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Why has my investment performed so poorly? Ask Susan

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ money correspondent Susan Edmunds. RNZ

Got questions? RNZ has launched a podcast, ‘No Stupid Questions’, with Susan Edmunds.

We’d love to hear more of your questions about money and the economy. You can send through written questions, like these ones, but even better, you can drop us a voice memo to our email questions@rnz.co.nz.

You can also sign up to RNZ’s new money newsletter, ‘Money with Susan Edmunds’.

I was interested to read your comments regarding how some portfolios have performed in Sharesies. The most disappointing for me is the Top 50 ETF.

Diversify, spread the risk has been the call. Surely the top 50 will achieve this?

I’ve been in negative territory since 2021, $500 per year dividends on a $20,000 investment is only 2.5 percent, more than swallowed by the losses. If the NZ sharemarket is going so well, why is the Top 50 a dog?

I think the main issue here is that, although sharemarkets around the world have been going well lately, the same can’t really be said for New Zealand’s.

Morningstar data director Greg Bunkall said the local market had underperfomed most of its peers.

He said, if you’ve been hearing stories about stocks soaring, that’s probably a US story – not a New Zealand one.

“The US stock market is very tech focussed, so all the advancements around AI and other technologies are being felt in those markets, and less so here.

“While the NZX is very diversified across the available NZ listed companies, it’s not diversified geographically and contains little of the technology plays that exist in other markets. There are other broad market ETFs that can achieve this by gaining exposure to more global markets and sectors.”

Kernel founder Dean Anderson said the price movement return on the NZX in the past three years was negative, when annualised to the end of April.

It was positive, when it was assumed dividends were re-invested with gross imputation credits factored in.

“The picture isn’t quite as bleak as the share price alone suggests, but you’re right that it has been a disappointing stretch.”

He said real diversification would mean spreading your money across sectors and countries.

“Each year, it is typically a different country at the top of the best-performing markets and the best-performing sectors rotate too. Don’t try to pick them – just be spread across markets.

“A combination of index funds or even a single low-fee High Growth fund will do that efficiently. For example, the Kernel High Growth fund is a mix of index funds with exposure to NZ, but also spread across global developing and emerging countries and sectors, and its return after fees has been 16.57 percent per annum over the same three years to the end of April.

“There is still a role for NZ equities – they’re more tax-efficient for NZ investors to hold locally compared to global shares – but we don’t have all the sectors here and we have very little exposure to big tech, which is exactly why you need to mix it up.”

He said it was also worth keeping an eye on fees.

“If you’re paying brokerage to buy an index fund and then paying brokerage again on every distribution re-investment, fees of up to 1.9 percent can materially eat into your return.”

I’m interested to know whether ANZ has been paying the correct interest on their personal Serious Saver account. According to their webpage, there is a premium rate payable, if no more than one withdrawal is made during the month.

I’m sure this was how it worked earlier on, but at some stage, I realised that they were counting the tax on interest as a withdrawal, therefore if I did any withdrawal, the account did not qualify for the bonus interest.

Since tax on interest is a given, I haven’t received the bonus interest for years. I rang a couple of times to try to clarify whether I was correct, but have never received an adequate answer.

I do an automatic deposit of $20 monthly into the account.

We’ve had a bit of coverage lately of problems with bonus saver accounts, namely that a lot of people do not meet the necessary criteria to get the full advertised bonus interest rate.

In your case, ANZ tells me that tax is not counted as a withdrawal from Serious Saver. If you deposit at least $20 a month and don’t make a withdrawal yourself, you will qualify for the bonus rate, but if you make one withdrawal a month, you won’t.

This may be your issue and highlights why it’s important that banks make it clear to customers what they must do to get the bonus rate.

Rightly or wrongly, for the past four or so years, I have managed most of my savings through short-term term deposits. I am retired and not really one for risky investments.

What I have liked about the term deposits at Kiwibank was how easy it was to open these and to keep an overview of them. I have mostly used six-month terms, mainly because I was unsure what the future would bring.

The deposits are in the $5000-10,000 each range.

Suddenly, two weeks ago, I could not open a new term deposit. I have been in contact with Kiwibank several times and basically I can no longer open a term deposit myself, because I have run out of suffix numbers.

From now on, I can only open a new one at Kiwibank through a secure email or by ringing them. Neither option suits me, so I have started opening term deposits at other banks.

Through a Google search last night, I discovered that others have had the same experience with Kiwibank, and blame a poor and outdated IT system, and general Kiwibank attitude.

Kiwibank doesn’t seem to be concerned about the fact that I am taking my savings away from them to other banks.

Not sure what to do, other than continuing to remove my savings to other banks once the term deposit term has expired.

Kiwibank says, in some circumstances, customers who have a large number of term deposits can reach a system limit that affects their ability to “self serve” online.

It recognises this can be frustrating, but there do not seem to be any solutions, beyond what you’ve already identified.

“Importantly, this does not prevent customers from opening or holding term deposits with Kiwibank. Where this limit is reached, our team can assist by setting up term deposits through secure mail in the mobile app, over the phone or in one of our branches.

“Our focus is on making sure this small number of customers continue to receive the support they need to manage their savings and access our products.”

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

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Education Minister Erica Stanford promises update on social media ban in June

Source: Radio New Zealand

Education Minister Erica Stanford aims to introduce legislation this year. RNZ / Marika Khabazi

Education Minister Erica Stanford promises an update on the government’s plans for a social media ban for under-16s next month.

Coalition partner ACT says the situation remains a “mess that needs to be tidied up”, meaning the future of the project remains in some doubt.

Stanford told RNZ papers for her wider programme of work on countering the harms of social media were going through cabinet and the government would have more to say “next month”.

“The government is steadily progressing with work on social media and online harm policy, and due to this, Catherine Wedd’s Member’s Bill is being deprioritised in place of wider work,” she said.

“Parents and New Zealanders are acutely aware of the potential harms of social media. We share these concerns and will have more to say on the work that is progressing in due course.”

She said she was still “aiming to introduce legislation this year”.

That ambition falls short of Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s previous commitment to introduce something before the election.

“Certainly before the term, yes, we’ll have our first go at making sure we can put the ban for under-16s in place and then I suspect it will be one of those issues that require ongoing work as well,” Luxon told RNZ in November.

RNZ approached the PM’s office for comment clarifying whether his commitment still held true, and whether it was merely a commitment to introduce legislation or to have the ban “in place” before the election.

“The Prime Minister was referring to the introduction of legislation,” a spokesperson said. “It is still the government’s aim to do that before the election – that has not changed.”

ACT’s opposition to a ban had prevented National from passing it as a government bill, resulting in Wedd’s member’s bill.

If Stanford’s work will make Wedd’s bill redundant – as seems likely from the public comments so far – she and National will still need to work out how to get her government bill through cabinet, potentially without the ACT Party.

Confusion reigns over member’s bill’s future

The National MP whose member’s bill was designed to progress that work – Catherine Wedd – also sent a statement to RNZ.

Catherine Wedd’s member’s bill has been delayed. VNP/Louis Collins

“My bill has been put on hold, while the minister is progressing a government bill and a broader piece of work,” she said. “This bill is aiming to be introduced this year,” she said.

“I’m very happy the minister is progressing this work to ban social media for under-16s. Please contact the minister’s office for further comment.

“Thanks for your interest in this issue.”

She did not respond to questions about whether she would lodge a new bill, given her current one would be superseded by Stanford’s work.

Stanford’s office also would not say whether Wedd’s member’s bill – which remained on Parliament’s order paper this week – would be withdrawn or when.

Labour had offered tentative support for Wedd’s bill. Spokesperson Reuben Davidson had lodged his own member’s bill, pushing for greater regulation of social media in New Zealand, more transparency and “safety by design”.

He told RNZ Labour had not been approached by anyone from National about the matter and, with Wedd’s member’s bill on hold, the plan for legislation was unclear.

“It seems really confused at the moment, as to what they’re doing and why,” he said. “They had a plan, apparently it’s changed, but it’s a confusing process.

“Age restriction is part of the solution – there are lots of other tools and levers that we can put into legislation.”

ACT Party spokesperson Parmjeet Parmar told RNZ the work at the select committee “was not done properly” and the party would not “jump to conclusions without doing that work properly”.

“It is clear that Erica Stanford had not thought through this properly before, so it’s good that it is put on hold for more work to be done on this and it is actually their own backbencher’s mess that needs to be tidied up, because we had this real opportunity to do this work on select committee and it didn’t happen.”

Parmar said ACT’s objections to the ban included that it could erode privacy and freedoms.

“The goal of the ban is to protect people from the harm they experience online, right? If people are still going to stay online, that means we will not be protecting them.

“Actually, we will be pushing them into darker corners of internet, where they are fewer safeguards, and they will also not be sharing their experience, if they encounter anything that’s harmful.

“In reports from Australia and the UK, we have seen young girls using make-up to bypass restrictions. In the UK, we have seen reports of young boys drawing moustache to bypass restrictions and staying online.”

The wider programme

Stanford’s wider programme of work has been going on some time. In December, just two months after Wedd’s bill was introduced, the minister said it would provide “real teeth” to back up a simple ban, which children could easily evade.

She was considering options like a new regulator or child protection legislation in line with some other countries.

ACT Party spokesperson Parmjeet Parmar told RNZ the work done at select committee “was not done properly”. RNZ / Blessen Tom

Those comments responded to an interim report from the select committee inquiry. The final report was delivered last week, prompting a lengthy debate in Parliament – with 18 speeches from various parties providing their views.

Green MP Tamatha Paul had attended a separate hearing at the Waitangi Tribunal to bring attention to the online abuse faced by young people and women in politics.

She told Midday Report it was not as simple as having an age limit like there is for purchasing alcohol, “because you have to go into a shop and they are regulated, and there are rules”.

“You do need to provide things like IDs and go in there to access it, whereas with a phone and with the internet, that’s an unregulated beast. Whether it’s social media, even whether it’s things like Roblox or Minecraft that young people are on, those are unregulated beasts.”

She said minority groups like rainbow or disability communities also used social media to connect to each other, and an outright ban would not recognise those positive aspects.

“There has to be something done, but I think an outright ban wouldn’t have been effective, especially talking to under-16-year-olds. It’s about holding those platforms to account and expecting them to have stricter rules, if they want to operate.”

Paul said that could involve having a conversation with social media platforms and laying out the conditions they would be expected to operate under, including facing regulation – and not just for young people.

“Online spaces are not safe,” she said. “There might be some opponents out there that say, ‘Oh, you know, just toughen up and don’t go online’.

“Well, that’s not fair that entire cohorts of young people or women can’t engage in one of the primary ways that humans connect these days, because it’s not safe for them.”

Stanford’s work appears to agree, aiming to bring about a more systemic change that a ban alone could not achieve. Paul did not respond to questions about whether the Greens could support a bill with all their desired regulation, if it still included a ban.

Labour’s Reuben Davidson pledged support for Catherine Wedd’s bill. VNP / Phil Smith

Labour’s Reuben Davidson re-affirmed his party’s support for Wedd’s bill, but noted it would not be a silver bullet.

“On its own, we could support it, but we wouldn’t expect it to solve all of the issues, and that’s why we’ve talked about the need for an independent regulator for transparency and for safety by design.”

Parmar refused to say whether the party backed any additional regulation for social media companies, saying any “new policies come from our leader”.

“ACT Party stands for fewer regulations, but we also know that regulation should be proportionate,” she said. “We will see what is being proposed.

“We are not able to make any comment, but again, we will be taking into consideration people’s privacy freedom and, of course, balancing that with young people’s safety online.”

Parmar – who is not in Cabinet – said she had no insights from National on what Stanford would propose.

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

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Country Life: Spawning day at Akaroa King Salmon

Source: Radio New Zealand

Stewart Hawthorn (left) and hatchery manager Hagen Kocksch remove the eggs from a female salmon. RNZ/Anisha Satya

Making salmon babies is like mixing a potion.

You take some eggs, add milt, and stir them around in a bucket – at least, that’s how the Akaroa King Salmon hatchery team do it.

As simple as it sounds, getting spawning day right is crucial for the business, chief executive Stewart Hawthorn said.

“From this hatchery, we support 75 jobs, a turnover of more than $35 million; $20 million of that is export earnings for New Zealand.

“It’s critically important for us.”

Akaroa King Salmon chief executive Stewart Hawthorn. RNZ/Anisha Satya

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The Waiau hatchery was first set up in 1987, diverting water from the Rotherham Stream to support raising small fish.

“Originally the idea was that they’d grow, sort of, plate-sized salmon for people to buy and eat,” Hawthorn said.

It was purchased by Akaroa King Salmon in 2023, which now uses it to hatch eggs and raise fish to a smolt stage.

After that, the fish are transported to Akaroa Harbour and ocean-reared for 16 months

“They spawn in freshwater, so you have to start them in freshwater, and then you finish growing in the sea,” Hawthorn said, “So that’s what we replicate when we do it here.”

New technology at the hatchery ensures there are always fish in the tanks, like a water chilling system for egg storage.

Some recently harvested King Salmon eggs – they’re very delicate at this stage. RNZ/Anisha Satya

“We can cool down the egg temperature. That means some of the eggs from this [spawn] will take a lot longer to develop… so we can spread out our harvests, effectively.”

Other additions help improve water quality and aeration, which help keep the fish calm.

This year, the hatchery is rolling out a special breeding programme, focused on increasing genetic diversity.

Akaroa Salmon hatchery manager Hagen Kocksch. RNZ/Anisha Satya

“Those are ‘families’ we are creating,” Hatchery Manager Hagen Kocksh said.

“We know the pedigree of those fish, and we have genotyped them, so we know [their] specific characteristics.

“Later on, we will focus on traits, genetic traits, like growth, resilience, temperature tolerance.”

Headed by the Cawthron Institute, the programme aims to build tastier fish and ensure there are King Salmon around to be eaten in the future.

Advanced technology helps in some ways – but when it comes to actually harvesting and fertilising eggs, human hands make light work.

Female fish are checked by hatchery staff for ‘ripeness’, or whether the eggs are loose and ready for release, by a feel of the belly.

Ripe fish are euthanised and the eggs released into a bucket, aided by some pressure from an air pump.

The male fish are essentially ‘milked’- given a light squeeze – to release their milt into individual containers.

Akaroa King Salmon hatchery assistent manager Henry Wilson examines fish milt to determine which males have the best chance of producing high quality fish. RNZ/Anisha Satya

And then, like a potion, the two are mixed together.

Akaroa King Salmon broodstock – breeding fish. RNZ/Anisha Satya

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

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Country Life: Northland’s storms test award-winning farm with ‘million-dollar’ herd

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fence covered in flood debris RNZ/Sally Round

Last year’s win of a prized trophy for Māori farmers is still sinking in for Northland farm trustee Wess Wetere.

“Having a million-dollar herd and having made a profit was something we looked forward to in five years, not three – none of us were really farmers.”

Whangaroa Ngaiotonga Trustee Wess Wetere RNZ/Sally Round

The farm, owned by the Whangaroa Ngaiotonga Trust, was awarded the Ahuwhenua Trophy in 2025 for its beef operation near the settlement of Whangaruru on a finger of land jutting out from Northland’s east coast.

“We knew what a cow was and a bull was, but we didn’t know whether we’re going to milk cows, whether we were going to do what the previous tenant did,” Wetere told Country Life during a tour of the farm.

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In 2020, with the help of a $900,000 Provincial Growth Fund grant, the trust turned a calving operation on a degraded block of land into a beef fattening farm running 950 young bulls on 350 hectares.

The 1100-hectare block also includes native and exotic forest and wetlands.

They were able to bring the land back from the brink, tidy it up by removing 60 hectares of gorse, setting up a 40-kilometre network of pipes to supply troughs and put in 57 kilometres of fencing.

It was the culmination of decades of alienation from the land for some 1300 Ngātiwai shareholders.

Young bulls in a paddock, part of the Whangaroa Ngaiotonga Trust’s beef herd RNZ/Sally Round

“We basically had no fertiliser for many years, there was only one or two troughs, the fencing was in poor state, gorse took up over a third of the farm,” Wetere said,

“It’s taken a lot to get the pasture quality up and control our gorse as well, but we’re getting there,” farm manager Matthew Payne said.

Kirean Wetere and farm manager Matthew Payne standing at one of the highest points of the farm RNZ/Sally Round

But just as the farm was rehabilitated, it was hit by a devastating deluge in January, a huge setback, but one Payne and his team have taken in their stride.

“It ripped out a lot of infrastructure, laneways, fences, water pumps, and we just got a lot of mud pulled out of swamps and blocked access ways to the farm.

“We had to do a lot of walking and a little bit of kayaking to shift cattle.”

A creek near the farm, near Whangaruru, in full flood in January 2026. It is normally two metres wide. Supplied

A slip scars a hillside on the farm after January’s heavy rainfall

Shifting cattle was a 40-minute job instead of five minutes “when we kind of didn’t have a lot of time”.

The farm was still recovering during Country Life’s visit in the autumn. Larger culverts had been installed and roads were being rebuilt with material from the on-farm quarry.

Payne said the new drains had helped the farm come through more heavy rain events over the past few months.

The team is aware climate challenges will not be going away but still sees “heaps of potential” for the whenua, Wetere said.

Aside from beef, horticulture and agritourism – such as mountain biking on the forest tracks – were some of the ideas being floated.

Analysis pointed to a more tropical environment, with even crops like mangoes a possibility, he said.

Learn more:

  • Find out about the Ahuwhenua Trophy here

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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 beat Adelaide United to secure first A-League grand final appearance

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland FC’s Jake Girdwood-Reich helped silence the Adelaide crowd and get Auckland FC into the grand final. Sarah Reed/Getty Images

Auckland FC shut out Adelaide United’s attack and the outside noise to secure their first A-League grand final appearance.

An achievement that coach Steve Corica has been striving towards since he joined the club three years ago, when he had no players, no equipment and no confirmed home ground, but also leaves the veteran of the league a little bit torn about what he wants to happen next.

A 3-0 win in the second semifinal in Adelaide on Friday night was a result that defied the odds.

It was the first time Auckland had scored three goals in 90 minutes since late February, and the first clean sheet in the same length of time.

It ended Adelaide’s 11-game unbeaten streak and silenced a sold-out home crowd that had not seen the Reds lose at Coopers Stadium on a Friday this season.

For Corica the 4-1 victory on aggregate goals with his “walking wounded” squad was a way to keep the doubters quiet and prove he had the right plan to get the club to the very last game of the season.

“It was a very big talk that we had this week leading into the game, we knew everyone wrote us off so that was motivation,” Corica said.

“But we knew what we had in the changing room.

“We know we’ve had our fair share of injuries, and we still have, but we showed the depth in the squad as well.”

Corica praised the defensive efforts that limited Adelaide’s attack to just one shot on target in a match that history suggested could have ended in a draw like it did in Auckland last week.

“We defended really well, we set up well, the boys were animals really.

“We did well in both boxes and I’m extremely proud of the effort, the performance as well.

“We know they’re a good footballing team but we didn’t allow them to play their stuff.”

After falling short at the semifinal stage last season, despite winning the Premiers Plate, Corica said the team had learned from the experience.

“We wanted to remain calm coming into the game as well. We didn’t want to get too excited about it because then we don’t perform at a good level.

“But the boys, you could see they were up for it from the start defensively.”

As most clubs across the league would have, Corica and the players had set out a goal of getting to – and winning – the grand final this season.

Where Corica is conflicted is about who he wants his side to face in the biggest game of the season.

The other semifinal, between Newcastle Jets and Sydney FC, will be played on Saturday night in Newcastle.

If Sydney win, Auckland will host the grand final.

If Newcastle win, Auckland will be on the road to McDonald Jones Stadium with the opportunity to lift silverware for the second season in a row.

Corica said it would be “very nice” to be playing at home in a grand final – the only catch is it would be against the club he played, captained, coached and won A-League titles for.

“It’s also going to be a little bit emotional if that happens.”

By winning in front of a parochial Adelaide crowd on Friday, Auckland further cemented their road form this season so Corica was also prepared to take on the reigning premiers at their home ground.

Wherever Auckland’s history-making match takes place next week, Corica and players are one win away from securing the trophy that has been missing from their cabinet.

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100 games later: The Wellington Phoenix journey from wooden spooners to grand finalists

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mackenzie Barry of Wellington Phoenix poses with the A-League women trophy at Melbourne’s AAMI Park. AAP / Photosport

Wellington Phoenix’s first A-League grand final appearance has been years in the making.

After a record-breaking season, the women finished the regular season in second place to qualify for the playoffs for the first time.

To secure a place in the grand final, they had to come back from a one-goal deficit to beat Brisbane Roar after ,extra time on aggregate goals across the two-legged home and away playoff.

The grand final also marks a special milestone of the team’s 100th game.

Two seasons ago, Phoenix director of football Shaun Gill told RNZ the women’s season deserved a grade of C-minus.

Gill must be at an ‘A’ now, with room to improve, should they defeat three-time Premiers Plate winners Melbourne City at AAMI park on Saturday night.

How did the Phoenix women go from the bottom to the top?

Previous results

The Phoenix joined the women’s A-League in 2021 and are the ‘newest’ club still in the competition. (Western United joined in 2022 but had to sit this season out, due to financial issues).

Before this season’s run to the grand final, the end-of-season standings were not good reading.

In their first season, the Phoenix finished last in a 10-team competition. They recorded only two wins in 14 games during a season in which they were based in Wollongong, New South Wales, due to COVID travel restrictions.

The next season produced the same outcome – last in a then-11-team competition.

After two wooden spoon seasons, the 2023/24 campaign saw the Phoenix finish eighth, which was their best-ever finish before this season.

Last season, they dropped to ninth with seven wins, three draws and 13 losses.

Coaches

Wellington Phoenix coach Bev Priestman. Marty Melville / www.photosport.nz

The Phoenix have had four coaches in five seasons.

Bev Priestman has been the most successful and most controversial appointment.

Priestman joined the Phoenix this season, after serving a one-year ban from all football for her involvement in a drone spying scandal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Before her appointment in Wellington, Priestman coached the Canada women’s national team, which won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She also brought Canada to the 2023 Football World Cup, co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia.

The Englishwoman is considered the most-credentialed coach currently in the A-League and the Phoenix have her locked in for another season.

Over time, the Phoenix have now had three women as coaches, with Gemma Lewis as the inaugural coach, followed by Natalie Lawerence, before Paul Temple had two seasons in charge.

Captains

Current Phoenix club captain CJ Bott is pregnant. Marty Melville / PHOTOSPORT

Being given the captain’s armband has often resulted in a player not spending much time on the pitch.

Goalkeeper Lily Alfeld was the team’s first-ever player signing and inaugural captain, and played all but one game of the first season, before injury curtailed her career. She missed all the 2022/23 campaign after off-season knee surgery and a back injury, before moving into an off-field role with the club.

Football Fern Annalie Longo then had a couple of injury-riddled seasons as captain and stepped away from football at the end of last season.

During her time as skipper, Longo also had to defend the team environment, when midfielder and vice-captain Chloe Knott quit during the 2023/24 season, citing the pressures of combining fulltime work and playing professionally.

This season, CJ Bott was named captain, but announced her pregnancy in January and sat out the remainder of the season.

Bott is still the club captain, with Mackenzie Barry taking the onfield captaincy duties.

International players

Leading goalscorer Makala Woods booted the Phoenix into the grand final. Marty Melville / www.photosport.nz

The Phoenix were on the back foot, when the club first entered the A-League, because they could not sign visa players for the first two seasons of their existence.

From the 2023/24 season, Football Australia relaxed the restrictions imposed on the women’s team, removing the limit on New Zealand signings and the quota of Australian players.

This season, their leading goalscorer is American Makala Woods, who signed as an injury replacement for Dutch midfielder Tessel Middag at the start of the year.

English forward Brooke Nunn has also made her mark in front of goal, being among the team’s leading scorers and the A-League leader in goal assists. Both Nunn and Woods will be back next season.

American defender Ellie Walker has been a constant in the backline this season, as has Spanish defender Lucía León, who the Phoenix picked up from Adelaide United in the off-season, as the first new signing of the season.

One Phoenix signing who made the biggest noise when she joined the squad was Nepalese international striker Sabitra ‘Samba’ Bhandari.

Before injury ended her season, the Nepalese community in New Zealand and Australia showed up in big numbers to support their national team captain in the A-League.

Locals

Manaia Elliott on her way to the grand final at Wellington Airport. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

Defender Mackenzie Barry has seen it all with the Phoenix as a day-one player.

Barry is the team’s most-capped player and has started every game this season. She is a product of NZ Football’s Future Ferns domestic programme.

The Football Fern has said the Phoenix are the only A-League team she wanted to play for and she is signed up for next season as part of what she saw as Priestman’s two-year project.

By comparison, Football Fern Grace Jale has played for several A-League clubs, but this is the first time she is part of playoff football.

Under Priestman, Jale is having the best club season of her career and picked up several awards at the club’s awards night. She has also signed for next season.

Teenage star Pia Vlok has had a breakout season, including the club’s first hat-trick, and her success also lead to her first call-up to the Football Ferns.

Goalkeeper Vic Esson has helped the Phoenix to the best defensive record in the competition, returning to New Zealand after seven seasons overseas, where she won several trophies.

Attacker Manaia Elliott brought up her 50-game milestone for the Phoenix this season and has been a regular in the side in her third year as a professional.

Centreback Marisa van der Meer made a comeback to the Phoenix, after back-to-back anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee injuries. More than 700 days after she last played for the club, she scored in their opening game and went on to play 22 games during the regular season.

Midfielder Macey Fraser rejoined Wellington Phoenix, after she was released by National Women’s Soccer League club Utah Royals, but the Football Fern took a mental health break and she returned to the team in March.

Knees

Phoenix’s Alyssa Whinham sits on the field with a season-ending ACL injury. Marty Melville / PHOTOSPORT

Female footballers are more at risk of knee injuries than their male counterparts, a phenomenon that is now so prolific, it is part a FIFA study.

This season, three Phoenix players suffered ACL injuries, including two in the same month (November).

The frequency of the season-ending injury at their club lead the Phoenix to investigate if something was wrong with their ACL injury prevention practices, but they found their practices were “comprehensive and aligned with industry standards”.

The team’s latest significant injury is to forward Emma Main, who has a chronic lumbar spine injury that meant she missed the playoff series and was rehabilitating for next season.

Support

A record crowd at Porirua Park – this time for the right reason in the semifinals. Marty Melville / www.photosport.nz

The Phoenix had a record crowd of nearly 6000 at Porirua Park for Sunday’s semifinal win, but last season, the numbers were a lot lower with an average of 739 people at home games – the lowest in the league by far.

Not surprisingly, connection with the fans increased, as the Phoenix moved up the competition standings.

“We’ve always had a really good fanbase, but definitely this year, it’s grown a lot,” Barry said.

However, getting corporate buy-in was a struggle for the Phoenix early on, with general manager David Dome issuing a public plea in 2021 for commercial assistance to find a shirt sponsor for their new women’s team.

The Phoenix owners invested heavily into the women’s team and, in previous seasons, Gill highlighted that more was spent on the women’s programme than the men’s.

“We operate at a good level of budget for players and staffing, and we’ve probably got one of the biggest football departments in the league, so there is a high expectation on that programme,” he said.

Before the playoffs, Barry said the team trained at “one of the best facilities in the whole league”.

“I think, even though it’s not verbally said, there is an expectation for us to do well. I think we can see the investment that’s been put into our team and, compared to other women’s teams in the A-League, it’s miles ahead of them.”

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Big screens, small towns, booming audiences.

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tamasin Prince’s story of how she came to own the Starlight Cinema in Taupō is like a typical three-act movie structure.

Act I: Setup

When Prince was a child, her father cleaned the cinema, which opened in 1960. The 40-year-old spent hours watching films while her dad vacuumed dropped popcorn.

​”I just grew up feeling like movies were my comfort kind of thing.”

The original location of Starlight in Taupō .

supplied

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Auckland electrician’s suspicions spark cannabis bust in Ōtāhuhu

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police have found around 360 cannabis plants at a property in Ōtāhuhu. Supplied / NZ Police

An Auckland electrician who noticed unusual wiring has helped police discover a large-scale cannabis grow house hidden in the heart of Ōtāhuhu.

Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Hayward, of Counties Manukau West CIB, said police received information on Wednesday afternoon about the possible illegal operation.

“An electrician working in the area noticed unusual wiring coming from a warehouse on Queen Street,” he said.

“Ventilation pipes were also seen, which gave the telltale signs that the warehouse was being used for illegal activity.

“An unmistakable smell was coming from the ventilation – it was a cannabis growing operation.”

A search warrant revealed about 360 cannabis plants hidden underneath 15 tents. Supplied / NZ Police

Police put a scene guard in place. A search warrant executed on Thursday revealed about 360 cannabis plants hidden underneath 15 tents.

“No occupants were located inside at the time, but all of the plants have since been destroyed,” Hayward said.

“We would like to acknowledge the man for acting on his senses and reporting the suspicious set up to us.”

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Wellington’s Loafers Lodge fire still taking toll three years later

Source: Radio New Zealand

On the third anniversary of the fatal Loafers Lodge fire, the senior station officer who lead the response says crews were confronted with an “absolute nightmare of a scene”, which escalated rapidly.

Michael Wahrlich, Melvin Parun, Peter O’Sullivan, Kenneth Barnard and Liam Hockings died, when the the blaze, which was deliberately lit, swept through the multi-storey budget accommodation building with nearly 100 people inside.

Operating out of Newtown fire station on 16 May, 2023, senior station officer Clark Townsley was charged with making the first decisions on how to fight the fire.

He said residents and people were beginning to gather on the street, as fire crews arrived, and thick black smoke was already pouring from the upper windows of the building.

Clark Townsley was the senior station officer charged with making the first decisions at the Loafers Lodge fire. Supplied

A nightmare scene

“It’s amazing how quick you kick into gear,” Townsley said. “You go from being at the station and, within about three minutes, you’re at an absolute nightmare of a scene.

“The gravity of it was almost instantaneous. This is a highly densely tenanted building and the smoke was just so thick.

“It was quite terrifying.”

Inside the building, Townsley had only moments to assess the extent of the blaze and to determine the safety of the structure.

“I’d never ask anybody to do anything I wouldn’t,” he said. “Sending some of your friends into a potentially catastrophic incident, it’s not something you take lightly.

“It was either ‘we do something or people will die’, and ‘if we do do something, people might die’. We’ve got training, we’ve got equipment, those people inside they’ve got nothing, so we had to give it a go.”

Crews got to work fighting the fire, while Townsley began to organise teams to search for trapped residents.

Firefighters try to contain the Loafers Lodge blaze. Supplied / Axel Dann

“While I was doing that, I’m getting – over the radio – that there’s people inside still and then, as I’m trying to deal with that, there’s people on the roof,” he said. “As I was delegating the aerial [appliance] to get those off, then the ambulance officer comes and tells me that there’s people jumping out of the window.

“This all happened well inside the first 10 minutes.”

Fire crews withdraw as conditions become unsurvivable

Conditions inside the building deteriorated rapidly and firefighters were forced to withdraw from the building.

“Once the crews started saying that the roof was coming in on them and that they were starting to see conditions for flash over [the simultaneous ignition of any combustible materials in an enclosed area] – which is almost unsurvivable conditions for people inside – we were lucky to get our guys out.

“Subsequently, talking to one or two [firefighters], they said they thought they were going to die inside. We pushed all of the limits and tactics to their absolute limit.

“Everybody gave 100 percent to everything they did in there. We tried everything we could, but the conditions were horrific.”

Lasting impact of Loafers Lodge fire

Townsley said, when he came away from the fire, 15 people were still unaccounted for. The feeling of that moment has stayed with him to this day.

“That’s a lot,” he said. “Five is a lot.

“One is too many, but you have to remind yourself that building had the capacity for 105 people.

“You have to be positive. We did everything we could to help those people in there.

Prime Minister Chris Hipkins, Wellington Central MP and Finance Minister Grant Robertson, and Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau at the scene of the Loafers Lodge fire. RNZ / Angus Dreaver

“Obviously, it doesn’t sit well with me. We play to win, we don’t go in there to lose lives.”

Townsley testified in court proceedings where Esarona Lologa was convicted of the murder of five victims of the fire.

Townsley, who Wellington branch president of the New Zealand Professional Fire-fighters’ Union, refused a citation for his work on the fatal blaze, calling it “premature and inappropriate”.

He said he’d had the opportunity to talk to some of the survivors of the fire, and the experience had given him an insight into the community and relationships among the building’s residents.

He spoken to one former resident, who had taken nearly a year to find a new place to live, as he struggled to feel safe in the standard of accommodation offered by social services.

“All of these things start making you think a little bit more about what we do and how we do it, with other agencies, and things like health and mental health,” Townsley said. “They’re all very much interlinked and now I see how important these safety nets in our communities really are.”

He said the fire had also taken a toll on the crews who fought the blaze.

“It’s not done without leaving a little bit of scar tissue. It always leaves you with a bit of something.”

Fire and Emergency said its thoughts were with those who lost loved ones during the Loafers Lodge fatal fire, those who survived this tragic event and those impacted by it.

“This includes our own people, who faced severe fire conditions, yet performed multiple rescues that evening, as well as our 111 calltakers.

“By the very nature of what we do, our people can be exposed to traumatic events. When this happens, Fire and Emergency New Zealand has processes in place to ensure we offer them comprehensive support.

Firefighters tackle the Loafers Lodge fire. RNZ / Angus Dreaver

“This includes wellbeing advisors and psychologists, our employee assistance programme and peer support network, all of which are available to all our personnel, career and volunteer.

“Our people’s safety, health and wellbeing are paramount. We are continuing and will continue to provide support to those involved in the Loafers Lodge response.”

Loafers site to be redeveloped

In late 2025, Wellington developer Primeproperty Group agreed to purchase the property.

The group said it had bought the ground floor of the building, but the remainder of the property would remain under the ownership of the existing owner until April 2027.

It said it was in the early stages of working out what to do with the site, including potential redevelopment for modern apartments, a medical centre or a mixed-use combination of both.

“At this stage, our focus is on understanding the site fully, and ensuring any future considerations are approached thoughtfully, responsibly and with appropriate respect for those affected.”

The group said it recognised the deep significance the site held for many people, and that it was approaching its involvement with care, humility and sensitivity.

“While the events that occurred can never be forgotten, we hope any future decisions regarding the site can balance remembrance and dignity with the opportunity for the building to eventually become a safe, positive and caring place again for future occupants and the wider community.”

Wellington City missioner hoping for closure

Wellington City missioner Murray Edridge said he was delighted Primeproperty had plans to redevelop the site.

Loafers Lodge in Wellington. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

“In its current form, it just reminds people every day of the trauma of what happened three years ago.”

Also retraumatising for residents in the last 12 months, he said, had been the murder trial for Esarona Lologa.

“They got to live it all again and that was a terribly difficult process for them.”

Edridge said he believed Lologa’s conviction did not give many residents the closure they hoped for.

A second trial is scheduled for later this year for four people involved with the management and operation of the building.

Each face 10 charges of manslaughter, with two charges relating to each of the five victims.

“I am hopeful that the trial this year of those who were responsible for the building will, in fact, bring that closure,” said Edridge, who still works closely with several of the former Loafers Lodge residents.

“Regardless of the outcome of that trial, it sends a message to building owners, to operators throughout this country that, actually, you need to take responsibility for the people you look after and care for, and make sure they’re OK. I think that’s a really healthy and helpful message to be giving.”

Councillor says families need conclusion

Wellington City Councillor Nureddin Abdurahman said families who had lost their loved ones needed a conclusion.

Loafers Lodge resident Chris lays flowers near the building for his friends he lost. RNZ / Angus Dreaver

Families still had unanswered questions about what exactly happened that day and a lot of pain.

He also hoped the end of the court case this year would help bring the chapter to a close for some.

Reviews that followed the fire

A Wellington City Council audit released in June 2023 found 25 similar buildings to Loafers Lodge in the capital. Twenty-one had a current building warrant of fitness, one never had one and three did, but they were not current.

Following the fire, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) launched a probe into 37 buildings like Loafers Lodge – buildings that were at least three storeys tall, a boardinghouse and had no sprinklers. It found more than 100 problems, including smoke detectors not working and unmonitored alarm systems.

Tenancy compliance and investigations team national manager Brett Wilson said boardinghouse compliance remained a priority for MBIE.

Loafers Lodge caught fire in the early hours of 16 May, 2023. RNZ /Angus Dreaver

“The team works with boardinghouse operators to ensure they are meeting their safety obligations, including a recent operation in Auckland, where 15 properties were visited,” he said. “MBIE has also been focused on providing education and information to tenants on the different types of tenancies, and associated rights and responsibilities.”

Building system, delivery and assurance head Simon Thomas said it also worked closely with local governments in relation to building warrants of fitness and compliance schedules, and had provided guidance on how to improve compliance.

Last year, central government also confirmed it would amend the building code to better protect New Zealanders, following strong calls for change, as part of the nationwide fire safety review.

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Dirt biker arrested after riders encircle car, intimidate driver in Ōtara

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police have seized three dirt bikes and arrested a rider following reports of dangerous riding. 123RF

Police in Auckland have seized three dirt bikes and arrested a rider following reports of dangerous motorcycle riding this week.

Senior Sergeant Simon Cornish, of Counties Manukau East Police, said the riders gathered at the intersection of Springs Road and Smales Road in Ōtara, attempting to block the road on Wednesday.

“One of the riders allegedly hit a member of the public’s vehicle and his front wheel has buckled and caused him to fall off the bike,” Cornish said.

“Witnesses reported that the other riders present have then ridden around the vehicle trying to intimidate the driver.”

The Eagle was deployed to help find the group.

“Our eyes in the sky were able to track one rider to an address in Heron Place, Pakuranga Heights where he was taken into custody and his bike seized.”

Cornish said officers soon found another bike hidden behind a nearby tree and seized it.

“Officers completed a number of follow up enquiries however we are yet to locate the victim in this matter so if this was you, or you know who this driver was, please get in touch with us.”

Cornish said on Thursday, police were notified about a dirt bike rider travelling dangerously on Gilbert Road, Otara.

“Staff arrived quickly and located the rider on Alexander Crescent and he was swiftly taken into custody and his bike seized,” he said.

The rider is facing a range of charges including dangerous driving and possession of methamphetamine.

“We want to thank the community for assisting with our enquiries and continue to encourage people to report anti-social motorcycle riding,” Cornish said.

“This is a reminder to people that it is illegal to ride a dirt bike on the road unless it is roadworthy with a current warrant and registration.”

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