Category: Radio New Zealand

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Businesses outraged at local board vote against having more events at Auckland’s Eden Park

Source: Radio New Zealand

Metallica play at Auckland's Eden Park, November, 2025.

Metallica playing at Auckland’s Eden Park last week. (File photo) Tom Grut

A local community board has voted against having more concerts at Auckland’s Eden Park, angering a local business association.

The government wants to boost the number of gigs allowed at the venue to 12 large and 20 medium concerts a year. At the moment it was limited to six artists playing a total of 12 gigs a year.

RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop wrote to Auckland Council with an eye on loosening restrictions on Eden Park’s operations which he said were costing hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue.

The government was now seeking feedback from the public and council on the findings.

The Albert-Eden local board has voted no to supporting that plan, which infuriated the Dominion Rd Business Association.

The association’s manager Gary Holmes told Checkpoint the decision was “economic vandalism” in his eyes.

“We’ve got business on Dominion Rd fighting to survive a rescission and here we’ve got a local board turning away $250,000 of economic stimulus for our area alone per event and they’re ignoring their own voters.

“We know over 70 percent of locals support more concerts. It’s not just out of touch with businesses but out of touch with reality.”

Holmes said the association had market view data that had shown the impact of spending over time.

“For example, when Coldplay played last year our dining revenue jumped by 25 percent.

“Because we’re competing with Sydney and Melbourne it’s crazy to turn away that kind of money due to restrictions on Eden Park.”

Holmes said the local board needed to listen to residents who wanted a “vibrant city”.

“We want to be a destination.”

Eden Park’s CEO Nick Sautner told Morning Report on Thursday morning, the national stadium was being “hampered by a bureaucracy of restrictions”.

“If I was the CEO of a toll road or a shopping centre and had 90 percent idle capacity people would be asking questions. My idle capacity is a result of our constraints and so, Chris Bishop’s initiative to implement these changes enables business to do business.”

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Health Minister Simeon Brown demands revamped decision-making from Health NZ

Source: Radio New Zealand

Simeon Brown expects Health NZ to revise policy by 31 December. RNZ / Mark Papalii

The health minister has told Health New Zealand he wants more of a focus on decision-making closer to the frontline and expects a plan by the end of the year.

Simeon Brown’s letter of expectations to chair Lester Levy sets out the government’s priorities for 2026/27 and his feedback on the 2025/26 year so far.

“It is clear to me that Health NZ is too centralised,” Brown wrote. “Too many decisions are made by people who are removed from the problems that frontline clinicians are trying to solve.

“This is causing significant frustration for local districts and stifling innovation, which could lead to efficiencies, which deliver more care for patients within the budgets, which have been set.”

Brown said he expected Health New Zealand to develop policy by 31 December, showing how it planned to devolve decision-making to regions and districts.

The government re-established the Health New Zealand governance board in July, with Levy moving from his commissioner role to chair.

On Thursday, it was revealed hospitals in Wellington were waiting up to six months for Health New Zealand approval to begin recruitment for frontline roles.

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Series of scrub fires break out in Otago and Southland

Source: Radio New Zealand

A scrub fire in Palmerston. Supplied / Martin Neame

Fire crews and helicopters are battling a series of scrub fires in Otago and Southland fanned by strong winds.

In Southland, nine trucks and two helicopters were tackling a forestry block fire near Mataura that broke out about 2.10pm.

The fire has closed State Highway 96 between State Highway 1 and Waimumu. It is expected to remain closed overnight.

In Palmerston, six trucks and three helicopters were dealing with a fire in pine trees near Goodwood.

Four crews were also called to a paddock fire in Papakaio in the Waitaki district sparked by a trampoline blowing into powerlines.

Two crews were working on a smouldering tree near Whitstone.

The wind blew three branches onto two cars in Oamaru but Fire and Emergency (FENZ) said a dog in one of the cars was not hurt.

A paddock fire that broke out on Johnston Road on the outskirts of Balclutha about 1pm has been contained.

FENZ said 30 firefighters on the ground and two helicopters with monsoon buckets were now working to put it out.

People are advised to avoid the area and said anyone affected by smoke should close their windows and doors and stay inside if possible.

Fire and Emergency had warned people to avoid lighting fires outdoors in Otago on Thursday and Friday because of warm, windy conditions.

Paid firefighters were due to strike around the country on Friday by walking off the job from 12pm to 1pm.

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How to cool your house down without turning on the heat pump

Source: Radio New Zealand

Feeling the heat? Keeping the air conditioning on full blast might feel tempting, but your bank account won’t thank you for it.

Luckily, ventilation experts Stephen McNeil and Dr Manfred Plagmann have a few tips on how to cool your house naturally – without the sky-high energy bill.

“The fundamental issue is really solar gain, it’s the sun coming in through your windows that’s the main reason your building’s getting too hot,” explains McNeil, a senior building scientist at the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ).

BRANZ ventilation experts Stephen McNeil and Dr Manfred Plagmann have a few tips on how to cool your house down this summer.

Supplied / Becky Collins

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Seats vanish from bus stops across Auckland, AT yet to file police report

Source: Radio New Zealand

Benches have been disappearing from bus shelters across Auckland. Supplied/ Jon Turner

Benches are being stolen from bus shelters across Auckland but the city’s transport agency has yet to file an official report to police despite knowing about the issue for three weeks.

Auckland Transport told RNZ it was aware of benches being removed from about 65 of the city’s 3000 bus stops.

“It’s possible these benches are being sold as scrap metal. We are in the process of sourcing benches constructed from different materials making them difficult to graffiti and a less desirable scrap product,” said its manager of public transport real time and response, Rebecca Temple.

Temple said it’s unfortunate that anti-theft bolting on the seats wasn’t able to stop them being removed.

AT said in a statement that it “notified” police about three weeks ago, when it first became aware of the seats going missing.

But it said it’s yet to file a formal report.

“We have not filed a formal police report because we are still gathering information on the sites where seats have gone missing to include in a report to police,” it said.

“We have been gathering information on all 3000 bus shelters to try and understand the full extent of the issue across the network. This is due to be filed in the next day or so,” said AT.

“We work with the police daily and so lodging this complaint is just the formality not the reality. We sit together in our operations centre,” it added.

Meanwhile, a police spokesperson said they were not “immediately aware” of bus stop benches being stolen.

One of the shelters where there is nowhere to sit. Supplied/Jon Turner

‘Are they just waiting for more to be stolen?’

Puketāpapa Local Board member Jon Turner said he first noticed the missing benches when going for a run down Mount Eden Road, and spotted eight missing.

Since he posted to social media, he’s received reports of others missing in Sandringham, Avondale and around Greenwoods Corner on Manukau Road.

Turner said AT should be taking action now, rather than waiting longer to make a police report.

“How long are they going to keep waiting to make a report, when the things have already been stolen?

“Are they just waiting for more to be stolen to add to the list?,” he said.

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NZ Cricket boss Scott Weenink ‘fighting for his survival’ as T20 league debate gets ‘very ugly’

Source: Radio New Zealand

NZ Cricket chief executive Scott Weenink Photosport

New Zealand Cricket boss Scott Weenink is said to be “fighting for his survival” in his role, amid a political power struggle over the future shape of the domestic game – a dispute so fraught that senior figures have warned the board is no longer functioning cohesively.

NZ Cricket denies a formal process is underway to remove Weenink as chief executive, but RNZ understands the board has signalled his position has become untenable.

Sources have indicated he faces allegations of working to “actively undermine” a bid by a private consortium to establish a new T20 franchise competition. The proposal is supported by all six major associations – Northern Districts, Auckland, Central Districts, Wellington, Canterbury and Otago – and the NZ Cricket Players’ Association (NZCPA).

External pressure is understood to be mounting on the NZ Cricket board by its member organisations, who have become frustrated at what they see as delaying tactics by Weenink.

Weenink’s supporters say the chief executive is urging the sport’s leaders to take time to do their due diligence, but his pleas for a pause have “fallen on deaf ears”.

Several senior cricket figures say that a proposed T20 franchise league, backed by Indian investors and several prominent former Black Caps, has become a defining faultline in the sport.

Depending on who you speak to, the competition has been positioned either as a “rebel league” that could jeopardise NZ Cricket’s existing commercial agreements and player development pathways, or as a necessary shake-up that would bring new investment and visibility to the domestic game, and help retain talent currently being lured to overseas T20 leagues.

The existing Super Smash competition could be superseded by a proposed new league Photosport

The division did not emerge overnight. A leaked email from former president Lesley Murdoch, sent to fellow directors in September and seen by RNZ, shows the board has been gridlocked for months.

Murdoch wrote that recent decisions had “promoted distrust and disunity”, and warned cricket “deserves a board that operates as one team, not a collection of individuals with competing agendas”.

There are fears the internal division has come at expense of NZ Cricket’s international reputation, leading board chair Diana Puketapu-Lyndon to take the extraordinary step of writing to the sport’s international body to dismiss claims of a “hostile takeover”.

Puketapu-Lyndon’s letter, which was also signed by the chairs of the six major associations, expressed deep concern about “the origin of any messaging that has the potential to undermine the reputation of cricket and cricket governance in New Zealand”.

It is understood moves are now under way to remove Weenink from his position.

A senior cricket figure told RNZ that Puketapu-Lyndon had met with Weenink and his legal representatives on at least three separate occasions in recent weeks.

“It has become very ugly, [Weenink] is basically fighting for his survival right now,” the source said.

However, NZ Cricket insists no employment process has begun. In response to questions over whether the board had initiated steps to axe Weenink, NZ Cricket public affairs manager Richard Boock replied: “No.”

He added the board still had confidence in Weenink’s leadership, although “it’s not something that’s been formally discussed”.

Outgoing board member Sarah Beaman, who decided not to stand for re-election at last week’s AGM, said she would be disappointed if the board were making moves to replace Weenink, describing him as “an absolutely brilliant CEO”.

NZ Cricket also played down any internal rifts over the proposed new league.

Boock said the organisation was “currently considering the merits of the NZ20 proposal”, along with other options, as part of broader work looking at the future of domestic T20 cricket in New Zealand.

Among the options being considered as part of ‘Project Bigger Smash’ is exploring ways to monetise the existing Super Smash competition, or entering New Zealand teams in Australia’s men’s and women’s Big Bash competitions – an option Weenink is said to favour.

“We’re united in running a fair process, using expert independent advice to determine the best option.”

Boock added the independent assessment was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.

Board dysfunction

While NZ Cricket is presenting a united front publicly, insiders fear the fractures on the board are becoming more entrenched.

Murdoch’s email to directors appears to speak, not only to philosophical disagreements over the future of the game, but to a deeper concern that board processes have become adversarial, rather than collaborative.

A significant portion of Murdoch’s message focused on the need for directors to declare potential conflicts of interest “openly and without hesitation”.

With commercial proposals circulating, and some board members holding roles in major associations or other sports entities, conflicts of interest have become an increasingly sensitive subject.

“Declaring and managing conflicts protects the reputations of everyone involved,” Murdoch wrote.

Murdoch, who finished her term as president this month, declined to comment on the concerns raised in her email, but in a statement said she had been in a “privileged position” over the past four years to attend meetings and witness the work that went on at all levels of the game.

“I have huge admiration for the massive workload, the initiatives and the outstanding care that Scott Weenink and his talented management team have given cricket and progressed it.”

NZ Cricket was asked for its response to Murdoch’s email and the issues it raises.

“We wouldn’t comment on someone’s private correspondence,” Boock said.

Asked if the board was comfortable with how conflicts of interest are managed, Boock responded: “Yes.”

Initially deeply divided over the consortium’s plans, more recently the bloc in favour of the private league has strengthened, after Beaman – a staunch supporter of Weenink’s – decided not to stand for re-election at last week’s AGM.

Beaman declined to go into the reasons for stepping aside, describing it as a “personal decision”.

“I don’t think it’s good form to talk about what has happened on a board,” she said. “For me, that’s not good practice.

“I’m more than happy to talk about how fantastic it has been working with such a great management team.”

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Analysis: NZ’s housing funk sows doubts on reliable investment strategy, drags on economy

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Lucy Craymer, Reuters

ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner. ABC / Luke Bowden

Analysis – A dramatic boom-bust cycle in New Zealand’s housing market has left many Kiwis and investors scarred and an economy struggling to fire, turning what was once a trusted strategy for creating wealth into a period of unease and potentially smaller future returns.

New Zealand has traditionally relied on housing as an engine of growth, but the current shakeout in the property sector has been particularly telling on the economy, dragging it into contraction in three of the past five quarters.

Two and a half years of flat to falling house prices has basically just been a heavy wet blanket on top of the economy, said ANZ chief economist Sharon Zollner.

The current gloom in the sector is rooted in more than a decade-long affordability crisis that came to a head during the pandemic, as house values soared around 40 percent to sky-high levels in an 18-month period through to November 2021, fuelled by sharply lower interest rates and government stimulus.

When the bubble burst, a combination of aggressive interest rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand and an increase in housing supply saw prices crumble by nearly 20 percent, and as much as 30 percent in some cities.

The collapse in house prices, which are still 15 percent below their peak in 2021, has brought much-needed relief for first-home buyers but has also raised questions about future returns as low net migration, rising unemployment and the government’s tight fiscal stance depress demand.

Satish Ranchhod, senior economist at Westpac, said the market dynamics have changed as the post-pandemic building boom increased the supply of homes, while slower population growth has kept inventory high.

It does mean quite a different supply and demand balance, said Ranchhod, tipping house prices to rise 5 percent in each of 2026 and 2027, a modest uptick in the context of recent sharp falls and compared with historic rates of growth.

New normal of modest resterns?

For a generation of New Zealanders, who have enjoyed average annual returns of roughly 7 percent in housing over the last three decades, the decline in prices for three consecutive years since 2021 is unprecedented.

In fact, property values dropped in only two of the years since 1990, making investment in housing a sure bet for Kiwis and a major driver of economic growth.

That certainty of steady capital gains has been eroded by several factors, not least by unemployment at a nine-year high and slow net migration growth even as the central bank has sharply reduced rates to a 3-1/2-year low since August last year.

Analysts note that with over half of New Zealand’s household wealth tied up in property, the downturn has had a chilling effect on consumption and the economy.

Kelvin Davidson, chief economist at Cotality, said that activity had started to pick up but this was off a low level, adding that a weak economy, an overhang of listings and concerns about employment continue to weigh.

You’d probably still call it a buyer’s market, said Davidson, predicting limited house price growth next year despite an improved outlook.

That view was underscored by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s latest forecasts released this week, with capital gains of 3.8 percent and 3.7 percent projected for next year and 2027, respectively.

While first home buyers have returned to the market, the number of houses available is higher than the historical average. Investors have also scaled back activity buyers of multiple homes are now 35.9 percent of the market, down from a recent high of 39.5 percent in 2021, according to data from Cotality.

The number of houses for sale in October was 33,588, up from 19,260 when the market peaked in November 2021, according to the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand, an organization representing the sector.

Tim Horsbrugh, a property investor with 13 rental tenancies, said a few years ago a group of investors he knew were flipping houses – the practice of buying a property at a low price and selling it for a profit after making improvements.

But not anymore, as the people that were doing it have lost money.

“Going for capital gains now is tough. Real tough,” he said. “And I don’t think people are going to be back into that market for a long, long time.”

Structural shift underway?

In an effort to shore up demand and revive the frail economy, the central bank has slashed its cash rate 325 basis points to 2.25 percent, having delivered the latest 25-basis-point cut on Wednesday. It has also eased some housing loan rules to lure back buyers.

The government campaigned on reducing house prices to improve affordability, yet the current property market downturn is putting a dampener on the economy.

Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank, said housing is by far the largest asset owned by New Zealanders, with two-thirds owning their own homes, and that means house price increases play a big part in sentiment.

If house prices are up, you know, 2 percent to 5 percent next year, then I’ll be saying that the economy will be climbing higher, because consumption will simply come back, Kerr said.

New Zealanders though may take some time to come to terms with a shift in the housing market.

“It’s too early to call a structural change in the housing market but there are some indications that might have happened,” said Paul Conway, chief economist at the RBNZ.

– Reuters

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Climber and American lawyer Kellam Conover died alongside guide on Mt Cook

Source: Radio New Zealand

Aoraki Mt Cook. FLORIAN BRILL

The climber who died on Aoraki Mt Cook alongside guide Thomas Vialletet was American lawyer Kellam Conover.

The pair were roped together, climbing from Empress Hut to the summit when they fell from the mountain’s west ridge on Monday night.

Mountain guide Thomas Vialletet died on Aoraki Mt Cook. Supplied

Two other members of the climbing party who survived were flown from the mountain on Tuesday morning.

Conover was a Stanford Law School graduate who lived in Washington DC and worked for international law firm, King & Spalding.

Vialletet lived in Wānaka and was a married father-of-two, who co-owned the mountain and ski guide company Summit Explorers with his wife Danielle.

More than $90,000 dollars has been raised so far through a Givealittle page to support his wife and young children following his death.

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Auckland swelters during hottest November day on record

Source: Radio New Zealand

MetService warns intermittent rain will add to the city’s humidity. RNZ/ Mohammad Alafeshat

MetService has confirmed Thursday is officially Auckland’s hottest November day since records began.

MetService meteorologist Lewis Ferris said, for the first time in the month of November in Auckland, temperatures had surpassed 26 degrees celsius at its recording station.

“Auckland Airport reached 26.2 degrees this afternoon, which has broken its November maximum record temperature, sitting at 25.9 degrees.”

Ferris said MetService’s temperature records for the Auckland region began on 31 December 1965.

He said many parts of the country had experienced warm weather on Thursday, some exceeding 30 degrees.

“With record or near-record temperatures turning up in parts of the country, it’s not too surprising to see Auckland actually get up there as well, because a lot of these temperatures are being driven by very warm, humid air being dragged down from the north,” Ferris said.

“Auckland being closer to there, they are going to be feeling those effects and people have probably been wondering why it felt so swampy, so humid the last couple of days.

“It is that warm, humid air being dragged down, and it does look to hang around, as we make our way through the rest of this week and into next week.

“There will be some intermittent rain as well, so it is just going to make it feel a little bit more humid.”

Ferris said sea-surface temperatures to the northwest were already above average and similar windflows would likely make its way to New Zealand in the coming weeks.

“These warm, humid days could be something we see a little bit more of, as we head through December.

“Won’t be warm every day, though. You know, December is a little bit of a copout, when it comes to summer.

“There probably will be some cooler southerly air, but I think holding onto these days and thinking that they will be more of them as we make our way through December is probably not a bad idea.”

Ferris said warm, humid air did provide a good amount of low-level moisture, which could turn into afternoon showers and potentially thunderstorms.

“Conditions in the upper atmosphere aren’t always ripe for that kind of stuff, so people will need to be keeping up with the forecast to see if those showers are going to be turning up in the afternoon.

“You might think it’s a lovely day, it’s warm, let’s get out the barbecue for the evening and that could just be when some of those showers turn up.”

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Review: Star power can’t save flawed Clooney flick

Source: Radio New Zealand

Looking back on the big films of 2025, one thing is abundantly clear, the old Hollywood star system isn’t what it used to be. Of all the year’s hits, hardly any were particularly dependent on who was in them.

The few A-Listers in this year’s Top 20 list were subservient to the movie’s other elements.

Jurassic World featured Scarlett Johansson, and dinosaurs. F1 was as much Formula 1 cars as Brad Pitt. All right. I’ll make an exception for Tom Cruise in the final Mission Impossible. But these days even Cruise has to be in a familiar role, whether it’s Mission Impossible or Top Gun. This year, it seems, star status alone won’t guarantee a hit.

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