NZ Engine

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Tourism Minister has signalled significant change could be on the horizon for the industry.

Louise Upston has set her sights on doubling the value of tourism exports by 2034, growing the number of Kiwis working in tourism and hospitality, and restoring international visitor arrivals to at least 2019 levels.

In June, she unveiled how the government plans to hit that target, but more details for the medium and long term picture were yet to be revealed.

The targets were ambitious, but she said the industry had pulled together this year.

“It’s getting the balance of continuing to push for visitors to choose New Zealand and then helping them throughout New Zealand where there is still strong capacity and options,” she said.

The industry had been pushing for bold change, and a working group had considered what that change was and how they planned to get there, she said.

Upston planned to review advice and proposals from officials about the next steps in the roadmap in January.

“Some of it is potentially quite significant change so I would be looking at probably taking something to Cabinet towards the end of quarter one or the beginning of quarter two,” she said.

The government was aiming to see international visitor arrivals reach at least 3.89 million by 2026.

Recent figures showed overseas arrivals hit 3.43 million in the year to September.

“We’ve got momentum, we’ve made significant investments, we are measuring the impact and I’m confident that we will achieve those visitor growth numbers by the end of next year,” Upston said.

That investment – which was often funded by the International Visitor Levy – included a $70 million major events and tourism package and more than $26m for Tourism New Zealand to attract more visitors.

She was confident that [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/557448/how-do-queenstown-residents-feel-about-increasing-tourism-and-its-impact

concerns from areas like Queenstown], where visitors numbers had already surpassed 2019 levels, were being addressed by mahi underway and planned in the Tourism Growth Roadmap.

She wanted to make sure every ounce of value was squeezed from investments in the industry as well as having consistent and predictable funding, Upston said.

Another priority was attracting more New Zealanders into hospitality and tourism by making sure they could see a career pathway and had ongoing training opportunities as a solid workforce would be a “critical part” in the success of tourism growth, Upston said.

In November, the government announced funding for a new industry-led qualification, Te Haeata, to boost the business events workforce.

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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 road toll for the official Christmas holiday period is at zero, but police say people need to continue to stick to the basics of safe driving.

So far this year 268 people have died on the roads, down from 292 last year – which was the lowest number since 2013.

Director of road policing Superintendent Steve Greally said any death on the roads was a tragedy with widespread ripples, but it was good to see numbers headed down.

“We are very encouraged so far this year and when we think about the summer period so far nobody has lost their lives, compared with 15 people at the end of the period last year.

“So things are looking really good, really encouraging, but anything can happen at any time, so we have to be really cautious about that.”

He said drivers need to continue to focus on four key areas – wearing seatbelts or helmets, not driving while impaired by drugs, alcohol or tiredness, not being distracted by phones or other things in the vehicle, and ensuring their speed was suitable for the conditions.

NZTA spokesperson Mark Owen said another tip was for people to go to its Journey Planner webpage for detailed information about their planned route.

He said people can check when roads are expected to be busiest based on previous years.

“Find out when the predicted busy times are. This is typically as we get to the end of the holidays and people are heading back to the main centres, and more towards the middle of the day. If you are travelling at those times you will definitely need to allow more time, or maybe try to leave a bit earlier or later in the day.”

He said people are also encouraged to ensure they are well rested before a long drive, take regular breaks on the journey, and drive to the conditions.

“We are seeing a bit of challenging weather coming across the North Island the next couple of days. So people need to allow to drive to those conditions especially if it is rather wet or windy.

“We want everyone to return from their holidays back to their original destination safely.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Dunedin family has swept the podium at the annual Cherry Pit-Spit Championship in Cromwell.

The Collins family dominated multiple categories at the quirky Central Otago event on Sunday, which challenges entrants to hoick a cherry stone as far as possible.

Aaron Collins launched a cherry pit 10.47 metres to take out first place in the men’s category.

His sister, Hannah Collins, placed second in the women’s event, while his children, Emma and Daniel, also finished on the podium.

The women’s winner was Laure Vaneilhan, from France, who has just arrived for the cherry-picking season and delivered an 7.93m spit.

Cromwell & Districts Promotions Group marketing and communications manager Tanya Dennis said hundreds of people either lined up at the mat, or came along to watch on what she described as a “perfect”, sunny Central Otago day.

“We had people coming from England, we had people from Japan, we had people from Germany and America – these were people that were just curious. They were visiting the region … and then came along to the event. So it was a real cross section, and of course, we had locals and regional visitors as well,” she said.

The event has been running since 2006 and offers plenty of entertainment for spectators, Dennis said.

“Some of the competitors make real light of it, and some get very serious. We’ve got some die hard followers of the event.”

The record belongs to Dunedinite Tui Smith, who fired a pit nearly 16m in 2023.

The world record for cherry pit-spitting is 28.5m, set in Michigan in 2004.

Cherries for this year’s National Cherry Spit Championship were provided by Jackson Orchards in Cromwell, and the day also featured a best-dressed competition and lawn games.

“Anyone can give it a go and the, you know, bragging rights is, of course, the big thing. It’s open to all age groups … and it’s a good day all round,” Dennis said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland police are asking for any sightings of man whose family are concerned for his welfare.

Stuart is described by police as about 6 foot tall, slender and in his 70s.

He was last seen wearing black pants, a beige shirt, a blue jacket, and a black beanie.

Stuart usually lives and frequents central Auckland.

Police said he had been out of touch with his family for some time, which was out of character.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on the 105 number.

“If you have seen him or have any information that might help us locate him, please call 105, quoting file number 251219/9751.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Auckland Harbour Bridge repaint project – that’s estimated to take 12 years – has been underway for more than a year, with works beginning at the southern end of the bridge in late 2024.

The New Zealand Transport Agency Waka Kotahi said the original paint coatings on the 66-year-old truss bridge had reached the end of its designed life and needed a full-repaint, which involved stripping down the existing coating and repainting it.

The project, also known as the Truss Bridge Refurbishment Project, was the main contributor that led to the money spent on maintenance and repairs of the bridge increasing from $12.2 million in the 2023/2024 financial year, to $22.4m in the 2024/2025 financial year.

Waka Kotahi couldn’t confirm how much the entire repaint would cost, but said the project has cost $11.6m to date – covering design analysis, strengthening work and the establishment of equipment for the project.

RNZ caught up with the agency’s manager of maintenance and operations for the Auckland and Northern regions, Jacqui Hori-Hoult, to find out the latest progress and challenges with the project.

A year in: Work done at land-based southern end of the bridge

Hori-Hoult said the initial years of the project will focus on repainting the structures underneath the surface road of the bridge.

“When you’re travelling over the bridge, you won’t see a lot, because our project is focused on the refurbishment of underneath the truss bridge, which is under the actual bridge deck,

“So it’s the steel work on the bridge deck which sits in the harshest environment and is also the oldest part of our bridge.”

Hori-Hoult said that part of the bridge is susceptible to corrosion, and the repaint is key to maintaining the structural integrity of the truss bridge.

She said over the past year, work has been mostly around the land-based southern end of the bridge, where sandblasting is used to remove the old coatings before new coatings are applied.

Earlier, an RNZ investigation revealed that NZTA knew that Harbour Bridge maintenance work contaminated homes at Stokes Point/Te Onewa with heavy metals above permitted levels a decade ago, but residents were not told.

Hori-Hoult said the current work has taken precautions to stop any contaminants from the old paint from polluting the environment.

Waka Kotahi: Challenges in repaint of section of bridge crossing sea

Hori-Hoult said expert teams are still working on the plan for how to execute the repainting of the main section of the bridge that crosses the sea, in a way that ensures no potential pollutants get into the sea.

She said they’re hoping to commence work on the sea based section of the bridge at some point in 2026.

The parts of the bridge which have paint containing lead are mostly in one of the spans at the southern end of the bridge, and Waka Kotahi believes that the rest of the bridge is predominantly lead free, she said.

However, Hori-Hoult said they will be using the same environmental protection measures for the main part of the bridge, as they have done for the work at the land-based ends of the bridge, and this would be challenging due it being over the sea.

“So we’re going to have to put temporary work and scaffolding , like we’ve done with the land base with scaffolding,

“Now we have to work through with our experts around how we can manage to attach our containment units in order for us to do a similar type of work, in a very smaller space, but also to make sure whatever we attach is structurally sound for the bridge to enable us to do the work.”

Hori-Hoult said experts were still figuring out what would be the best type of material for the temporary platform.

“We will be installing that full containment system, that you can see when we’re carrying out the [sand] blasting and painting operations, so all materials generated from our operation is actually disposed of to a managed facility that specialises in contaminated material disposal,” she added.

There’s lots of structural elements to think about, for instance how much additional weight can be added to the ageing bridge, she said.

Waka Kotahi said engineers have been assessing the impacts of installing the containment systems on the bridge, and the level of strengthening that is required.

It said teams have been trialling methodologies in the land-based areas.

Bridge to stay grey after repaint

Hori-Hoult said a decision was made to keep the bridge grey as it always has been with the repaint, despite some internal discussions about a new colour for the bridge.

“The Harbour Bridge has been iconic – it’s 66 years old – so you want to keep it as close to its original colour as possible, because of its age and the mana it holds within our city,” she said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The chairperson of a ministerial advisory group on organised crime says he won’t be satisfied until he sees the government commit resources to tackling the issue of organised crime.

The government launched a plan earlier this month to combat transnational organised crime, including setting up a new agency and minister responsible, developing inter-agency information sharing, and establishing a maritime campaign to disrupt criminal networks in the Pacific.

“New Zealand and our Pacific neighbours are being increasingly targeted by organised criminal groups, who are using new technologies and new ways of operating,” Associate Minister of Police Casey Costello said then. “We need a different, stronger and more cohesive response.”

Chairperson Steve Symon said he was encouraged to see the government endorse the advisory group’s plan, but wanted to see a commitment in Budget 2026.

“What would make me really satisfied, is if we follow through on it, if what we see in the coming months, is rolling up our sleeves and really mucking in to find out exactly what we need to do to make this work.”

Symon said the picture would become very bleak for New Zealand without a real effort to disrupt criminal networks.

“It’s quite a frightening picture, because organised crime is affecting all New Zealanders, whether we necessarily recognise it or not.”

He said the effects of organised crime were reaching into all corners of New Zealand, whether through a rise in methamphetamine use, fraud and cyber fraud, or migrant exploitation.

Symon pointed to Australia’s response to the illegal tobacco problem – which he said was not quick enough to disrupt what had become a $10 billion industry for criminal groups.

He said the advisory group’s recommendation to set up a new department and minister responsible for the issue, was justified when there could be up to 19 or 30 different agencies involved in addressing the problem right now.

“What we’re saying is the New Zealand public expect a co-ordinated response. It expects these agencies to be working together, in fact the public is right, because we will need that if we are going to successfully stop organised crime.”

University of Canterbury’s Pacific regional security hub head Jose Sousa-Santos said the government and the public should be worried about the influx of drugs at the border.

He said despite larger seizures by customs, the price of methamphetamine remained stable.

“Even though we are seizing more methamphetamine over the past decades combined, you can come to the conclusion there is much more methamphetamine coming in.”

Sousa-Santos said drugs were moving through the Pacific from South America, Canada and South East Asia to New Zealand and Australia.

He said Pacific criminal organised groups were starting to take hold in the region, infiltrating and corrupting law enforcement agencies.

He pointed to one part of the government’s plan, which was to set up a joint customs, GCSB, and Defence Force maritime campaign to disrupt organised criminal groups networks across the Pacific.

He said this could strengthen the region’s national security.

“The Pacific Ocean is a large space to operate in, and this will at least ensure that New Zealand is able to be secure and work with our partners in the Pacific, creating a situation where the regions and our partnerships become force multipliers.

“It’s very important that New Zealand has a lessons learnt policy from our neighbours in the US and South-East Asia.

“The tactics which are new to us – such as the narco subs or the low-profile vessels – these are tactics which have been utilised in America, and South-East Asia for decades.”

Costello said previously that New Zealand needed to improve its responses.

“The key thing I think we need to recognise is that organised crime is a business that will do anything it can to make a profit.

“We need to be pivoting and responding in a far more flexible and responsive way than we currently are.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Three men seriously hurt in separate fights in Auckland – one of them a mass street brawl – are still in hospital.

Police have made a public appeal after the disorder in the central city on Saturday night.

In the first assault, a 33-year-old man was seriously injured outside Crown Bar on Queen Street just after 4am.

Fifteen minutes later a 27-year-old was seriously hurt on Karangahape Road where there was an estimated crowd of more than 50 people.

Then 30 minutes after that, a 46-year-old man was also seriously injured at a nearby petrol station.

Police say all three are today in stable conditions.

There are no updates in their investigation.

On Sunday, Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Greaves said: “Police are disappointed at the bad, aggressive and careless behaviour on display on Karangahape Road and will be holding any and all offenders to account.”

The police file number is 251228/4774.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A Lower Hutt woman is keeping her “dark side” in check by reselling the one gift she received from her husband of 20 years on Christmas Day: a Star Wars T-shirt.

The shirt, originally purchased from EB Games, has been listed on her husband’s Trade Me account – in hopes he will get the message.

Speaking to RNZ, Cindy* said she had a laugh when she opened the present on Christmas Day as she was a big fan of Star Wars.

But given it was the only gift she received alongside a pair of socks from her mum, she was a little disappointed.

“My birthday is the 21st so I guess that was his focus. I did get presents for my birthday but yeah, that was not what I expected.”

In the early hours of the morning and after a couple drinks, Cindy decided to list the T-shirt on Trade Me – titled ‘Revenge of the Wife’.

“How am I supposed to gently explain to my husband that after 20 YEARS of marriage, receiving only a T-shirt for Christmas may… awaken my dark side?,” she wrote in the listing.

“Answer: I don’t. I list it for sale on his Trade Me account and let the Force handle the rest.

“Up for grabs is this brand new, never worn, still-has-the-tag Star Wars T-shirt, size Small, featuring Revenge of the Sith – 20th Anniversary on the sleeve. Yes, very cool. Yes, very nostalgic. Yes… still a T-shirt for Christmas!”

Cindy wrote the shirt was “perfect” for Star Wars fans, husbands who think a T-shirt is a thoughtful gift and “anyone brave enough to flirt with the Dark Side”.

She said she was selling the item in hopes of “preserving galactic peace in a 20-year marriage” and selling it on the hubby’s account in hopes he “may or may not ‘get the drift'”.

“Buy it before my patience fully turns to the Dark Side. May the Force (and better gift ideas) be with you,” she ended the listing with.

Cindy said he husband took her decision to sell the shirt “really well”.

They often played pranks on each other and Cindy said the foundation to a good marriage was being able to have a “really good laugh” and constructive conversations about things.

It had taught him it might be a good idea to ask her what she wanted for Christmas instead of buying something he liked for himself and then deciding to buy it for her.

In the question and answer section of the listing, it was clear Cindy’s husband had come to realise where he had gone wrong and was contemplating his life choices.

One question from a Trade Me user said: “I’m surprised she didn’t bring forth the light sabre and slash this abomination to shreds…..”, to which he replied: “Point taken, you could say I had the aim of a storm trooper this year … completely missed the mark.”

But after the ordeal, Cindy’s husband had thought long and hard about what she deserved and would be treating her to a massage.

A long one, she said: “I need it”.

And the money from the sale of the shirt?

Cindy said all proceeds from the Trade Me sale would go towards Sea Shepherd – who defend, protect and conserve what she called the “real Jedi”.

* Not her real name

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