Category: Public Media

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police investigating the homicide of a Rotorua man are urging residents near where he died to check their properties for items the offender may have left behind.

Nicholas Patrick Mitchell, 37, was found dead in a vehicle on Ford Road in the city shortly before 8:30pm on Friday.

Police said inquiries suggest his injuries are not consistent with a crash.

Senior Sergeant Mark Van Kempen is asking residents around Ford Road to check their properties for possible evidence.

He said it’s possible the offender discarded clothing, weapons or other items while fleeing the scene.

Police are following a number of leads.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Health New Zealand says there is a new case of measles of Queenstown.

It brings the number of known cases nationally since the response began to 32 – four of which are still infectious.

Health New Zealand said the Queenstown case is linked to overseas travel and is concerned about 25 places of exposure in Queenstown, Akaroa, and Christchurch.

People are urged to check Health New Zealand’s locations of interest page which is regularly updated. Individuals are also encouraged to follow advice for close or casual contacts and to monitor for symptoms.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Putting on a Christmas feast with all the trimmings is not getting any cheaper, and you are already paying more as soon as you fire up the barbecue.

Infometrics has been tracking the cost of a classic Christmas meal for several years, by examining the various ingredients needed for a Christmas dinner.

Chief executive and principal economist Brad Olsen told Checkpoint his team had been looking at higher cost increases through the year, and one that really stuck out was the energy costs New Zealanders were facing.

“Electricity price inflation is up 12 percent over the 12 months to November – that’s some of the fastest electricity increases we’ve seen since 1989 – but the big one and the challenge for anybody wanting to do a barbecue is that gas prices are up 17 percent over the last year.

“So just turning the barbecue on gets expensive, before you get into what you’re putting on it.”

Infometrics looked at two different menu options – one barbecue-based with steak, lamb chops, classic salads and sausages on bread; and the other the more classic option of roast lamb, roast pork, ham, potatoes, kumura, pumpkin and beans; along with dessert options for both.

Olsen said a roast meat meal that would feed roughly 10 people would now cost about $200, up from $178 last year, and adding dessert and entrees would come with a price tag of $275.

A barbecue meal would cost about $300 for the core meats, or $380 overall with snacks and dessert.

“So you’re talking $30-$57 more for the entire Christmas meal,” said Olsen. “That might not sound like a huge amount for some people, but honestly for some households, that’s about the entire meal for a lot of people in general, let alone the increase.”

He said meat was “by far the biggest offender” when it came to increased costs, with the classic options like steak or lamb considerably more expensive this year.

However he said there were more affordable options.

“So sirloin steak is going to set you back more than $45 a kilogram, the likes of roast lamb is $25 a kilogram, lamb chops are $23 a kg. But you can get a number of chicken items for anywhere between $7 and $16 a kilo, so considerably lower, and a roast pork, at the moment you can get that for $13 a kg.”

Dessert was also looking more expensive, with egg prices up about 12 percent over the past year.

“They’ve come back a touch, but put it this way, they’re currently costing you about $4.69 on how many eggs I’m putting in my pav, they were less than three bucks for the same amount of eggs just a couple of years ago. So all of that has increased.”

Even the toppings on the Christmas pavlova can add to the increased cost, said Olsen.

“If you’re putting kiwifruit on at the moment, it’s 44 percent more expensive than it was last year. If you’re having to put your sultanas into your figgy pudding, that’s 31 percent more expensive than last year, so there are much bigger costs that are starting to really hit.”

Olsen said the Christmas season was the biggest stress test on family finances.

“Not only do you have all the food costs, it’s also the time that you do the most spending.

“If we look at card activity in the economy, we know the month of December is still the biggest spend-up, because we all go and get our Christmas presents, we go and do the Boxing Day sales afterwards.

“All of that normal stress that comes with Christmas, you add money into the mix and it’s pretty potent.”

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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 man has been arrested in central Auckland for carrying a samurai sword, which some members of the public mistook for a gun.

Police say they were initially called at around 4pm when a member of the public thought they saw a man with a gun on Upper Queen Street.

Armed police rushed to the scene but couldn’t substantiate the presence of any firearms.

Police later tracked down a man carrying a samurai sword wrapped in a jacket on nearby Vincent Street.

He was arrested and police say he will be charged with possessing an offensive weapon.

“There is no information to suggest that this samurai sword was presented at any member of the public,” a spokesperson clarified.

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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 New Zealand family is complaining to Jetstar after their elderly father was injured during an unexpected overnight layover.

The 77-year-old seriously injured his face and hands after faceplanting on the concrete when he was forced to wait outside while the airport was closed.

Jetstar said it offered to reimburse them for overnight accommodation but they chose to wait at the airport instead, but the man’s daughter said they weren’t made aware the airport would be closed.

Rachel Cargill and her father were due to fly direct from Australia’s Gold Coast early Monday morning when the airline suddenly cancelled their flight.

“We got up 4:30 Monday morning, and there was an email from Jetstar advising us that our flight had been cancelled due to, apparently, staffing issues, and there was a link offering different flights for us,” she said.

“Every single one of those flights had a stopover of at least 10 hours in either Sydney or Melbourne.”

After considering their options, the Cargills settled for an evening flight to Sydney followed by an early morning flight to Auckland, with a 9-hour overnight layover in between.

“They did state in the email that they would reimburse us for any hotel costs, or for some of the hotel costs if we chose to get one. We chose not to, and we figured we would probably just crash in the airport in Sydney somewhere until our flight,” Rachel Cargill said.

It wasn’t until they had settled in for the evening that a security guard told them they would be kicked out between 11:30pm and 2:30am.

“He said, ‘oh, and by the way, we’re closing at 11:30 for three hours, so you will be kicked out.’ We weren’t the only ones, there were other people, and most of the seats [outside] were taken up outside with people lying on them sleeping. We managed to find one in the car park. It was raining, and it was cold,” she said.

“We got a bit cold at about one o’clock, so we decided to go for a wander around the outside of the airport to see if we could find a better spot. And as we were walking around, Dad didn’t see the gutter, and he just fell over face first… He just fell face first onto the tarmac.”

“[He] damaged his face and ripped the fingertips off his hand, and there was blood everywhere. And I’ll give credit to the security guard at the airport. He saw it happen and came over and helped us and got us some help.”

After arriving in Auckland the next day, she said her father was treated for a broken hand.

The family was initially worried the wounds on his face would require plastic surgery, but he was later given stitches.

Cargill said Jetstar should have warned them that the airport would be closed during the night.

“It would have been nice if they told us that. We may have organised a room [if we knew]. I mean, it would have only been for a few hours and a total waste of money, but it would have been better than stuck outside in the rain and the cold.”

In a statement to RNZ, Jetstar said it was “very concerned” to hear about the man’s experience.

A spokesperson noted that customers were given 11 different options for alternative flights, though Cargill said their choices had dwindled quickly as other passengers snapped them up immediately.

“We emailed customers advising we would assist with reasonable overnight accommodation costs and if needed, customers could also speak to an airport team member for help finding accommodation,” a spokesperson for Jetstar said.

“We’re sorry to learn what happened during his time in Sydney. Our customer care team will be in contact to discuss his experience.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fire and Emergency has taken legal action against its union and one of its officials, following alleged threats and intimidation.

New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) officials are believed to have threatened and intimidated volunteers to stop them responding to emergencies using the most appropriate equipment during strike periods.

The union is also alleged to have condoned and aided the conduct, so FENZ has begun legal action in the Employment Relations Authority.

“I think the public would be appalled to learn officials of the NZPFU appear to have sought to stop volunteer firefighters going on callouts with the most appropriate appliance,” FENZ chief executive Kerry Gregory said.

“We rely on volunteers to ensure the community remains protected, including during strikes, and in 2025, this kind of behaviour is totally unacceptable.

“The alleged behaviour includes seeking to deter volunteers from responding to incidents during the NZPFU strike action and preventing them from deploying the most operationally appropriate resources to an emergency callout.

“We respect the right of people to take industrial action, but the alleged behaviour puts the community at risk and creates an unsafe workplace. We will not stand for it.”

Earlier in December, the Employment Relations Authority referred Fire and Emergency and the NZPFU to independent facilitation to help make progress in ongoing negotiations for a collective agreement. That facilitation continues.

“We also call on the NZPFU to call off its planned strikes for this Friday and Boxing Day,” Gregory said. “It’s reckless for the union to keep putting the community at risk, while we’re engaged in independent facilitation to help us reach a settlement.

“Fire and Emergency will continue to engage in the facilitation process in good faith, with the goal of reaching a fair and sustainable settlement. At the same time, we will do everything necessary to protect our team members and the wider public against behaviour that puts them in danger.”

NZPFU denies allegations, will defend legal action

New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union national secretary Wattie Watson said the union denied the allegations.

The union said it believed the legal action was a reflection of FENZ’s increasing frustration with the support many volunteers have articulated or demonstrated in many ways, since NZPFU members began taking strike action.

“FENZ immediately issued a public statement across the organisation and to media about their legal action, and that behaviour supports our belief that their end goal is to try and portray conflict and friction, when the reality is a camaraderie in their dedication to serving and protecting the public.

“The volunteers are facing many of the same issues that the NZPFU is fighting for and have voiced their frustration that it appears only the NZPFU are fighting against FENZ’s mismanagement of critical funding.

“FENZ is using every tactic it can muster, but our members will continue to act in a professional way and continue to foster the good working relationships with volunteers.

“It is FENZ management that are attempting to intimidate volunteers. In the NZPFU bargaining dispute in 2022, FENZ threatened volunteers with disciplinary action, if they spoke out about the issues they were facing, which ran parallel with issues the NZPFU membership was raising, including unsafe and unreliable fire appliances.”

The matter has also been refereed to police.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland Zoo has euthanised its elderly rhino, Zambezi, due to age-related health conditions.

The 36-year-old Southern white rhino relocated to Auckland from Hamilton Zoo in 2007.

Auckland Zoo Veterinarian Dr Adam Naylor said Zambezi’s dental disease had made it difficult for him to eat.

“We’ve been able to maintain Zambezi’s welfare through a combination of dental procedures, medication, husbandry, and dietary support. However, over a number of months, we have seen a deterioration in his dental health, he has had increased difficulty eating, and his body condition has gradually declined as a result.

Dr Naylor as Zambezi was approaching the end of his natural lifespan, vet and keeper teams have monitored him very closely in recent years.

“As part of his care, he has received regular health assessments with the support of veterinary dental specialists. Dental disease is a common age-related health issue in rhinos; a result of continuous chewing and years of cumulative wear, particularly in long-lived individuals.”

Dr Naylor said that euthanasia before Zambezi started to suffer was the most humane option.

“It’s never an easy decision to do this, and one we never take lightly, but, by acting now, we have been able to give him a peaceful and dignified end to his life.”

With adult female Jamila, he had three offspring females Nyah (5) and Amali (3), and male Zuka (1) at the zoo.

Last month, the zoo euthanised its last subantarctic seal.

It said it could not maintain the environment needed for the 20-year-old named Ōrua, who was nearing the end of his life span.

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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 Christchurch man is accused of trying to solicit sexual favours from two teenage girls and sexually taunting a third, court documents show.

The man, aged in his 50s, has interim name suppression that prevents RNZ detailing much of the case.

The documents show he was charged on 29 October with five counts of exposing girls under the age of 16 to indecent communication.

According to the document, he propositioned the first girl and after sexually taunting her and asked for her phone number.

Just over a week later, he verbally taunted the girl again.

He was also accused of saying to a second teenage girl, “you’re gorgeous, you can earn some money if you give me five minutes of your time”, in June.

In early August, he was accused of saying, “you’re pretty” to a third girl before offering her $100 to perform a sex act on him.

Police were notified in the days following the approaches and the man was arrested a few weeks later.

Judge Michael Crosbie granted the man interim name suppression when he appeared at the Christchurch District Court via audio-visual link on Monday.

He is yet to enter a plea.

The man was remanded in custody until his next appearance in early 2026.

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