NZ Engine

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Navy Commodore has been awarded the Distinguished Service Decoration in the New Year Honours List.

The Distinguished Service Decoration has been instituted as a New Zealand Royal Honour to recognise military service.

Andrew Brown has been recognised for his leadership of New Zealand’s response to the grounding and subsequent sinking of HMNZS Manawanui in Samoa last year.

The Naval dive and hydrographic vessel ran aground while surveying a reef on the south coast of Upolu in October 2024.

It sank the following day.

The Citation said Brown acted as the liaison between New Zealand and Samoan authorities involved in the response, which addressed the initial impact assessment, environmental protection, salvage operations, diplomacy, and strategic implications of the sinking.

“He facilitated the Samoan-led response with an inclusive approach, engaging with leaders and providing constant progress feedback to Samoan authorities. This resulted in a high degree of trust being placed in New Zealand’s response, in a situation where the local community were concerned about the threat to their environment and livelihoods.

“He was Strategic Contract Manager for the NZDF’s oversight of salvage operations, had oversight of the deployed NZDF Task Group, and was a key advisor to the Maritime Pollution Advisory Committee that managed the Samoan national response. Commodore Brown’s leadership and diplomacy within the [Samoan] Maritime Pollution Advisory Committee and support to the Scientific Research Organisation of Samoa, with development and deployment of a water testing capability, positively influenced the decision to remove the precautionary zone and permit the community to return to fishing in the vicinity.”

Brown said that he was honoured and humbled to be recognised for his contribution to the response.

“But I must acknowledge the personnel from the New Zealand Defence Force, other government agencies, civilian contractors, and Samoan government officials that worked alongside me and supported me during the response.

“It was a very challenging and technical operation and there were not many days that I did not call upon my previous years of experience, training, and leadership, so I have many to thank and acknowledge.”

Brown has recently retired from regular service in the Navy, but remains a member of the Reserve Force.

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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 personal health portal ManageMyHealth has identified a cyber security breach.

The service connects patients with clinicians and allows people to access their medical records.

In a statement on its website, ManageMyHealth said the breach involved “unauthorised access to our systems”.

It said the matter was under active investigation and containment steps had been taken.

“We are working with our partners and relevant authorities and will provide further updates through formal statements as information is confirmed.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Consumer NZ is hopeful that electricity prices will improve in 2026, but does not expect much of a change.

The consumer advocacy group says investments in generating electricity and recent rain and snowfall bolstering hydro supply could keep prices down.

“We’re seeing some positive signs,” Consumer NZ Powerswitch manager Paul Fuge said.

“Gentailers (generator-retailers) have increased their investment in generation, which is really positive. Increasing supply and generation should help alleviate some of those high prices, in theory.”

But average New Zealanders wouldn’t see much difference, he said.

“I wouldn’t want to raise expectations there. I don’t think [prices] will decrease by much,” he said.

“We’d expect the price to at least stay static, if not a slight reduction. I would be surprised if prices increased next year, but I wouldn’t rule it out.”

He noted that many households had seen their power bills increase rapidly over the past year.

“Households are really feeling that, especially in a cost of living crisis. It’s an essential service. You can’t not have electricity, and so that’s hitting households and businesses pretty hard,” he said.

That was, in part, caused by a lack of competition.

“Close to 90 percent of the market is with one of the four gentailers or oil and gas subsidiaries,” he said.

“Independent generators and retailers really struggle to get a foothold, which sort of indicates that something’s not quite right with the structure of our retail market.”

Fuge hoped politicans would see electricity prices as a priority issue for the upcoming election.

“It will become a political issue. We feel there needs to be reform in the system, in the market, and that hasn’t happened. And so I think it will be an issue for politicians next year and not just us, lots of other organisations are also concerned about the price of energy and what it means for our economy,” he said.

“[The electricity market is] clearly not producing good results for businesses and households. You know, it’s been 25 years now since we put this retail market in, and the outcomes we’re seeing from that market are not aligned with what you’d expect from a thriving competitive market.”

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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 southbound lane of State Highway One near Takanini has been closed following a crash between a car and a motorbike on Wednesday afternoon.

Police said early indication suggests one person has been seriously injured.

The lanes between Hill Road and Takanini were closed.

NZTA said northbound lanes remained open, however heavy traffic is causing significant delays.

Southbound travellers can follow emergency services for detour routes.

The agency suggested motorists plan ahead and avoid the area if possible and to expect delays.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand has not joined an international statement warning the humanitarian situation in Gaza is rapidly deteriorating.

The statement, published overnight by the UK Foreign Office, describes conditions for civilians as “appalling” as winter approaches.

It said 1.3 million people urgently need shelter, and the majority of the population is experiencing acute food insecurity.

“More than half of health facilities are only partially functional and face shortages of essential medical equipment and supplies. The total collapse of sanitation infrastructure has left 740,000 people vulnerable to toxic flooding,” it said.

“Whilst the amount of aid going into Gaza has increased since the ceasefire, the response remains severely constrained by persistent impediments on humanitarian access.”

The statement was issued by the foreign ministers of Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

It called on the government of Israel to allow more aid to enter, and to allow NGOs and the UN and its partners to keep working in Gaza.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister had already put New Zealand’s views on the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza on the record “on a number of occasions”.

“We continue to call on the parties to exercise restraint, to fulfil their commitments, and to focus on the rapid and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid,” they said.

The ministry did not say whether New Zealand had been invited to join.

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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 Northland man who took his small boat into dangerous seas to rescue a yacht skipper says the conditions were “pretty hairy” and that his own vessel could easily have capsize too.

The police were called to the incident near Elizabeth Reef at around 5:10pm on Tuesday.

Coastguard National Operations Centre confirmed it received reports from members of the public about the capsized yacht.

A spokesperson said the person onboard was assisted by a nearby vessel, so Coastguard Tutukaka was not required to launch.

That nearby vessel belonged to Gordon Pengelly.

Pengelly was on his deck on Tuesday afternoon when he noticed a catamaran sailing past Elizabeth Reef in rough weather.

“It was so windy and rough I was thinking, ‘What are they doing out there?'” he said.

“It went down and back up and down again, and on the third time it didn’t come back up. I thought, ‘Oh, there’s something wrong there.'”

Pengelly, who said he was a confident boatie and longtime lifeguard, launched his boat and took his neighbour Dale with him.

“I told him this is going to be pretty hairy,” he said. “I’m a long-term lifeguard from the west coast at Muriwai and I know my limitations. If it got too dangerous, I wouldn’t push it.”

The pair alerted Coastguard to what they were doing and kept in touch along the way.

About two to three kilometres offshore, they located the overturned catamaran.

One hull was submerged, the other on its side. The skipper was sitting on the centre section, trying to get his dinghy.

“I backed up about three or four metres and said, ‘You have to swim out to me’.

“Dale grabbed him and we pulled him onboard.”

Pengelly said the skipper told him he was the only person on board and did not appear to be in shock.

“He’s an experienced yachtie,” he said. “Pretty bulletproof.”

The skipper’s dog, Rimu, had been onboard too wearing a bright orange life jacket but jumped from the dinghy and was last seen swimming toward shore.

Despite the conditions, Pengelly and Dale continued several kilometres along the coast searching for the dog before returning.

“I would’ve found it hard to just go straight back,” Pengelly said.

A community search for Rimu the dog continued, with locals responding to social media posts and using drones to scan the rugged coastline.

Pengelly’s generosity didn’t stop with the rescue, he opened his home to the skipper to stay the night and took him back to the catamaran, that has washed up upside down on Sandy Bay Beach, to salvage items from the vessel.

Paul Baragwanath, who alerted police to the boat and witnessed the rescue, commended Pengelly what jumping to action.

“He’s a very brave man because at any point his boat could have flipped.

“I think he’s a real hero.”

But Pengelly wouldn’t accept the title.

“I’m not a hero – it’s just in my DNA,” he said.

“When you’re a lifeguard and someone’s in trouble, you just go. But it wasn’t easy. It was fricking serious.”

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