Category: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Tauranga school was put into lockdown this morning after reports of someone with a weapon.

Police were called to Cameron Road at about 8.50am.

“A nearby school was advised to be placed into a lockdown, however this has since been stood down,” Police said.

“The person alleged to have a weapon was located, where Police found a knife in their possession, and taken into custody.”

Police say they’re continuing to make enquiries.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Residents of Blockhouse Bay in southwestern Auckland were dismayed to learn early last year that their local Woolworths supermarket was earmarked to close.

While the Donovan Street store wasn’t the largest supermarket in the area, many living nearby treated it as an extension of their household refrigerators, popping down to the neighbourhood hub on a near-daily basis to pick up grocery supplies.

Rumours started circulating that a large chemist chain had taken over the lease or, worse still, that the 2,200-square-metre site had been sold to developers who wanted to build a block of apartments on it.

So it was with some relief that locals learned the lease had been taken over by grocery chain Golden Apple, with plans to open a fully functional Asian supermarket in August this year.

But the recent tenancy changes at the heart of the village in this quiet residential Auckland suburb represent more than just a straight retail swap from a mainstream supermarket giant to an emerging rival.

It mirrors Auckland’s wider demographic changes as an increasing number of residents claim Asian heritage.

‘Little sleepy village’

Eileen Rusden was born in Blockhouse Bay almost a century ago, living there with her parents until she was about 20 years old.

When the 93-year-old first started school in 1939, she recalled the area being a “little sleepy village”.

“When I was here, there were probably only about five shops in the village,” she said.

Rusden said her school classmates were overwhelmingly English-speaking, most of them being children of European settlers who had arrived in New Zealand in the 1920s.

She recalls Blockhouse Bay being a happy place to grow up.

However, she noticed the suburb beginning to change after she married and moved away in 1953.

“That was when the housing started after World War II,” Rusden said. “The big farms and large sections were developed, and I missed all of that. That was when the village got more shops.”

By the time she returned to Blockhouse Bay in 2001, it looked little like the suburb she had once known.

But as more families have moved in, new businesses opened and the area continued to grow, Rusden said she had come to value the suburb’s diversity.

“I think it’s marvellous,” she said. “You go into all the shops now and you get such a lovely welcome.”

Mary Marshall, president of the Blockhouse Bay Historical Society, was born and raised in Blockhouse Bay.

The 70-year-old has watched the suburb change over the decades.

Marshall’s parents were British immigrants who arrived in New Zealand in 1949 after World War II and settled in the suburb soon after.

“Blockhouse Bay was a very different place at that time,” Marshall said.

In pre-European times, the headland at Blockhouse Bay Beach was the site of a Māori pā.

Indeed, the rocky outcrop still known as Te Whau Point and is regarded as an important archaeological site today.

“It had become very much a place in the early half of the century where people would come for picnics,” Marshall said.

“They’d go down to the beach. Companies would hold their summer picnics there and do everything.”

Marshall’s parents ran a dairy in the area, one of the few businesses at the time.

After World War II, more houses went up and the local shopping strip began to expand, she said.

However, Marshall said most dramatic demographic shift occurred after Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China when a wave of migration from Asia changed the character of the suburb.

“You had all the British people coming through, obviously,” she said. “A lot of Chinese people immigrated to New Zealand, and the population changed tremendously then.”

A growing Asian population

Stats New Zealand’s 2023 Census showed that 3426 households resided in Blockhouse Bay.

The suburb’s estimated population in 2025 was 14,650.

By ethnicity, 55.8 percent of Blockhouse Bay residents claimed Asian heritage.

Of those, 28 percent identified as Indian and 16.5 percent as Chinese.

European residents made up 33.5 percent of the local population, Pacific 10.9 percent and Māori 6.1 percent.

The figures sit within a broader shift across Auckland, where the proportion of individuals claiming Asian heritage is projected to make up 44 percent of the city’s population by 2043.

Krystene Vickers, a committee member of the Blockhouse Bay Historical Society who also lives in the suburb, said the local grocery store had always been the beating heart of the community.

Vickers, 63, said the first grocery store in Blockhouse Bay opened in 1949, when the local Winchcombe family converted its shop into a Four Square self-service store.

It remained the village’s main grocery destination until 1973, when Foodtown, a much larger supermarket chain, opened on the same site that will eventually be occupied by Golden Apple.

In a detail she described a fitting, Vickers said Foodtown’s rise also had connections to Auckland’s Chinese community.

Tom Ah Chee, an entrepreneur of Chinese descent from a successful family of produce merchants, helped establish the Foodtown chain across Auckland with several business partners.

Foodtown’s impact on Blockhouse Bay extended beyond being a place to shop.

Even after Blockhouse Bay Foodtown became a Countdown store in 2011, Vickers said the old name never quite disappeared.

“What’s funny is even with the rebranding over the years, staff pretty much remained the same,” she said.

“Our children grew up knowing them and often the kids worked stocking shelves … so it was very much part of the community as well.

“We never stopped calling it Foodtown,” she said.

Vickers agreed that Blockhouse Bay had been demographically diverse for several decades.

“Since I arrived [in 1989], that’s diversified out to much more encompass people from India, Pakistan, the Middle East, China and [South] Korea,” she said.

“It’s lovely. It’s just built this whole layer upon layer of culture and history that everyone brings.”

That diversity is now clearly visible in Blockhouse Bay’s town centre, where the mix of shopfronts reflects the suburb’s changing communities.

Stats New Zealand’s business data shows 1271 business locations in Blockhouse Bay in 2025.

Trevor Andrews, chairman of the Blockhouse Bay Business Association, said the local business landscape had shifted over time, expanding from an overwhelmingly European focus to include more Asian-run businesses, which he said had helped strengthen the community.

“It makes the community – the business community – a very vibrant community of different nationalities and different people,” Andrews said.

“Each business owner brings in its own different types of customers as well,” he said.

“We do get a lot of variety of people – a lot of different faces – coming to Blockhouse Bay.”

‘Feeling of belonging’

Shirley Browne, who has run a fashion store bearing her given name in Blockhouse Bay for more than three decades, said she had long been drawn to the suburb’s unique and calm character, even though she lived in nearby Titirangi.

Browne said she had built a loyal customer base over the years, and that getting to know newer Asian customers had also been rewarding.

“Some of the Asian people are a little bit more reserved perhaps,” she said.

“But in time they’ll smile and give you a wave and eventually come into the shop. So that’s been rewarding.”

Olwyn Andrews, owner of Floriculture, has run her business in Blockhouse Bay village for more than five years.

The flower shop owner said the local commercial mix had shifted from retail toward more service-based businesses.

At the same time, changes in the suburb’s population have altered the rhythm of her work.

“We’re seeing a much broader demographic of people, and a lot of younger families moving in,” she said. “We’ve really watched our customer base change, and it’s been a good change.

“It’s good to learn about new cultures and their different preferences, including what they like and dislike in flowers.”

Kevin He, branch manager at Ray White Blockhouse Bay, lived in the suburb for about 15 years before moving elsewhere.

He said the number of Asian families living in Blockhouse Bay had grown steadily since 2015.

“Our customer base is quite broad,” he said. “In terms of ethnicity, roughly 70 percent are of Asian descent, including Koreans, Chinese and Indians. Relatively speaking, about 30 percent are Chinese and 40 percent are Indian.”

He said many new migrants chose Blockhouse Bay as a place to settle because the community offered a sense of belonging.

“You have the feeling of belonging here,” he said.

“In some areas, you might feel, ‘Oh, this place doesn’t have any Asian faces,’ and you might feel a bit lonely. But when you come to this area, you feel welcomed.”

Bharat Patel and his wife have run Domain Dairy for about 20 years in Blockhouse Bay.

The shop, built around 1927 by a landowner named Fowler, was the third in the area.

Patel said the dairy had been sustained by strong support from the local community.

“A lot of people from Asia are coming, Indians and Chinese too,” Patel said. “Some Pākehā have moved away. Still, people are good here. Pākehā customers support the dairy a lot.”

Although the dairy had changed hands many times, Patel said its place in the suburb’s collective memory had remained intact.

“Sometimes Pākehā people come here to visit and say, ‘When we were kids, we used to buy from this dairy,'” he said.

Patel is considering retiring next year.

But after roughly 35 years in New Zealand, he was proud to be carrying forward a business that had nearly 100 years of history.

Eleena Kujur, manager of Indian restaurant Ricksha, said she had found Blockhouse Bay a safe and welcoming place to live and work.

As a migrant, she said her relationship with customers often felt less like a transaction and more like friendship.

“We haven’t had any customers who don’t treat us like family,” she said. “They don’t even call the restaurant number. They call us directly and ask, ‘Can you book our table?'”

‘It makes us richer’

After more than 13 years in the florist industry, including running flower shops in various parts of Auckland, Andrews said the changes in Blockhouse Bay reflected Auckland’s broader evolution as a more diverse city.

“I do think Auckland has become more diverse,” she said. “I’ve seen the change since I was a teenager at Lynfield College to where I am now.

“I do think it’s a good change. We learn so much from other people, from other cultures, from other walks of life. It makes us richer to have those experiences.”

Marshall agreed, saying the demographic changes were not confined to Blockhouse Bay but were visible across the country.

“New Zealand has been a land where immigrants came,” she said.

“Here have always been different waves of migrants that changed the ethnicity of the place and the diversity.

“All of those different groups of ethnicities brought new things with them.

“That’s what I think is fantastic about those changes and the diversity that comes through happening all over Auckland, all over New Zealand.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Emergency services are at the scene of a four-vehicle crash in Palmerston North this morning.

The crash was reported at about 8.25am at the intersection of Rangitikei Line and Flygers Line in Cloverlea, police said.

Two people are being taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Motorists are advised to use alternative routes while the scene is cleared.

But the road is expected to reopen shortly.

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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 woman who went missing in Auckland has been located.

Police said the 65-year-old was last seen in Saint Johns on Monday.

Police have since said she has been located.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A specialist police force will be needed to patrol deep below Auckland’s streets on the new City Rail Link, says a city councillor.

Transport officers and Māori wardens currently patrol public transport, but do not have the power to arrest anyone – which is why some have called for a dedicated police force.

But the police said there were no plans for such a move.

Manukau ward councillor and former police officer Alf Filipaina said with Auckland’s billion dollar transport project opening later this year, safety needed to be a priority.

“What happens when the police have been called to a serious incident somewhere else, and there’s a serious incident in the tunnels? That’s what I want to make sure – that the conversation be had.”

The City Rail Link will have three new underground stations: in the Auckland CBD, Karangahape road and Mount Eden.

Transport officers, like private security guards, had no special powers to arrest suspected criminals.

They have a role to play in policing the new train stations, but they could only do so much, Filipaina said.

“If you haven’t got the ability to arrest and you’re in the tunnel, you just need to wait for the police. Sometimes you don’t have that time or opportunity to do that.”

Auckland Transport incident and experience manager Mike McCann said transport officers provided a visible presence on public transport and checked for people trying to get a free ride, but could only respond to anti-social behaviour by observing and reporting it to the police.

National coordinator of the public transport users association Jon Reeves said his group had been calling for a dedicated transport police force in Auckland for years, and with the City Rail Link close to opening it was more important than ever.

“We’re going to have a mass increase over the next two years of users onto public transport, and that includes users who don’t actually want to get on there and be good New Zealand citizens.

“There’s some that want to do some things which are a little untoward and could be very bad and so that’s why we do need to have some action now.”

Tramways and Public Transport Employees union president Gary Froggatt agreed.

“It would provide more protection, more security, safety. They’d also have the ability to monitor fares, etc. Currently there’s thousands and thousands of dollars lost in the system through people not paying their fares.”

But Police Association president Steve Watt did not support the idea.

“At the end of the day, the police have a limited number of staff which they can deploy to deal with situations, and if police permanently based someone on the Auckland Transport network that means something else has got to give.

The City Rail Link stations may pose extra risk, but police would be able to manage that under the current beat policing approach, he said.

“By its very nature in being underground, obviously there will be some difficulties in potentially reaching certain areas, but I’m sure that between Auckland Transport and police they’ll be able to work those out.”

Auckland City crime prevention manager Inspector Grant Tetzlaff said police would continue to focus on being highly visible in high profile and busy public spaces including the City Rail Link.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Families with disabled children are facing reductions in support under new rules that include income from boarders in assessments for accommodation supplements or income-related rent in public housing.

Before 2 March, only income from three or more boarders was included.

Minister for Social Development Louise Upston said, when the change was announced in the 2024 Budget, it was simplifying inconsistent treatment of board and rent payments.

It was expected that of the 8200 households who received the accommodation supplement and have boarders, about 7000 would have a reduction in support, of an average $100 a week.

About 6200 social housing households receiving board payments were expected to be affected, with an average rent increase of $132 a week.

Some families said that boarding situations were commonly used when adult children were living at home – sometimes because they could not move out.

“I’ve got a daughter with special needs who will never move out because she’s not capable of doing anything for herself,” one mother, Cheryl said.

“She’s fully dependent so now with the new laws because she’s 18, she gets her own benefit, her board money is now considered an income for me.

“Thankfully we live in the middle of nowhere so our mortgage is cheaper than what people are paying in rent. But people that are paying more would be affected drastically … my girl is non verbal … she’s under 50kg.

“Although she pays rent it mostly goes on food to try and fatten her up and get her over 50kg. It’s not really spent on a roof over her head.”

The potential for disabled people and young people to be more affected was highlighted in a supplementary analysis report by MSD.

University of Auckland associate professor Susan St John said the change had happened with “remarkably little scrutiny”.

She said people who were hosting homestay students would also be affected.

“It’s one of those changes that have been rushed through and was designed to save a paltry amount of money, $160 million over four years.

“We don’t know even whether it’s going to save that because of the behavioural change. People will just find it is not worthwhile to take on boarders … it’s a very complicated, punitive, discouraging kind of policy.”

Green Party spokesperson Ricardo Mendendez March said the policy made it harder for people who were already struggling.

“This is why this policy was never about fairness, but about finding ways to save money, which is explicitly named in the government budget as basically a cost-saving measure.

“Our concern is that at a time of high unemployment, at a time of a cost of living crisis and the fuel crisis bout to make life harder for everyday people, that we’re about to see people whose ability to make ends meet will be made a lot harder due to their inability to claim the full amount for the accommodation supplement as they would have been able to do so previously.”

Upston said in a press release at the time the change was announced that it supported the Government’s aim of making public services fiscally sustainable and effective.

“We believe that those who have a genuine need should be able to get the help they require while ensuring consistency across MSD payments,” Upston said.

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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 again appealing for anyone who knows anything about the death of Abdulhassan Nabizadah to come forward.

It’s been a year since the 63-year-old was assaulted, robbed and left critically injured on Camperdown Road in the Wellington suburb of Miramar.

The offenders, who stole nothing more than his car keys, then left him bleeding and unconscious on the footpath.

Despite best efforts, Nabizadah’s head injuries were unsurvivable and he died in hospital the next day.

Police previously told RNZ they think Nabizadah was “set up” to be robbed, but it took a violent turn.

“We know the people responsible will have talked about the death with friends and family,” Detective Senior Sergeant Tim Leitch said on Tuesday.

Police are encouraging those people to come forward.

Earlier, Leitch said the Nabizadah family didn’t have closure and needed to move on.

“Nabizadah was a husband, father, and grandfather, who brought his family to New Zealand from Afghanistan seeking a better life. Instead, his life was taken in a violent and senseless way.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call 105, referencing numbers 250317/6324 or Operation Celtic. Information can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

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