Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government and the shearing industry have announced a $75,000 programme to improve animal welfare in the industry.

The fund will go towards workshops, online modules, practical assessments, and resources for shearers, wool handlers, and others across the sector.

Rural Communities Minister Mark Patterson said it followed allegations of sheep mistreatment related to shearing practices in December last year which were still being investigated by the Ministry for Primary Industries.

“The fund is being administered by Wool Impact, with oversight from a steering committee that will include the New Zealand Shearing Contractors Association. This specific training is important to meet changing market demands while preserving and protecting New Zealand’s reputation for producing the best quality wool and sound shearing practices,” he said.

Associate Agriculture Minister Andrew Hoggard said New Zealand had a reputation for high animal welfare standards and it was important these were maintained and improved.

“We’ve worked with industry to establish a $75,000 fund to support targeted training initiatives that build knowledge, skills, and best practice in animal care and welfare compliance in the shearing industry,” he said.

“The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) will contribute $25,000 to the one-year pilot, with PGG Wrightson and The New Zealand Merino Company each contributing $15,000, Wool Impact providing $15,000, and the New Zealand Shearing Contractors Association investing $5000. The New Zealand Veterinary Association is providing in-kind support.”

This followed MPI’s $75,000 investment in June in The NZ Merino Company’s Cadetship Programme, which expanded cadet training and included a dedicated animal welfare module.

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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 are asking for help to identify those involved in a brawl on Auckland’s Karangahape Road early on Sunday morning.

Three men were hospitalised after a series of assaults following the “mass disorder”, police said, and four arrested.

Emergency services were called to disperse the crowd, estimated at more than 50 people, at 3.41am.

“A significant amount of police resource, including dog units were deployed to disperse parties at the disorder,” Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Greaves said in a statement on Sunday afternoon.

“Around 4.15am there was a serious assault outside the Crown Bar on Queen Street. A 33-year-old man received serious injuries and was hospitalised.

“Around 4.30am there was another serious assault on Cobden Steet just off Karangahape Road. A 27-year-old man received serious injuries and was hospitalised.

“A third serious assault took place at the Mobil Service Station on the corner or Karangahape and Ponsonby roads around 5am. A 46-year-old man was seriously injured and also hospitalised.”

Police are asking any witnesses to come forward via 105, particularly if they had photos or video.

A 21-year-old man will appear in the Auckland District Court on Monday charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Two further offenders from the night of chaos were still sought, Greaves said.

“Police are disappointed at the bad, aggressive and careless behaviour on display on Karangahape Road and will be holding any and all offenders to account.”

The police file number is 251228/4774.

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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 drug-checking group is reminding concertgoers this New Year party season that it offers a free, legal and confidential service.

KnowYourStuff will be at the AUM New Years Festival, Northern Bass, Twisted Frequency and Rhythm and Alps in Wānaka, while the Drug Foundation will be at Gisborne’s Rhythm and Vines.

KnowYourStuff spokesperson Casey Spearin said one in 10 drugs on the black market were not what they were sold as.

“We recommend that anyone who is planning on taking drugs this summer tries to get them checked before they do consume if possible.

“It’s a good idea to get your drugs checked even if you’ve purchased from that person before and trust them, because you know, there can be changes anywhere along the supply chain.”

Spearin said there was concern about synthetic cathinones (‘bath salts’, for example) being sold as MDMA (ecstasy).

And sometimes buyers got more than they might have been expecting, putting them at serious risk of hospitalisation or death.

“Another thing that we always tend to recommend people looking out for is high-dose pills. Often people are buying… ecstasy pills, and we do see these coming through with multiple doses of MDMA, you know, sometimes two to three doses.

“I think there was one found that had nine or more doses in it.”

There had also been an uptake in the use of cocaine and ketamine, she said – some of it not the real thing.

Spearin said drug testing was free, anonymous, confidential and legal.

A temporary law legalising drug checking was made permanent in 2021. Then-Health Minister Andrew Little said evidence showed pill-testing kept people safe, intercepting potentially dangerous substances before being consumed.

The bill had support across Parliament, except from National, which opposed it.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Four people have been injured in a two-vehicle crash north of Levin.

Police were called to State Highway 1 at the Waitarere turnoff about 11am on Sunday.

Two people were trapped, but have since been helped out.

Three sustained moderate injuries, while one had minor.

The road was partially blocked as both vehicles were towed from the area.

Detours were in place via Koputaroa Road or State Highway 57.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

With heavy traffic expected over the New Year period – much of it driven by people unfamiliar with the roads – police are urging revellers heading to Rhythm and Vines to expect delays.

“If you’re on the road, remember that you’re sharing it with people who might be new to the region,” Tai Rāwhiti area commander Inspector Danny Kirk said on Sunday.

“While you might know the terrain, our visitors might not. We’ve all got places to be, but build in some extra travel time so you don’t run late if you’re held up by traffic or something as simple as a flat tyre.”

Police would be on both main and back roads across the region, he said, focusing on “restraints, impairment, distractions and speed”.

“So stay sober if you’re driving, buckle up and make sure your passengers are wearing their belts, ignore the phone, and drive to the conditions.

“If we stop you, expect to be breath tested, and be warned that we’re not accepting excuses for poor driving behaviour.”

More than 20,000 people attend the annual New Year festival, held at the Waiohika Estate vineyard near Gisborne, each year.

In 2024, several dozen attendees were caught drink-driving on their way home on New Year’s Day – despite roads in the region still considered dangerous due to damage from Cyclone Gabrielle.

Rhythm and Vines was expected to get off to a damp start, with an orange heavy rain warning issued by MetService for 18 hours from 6am on Monday morning – the festival’s first official day – through to Tuesday.

Kirk said police would be “unapologetically focused” on safety, urging people to call 111 if they see “unsafe driving” or 105 to report it after the fact.

“It’s the holidays, and we’ve all got a responsibility to make sure that we, our passengers, and everyone else on the roads gets to where we’re going in one piece.

“That’s our goal, and every driver plays a part in that.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

One in five secondary school students studied life skills or personal development courses in 2025.

Education Ministry figures show the field has grown rapidly in popularity over the past 15 years, while core subjects science and English have slipped slightly, and maths has held its share of student enrolments.

The percentage of secondary school students enrolled in ‘life skills/personal development’ grew from eight percent in 2010 to 21 percent or nearly 68,000 in 2025, with 40 percent of those being Year 9 students.

RNZ understands life skills/personal development is a general category for a range of different courses.

Study skills also increased significantly from five to 13 percent, with half of its 41,462 students in Year 13.

English was the single most-widely studied subject, taken by 80 percent of secondary school students in 2025, although that figure was down from 87 percent in 2010.

Next was maths with 67 percent of students, down from 78 percent in 2010. However, the percentage of students studying maths with statistics or maths with calculus rose from six to 10 percent, and three to six percent respectively.

Science was studied by 52 percent of students, down from 58 percent in 2010, but the percentage studying biology (11) and chemistry (9) remained constant, while physics rose from nine to 10 percent of students, and Earth science/astronomy from just a few hundred students to nearly one percent.

Social studies was studied by 35 percent of students, down from 39 percent. Geography dropped from 11 to seven percent and history moved from 10 to 11 percent.

Commerce-related subjects increased in popularity, rising from five to 12 percent of students.

Health and physical education jumped from 16 to 23 percent of students, while health dipped from 15 to 14 percent and physical education dropped from 44 to 32 percent.

The percentage of students studying te reo Māori rose from eight to 12 percent.

Visual arts dropped from 18 to 12 percent, drama from 12 to seven percent, and music/music studies from 15 to 10 percent, while dance rose from three to four percent.

Among the technology subjects, technology dropped from 14 to eight percent, while the percentage choosing food technology rose from 12 to 14 percent, graphics dropped from 12 to three percent and materials technology moved from 10 to 11 percent.

Home economics dropped from five to four percent.

Senior subject choices

A different picture emerged, when looking only at Year 12s’ subject choices – a stage of schooling where students had fewer compulsory courses than earlier years, and options likely to be linked to tertiary study or potential future areas of work.

English remained popular with 80 percent of students enrolled, but that was down from 93 percent in 2010.

It was closely followed by the three maths subjects, with 46 percent of Year 12s enrolled in maths, 20 percent in maths with statistics and 10 percent in maths with calculus.

A significant proportion studied at least one science – 31 percent studied biology, 27 percent physics, and 25 percent chemistry in 2025.

One in five Year 12 students studied physical education and nine percent studied outdoor education.

Commerce-related subjects attracted 13 percent of Year 12s in 2025, double the percentage in 2010, and 10 percent of Year 12s studied economics.

History attracted 14 percent of Year 12s – about the same as in 2010 – religious studies 12 percent and geography 10 percent.

Nine percent of Year 12s enrolled in study skills courses, 11 percent in transition/pre-employment courses and 13 percent in life skills/personal development.

Food technology was studied by 12 percent of Year 12s and materials technology by 10 percent.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

More than six months after back-to-back floods caused widespread damage across the Tasman District, the recovery is expected to cost the council $50 million and take up to two years to complete.

Record rainfall caused widespread damage across the district, described as the worst in 150 years, after it was hit by devastating floods twice in as many weeks during June and July.

It caused extensive damage to farms and rural properties, with land lost to swollen rivers, crops inundated with silt and fences washed away.

More than 60 roads were closed due to flooding, landslips and fallen trees. and hundreds of homes were assessed for damage. with 36 yellow-stickered and five red.

Nelson Tasman Emergency Management Group recovery manager Richard Kirby said the repair bill after the floods was estimated at $48m, with around three-quarters of that covered by insurance payouts or government contributions, leaving around $12m in costs to the council.

The total cost of damage to river infrastructure was between $23 and $25m, while the roading damage was just over $20m.

Kirby said the cost to private landowners was not known, but Insurance Council of New Zealand figures showed there were 2807 claims totalling $37.4m from the June floods in the South Island, bringing the total cost close to $100m.

A report tabled in Parliament in early December found local councils need to be doing more to prepare for flooding and to mitigate the risks it poses to communities.

The report, by the Office of the Auditor-General, looked specifically at the Tasman District. One of the weaknesses it identified was the council’s understanding of the condition of its flood protection infrastructure and the lack of a regular schedule of inspections.

It made several recommendations, including that the council prepare a framework to prioritise the maintenance and capital work needed for its flood protection infrastructure, along with improvements to its asset management processes.

Years to rebuild river infrastructure

Many of the region’s rivers reached record levels in the floods, with the Motueka River downstream of Tapawera and the Wai-iti River south of Belgrove, the worst-affected.

Kirby said the rivers team had done a stocktake of the river network and prioritised the critical areas that were susceptible in future floods. Around $6m had been spent on river work, so far.

“They’ve identified the areas that are less resilient and they’re working their way through them on a priority basis so that should we have another [flood] event, the critical areas would have been fixed before next summer.

“Even though a lot of the areas we will be fixing up after next winter, but they’re not considered at this point to be a major concern in terms of lack of resilience for future events.”

He said some of that was stop bank work, but much of it was in-river work and rock shoring to stabilise banks in a bid to stop further erosion.

“I think at least it’s probably heading up towards 18 months, maybe two years before we get on top of it and of course, that’s hoping that we don’t have another event over that period of time to undo what we’re trying to do.”

Kirby said the council had a “compromised database” of river assets and infrastructure, as highlighted in the auditor general’s report, and it was working to improve its records for future monitoring, maintenance and insurance purposes.

“If you don’t do that upfront planning and investment, then you end up with problems later and I think to a certain degree, we’re in that space where we probably haven’t done sufficient monitoring and planning in the past.”

District-wide road repairs

Since the storms, Kirby said there had been 4500 roading jobs and there were now 1000 left to address, with close to 30 people out working on the roads each day.

The storms had caused several slips on State Highway 60 over the Tākaka Hill, which was down to a single lane in parts, with six sites badly damaged and in need of significant repairs.

New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) system manager for Nelson-Tasman Rob Service said extensive work was done to rebuild and strengthen sections of road, address erosion risks, improve drainage, and stabilise the ground. It would help to future-proof the sites against weather-related damage in the future.

Works were completed before Christmas, with the road reopened to two lanes.

Four roads across the district remain closed; Haycock Road, Quail Valley Road, Gannet Heights and Graham Valley South Branch Road.

The Graham Valley South Branch Road provides access to the Kahurangi National Park. A major section was undercut by the Graham River and the road has remained closed since.

The road is managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC), with support from the council.

DOC Motueka operations manager Chris Golding said work was underway to get the road open again as soon as possible to restore access to Flora car park, which is the gateway to Kahurangi National Park’s most popular alpine walks including Wharepapa/Mt Arthur.

It was working on a repair plan, with work due to start in early 2026. The final cost was not yet known but it would be funded by Tasman District Council, DOC and NZTA.

“It’s taken some time to develop an appropriate repair programme because the slips are significant and complicated. To repair them we will need to clear some slip debris which have changed the course of the river below the road, and to dig out sections of the road and fill it with stabilising material, which will need to be trucked in.”

In the meantime, the road remained closed and people were asked not to cross it for their own safety.

The Tasman District Council said there were several homes on the other side of the slip site and residents were able to walk out while the road remained closed.

Ongoing impact on the rural community

Top of the South Rural Support Trust chair Richard Kempthorne said it had been a busy six months and many farmers still had recovery work to do.

The trust had spoken to 220 farmers, many who had land beside rivers and waterways and had been affected in various ways, with gravel, silt and debris washed up on farms, fences destroyed or they lost chunks of land to swollen rivers.

“It’s still challenging, some people are still quite affected and struggling with it and others have done what they can do. Others are doing what they can do, but are generally stoic and are moving on.

“For a lot of them, there’s been a lot of costs that they will then have to pay off over the next few years.”

Kempthorne said Enhanced Task Force Green, a Ministry of Social Development initiative, had seen two teams of nine working for the last six months to clean up properties.

“Most of them are young people and they’ve been absolutely tremendous, they’ve got real great kudos from the people that they’ve helped.”

He said some landowners had also struggled to know what work they were legitimately able to do to their properties in recovering from the floods, and what required consent, while others were grappling with the changes needed to mitigate against future severe weather

“For all the people living adjacent to the rivers, it’s just knowing how to make sound decisions with the use of land/or assets going forward and sometimes that’s quite hard to do because you may think, ‘Oh gosh, I don’t think I can keep doing what I have been doing.’

“Often with these issues, it does come back to how much private landowners are going to need to spend to recover properly and that can just be a very big challenge.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

One person is injured after a crash between a fire truck and car in central Auckland on Sunday morning.

The police were called at 9.38am to the intersection of Hobson Street and Victoria Street West.

A police spokesperson said: “At this stage only one person is reported to have minor injuries.”

“Police are assisting with traffic management and motorists are advised that there will be some delays while the matter is resolved,” the spokesperson said.

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