Category: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

An unknown chemical has injured two workers and forced the closure of Taumarunui Transfer Station, after it was left for recycling.

The liquid was in unlabelled containers that ruptured in the plastics recycling, burning one worker’s arm, and exposing another staff member to fumes that irritated their eyes and throat, Ruapehu District Council said.

The incident happened on Tuesday, 25 November, the council said.

On Friday, six people, including five children, were hospitalised with chemical burns in Christchurch, after a sterilising chemical was mistakenly used on a slip and slide at a childcare company.

Ruapehu District Council said the Taumarunui workers were exposed to the chemical, when they were packing the plastics to be moved off-site.

“The Taumarunui Fire Brigade’s hazardous materials team attended the scene, and safely collected and contained the substance in a sealed container.

“The chemical was believed to have been an acid, but without any labelling, its exact nature remains unknown.”

The transfer station had since re-opened, but the incident was a reminder to take care, when disposing of chemicals, the council said.

It had processes for staff to safely dispose of chemicals at both the Taumarunui or Ohakune transfer stations, and said anyone with concerns about chemicals or with unknown chemicals, should contact the council, or speak to the staff at the transfer stations.

“This was a major health and safety incident that could have been completely avoided,” Ruapehu District Council solid waste manager Anne Marie Westcott said.

“Unlabelled or partially full chemical containers pose a serious threat, not only to our staff, but also to the environment, if they make their way into waterways. We need the community’s support to keep everyone safe.”

The council issued a list of how to correctly dispose of chemicals, including to keep labels on chemical containers, ensure containers are empty before putting them in the recycling or rubbish, never putting unidentified liquids into recycling or rubbish, and treating unidentified liquids with extreme caution.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Severe weather alerts have been issued for overnight into Sunday, for a front moving onto the South Island accompanied by heavy rain and northwest gales, before it is expected to weaken over central New Zealand on Monday, MetService says.

An orange heavy rain warning was in place for Fiordland for the period from 2am Sunday through to 2am Monday, and for the headwaters of Otago lakes and rivers from 7pm Sunday until the early hours of Monday morning.

The Canterbury High Country had an orange high wind warning, to come into effect from midday Sunday, through to 4am Monday, where people can expect severe gale northwesterlies gusting up to 120km/h in exposed places, MetService said.

New Severe Weather Watches and Warnings have been issued.

To find out the details as well as keep up to date go the Warnings page on the MetService website:https://t.co/HZ2TSD5rV7 pic.twitter.com/eCXThSsnn4

— MetService NZ (@MetService) December 6, 2025

Damage to trees, powerlines and unsecured structures was possible, and driving could be difficult under those conditions, especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles, it said.

“Prepare your property by securing items that can be picked up by strong winds. Drive cautiously.”

Elsewhere across Te Waipounamu, yellow heavy rain and strong wind watches were in place.

From 8pm Sunday, the ranges of Westland were due periods of heavy rain, which could approach warning criteria, MetService said.

Fiordland, the Southern Lakes, and parts of Southland and Central Otago could expect Northwest winds from midday Sunday until 2am Monday, which could approach severe gales in some exposed places, MetService said.

Both watches had a moderate chance of upgrading to a more serious orange warning.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The summer season is expected to bring a record number of Kākāpō chicks, according to conservation scientists.

Auckland University’s Kākāpō Recovery Group believes breeding-age females may lay eggs, making it the most successful season in nearly five decades.

Currently, the nocturnal parrots are in four predator-free sanctuaries, but Auckland University professor Jacqueline Beggs, who chairs the group, said growth would require new habitats.

A successful breeding season depended on both the amount of fruit on rimu trees and all female parrots being in good breeding condition, something that was not common.

Professor Beggs said the Kākāpō was one of the few critically endangered species to make a genuine recovery and the group now hoped for chicks from all 84 breeding-age females.

This would significantly boost the population of the flightless native parrot, which currently sat at 237 birds.

The last big breeding season was in 2022, when 57 chicks fledged.

Mating was expected to take place about Christmas and January. The eggs would then be laid in February and March, hatching a month later.

About next September and October, the chicks should be independent and would be officially added to the parrot’s population.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The childcare company where seven people suffered chemical burns admits it has failed on safety.

Emergency services rushed to the Kindercare facility in Woolston on Friday, after an incident in which police said a chemical intended for use in the kitchen steriliser was mistaken for dishwashing liquid, and was poured onto a slip and slide.

Seven people were hospitalised, including five children, but all were discharged from Christchurch Hospital by late Saturday morning.

In a letter to parents, Kindercare said it had failed to uphold its core value of safety.

The provider’s chief executive and regional manager flew to Christchurch on Friday night.

The company said the chemical involved was used in many of its centres.

It was normally kept in a kitchen cupboard or laundry, and plumbed directly into the centre’s steriliser.

Kindercare now wanted answers on how the chemical was taken from that storage area and used in a play activity.

“The teachers have had a waterslide – bit of fun for the kids… and at some point of time, some detergent’s unfortunately been misidentified, and a corrosive product has ended up on the slip and slide,” Fire and Emergency Woolston senior station officer John Herriot said on Friday.

“This has caused some irritation to the children’s skin and some light blistering.”

In total, 40 patients were assessed after the incident, and five children and two employees were taken to hospital, while the centre was put into lockdown.

In total, 40 patients were assessed, and five children and two employees were taken to hospital and the centre was put into lockdown.

“Eighteen units responded, nine ambulances, three rapid response units, five operations managers and one Major Incident Support Team vehicle,” St John said.

St John national operations manager Chris Harrison said the patients had suffered chemical burns and blisters.

Parents were “pretty upset but pragmatic about the situation”, Harrison said.

‘Someone’s obviously dropped the ball’

Kindercare has promised to carry out a full investigation and WorkSafe has also opened an investigation.

Meanwhile, a safety expert said the internal investigation must be systemic.

New Zealand Institute of Safety Management president Karl Berendt told RNZ the cleaning product used was fairly common.

“It does have a caustic nature to it, and one of the things you’ve got to look at there is are we making sure all our systems and processes are right, in place and working as they should do?

“Look, in this particular case, someone’s obviously dropped the ball, and we’ve got to try and and figure out what’s gone on there.”

Berendt said the fact children were injured was a prompt for the entire childcare industry to go over the safety systems they had in place.

“We really need to make sure all our kindergarten and childcare centres take a good hard look at some of the things they’ve got inside their work spaces as well.

“Nothing’s more important than looking after our kids, so this is a good wake-up call for all these centres.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Firefighters are mopping up, after a shed fire spread to a neighbouring house in Waltham, Christchurch, sending plumes of black smoke across neighbouring suburbs.

Fire and Emergency say four trucks attended the fire shortly before 4pm Saturday.

When they arrived, they found a garden shed well ablaze, with flames spreading to the roof of a neighbouring home, before the fire was brought under control.

A FENZ spokesperson said the fire was not being treated as suspicious.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A woman enjoying the sunshine ended up being flown to hospital, after four dogs set upon her, attacking her arms and legs.

Then, when a neighbour tried to intervene, the dogs turned on him, resulting in him also being sent to hospital with bite marks across his legs.

Despite both victims suffering injuries, a judge has recognised Stacey Walker-Haturini’s struggles and spared her from jail.

The 39-year-old woman appeared in the Whangārei District Court recently for sentencing on four charges of owning a dog that caused injury.

On 15 March, 2025, Walker-Haturini was in Kaitāia, when her ex-partner allegedly let one of their four dogs out of their property on Settlement Rd in Kaiwaka.

The man left and the dog was roaming, when it saw a woman on her front lawn with her own two dogs, Blue and Roxy.

Blue ran over to the gate and got into a fight with Walker-Haturini’s dog. Three more of Walker-Haturini’s dogs came to the fence-line, and began barking and jumping at the victim.

She yelled at the dogs to go home and approached the gate to let the first one out, but it bit her on the left hand.

The three other dogs managed to get out under the fence, and all four began lunging and attacking the woman.

The victim managed to get the dogs off by kicking and yelling, and eventually got them out of the gate.

Another neighbour ran to assist her, but the dogs turned on him and he was also injured.

The woman, who was in shock, and bleeding from her arms and legs, had to be airlifted by helicopter to Whangārei Hospital for treatment, while the man was transported in an ambulance.

Meanwhile, Walker-Haturini, the registered owner of the dogs, heard they had got out and immediately began making her way back from Kaitāia.

She called the Kaipara District Council and said her dogs were out, and asked if they could make their way to the property and lock them up.

When she arrived home four hours later, she assisted in catching one of the dogs council workers were unable to restrain.

The court heard that, at the time, Walker-Haturini was in the midst of a messy break-up, dealing with a death in the family and a sick grandfather, who was in hospital.

“It was just bang, bang, bang, one thing after another,” she told Judge Peter Davey.

Nathan Pilkington, the victim who assisted, told NZME the dog attack left him with several scars and an ongoing ligament injury.

“It has stopped me from doing things I’d normally enjoy – the gym, jiu-jitsu and simple day-to-day movement.

“There was also a real sense of disappointment in the lack of empathy or accountability shown by the dog owners, right up until sentencing,” Pilkington said.

“The neighbourhood has been deeply affected too. People are now visibly on edge when they see unfamiliar dogs in public, something that never used to be the case.”

Kaipara council lawyer Jodi Libbey said the council and one of the complainants were both taking an empathetic approach to Walker-Haturini, and were in favour of a light sentence.

She said one victim had advised the council she did not want Walker-Haturini to be fined, which – given the injuries – would have been a sizeable figure.

Libbey also acknowledged Walker-Haturini had willingly agreed to euthanise the dogs, but noted further repercussions could follow.

“The council, upon convictions, can decide whether they disqualify her as a dog owner going forward.”

Walker-Haturini’s lawyer, Jody Garrett, said it was accepted she was the registered owner of dogs that caused injury, but the aggravating features were nothing to do with his client.

“When she discovered the dogs had been released… she was distraught, rang the council saying the dog went missing and, immediately upon what had occurred, she was concerned for the dogs,” Garrett said. “She’s not the one that released the dogs.”

As Judge Davey delivered his summation, Walker-Haturini wept in the dock, noting she had heard the summary of facts repeated at every court appearance.

“I know it’s hard to hear this,” Judge Davey said.

The judge said, given Walker-Haturini was not at the address when the dogs were let out, her blameworthiness was reduced.

“Ordinarily, my starting point would have been a sentence of imprisonment.

“Recognising the fact this was a serious attack and caused serious injury, but this was a situation where your culpability is towards the bottom end of the scale.”

Walker-Haturini was sentenced to 180 hours’ community work.

This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.

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