NZ Engine

Source: New Zealand Ministry of Health

Source: New Zealand Ministry of Health

Source: New Zealand Government

Important progress in the fight against online financial scams has been made with the launch of a new initiative between government, industry and consumer groups, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Scott Simpson says. 
“It is unacceptable that so many Kiwis are swindled by scammers every day,” Mr Simpson says. 
“Some reports suggest scams cost the economy up to $2 billion annually, and it is crucial we get on top of the problem. 
“That is why I’m pleased to announce the New Zealand Anti-Scam Alliance – a new national effort that seeks to reduce the number of Kiwis falling victim to online financial scams.
“Up until this point New Zealand’s anti-scam efforts have developed in an ad-hoc way and suffered from a lack of coordination. We frequently hear that real-time information on scams is sourced from different areas across government and the private sector, making for a fragmented, and often, slow response.
“The Alliance addresses this by establishing a formal structure for government agencies, banks, telecommunications companies, digital platforms sectors, and consumer groups to share data about scams and shut them down in real-time. 
“By better coordinating our efforts across industry and government, we should be able to seal up the cracks that scammers are slipping through.
“The Alliance has also agreed to take coordinated action to update industry codes, strengthen consumer protections and educate Kiwis about how to protect themselves from scams.
“The Anti Scam Alliance represents a significant step forward and is the first in a series of actions that will strengthen New Zealand’s scam defences. However, there is more work to do.
“The Government is also exploring other initiatives to support this work, including amending the Fair Trading Act so that government and industry can have the confidence to proactively share scam-related intelligence and collaborate on disruption initiatives without breaching competition or privacy laws.
“There is no silver bullet to address scams, but by working together across sectors to disrupt scams, we can significantly shift the dial.”
 

Source: New Zealand Government

New Zealand and Japan are developing a logistics agreement to support ongoing defence cooperation between our two countries, Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins have announced.

“Japan is a crucial partner for New Zealand,” Mr Peters says following a meeting with Japanese counterpart Iwaya Takeshi at the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Kuala Lumpur today.

“We are both committed to the international rules-based system, and to maintaining security and prosperity in our region.” 

Ms Collins says the Acquisition and Cross Servicing Agreement will detail how our militaries can better support one another when undertaking exercises, training and other activities together.

“Our militaries are already doing more together, and the agreement will provide practical support to help enable this cooperation,” Ms Collins says.

“This is an important step as New Zealand pulls its weight on the world stage as it will ultimately strengthen our interoperability and ability to work closely with our partners.”

The agreement will set out how logistical support, including the provision of supplies and services, will be managed when the New Zealand Defence Force and the Self-Defense Forces of Japan operate together.

Examples include refuelling activities at sea using HMNZS Aotearoa, or the reciprocal provision of food or medical supplies during joint humanitarian assistance and disaster relief activities.

New Zealand and Japan are also working on an Information Security Agreement which will provide a legal framework for sharing more classified information.

Source: New Zealand Government

When someone is making the brave step of reaching out for help whether it’s you, your child, a friend or family member, this Government is committed to ensuring we have the right support in place to answer that call, Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey says.

“It is promising to see reports showing New Zealand’s mental health and addiction workforce is growing. This will help us ensure that people are getting the support they need, when they need it and no one’s call is going unanswered,” Mr Doocey says.

“Over the past two years, there has been substantial progress in building up the mental health and addiction workforce. We have more mental health nurses, psychologists, support workers and addiction counsellors working on the ground, and overall vacancy rates are starting to ease.

“Behind every one of those new psychologists, nurses, support workers or counsellors are hundreds of people at what can be the lowest time of their life, now able to be seen, heard and supported.  

“I’ve been very clear that increasing access to support is a top priority. The Auditor General called for a specific mental health workforce plan in response to wait-times and vacancy rates increasing under the previous Government. We treated this as a priority and delivered the first dedicated mental health workforce plan in New Zealand within the first year.

“It’s pleasing to see HNZ payroll data shows total full-time staff employed in mental health grew by more than 9 per cent year-on-year between Quarter 3 in 2023 and Quarter 1 2025.”

While challenges remain, particularly in psychiatry vacancies, HNZ Payroll data also shows there has been 9.5 percent growth in the number of full-time staff employed as Senior Medical Officers – Psychiatry between Quarter 1 2024 and Quarter 1 2025.

“We know we need more psychiatrists in New Zealand. That’s why we’ve increased training places and funding to support more people into the field. We’ve lifted the number of funded registrar positions from 33 in 2024 to 54 a year after Budget 2025,” Mr Doocey says.

“I’ve also written to both Health New Zealand and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry to encourage them to do everything they can to remove any additional barriers to grow the psychiatry workforce.

“It is heartening to see that the Government’s focus on growing the workforce and our commitment to addressing long-standing workforce gaps is starting to pay off because at the end of the day, when someone is making the brave step of reaching out to get well, workforce should never be a barrier.” 

Note to editors: 
•    The Health Workforce Information Programme shows the overall Mental Health and Addiction FTE employed by Health NZ in the two years to December 2024 have increased and vacancies are down. Growth has been recorded in a number of key professions within Health NZ including:
o    Registered Mental Health Nurses grew by 21 per cent
o    Nursing Support Workers increased by 20 per cent
o    Clinical Psychologists and Drug and Alcohol Counsellors both saw 6 per cent increases 
•    The general trend is also supported in the recent Te Pou report on Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora adult mental health & addiction workforce estimates, 2024. This report shows that between 31 March 2023 and 31 March 2024 The total number of employed roles increased by 404 FTEs and vacant roles decreased by 60 FTEs. The overall estimated vacancy rate for the adult Mental Health and Addiction workforce has decreased from 11 per cent to just under 10 per cent.
 

Source: New Zealand Government

A significant boost in the number of people booking bednights along the country’s Great Walks is a good sign for conservation tourism and local businesses, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka says.

Opening day bookings for each of the Great Walks were up by over 10,000 bednights compared to last year, totalling more than 140,000 bednights and bringing in more than $9 million to the Department of Conservation – Te Papa Atawhai, says Mr Potaka.

“Booking system upgrades – including a new online lobby – successfully processed a peak of nearly 12,000 people waiting to book the Milford when it opened on 28 May in an hour.

“People across the world are dreaming of walking our beautiful whenua. Great Walks bookings are our golden tickets. You don’t need rivers of chocolate when you’ve got the Routeburn Track. 

“Even this time of year, places like Abel Tasman Great Walk have space to escape under the stars for Matariki mā Puanga – take some hot Milo,” says Mr Potaka. 

In 2024 nearly three-quarters of international visitors said they did a hike, walk or tramp while in Aotearoa New Zealand, and around half visited a National Park. Conservation-related tourism is worth around $3.4 billion a year. 

“This is great for local businesses, local jobs and incomes. Before and after their walk they stay, eat and adventure locally, injecting money into local economies. 

“The Government is backing sustainable conservation tourism that supports local economies. That’s why we will continue to invest funds from the International Visitor Levy into protecting and enhancing our biodiversity such as in Rakiura National Park.”

Great Walks opening day bookings

All Great Walks increased their bednights booked, except for Heaphy and Whanganui River Journey; see table – this is a snapshot of bookings made on the opening days.

2025/26	Total Bednights	NZ bednights	International bednights	2024/25	% change
Abel Tasman	28,618	24,301	4,317	24,943	+15
Heaphy	15,297	14,185	1,112	16,367	-7
Kepler	23,094	16,758	6,336	21,603	+7
Paparoa	11,205	10,636	569	9,924	+13
Rakiura	5,369	4,810	559	5,117	+5
Routeburn	20,910	14,236	6,674	19,561	+7
Whanganui	6,465	5,869	6,505	6505	-1
Milford	21,903	13,356	8,537	21,387	+2
Waikaremoana	7,569	7,053	516	6,429	+18
TOTAL	140,430	111,204	29,226	131,836	+7

DOC bookable huts and campgrounds

Top 10 most popular huts

• Pinnacles hut (Coromandel Forest Park)
• Mueller hut (Aoraki Mt Cook National Park)
• Waitawheta hut (Kaimai Mamaku Conservation Park)
• Woolshed Creek hut (Mount Somers, Canterbury)
• Kōhanga Atawhai – Manson Nicholls hut (Lewis Pass)
• McKellar hut (Greenstone, Otago)
• Aspiring hut (Mount Aspiring)
• Welcome Flat hut (Westland Tai Poutini National Park)
• Greenstone hut (Otago)
• Angelus hut (Nelson Lakes National Park)

Top 10 most popular campgrounds

• Tōtaranui campground (Golden Bay)
• Waikawau Bay campsite (Northern Coromandel)
• Otamure Bay (Whananaki) campsite (Northland)
• Momorangi Bay campsite (Marlborough Sounds)
• Puriri Bay campsite (Northland)
• Urupukapuka Bay campsite (Northland)
• Anaura Bay campsite (East Coast Tairawhiti)
• Waikahoa Bay campsite (Whangarei)
• White Horse Hill campsite (Aoraki Mt Cook)
• Uretiti Beach campsite (Whangarei)

Source: New Zealand Police

One person has died following a single vehicle crash in Ōpōtiki this morning.

Emergency services were called to the crash on Otara Road at around 7:50am.

Sadly, the driver of the truck died at the scene. There were no other occupants of the truck.

Police are providing support to the next of kin.

The Serious Crash Unit are carrying out a scene examination and enquiries into the cause of the crash are ongoing.

Otara Road remains closed.

ENDS

Issued by the Police Media Centre.

Source: New Zealand Government

A new cycle bridge on the West Coast Wilderness Cycle Trail will bring more visitors to the region and boost the local economy.

“I’m thrilled to be supporting the construction of the Totara River Rail Bridge, ensuring visitors can once again ride this popular trail from start to finish,” Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston says.

“The West Coast Wilderness Cycle Trail is one of our Great Rides and attracts both international and domestic visitors alike, showcasing the stunning scenery of the West Coast.

“Investment in this piece of infrastructure will benefit the local businesses and communities, particularly in the township of Ross located at the trail end.” 

The Totara River Rail Bridge, a few kilometres north of Ross, has been closed for structural assessment and repairs since August 2024, cutting off the final 15km section of trail between Ross and the Treetops Zipline and Walkway. 

“While cyclists can still enjoy parts of the trail, they currently cannot reach Ross – meaning the township, along with the wider region, is missing out on valuable visitor spending.  This investment will help turn that around, bringing more visitors back.” 

This investment is part of the first stage of the Government’s Tourism Growth Roadmap, which also includes additional international marketing funding and other activity to encourage more international visitors to New Zealand. 

“The Roadmap sets out the Government’s plan to double the value of tourism, currently our second largest export, by 2034.

“We want to welcome more visitors to New Zealand, and we want to enable our regional communities to provide a high-quality visitor experience.

“New Zealand’s Great Rides are national treasures, and it is important we look after them for future generations,” Louise Upston says.

Source: New Zealand Government

One year on, more Police on the beat across New Zealand’s major cities is being celebrated by Police Minister Mark Mitchell.
“Today I am excited to be part of welcoming the new Beat Team in Rotorua and getting some time to be out on the beat with them,” Mark Mitchell says.
“Our beat officers have an important role in ensuring our retailers and members of the public feel and are safe.  
“We know it makes a huge difference to our communities to see Police out on the streets. Not only does it make people feel safer, we know it discourages crime.”
Police report that the beat teams in Wellington, Christchurch, and Auckland have done 14,108 hours of foot patrols on the beat since starting in July last year to the end of April this year. This is an increase of 189% from the same period in 2023-2024. 
“We have already seen the positive impact our Police beat teams are having across our major CBDs.  Police data shows in the last 12 months robberies have reduced in Auckland by 25 per cent, in Wellington by 22 per cent, and Christchurch by 67 per cent. 
“These results are encouraging, and shows inroads are being made at the violent end of retail crime, but we know there is more to do, particularly to address low level theft.   
“As announced this week, stronger penalties for theft will ensure real consequences for shoplifters and help protect the livelihood of our retailers. 
“Getting on top of retail crime is a priority, and we will continue to back Police with the powers and tools they need to deter and hold offenders to account.  
“I look forward to seeing more community beat teams rolled out into towns and regional centres over the course of the year.”

Source: NZ Department of Conservation

Date:  10 July 2025

The 42 Traverse, or T42, is a popular multi-use track and off-roading destination in the Tongariro Forest Conservation Area in the Central North Island. The area provides habitat for iconic species including kiwi and whio.

Department of Conservation Team Lead Tongariro Michael Christie says the winter closure to four-wheel drives protects the track and provides safe access for critical conservation work – including protecting threatened species.

“Winter off-roading causes heavy track damage, affecting our work and impacting the track experience for other users.

“It’s also a safety issue – large vehicles can increase the risk of slips from sodden soils.”

To protect the 42 Traverse, four-wheel drive vehicles are not permitted on the track between May 1 and November 30. These restrictions are outlined in the Tongariro/Taupō Conservation Management Strategy (CMS).

“To be clear, we have to focus our efforts and funding where it matters most, and we cannot afford to continue fixing a road purely so a few can tear it up again,” says Michael.

“If you wreck it, it will likely become inaccessible to everyone.”

The 42 Traverse extends through native forest, offers superb views back to Tongariro National Park, and is enjoyed by people doing a range of other activities including tramping, hunting, and mountain biking.

The 42 Traverse will reopen to four-wheel drive vehicles from December 1.

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