Source: New Zealand Police
A section of Mangawhai Road has been closed following a school bus fire.
Police assistance was requested at 3.55pm.
The bus has caught fire near the intersection with Carter Road, south of the Mangawhai township.
Police can advise all 20 people aboard, 19 children and one driver, are all safe and accounted for.
The road is expected to be reopened once the scene is cleared.
ENDS
Jarred Williamson/NZ Police
Source: New Zealand Government
The Government is further protecting productive land by committing nearly $28 million for erosion control projects, Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay announced today.
Applications for funding support under the Hill Country Erosion Programme (HCEP) opened today, and councils across the country are invited to submit proposals for eligible projects. This round allocates $27.8 million for erosion control work to be delivered between 2027 and 2031.
The programme helps reduce the impacts of severe weather, protect soil health, and limit downstream damage.
“This programme is one of our most effective tools for supporting farmers and growers to protect their land and prepare for future storms,” Mr McClay says.
“We want to continue safeguarding productive farmland around the country, while reducing the environmental and economic impacts of erosion on local communities.”
Cabinet established the programme in 2007 and Te Uru Rākau – New Zealand Forest Service’s current $25.2 million investment (2023–2027) is supported by $87 million in cash and in-kind contributions from 14 partner councils and from landowners, reflecting their strong support.
The funding went towards the councils delivering regionally tailored programmes that include treating vulnerable land, working with landowners to create farm-scale erosion control plans, and building regional capability.
Information on the HCEP and the 2023-2027 regional programmes can be found here: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/forestry/funding-tree-planting-research/hill-country-erosion-programme
Source: Radio New Zealand
The changes bring ASB and Kiwibank into line with all other major banks. SUPPLIED
Fast changes in wholesale interest rates have seen ASB and Kiwibank become the last of the major bank lenders to hike their longer term fixed home loan rates.
ASB’s increases range between 10 to 20 basis points for loans fixed between 1 and 3 years, while Kiwibank has made adjustments to its 2 to 5 year rates. Both banks have shaved a little off their six month offering.
The changes bring ASB and Kiwibank into line with all other major banks, which have also bumped up rates in recent weeks.
ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley says the switch from talk of cuts to possible interest rate hikes in the Reserve Bank’s latest outlook has compelled markets to adjust pricing.
“We’ve seen for 2 year rates, a good 50 basis point increase in wholesale rates and nearly 60 for the 3 year, since the Reserve Bank’s statement last year, so to date the moves we’ve seen with mortgage rates aren’t really keeping up with that yet.”
Nick Tuffley says all banks are seeing similar impacts on their funding costs, leading them to pass on the increases to borrowers.
“I think the key message for people is that period of really low interest rates, super low interest rates, has gone, but the market’s settling into a reality of the cash rate’s likely to be on hold for most of this year, but we’re past the lows now,”
While tough for borrowers, savers will benefit from higher term deposit rates across the board, with banks looking to attract funding. Term deposit rates beyond the 9 month mark have had a significant adjustment, up anywhere between 5 and 35 basis points.
“Not too long ago, you could get a 2 year mortgage for not less than 4 and 4.5 percent,” says Nick Tuffley.
“Now you can put money on deposit for two years at 4% percent so quite a catch-up.”
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: Radio New Zealand
Wellington Mayor Andrew Little. RNZ / Mark Papalii
Wellington’s mayor is hopeful the government will back his calls for an inquiry into the Moa Point sewage plant failure.
Mayor Andrew Little is meeting with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday, where the sewage facility will be a focus of conversation.
It flooded last week, destroying much of the plant’s electronics and sending raw sewage into the nearby south coast.
Wellington Water’s chief executive has warned nearby beaches may be shut for months.
Little told Midday Report there was large public interest in the failure, meeting the level of a government inquiry.
“Given the range of parties involved… in order to have a genuinely cohesive, independent review, I think a ministerial inquiry is needed,” Little said.
“That allows the inquiry to have the powers to get the right information and give us an accurate assessment about the causes of the failures.”
Little hopes discussions with Luxon are constructive.
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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 homicide investigation is underway. (File photo) RNZ / Richard Tindiller
A 24-year-old man has appeared in court charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, after a woman was found dead in a Kāpiti Coast house.
Police were called to the Matatua Rd address in Raumati Beach at 1.15am on Monday.
A homicide investigation was underway, and police were considering further charges against the man.
He appeared in Porirua District Court on Monday afternoon, and was due back in court in early March.
His name was suppressed.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
The government says a Liquefied Natural Gas import facility in Taranaki will save New Zealanders about $265 million a year.
Energy Minister Simon Watts on Monday announced a contract was expected to be signed by the middle of the year, with construction finishing next year or early 2028.
A factsheet supplied by the government said the infrastructure costs would be paid for through a levy on electricity of between $2 and $4 /MWh.
The facility was expected to cut future prices by at least $10/MWh, and curb an expected 1.25 percent reduction in Gross Domestic Product from higher energy prices.
While an exact location for the import facility was yet to be determined, all the shortlisted submissions were in Taranaki, Watts said.
Procurement started in October in response to the independent Frontier report, which the government largely rejected.
The report said developing an import facility would make no economic sense if it was used only for firming, when generation is low.
Watts said the government would design an import model bringing in “large shipments only when needed”, and would later become a “fuel source for industrial, commercial and residential users”.
The factsheet said modelling from MBIE had shown the LNG import facility would “effectively cap gas prices”.
MBIE also modelled four other options for cost, timeliness, impact on energy prices, flexibility and wider impacts – but LNG imports were found to achieve lower electricity prices at relatively low capital cost.
Options modelled included a new thermal generation plant to run on coal or biomass; a combination of new and converted ‘peaking’ plant, that would run on diesel; a combination of a new unit at the Huntly power station, new and converted peaking plants, and a demand response; or a combination of LNG importation and refurbishing the Taranaki Combined Cycle plant.
“Other options, including renewable projects, were considered but not advanced due to a range of factors such as expected time to construct, feasibility of generating power reliably on the required scale, and effects on electricity market incentives.”
Luxon in August 2024 said New Zealand was in an “energy security crisis”, with Winstone and Oji Fibre mills blaming power prices as they began consulting on closures, and NZ First’s Shane Jones accused the gen-tailers of profiteering.
He announced “urgent” actions including an independent review of the sector and removing regulatory barriers for an LNG import facility, which Cabinet agreed to consent.
At that time, a timeframe of winter 2026 was expected.
The government largely rejected the recommendations of the review carried out by Frontier Economics, with sector players including Simon Bridges criticising a lack of bold action.
“It would make no economic sense to develop an LNG import terminal to meet just dry year risk as the large fixed costs would be spread over a relatively small amount of output,” the Frontier report said.
“If an LNG terminal is contemplated as a last resort to provide NZ with a secure energy system, this should be considered as part of a wider gas supply strategy for communities and industrial users where gas is the most economic source of energy.”
Energy Minister Simon Watts at the time said the government would begin procurement the following week and expected to have the facility up and running by winter 2027.
An earlier report in July for the four major gen-tailers Contact, Meridian, Genesis and Mercury – as well as gas company Clarus – found it could take three to four years to set up an import facility at costs ranging from $200m to $1b.
RNZ In-Depth’s Kirsty Johnston in November reported the response from “almost every corner – other than the gas industry itself – was a collective groan”, with sector commentators calling it a “band-aid” solution that “doesn’t make logical sense”.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
RNZ / Marika Khabazi
More AA Insurance customers say they’ve encountered strange changes to their vehicles’ value when their policies renewed.
RNZ reported at the weekend that one woman, Nicki, was upset that the value of her 24-year-old Subaru had increased two-and-a-half times when the policy renewed this year.
AA said it relied on an independent third-party data provider to provide vehicle values. “From time to time, this provider updates their methodology and data sources to ensure the valuations reflect the most accurate and up-to-date market conditions.
“When this happens, customers may see changes, either increases or decreases, in their proposed agreed values at renewal. We encourage customers to get in touch if they would like to discuss their proposed value or agree on a different value with us.”
One man who contacted RNZ said he had a 2003 Subaru Forester insured with AA Insurance that had an agreed value in 2024 of $6500.
“Last year, 2025, AA decided it should be only $2700, a sudden and completely unexpected 58 percent drop in agreed value. I was unable to find any data to support that valuation, complained, and eventually got a helpful staff member who explained that they use a third-party Australian service to value cars. I requested an agreed value of $6000. Fine.
“Now, this year. I have just received an insurance renewal notice with an agreed value of $9900, a whopping 3.67 times the agreed value they pushed one year ago, and, bizarrely, 10 percent more than I paid for the car 11 years ago. Once again I have been completely unable to find any data to support that valuation, and around $6000 to $7000 seems a reasonable agreed value range.”
Another said there seemed to be “something odd” going on.
“I’ve had a 2006 Audi A6 for six years, at the last renewal AA reduced the value of the car to about a third of my estimated value, without highlighting this at the time. I found this underhanded. This meant I was paying about $900 to insure a car for a maximum payout of $1500, with a $500 excess. They refused to raise the value.
“I had the same issue insuring a 2007 Audi A3, they’d only cover it for half what we paid.”
Consumer NZ insurance expert Rebecca Styles said insurers would usually offer the option of either market value or agreed value for car insurance.
“If people aren’t happy with the agreed value, they could shop around.”
She said it could be possible to find another insurer that took a different view.
Financial Services Complaints Ltd, an ombudsman service that deals with complaints that cannot be resolved between financial services providers and customers, has previously said it is important that people read their policies and understand the cover they have.
It has dealt with a number of cases where people have been upset at what insurers were willing to pay for their vehicles.
In one case, a man bought a specialist vehicle that he believed was insured for $39,000.
In late 2023 the vehicle was destroyed and he was upset to find the insurer would only pay $24,000.
He said his insurance broker had not made it clear he only had market value cover. FSCL investigated and said it was hard to see how well this had been disclosed to him.
The brokers offered to pay the difference between the market value of the car and the amount he would have received if it had been insured for agreed value. The policy said this would be market value plus 20 percent, or $4800.
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Source: New Zealand Police
State Highway 1, south of Palmerston is partially blocked following a single vehicle crash.
Emergency services recieved reports of the crash about 2:40pm.
Traffic management is in place and motorists should expect delays.
ENDS
Issued by the Police Media Centre.
Source: Radio New Zealand
Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny turned the Super Bowl into a giant street party, delivering his hits on one of the world’s biggest stages – and becoming the first-ever halftime show headliner to sing only in Spanish.
Anticipation was high for the 31-year-old’s set, amid rampant speculation about whether he would use his platform to renew his criticism of President Donald Trump’s administration in front of tens of millions of viewers.
Just a week ago at the Grammys, where he won the coveted Album of the Year prize, Bad Bunny made a searing statement about Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, earning cheers for saying “ICE out” from the stage.
Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny performs during Super Bowl LX Patriots vs Seahawks Apple Music Halftime Show.
AFP / Patrick T Fallon
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Lake Taupō 123rf
Lake Taupō’s harbourmaster has issued a warning to a teenager in charge of a boat that caught fire just before Christmas.
The 14-year-old leapt in the water off Kinloch and multiple boats and a helicopter spent about an hour rescuing him.
Police at the time said that without a lifejacket he was “lucky to survive”.
They also said it was “incredibly frustrating” given the bylaw restrictions on people under 15 driving boats.
The harbourmaster said they talked to the owner of the boat about the age limit and asked for an incident report.
“After consideration, the harbourmaster did not issue an infringement to the operator of the vessel (14-year-old). The harbourmaster took an educational approach and gave a warning.”
The rescue was marked by police first cancelling a chopper that was good to go, then almost half an hour later – after volunteer firefighters had motored out to look at the burning boat – calling it in to find the boy who had floated at least a kilometre away.
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