Category: Public Media

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Watch: Where Wellington’s sewage is drifting in the harbour

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

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‘Education hub’ 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.

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

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Safety restrictions eased on four Tauranga homes after landslide

Source: Radio New Zealand

Damaged property from the landslide at Welcome Bay on 23 January. RNZ / Calvin Samuel

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.

Last month, local resident Dawn McNaughton said there were seven slips on her property on Welcome Bay Road. Supplied

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

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More work rolls in for small- and medium-sized businesses

Source: Radio New Zealand

Small- and medium-sized businesses SMEs are handling more work than usual. 123RF

Small- and medium-sized businesses SMEs are handling more work than usual, with nearly 40 percent reporting an increase in levels normally expected in the first quarter, according to a recent survey of more than 500 businesses.

The first quarter survey by accounting software firm MYOB indicates a quarter of SMEs had less work than usual in the pipeline, though there was an increase in the number expecting an increase in trade over the first three months of 2026.

Several key sectors, including 38 percent of manufacturing SMEs, 37 percent of retail businesses and 33 percent of the construction and trades businesses surveyed reported an increase in orders or work commissioned before the end of March.

MYOB chief customer officer Dean Chadwick said many SMEs were still navigating uneven demand and ongoing cost pressures, though the survey results suggested business activity for the new year had started on firmer footing.

“SMEs ended 2025 with largely steady trading conditions in the final few months of the year, though performance varied across the sector,” he said.

“While more than a quarter of businesses exceeded their sales expectations and most met their forecasts, a quarter saw a softer-than-predicted performance.”

The survey indicated SMEs were moving on their own spending plans, with 44 percent of those surveyed planning to bring forward deductible business purchases on things like supplies or equipment, before 31 March.

“We know from our research at the end of last year that many local businesses are planning to take advantage of the Investment Boost to maximise business investment this year,” he said.

“We can also see from the latest data that businesses are making good on the growth ambitions they signalled at the end of last year – not only seizing opportunities to increase sales before the end of the financial year, but also upping their own spending on plant, supplies and equipment to boost their operations.”

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

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Grey Lynn shooting: Kayden Stanaway to spend at least eight years in prison for murder

Source: Radio New Zealand

Flowers at the scene where Maxwel-Dee Repia was killed. (File photo) Lucy Xia / RNZ

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

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Senior navy officer found not guilty of encouraging junior to kiss her

Source: Radio New Zealand

Commanding Officer Bronwyn Heslop. RNZ / Lucy Xia

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.

Former Ship Commander of HMNZS Canterbury Bronwyn Heslop. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

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.

Devonport Naval Base. RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson

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

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New Zealand’s corruption-free reputation takes hit for fourth-year in a row – survey

Source: Radio New Zealand

Voter fraud allegations and a lack of transparency around political lobbying and funding were some of the top concerns. (File photo) Pixabay/shafin_protic

New Zealand’s reputation for low levels of corruption has taken a hit for the fourth year in a row.

In global organisation Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index – a survey of surveys measuring how corrupt a country is thought to be – New Zealand’s score has fallen two points.

New Zealand still ranked highly in fourth place alongside Norway, and behind Denmark, Finland and Singapore.

“We used to be first in the world and we’ve just seen a continual drop down the ladder – about 10 percent in four years,” Transparency International New Zealand chairperson Anne Tolley said.

“It sort of feels like the wheels are coming off a bit and that’s really dangerous for our democracy.”

Voter fraud allegations and a lack of transparency around political lobbying and funding are some of the top concerns, with prosecutions for bribery, deception and misuse of public funds adding to potential reputational damage.

“A strong democracy has people feeling very confident about those democratic systems and wanting to take part,” Tolley said.

Corruption perception versus reality

Transparency International’s concerns were mirrored in the pilot report released Tuesday from the Anti-Corruption Taskforce, lead by the Serious Fraud Office.

The report looked at how big the issue of fraud and corruption was within public agencies and how well-equipped they were to find and prevent it.

“Cases of internal fraud and corruption are almost certainly being under-reported, due to a number of factors, and the true scale of the issue remains unclear,” the report said.

It highlighted the need for a national anti-corruption strategy, according to Tolley, and it was crucial for New Zealand’s reputation as a small trading nation reliant on global relationships.

“The world’s become more conscious of dirty money – that money is that’s derived from the drug trade and prostitution and modern slavery,” she said.

“We’re all more aware of being sure that we are we are investing and trading with a country that has good systems in place to stop that.”

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

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Senior navy officer found not guilty of encouraging junior to kiss them

Source: Radio New Zealand

Devonport Naval Base. RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson

A senior navy officer facing court martial over allegations of encouraging a junior to kiss them 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.

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.

The senior officer’s name cannot yet be reported, pending their appeal of a decision by Judge William Hastings to decline their application for name suppression.

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

The alleged interaction happened in Fiji in March 2023, when officers were given leave for a few days 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 they 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 their cheeks to gesture for a kiss.

The senior officer denied seeking a kiss on the cheek from the junior officer, and said their 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 the senior officer, 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 the senior officer.

More to come….

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

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ASB Bank posts $765 million half-year profit

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Marika Khabazi

ASB Bank has reported a flat half-year profit as higher expenses offset higher improved lending and margins.

Key numbers for the six months ended December 2025 compared with a year ago:

  • Net profit $765m vs $763m
  • Cash profit $719m vs $714m (excludes one-offs)
  • Total income $1.84b vs $1.78b
  • Operating expenses $839m vs $695m
  • Bad debt provisions $3m vs $17m
  • Net interest margin 2.35% vs 2.29%

The bank’s profit showed improvement in key areas of increased lending, larger margins, and improved income, but was balanced by a significant rise in expenses because of the settlement of the a class legal action over credit disclosures.

Chief executive Vittoria Shortt said the bank was seeing signs of economic improvement and that was flowing through into business.

“We are seeing more confidence in the economy, supported by lower interest rates and good export earnings in key sectors.”

“This is evident in the uptick we’ve seen in business lending, with more lending growth across small business, commercial and rural this half than in the previous financial year,” Shortt said.

Overall lending rose 6 percent to $118.7b, with housing loans up 8 percent, and rural and business lending 4 percent.

Total customer deposits rose 5 percent.

Banks have been competing for market share in the housing market, amid falling interest rates and large numbers of borrowers refixing their mortgages.

Net interest income – the difference between what the bank borrows at and charges for loans – increased 8 percent, while net interest margin, regarded as a measure of profitability, rose six basis points to 2.35 percent because of timing effects from interest rate hedges.

The amount set aside for bad and doubtful debts fell to $3m from $17m.

Expenses surge on case settlement

ASB’s operating expenses surged 21 percent to $839m, mostly because of the $135.6m out of court settlement of a class legal action brought by former consumer for alleged breaches of credit disclosure rules.

ASB never accepted liability, but said the settlement was a “pragmatic” way to settle the issue.

Shortt said ASB had spent more on improving its anti-scam defences and engaging with affected customers.

She said the bank, owned by Australia’s CBA, was also improving its technology to simplify its processes and offer better products to customers, as well as advance its own lending for social housing and business technology investment.

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

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Person dies days after Wellington motorway crash

Source: Radio New Zealand

The person died in hospital from injuries sustained in the crash. (File photo) RNZ / Nate McKinnon

One person has died after a crash on Wellington’s State Highway two at the Ngauranga Interchange on Sunday.

Emergency services were notified of the crash about 2am.

One person had now died from their injuries, police confirmed.

Police continued to investigate the circumstances of the crash.

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