160 states for slavery prevalence.

Police in August last year said they had 31 ongoing investigations into the matter.

World Vision found in 2019 that 5 percent of New Zealand’s total imports were shown to be linked to child labour or forced labour.

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

Work is continuing on opening roads in the North Island after last week’s severe weather wreaked havoc on the transport network.

Slips and flooding have significantly damaged State Highway 35 on the East Coast and State Highway 25 in the Coromandel.

NZ Transport Agency regional transport services manager Mark Owen told Morning Report crews were making progress and a section of State Highway 25 at Kuaotunu had reopened.

However, the highway remained closed between Whangamatā and Whiritoa.

“Quite a lot of major work in there and we’ll have an update later this week when we hope to have that section of State Highway 25 open,” Owen said.

Owen said there were dozens of slips through the Waioweka Gorge, which connected Gisborne and the Bay of Plenty.

“State Highway 2 is closed through the Waioweka Gorge between Ōpōtiki and Mātāwai, unfortunately there’s been massive damage in there. Crews are beavering away at each end, they’re doing a full assessment and once we know more we hope to be able to give some indications later this week as to when it may open,” he said.

“If and when it does it will still probably be many sections of one lane, and lots of longer term recovery work required through the gorge.

“Teams are working, we’ve got all the expertise we need, it’s just going to take some time.”

Owen said crews were also carrying out remediation work.

“When we put back we do try and put back better. We do sort of try and factor in the fact that we’re getting more of these intense weather events,” he said.

“The good news is what we’re seeing post Cyclone Gabrielle is a lot of those areas we have repaired have stood up really well. So it’s not now other more vulnerable sections of the highway that have been impacted.”

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