Category: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A handful of eager shoppers have begun to gather outside the new IKEA store at Mt Wellington in Auckland.

Drivers are being warned to expect 40-minute queues today, with traffic analysts expecting crowds of up to 20,000 a day to visit the store – IKEA’s first in New Zealand.

They’re predicting a 40-minute crawl on the nearby motorway and another 40 minutes to find a car park.

The store opens at 11am, while the carpark was opened to shoppers at 8.30am.

An RNZ reporter at the store estimated around 200 people to have gathered outside.

“We chose to open at 11am so that we avoid the morning traffic,” IKEA’s NZ manager Johanna Cederlöf said.

Google Maps shows traffic currently flowing fairly freely around the area, with a 16-minute trip from Auckland CBD.

RNZ spoke to Bernie who had driven over two-and-a-half hours from Papamoa specifically for the opening, saying he and his wife had waited six years for it.

What will the roads be like?

Auckland Transport and NZTA have encouraged road users to plan ahead for the day and allow plenty of extra time for their journeys.

Auckland Transport Operations Centre (ATOC) Manager Claire Howard said substantial crowds were expected at IKEA for weeks or even months which would have a substantial effect on the transport network across Auckland.

“Surrounding streets in Mt Wellington will also be busy, with forecast delays of up to 40 minutes on Mt Wellington Highway in peak traffic.”

ATOC – a joint Auckland Transport and NZTA venture for managing the network in real time – has been working with the retail giant to ensure their traffic management plan minimises the traffic impact as much as possible. It would be actively managing light signals and diverting traffic where possible as congestion levels increase.

Congestion was expected to be at its worst during peak hour during the week and on Saturdays between 1 and 4pm – particularly heading northbound from South Auckland toward Mt Wellington.

Staff would be on the ground at Sylvia Park Train Station to help direct people to the store who were travelling by train.

IKEA’s NZ manager Johanna Cederlöf, said for anyone who wasn’t in Auckland or who wanted to avoid the opening day crowds, they could shop online from midnight as a way to beat the crowds.

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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 person is dead after a fuel truck collided with a building on Lower Hutt’s Rutherford Street.

At 9.15am Rutherford Street, between Melling Link and Connolly Street, was still closed after the single-vehicle crash about 5.30am on Thursday.

The Melling Bridge was earlier closed due to the accident but police said it had now reopened.

Fire and Emergency told RNZ they were no longer in attendance, but they had assisted with removing the driver from the truck.

SH2 MELLING – CRASH – 6:55AM, THU 4 DEC

Due to a crash, access to and from the Melling Link Bridge is now CLOSED. Road users are advised to use an alternate route and take extra care. ^JP pic.twitter.com/JMQP2k2Our

— NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi – Wellington (@nztawgtn) December 3, 2025

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government has rejected all of the Climate Change Commission’s recommendations to strengthen New Zealand’s emissions targets.

The move comes despite the Commission warning the effects of climate change are hitting New Zealand sooner and more severely than expected, and that New Zealand can and should be doing more.

The coalition had already indicated it would reject recommendations to strengthen the 2050 targets for methane and carbon emissions.

Earlier this year it announced it would amend the law to set a weakened methane target, down from a 24-47 percent reduction by 2050, to a 14-24 percent reduction instead.

It indicated it had also rejected the commission’s advice to strengthen the target for carbon dioxide and other long-lived gases, from a 2050 net zero target to a 2050 net-negative target.

Thursday’s formal response confirmed both decisions, and rejected a recommendation to include international shipping and aviation emissions in New Zealand’s targets.

It also dismissed the commission’s advice to keep lowering emissions after 2050.

The government acknowledged strengthened targets would help with efforts to limit global warming.

There also would have been co-benefits from a stronger target, including greater energy security and improved health outcomes, the response said. However, its analysis showed that would come at an economic cost to New Zealand.

“Modelling indicates that GDP would be 0.4 percent lower than the status quo in 2035, and 2.2 percent lower in 2050.”

In its advice to the government in November last year, the commission said since the 2050 targets were first set, the global outlook had worsened.

“The impacts of global warming are greater in both severity and scale than was understood in 2019. Research has found that greater impacts are being felt at lower temperature levels than previously expected.”

The country could and should do more, the commission advised.

“Significant changes since 2019 all point to Aotearoa New Zealand moving further and faster to reduce emissions than the current 2050 target provides for.”

Doing so “would reduce the risk of a harsher and costlier future transition”, that would push the costs of both climate change and the transition onto future generations.

“Not only are they likely to face more severe climate impacts, it is likely they will also have to do more to reduce emissions.”

The commission said that although there were upfront costs from faster decarbonisation, its recommended targets were “compatible with ongoing economic growth”. Many of the changes would deliver cost savings over time.

The government’s response rejected that, saying shifting to stronger targets “would entail economic costs and is substantially less feasible than alternative pathways.”

“Implementing the Commission’s recommended target would also require major policy reform and private sector action.”

The government said it took into account concern from rural communities about land-use change and food production loss if it strengthened the methane target.

“We considered the views of industry to ensure a practical target was developed that protects food production while also reducing emissions.”

That was despite the Commission pointing out the lower end of a strengthened target could already be achieved with implementation of existing technologies and farm management systems.

The commission said international shipping and aviation represented 9 percent of New Zealand’s emissions and that should be included in targets.

Most submitters on its consultation around the targets supported doing so, it said.

However, the government said that was ” likely to involve higher economic costs than the status quo”.

Emissions from international shipping and aviation would continue to be addressed through global cooperation mechanisms instead, it said.

In rejecting the advice to continue decreasing emissions after 2050, the government said: “It is our view that a detailed framework for post-2050 reductions and removals is best developed closer to 2050.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

For more than 30 years, residents on Auckland’s Franklin Road have decked out their properties with Christmas decorations for the rest of the city to enjoy.

Despite prevalent rumours and conspiracy theories that the popular street-wide display is “funded by the electricity companies” or “organised by the council”, Roscoe Thorby – the man who started it all – says no household is forced to participate and it’s a “gift for the people from Franklin Road”.

What started as a bit of fun betwen neighbours slowly spread up (and down) the street – and now more than 80 percent of the households between Ponsonby Road and Wellington Street take part.

“The idea that it is individual households that make a decision to fund the lights and in many cases, pay for their installation, seems a little alien to some,” says Franklin Lights coordinator Eric Wilson.

“The cost of the electricity itself is relatively minor in comparison, especially with LED lights.”

There are now even displays appearing down the lower end of Franklin Road, as well as some houses in neighbouring Wood and Arthur streets.

“It’s not about how much you spend or the effort you put in,” Thorby says. “Just taking part is the culture of it.”

• Have you seen an impressive Christmas display? Share your pics with us iwitness@rnz.co.nz

Wilson, who has lived on the street for 13 years and took over from Thorby last year, credits Thorby’s enthusiam with growing the event to where it is today.

“Why do we continue to do it? Very simply, it’s seeing the joy it brings to children and families.”

One of Wilson’s most memorable displays was a light sculpture of Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’. He also fondly remembers a few years ago where one house simply had the words ‘Ditto’ in lights and an arrow pointing to the house next door.

In 2023, council officers began patrolling the road and moving on street vendors who weren’t meant to be there, after residents complained about hawkers selling food, inflatable toys and light-up accessories, and who refused to leave when asked.

Patrols will continue this year, with organisers keen to preserve the community spirit by keeping those trying to use it for profit away. Organisers want to keep the event free for families to enjoy because “times are tough”, Thorby says.

The lights stay on from 7pm to 10pm every night until Christmas Eve.

RNZ will be livestreaming from 9pm Thursday as we walk Franklin Rd with Eric Wilson and Rosco Thorby, to bring you the lights – and meet some of the residents and revellers taking part.

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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 fuel truck has collided with a building on Lower Hutt’s Rutherford Street, seriously injuring one person, RNZ understands.

Rutherford Street, between Melling Link and Connolly Street, is closed after the single-vehicle crash about 5.30am on Thursday.

Motorists heading into Lower Hutt cannot turn left off the Melling Bridge, police said.

Police said the bridge is expected to be closed until about 9.30am and drivers are asked to avoid the area.

Fire and Emergency told RNZ they were no longer in attendance, but they had assisted with removing the driver from the truck.

SH2 MELLING – CRASH – 6:55AM, THU 4 DEC

Due to a crash, access to and from the Melling Link Bridge is now CLOSED. Road users are advised to use an alternate route and take extra care. ^JP pic.twitter.com/JMQP2k2Our

— NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi – Wellington (@nztawgtn) December 3, 2025

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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 who was flipped twice in his caravan during a tornado that hit a rural Rangitīkei campground is going to be “traumatised for a little bit”.

Emergency services rushed to the campground in Dudding Lake on Wednesday after a tornado ripped through it at 12.36pm.

A fire truck was sent to the scene alongside ambulance staff who assessed four patients.

The campground’s caretaker, Lance Phillips, told Morning Report the man, Bill, was having a coffee with him just minutes before returning to his caravan and the tornado ripping through.

The weather was “quite fine” until it came over “really black” and a rumbling sound began, Phillips said.

“There was just this rumble … you could hear it before it hit. Then all hell broke loose,” he said.

“There was just this rumble, I suppose you could call it a rumble, you could hear it before it hit and then all hell broke loose. It’s really hard to describe, it’s just something out of the blue, it just hit. Like I said, all hell broke loose, chaos struck.”

Phillips said he was called by another camper who told him there was some damage in the campground and he was “dumbfounded” at the destruction that had occurred when he managed to get down there.

He said Bill was sitting in his caravan at the time the tornado hit, causing the vehicle to flip twice. Bill crawled out a window, dazed, before being taken to hospital.

Phillips said he was back at the campground now but had not had any sleep.

“He’s going to be traumatised for a little bit and I don’t blame him.

Phillips said he was “coming right” and he had a lot of support around him, but it would play on his mind for some time.

The weather was still “pretty gusty” but nothing like yesterday.

“I can handle this wind,” he said, “I couldn’t handle that tornado”.

Weather watches remain

Weather watches remained in place for parts of the North Island after a stormy night for some regions on Thursday.

Heavy rain and powerful winds swept through Te Ika-a-Māui overnight.

MetService says the wettest areas included parts of Tai Rāwhiti, including Wharerata which has seen 57 millimetres of rain fall over the past 12 hours.

Rain is continuing to fall in Gisborne which has seen downpours of almost 40mm.

Strong gusts have also jolted exposed parts of Northland, Auckland, Hawke’s Bay, Waiarapa and Wellington.

A much more settled day of weather today for most of us. However, still a windy one up the east coast this morning. https://t.co/4ELbMjDO7A

— MetService NZ (@MetService) December 3, 2025

Winds of 142 kilometres an hour have been felt at Cape Turnagin.

“Many parts of Northland copped winds of over 100km/h,” Metservice said.

The strong wind watch for the upper North Island is due to expire at 7am, and Wairarapa’s at 8am.

Meanwhile, the watch for eastern areas of the Tararua District and Hawke’s Bay is expected to continue until 1pm.

More than 13,000 lightning strikes and 2 centimetre hailstones were recorded on Wednesday as torrential downpours swept the North Island.

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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 UK criminologist is labelling New Zealand’s scheme to allow the disclosure of a partner’s history of violence as a missed opportunity to protect vulnerable people from family harm.

Dr Katerina Hadjimatheou’s report has shown applications for information from police under the Family Violence Information Disclosure Scheme (FVIDS) had fallen by nearly 75 percent in the last five years.

Police said they were considering improvements to the scheme in response to the report.

Clare Wood’s murder inspired disclosure schemes across the globe

The then-National government put the scheme in place in 2015.

FVIDS was designed to allow people – concerned for their own or their family’s safety – to be made aware of a person’s history of family violence.

Police officers could also instigate disclosure to a person of concern using the scheme.

It followed similar initiatives in England and Wales, which were put in place in response to the murder of Clare Wood by her ex-partner – a man known to police as a dangerous and serial offender – in 2009.

Hadjimatheou, a researcher for Essex University, had been canvassing disclosure schemes across the globe for nearly six years.

She said police often knew a lot about the dangers presented by perpetrators of domestic abuse – because they were serial offenders.

“But somebody who is in a relationship with that person very well may not. Or – if they are familiar with elements of that history – it’s likely to have been twisted into a self-serving narrative by the perpetrator,” Hadjimatheou said.

Hadjimatheou said New Zealand’s scheme was being hamstrung by a lack of awareness, an overly complicated application process, strict eligibility criteria and a focus on protecting privacy.

“It’s not only that it’s not being used, but it’s in serious decline. Compared to other countries the disclosure scheme is used much, much less relative to the population. And when there is an attempt to use it, it’s not very successful,” Hadjimatheou said.

She said – despite most applications being instigated by police – only 22.5 percent were approved.

Hadjimatheou said when victims and family violence support workers attempted to apply for the information, they were being turned away by police who seemed unaware of the scheme’s existence.

“The police officer at the desk is saying ‘I have literally no idea what you’re talking about’. They will go to the website and the officer will say, ‘I’m really sorry, I have know idea, I don’t know where to find the forms. Let me get a pen and paper and write some things down’ and that’s in the best case scenario. In the more typical scenario they’ll be told to go away and just to Google their partner,” Hadjimatheou said.

Have you applied for information using FVIDS? Email Bill.Hickman@rnz.co.nz

Hadjimatheou said the panel tasked with approving applications consisted primarily of a senior police officer and a legal advisor.

One officer interviewed for the report described how the police focus on reducing risk of family harm was regularly overridden by privacy concerns and the risk of litigation following a disclosure.

“It sits in law designed to protect the privacy of civilians against other civilians and against the state. The whole process for making a disclosure is seen through that lens unfortunately. It is a hugely sceptical lens, ‘Why do you want this information, what do you want it for?’ and the bar is very high for police to persuade the panel that authorises disclosures that this is not a violation of privacy.

“So the process becomes a legal process designed to protect the police against litigation by perpetrators of domestic abuse unhappy that their criminal histories have been shared,” Hadjimatheou said.

There was no online portal to enable people to apply for the scheme – subsequently a successful disclosure process could require up to three visits – in person – to police.

FVIDS process can add to victim’s risk

Principal policy advisor for the Women’s Refuge Natalie Thorburn said victims should never be expected to put immense effort into a process that is likely to be unsuccessful.

“For every time that they do it, it’s more likely to be detected by the person who might be monitoring their behaviour and their actions and their locations. Taking that action – in of itself – is a risk so what the outcome is will either make things worse or make things better. If most of the applications are being declined then overall it’s making things worse,” Thorburn said.

Dr Hadjimatheou’s report was published and supplied to police in June.

Police respond to report

National manager of family harm prevention, Inspector Natasha Allan said the annual Family Harm Co-ordinator’s Course had been enhanced in response to the report.

She said the 250 people taking the course – from police and community agencies – would now gain a clear understanding of the purpose, processes, and benefits of the disclosure scheme.

Allan said police were establishing a working group to review the report’s recommendations and were considering a plan to improve their response to applications.

“FVIDS is a tool that puts potentially life-saving information in the hands of those at risk. But we acknowledge people can’t use it if they don’t know it exists. This research will help us strengthen how and when we use the scheme,” Allan said.

Proposed improvements included allowing online applications, increasing awareness of the scheme among police as well as those in the community working with families and reviewing the structure of the panel which assessed applications.

Allan said any improvements should begin to be put in place early next year.

Where to get help:

If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

One person is seriously injured following a crash in Lower Hutt.

Rutherford Street, between Melling Link and Connolly Street, is closed as a result of the single-vehicle crash that occurred around 5.30am on Thursday.

Police said the road is expected to be closed “for some time” and motorists are asked to avoid the area.

Motorists heading into Lower Hutt cannot turn left off the Melling Bridge, police said.

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