Source: Radio New Zealand
The quake was recorded north-east of Pongaroa in the Tararua District at 11.47am on Thursday. Geonet
There has been a moderate 4.8 magnitude earthquake in the Tararua District.
GeoNet says the quake struck 15km north-east of Pongaroa at 11.47am and was at a depth of 7km.
More than 400 people have reported feeling the quake.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: New Zealand Government
New Zealanders deserve clarity, fairness, and straight-up information when they move into a retirement village, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says.
“The Government is taking the next step to strengthen protections and give residents and their whānau greater confidence, which is part of our wider focus on fixing the basics and building the future.
“For too long, residents have faced uncertainty, especially when moving out and waiting for their money to be repaid.
“We’re fixing that. These changes put people first by setting clear expectations and making the whole system more transparent,” Mr Potaka says.
Progressing the review of the Retirement Villages Act is part of the National – New Zealand First Coalition Agreement and the Government’s reforms provide a pragmatic and balanced response to key issues within the sector, Seniors Minister Casey Costello says.
“We know the vast majority of retirement village residents are very happy with the lifestyle and amenities offered within villages,” Ms Costello says.
“The changes we are making will address concerns around fairness and provide certainty to residents and their families.
“At the same time, the changes recognise the important role that retirement villages play in providing housing options for older New Zealanders and that around two-thirds of them provide aged care facilities.”
The reforms will make legal documents easier to understand, require operators to be upfront about what they offer, and set clear responsibilities for the chattels they own. A new independent disputes scheme will also give residents a simple, accessible way to resolve issues.
A major focus is on reducing the stress families face when a loved one leaves a village.
“Family deserve certainty during what is often a challenging time,” Mr Potaka says.
“These steps deliver that certainty and strengthen the rights of residents, while supporting the sector to grow and innovate for the future.”
Key improvements include:
“These are practical, balanced reforms that reflect the feedback of residents and operators.
“Retirement villages play a significant role in our housing system. We’re putting in rules that are fair, transparent and built to last.
“The Government thanks residents’ representatives, operators, and the Retirement Commissioner for their sustained advocacy and constructive engagement throughout this review.
“More than 11,000 New Zealanders took the time to share their experiences and expectations, and that level of engagement has directly informed the decisions announced.”
The Bill is expected to be introduced to Parliament mid-next year. The Select Committee process will provide another opportunity for residents, families, and operators to have their say.
Source: Radio New Zealand
The most popular search topics in New Zealand in 2025 on Google included Kiwi sports stars and celebrities like David Parker, Liam Lawson and Lorde, overseas celebrities like Ozzy Osbourne and Jimmy Kimmel, and notable news stories like the death of Charlie Kirk. File / RNZ / AFP
Labubu. Viral ice cream. Tom Phillips, wind warnings, and how to make butter.
Google has announced the top trending searches for New Zealand in 2025, and it’s a snapshot of the wild, weird year that’s nearly over.
The single biggest search term in Aotearoa this year had little to do with New Zealand – it was the American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was not well known here before his death in September.
But right up there in the top ten were also the death of Tom Phillips after a four-year search for the missing man and his children, weather events like Cyclone Alfred and the long-dead American serial killer Ed Gein, subject of a popular Netflix series.
Oh, and the All Blacks. There’s always the All Blacks.
Google New Zealand’s communications and public affairs manager Carrie Jones told Morning Report the results provided interesting data about what Kiwis are thinking about.
“This list of top trending searches spanned pop culture, lifestyle, sports, news – and they’re the queries that had the greatest spike in interest this year as compared to last year.
“So they give us a really good insight into what Kiwis were curious about.
“This year the searches paint a picture of a population that was pragmatic, hyper-vigilant and digitally aware.
“One thing that is consistent year on year is we are sports mad and the All Blacks are actually the most-referenced search term of the past five years.”
With a new album out, Lorde remained a top search topic in New Zealand this year. Supplied / Universal Music
When it came to Kiwi searches, boxer Joseph Parker, ACT Party deputy leader Brooke van Velden, former Green MP Benjamin Doyle, singer Lorde and F1 driver Liam Lawson were among the top queries.
Celebrities who passed away in 2025 were also frequently searched, such as Ozzy Osbourne, Gene Hackman and Diane Keaton.
Another hot spot in the top 10 was health searches.
“Interestingly in our overall searches list we saw searches for COPD treatment and osteoporosis treatment, perhaps showing Kiwis taking health matters into their own hands,” she said.
Jones said Google has also seen a sharp increase in people using search as a real-time safety tool for events like cyclones, tsunami warnings and storms.
“Our desire for information about these immediate weather hazards has never been more pronounced.”
“Kiwis are searching for urgency around local matters such as wind warnings, rainfall warnings and tsunami warnings and also showing interest in engagement and political processes. So we saw searches for how to make a submission for the Treaty Principles Bill, for example.”
Jones said that last search showed a desire to participate rather than just gather information.
“We see a shift from lots of reading, maybe just looking for headlines, moving more to actionable paths to engagement. So, ‘how to make a submission to the Treaty Principles Bill’ shows Kiwis’ interest and a desire to be involved, rather than just participate and read.”
Google is also seeing a move to tools like visual search and its own AI fuelled searches. Jones acknowledged there were some concerns about the use of artificial intelligence.
“I think there is a natural scepticism of new technology. I think there is real excitement around the opportunity that AI can present and how it can make a real difference in our society, whether it’s through health care or across different industries.”
Kiwis were also keen to search for various viral trends like “Barbie AI” image generators or that “viral ice cream” or explaining that darned ‘six seven’ thing all the kids are talking about.
And with food, “There were two main flavours that came through our searches this year,” Jones said.
“So we had Dubai chocolate, pistachio cream and matcha coming through, people wanted to know how to make Dubai chocolate, how to make pistachio cream. That was sort of the unexpected flavour duo of 2025.”
Courtesy of Google, here’s the full lists of trends in New Zealand for 2025:
Slain American political commentator Charlie Kirk was New Zealand’s top overall search in 2025. ANGELA WEISS / AFP
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: Radio New Zealand
Johnathan Tamihana was sentenced to preventative detention with a minimum non-parole period of five years at the High Court in Auckland on Wednesday. RNZ / Simon Rogers
A man has been sentenced to preventative detention following two sexual attacks against women nearly a year apart.
The two women were both indecently assaulted at the Ōtara Creek Reserve, one in February 2023 and the other in February 2024.
In the first incident, police said a French national was indecently assaulted at the reserve in broad daylight.
“The woman was understandably distraught by what had happened on her visit to New Zealand,” Detective Senior Sergeant Dean Batey said in a statement.
At that time police identified a suspect on a BMX bike using CCTV footage, but despite an investigation and a public appeal they were unable to identify the unknown male, he said.
Nearly a year later, on 18 January 2024, a local woman reported to police that she had been indecently assaulted by a man.
“The woman was out jogging at around 6.30am when a man had followed her into the Ōtara Creek Reserve.
“He subjected her to a disturbing indecent assault.
“Our team was conscious of the previous incident and were determined to stop him from committing any further harm.”
Investigations managed to identify Johnathan Tamihana as the offender in both attacks.
Tamihana has since pleaded guilty to three counts of indecent assault, threatening to kill and assault with intent to commit sexual violation.
On Wednesday, the 33-year-old Ōtara man was sentenced to preventative detention with a minimum non-parole period of five years, at the Auckland High Court.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: New Zealand Police
To be attributed to Detective Senior Sergeant Kristine Clarke:
Police are continuing to appeal for information regarding missing Waikato man Louis Van Der Walt.
Louis, aged 44, has not been seen since he parted company with family members during a walk on the Te Aroha side of the mountain, on the morning of Thursday 13 November.
Police Search and Rescue teams and LandSAR volunteers have searched the area extensively since Louis was reported missing, alongside a number of other enquiries.
Unfortunately we have not yet located any sign of Louis, and we are appealing for anyone out and about in the area to be vigilant for anything which may assist us in locating him.
Louis was wearing a blue T-shirt, brown short and jandals when last seen.
If you have any information which could help, please contact us via 105 and quote file number 251114/9651.
ENDS
Issued by Police Media Centre.
Source: Radio New Zealand
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Mobile network company 2degrees says it has resolved an issue impacting customers connecting, receiving, or making calls on their mobile devices.
The mobile company’s website says the outage was first reported just after 4am on Thursday morning but was fixed later at about 10.40am.
2degrees said there was no impact to emergency service calling and that 111 calls continued to work during the outage.
It said it was sorry for the inconvenience.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
Finance Minister Nicola Willis. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The government’s finances are slightly worse than expected, as the tax take fell more than expenses.
Treasury figures, which exclude ACC finances, showed a deficit of $4.9 billion for the four months ended October – about $700 million higher than forecast in May’s Budget.
The deficit including ACC costs was $5.2b, $400m above forecast.
The tax take was down $600m because of lower company and provisional tax receipts.
Expenses were about $200m lower, with costs associated with the scrapped Cook Strait ferries project partly offset by lower spending on several programmes.
More to come.
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Source: Radio New Zealand
What are you wearing?
No seriously, what are you wearing to bed? Because it can affect the quality of your sleep.
“What you sleep in can alter the temperature, [that] is the main thing in terms of how it may affect your sleep,” explains Kathleen Maddison from the Centre for Sleep Science at The University of Western Australia.
“Temperature change is super important in helping us fall asleep and then helping us stay asleep.”
Preferences are very much climate dependent, says Kathleen Maddison, from the Centre for Sleep Science at The University of Western Australia. (file image)
Unsplash / Getty Images
What we wear to bed also comes down to comfort — and even safety.
“If you’re at home alone and you’re a sleepwalker … you might select pyjamas in case you go wandering,” says Dr Maddison.
So as we head into summer, what is the best thing to wear — or not to wear — to bed?
We asked our Instagram audience and 16 percent prefer to sleep “nudie rudie”, 60 percent in pyjamas, 16 percent in just their undies and 8 percent in “something else”.
“Ghosts” were one of the reasons for wearing pyjamas. Another person told us: “I fell out of bed and broke my arm real badly. I was naked at the time.”
For those against wearing anything in bed, getting tangled up in clothing as they move around during the night was a top justification.
While there isn’t peer-reviewed research focused on bedwear, Dr Maddison says mattress and bedding companies have conducted surveys over the years.
Their findings are generally pretty close to what our Instagram followers voted.
Dr Maddison says it’s really climate dependent — where people live, and what season it is — but the survey data doesn’t capture these details.
“These are companies just putting surveys out, which is a nice starting point, but they haven’t asked for geo locations. They haven’t specified time of year.”
The ideal room temperature varies between 15 degrees Celsius and 22C, says Leon Lack, emeritus professor at Flinders University with a special interest in sleep. (file image)
Unsplash / Getty Images
Feeling too hot or cold can affect our ability to fall asleep and stay asleep, says Dr Maddison.
It’s important to get it right, because sleep impacts almost every part of the human system, and getting a good night’s rest may even be a factor in how long you live.
What you wear, the ambient temperature of the room, and the type of fibre your mattress and bed linen are made of will all have an effect on your sleep.
If it’s hot and you lie naked on top of your bed sheets with the fan on, that will keep you cooler, says Dr Maddison.
That might sound obvious, but there is evidence pyjamas can help with temperature regulation in certain conditions.
Sleeping naked can make you feel even hotter because it may not allow moisture to evaporate between your body and your mattress.
That’s why other factors like what bedding you have, and whether you use an air conditioner or fan, come into play. You may need to trial what works best for you.
Leon Lack is an emeritus professor at Flinders University with a special interest in sleep.
He says the ideal room temperature varies between 15 degrees Celsius and 22C.
“If the ambient temp is 24C, you could get away with just sleeping on top of the mattress without any covering.
“But the main thing is to experiment. For some people that will be too chilly, and they would need at least a sheet to feel comfortable.”
For couples who share a bed but feel hotter or colder than one another, he recommends investing in two different bed coverings.
Health and hygiene factors
If you’re sleeping in the nude, you will likely need to wash your bedsheets more often, says Dr Maddison.
“We do lose dead, flaky skin. There are bacteria, and if you don’t have that extra layer of pyjamas between you and your bed linen, you may need to increase the frequency [of sheet washing].”
If you are wearing underwear to bed, she says there is evidence to show making sure it’s not too tight and a breathable fabric is important.
Wearing tight synthetic clothing and underwear can make the vulval environment hot, and can cause vulval irritation, for example.
And some research has suggested that wearing tight underwear may decrease sperm counts, although other studies have not found this to be the case.
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Source: New Zealand Government
The completion of a multimillion-dollar upgrade of a key port in Tasman District is a major step forward for economic development and resilience, Regional Development Minister Shane Jones and Fisheries Under-Secretary Jenny Marcroft say.
Port Tarakohe in Golden Bay underwent a $12.7 million upgrade and is now the only all-tide, all-weather, deep-water port in Tasman District.
“This is a key infrastructure upgrade that enhances the port’s capacity, supports commercial use, and provides a vital back-up route during State Highway 60 closures on Tākaka Hill Road,” Mr Jones says.
“The port is an important asset for regional resilience and connectivity ensuring continuity of freight, fuel, medical supplies, and emergency response capabilities. The wharves support the area’s growing aquaculture industry as well as marine tourism and transport operations.”
“This new facility is vital for the aquaculture sector,” Ms Marcroft says.
“The previous single-wharf facility was at capacity, creating congestion for mussel farmers and other users. The upgraded infrastructure creates more space and will allow for the development of more mussel farming, which is expected to unlock close to a billion dollars of value over 25 years.”
The upgrades include a new wharf to replace the old timber wharf, repairs and improvements to an existing concrete wharf, new commercial berths, breakwater extension and new service facilities.
The project received $6m in government funding, including $600,000 from the former Provincial Growth Fund. Tasman District Council co-funded $6.7m.
“With the challenges this region has faced recently, it’s great to see infrastructure like this ensuring vital access to Golden Bay in times of need,” Mr Jones says.
Source: Radio New Zealand
The Black Caps face the West Indies for day three of their first test of the summer from Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
New Zealand has played just two Test matches so far in 2025, beating Zimbabwe 2-0 in Bulawayo in August.
Since then they’ve played 17 white-ball games against Australia, England and West Indies.
“The team is clear in their test match identity, they’ve done incredibly well as a unit, so just to fall back into that,” coach Rob Walter said on the eve of the three match series.
New Zealand is ranked fifth in the World Test rankings, with West Indies eighth.
First ball is at 11am.
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Michael Bracewell Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz / Photosport Ltd 2025
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