NZ Engine

Source: Radio New Zealand

A New Zealand navy ship sailing in East Asia was shadowed by seven Chinese warships, the Defence Force has confirmed.

The HMNZS Aotearoa was sent to the East China and Yellow Seas last month, to carry out surveillance and deterrence activities in an effort to bolster United Nations Security Council sanctions against North Korea.

The vessel was accompanied by a P-8A Poseidon, as part of Operation Whio, with the intention of curbing North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

RNZ previously reported the vessel travelled through the Taiwan Strait, and that it was shadowed.

The Defence Force has now confirmed the ship was shadowed by seven different People’s Liberation Army (Navy) warships, which kept a “safe and professional distance” throughout.

Patrolling an area of 410,000 square kilometres, the Aotearoa and its SH-2G Seasprite helicopter interrupted two “possibly illicit” ship-to-ship transfers, identified seven vessels of interest, hailed 49 merchant vessels, and broadcast 79 deterrence messages.

The Poseidon witnessed five ship-to-ship transfers, observed 59 vessels of interest, and issued 19 deterrence messages

The crew of the Aotearoa worked alongside ships from Canada, France, and Japan. Acting as a replenishment vessel, the Aotearoa also carried out replenishments at sea for Australian and US vessels.

“Through maritime patrol, airborne surveillance and international cooperation, we delivered tangible impact – from deterring illicit activity to supporting allied ships at sea. The professionalism of our own crews, and those of our partner nations, was evident throughout,” said HMNZS Aotearoa Commanding Officer Rob Welford.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Firefighters are battling multiple blazes in Tongariro National Park on Monday.

Fire and emergency said three helicopters were responding and three fire trucks and crews were already on the ground.

SH47 WAIMARINO TO TONGARIRO – FIRE – 1:50PM
Due to vegetation fires, the road is CLOSED between SH46 and SH48. Follow the detour and allow extra time for travel. If travelling southbound, detour via SH1 and SH49. Reverse for northbound. ^AG pic.twitter.com/eGC9evsFVS

— NZ Transport Agency – Central North Island (@nztacni) December 8, 2025

A spokesperson said the fires are south east of the devastating blaze that took hold in the area last month.

They said the current fires are closer to Mount Ngauruhoe with one about 30 by 200 metres squared.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Five children taken to hospital after suffering chemical burns at a Christchurch childcare centre last week have returned to the kindergarten today.

Seven people, including the five children, were taken to hospital after a [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/581000/emergency-services-respond-to-incident-at-christchurch-daycare corrosive chemical was mistakenly used on a slip and slide at Kindercare Woolston Friday afternoon. Two others also received minor injuries.

In a statement, Kindercare said the centre reopened this morning.

“We are overwhelmed at the trust families have placed in us, despite Friday’s incident, and we are encouraged to see that all of the children who attended hospital on Friday, have returned to our care today. We will continue supporting our families and team.

“Our investigation is underway and we’re committed to working cooperatively with WorkSafe and the Ministry of Education through this process.”

Kindercare said it would not be making further public comment until the investigation had concluded.

In a letter to parents, Kindercare admitted it had failed on safety.

The provider’s chief executive and regional manager flew to Christchurch on Friday night.

Kindercare said the chemical involved was used in many of its centres and was normally kept in a kitchen cupboard or laundry and plumbed directly into the centre’s steriliser.

The company said it wanted answers on how the chemical was taken from the storage area and used in a play activity.

WorkSafe was also investigating.

On Friday, Fire and Emergency senior station officer John Herriot said the burns were as a result of a mix-up.

“The teachers have had a waterslide – bit of fun for the kids – out the back today and at some point of time some detergent’s unfortunately been misidentified and a corrosive product has ended up on the slip and slide. This has caused some irritation to the children’s skin and some light blistering,” he said.

St John assessed 40 patients in total.

“Eighteen units responded, nine ambulances, three rapid response units, five operations managers and one Major Incident Support Team vehicle,” St John said.

St John national operations manager Chris Harrison said the patients had suffered chemical burns and blisters.

“They were on a kids’ playground slide, which the product had been poured down, and then they’ve slid down the slide and then the teacher that was injured was at the base of the slide in a paddling pool,” he said.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellingtonians will soon be able to tag onto public transport with their phones and debit cards.

Greater Wellington Regional Council chair Daran Ponter told RNZ Wellingtonians were “sick of waiting”, and contactless payment on buses and trains will roll out in the first half of next year.

The $1.4 billion National Ticketing Solution (NTS) was first signed off more than 16 years ago, and would allow people to pay for buses, ferries and trains with debit cards and digital payments across the country.

It was recently rolled out in Christchurch.

But the national project was recently delayed, with Wellington’s launch date pushed out from the end of next year to the end of 2027.

Now, the regional council has told RNZ it will roll out contactless payments itself in the first half of next year, at a cost of $5.5 million.

Regional council chair Daran Ponter said the NTS had been a long time coming.

“But Wellingtonians, people in the Wellington region, have been waiting a long time themselves, years if not decades and we have got to a point where we feel it is justified to make this investment.”

There was not an easy answer to why it had taken so long to get a system like this for the capital, Ponter said.

“We still support the next ticketing system but Wellingtonians are sick of waiting and I quite frankly am sick of telling them to wait. We’ve been at this now for more than 20 years talking about integrated fare ticketing in the Wellington region.”

He noted the NTS would go further than what they were doing.

“That will then allow us to give the full benefits of integrated ticketing like fare capping, changing fares for particular times of the day.”

Ponter said the Snapper replacement would be on buses and trains before March 30.

He told Midday Report the NTS would allow full integrated ticketing.

“That means that you can get on in Upper Hutt come to Wellington station and then get on the bus and go to the hospital and it treats it all as one journey.

“That still will not be possible with the credit card system in March.”

Snapper chief executive Miki Szikszai told RNZ their contract with the regional council would wrap up at the end of 2027 – but until then, their card readers and technology would remain in place, and accept card payments as well as Snapper.

“The same readers are going to remain in place, and the experience for the card holder will basically be the same, apart from the fact they’ll be able to use their contactless payment card, or their phone, or their watch, for adult fares.”

Their card readers were set to reach the end of their lives around that time – which coincided with the predicted roll out date for the NTS.

“Our devices have got about a 10-year useful life. These ones were rolled out in 2017.”

Snapper as a company did more than provide Wellington’s fare services, Szikszai explained.

Under the name Mosaiq, they provided transport analytics for a number of authorities around the world.

They also provided the mobile reload service (similar to the Snapper reload app) for Ireland’s public transport card, Leap.

Come the end of their contract with Greater Wellington, these other lines of business would continue.

Transport Minister Chris Bishop told RNZ it was up to Greater Wellington Regional Council if they wanted to “spend millions” on an interim contactless payment system before the NTS arrived.

A regional council spokesperson said it would help encourage uptake of credit and debit card usage ahead of the full NTS functionality in 2027.

NZTA has been approached for comment.

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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 man accused of swallowing a Fabergé locket worth more than $33,500 during an alleged theft at an Auckland jewellery store has appeared in the Auckland District Court.

He was remanded in custody without a plea until next Monday.

Police had been called at 3.30pm on 28 November to the store in Auckland city where a man was accused of picking up a Fabergé James Bond Octopussy Egg pendant and swallowing it.

Court documents reveal the pendant was worth $33,585.

Inspector Grae Anderson told RNZ the man underwent a medical assessment at the time of his arrest and an officer had been assigned to constantly monitor him.

Police confirmed the item was back in their possession on Friday.

An online listing for the locket said it had been crafted from 18ct yellow gold and set with 60 white diamonds and 15 blue sapphires.

A golden octopus inside the locket was set with two black diamonds for eyes.

In a statement released to RNZ, Partridge Jewellers confirmed the attempted theft took place at its Queen St store.

“The store management team responded immediately, and police were on site to detain the person in question within minutes.

“The safety of Partridge’s clients and staff is the highest priority, and the team is grateful for the police’s swift support in dealing with the situation, which is now in the hands of legal professionals.”

Partridge said the pendant would be returned to Fabergé.

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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 New Zealand man has been charged with trying to import $10 million worth of heroin into Sydney in floral-patterned bags.

In a joint statement the Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force said the Kiwi was accused of importing 21kg of heroin into Australia hidden inside his luggage.

The 21-year-old was charged with importing a commercial quantity of heroin, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

He is expected to appear in NSW Bail Division Local Court on Monday.

The Australian Border Force said officers selected the man for a baggage examination upon his arrival into Sydney Airport on board an international flight from Thailand, on Sunday.

They searched two suitcases belonging to the man and allegedly found 21 floral-patterned, vacuum sealed bags containing a white powdery substance.

This amount of heroin had an estimated street value of more than $10 million, with the potential for about 100,000 streel-level deals, police said.

Border Force Superintended Elke West said this detection is a good reminder to every passenger crossing the borders with illicit goods and substances – the risk is not worth the reward.

“The ABF uses on a sophisticated layered approach to targeting passengers at our airports for examination,” West said.

“This detection demonstrates that our systems, technology, intelligence sharing and human judgement all complement each other to identify high-risk travellers before they can do more harm in our communities.

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