Category: Radio New Zealand

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Threatened gulls back on rooftops in Tūrangi town centre

Source: Radio New Zealand

Threatened black-billed gulls nest on the rooftops in Tūrangi town centre. Supplied / DOC

Black-billed gulls are once again nesting on the rooftops in Tūrangi town centre.

A large colony of 150 of the threatened birds had nested there in 2023 – leaving a generous layer of guano on cars, rooftops and around businesses.

This year, the Department of Conservation said only 15 had decided to make the town centre their temporary home since November.

Ranger Sarah Tunnicliffe said businesses have had streamers and sprinklers on the rooftops to scare the birds away, so only a few determined stragglers had returned.

However, she encouraged the public not to feed them – either actively or by leaving food unattended – to continue to deter them away.

“Feeding them just encourages them to continue using the town centre, where they cause problems by pooing everywhere and squawking a lot.

“People might not be aware, but even small actions like not feeding birds count as naturing, and help to protect the nature we love.”

Tunnicliffe said the Department of Conservation was hoping for a less eventful season.

“We expect to see hatching any time now, and fledging should start toward the end of January.

“Hopefully none of the hatched chicks wander into the post-shop this time! But if you do come across one of the little fuzzballs wandering the town centre, please contact us on 0800 DOC HOT.”

While she said the community would be pleased to see only a small number of black-billed gulls in Tūrangi, the Department of Conservation was not sure where the rest of the population had gone.

“If you do come across black-billed gulls nesting elsewhere around Taupō, please contact us at turangi@doc.govt.nz.”

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Ruth Richardson agrees to debate country’s fiscal position with Nicola Willis

Source: Radio New Zealand

Finance Minister Nicola Willis (left) and former finance minister Ruth Richardson. RNZ/Reece Baker/Supplied

Former Finance Minster Ruth Richardson has agreed to a challenge from the current finance minister to debate her.

On Tuesday morning, Nicola Willis challenged Richardson, who was Finance Minister from 1990 to 1993, to a debate.

The challenge, Willis said, was because the Taxpayers’ Union was preparing to launch a pressure campaign against her.

Richardson is chair of the organisation.

“My message for Ruth Richardson is a very clear one, come and debate me face to face. Come out of the shadows. I will argue toe for toe on the prescription that our government is following,” Willis said.

“I reject your approach and instead of lurking in the shadows with secretly funded ads in the paper, come and debate me right here in Parliament.

“I challenge any of these media outlets here to host that debate. I’m ready anytime, anywhere. I will debate her. She needs to come front up face to face.”

Richardson had earlier laughed when RNZ asked her if she would debate Willis, and made no apologies for the pressure campaign.

“I came to Parliament as a minister of finance. She is the minister of finance. She has to make the calls.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson Tory Relf said Richardson was more than happy to debate the government’s debt, levels of public spending, balancing the books, and growth.

“The government promised to reduce public spending. It’s now higher than when Grant Robertson left office,” Relf said.

“The government promised to tackle Labour’s 30 percent increase in bureaucrats. They’ve managed to reduce the size of the core public service by not even one percent.”

Relf said all National Party finance ministers since Robert Muldoon have had to tackle structural deficits inherited from Labour, and Willis’ challenge was no different from Richardson’s or Sir Bill English’s.

“The government promised to get the books back into surplus. Unless you count a newly invented OBEGALx measure, the government’s fiscal pathway never gets New Zealand back into surplus,” Relf said.

“The government promised ‘growth, growth, growth’. GDP per capita is lower than when Grant Robertson was in office.

“The government promised to reduce borrowing. Borrowing is still near Grant Robertson-era levels.”

The Taxpayers’ Union confirmed Richardson was ready to debate the country’s fiscal position after the release of the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update next Tuesday.

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Body of swimmer missing at Auckland’s Bethells Beach found

Source: Radio New Zealand

The swimmer got into difficulty at Lake Wainamu at Bethells Beach. RNZ

Police say the body of a swimmer missing at Lake Wainamu on Auckland’s west coast has been found.

The 23-year-old man was in waist-deep water with three friends at the lake at Bethells Beach on Monday when he got into difficulty.

Police said he had taken a few steps before falling into a hole, and did not resurface.

The Police National Dive Squad searched the lake, helped by lifeguards from the Bethells Beach Surf Lifesaving Club.

The man’s death will be referred to the coroner.

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Tongariro fire contained: ‘It’s still a great place to come to’

Source: Radio New Zealand

The latest fire at Tongariro National Park has been contained, but local tourism businesses are already seeing a large number of people cancelling future trips because they are scared to visit the area.

Nearly 300 hectares of vegetation has burnt, after 3000 hectares of the park went up in flames last month.

FENZ incident controller Renee Potae said the containment line was completed this afternoon.

She said a crew will remain to monitor the fire overnight, while a drone crew will check for deep-seated hotspots. Three ground crews, a tanker and a helicopter will stay on the fireground tomorrow.

Damage from the latest fire to hit Tongariro, as seen from the air. Pool

But local tourism operators say the impact on businesses will take a lot longer to damp down.

John and Gill Visser own Adventure Lodge and Motel in Waimarino, and also take people for scenic van trips to Mt Ruapehu. John Visser said the fire was putting the Whakapapa community and businesses at risk.

“We’re having cancelations left right and centre, and into January. We’re now getting people internationally contacting us saying we’re not coming your way it’s too dangerous.

“Because it’s happened twice… folks overseas only get rubbish on television… and it really gets people concerned,” he said.

RNZ / Dan Jones

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is a big draw card for the area, but the track and Mangatepopo Hut are currently closed to visitors because of the fire. The Department of Conservation says booked visitors have been told and it has advised people to avoid Whakapapa Village at this time.

The owner of The Station Cafe in Waimarino, Sam Wilson. Jimmy Ellingham / RNZ

However, visitors can still enjoy the southern and eastern areas of Tongariro National Park, and Rotopounamu.

John Visser said all they could do is reassure people the area is still safe to visit, and hope that they listen.

“We’ll just keep soldiering on. Everyone that calls us, Gill and the girls will talk to them and convince them it’s still a great place to come to,” he says.

The owner of The Station Cafe in Waimarino, Sam Wilson, told RNZ about how he felt hearing that a second fire was blazing through Tongariro National Park yet again.

“Disappointment.. it sort of a bit of drop in the stomach – it’s quite a demanding job we have and when you add these hazards to our trade, particularly at this time of year leading into Christmas, it can be very challenging,” he said.

He said the Tongariro Crossing was a big draw card and brings in customers, but it was obviously having an impact as the local carpark was empty.

“This carpark would be full and there’d be big campervans, small campervans and everything in between – people from all around the world and the country,” Wilson said.

Alister McDermid had just finished the Tongariro Crossing on Monday when he saw the fire. Jimmy Ellingham / RNZ

‘It was scary’

Tourist Alister McDermid had just finished the Tongariro Crossing on Monday when he saw the fire .

“It was scary – there were two policemen there trying to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher. He threw the fire extinguisher away in disgust because it was doing no good.

“The intense heat we felt inside the bus going past was unreal, I’ve never experienced anything like it,” he said.

Fire in the Tongariro National Park. Supplied / Alister McDermid and Joanna Finlayson

Tyler and Shannon – two Canadians who were tramping in the area – told RNZ they were able to get back to the camper thanks to the efforts of shuttle driver Stacey, saying she was an “absolute local legend”.

“She had extra space in her van and was offering anyone that needed a ride the option to go with her, regardless of who they were booked with. She just wanted to help get as many people out as possible. She had two seats left and we went with her.

“There were a few dozen people waiting, and one guy even had his car parked right by the fire itself. All of us in the van voted to help him get to his car and Stacey delivered!

“The emergency crews helped us also and we got to see the fire burning right by where we started the hike in the morning.

“The park staff waiting at the end of the trail were so kind, helpful, and quick to let everyone coming off the hike know about the delays and situation. We really appreciate everyone’s efforts to communicate and provide water and assurances about the situation.”

Damage from the latest fire to hit Tongariro, as seen from the air. Pool

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The school that rocks: Saint Andrews College’s latest epic prizegiving

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Christchurch secondary school’s end of year prizegiving concert has become a thing of legend.

Saint Andrews College was everywhere on the internet in 2023 with its performance of ‘Stairway To Heaven’, while last year’s rendition of Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’ has been watched more than 42,000 times.

This year’s show stopper was a heartfelt tribute to Aotearoa, with a medley of iconic Kiwi anthems, including Crowded House’s ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ – sung in te reo Māori and English – Stan Walker’s ‘Aotearoa‘, Shapeshifter’s ‘In Colour’ and ‘Don’t Forget Your Roots’ by Six60.

The students played to an audience of 3500 people Christchurch’s Woolfbrook arena.

Recently graduated student Miu Kim played the violin solo on the medley and told RNZ’s Checkpoint it was all about the opportunity to play in such a big venue.

“It was really lovely to play in front of so many people. It’s such a special place to play.”

Miu – who started playing the violin and five and also plays the piano, saxophone and flute – said it was nerve wracking with the side of the crowd, but she also had trouble keeping a straight face.

“I actually had a little trip before the camera comes onto me, but I fortunately didn’t fall.”

She is off to study architecture next year, but will continue with music.

The show featured 100 students on stage, including about 60 in the orchestra, and the rest in the choir and rock band. They are a mixture of ages – some of the soloists are year 13, while others like electric and bass guitar are year 12, and the drummer is year 9.

St Andrew College head of music Andrew Ferguson said there was now clamour – both in and outside of the school – asking what song he was planning on well ahead of time, and there was also added pressure to ramp up production values.

He said the school had a couple of years to get used to the attention, but it was still intimidating to come up with something different.

He said there was a “lot of chatting” before settling on a 15-song shortlist.

“It was the middle of year before we settled on it and nutted the arrangement out.”

He said it was important to honour te reo Māori with the performance, but also could not rule out bringing out the bagpipes next year.

“I’m not going to commit to that, I actually have something different at the back of my mind, but bagpipes are a big part of the school.”

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Listen live: The Panel LIVE from Revelry Bar in Auckland

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wallace Chapman preparing for his show The Panel, broadcasting live from Revelry Bar in Auckland. Supplied

Wallace Chapman and The Panel break free of the studio and invade Auckland’s Ponsonby Road for a hit of pub politics and current affairs.

Tonight’s panellists include Heather Roy (ex-ACT MP), Holly Bennett (former adviser to Minister Paul Goldsmith and founder of kaupapa Māori government relations firm Awhi), Phil Goff (former Auckland mayor) and Simon Wilson (senior writer NZ Herald).

Auckland’s Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson, Free Speech Union CEO Jillaine Heather and Sarah Helm (executive director of the New Zealand Drug Foundation), as well as other special guests, will also be in attendance and engage from the audience.

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Record warm spring across country part of climate’s ‘new normal’

Source: Radio New Zealand

Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly NIWA) is expecting above-average temperatures for most of the country heading into summer. RNZ

A record-breaking November pushed New Zealand to its warmest spring on record.

Data from Earth Sciences New Zealand (formerly NIWA) shows the average temperature across the country was 13.5°C, which was 1.3°C hotter than the long-term average and the warmest spring since records began in 1909.

ESNZ meteorologist Chester Lampkin said the hotter-than-average weather sat within an overall warming climate trend, and was likely to continue into summer.

Lampkin said September and October were already above average months this year.

“Then November ended up being a record-setter… If you recall, towards the end of the month we had some very hot temperatures.”

Across the country, 51 stations recorded their warmest average temperature, and seven places set new records during late November for the single hottest spring day.

That included temperatures of close to or above 32°C in Whakatu in Hawke’s Bay, Cheviot in North Canterbury and Dunedin.

The hottest temperature recorded anywhere in the country was 33°C in Hastings, on 27 November – the second hottest day on record there.

Lampkin said the record-setting warmth was driven by a north-westerly wind flow.

“We were getting a lot of warm air coming out of the Tasman and flowing over the country, both the North and the South Island.”

The water surrounding New Zealand, especially the North Island, was experiencing a marine heatwave, he said.

“When you have warm air flowing over warm water, you’re going to get even warmer air once it hits the land.”

ESNZ’s summer outlook was for above-average temperatures for most of the country, especially in the north of the North Island.

Part of that was due to La Niña conditions that had formed, but it was also down to an overall climate trend, Lampkin said.

“It’s going to be another warm, hot summer, and that certainly points to a new normal.”

It was possible more records could tumble.

“These warmer-than-average months, record-setting months, these more-than-average seasons are more likely to occur because of overall warming of the planet,” he said.

“You’ve got warmer ocean temperatures, warmer water, you’ve got a warmer background climate state – it doesn’t take much to push temperatures to record territory.”

The World Meteorological Organisation confirmed earlier this year that 2024 was the warmest year on record, based on six international datasets.

It was the first year that average temperatures were more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified a long-term average of 1.5°C as the level of warming at which dangerous climate ‘tipping points’, such as the loss of coral reefs and catastrophic ice sheet melting, could begin to occur.

It was important to remember there could still be cooler periods, Lampkin said.

“Even though you do have these hot months… it doesn’t mean you can’t have cold weather. It doesn’t mean there won’t be cold extremes – it just makes it harder for those occur.”

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Firefighters contain large blaze at Tongariro National Park

Source: Radio New Zealand

A large fire at the Tongariro National Park is now fully contained.

Fire and Emergency (FENZ) said the containment line was completed on Tuesday afternoon.

One crew would stay to monitor the fire overnight, while a drone crew would conduct a flight to check for deep-seated hotspots, it said.

The fire started on Monday, one month after a blaze covering almost 3000 hectares ripped through the park.

RNZ / Dan Jones

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When a Margaret Mahy classic mixes with raucous sea shanties

Source: Radio New Zealand

A happy collision of events came together to inspire Nino Raphael to create The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate – The Musical.

He and his partner were in London, gorging on theatre when they took in the Matilda musical, he told Culture 101.

“I was blown away by the production due to Tim Minchin’s wonderful music. He writes great character-driven songs, that everyone can understand and relate to, children can understand what a Trunchbull feels like and what a brave Matilda sounds like and the sweet sound of a Miss Honey.”

The musical The Man Whose Mother was a Pirate is based on a Margaret Mahy children’s book.

Supplied

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More arrests after man stabbed in Auckland’s Mt Wellington

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police previously said the injured man was in an “altercation” with people in a car before he was stabbed. RNZ / Felix Walton

Police have made two more arrests after a man was stabbed in Auckland’s Mount Wellington.

A homicide investigation was launched on Friday afternoon after a man, whose identity is suppressed, was stabbed several times during a fight in a car on Harris Road.

Police previously said the injured man was in an “altercation” with people in a car before he was stabbed.

The victim turned up at a medical centre on Lunn Ave with critical wounds. He later died in Auckland Hospital.

A 21-year-old man has been charged with murder.

Detective Inspector Scott Beard says four arrests have now been made in the investigation.

In the latest, a 53-year-old man was arrested near Te Awamutu and charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.

A 32-year-old man arrested in Auckland faces the same charge.

The men are expected to appear today in the Hamilton and Auckland District Courts respectively.

The investigation is ongoing.

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