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Man charged, vehicle impounded after antisocial road user activity

Source: New Zealand Police

Police have arrested and charged a 20-year-old man following an antisocial road user gathering in Gisborne overnight.

In the early hours of this morning, 30 December, Police were alerted to a group of around a dozen vehicles participating in antisocial road activity on the corner of Whatatutu and Matawai roads.

Police received multiple reports from disgruntled members of the public, and upon arrival the group quickly dispersed.

One vehicle fled from Police after being signalled to stop for continuing to drive in a dangerous manner. The vehicle was then located further up Whatatutu Road where the driver was seen fleeing on foot. The vehicle was secured and impounded.

Further enquiries and follow-up led to the driver of the vehicle being identified, and Police located and arrested the driver today.

The man is due to appear in the Gisborne District Court on Monday 5 January, charged with failing to stop when required, dangerous driving and operating a vehicle causing sustained loss of traction.

We’d like to thank the members of the public for reporting the antisocial activity in a timely manner, allowing Police to disperse the group.

Police will continue to take action to prevent this activity on our roads, and ask the public to please report any antisocial behaviour to Police. Please call 111 if it is happening now, or make a report via 105 if it is after the fact.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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Year in review: NZ Warriors ride rollercoaster to NRL playoffs

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Warriors hopes suffer a crippling blow, as star halfback Luke Metcalf falls to a season-ending knee injury. Tertius Pickard/www.photosport.nz

Under the Go Media Stadium stand, with the bravado of hope finally stripped away, NZ Warriors coach Andrew Webster confronted reality.

After a season that saw them off to a best-ever 7-2 start, sitting second on the table after 11 rounds, damn near selling out their Mt Smart home for every game and reaching the postseason for just the 10th time in their history, the Warriors’ journey had abruptly ended, with a sixth-place finish and clinical, one-and-done exit to four-time defending champions Penrith Panthers.

A campaign that looked so promising mid-season lost much of its momentum down the stretch, with a 4-7 closing run against the easiest draw on paper of any playoff team.

For two months, the players and coach seemed to be running on fumes, as they unsuccessfully defended their long-held spot in the top four and flirted with the possibility of missing the finals altogether.

Even when they were winning, Webster insisted they hadn’t played their best and, in the end, they ran out of chances to deliver on that promise.

“I just feel we’ve built some great stuff, but that last piece is missing.” he lamented. “I feel like we’ve handled adversity and stayed really tight, but there’s a piece missing.

Warriors captain James Fisher-Harris and coach Andrew Webster rue their early playoff exit against Penrith. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

“We could launch, if we take those lessons and go to the next step, or we could stay exactly where we are, which is just a top-six team.

“I just think we can be better.”

So this wasn’t the Warriors’ year after all – sigh! – but it may just turn out to be an important step towards their first NRL championship.

Here are some of the highlights of 2025 and a humble suggestion on how to take that next step in 2026.

Best player

When veteran winger Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was handed the Simon Mannering Medal at the club prizegiving, he tried mightily to pass it on to a teammate he considered had a better year.

We’ll endorse that opinion.

Erin Clark was probably destined for a bench role, before captain Tohu Harris retired over the summer, but grabbed the No.13 jersey in the pre-season and never surrendered it.

He played every game and finished top five across the competition for total post-contact metres.

Erin Clark played every game at lock for the Warriors. NRL / www.photosport.nz

Clark proved so reliably consistent, he was considered one of the best off-season pick-ups by any club across the competition and deservedly won Dally M Lock of the Year honours.

He had one game for the Warriors as a teenager, when he admits to being “young and arrogant”, but his maturation during his time away has been a joy to behold and should hold the club in good stead for a while.

Most promising player

Leka Halasima was still a teenager, but his impact on the Warriors belied his years, as he headed RTS for club tryscoring honours, with many of them coming from his aerial ability on attack.

‘Leka the Wrecker’ became one of the breakout performers in the league, but ultimately, he was headed by Auckland-born Sydney Roosters centre Robert Toia for Dally M Rookie of the Year.

Leka Halasima emerged as the Warriors’ top tryscorer for the season. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

Halasima starred off the bench or starting in the second-row, before he was eventually named at centre for the playoff game against Penrith. Conditioning let him down at times, but he’s surely a superstar in the making.

Named Warriors Rookie of the Year.

Most improved player

Jackson Ford looked like he was slipping out of the rotation at the end of last season, when he was competing for an edge position, but he re-invented himself as a middle forward this time round and could not be left out of the line-up.

He started the campaign off the bench and embraced the ‘impact’ nature of that role, but was promoted to start, after skipper Mitch Barnett’s knee injury, and put in some massive shifts.

Ford was one of the few players across the league to lead their teams in running metres and tackles in the same game – 209 and 43 against Canberra Raiders, when both Barnett (Origin) and James Fisher-Harris (injury) were missing.

Jackson Ford converted himself into a trustworthy middle forward. Brett Phibbs/www.photosport.nz

He was badly missed during his three-game suspension for a ‘crusher’ tackle that went largely unnoticed and unpenalised against St George Dragons, but bounced back with a 61-tackle performance against Penrith, which was a season high for his team.

Best performance

The Warriors rolled into Shark Park on 7 June, faced with the massive task of covering Barnett’s extended absence.

“We’re gutted, because he’s such a good player, but there’s optimism that somebody gets to stand up and take his spot,” Webster said. “It’s a challenge for the whole group.”

The response was a season-defining performance against Cronulla Sharks.

After a series of close wins, the 40-10 result was their most convincing of the campaign, as they scored 28 unanswered points after halftime.

Warriors celebrate a try to Dallin Watene-Zelezniak against Cronulla Sharks. David Neilson/Photosport

While Ford had been named to start in the No.10 jersey, he was shifted back to the bench before kickoff, with Marata Niukore moved to the middle and Jacob Laban making his first NRL start in the second row.

Centre Rocco Berry had succumbed to another injury, while hooker Wayde Egan dropped out of the line-up late with a hip complaint, presenting back-up Sam Healey with a dream debut against the club that couldn’t find a place for him in its first-grade squad.

Halfback Luke Metcalf also tormented his old outfit, while Chanel Harris-Tavita had a try double, and Fisher-Harris battled the man he replaced at the Warriors – Addin Fonua-Blake – to a draw in the much-anticipated ‘Clash of the Titans’.

Perhaps the most worrying aspect of the display was the looming bye week, which threatened to derail any momentum gained – and so it proved.

As they had after their first bye week, when they sleepwalked through a first half against Melbourne Storm, the Warriors were completely duped by a Panthers team without five Origin stars – perhaps their worst performance of the season – and then struck more disaster against Brisbane Broncos a week later.

Best try

No-one will ever forget this finish, as the Warriors trailed Newcastle Knights into the final minute, desperately seeking a field goal to force extra time.

Halfback Tanah Boyd missed three attempts and a penalty that could have won it in the dying moments, but when his third pot was charged down, something amazing happened.

The bounce fell to Halasima about 40 metres out, and he simply charged that distance to the tryline to break the hearts of Knights fans and players.

Warriors celebrate Leka Halasima’s gamewinning try against Newcastle. David Neilson/Photosport

“I’ll take it,” Webster said. “I’ve been on the end of a few of those – I think every team has at some stage.

“We just came up with a freakish play from a young guy that’s got heaps of talent – that’s what he’s got in his toolkit.”

In the ‘what comes around goes around’ department, two weeks later, Webster and his team were indeed on the opposite end of one of those finishes, when the Dolphins ran in a try at the death for a 20-18 win at Mt Smart.

Taking the next step

You could argue the Warriors were two injuries (maybe three) away from a very deep playoff run in 2025.

Losing both Barnett and star half Metcalf to season-ending knee injuries left big voids the club could never quite fill. Add to that a nightmare run of injuries to Berry, which forced Webster to play Kurt Capewell, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Halasima out of position, disrupting the team balance.

Barnett will return for the start of the 2026 season and Metcalf has recommitted to the Warriors through 2028, but somehow, the coach must find a way to keep him healthy.

Warriors reserve celebrate their NRL State Championship. David Neilson

Across three seasons at Mt Smart, Metcalf has managed just 34 games – less than half – due to a variety of injuries. The Warriors are undoubtedly better with him – over his tenure, they are 23-11 (68 percent) with him, but just 17-1-23 without him.

While the first-grade team limped into the post-season and were quickly dispatched, the Warriors reserves were head and shoulders above their rivals in NSW Cup competition, and captured the NRL State Championship crown.

Out of necessity, Webster used 28 players this year, offering valuable experience to his fringe performers.

Here’s a crazy idea – let’s utilise that depth to rotate the premier line-up, spreading the load, and minimising wear and tear on the frontliners.

Metcalf isn’t the only one that needs preservation. Egan invariably starts the season fresh and full of energy, pushing for Origin selection early, but inevitably ground down by heavy minutes.

Wayde Egan succumbed to heavy usage and niggly injuries as the season wore on. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

In 2025, he led the league in dummy half runs through the early rounds, but at the business end of the schedule, he made none against Manly Sea Eagles and none in the first half against Penrith.

He now has an able deputy in Healey, so let’s give him some time off, before it’s forced through injury.

Warriors wāhine

While the men were negotiating their path to the NRL playoffs, the club’s women were blazing a very different trail, returning to the NRLW after a five-year, Covid-enforced hiatus with a very makeshift roster.

Under the direction of two-time premiership coach Ron Griffiths, most of the squad had never played at this level before, plucked from the local club competition, or switching from union or sevens.

The campaign struggled for consistency of performance, and suffered from injury, suspension and pregnancy, but unearthed some exciting talent that should hold the wāhine in good stead next season, when they will be bolstered by more established stars fresh from grand final glory with Brisbane Broncos.

Ivana Lauitiiti added to her family’s Warriors legacy. David Neilson/Photosport

Rugby convert Payton Takimoana finished second among the league’s top tryscorers, while Patricia Maliepo, Tysha Ikenasio and Shakira Baker became double and triple internationals, based on their progress throughout their debut seasons. Teenager Ivana Lauitiiti emulated club legend dad Ali with her big-tackling exploits.

Annetta Nu’uausala, Gayle Broughton and Mele Hufanga will bring added firepower across the Tasman from the Broncos, while Stacey Waaka returns to league, after dedicating herself to a Black Ferns World Cup stint.

Don’t be surprised if they claim the club’s first championship in 2026.

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

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Scientists investigate venomous spider ‘hotspots’

Source: Radio New Zealand

Supplied / Professor Steve Trewick

Researchers are investigating “hotspots” of a venomous spider throughout the country this summer.

The invasive noble false widow spider was first spotted in Porirua last year with further sightings in Christchurch, Nelson, Waikato and Northland.

It’s not an aggressive spider, but it bites in defence and the toxins in its venom cause swelling, redness and pain.

In July, Massey University ecology professor Steven Trewick put the call out for suspected sightings to understand how widespread they are.

“We thought that with the level of interest in this spider, we would hear a bit more from people, perhaps slightly panicky kind of responses saying they found some spiders,” he said.

“And in fact it’s been surprisingly quiet.”

That could be because people have not recognised it, he said.

“The other possibility is that in fact, this new invasive species is not as widespread as … early indications suggested.

“So it could be that it is very locally abundant, possibly in a number of places around the country … and hasn’t spread sort of uniformly across the landscape.”

This summer, Massey researchers will search the “hotspots” where they’ve already been found, beginning in Porirua.

They’ll gradually move away from urban areas – metre by metre – to see if the spiders are still present as they head into grass, shrub and bush.

“It could be that they’re hotspots because that’s just where we’ve paid attention, or they’re real hotspots because there are relatively high densities of these spiders just in those places,” Trewick said.

Their locations could also be determined by the wind, he said.

Supplied / Professor Steve Trewick

“When the hatchlings pop out of their little bundle of eggs, this little sort of cocoon, very, very tiny, the first thing that they do is let out a little strand of silk … and that catches the wind and is enough to lift them off and take them away.

“Many of them, of course, will land up somewhere useless, but some might find just a nice little spot to make their first web.”

Researchers will also do population genetic work to understand how many spiders arrived in New Zealand, and which country they came from.

PhD students in the British Isles, Europe and Chile are undertaking similar efforts, Trewick said.

“It becomes a really interesting multinational effort dealing with, sort of a common problem.”

Biologists wanted to know whether the spider was moving into native environments, and interacting with other native spiders and animals, he said.

“If that happened, then that would be a bigger … biodiversity conservation issue.”

What to look out for – and where

The noble false widow is a pale reddish colour with distinctive white markings on the abdomen, “the big blobby part of the body,” said Trewick.

They have a large spherical abdomen, smaller “front end” and long, naked legs, Trewick said.

“Sort of a classic cartoon spider, not your hairy tarantula-y kind of spider at all,” he said.

The spiders are about a centimetre long, and the legs are another couple of centimetres, said Trewick.

They’ve been found around people’s homes, under pot plants, tarpaulin and in fence crevices.

The spiders are most active at night, and they’re speedy, so can disappear quickly once they’ve been disturbed, said Trewick.

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

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Power outages, heavy rain and strong gales as wild weather heads south

Source: Radio New Zealand

Campers at Totaranui Abel Tasman National Park had a near miss when a tree came down on some of their tents. They had moved into a caravan shortly before due to bad weather. Supplied / Warwick Fitzsimmons

Wild weather continued to batter much of the country today, leaving thousands without power.

MetService reported that the wettest weather has moved off Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay, with just the odd shower remaining.

However, rain has moved further south, while several Heavy Rain Watches and Warnings remain in place for the next couple of days.

Gusty southeasterlies continued today, especially over the South Island where an Orange Wind Warning remains in place this afternoon.

A strong wind warning was in place for Marlborough Sounds, Nelson and the West Coast north of Fox Glacier for much of the day, with Wellington under a wind watch until 9pm.

Heavy rain watches were in force for the Tararua District and Wairarapa until 4pm, and the Kaikoura Coast until 9pm.

While Wednesday does not see winds as strong as the past few days, winds will still be noticeable for most.

Thunderstorms will be something to keep an eye on throughout Wednesday, with localised intense rain and strong gusts possible.

This includes Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Taranaki, Manawatu-Whanganui, Kapiti, and Wairarapa, and northern Wellington in the North Island, as well as the West Coast Region in the South Island.

Electra was reporting power cuts on the Kapiti Coast affecting Paekakariki, Foxton and Shannon on Tuesday morning.

On the West Coast, Buller Electricity said the power was off to Karamea, Little Wanganui and Karamea Bluff.

Tauranga City Council has cancelled all five of its community New Year’s Eve events because of the bad weather forecast.

The council said weather reports indicated heavy rain and strong winds during event set-up, with conditions highly likely to continue into Wednesday. It said fireworks displays would hopefully still take place from various locations around the city on New Year’s Eve.

Cleanup continues

In the parts of the South Island, strong winds brought down trees overnight.

  • Has your holiday been disrupted by the weather? Email iwitness@rnz.co.nz with your photos or information.

Fire and Emergency said State Highway 7 over the Rahu Saddle, between Reefton and Springs Junction, was affected.

State Highway 6 also had trees coming down, particularly through the Whangamoa Hills between Nelson and Blenheim.

Firefighters were still being called out into the evening across the North Island, taking the total number of weather-related jobs to about 140 in Auckland, Northland, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty.

PowerCo said hundreds of properties remain without power north of Whanganui, and around Palmerston North and Feilding.

The roof of an unoccupied home in the Auckland suburb of Hillsborough came off in high winds and scattered debris down the road. RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson

Campground holidays disrupted

Campground managers in the North Island are hoping for sunnier weather leading up to New Year’s after a lashing of wind and rain.

Wild weather battered much of the North Island on Monday, disrupting campers, causing power outages and downing trees.

In Auckland a roof was torn off an unoccupied home in Hillsborough, as fire crews responded to more than 100 weather-related callouts.

The manager of Kūaotunu Campground on the Coromandel Peninsula, Yvette Davey, said the weather had caused a bit of disruption on Monday.

“We have had a couple of campers that their tents were destroyed so they had to go home, other than that people are hunkering down, it’s settled down here,” she said.

Leanne Mills, the owner of Long Bay Motor Camp in Coromandel said campers were not too put off by the wet weather.

Campground managers in the North Island are hoping for sunnier weather leading up to New Year’s. Ruth Kuo

“We’ve had a bit of rain [on Monday] but we’ve been lucky campers have just used it as a crash day, just chill out, read a book, sleep,” she said.

“We’ve just got continued support from our regulars, mostly 90 percent Kiwis, so they’ll come and just meet up every year with the same people year after year and they don’t really care if it rains.”

Festivalgoers for New Year’s events such as Rhythm and Vines in Gisborne have been warned to watch out for wild weather on the roads.

See how today’s weather events unfolded with RNZ’s live blog:

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

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Name release, New Plymouth house fire

Source: New Zealand Police

Police can now release the name of the person who died following a house fire in Trelawney Crescent, New Plymouth on 24 December.

He was 49-year-old Dion Thompson, of New Plymouth.

Our thoughts are with his family and those close to him at this difficult time.

Police are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the fire.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre 

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Local insight and fast action leads to recovery of stolen goods

Source: New Zealand Police

Quick thinking and local knowledge by Hamilton Police have helped recover more than $1700 worth of stolen groceries in the city this morning.

Members of the Hamilton Retail Crime Team were conducting enquiries at commerical premises when a call came in regarding a shoplifting incident at another commercial premises.

Staff were verbally abused when they tried to prevent a woman from stealing a large trolley of groceries.

Members of the Retail Crime Team and a Police Dog Team were fast on the scene, but the offender had already taken off in her vehicle with all the groceries.

With details from the public, the team used local knowledge and gut instinct to head to a Pukete address where they found a vehicle parked at an address still full of the stolen groceries. The offender was found in the house.

A 29-year-old woman has been arrested and charged with shoplifting and will appear in court in early January.

The groceries were returned to a very grateful team.

Detective Inspector Stephen Ambler says this was great work by the retail crime team who continue to act with urgency around shoplifting events across Hamilton and the Waikato.

Posted on

Liam Lawson tests out Australian Supercar

Source: Radio New Zealand

Shane van Gisbergen and co driver Richie Stanaway win the 2023 Repco Bathurst 1000. Mark Horsburgh/EDGE Photographics / PHOTOSPORT

Formula 1 star Liam Lawson got to try out the car of another New Zealand champion driver over the Christmas period.

Lawson got to drive Shane van Gisbergen’s Bathurst-winning Supercar at Highlands Motorsport Park.

It was part of a series of drives Lawson took part in at the Central Otago circuit.

Liam Lawson drivers an Australian Supercar, 2025. supplied / Instagram

Lawson drives Formula 1 for Racing Bulls, which has the same sponsor as van Gisbergen’s former Supercars team.

That car, which won the 2023 race at Mount Panorama, is now based in New Zealand with Tony Quinn, who owns Highlands Motorsport Park and is part owner of Triple Eight Racing.

Lawson drove the Supercar in Red Bull Ampol Racing’s 2025 livery.

The car was also driven in New Zealand by Lawson’s incoming F1 teammate Arvid Lindblad, who won this year’s Castrol Toyota Formula Regional Oceania Championship in New Zealand.

Lawson spoke about the drive in a Highlands social media post.

“It’s such a fun car to drive,” he said.

“I loved it. It’s the most raw car to drive, with the big sequential shifter and you’ve got three pedals. No assists. It’s just very raw, very loud.”

Lawson took passengers for rides on a day that saw over $50,000 raised for charity.

New Zealand will host two Supercars rounds for the first time in 2026, at Taupō and Christchurch’s Ruapuna.

The 2026 Supercars Championship commences in Sydney on February 20-22.

Shane van Gisbergen now races in NASCAR.

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

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Four youths apprehended following burglary

Source: New Zealand Police

Dunedin Police are thanking members of the public for their assistance leading to four youths being apprehended for a burglary in Dunedin Central today.

At around 12:50pm, Police were called after a Stuart Street resident heard a window smashing at an unoccupied property down the road.

Police in the area responded immediately, as four people ran from the address towards Cargill Street.

The four youths were located by Police within a matter of minutes, and taken home following some words of advice from Police.

The four have been referred to Youth Aid.

Police are offering a reminder to parents, to where possible, have an idea of where your children are over the holiday period.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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Police still seeking witnesses after mass brawl on Auckland’s K Road

Source: Radio New Zealand

Police have set up a dedicated portal for witnesses of a mass brawl in Auckland to upload any footage they might have.

The brawl happened on Karangahape Road in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Police estimate more than 50 people were present and say there were three serious assaults. In each case, someone was hospitalised with serious injuries.

One person has been arrested but police are seeking footage to identify others.

The incidents were:

  • About 4.15am, a serious assault outside the Crown Bar on Queen Street. A 33-year-old man received serious injuries and was hospitalised. The offender is still unknown.
  • About 4.30am, a serious assault on Cobden Steet, just off Karangahape Road. A 27-year-old man received serious injuries and was hospitalised. The offender is still unknown.
  • About 5am, a serious assault at the Mobil Service Station at the corner or Karangahape and Ponsonby roads. A 46-year-old man received serious injuries and was hospitalised. A 21-year-old man has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and bailed to reappear in court on 16 January.

    • The portal can be found here at the NZ Police website.

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

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State Highway 2 closed after crash

Source: Radio New Zealand

State Highway 2 near Tangoio in Hawke’s Bay is closed following a single vehicle crash.

The crash north of Tangoio Settlement Road was reported to police just after 11:40am.

Initial indications include serious injuries, while the number of people injured cannot be confirmed.

Motorists are advised to avoid the area and expect delays, detours are in place.

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