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McDonald’s gets consent for 24-hour restaurant in Wānaka

Source: Radio New Zealand

An artist’s impression of the new McDonalds at Three Parks. Supplied

There’s a strong appetite for McDonalds to maintain an environmentally and “socially responsible” standard when it arrives in Wānaka, a community leader says.

The fast food giant was finally given the green light to develop a 450 square-metre 24 hour restaurant and drive-through in the Otago town.

On Thursday, the Queenstown-Lakes District Council finalised its decision to grant resource consent for a McDonalds at the commercial precinct Three Parks on Sir Tim Wallis Drive.

It follows a previous failed bid to obtain clearance to build a restaurant in rural zoning, along a highway passage into the township below Mt Iron – plans that were met with overwhelming resistance from locals.

Wānaka will soon have a McDonalds. (File photo) RNZ / Tess Brunton

Almost 93 percent of the 366 public submissions opposed the initial application.

Key concerns included the visual and aesthetic impact on the town, litter, as well as the area’s values about protecting the natural environment.

Commissioners declined the application in February last year.

The latest proposal was approved on a non-notified basis under the Resource Management Act, meaning public consultation was refused.

Queenstown-Lakes deputy mayor Quentin Smith said some concerns remained.

“There’s no question that McDonalds generates a lot of litter, probably more than most food providers. That remains a concern for a lot of people,” he said.

“We just hope that when they do come here they’re socially responsible operators and they do work hard to keep that under control.

“I’ve seen it first hand, a large distance around a McDonalds site you see litter and all sorts.”

Waste management had been raised as a concern by disgruntled community groups during earlier public submissions.

In his decision, council senior planner Ian Bayliss said the issue of waste generation effects generated from the proposal on the wider environment were considered to be “no more than minor”.

Relocating the planned site into a commercial zone went a long way in allaying other concerns, Smith said.

“The visibility and the character of Mt Iron and the entrance to Wānaka on a rural site were legitimate things that were considered under that previous application. They were largely the reasons it failed,” he said.

In a statement, McDonalds said it was pleased to be granted resource consent at Three Parks.

“We will now move on to the next stage of development and construction planning. As it stands, we are hopeful of opening the McDonald’s Wānaka restaurant in the next 12 months,” a spokesperson said.

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

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Prime Minister skipping Rātana to visit weather-hit regions

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Prime Minister will be visiting regions affected by severe weather. Angus Dreaver / RNZ

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has pulled out of Rātana celebrations on Friday to visit regions hard hit by this week’s weather bomb.

A spokesperson from his office confirmed Luxon was making arrangements to travel to East Cape and Bay of Plenty instead.

They said the Prime Minister had spoken to Rātana church leaders on Thursday afternoon who asked he pass on their well wishes to those affected by the storm.

The National Party will still be represented at Rātana by Nicola Willis and Tama Potaka.

Labour, the Greens, New Zealand First and Te Pāti Māori are expected to be at the event.

The ACT Party doesn’t typically attend Rātana.

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

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Two bodies recovered from slip at house in Papamoa

Source: Radio New Zealand

Damage on Welcome Bay Rd in Papamoa. RNZ / Jamie Troughton

Two bodies have been recovered from a landslide at Welcome Bay Rd, police confirmed.

Police earlier said two people were unaccounted for after a slip came down towards properties on the road overnight.

Another person at the property had been seriously injured.

At least one house on Welcome Bay Rd suffered damage in the early-morning slip, with others also evacuated.

Police said they were working to support the pair’s loved ones, and the deaths would be referred to the Coroner.

Emergency Management Minster Mark Mitchell confirmed the news during an interview with Australian news outlet ABC.

Meanwhile, multiple people remain unaccounted for at a Mt Maunganui campsite, after a large slip came down on campervans and a shower block just after 9.30am on Thursday.

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

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Two recovered from Welcome Bay property

Source: New Zealand Police

Two people have been recovered from a house on Welcome Bay Road, Papamoa, this evening after it was extensively damaged by a landslide early today.

Both people are sadly deceased.

Police are working to support their loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.

The deaths have been referred to the Coroner.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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Rent drops for first time in a decade, data shows

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington had the largest drop of the main centres, down 9.7 percent. (File photo) RNZ / REECE BAKER

New Zealand’s average weekly rent has dropped for the first time in a decade – but one representative for renters says it’s not necessarily a sign they have it easy.

Realestate.co.nz said, based on its data, the national average weekly rent was down 1.8 percent in 2025 compared to 2024.

Wellington had the largest drop of the main centres, down 9.7 percent. Auckland was down 2.5 percent.

Realestate.co.nz spokesperson Vanessa Williams said there were a few factors driving the change.

“Just after National got in, there was all this talk about legislative changes around the bright-line test, loan-to-value rules and interest deductibility.

“What we saw was a bunch of rental properties come off the market, be done up to get ready for sale, and then the realisation that the property market hadn’t moved at all in terms of price so they came back on to the rental market at an elevated price point because they had been done up.

“Then basically that was when we saw a real shift in the volume of listings coming on to the market and saw that shift to more properties than renters.

“You couple that with the increased exodus of people going outside of New Zealand, more specifically to the Australian market, especially people who would typically rent like tradies, frontline workers and nurses… and there is also this phenomenon of younger people just not moving out of home.”

Stats NZ data for December showed an annual drop in rents of 0.3 percent based on the flow measure of new rental properties, and growth of 0.1 percent in the stock measure.

But Realestate.co.nz data showed over the ten years to 2025, the national average was still up almost 50 percent.

“Over the past 10 years, the national average weekly rental price has shown consistent growth, from an average of $424 in 2015 to $638 in 2024. To see weekly rents fall 1.8 percent between 2024 and 2025 is a clear signal the market has shifted,” Williams said.

“We’re seeing the effects of sustained rental supply meeting softer demand. Rental prices will need to remain realistic to be competitive.”

Over the ten years to 2025, the national average rental price increased 47.8 percent compared to inflation of 35.3 percent over the same period.

Gisborne’s rent more than doubled over the decade, from $290 in 2015 to $641.

Southland and Manawatu/Whanganui also doubled.

Luke Somervell, spokesperson for Renters United, said the increase in national rent over 10 years was “extraordinary”.

“This $214 increase in just 10 years, that’s a lot of money for people. That’s a lot of cash, let alone the capital gains that people will also make when they cash in after they pay off their mortgages and so on.”

He agreed many of the young people who had left the country recently were likely to have been renters.

“The fact that it’s only dropped a couple of percent is not that encouraging, especially when we know the average wages haven’t even been able to keep pace with inflation…Maybe rents have decreased a little bit but it’s definitely not a party for renters at the moment, that’s for sure.”

He said no steps had been taken to help renters get a fair deal.

“They’re just sort of getting buffeted by these trends. And investors are happy about that… they’re looking at this and they’re thinking, great, we’re going to be able to cash in in the next 10 years. Hopefully this is just going to be a little dip for now. But don’t worry, you’ll still get your profits, no problem.”

He said more properties needed to be built, but people also needed to be supported to negotiate with their landlords and dispute their rents.

Williams said people who thought they were paying more than market rent could have a conversation with their landlords.

“Say ‘hey look, I’ve been looking around these other three-bedroom houses for $50 less a week, this week, can we have a little bit of negotiation here, I don’t really want to move, but I also would like to save myself $50 a week if I can do that…”

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

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Auckland FC call on several captains

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland FC have had Jake Brimmer, Hiroki Sakai and Francis de Vries all take the captain’s armband this season. Photosport

The captain’s armband has been on high rotation at Auckland FC this season.

Hiroki Sakai, Jake Brimmer and Francis de Vries have been captain at kick-off in different A-League matches. The trio have also all had been hit by injury of varying degrees.

Club captain Sakai will not play in Saturday’s home game against Central Coast Mariners as he returns to fitness from a hamstring injury.

Earlier this season Sakai injured a hamstring and spent the longest period of his professional career sidelined when he missed four matches spread across 41 days.

He then came off the bench in three games, started in three more before he once again succumbed to what coach Steve Corica said was a “slight strain, low grade” injury to that same hamstring.

“It’s more precautionary this week, it probably would have been pushing him as well, he’s an older player obviously we don’t want to force him we don’t want him to come back and do it again and be out for a longer period of time.”

Hiroki Sakai leaves the field in November with his first hamstring injury. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

Sakai could also miss next week’s away game against Perth Glory while the club weighed up taking the 36-year-old on the long journey.

Brimmer, who is Sakai’s first deputy, started as skipper three times this season but he has also dealt with two different injuries.

He started off the bench last week and got 19 minutes as he worked to get back into the starting lineup.

“I’ve had some upsets throughout the year, I did my shoulder and then my hamstring a couple of days before the Sydney game got cancelled so just trying to find my feet again and get to full fitness,” Brimmer said.

“I’m back full training now which is good and hopefully get more minutes in the legs this week.”

While Brimmer wanted to be playing he praised those who had filled in for him and other injured players this season.

“You look at the depth we have this year it’s pretty outrageous to be fair, you look at the bench and they could almost play in any other team in the league and it just shows the recruitment.”

Brimmer also felt the leadership duties could be spread among the squad members.

“You could put any one of the boys in our team as captain. It shows the spirit we have here as a team and how [close] as a group we are.”

Defender de Vries twice started a game as captain, once in November and again on New Year’s day, and has taken the armband during games when the other two players weren’t on the field, including early in last round’s loss against Melbourne City when Sakai went down.

Going into Auckland’s first home game after three on the road, de Vries is still sporting the wounds of a clash that he said he was “lucky” did not do more damage.

de Vries got blindsided in a tangle of bodies against City and ended up getting his head bandaged, an egg under his eye and a cut near his temple glued back together.

He played on despite taking the knock. It was the kind of resilience and leading by example that saw him given the captain’s armband.

“With the way football how it’s going now days more players within the squads are leaders and it’s a shared model without one person telling everyone else what to do, at least that’s how it feels in our changing room,” de Vries said.

“It’s nice to see different guys stepping up in different games in different ways because obviously guys have different roles on the field and they can lead in their different areas.”

Corica agreed with de Vries’ assessment of captaincy.

“For me it’s not really about who wears the armband, we’ve got a lot of senior players there they can all take responsibility and lead by example,” Corica said.

Corica believed some players had stepped up their leadership.

“It’s important that they grow as footballers, last year they probably didn’t do that, there is opportunity for them to do it now and take more responsibility on the field be more verbal, get a bit louder as well, and that will help them with their game as well.”

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

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Teenagers allegedly indecently assaulted at public pool in Auckland, police investigating

Source: Radio New Zealand

A police complaint has been laid about the alleged incident at Pt Erin Pools in Herne Bay. (File photo) Google Maps

Two teenagers were allegedly indecently assaulted at a public pool in Auckland this week, sparking a police investigation.

The pair were approached at the Pt Erin Pools in Herne Bay and had laid a complaint with police, Detective Senior Sergeant Vanessa Pratt said.

“We are in the process of speaking further with the young people to understand what has occurred and supporting them through the process,” she said.

“Inquiries are being made with staff working at the facility.”

Police were urging anyone who might have been at the pools on Tuesday and saw a man acting suspiciously to get in contact.

Know more? Email finn.blackwell@rnz.co.nz

Meanwhile, a parent of one of the boys told RNZ they had been told not to return to the pools for their own safety.

He said the lifeguard who was at the scene did not intervene.

“I feel so let down, to a point that, there’s nothing I can do…”

Auckland Council’s head of service partner delivery for pools and leisure, Garth Dawson, sincerely apologised to the boys involved and their families for the distressing experience.

“The council takes all reports of unacceptable behaviour seriously and is supporting the pool operator, Community Leisure Management (CLM), in their cooperation with the police inquiry,” he said.

Dawson said they would work closely with CLM to implement any improvement identified in the investigation to stop something like this happening again.

CLM’s general manager of marketing & business development Tom Mann said staff on the day reported no unusual behaviour, and were at no time required to intervene.

“We work hard to ensure our facilities are safe and welcoming spaces for all to enjoy,” he said.

“We’ll continue to work closely with the police and family as the matter is investigated.”

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

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Witness describes ‘real disaster’ as Mauao landslide strikes Mount Maunganui campground

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Canadian tourist staying at the Beachside Holiday Park says it was only later that he realised how close his family came to danger after a landslide tore through the campground at the base of Mauao, Mount Maunganui, leaving several people unaccounted for, including children.

Emergency services continue to search the site after the slip came down about 9.30am on Thursday, smashing into campervans, tents, vehicles and an ablution block near the Mount Hot Pools.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams have been working overnight in what authorities describe as a complex and high-risk environment.

Dion Siluch, who was visiting Mount Maunganui with his wife and two young daughters, told Checkpoint he was getting a massage inside the hot pools complex when the landslide struck.

“The whole room just started shaking, and we couldn’t quite figure out what was happening,” Siluch said.

“And for a moment we actually continued the massage until a big, large knock at the door happened and someone yelled and screamed emergency.”

When he looked outside, the scale of what had happened became clear.

“We looked out the window and saw a caravan landed about 30 feet from the front door of the massage room and the end of the mudslide,” he said.

Dion Siluch was getting a massage inside the hot pools complex when the landslide struck. Alan Gibson – GIBSON IMAGES LTD

“It was kind of disastrous… we could see that we were very close to being hit by the mudslide.”

Siluch said the scene was initially confusing, with some people struggling to grasp what they were seeing.

“It almost seemed like somebody had driven their caravan off the road and maybe it had rolled down the hill,” he said.

“But when you saw the mud, and you realised that it actually collapsed in the side of the hot pools and the retaining wall, it was like, ‘Oh, the mountain is collapsing’. This is a real disaster.”

Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell has confirmed a young girl is among those missing, and RNZ understands other children may also be unaccounted for. Police said the number of missing is in single figures.

Siluch said reactions among campers and bystanders were mixed in the immediate aftermath.

“Some people were ready to dig. Some people were wanting to take action. And then there was another camp of people that wanted to hike up the mount to get a clearer view,” he said.

“I recommend that they didn’t get anywhere near the mount because it could be unstable and it could come down again.

“There was a lot of confusion.”

Officials work at the scene of the landslide at the Beachside Holiday Park in Mt Maunganui. Alan Gibson / Gibson Images Ltd

Emergency services soon descended on the area, including helicopters.

“Search and rescue were flying quite low,” Siluch said.

“I believe they must have been looking for any signs of distress… the military helicopter arrived, and then the police helicopter arrived.”

He said a police helicopter landed about 30 feet from his cabin, which was used as a staging area, before campers were ordered to evacuate.

It was only later that the emotional impact of the near miss hit home.

“When I realised it was a landslide… my wife and my two daughters, who were four and one, were standing there and my wife was crying,” he said.

“She just wrapped her arms around me and said, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe you’re okay.'”

“Only then did it sink in that, oh, I was very close to danger,” Siluch said.

“It really took an hour for it to settle in and for me to understand how lucky I am.”

The slip at Mauao, Mount Maunganui as seen from the air. Screengrab / Amy Till

Siluch said there had been warnings after an earlier slip near the Mount’s lower walking track, which had been taped off and closed.

“They did a wonderful job of protecting people from the first landslide,” he said.

“I think the second one, I don’t think anyone saw that coming… I don’t think there was even an indication that any of us were at risk.”

Fire and Emergency said USAR teams are continuing to remove layers of debris carefully, supported by heavy machinery and sniffer dogs.

Authorities have urged the public to stay away from the area while the search continues and geotechnical assessments are carried out.

The Mount Maunganui Surf Life Saving Club is being used as a triage and evacuation centre, and the rest of the campground has been evacuated as investigations and rescue efforts continue.

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

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Watch: Weather leaves trail of destruction with flooding and slips across the North Island

Source: Radio New Zealand

Days of downpours have caused widespread damage to multiple areas of the North Island this week with Whangārei, Thames-Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, Hauraki and Tairāwhiti experiencing the brunt.

Footage showing the level of devastation for communities has come in from Gisborne, Northland, Whitianga and Tauranga.

Thousands have spent Thursday without power, mostly on the East Coast, and people remain missing in Auckland, Mt Maunganui and Pāpāmoa.

MetService had now cancelled its red heavy rain warnings, but states of emergency remained in place for Northland, Coromandel, Tairāwhiti, Bay of Plenty and Hauraki.

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

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Appeal for information following assault, Nelson

Source: New Zealand Police

Police are appealing for witnesses of an assault in Nelson earlier this month, to come forward.

On Saturday 10 January, Police received a report that a person had been assaulted the night before [Friday 9 January], around 11pm, on Collingwood Street.

The victim sustained serious injuries and is understandably very shaken by the incident.

Police are wanting to speak with a man and a woman who potentially witnessed the assault and tried to help the victim.

If this was you, or if you have any information that can assist Police in our enquiries, please contact 105, either online or over the phone, and reference file number 260110/8205.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre