Category: Public Media

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Ten of the best literary chats of 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

From struggling to learn to read at school during the war, Joy Cowley has gone on to become one of New Zealand’s most beloved and prolific authors.

Joy, Full and Fearless, a documentary released in 2025, follows Joy Cowley’s life from a painful childhood, a loveless first marriage to a love of motorbikes, planes, family and inspiring children through the written word.

Now a deep sense of spirituality continues to guide Cowley, who now lives in Dunedin. She’s still writing in her 90th year.

“When I was young, I used to say that I was a human being on a spiritual journey. It’s the other way around, I think we’re all spiritual beings on human journeys,” she says.

New doco Joy, Full & Fearless shines light on beloved author

Nine To Noon

Author Joy Cowley, who is still writing in her 90th year.

LDR / Sue Teodoro

“I’ve met some killers in my time, and some of them just view other people as an inconvenience, a trouble to be removed,” says former Australian police detective Duncan McNab.

Erin Patterson never imagined that any of her victims would survive the deadly Beef Wellington lunch, he says.

“I always thought that she had planned this case in some detail, but she hasn’t planned on being caught.”

McNab, attended the trial, and examines the case in his new book, Recipe for Murder.

“I don’t think she assumed that Ian Wilkinson would survive,” McNab told RNZ’s Saturday Morning.

Recipe for Murder – inside the mushroom trial

Saturday Morning

Erin Patterson has been found guilty of murder.

ABC News: Gabrielle Flood/News Corp

Set in a post-climate change future where survivors are haunted by the richness of a lost world, the acclaimed British author Ian McEwan‘s latest novel is a quest, literary thriller and love story.

What We Can Know is set in 2119, in a world submerged by rising seas, and is described as science fiction, without the science.

British novelist and screenwriter McEwan told RNZ’s Saturday Morning that he admires the genre – up to a point.

“What is the future of our view of history, of our relationship to language, our view of the past that might have led the future into such dire straits? And what is the future of love itself?

“I don’t see this reflected constantly in science fiction; it tends to be technology-related at its worst end, the end that doesn’t interest me at all – intergalactic warfare or anti-gravity boots.”

The future world McEwan imagines has endured cataclysmic events, and yet somehow humanity has “scraped through”, he says.

Ian McEwan: What We Can Know

Saturday Morning

Ian McEwan, 2023.

FREDRIK SANDBERG

The 80-year-old writer shares his “extremely humbling” experience of learning to speak and write the Māori language in the new RNZ podcast Witi Underwater.

Because of his proud Māori identity and many books about Māori subjects, many people assume is fluent in te reo.

Last year, the award-winning writer faced the reality that not only was this untrue, he’d spent his life living and writing “in the wrong language”.

“I would go home to my house in suburban Herne Bay and just realise that in many ways, I had been playing being someone who knew these things and been ashamed of that … I wonder how the hell I survived so long,” he tells Saturday Morning.

Witi Ihimaera – reclaiming his reo at 80

Saturday Morning

Witi Ihimaera (Te Whānau-a-Kai, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Ngāti Porou, Tūhoe) is best known for his 1987 novel The Whale Rider, which became a worldwide bestseller and was adapted into an acclaimed film.

Publishers Association of NZ

Back in the 1970s, the Pacific Northwest was home to some of the most notorious serial killers in US history.

Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Caroline Fraser grew up near Seattle in the 1970s, in the shadow of Ted Bundy – one of the most notorious serial murderers of women in American history.

He wasn’t the only one. The Green River Killer, the I-5 Killer, the Night Stalker, the Hillside Strangler, and even Charles Manson were all from the same area.

Fraser’s new book Murderland explores how connections can be made between a notoriously polluted area and the infamous killers it spawned.

Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Fraser

Nine To Noon

Serial killers Ted Bundy, Randall Woodfield and Gary Ridgway were all from the Pacific Northwest.

Creative Commons

Tusiata Avia tackles the complexities of Samoan funeral culture in her latest book about the death of her father.

Giving Birth to My Father, Avia’s latest book of poems is the most challenging book she’s written, she says.

In it she shares her grief over the death of her father, Namu-lau’ulu Mikaio Avia and the difficult situations she faced with her extended family in Samoa.

It felt, she says, like a “very angry book”.

Poet Tusiata Avia on “the most challenging book I’ve written”

Culture 101

Award-winning writer and poet Tusiata Avia.

Eleanor Adams / Frank Film

Five books in to his Thursday Murder Club series and British author Richard Osman’s four senior sleuths are as popular as ever.

Osman’s hugely popular series of books are set in an English retirement village where four residents investigate unsolved murders.

The first of the series has been adapted into a Netflix movie, Thursday Murder Club, starring Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley.

The Impossible Fortune is the fifth book in the series, and 54-year-old Osman says the company of his four amateur detectives – who’ve been described as “senior citizen X-Men” – continues to inspire him.

Richard Osman: The mind behind The Thursday Murder Club

Saturday Morning

English author, television presenter and producer Richard Osman.

Carsten Koall / dpa Picture-Alliance via AFP

Craig Robertson’s new biography charts the multi-faceted life of musician Chris Knox.

In the 1970s and early ’80s, Knox formed influential Dunedin bands The Enemy, Toy Love and the Tall Dwarfs.

Not Given Lightly, looks at Knox’s career from music to satirical cartoons to journalism and commentary.

Knox saw no barriers to his own creativity, Robertson says.

Chris Knox: music, art and attitude

Nine To Noon

Chris Knox in 1996.

Barbara Ward, private collection

Adam Kay’s best-selling debut memoir about being an NHS gynaecologist, This Is Going to Hurt,spawned a hit TV series. He’s back with his first novel, A Particularly Nasty Case.

While rheumatologist Eitan, the main character in Kay’s latest novel, may share some character traits with the author, his chosen method of self-medication is not among them, Kay says.

“He’s a bit more chaotic than me. An example of that is the fact that this guy, who’s a consultant rheumatologist, uses an antihistamine nasal spray at work, except he’s replaced the antihistamine with liquid cocaine.

“So, I can categorically say that I didn’t do that. But then again, I did drink quite a lot of white wine, not at work, admittedly.”

Adam Kay: A Particularly Nasty Case

Saturday Morning

Left: Writer Adam Kay photographed by Charlie Clift. Right: His new book ‘A Particularly Nasty Case’.

Charlie Clift

Trent Dalton is no stranger to writing from the heart, but he’s described his latest novel as his most personal yet.

Emerging from a “dark place” full of violence and drug addiction, Australian best-selling author Dalton says he was driven to anything that kept him out of trouble and became “obsessed with going to higher places”.

Best known for his 2018 semi-autobiographical novel Boy Swallows Universe, the former journalist’s latest novel, Gravity Let Me Go, dives into the cost of being obsessed with chasing after stories.

“This is me trying to take an honest look at some of my failings and some of my mistakes that I’ve made as a husband and as a dad, and I tried to throw them all into this study of long-term marriage that is, as you so beautifully say, wrapped inside a murder mystery,” Dalton told RNZ’s Saturday Morning.

Trent Dalton: Gravity Let Me Go

Saturday Morning

Australian author and journalist Trent Dalton.

Supplied

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

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Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre back from brink of closure

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tūturuatu/shore plover Tara Swan

Half a year ago, Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre was on the brink of closure.

The sanctuary – described as a taonga on the border of Wairarapa and Tararua – was in financial turmoil, forced to make a desperate bid for donations just as a stoush over a new home for an endangered bird hit the headlines.

Since then, the entire board has been replaced and a new general manager is at the helm.

But what became of the shore plover, the tiny wading bird at the centre of all the strife?

Manager Toby Cantwell at Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre. RNZ / Mary Argue

You hear them before you see them.

As Toby Cantwell moves towards the line of brand-new aviaries out the back of Pūkaha, a series of high-pitched cheeping erupts.

The conservation manager’s footsteps signal breakfast and the shore plovers seem to know it. They’re on high alert.

Today’s menu includes a reddish-brown mush of minced ox heart, kitten biscuits, insects and supplements all mixed in individual bowls, plus a handful of live, wriggling, mealworms – bred onsite and handpicked stoically by Cantwell.

He hates creepy-crawlies but they afford him an important once-over of the birds, a visual health check.

“The mealworms are quite good, because that means they [the shore plovers] come over to us nice and close, so you can get a good look.

“Often times you’ll employ a pair of binoculars as well, so you can really see the detail of their feet.

“Is there any sign of any problem? Are they using both their feet, are they walking properly? Do they look like they’ve hurt themselves?”

The birds, with their motley white and brown feathers, take a minute to spot amongst the pebbles and tussock of their artificial coastal environment.

About the size of a fist, the endemic tūturuatu/shore plover is one of the country’s most critically endangered birds.

Decades of habitat loss and predation, mean there are fewer than 250 left in the wild, according to the Department of Conservation (DOC), most of them on offshore islands.

Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre hopes its breed and release programme will help bolster those numbers, but earlier this year that ambition was hanging in the balance.

Manager Toby Cantwell. RNZ / Mary Argue

Pūkaha’s plea for financial help

Established in 1962, the wildlife sanctuary is perhaps best known for its first species – the takahē, a Fiordland bird once thought extinct.

The flightless bird marked the start of Pūkaha’s breed and release programme for endangered species, but in June this year the sanctuary’s days were suddenly numbered.

In a desperate plea for financial help, the then-board announced that without an immediate and significant cash injection of $600,000, Pūkaha would be forced to shut its doors.

“Pūkaha has enjoyed over 60 years of community support, and we are asking our local community and New Zealand to again step up – provide financial assistance – or face the potential closure of this magnificent national treasure, ” then-board co-chair Mavis Mullins said at the time.

tūturuatu/ shore plover Tara Swan

Pūkaha’s financial woes escalated in a public stoush over payment for the construction of new aviaries for a critically endangered bird – the shore plover.

DOC had approved a grant for $530,000 for the aviaries – due to be completed before the end of 2024 – with funds to be released on the completion of agreed milestones.

But by May 2025, tensions regarding an unpaid $244,000 invoice from the contractor boiled over. BK Engineering walked off the job, and took its gear and the aviaries’ doors with it.

DOC said it hadn’t contracted the work and it was working with Pūkaha on finding a solution.

Ultimately, the department stepped in to finish the aviaries, saying they were integral for the shore plover breeding programme and urgently needed.

By mid-June the entire Pūkaha board had been replaced, and its new members were scrambling.

‘Sweat, tears and many hui’

It’s been a rollercoaster ride, according to Shane McManaway, the new board chair, who said the centre got itself into financial difficulties in the latter part of 2024 for “a whole host of reasons”.

Pūkaha’s 2023-2024 annual report shows soaring debt – hitting about $3 million – rising operational costs, and falling grant money.

While visitors numbers had increased, they were still about 12,000 below pre-pandemic levels.

By July this year, the new board closed a multi-million-dollar deal with iwi and creditors that kept Pūkaha’s doors open.

BK Engineering was paid, but McManaway says the board didn’t come up for air for months as its members sought to get a grip on Pūkaha’s finances and secure support.

“Day in and day out, all of June, all of July, and most of August we didn’t do anything else but really focus on making sure we got it back up on its feet,” McManaway says.

Rangitāne Tū Mai Rā Trust chair Sonya Rimene said the deal with the sanctuary came after a “lot of sweat, tears and many hui”.

Ultimately, the Trust agreed to buy the sanctuary’s education complex, Whare Wānanga, (which it did in August) helping relieve some of the centre’s debt and also took on a $1 million loan from the Tararua District Council.

Masterton District Council and Central Energy Trust also came to the party, as did “many, many supporters” from across the region, Rimene said.

She said with Trust members on the board, helping to put Pūkaha “back in the black”, and the Whare Wānanga already fully booked into mid-next year, they’re feeling positive.

So is McManaway. He said the centre is currently advertising for a ‘Chief of Awesome’ to help enhance people’s experience at the sanctuary and boost numbers through the door – a key part of future revenue and financial stability.

“We want to do more than wash our face to be fair, we want to make sure we can grow the business,” he said.

“We really are putting a big effort in. A lot of hard work, but given that it’s such a special thing for our beautiful region, it’s been worth every hour that we’ve put in.”

McManaway said the sanctuary’s financial position is looking “pretty good” – a turnaround made possible by those who “rolled up their sleeves” and the staff who stuck it out during a “very awkward time”.

Sights set on future

That tumultuous period is something interim general manager Rhys Watkins would sooner leave behind.

“It was a tricky time… When the new board came in, they obviously had some work to do.”

That tumultuous period is something interim general manager Rhys Watkins would sooner leave behind. RNZ / Mary Argue

The “team of superstars” is getting things done, but he said running a conservation centre 364-days a year, doesn’t come cheap.

“[It’s] always a feel-good story and quite often it’s not wrapped around with bucketloads of money.”

Extensive trapping is required to ensure the survival of native species, such as kokako, kiwi, kakariki, and riroriro within and around the reserve’s 942 hectares, he said.

Infrastructure, for example aviaries for breeding programmes, also costs.

Despite the challenges, he’s optimistic.

“For myself, it’s a very exciting time and I think there’s opportunity on the horizon – and that’s great.

“From a place where you’re having discussions about doors closing… to now we’re opening doors left, right, and centre.”

DOC said work on stage one of the shore plover aviaries (whose doors were stripped) wrapped in August, and work is underway on a second aviary plus one for future chicks.

Lower North Island operations director Alice Heather said it took a lot of hard work to get the aviaries up-and-running and relocated the birds. There are currently 12 shore plovers on site.

She said Pūkaha is an important captive breeding site for endangered species and “the conservation of the critically endangered tūturuatu” is the current focus of DOC’s collaboration with the centre.

“While birds are co-housed, DOC is not encouraging breeding right now but will be actively encouraging the birds during the next breeding season, beginning in spring 2026.”

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

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Can I travel while getting NZ Super, and other most-asked questions of 2025 – Ask Susan

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ’s money correspondent Susan Edmunds answers your questions. RNZ

Every week in 2025, RNZ money correspondent Susan Edmunds answered your questions online and on her podcast [ https://www.rnz.co.nz/podcast/no-stupid-questions No Stupid Questions].

Here are some of the most-asked questions this year. If you have any you would like her to tackle in 2026, send them to questions@rnz.co.nz

I’m not quite at retirement age yet but I’m planning. My daughter lives in Canada and I will go to visit her and potentially use her as a base to go sightseeing. I see that if you are away for more than 26 weeks you can lose your pension unless you make provisions with Work and Income.

If you have lived and worked in NZ and reach retirement why should there be any conditions on travelling if that’s what you want to do? Sure, they need to keep tabs in case you pass away and guard against fraudulent activity, but this legislation feels out of touch with the needs of many families in this day and age.

I took your question to the Ministry of Social Development (MSD), which indicated it’s basically about keeping the scheme affordable for New Zealand.

General manager for the international disability and generational policy group Harry Fenton said it had always been a feature of NZ Super (NZS) that eligibility was based on residence in this country.

He said it was one of the aspects of the scheme that was designed to keep it fiscally sustainable.

He said people who wanted to travel could receive their pension for 26 weeks if they returned to New Zealand within 30 weeks.

“A person who wants to travel or live overseas for longer than 26 weeks can also apply under the general portability payments and their payment is proportional to their residence in New Zealand between the ages of 20 and 65.

“A person living permanently overseas may be able to receive up to the full rate of NZS if the country they’re residing in has a social security agreement with New Zealand. What a person may be eligible to receive will depend on their personal circumstances and the provisions of the individual agreement. New Zealand has a social security agreement with 10 countries which includes Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.”

Fenton said people move to certain Pacific Island countries could also receive payment of the pension proportional to their time as a resident in New Zealand.

I was 35 when KiwiSaver began … I was a full-time worker, wasn’t receiving a benefit. It was like this until this year, when I was told by my doctor that I can no longer work as I have osteoarthritis halfway down my back to my legs.

The skills I had were as a cleaner and I ended as a customer service representative, so I was on my feet a lot. I am now just about 55, I’ve got 10 years until retirement.

No one out there now will employ me as I’m just hitting retirement age and I have health issues. My husband and I are now on a supported living benefit together, he hasn’t worked for 19 years.

My KiwiSaver doesn’t get any money from my wages any more.

Can I get all my KiwiSaver money out that is in there? It’s all my hard work and I no longer work.

This is a really tough situation, and I can understand why it must be frustrating to have your KiwiSaver money there but untouchable!

You can’t close a KiwiSaver account in the same way that you would a bank account.

When you first sign up, you can opt out if you do it quickly, but once you’re in the scheme, you can only stop contributions.

You can withdraw in limited circumstances: When you hit 65, if you meet the criteria for financial hardship, if you’re buying a first home or if you are leaving the country permanently, but not if you’re going to Australia.

In your case, unless you’re actually falling behind on your bills, you probably won’t meet the hardship test.

I checked with Rupert Carlyon, who is the founder of KiwiSaver provider Koura.

He said: “Unfortunately, she is only allowed to withdraw for serious financial hardship if she can’t meet her day-to-day living costs or if she has bills that she is unable to pay.”

He said there was a category that allowed for withdrawals in cases of serious illness but if you’re still able to do some types of work you might not qualify for that.

The KiwiSaver Act defines serious illness as something “that results in the member being totally and permanently unable to engage in work for which he or she is suited by reason of experience, education, or training, or any combination of those things; or that poses a serious and imminent risk of death”. (You could always check with your provider to see what advice they could offer.)

Carlyon said he realised the situation was not ideal for you. “But the positive is that from the age of 65 they will be able to draw down and use the money to help the next phase of her retirement.”

My parents are in their late 70s. Dad is in rest home hospital care in a rest home with physical issues and dementia and he and Mum own a unit in the same retirement village, which would gain $150,000 when they sell (die or both in care). They have joint savings of $50,000 and own a car (no other assets). Dad’s care is funded by the government and is $11,000 a month. In the unlikely event mum was to pass away before dad, would the house proceeds and savings be used by the government to fund dad’s care? Or would this inheritance be paid out to us children as per their will?

Your parents’ assets are below the rest home subsidy asset test threshold so even if the money were to pass to him as relationship property, as I expect it would, it would not be enough to affect the subsidy for his care.

The threshold of assets in this situation would be $284,636. It would only be assets above that which would affect him receiving the government support.

If one person in a de facto relationship needs permanent medical care, does the government require the other partner to pay for the care once the unwell patient’s funds run out?

The basic answer to your question is that when your partner is being assessed for their ability to pay for their care, your income and assets will usually be taken into account.

If you’re referring to medical care in a rest home setting, your assets and personal income affect whether your partner will qualify for a residential care subsidy.

“People who need residential care are required to pay for it themselves, if they can afford to do so. If they cannot afford it, they may be eligible for a residential care subsidy, which Health New Zealand pays directly to the care provider,” said Ministry of Social Development group general manager for client service delivery Graham Allpress.

“MSD’s role is to check whether people qualify for this subsidy by performing a ‘financial means assessment’.

“To get the subsidy, a person’s income and assets must be under a certain amount. If they are in a relationship, the combined income and assets of both parties must be under a certain amount.”

People can qualify for the subsidy if they are 50 to 64, single and without dependent children, or over 65 and meet the income and means test. That means, even if your partner’s funds have run out, your assets could still be taken into account.

If only one partner needs care, the couple combined need to have assets of no more than $155,873 not including the family home and car, or $284,636 if you do want the home and car in the assessment.

If it’s other types of care that you’re thinking of, it could be a good idea to contact Health NZ for a needs assessment.

There are options such as the supported living payment but eligibility for this is assessed on a household income basis, too.

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

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Water search for missing jet skier ended for second night

Source: Radio New Zealand

The police Eagle helicopter crew and Coastguard are searching for a missing jet skier off Waikato (file photo). RNZ / Dom Thomas

The search for a jet skier missing in the water for more than 24 hours off Port Waikato has ended for a second night.

Emergency services responded to reports of three people in distress in the sea about 6:30pm last night, near the sandbar at the Waikato River mouth.

On Thursday two people, including a five year old child were rescued at the river mouth with help from the police Eagle helicopter. But searchers continued to scour the water on Friday, searching for a third person.

The trio were jet skiing near the notoriously dangerous sand bar at the river’s mouth on Christmas Day when they got into trouble.

Police said they responded to a report about the incident about 6:30pm on Thursday. The Police Eagle helicopter crew helped surf lifesavers to rescue two people, but the third had not yet been found.

Surf Life Saving NZ (SLSNZ) said on Christmas Day lifeguards from Sunset Beach and Kariaotahi had responded to the incident, with patrol lifeguards and search and rescue squads, using inflatable rescue boats and rescue water craft. The Northern Rescue helicopter had also helped search.

Lifeguards had been able to pull a five-year-old child from the water, and had kept searching until it became too dark to continue, at about 8pm on Thursday.

The remaining missing person was a male, SLSNZ said.

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Ashes batters run for cover on manic day one in Melbourne

Source: Radio New Zealand

  • Twenty wickets fall on chaotic day one
  • Tongue gets five-wicket haul for England
  • Tailender Neser top-scores for Australia with 35

    • Australia finished marginally on top at the end of a chaotic opening day of the fourth Ashes test after an extraordinary 20 wickets fell in front of a record crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.

    Australia nightwatchman Scott Boland was four not out with Travis Head yet to score as the hosts went to stumps at four for no loss in their second innings, carrying a 46-run lead over England.

    With England bowled out for 110 in reply to Australia’s first innings 152, it was the highest number of wickets in a single day at the MCG since a record 25 fell in the 1902 Ashes.

    Josh Tongue took a career-best 5-45 to skittle Australia on the grassy pitch after England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to field in the traditional Boxing Day test.

    But the tourists’ batters then suffered a more egregious collapse.

    The batting carnage unfolded in front of a crowd of 93,442, eclipsing the stadium’s previous record of 93,013 for a day of cricket at the 2015 World Cup final.

    England, who have already lost the series after three straight defeats, came into the match under a cloud, following reports that some players had taken a “stag party” attitude to a trip to Noosa between the second and third tests.

    But they would have been well pleased with their work in the field early on, rattling through Australia in 45.2 overs to bring tea early.

    The alarm bells were soon ringing, however, as their top order collapsed before they were bowled out in 29.5 overs.

    Former England captain Michael Vaughan labelled the pitch a “shocker” but Australia seamer Michael Neser, who led his team’s bowling with 4-45 and batting with 35, had no complaints.

    “We know it can move real fast day one and two, and then once that wicket hardens up and dries out, it can be quite nice to bat on,” he told reporters.

    Miserable series

    Neser’s knock was 33 runs better than England opener Ben Duckett, who was caught for two with a loose drive at Mitchell Starc, continuing his miserable series.

    New number three Jacob Bethell, the replacement for the dropped Ollie Pope, managed only one before Neser had him caught behind, while opener Zak Crawley edged Starc to Steve Smith in the slips to be out for five.

    Root was then out for a 15-ball duck, his second of the series, nicking Neser behind.

    Harry Brook and Stokes dug in for a 50-run partnership to trim the deficit to 86 runs, but England were then blown out of the water by a triple-strike from Boland.

    The pacer took 3-11 as he trapped Brook lbw for 41, bowled Jamie Smith through the gate for two and had all-rounder Will Jacks caught behind for five.

    Stokes was unable to rescue England, falling for 16 with an edge off Neser to Smith at first slip.

    Gus Atkinson and Tongue’s 10th-wicket stand of 19 runs appeared heroic after what had gone on before. But it was all over when Cameron Green bowled Atkinson for 28, just in time for England’s bowlers to get one wicketless over in before stumps.

    Australia’s Jhye Richardson, named for his first test since the last home Ashes in 2021/22, was the only one of the hosts’ four pacers not cashing in.

    Tongue bowled Smith through the gate for nine among his five wickets and has dismissed the master batter in every first-class match against him, including both times at Lord’s during the 2023 Ashes.

    He also removed opener Jake Weatherald (10) and number three Marnus Labuschagne (six) as Australia lost their four top-order wickets for 51 runs.

    “Bowling them out for 150-odd, I thought we did an amazing job as a bowling unit,” said Tongue.

    “They’ve bowled well as well. It’s obviously a pitch that’s doing quite a bit.”

    – Reuters

    Relive all the action from day 1:

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

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    The Ashes: Australia v England – fourth test, day one

    Source: Radio New Zealand

    Australia is carrying a 46 run lead over England after a dramatic opening day in the fourth Ashes test in Melbourne.

    The day ended with Scott Boland on four not out, and Travis Head yet to score as Australia went to stumps at four for no loss in their second innings.

    Earlier England had been bowled out for just 110 in reply to Australia’s first innings 152.

    20 wickets fell – the highest number in a single day at the MCG since 1902.

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    Philip Brown

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

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    Break in at antique store ‘another blow’, owner says

    Source: Radio New Zealand

    Raewyn Dailey says the burglary of imported jewellery from her Napier antique store was a blow on top of recent challenges to retail in the area (file photo). RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham

    A Napier antique shop owner is blaming the high price of silver, after an overnight burglary at her store between Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

    Raewyn Dailey from Napier Antiques said the thieves stole $50,000 worth of silver jewellery.

    The jewellery had been sourced overseas and would be difficult to replace.

    “We’ve put so much effort into getting our stock, and we can’t just up and travel overseas and buy it again easily,” she said.

    Spot prices for silver had more than doubled since December last year.

    Retail crime in the city had risen significantly in the past four years, she said.

    “The crime is just terrible, and it’s getting worse and worse, and no matter what we do security-wise, nothing seems to quite cut it any more.”

    The stock was especially needed for visitors coming into the city for the Napier Art Deco Festival, which was just two months away, and is a major boost to business that they count on, Dailey said.

    “You know it couldn’t happened at a worse time for us. Being an antique store we’re not a regular gifting shop where people come in before Christmas to buy, they actually come in when they’re travelling around, and this is our busiest time, from today.”

    In recent years, disruptions to business from Cyclone Gabrielle and the pandemic had made an impact, especially due to the festival being cancelled over multiple years, she had earlier told RNZ.

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

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    Weather: Flooding, large hail and thunder, as storms sweep across New Zealand

    Source: Radio New Zealand

    Flooding has been reported in some areas, while MetService has issued more thunderstorm warnings, on top of earlier forecasts of stormy, wet weather for Boxing Day.

    A new severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the Clutha District.

    Thunderstorms were expected to lie near Balclutha, Nugget Point, Owaka, Kaitangata, Kaka Point and Offshore Nugget Point about 6pm.The thunderstorms could be accompanied by very heavy rain, large hail and frequent lightning.

    Heavy rain has been making its way up the country, and causing flooding in parts of the North Island.

    MetService said Taranaki, and the town of Hāwera in particular, had been hardest hit.

    Warnings issued for storms

    Several weather watches were issued earlier, for thunderstorms expected for the upper North Island and southeast of the South Island.

    Including severe thunderstorm watches for Christchurch, Canterbury Plains, Canterbury High Country, North Otago, Central Otago, Dunedin, Clutha and Southland from 1pm until 8pm on Friday.

    Forecasters said there was the possibility of hail larger than 20mm in these areas.

    “A cold unstable air-mass affects parts of the South Island today. For coastal Canterbury from the Banks Peninsula southwards, eastern Otago and Southland there is a moderate risk of thunderstorms. These storms may become severe this afternoon and evening with hail, larger than 20mm.”

    MetService weather watches on Boxing Day afternoon. MetService

    Meanwhile, up north, a complex trough embedded in a moist unstable air-mass was expected to move east across the upper North Island, MetService forecasters said.

    They issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and Rotorua from 2pm until 8pm on Friday.

    And Gisborne was also under a watch from 7pm until 11pm Friday.

    MetService said the downpours could bring hourly rainfall amounts of 25 to 40mm an hour.

    Heavy rain watches were also issued for parts of Bay of Plenty, Taranaki Maunga, Tararua Range and Wellington.

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

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    Water search underway in Waikato for missing jet skier

    Source: Radio New Zealand

    The police Eagle helicopter crew and Coastguard are searching for a missing jet skiier off Waikato (file photo). RNZ / Dom Thomas

    The Coastguard are helping police search for a jet skier missing on the Port Waikato coast for almost 24 hours.

    Police responded to reports of three people in distress at sea about 6:30pm on Boxing Day.

    The Police Eagle helicopter crew helped surf lifesavers to rescue two of them, but the third has not yet been found.

    The Waiuku Coastguard and the Auckland Coastguard Air Patrol were out at first light on Friday, searching for them.

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

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    Water pollution warnings for Wellington, Lower Hutt

    Source: Radio New Zealand

    Wellington’s Lyall Bay, and the surrounding bays are popular water recreation spots. RNZ / Mark Papalii

    All Wellington swimming spots have been marked with red ‘unsuitable for swimming’ labels, and warnings have been issued about pollution from two wastewater discharges.

    Warning signs were being put up along parts of Wellington’s south coast after the discharge of untreated wastewater, while all Lower Hutt swimming spots – including Petone and Eastbourne – had been marked as unsuitable for swimming after another discharge to an urban stream.

    Wellington Water said it was replacing its ultraviolet water disinfection system at the Moa Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, resulting in a discharge of partially-treated wastewater about 2km off the coast of Lyall Bay.

    The area is popular with surfers, divers and swimmers.

    The water disinfection system upgrade is expected to take until May next year, leaving the plant at reduced capacity, Land Air and Water Aotearoa said.

    “When it’s raining, wastewater volumes are higher than usual, and some wastewater may bypass the full treatment, resulting in a discharge of partially treated wastewater via the long outfall pipe, 1.8km offshore. Any discharges in this location, will be heavily diluted due to significant tidal flows,” they said.

    People should stay out of the water on Wellington’s south coast for at least 48 hours after rainfall. And it urged ongoing caution in the area: “due to potential discharges of partially treated wastewater on rainy days, we advise people take extra care if recreating (swimming) in this area after rainfall.”

    They would continue to monitor the water quality in the area after rainfall and water discharges.

    Wastewater had also been discharged into Wellington Harbour from the Waiwhetu Stream in Lower Hutt after heavy rain, Wellington Water said. It was fully treated, but could be smelly.

    Boxing Day Enterococci bacteria results for all Lower Hutt swimming spots, including popular spots Petone and Eastbourne, showed the area was unsuitable for swimming, Land Air and Water said.

    Lower Hutt’s Petone Wharf, facing Wellington City (file photo). Supplied/ Dan Bailey

    For both Wellington’s south coast, and Lower Hutt beaches, the waste could create cloudy or murky water, LAWA said.

    You can find Land Air and Water’s Is it safe to Swim map here.

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