NZ Engine

Source: NZ Ministry for Primary Industries

New Zealand Food Safety congratulates Professor Phil Bremer for scooping this year’s Significant Contribution to Food Safety Award at New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology’s Food Industry Awards last night (25 June 2025).

In addition to his roles as Professor of Food Science at University of Otago and Chief Scientist New Zealand Food Safety and Scientific Research Centre (NFSSRC), Professor Phil Bremer is also an active member on several industry steering groups.

“We are delighted to present Professor Bremer with the award,” says New Zealand Food Safety deputy director-general Vincent Arbuckle.

“With more than 40 years of contributions to the food safety sector, Professor Bremer has made a significant contribution to food safety science, publishing more than 200 academic papers.

“His work has helped build effective food safety culture, industry best practice, equipment and processing technology, product and packaging development, and science and research.”

Among his many achievements are leading the development of a guide to prevent contamination of infant formula with Cronobacter, a lethal bacterium for infants under 6 months of age.

“New Zealand dairy companies now benefit from this resource, which helps to ensure the safety of infant formula for the youngest consumers, at home and abroad,” says Mr Arbuckle.

“Professor Bremer has made an immense contribution to the quality and breadth of food safety science in New Zealand, and to the strength of the wider food safety sector, with a number of leadership roles in New Zealand food safety associations and societies across his 40-year career. He also passes on his knowledge undertaking significant post-graduate supervision.”

Mr Arbuckle says New Zealand Food Safety’s ongoing support of the award is an important opportunity to celebrate champions of food safety culture, research and applications in food production.

“We applaud Professor Bremer, all 2025 award nominees and past winners whose contributions and commitment support New Zealand’s world-class food safety system,” says Mr Arbuckle.

Previous winners of the Significant Contribution to Food Safety Award include Dr Pierre Venter (2024) and Dr Rob Lake (2023).

See our website for more information.

Significant Contribution to Food Safety Award

Source: NZ Department of Conservation

Date:  26 June 2025

DOC staff, local iwi and members of Project Jonah are at the scene and will remain overnight to keep it secure.

DOC Mahaanui Operations Manager Andy Thompson says the sea conditions are challenging and they expect to leave the adult orca where it is until tomorrow’s low tide.

“We understand the orca was dead when it was spotted by a member of the public who alerted us. We ask that the public stay away to give staff and iwi the space to respond to this incident,” he says.

Andy Thompson says a vet will fly down to Christchurch from Massey University tomorrow morning and will perform a necropsy on the orca to try and determine why the animal died. Appropriate tikanga will be followed and the orca will then be buried on the beach.

“It’s unusual for an adult orca to be found dead in the shallows like this and in good condition. Our national marine team are very keen to find out why the animal has passed away,” he says.

Contact

Source: New Zealand Police

Attributable to Acting Superintendent Lincoln Sycamore, Eastern District Commander:

Police are pleased to report no significant issues following a gang-related funeral in the Hawke’s Bay yesterday.

An operation to monitor the behaviour and movements of those involved were carried out across Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday.

One person was arrested on Tuesday evening for displaying gang insignia.

We would like to thank the members of the public for their patience during this time.

Police also encourage the public to report any instances of unlawful activity on the roads, so we can take appropriate action where necessary.

Please contact 111 if it is happening now, or via 105 if it is after the fact.

Information can also be reported anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Source: New Zealand Police

One person is in a critical condition and two others are trapped in vehicle following a two car crash on Karaka Road (State Highway 22) around 2.25pm.

Road closures are in place on SH22 and motorists are advised to expect delays and avoid the area if possible. 

Karaka Road is now closed between Blackbridge Road and the Glenbrook roundabout, with diversions in place north of the crash at the Karaka Road and Great South Road junction also.

The Serious Crash Unit has been advised and will attend the scene.

Police advise motorists to expect delays in the area this afternoon.

ENDS.

Nicole Bremner/NZ Police

Source: New Zealand Police

Police have seized four motorbikes, two vehicles, and over $80,000 in cash following a number of search warrants in Gisborne.

Earlier this week, Gisborne Police with the assistance of Hasting’s Police Asset Recovery Unit, executed three search warrants in the area for property believed to be obtained through illicit funds, connected to the methamphetamine supply chain in the region.

During the search, Police located around $81,000 in cash, a Holden ClubSport, a Ford Ranger, and multiple Harley Davidson and Honda motorcycles.

Central Asset Recovery Unit Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Fischer says by targeting illicit benefits obtained by drug offending, denies offenders the success of their offending and removes their ability to expand their offending.

Gisborne Police will continue to hold people to account for supplying drugs as we see first-hand the harm it causes to our community.

Detective Sergeant Eric Hunter says this operation will have a direct impact on the local methamphetamine supply chain.

“Our partnership with the Asset Recovery Unit is proving very beneficial for the community and we will continue to work with them to target organised crime in Gisborne.”

Police urge anyone who may have information about illicit drugs or unlawful offending to please contact us.

Information can be reported through 105 online or via phone, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

Source: PHARMAC

Source: New Zealand Police

A pair of alleged burglars discovered there is no distance Police won’t cover when it comes to holding people accountable for their crimes.

Auckland Central Police have been investigating a burglary at a High Street jewellery store on 30 May.

“Enquiries carried out by our staff revealed the alleged offenders used a rented vehicle to leave the scene,” Auckland City Area Investigations Manager Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Friend says.

“Further enquires carried out identified two individuals who reside in Ōpōtiki as being allegedly involved in the burglary.”

With the offender’s identified, the Auckland Central Tactical Crime Unit were able to establish the property had been taken into pawn shops in Rotorua.

“In total they have pawned 17 items of the stolen jewellery at a second-hand dealer, which we have been able to recover,” Detective Senior Sergeant Friend says.

“It’s another great result in Auckland Central in holding retail crime to account.

“We are sending a clear message that this type of brazen offending will not be tolerated.

A man and woman were arrested in Ōpōtiki this week and are before the Whakatāne District Court.

A 30-year-old female will appear on 1 July charged with receiving stolen property and being in a stolen vehicle.

A 27-year-old male was remanded in custody to appear on 17 July, charged with the unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and two counts of burglary.

ENDS

Amanda Wieneke/NZ Police
 

Source: New Zealand Police

Man’s best friend, a trusty dog owner and some speedy Police work potentially prevented car thefts in an East Auckland suburb early this morning.

A Greenlane resident who was woken by his dog barking around 3.45am investigated immediately.

“His trusty pooch had alerted him to two people outside his home apparently scoping out parked cars with a torch,” Inspector Jim Wilson, Auckland City East Area Commander, says.

But by the time Police arrived the pair were on the move and fled despite being signalled to stop.

“Police monitored the vehicle from a distance until The Police Helicopter arrived overhead to monitor the situation.”

The car was successfully spiked but kept going onto nearby Great South Road, and Police observed it driving on the wrong side of the road.

Inspector Wilson says a dog unit was deployed when the driver finally abandoned the vehicle at Garland Road and took off on foot. 

“He was apprehended nearby and received minor police dog bites and was given medical treatment,” Inspector Wilson says.

“A passenger remained in the vehicle and was arrested without incident.”

The 38-year-old driver is appearing in the Auckland District Court, charged with failing to stop, driving in a dangerous manner, possessing cannabis and possessing

an offensive weapon.

“Fortunately, it appears no vehicles in the street were successfully broken into and it goes to show the importance of vigilance,” Inspector Wilson says.

“After a busy night it’s left two smart dogs catching up on some much-needed sleep.”

Police remind the public to report suspicious activity as soon as possible by calling 111.

ENDS

Nicole Bremner/NZ Police 

Source: NZCTU

The union movement is sending its love and condolences to the whānau of MP for Tāmaki Makaurau, Takutai Tarsh Kemp, following the shocking news of her passing.

“We are heartbroken for Takutai’s whānau, hapū and iwi, for the people of Tāmaki Makaurau, and for Te Pāti Māori at this sad time,” said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff.

“We deeply appreciate Takutai’s tireless dedication and service on behalf of her people, including as a staunch advocate for rangatahi and for some of the most marginalised whānau in Aotearoa.

“We acknowledge that as Te Pāti Māori’s spokesperson for Workers’ Rights, Takutai fought to ensure the rights of working people were upheld. 

“Takutai was a leader who had so much more to give, and will be missed dearly,” said Wagstaff.

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

Contractors will be back at the site of an overslip on State Highway 6 at Dellows Bluff next week.

Rob Service, System Manager for Nelson/Tasman, says work is about to resume at the overslip site, which occurred during heavy rain in October last year.

“Contractors have already done work here, with rock blasting and tree removal done in February this year.”

“However, during this work, site investigations revealed the slip was far more complex, larger, and more fragile than originally thought,” Mr Service says.

He says the work was put on hold and plans for a fix were revised.

“We now have a plan in place and the first phase of it will begin next week.”

“Contractors will build a new access track south of the slip site, remove some trees, and build a landing from which further work can be done. We expect this to take about a month to complete,” Mr Service says.

To ensure both workers and drivers are kept safe while the tree-felling is underway and the new access track is being built, Mr Service says there will be  intermittent road closures during the day.

“We do not want to put traffic at risk from falling debris. So, there will be periods when we will have to stop traffic during the day between 7 am and 5.30 pm.”

“They will be no longer than 15-minutes and work crews will do their best to ensure drivers and the community aren’t too disrupted. Access for emergency services, school buses, and other critical transport will be prioritised,” Mr Service says.

Phase One work schedule

• Monday 30 June to Friday 25 July. Monday to Friday, 7:00am–5.30pm (weather permitting)
• Stop/Stop traffic management – expect delays of up to 15 minutes

Next steps

Mr Service says once the tree-felling is complete and the access track built, contractors will be able to resume stabilising the slip site.

“It is expected this will take one to two months to complete.”

We will have to put shipping containers back at the site to ensure the highway and traffic are protected from rockfalls, and work crews will do as much work as possible within the road shoulder,” Mr Service says.

However, he says there may be times when traffic will have to be stopped.

“If there are large boulders or other debris at risk of falling and endangering traffic, we will put safety first and use stop/go traffic management at the site. Though, this will be for short periods only.”

“We understand we are doing this work during winter, but it is time critical and cannot be delayed. This is a critical section of State Highway 6 and, with no local road detours, or alternative highway alignments available, it is essential the slip is stabilised and fixed as soon as possible,’ Mr Service says.

These works are weather-dependent, and schedules may change. Updates will be provided as the project progresses.

Project schedule

30 June–Late July: Tree felling and access track construction
Late July–August/September: Slope stabilisation
September: Pavement repair, including roadside drainage and shoulder works
Mid-October: Road reopened and back to normal level of service