Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

Human remains have been found at a campground in Mount Maunganui overnight.

Police, Fire and Emergency, and Civil Defence have held a media stand-up this afternoon.

Six people have been unaccounted for since Thursday.

Emergency services are moving to a recovery phase, from a rescue operation.

The remains are now in custody of the coroner.

They will be transported to a mortuary in Hamilton.

The names of those found will be released to media this afternoon.

Follow the RNZ liveblog at the top of the page for the latest updates.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A search is continuing for a missing man who was swept downstream after falling from a boat in the Bay of Plenty town of Ōpōtiki.

Police were called to the Waioeka River at about 5.30pm on Friday after reports of the incident.

Emergency services carried out a search of the area and found the vessel nearby.

Inspector Nicky Cooney, Eastern Bay of Plenty Area Commander, said police resumed the search Saturday morning in the Waioeka River near the junction with Waiata Stream.

Police said they were continuing to support the man’s family.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police have launched a homicide investigation following the death of a woman in the Clutha settlement of Crichton, while another person remains in a critical condition.

Emergency services were called to a property on Adams Flat Road at about 6.10pm on Friday, after reports of a “serious incident”.

Detective Sergeant Hayden Smale said a woman died at the scene, while a man was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

A scene guard remains in place at the address as police conduct a scene examination.

Police said there is not believed to be any risk to the public, but residents can expect an increased police presence in the Crichton area.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tauranga City Council has announced an independent review into the events leading up to Thursday’s landslide at the base of Mauao, as local iwi Ngāi Te Rangi say they are seeking a thorough investigation into the cause of the slip.

Mayor Mahé Drysdale and council chief executive Marty Grenfell confirmed the review on Friday, describing the landslide as an incident of “local, national and international importance”.

“The landslide and its impacts on those affected and their families clearly represents a serious and significant incident,” Drysdale said.

“It is important that we have a clear and accurate understanding of the facts and events leading up to the landslide, so that we can ensure that the future safety of the community is appropriately safeguarded.”

The slip came down at about 9.30am on Thursday at the Beachside Holiday Park in Mount Maunganui, smashing into campervans, tents, vehicles and an ablution block near the Mount Hot Pools.

Police said six people, including two teenagers, remain missing, while they are seeking information on the whereabouts of three others believed to be overseas tourists.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) and police continue to treat the operation as a rescue, with specialist Urban Search and Rescue teams working in what authorities have described as an unstable and high-risk environment.

Drysdale said the scope of the independent review, who would lead it, and the timeframe for delivering findings were still being worked through.

“Given the gravity of this tragic situation, it’s important that a person with the requisite skills, experience, and level of public trust is selected,” he said.

Key aspects of the review would include establishing and reviewing all relevant facts in the lead-up to the landslide, he said, but it would not replace any other formal processes that may be initiated.

“This review is about establishing the facts independently, given the scale and seriousness of this event,” Drysdale said.

“As council, on behalf of the families and the whole community, we need to understand the facts and ensure that in the lead-up to this tragedy, everything was done that was appropriate in the circumstances.”

He said the council’s immediate focus remained on supporting affected families and those involved in the rescue operation.

Ngāi Te Rangi deputy chief executive Roimata Ah Sam said the iwi was heartbroken by the tragedy and had sent prayers and thoughts to those still missing.

“We hope everybody will be found alive and well.”

Ah Sam acknowledged the work of emergency services and said the iwi was deliberately staying clear of the site to allow responders to do their jobs.

“Everybody should be immensely proud of the fire service, police and the Civil Defence,” she said.

However, she said Ngāi Te Rangi expected a full investigation into the cause of the landslide.

“There has been a lot of work done on Mauao,” Ah Sam said.

“So, we look forward to a thorough investigation into why this occurred. And we look forward to working alongside authorities to rebuild our maunga.”

Police District Commander Assistant Commissioner Tim Anderson has said the number of people unaccounted for remains in single figures, and that police would reassess “day by day” when the operation may shift from rescue to recovery.

Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell said the risk of further slips was a “massive consideration”, noting geoscientists were on site and nearby facilities had been evacuated as a precaution.

A wide cordon remains in place around the mountain, which is closed to the public, and a rāhui has been imposed. Authorities have repeatedly urged the public to stay away from the area to allow rescue teams to work safely.

The council review is expected to examine warnings, land stability, and any actions taken before the landslide.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Lessons learnt during Cyclone Gabrielle three years ago have proved invaluable for marae on Northland’s east coast, leading the response to last week’s massive storm.

Marae were the first port of call for stranded travellers and evacuated locals, as well as a source of kai and power for communities cut off from the outside world.

One of the most isolated places was Punaruku, which was cut off by flooding and a washed-out bridge to the north, and a large slip just to the south of the settlement.

That meant Punaruku residents couldn’t even get to Ōakura, which also remains largely cut off but at least has a well-stocked shop.

The slip was cleared on Friday afternoon, and work to reinstate Ngaiotonga Bridge – delayed because ongoing slips stopped contractors from reaching the site – is now underway.

Paora Glassie, Civil Defence lead for Punaruku’s Ōtetao Reti Marae, said the marae had undergone a major upgrade since Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023.

That included a solar power system, an improved water supply, shipping containers stocked with emergency equipment, and even an automated weather station to keep tabs on rainfall.

Glassie said a few homes in the settlement suffered damage from te mana o te āwhā (the power of the storm), but the real challenge was the isolation.

“Just being able to get in and out was difficult. We had flooding at one end, which stopped the north end whānau from going through, and we had a slip at the south side, which stopped whānau getting necessities from the shop.”

On the first night of the storm, 60 whānau members from Auckland were in the area for a hura kōhatu (unveiling), with the gathering supposed to take place on Sunday at the Ōakura Community Hall.

The hall tables had been set, and the fridges stocked with food, when a slip smashed through the back wall of the building and filled it with mud, trees and debris.

Glassie said the whānau ended up staying at the marae for two days, and were able to head home between the storm’s two peaks.

He said Punaruku had about 150 residents, including many elderly and people with serious medical conditions.

The marae had provided them with food and was compiling a list of medications to be picked up in Whangārei, which was normally a 50km or one-hour drive south.

Glassie said the marae had received great support from Ngātiwai Trust Board and the Whangārei district and Northland regional councils.

That included deliveries of food brought in over an emergency “lifeline” road cleared by council contractors in recent days.

Ōtetao Reti Marae’s “Auntie Trish”, who is also a member of the local Civil Defence group, described the rain as “horrendous”.

She said marae volunteers had opened the doors to anyone who needed help, delivered food parcels and carried out welfare checks of as many people as they could.

“We’re just here to manaaki [look after] anybody who needs some supplies, or needs support and a hug. I’m really good at hugging.”

She said the marae had enough food stored in its emergency containers for the first two big meals, and after that, Ngātiwai Trust Board had delivered two big bundles of food.

“People are still coming now, because they’ve stuck, they’ve got no toilets, they’ve got no supplies because they can’t get in and out,” she said.

“We’re just here manning the marae for anyone who wants to come, we’ve got a warm bed, we’ve got food, and like I said, hugs.”

Whangārei primary school teacher Katerina Linton, who lives opposite the marae, said the storm did not damage her home but left her “doomy, gloomy and anxious”.

She was also upset by the damage to the community hall and for people who had lost their homes in Ōakura.

She had been to the marae for a shower during the storm, but mostly she went for the whanaungatanga (kinship or connection).

“The generosity of this little community is amazing, the way everyone pulled together to help people trapped here.”

Another Punaruku resident, Maureen Hing, said locals did not sit back and wait for help to arrive.

When diggers and trucks were unable to reach the area, about a dozen young men from Punaruku and Mokau got to work clearing slips with chainsaws and shovels.

“They just wanted to get out here and check on us, and bring things over for the marae.”

The young men cleared enough of the slips to create a four-wheel-drive track over the top.

A digger finished the job on Friday.

Paora Glassie said summer downpours were not unusual in Punaruku, but he believed climate change was making storms more intense.

“I don’t [know] what the answer will be to that, but I suppose making sure each marae and each community has a Civil Defence readiness plan in place, and they have the basic essentials ready, like generators and fuel, for whatever the weather throws at us,” he said.

“It also means we all must come together as a unit so we can overcome this challenge, and get ready for the next event … It might be next year, next month, or next week.”

Punaruku recorded the heaviest rainfall in Northland during the storm.

Regional council figures show intensities of about 80mm an hour between 3am and 5am on Sunday, 18 January.

On average, most places in Northland get around 80mm of rain during the entire month of January.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A lawyer who helps people with ACC claims says the agency’s plan to get its finances in order appears to be a social licence to remove people from the long-term claims pool.

ACC is trying to avoid a $26 billion dollar deficit by 2030.

The agency said it would hire nearly 300 more claims management staff, with a focus on getting non-serious injury clients back to work or independence.

Lawyer and advocate Warren Forster said data for the last five years shows only 10 percent of people taken off long-term claims returned to work.

“It’s not only going to cost ACC more, it’s going to cost taxpayers more and it’s going to transfer the long term cost of injury to society and the whole purpose of ACC is to reduce that cost.”

He said people who could not return to work who were removed from the long-term claims pool instead sought benefits or support from family.

“Once someone’s been off work for two years it’s very difficult to get that person back to work for a while variety of reasons.”

Forster said the agency had made hundreds of people redundant over the years.

“ACC spent 20 years training and developing fantastic people who were really good at rehabilitation. Then they invented this new computer system, they spent $1 billion on it and fired nearly all of them.

“Now they’re saying they’re going to bring in 300 and it’s going to solve it, absolutely not.”

ACC exited more than 8000 long-term clients in the year to June 2025 and planned to exit 11,000 more by June 2026, using AI to help decide which long-term claimants should go back to work.

The cull came as ACC’s rehabilitation performance was in decline, with more people getting injured and taking longer to recover.

With looming debts and liabilities on its books, ACC Minister Scott Simpson instructed his agency to reduce the number of people receiving compensation for more than a year, which was about 25,000 – the highest it had ever been.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

• High Commission offers more information to NZ-based Brits on rules for their children
• UK migrants report on passport processing times
• Emergency passports are possible, but have conditions

British citizens living in New Zealand will have to get UK passports for their children before they can fly there – as they are automatically citizens, authorities say.

The British High Commission has provided more information to dual-national travellers, who have said they were blindsided by new rules around travelling back to the UK. Similar rules will also come into force for Irish New Zealanders.

In a month’s time, anyone classed as a British citizen will need a UK passport to fly there – but citizenship status rules are complex.

Likely to add to travellers’ worries, the Wellington-based High Commission has also said it cannot provide timeframes for how long passport processing takes.

For families due to travel soon, many are learning for the first time that automatic citizenship for their children – considered a positive in the recent past because of access to visa-free travel in the EU, and long trips to Britain – now means getting passports urgently or risk not being able to fly.

“For those who are already British citizens automatically, for example through birth or descent, but who have never applied for a passport, the requirement is the same,” said the High Commission. “If they are British citizens, they cannot use an ETA and will need a British passport (or Certificate of Entitlement) to travel to the UK from 25 February 2026.”

It has advised anyone unsure about their citizenship to check online.

“For those who are already British citizens automatically, for example through birth or descent, but who have never applied for a passport, the requirement is the same,” a spokesperson said in a written statement.

“They are not eligible for an ETA as they are not classed as visitors and already have an automatic right of entry to the UK. That right must be evidenced by travelling on a British or Irish passport, or on another passport with a Certificate of Entitlement. This applies regardless of the length or purpose of travel.

“There is no alternative mechanism within the ETA system for British or Irish citizens, including dual nationals, because the ETA is designed specifically for people who require permission to enter the UK, rather than those who already have a right of entry.”

Passport delivery times

Anyone who has had a British passport or is entitled to have one and plans to travel to the UK should apply as early as possible, the spokesperson said.

“Processing times for UK passports from New Zealand can vary depending on application type and demand, and there is no guaranteed expedited timeframe for overseas applications.”

British dual citizens told RNZ they have applied and found the expense unpalatable, but the service times efficient.

One woman sent away for two passports on 15 January.

“Just a little bit of info that might ease some very stressed travellers around the new UK passport requirements,” she said. She and her husband both had UK passports – and his had expired.

She was told on Tuesday that her forms had arrived in the UK, and on Friday that they were issued and being sent back – that part could take three weeks, she added.

“If it does take that long, it means we will have received passports in four weeks from application. So this gives people time if their travel is in six weeks.”

Others reported delays – not in passport issuing, but mailing.

“Not helped by NZ Post!” one man reported. “Passport docs couriered from Parnell at 10.54am 15 Jan at cost of $62. Left Auckland 8.34am 20 Jan!! Still no sign of arrival in the UK.”

Sending NZ passports, emergency passports

Some were desperate at the unforeseen obstacle of needing a new passport so quickly, when they had planned to fly to the UK with their New Zealand passport.

“We haven’t been able to take our family home in 10 years, and will not be able to get a passport for kids before then, and cannot afford to rebook for a very long time,” said one woman, who has flights booked in six weeks’ time.

“I cannot get hold of anyone from the embassy and at a loss as what to do.”

Internal Affairs stresses that information suggesting the UK Passport Office can cancel a New Zealand passport – sent to it as part of verification for a new British passport – is incorrect.

“The UK Passport Office has no power to cancel a NZ passport. Only the New Zealand Minister of Internal Affairs has authority to recall New Zealand passports.”

UK government websites detail how its embassies can issue emergency passports, and under what circumstances. That, too, has some potential caveats.

“If you have not had a passport issued on or after 1 January 2006, you’ll usually need to apply for a UK passport instead of an emergency travel document,” it says. Not every country will accept a traveller who is using an emergency passport.”

There are exceptional circumstances cited, for when an emergency passport could nonetheless be issued.

You can apply online and find out more.

“An emergency travel document lets you travel from abroad if you need to travel urgently and cannot use your UK passport,” it says. “It is usually only valid for one single or return journey. You can travel through a maximum of five countries.”

You can apply for an emergency travel document if all the following apply:

• You’re a British national;
• You’re outside the UK;
• You need to travel within six weeks;
• Your UK passport has been lost, stolen, damaged, is full, has recently expired or is with HM Passport Office or a foreign embassy;
• You cannot renew or replace your UK passport from abroad before you travel;
• You have had a valid UK passport that was issued on or after 1 January 2006.

The exceptional circumstances listed include a close relative’s funeral or urgent medical treatment.

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