Category: Public Media

Posted on

In pictures: The devastating impacts the Tongariro National Park wildfire has had on our landscape

Source: Radio New Zealand

A huge wildfire in Tongariro National Park is expected to have significant impacts on biodiversity.

The large fire on the Central Plateau broke out on Saturday afternoon, triggering evacuations of trampers and residents, including Whakapapa Village.

Firefighters have been battling the fire for three days, which has since grown to over 2800 hectares.

Here’s how it unfolded in pictures:

Pictures from Saturday, 8 November

A view of the fire from Tongariro Crossing. RNZ / Hamish Cardwell

Tongariro on Saturday, a few hours after the fire broke out. Supplied/ Liz Brooker

The fire in Tongariro National Park as the sun starts to set on Saturday evening. Supplied / David Golding

Tongariro on Saturday 8 November 2025, a few hours after the fire broke out. Kristina Montgomerie / @kristinamonts

The fire in Tongariro National Park, on the night of Saturday 8 November, 2025. Supplied

Pictures from Sunday, 9 November

A huge amount of smoke obscures Tongariro as a wildfire continues to rage into Sunday morning. RNZ / Hamish Cardwell

A number of helicopters with monsoon buckets and planes are fighting the blaze in Tongariro National Park. RNZ / Hamish Cardwell

A view of the Tongariro wildfire taken from SH48. RNZ / Hamish Cardwell

Smoke from the huge Tongariro National Park fire behind the historic Chateau Tongariro on Sunday 9 November 2025. Supplied / Dean Buckeridge

The Tongariro fire as seen from near the summit of Mt Ruapehu. Supplied / Max Rayner

The Tongariro fire as seen from near the summit of Mt Ruapehu. Supplied / Max Rayner

Pictures from Monday, 10 November

Firefighters have been battling the blaze for three days. RNZ/Dan Jones

Officials provide an update on the fire, confirming it has spreads to nearly 3000 hectares. RNZ/Dan Jones

Ruapehu District Mayor Weston Kirton says it’s been a stressful few days for his community. RNZ/Dan Jones

Firefighters continue to battle the Tongariro National Park wildfire on Monday. Fire and Emergency NZ

An aerial view of the fire on Monday. Fire and Emergency NZ

An aerial view of the fire on Monday. Fire and Emergency

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

Posted on

RSV immunisation could prevent thousands of babies being hospitalised

Source: Radio New Zealand

Pharmac needs to act quickly on the RSV vaccine to ensure it is ready for next winter, say experts. SERGII IAREMENKO/Science Photo Library via AFP

A “game-changer” immunisation that could save thousands of babies from a potentially deadly lung infection is sitting in the hands of Pharmac, according to respiratory health experts.

Pharmac’s Immunisation Advisory Committee met last week to discuss the funding application for nirsevimab to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants, as well as one for Arexvy, which is already licensed RSV vaccine for adults aged 60 and older.

Asthma and Respiratory Foundation chief executive Letitia Harding said the potential approval of nirsevimab could be “a game-changer” – particularly for Māori and Pacific communities.

“This is the progress we’ve been waiting for.

“RSV hospitalises thousands of children every year, and this treatment has the potential to prevent many of those admissions.”

But Pharmac needed to act quickly to ensure it was ready for next winter, she said.

“We can’t afford delays if we want to save lives of some of our most vulnerable.

“We’re urging decision makers to prioritise funding so that New Zealand infants can benefit as soon as possible.”

Another preventative medicine (Palivizumab) is already available for high-risk babies and young children but requires monthly hospital visits for injections.

Nirsevimab can be given by GP clinics, pharmacists or midwives and a single injection protects against RSV for five or six months.

gives protection over the entire RSV “season”.

It is a monoclonal antibody, which gives passive immunity rather than stimulating the immune system to make its own antibodies, like a vaccine.

Foundation medical director Professor Bob Hancox said the opportunity to introduce a more effective and accessible RSV immunisation was “a critical step for child health”.

“RSV is one of the most common and serious respiratory infections in infants, and it places enormous strain on our hospitals every winter.

“This new treatment could dramatically reduce hospitalisations and health inequities,” he said.

RSV immunisation is used in 40 other countries, and data shows it can cut RSV hospitalisations among babies by up to 90 percent.

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

Posted on

Black Caps, West Indies fourth T20 rained out

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mitchell Santner. Chris Symes / www.photosport.nz

The fourth T20 international between the Black Caps and West Indies has been wiped out by rain in Nelson.

There were just 6.3 overs played before rain took hold at Saxton Oval and didn’t abate enough for a return to the field.

The Black Caps lead the series 2-1, with the final match due to be played in Dunedin on Thursday afternoon.

Play was first halted after five overs, with the West Indies 30 for none after Mitch Santner won the toss for the Black Caps and decided to bowl.

Drizzly weather turned to steady rain and the players retreated to the pavilion.

There was a break in the weather a short time later but they only managed 1.3 overs before the rain returned. In that time the West Indies progressed to 38 but lost the wicket of Alick Athanaze who skied a delivery from Jimmy Neesham, and Daryl Mitchell took the catch.

The players were fated not to return and the skippers shook hands with the decision to abandon the match at 4.08pm.

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

Posted on

Wellington teens do the heavy lifting to help full the new library’s shelves

Source: Radio New Zealand

A group of Wellington students has turned a page on history, moving some of the last books into the capital’s redeveloped central Library.

Te Matapihi has been closed since 2019 after it was deemed earthquake-prone.

Following years of construction, the library is set to reopen in March next year. Now, its shelves are starting to be filled once again with books, thanks to the helping hands of 50 students from Rongotai College.

About 10am on Monday, a queue of boys snaked outside the library as they lined up behind a red Crown moving truck ready to slide boxes of books to the students.

The human train walked back into the building and up its three levels to where empty bookshelves and librarians were waiting for them.

It harkened back to when students from the same school moved books into the old city library in 1940.

Rongotai College Deputy Principal Geoff Hall told RNZ they had just 45 minutes to move the books.

“I’d be more than happy for it to go on a little bit longer than that, I think it is really good that these boys are giving back to the community as much as anything.

“And every time I suppose they shift a book, they feel that story.”

Hall said it was great to context with the school’s past 85 years on.

“We have got our centenary in two years’ time, so it is sort of a good way to kick start that I think.”

Wellington City Council head of Creative Capital Gisella Carr told RNZ the event links the past with the present.

“As we said to the boys this morning, in 85 years’ time through our archival function those future schoolboys will be looking at pictures of these schoolboys.”

Carr said every inch of the building has been redesigned with the public in mind.

“We are standing on the floor now where there is 30 percent more public space available so it is amazing.”

She said alongside the books the library would offer a range of services such as recording studios for bands and podcasters and a green screen for film makers.

Wellington Mayor Andrew Little helped out the students by bringing a box of books into the space.

Little told RNZ it was his first time seeing the library fully fitted out after it shut in 2019.

“Seeing it like this yeah, just stunning it is actually just amazing.”

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

Posted on

NZTA discovers 440 fake commercial driver licences

Source: Radio New Zealand

NZTA is in the process of contacting the individuals involved. 123RF

The New Zealand Transport Agency has discovered and revoked 440 fake commercial driver licensees.

NZTA said they discovered false or altered documentation that converted overseas licences to New Zealand licences.

The discovery was made in an audit during the “conversion process” in July 2025.

“We have systems in place to identify, investigate and respond to suspected fraudulent activity and we will act swiftly when we find it by holding people to account,” deputy director of land transport Mike Hargreaves said.

NZTA is in the process of contacting the individuals involved.

Providing false or misleading information as part of driver licence application is an offence under the Land Transport Act 1998, punishable by an infringement fine of up to $750.  

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

Posted on

Te Pāti Māori purge fails to end the party war

Source: Radio New Zealand

Te Pāti Māori co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi. RNZ/Samuel Rillstone

Analysis: As the Iwi Chairs Forum fought fruitlessly to keep Te Pāti Māori together last week, spokesperson Bayden Barber offered a warning: a split tōtara is only good for the fire.

Now Te Pāti Māori finds itself in an inferno.

The slow-burn conflagration has been smouldering for so long, it’s easy to miss the magnitude. But this is no small matter.

This is a party ousting a third of its caucus, citing “irreconcilable differences” and “serious breaches” of its constitution.

Fronting reporters on Monday morning, co-leaders Debbie Ngarewa-Packer and Rawiri Waititi wished their former colleagues “all the best of luck” and waved them on their way.

“We had to bring this to a close, and we must move on.”

But that seems overly hopeful. Both Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris were quick to declare the move “unconstitutional” and are threatening to challenge it “in all respects”.

The party’s National Council has also yet to consider whether to invoke the waka-jumping provision and eject the MPs from Parliament altogether.

That would require agreement of the two other remaining MPs – Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke and Oriini Kaipara. It’s unclear yet where they stand in all this.

Either outcome is ugly. If the “rogue” MPs remain, they will serve as a constant reminder of division. If they’re booted, two by-elections loom, sure to be bitter and bruising.

At least a public contest might shed more clarity on what’s behind the weeks of infighting, with voters so far largely left in a cloud of smoke.

Asked to clarify on Monday exactly what the MPs had done to deserve expulsion, the co-leaders refused: “You’re not going to get that detail here in this press conference.”

From what has dripped out over the past six weeks, it seems the feud is driven more by personality than principle.

Party president John Tamihere has accused the two MPs of plotting a failed coup. Kapa-Kingi and Ferris have declared no confidence in Tamihere, with their supporters decrying toxic dictatorial leadership.

Supporters are right to feel aggrieved. A year ago, Te Pāti Māori was riding a wave of unity and purpose, as a driving force behind the historic Toitū Te Tiriti hikoi.

Mariameno Kapa-Kingi and Tākuta Ferris. RNZ/Liam K. Swiggs

It boasted its largest-ever caucus, having swept six of the seven Māori electorates in a dominant 2023 result.

Ironically, the roots of the recent crisis lie in that rapid expansion.

The co-leaders went from being a dynamic duo to overseeing a more assertive caucus and competing egos.

Tamihere, Ngarewa-Packer and Waititi are all dominant personalities, used to steering their own course.

But both Kapa-Kingi and Ferris regard themselves as electorate MPs first, answerable to their own people, not to the central hierarchy.

Add in the whānau ties on either side, and the conflict shifts from political to personal.

The co-leaders admit the recent disunity has damaged the party’s brand. The enthusiasm of a year ago has turned to disillusionment, with voters now forced to pick sides or to look elsewhere.

When Hone Harawira split from the Māori Party in 2011 to form Mana, both sides eventually vanished. Harawira was sent packing by voters in 2014, and the rest of the Māori Party followed in 2017.

For the wider opposition, there is good and bad here.

The Labour Party will see an opportunity to win over those disenchanted voters and to retake the Māori electorates amidst a more divided race.

But the wider picture is riskier. Centrist voters may well look at the turmoil on the left and decide to stick with the status quo.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins has yet to publicly declare whether he would welcome Te Pāti Māori as part of a future Cabinet.

Those questions will only grow louder now – expanding to include the “rogues”. Where do they stand in any coalition calculation?

The Iwi Chairs Forum had arranged “peace talks” this week, bringing together the two factions at a Wellington marae.

Bayden Barber still thinks that would be beneficial and the co-leaders agree it could still go ahead. But few expect much to come of it now.

The next moment of reckoning may come on 7 December, when members gather in Rotorua for the party’s AGM – and confront how Te Pāti Māori can piece itself together from the ashes.

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

Posted on

Smoke warning as Tongariro fire grows

Source: Radio New Zealand

Firefighters continue to battle the Tongariro National Park wildfire. Fire and Emergency

People living near the Tongariro National Park fire are being warned to take extra precautions to protect themselves, young children and the elderly from smoke.

The Asthma and Respiratory Foundation said residents should close windows and doors if staying inside, and wear a properly fitted N95 or KN95 masks outdoors.

Its chief executive Letitia Harding said bush fire smoke contained “tiny particles” which could irritate the lungs and airways.

That could be particularly risky for children, older people and those with pre-existing respiratory conditions.

“For people with asthma, COPD or other lung conditions, smoke exposure can trigger flare-ups, which in serious cases may require hospitalisation,” she said.

“It’s important to limit exposure and keep medications like reliever inhalers on hand.”

Meanwhile, those travelling in the area should keep car windows closed and set the ventilation system to recirculate air.

Everyone in the wider region should stay informed about smoke conditions, plan activities carefully and take practical steps to protect their lungs, Harding said.

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

Posted on

New Zealand Trotting Cup – all you need to know

Source: Radio New Zealand

Cameron Hart with Swayzee, who won the NZ Trotting Cup in 2023 and 2024. PHOTOSPORT

Partying racegoers at the New Zealand Trotting Cup meeting at Addington in Christchurch will get to see the best pacer in Australasia, the champion Leap to Fame, in action on Tuesday.

New Zealand Cup day is one of the big events on the Canterbury social calendar and the Cup, with a purse of $1 million, is also one of New Zealand racing’s pinnacle events.

Leap To Fame has dominated the pre-race discussion and the betting. On Monday he was a $1.60 favourite on the NZ TAB to win the big race.

Trained and driven by Queenslander Grant Dixon, Leap To Fame is hailed as a harness superstar, with 58 wins from 73 starts and earnings of just a tick over $5 million, an amount far in advance of any of his rivals on Tuesday. One of those wins was in his only start in New Zealand, when he won the $1 million The race by betcha, in Cambridge in April, in a track record.

Leap To Fame is also out to continue Australian and his own family’s dominance of the race in recent years. His half-brother Swayzee proved too good for his Kiwi opponents in the Cup in 2023 and did so again last year.

Swayzee suffered a setback in his preparation for this year’s Cup so isn’t running.

But another Aussie rising star, Kingman, has been a late entry after beating Leap To Fame in the Victoria Cup last month and is considered one of the main challengers.

The Kiwi challengers in the Cup

Republican Party looms as the biggest Kiwi threat to Leap To Fame.

Trained by Cran and Chrissie Dalgety in Canterbury and driven by their son Carter, Republican Party would be a popular winner. Cran Dalgety has had two seconds and three thirds in previous Cups and has joked he has served a 35-year apprenticeship for Tuesday’s Cup.

Blair Orange, NZ’s top harness driver, will pilot We Walk By Faith in the NZ Trotting Cup. Photosport

Republican Party can also surpass $1 million in stakemoney if he runs a top four placing, while Auckland pacer Merlin, who has won $1.6m, looked primed when he won the Kaikoura Cup last week.

Akuta, Don’t Stop Dreaming and We Walk By Faith are also rated solid chances.

Aussies to the fore in Dominion Trot

There are three other Group 1 races on the card, including $400,000 Dominion Trot.

Once again, the Australians have a strong hand, with mare Jilliby Ballerini the favourite and Gus and Arcee Phoenix also chances. The main Kiwi hopes in the betting are Oscar Bonavena, Muscle Mountain, Bet N Win and Mr Love.

The two other Group 1s are for three-year-olds. Race 8 is for the colts and geldings and race 9 is for fillies. Both races are over 1980m for stakes of $200,000.

World Driving Championship decided

The race meeting will also feature the final heat of the World Driving Championship, featuring 10 of the best drivers from around the globe. They have been competing around the country for the past 10 days.

Canadian James McDonald leads the series from Australian Gary Hall Junior, with New Zealand rep Blair Orange in fourth place.

The 20th heat in the series, race 3 at 12.54pm, will determine the winner.

Steph McGreavy (left) and Kit Winter-Davies from Timaru decked out with handmade felt fascinators. RNZ / Nathan Mckinnon

Off the race track, but no less competitive, is the annual fashion competition, with three different categories this year – best dressed, best suited and “something blue”. The winner will be announced after race 6 at 2.30pm.

There will be ongoing entertainment at The Infield, on the grass at the centre of the track. Shapeshifter will be playing there after the race meeting finishes.

Cup day will be followed by the Show Day meeting on Friday. It features two $500,000 slot races for three-year-olds and four other Group 1 races.

Facts

New Zealand Cup

Race 12 at 5:53pm

First run in 1904

Distance: 3200 metres

Winning stake: The winner receives $540,000, second $150,000, third $85,000, fourth $47,500, fifth $27,500, while all other starters receive $15,000.

Three horses have won the Cup three times: Terror To Love (2011-12-13), False Step (1958-59-60), Indianapolis (1934-35-36).

Race record: Lazarus 2016 – 3 minutes 53.1 seconds

Most wins as driver: Ricky May 7, Mark Purdon and Cecil Devine 6

May drives American Me in this year’s Cup, while Purdon pilots Akuta.

Previous Australian winners of the NZ Cup: Steel Jaw (1983), Lightning Blue (1987), Arden Rooney (2015), and Swayzee (2023, 2024).

Kerryn Manning became the first female to drive the Cup winner when Arden Rooney triumphed.

The Dominion Trot

Race 10 at 4.37pm.

Like the Cup, it is run over 3200m, but is a race for trotters rather than pacers in the Cup (despite the Cup being called the NZ Trotting Cup).

The difference between trotters and pacers? Trotters move their legs forward in diagonal pairs (e.g., front right and back left legs hit the ground simultaneously then front left and back right), while pacers’ legs move laterally (front right and back right, then front left and and back left).

Winner receives Lyell Creek (1999-2000-2004) and Sundees Son (2020-21-22) are the only horses to have won the Dominion three times in a row.

Most driving wins in the Dominion: Anthony Butt 8.

The Dominion Trot is two races before the Cup, at 4.37pm.

Gates open at 11am with first race at 12pm.

Betting: Punters bet $7.26 on the TAB on Cup day last year, a record for that day.

General admission: $25. The Infield tickets cost $90.

Weather: MetService is forecasting a sunny afternoon, northeasterly winds and a high of 19deg.

NZ Trotting Cup field:

1 Rakero Rocket

2 Lakelsa (E2)

3 Merlin

4 Pinseeker

5 Republican Party

6 Leap To Fame (Australia)

7 Vessem

8 Sooner The Bettor

9 Wag Star (E1)

10 Akuta

11 Here’s Herbie (E3)

12 Kingman

13 We Walk By Faith

14 American Me

15 Alta Meteor

16 Mo’unga

17 Don’t Stop Dreaming

18 Better Knuckle Up

Dominion Trot field:

1 Maui

2 Jilliby Ballerini

3 Hidden Talent

4 Arcee Phoenix

5 Mystic Max (E2)

6 One Over All

7 Muscle Mountain

8 Mighty Logan

9 Mr Love

10 Oscar Bonavena

11 Love N The Port (E1)

12 Father Time

13 Parisian Artiste

14 I Dream Of Jeannie

15 Midnight Dash

16 Paris Prince (E3)

17 Gus

18 Bet N Win

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

Posted on

Two Kiwi perfume rebels invite you on a ‘Journey of Scent’

Source: Radio New Zealand

Self-taught scent artist Nathan Taare and French-trained perfume afficionado Whitney Steel deliver a fresh take on the fragrance world in the new RNZ series Journey of Scent.

While making the show was really fun, Steel says, it was a”nail-biting” moment presenting guests with their personalised perfumes, especially star chef Kia Kanuta.

“Because he has such a refined palate, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to get exposed … I really, really wanted him to love it,” she tells RNZ’s Afternoons.

This video is hosted on Youtube.

Want to smell like Donald Trump?

Whitney Steel (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki, Te Ātiawa) – cohost of Journey of Scent

Whitney Steel in an episode of Journey of Scent.

Jinki Cambronero

Whitney Steel (@perfumedwhitney) breaks down the perfume industry and reviews fragrances on social media.

“Many people don’t know how to describe what they love in a scent, so I really, really try hard to make it accessible and use everyday language that people understand.”

She first fell in love with scent through testers her mum brought home from the fragrance distribution company she worked for in the 90s.

In 2019, she studied at a perfume school in France, later launching a home fragrance business in Melbourne.

“Then I started talking about perfume on TikTok, and we’ve kind of just gone from there.”

The power of scent to change how a person feels has always been compelling to Steel.

“I always wear really powerful perfumes when I want to feel confident… I used to use it in job interviews a lot.”

Although the cost of perfume ingredients has skyrocketed since Covid., making fragrance more expensive, Steel says, scent is still trending hard in the beauty industry.

“When you go into any store, whether it’s Farmers, Mecca, Sephora, it’s fragrance [that is dominating] nowadays.”

Nathan Taare (Ngāti Porou) – cohost of Journey of Scent

Nathan_Taare in an episode of Journey of Scent.

Jinki Cambronero

Self-taught scent artist Nathan Taare is the founder of the OF BODY perfume house and the creator of ‘Road’ – a Karangahape Road-inspired fragrance that made the news in 2023.

With a background in sound and art, Taare changed course when he discovered this amazing world of “scent materials”.

“I just brought them into my life and just sort of chucked them into a space where I would have normally had instruments and paints.”

In some of the Journey of Scent creations Taare uses manuka oil and he says many other native New Zealand botanicals are still “pretty untapped” as fragrance additions.

“We also have some of the world’s best ambergris [a whale secretion used as a perfume fixative] washing up on the shores.

“If we got into our native woods and all of that kind of thing, it would be a pretty amazing thing.”

Taare isn’t always drawn to wearing scents on his body, but likes to have them around to evoke feelings.

“If it’s joy or if it takes you to another place, that’s where scent is for me.”

For true fragrance-lovers, personalised scents are where it’s at, Taare says.

“I feel like everyone should have a bespoke.”

Kia Kanuta, Troy Kingi, Dr Anaha Hiini, Ana Scotney, Te Rongo Kirkwood and Tayi Tibble appear in Journey of Scent, which launches on rnz.co.nz/video at 3pm on Monday 10 November.

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

Posted on

Weather: Warm start to the week, but more rain expected after Wednesday

Source: Radio New Zealand

A low pressure system is expected to bring rain to many parts of NZ later this week. File photo. 123RF

New Zealand’s temperatures are getting into summer territory, but a low pressure system is expected to bring rain to many areas of the country later this week.

Maximum temperatures were expected to rise above 20°C in many areas today, with Napier forecast to reach 29°C – nearly 10°C higher than the average November maximum – and Hastings predicted to hit 31°C today.

Tuesday’s weather should also be fine for Cup Day in Christchurch, with clear skies expected over Canterbury.

But wet weather was expected to start moving down the country on Wednesday, with a low pressure system over the north Tasman Sea due to move southwards onto the North Island.

MetService said that was likely to bring warning amounts of rain in Northland, Auckland Coromandel Peninsula, and Bay of Plenty on Wednesday.

There could also be downpours in Waikato, Taupo, northern Gisborne/Tairawhiti, and Taranaki Maunga, and MetService said northeast winds could reach severe gale strength in exposed places of Northland and Auckland.

By Thursday, the low pressure system is expected to move southeastwards over northern and central New Zealand, bringing rain to many areas, including Bay of Plenty, Taupo, Gisborne/Tairawhiti north of Gisborne City, Taranaki Maunga, Tasman District west of Motueka, and the northern and eastern ranges of Marlborough.

The low pressure system should moves to the east of the county by Friday, with a front over the Tasman Sea then moving quickly over southern and central New Zealand.

The forecast for the weekend is looking clearer, with a ridge of high pressure following the front onto New Zealand.

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