Source: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

A Southland man died trying to destroy old commercial explosives that he had not been able to safely dispose of elsewhere, a coroner has found.

Donald Woodford tried to return the Powergel to the manufacturer and then hand it to police after years storing the explosives in a shed on his Mossburn property.

In findings released on Monday, Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame said the manufacturer and police refused to take the Powergel and neither told him that he needed to contact the Defence Force to safely dispose of it.

Woodford died on his 79th birthday from blast and shrapnel injuries while trying to detonate the explosives near a remote hut on 1 February 2024.

The coroner said he had previously used the Powergel to blow up rocks in the ground while working as a fencing contractor.

“After he upgraded his equipment and no longer needed explosives, Mr Woodford stored the Powergel in a shed for many years,” she said.

When Woodford and his wife decided to relocate the shed to store firewood, they discussed a plan to move the explosives.

“As a child Mr Woodford had helped his father build a hut at Waterloo Station. The family had been going there ever since. Although they did not discuss it explicitly, Mrs Woodford understood that was where Mr Woodford planned to deal with the explosives from the shed,” she said.

Woodford left home on 31 January and planned to return the following day after 1pm, the coroner said.

When he did not return as expected, Woodford’s brother drove to the station where he found him lying a metre-and-a-half from a large hole in the ground.

“Most of the injuries were concentrated on the head and chest and the front of the thighs suggesting that Mr Woodford had the explosive in front of his chest while he was crouching down or sitting. Injuries to the left hand suggested that he was holding the explosive in that hand,” the coroner said.

The Defence Force bomb squad ensured the remaining explosives were safely detonated.

They told police that explosives deteriorate over time, becoming less stable and more volatile and more sensitive to heat, shock and friction as they age.

“Had he taken advice from the NZDF Mr Woodford would not have tried to detonate the Powergel himself and the tragic consequence could have been avoided,” the coroner said.

Cunninghame said Woodford’s family wanted others to learn from the tragedy to prevent it happening again.

She wanted police staff to be reminded of the correct procedure for unused explosives.

When a member of the public sought advice on how to dispose of explosives, the Defence Force’s explosive ordnance disposal squadron should be contacted, she said.

Cunninghame said police advised they were developing all-staff guidance on police-issued devices, with an advisory notice also shared on the police intranet.

She commended the proactive approach.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Two young people have been charged with arson over the large fire at Taupō’s biggest school.

Crews contained the blaze at Taupō-nui-a-Tia College that broke out on Sunday afternoon.

Police closed surrounding roads for approximately four hours while Fire and Emergency New Zealand worked to contain the blaze at the school on Spa Road.

“The block of classrooms was destroyed, along with everything inside,” Detective Sergeant Allan Humphries said.

“We acknowledge this will be devastating for college teachers, students and families.”

He said the two youths were due to appear in Taupō Youth Court this week.

The school will be closed on Monday.

Local MP Louise Upston said the school and the Ministry of Education would minimise the disruption to students.

The ministry will meet with school staff today to assess the damage.

Board chairperson Michelle Barnett said the building houses several classrooms.

Fire and Emergency NZ said scene guards have been in place overnight and crews will be returning during daylight hours.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Government interference in planning rules for Auckland housing has reached new heights with another u-turn frustrating the council

Sandringham residents Kristin De Monchy and Philip Bradley are walking around sodden, empty sections in their neighbourhood, wondering if the next homes to be built here will be swept away – again.

De Monchy’s home flooded in the 2023 anniversary weekend storms, and the impact on the suburb was severe. Since then both have been active trying to get better infrastructure in place so it doesn’t happen again.

“We made it clear right from the outset that this wasn’t about intensity,” says Bradley.

“In fact within the community we’ve been working with there seems to be a high level of support for intensification. But not when the infrastructure’s not there to support it. In our case the stormwater infrastructure is basically non-existent.”

Sandringham is a quick trip from the city and would be a great place to build up – if the pipes were in place. The government’s first attempt to force councils nationwide to increase housing options, the 2021 Medium Density Residential Standards, would have run over those objections.

“There’s never been a stormwater system built here,” says Bradley. “The system that exists, the piping under the streets around us now, is basically around delivering water to houses, and taking wastewater away, and maybe a little bit of stormwater into it where they can.”

There’s a massive infrastructure project being built practically under their feet – the central intercepter. But it’s for sewage, not stormwater.

“We do have a combined wastewater and stormwater system in our neighbourhood,” says De Monchy, “but what happens is once the flows get over much higher than a one in 10 year event they shut off connection to the wastewater network which means stormwater’s got to go somewhere – so it goes on the streets.”

Both say there’s no lack of knowledge on this issue – “there are hundreds of papers on this … dozens of studies,” says Bradley. “But they just seem to be reluctant to try and find a solution that doesn’t just involve people accepting that flooding happens.”

But the council is up against central government rules when it comes to rebuilding on those empty sections.

Richard Hills chairs the council’s Policy, Planning and Development Committee and deals with a slew of plans overlapping Auckland.

Lately those plans have been turned upside down by the government, as its quest to force councils to make way for more housing is pushed through in haste – failing to take into account issues such as the type of flooding the city experienced in January 2023, or where the most suitable place is for high-rise flats and intensity.

Now there’s another potential u-turn in the rules imposed by central lawmakers, the third in recent times. So far the chopping and changing has cost the council $13 million in wasted work, not including staff time, and it still doesn’t know where it stands.

This at a time when the government is lambasting councils for overspending, and plans to introduce a rates cap.

Meanwhile the council continues to work on the last iteration of the government’s law changes, because it has to – it’s the law.

At the moment “we’ve got hearings panel members already appointed with the government, they’re all raring to go and I’m not sure … do we change the direction? If it goes out to consultation again what does that even look like? Will people even engage because they just thought they engaged three months ago, four months ago? And a lot of people spend money on those submissions too, and time.”

“The frustration is I think we just need to stick on one path, understand what’s going on and then continue to address it.

“The other thing would just be nice if government worked with us before they jumped into new policies, new plan changes, new local government requirements.”

Aucklanders also seem to be hung up on a figure of two million more homes.

The number reflects capacity, not buildings.

“It would take every single person or property owner in Auckland to develop their property to the maximum possible available capacity on every single site in Auckland. Which we know that most people won’t. A lot of people will stay in their homes forever, a lot of people won’t sell, and there’s not the development community or the population that would build out every single property in Auckland,” says Hills.

The council’s data suggests Auckland can expect 300,000 to 400,000 new homes in the next 30 – 40 years, no matter what the plan is.

Timeline

• 2016: Auckland Council introduces its Unitary Plan. This is its ‘planning rulebook’ on building in Auckland.
• October 2021: Labour and National jointly announce their Medium Density Residental Standards [MDRS] (also known as the “3×3” law). Three dwellings, three stories tall, would be allowed by default to be built on most city properties across New Zealand.
• August 2022: Plan change 78 (PC78) introduced. MDRS came into effect.
• January 2023: Auckland anniversary floods, resulting in widespread destruction. Brought into sharp focus the perils of building in flood zones.
• June 2025: Auckland Council and government come to an agreement that more land will become avaliable for housing, especially around the new City Rail Link. Auckland would be exempt from the MDRS and permission is granted by the government to scrap Plan Change 78 – as long as the new plan creates the same number of houses (that two million figure).
• October 2025: Plan change 120 introduced.
• November/December2025: Round one of consultation.
• January 16 2026: Government confirms to RNZ it is looking into weakening housing intensification laws which might reduce the controversial two million figure and Auckland council confirms it has heard nothing.
• January 27 2026: Housing minister Chris Bishop says some tweaks in the legislation are expected “in the next month or so”.

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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 District Court judge will have her actions scrutinised by a Judicial Conduct Panel today, as she faces accusations of disrupting a New Zealand First event.

Judge Ema Aitken will appear before the panel, after allegedly disrupting a function at Auckland’s exclusive Northern Club in 2024.

She is accused of shouting that NZ First leader Winston Peters was lying.

Judge Aitken said she didn’t shout, did not recognise Peters’ voice when she responded to remarks she overheard and did not know it was a political event.

A judicial conduct panel will determine facts and write a report to the attorney-general, including whether the removal of the judge is justified.

It is being led by retired Court of Appeal Judge Brendan Brown KC, and includes sitting Court of Appeal Judge Justice Jillian Mallon and former Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae.

Judge Aitken is being represented by David Jones KC.

Presenting the allegations of misconduct to the panel are special counsel Tim Stephens KC and Jonathan Orpin-Dowell.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Wellington leaders are calling for an investigation into Moa Point Treatment Plant’s failure.

The local MP says concerns have been raised over whether the plant’s privately-owned operator Veolia was fulfilling its contract.

Crews have spent the weekend trying to clean up Wellington’s wastewater plant so they can assess the damage after it was shut down due to being flooded by raw sewage. It’s likely to be months before the Moa Point plant is back in operation.

In the meantime, millions of litres of untreated sewage continue to spill out into the Cook Strait since early Wednesday.

Green MP Julie Anne Genter, who is the local MP, told Morning Report it was devastating.

“It’s really disappointing. I know so many people in Wellington love our south coast, and this is precisely the time they would be out there on a beautiful day on the beach,” Genter said.

“… It’s bad for us, but it is even worse for our wildlife.”

She said there were little blue penguins, or kororā, in the bay and a pod of dolphins there on Sunday.

“We can do better, we have to do better.”

Genter said the council was putting enormous amounts of money into Moa Point, with an upgrade happening at the wastewater treatment plant.

She said concerns have previously been raised over the performance of Moa Point plant’s privately-owned operator Veolia.

“There seems to be some separation between the private company, Wellington Water and the ability of the elected people to get the results that we need,” she said.

Genter said there needs to be a full investigation.

Wellington mayor Andrew Little said last week that he would raise what he has called a “catastrophic” failure of the city’s sewage plant with the prime minister. He is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon on Monday.

Little said one of the questions in the days ahead would be about setting up an appropriate investigation or inquiry into what happened.

“We can’t let this happen again,” he said. “We can’t let such a critical plant for a modern city fail in the way that this has and cause the environmental degradation that it has.

“It’s important we get the facts and it’s important we understand what we need to do to prevent it from happening again.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The parents of a 3-year-old Dunedin girl with hip dysplasia say she has suffered unnecessary pain and trauma from a delayed diagnosis and then being subjected to the wrong kind of operation.

They plan to take her to Europe for further treatment, saying they no longer have trust in the New Zealand health system.

Despite her ordeal, Lubomira Weyland rarely stops smiling, a limp is currently the only sign that things are not quite right.

It was a Plunket nurse at the five-month check who first noticed her hip creases were not even, and suggested her parents consult their GP.

Her father, Marvin Weyland, said the doctor consulted a specialist at Dunedin Hospital’s orthopaedics department in April 2023.

“The only thing he did was look at the photo and decide based on that photo and fact that her hips were checked when she was born, he assumed everything would be OK.”

If the problem had been picked up then, it could have been treated with a harness.

However, it was two years later that her pre-school teacher noticed Mira was limping.

An X-ray showed she had hip dysplasia, where the “ball” (femoral head) of the thigh bone does not fit snugly into the “socket” in the pelvis.

Without treatment, it causes uneven leg length, pain, early arthritis, dislocations and even necrosis, where the tissue in the hip dies.

In October 2024 Mira had a procedure called a “closed reduction” under general anaesthetic, where the surgeon manipulated the hip back into the socket.

Her mother Agnieszka Sieradzka had just given birth to Mira’s little brother, who spent several weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit after being born prematurely.

“It was also very difficult because Mira slept very badly in the cast and having also a little baby who on principle don’t sleep very well, the nights were very difficult. The whole time was difficult.”

They took her for several follow up appointments at the hospital and she had another anaesthetic to change the cast.

“And they never saw anything wrong until we noticed she was limping again,” the father said.

“We had a second X-ray and again it was obvious that her hip was dislocated. So it looked exactly like before the surgery.”

The parents assumed this set-back was just bad luck – until they did some more research and consulted specialists in Europe, who told them a closed reduction would never have worked because Mira was already too old.

By the age of 2, an open reduction is needed.

Sieradzka said it was devastating that Mira went through surgery and spent months in a cast “for nothing”.

“It didn’t have any chance to succeed and everything we went through was… I don’t know, I can’t even express the feeling of that.”

Internal investigation

ACC has recognised the delayed diagnosis as “a treatment injury” and Health NZ has apologised to the family for the distress suffered by them because of that and the subsequent complications.

In a written response to RNZ’s questions, the Southern Group Director of Operations for Health NZ, Craig Ashton, said Health NZ “acknowledged the distress the family has experienced”.

“Our aim is always to provide excellent healthcare, and we take these matters extremely seriously.”

“Our staff work extremely hard to provide the best possible care for our patients.”

Health NZ had undertaken an internal investigation to understand what occurred and “establish any necessary procedural changes”, he said.

“We have shared review findings with the family.”

Scans showed surgery had failed

The report, which Mira’s parents have shared with RNZ, includes comments by two orthopaedic surgeons who reviewed the post-operative scans of Mira’s hip and could see the hip was not properly aligned.

“In retrospect, the imaging suggests that the hip may not have been perfectly concentrically reduced, which would increase the risk of treatment failure,” one noted, while conceding that interpretation of this imaging was “subjective and not an exact science”.

“Mr A [who did the surgery] who has significant expertise in this area, reviewed the imaging at the time and was satisfied that the hip was reduced.”

The other specialist said “on retrospective review of the arthogram, I am concerned that the femoral head was not sitting concentrically in the acetabulum and hence potentially not stable”.

Weyland said the surgeon who operated told them everything went perfectly but it should have been clear to him that it had not worked.

That specialist no longer works at Dunedin Hospital and did not take part in the review.

The review found the GP had not made a formal referral regarding Mira’s hip creases, but just sought advice.

The specialist said asymmetrical creases alone were “not a good indicator” of hip dysplasia, but if he had known there were other problems, he would have seen Lubomira promptly in clinic and he was “personally very sorry” for the impact the delay had.

Health NZ concluded there was no fixed age at which closed reduction surgery should no longer be done, and the treatment decisions in Mira’s case “appear to be consistent with appropriate clinical judgement at the time”.

Family fundraising for overseas surgery

Mira has been on the wait list for corrective surgery at Starship Children’s Hospital since August.

However, her parents are planning to take her to Poland for treatment.

“Even the doctors at Starship don’t do the surgery often, they know one of several different techniques that might be necessary,” Marvin Weyland said.

“They also tell us that the surgery if they do it there will take five hours, whereas the overseas clinics, with them it takes two hours.

“That gives you an idea of the difference in experience.”

Sieradzka said she blamed herself for not asking more questions.

“It’s caused a complete failure of trust in the healthcare professions.”

The couple, who are both academics at Otago University, hope to take Mira to Poland for surgery in the next couple of months.

They are fundraising to help cover the cost of the surgery (about $50,000) plus travel and accommodation, which is likely to cost more than $20,000.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The parents of a 3-year-old Dunedin girl with hip dysplasia say she has suffered unnecessary pain and trauma from a delayed diagnosis and then being subjected to the wrong kind of operation.

They plan to take her to Europe for further treatment, saying they no longer have trust in the New Zealand health system.

Despite her ordeal, Lubomira Weyland rarely stops smiling, a limp is currently the only sign that things are not quite right.

It was a Plunket nurse at the five-month check who first noticed her hip creases were not even, and suggested her parents consult their GP.

Her father, Marvin Weyland, said the doctor consulted a specialist at Dunedin Hospital’s orthopaedics department in April 2023.

“The only thing he did was look at the photo and decide based on that photo and fact that her hips were checked when she was born, he assumed everything would be OK.”

If the problem had been picked up then, it could have been treated with a harness.

However, it was two years later that her pre-school teacher noticed Mira was limping.

An X-ray showed she had hip dysplasia, where the “ball” (femoral head) of the thigh bone does not fit snugly into the “socket” in the pelvis.

Without treatment, it causes uneven leg length, pain, early arthritis, dislocations and even necrosis, where the tissue in the hip dies.

In October 2024 Mira had a procedure called a “closed reduction” under general anaesthetic, where the surgeon manipulated the hip back into the socket.

Her mother Agnieszka Sieradzka had just given birth to Mira’s little brother, who spent several weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit after being born prematurely.

“It was also very difficult because Mira slept very badly in the cast and having also a little baby who on principle don’t sleep very well, the nights were very difficult. The whole time was difficult.”

They took her for several follow up appointments at the hospital and she had another anaesthetic to change the cast.

“And they never saw anything wrong until we noticed she was limping again,” the father said.

“We had a second X-ray and again it was obvious that her hip was dislocated. So it looked exactly like before the surgery.”

The parents assumed this set-back was just bad luck – until they did some more research and consulted specialists in Europe, who told them a closed reduction would never have worked because Mira was already too old.

By the age of 2, an open reduction is needed.

Sieradzka said it was devastating that Mira went through surgery and spent months in a cast “for nothing”.

“It didn’t have any chance to succeed and everything we went through was… I don’t know, I can’t even express the feeling of that.”

Internal investigation

ACC has recognised the delayed diagnosis as “a treatment injury” and Health NZ has apologised to the family for the distress suffered by them because of that and the subsequent complications.

In a written response to RNZ’s questions, the Southern Group Director of Operations for Health NZ, Craig Ashton, said Health NZ “acknowledged the distress the family has experienced”.

“Our aim is always to provide excellent healthcare, and we take these matters extremely seriously.”

“Our staff work extremely hard to provide the best possible care for our patients.”

Health NZ had undertaken an internal investigation to understand what occurred and “establish any necessary procedural changes”, he said.

“We have shared review findings with the family.”

Scans showed surgery had failed

The report, which Mira’s parents have shared with RNZ, includes comments by two orthopaedic surgeons who reviewed the post-operative scans of Mira’s hip and could see the hip was not properly aligned.

“In retrospect, the imaging suggests that the hip may not have been perfectly concentrically reduced, which would increase the risk of treatment failure,” one noted, while conceding that interpretation of this imaging was “subjective and not an exact science”.

“Mr A [who did the surgery] who has significant expertise in this area, reviewed the imaging at the time and was satisfied that the hip was reduced.”

The other specialist said “on retrospective review of the arthogram, I am concerned that the femoral head was not sitting concentrically in the acetabulum and hence potentially not stable”.

Weyland said the surgeon who operated told them everything went perfectly but it should have been clear to him that it had not worked.

That specialist no longer works at Dunedin Hospital and did not take part in the review.

The review found the GP had not made a formal referral regarding Mira’s hip creases, but just sought advice.

The specialist said asymmetrical creases alone were “not a good indicator” of hip dysplasia, but if he had known there were other problems, he would have seen Lubomira promptly in clinic and he was “personally very sorry” for the impact the delay had.

Health NZ concluded there was no fixed age at which closed reduction surgery should no longer be done, and the treatment decisions in Mira’s case “appear to be consistent with appropriate clinical judgement at the time”.

Family fundraising for overseas surgery

Mira has been on the wait list for corrective surgery at Starship Children’s Hospital since August.

However, her parents are planning to take her to Poland for treatment.

“Even the doctors at Starship don’t do the surgery often, they know one of several different techniques that might be necessary,” Marvin Weyland said.

“They also tell us that the surgery if they do it there will take five hours, whereas the overseas clinics, with them it takes two hours.

“That gives you an idea of the difference in experience.”

Sieradzka said she blamed herself for not asking more questions.

“It’s caused a complete failure of trust in the healthcare professions.”

The couple, who are both academics at Otago University, hope to take Mira to Poland for surgery in the next couple of months.

They are fundraising to help cover the cost of the surgery (about $50,000) plus travel and accommodation, which is likely to cost more than $20,000.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A mental health patient who stabbed a stranger while on escorted leave had a history of violence and had previously stabbed two relatives.

He’s now been made a special patient which means he is detained in hospital.

The judge says it’s concerning that the latest attack happened while the man was in the care of mental health services and his traumatised victim says it should never have been allowed to happen.

She was walking home at the time and says both she and the offender have been “failed by a system that was meant to keep us all safe”.

Poutama Rawiti Clarence Owen appeared in the Hutt Valley District Court before Judge Michael Mika on Wednesday after earlier being found not guilty by reason of insanity on a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

Court documents obtained by RNZ reveal that on 14 November 2024, Owen was on escorted leave in Waiwhetu, Lower Hutt.

About 7.40pm he walked along a street with “clenched fists” holding a black handled knife, with a sharp blade.

“Upon coming across the victim, the defendant has lunged towards her.”

Owen struck the woman in the left side of her neck with the knife. He then tried unsuccessfully to stab her a second time in the back before striking her a third time on the right side of her upper back.

The knife penetrated the victim’s neck and back.

At the beginning of Wednesday’s hearing the victim, who has name suppression, read a victim impact statement to the court.

In her statement, which she wrote more than a year ago, she said she had just got off a bus and was walking home with her dinner in her hand when she was stabbed in the neck, back of her head and back by what she thought was a flathead screwdriver by a man she did not know.

“Once I knew I was safe in the ambulance and had finally let the emotions hit I felt a lot of sadness, sad because I realised something must be seriously wrong for someone to stab someone who they did not know and to walk away as if nothing had happened.

“Sad because I couldn’t help but think both he and I had been failed by a system that was meant to keep us all safe.”

She said she was struggling to walk on the street where she was assaulted.

“I find it hard to be out in public spaces. I feel distrusting of others and uncomfortable in places with strangers. I find myself being easily startled, and this in itself has negatively impacted my sleep which has had its own knock-on effects.

“I find people coming from behind me frightens me and strangers coming towards me makes me feel anxious.”

The woman said it had been “incredibly exhausting” both mentally and emotionally for her and her family.

Upon learning of the “escorted leave mental health dynamic” the woman felt “incredibly sad and angry”.

“I am incredibly aware of how severe my situation was and how fortunate a number of my past experiences, current capabilities and know how prevented this from being a much worse situation and perhaps even saved my life.

“It is with that in mind that I never want anyone else to experience and go through what I did, I don’t want blame and the additional harm that often comes with that, but responsibility which leads to actions which improves things, to ensure such things never happen again, because I want to be able to feel safe in my local community.”

The woman had recently updated her victim impact statement to include that over a year on her journey to heal from the trauma continued.

“It is extremely difficult to be able to move on from such harm on a street that I continue to walk most days, which serves as a regular reminder of what happened and what could have been much worse.

“We should all be able to feel and be safe in our neighbourhoods, which on that Thursday evening, we unfortunately were not. I hope for my own continued healing and wholeness, to be able to move on and find greater peace. But I also hope for healing and wholeness for the man who stabbed me.”

‘Severe treatment resistant illness’

Owen’s lawyer told the court the 26-year-old had a “very basic understanding” of what was going on in terms of the court process.

“I’ve explained to him prior to call today that it’s recommended that he be made a special patient, I don’t think he really understands it.

“I’ve done my best to explain that he will, if an order was made, he’s going to stay in hospital for quite some time… his capacity to understand that is very limited.”

The lawyer said his position was to neither consent nor oppose the making of a special patient order.

The Crown prosecutor said she agreed with the recommendation that Owen be made a special patient.

Judge Mika told the court he had earlier found Owen not guilty on account of insanity.

“Mr Owen has a severe treatment resistant illness, namely schizophrenia. He is currently presenting with chronic psychotic features including persecutorial delusions and somatic hallucinations, his current offending… reflects a well established pattern of violence, violent behaviours where Mr Owen acted on delusional compulsion to protect himself or others from perceived threats.”

In September 2021 Owen stabbed a relative, the following year he stabbed another relative, Judge Mika said.

“Mr Owen’s violence is increasing in diversity of victims, initially family and now unprovoked attack on members of the community and also in diversity and severity.

“It is concerning that the current charge occurred whilst Mr Owen was in the care of mental health services. This highlights the difficulties and challenges for the mental health service of accurately predicting and identifying Mr Owen’s violent behaviours. The threshold for detention as a special patient is high, but in my view, in this case, that threshold has been met.”

Health New Zealand (HNZ) regional director mental health and addiction for Central Region Paul Oxnam said in a statement that HNZ acknowledged the incident and the impact it had on all those involved.

“We are committed to providing safe, high-quality mental health care.

“An in-depth Serious Incident Review of this event is in its final stages. The purpose of the review is to identify areas for improvement to avoid such an incident happening again. We have already taken steps to improve our services, including changes to the way escorted leave is managed.”

In a statement to RNZ, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey said any serious incident was a “cause for concern”.

“I have made it very clear to HNZ that public and patient safety must always come first. It is important that when incidents do happen, investigations and reviews are triggered and that recommendations are acted on.

“I am informed that an in-depth Serious Incident Review of this incident is in the final stages. It is my expectation that Health New Zealand will implement the recommendations of that review as quickly as possible. I am also informed that while the review is ongoing steps have already been taken steps to improve services.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Fewer doctors than you might think are offering ADHD diagnosis and prescription services, despite rule changes at the start of the month.

There are hopes more will come on board, but for now, industry leaders say GPs could be slow to train up in an area most haven’t worked in for decades.

Luke Bradford, the president of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, told RNZ he would put the number about 15 to 20 percent currently.

“But that will steadily grow,” he said. “In my own surgery, for instance, the GP who wants to do it has identified that she wants to do it, she’s been on a couple of courses, and she feels she’ll be in a position to start in a couple of months.”

GPs were well placed to manage this kind of medication, he said, often having long-term relationship with patients.

But their ability to prescribe ADHD drugs was removed in 1999, amid fears people were misusing them.

Bradford explained that, while doctors were technically allowed to a range of things, from minor surgery to skin cancer assessments to menopause medication, they had to recognise their own limits – and it would be negligent for them to do something they weren’t trained in.

While one in six doctors didn’t sound like many, it added up, he said.

“That is massive numbers – if you look across the nation, we’ve got 6000 GPs and the prevalence of ADHD is somewhere around 5 percent, of which we’re already managing 2 percent.

That equalled, conservatively, about 750 GPs for about 250,000 people with ADHD – of which less than half were on medication.

These rule changes were meant to provide more people with access to medication, to help close that gap.

Bradford said he expected GP numbers to grow, as more doctors took up the courses and more new grads emerged with an interest in the field.

Some 600 attended one of the college’s eight-week courses late last year.

Dr Kim Hurst, a GP in Whakatipu and clinical director at Green Cross Health, was one of them.

“I think the thing that surprised me is the uptake across my peers and colleagues has been lower than I expected, and I think that is largely due to the pressure that primary care is under at the moment.”

She compared it to the introduction of insulin prescription services

“Some of us felt way more comfortable doing it than others,” she said. “That transitional period took probably six to twelve months, and now that it’s bread-and-butter, we wouldn’t even think about sending a patient who needed to start insulin to hospital.”

Now, her team was working collaboratively to assess people for ADHD, with any doctor able to start the conversation, and then match the patient with a GP within the wider company who was happy to diagnose and prescribe.

“What I really didn’t want to see was kind of a sign up on the door saying, ‘We don’t do ADHD,” Hurst said. “I think that’s a disappointing message for patients with neurodiversity to hear.”

“We know ADHD is an under-diagnosed condition, and has a significant social and economic cost burden associated with it, so we really wanted to ensure we had open doors for that initial assessment, and then a means to navigate to GPs and nurse practitioners who have done the additional training.”

She said she had been heartened to see how many psychiatrists were approaching GPs to offer their advice or support.

Lewis Roscoe, who lives in Stanmore Bay, was one of those patients who had turned up at an appointment in early February, and left disappointed.

He got a diagnosis from a clinical psychologist, at a cost of $1500, in November.

He was told: “You can go to a psychiatrist, get them to prescribe you the medication, but that’s about $800, and so since we’d literally just coughed up $1500 already, it wasn’t really our go-to.”

But on hearing GPs would soon offer that service, he booked an appointment for February.

He even checked in multiple times to make sure his GP could prescribe that medication.

But, last week, he left his double appointment after only 10 minutes with a $150 bill, and a referral to a psychiatrist – which was what he’d been trying to avoid.

“I mean it’s still going to be cheaper than 800 bucks, but I guess if you want to compare price to stress levels, it would be nicer if it was a lot more clear-cut – see one person, get prescription, go to chemist,” he said.

He was still going to pursue a prescription through his GP, but if that didn’t work out by the end of the month, he’d start looking elsewhere.

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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 set to return to the scene of a large fire at Taupō’s biggest school.

Crews have contained the blaze at Taupō-nui-a-Tia College that broke out on Sunday afternoon.

It’s left a teaching block significantly damaged.

The school will be closed today.

Local MP Louise Upston said the school and the Ministry of Education would minimise the disruption to students.

The ministry will meet with school staff today to assess the damage.

Board chairperson Michelle Barnett said the building houses several classrooms.

Fire and Emergency NZ said scene guards have been in place overnight and crews will be returning during daylight hours.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Court of Appeal will this week consider an application by the white supremacist who murdered 51 people in the Christchurch terror attacks to vacate his guilty pleas and stand trial.

Australian Brenton Tarrant is seeking leave to appeal his convictions and life sentence for the massacres at Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre on 15 March 2019.

In March 2020 he pleaded guilty at the High Court to 51 counts of murder, 40 of attempted murder and one terrorism charge.

In August that year he was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, which was the harshest sentence available to the court.

The terrorist now wants to appeal his convictions and sentence although the appeals were filed late and the Court of Appeal must now decide if they should proceed.

The 35-year-old is expected to give evidence during the week-long hearing.

The court is primarily considering the application to vacate his guilty pleas with the central issue being whether the terrorist was incapable of making rational decisions at the time of his pleas because of what he claims were torturous and inhumane prison conditions.

If the court grants the application to vacate the pleas, the case will be sent back to the High Court for the terrorist to stand trial.

If the court declines the application then a further hearing will consider the sentence appeal later this year.

The application will be heard by Court of Appeal president Justice Christine French, Justice Susan Thomas and Justice David Collins.

Court buildings will be under increased security with the courtroom limited to lawyers, media, officials and other authorised people.

The hearing will be streamed to an adjoining courtroom at the Court of Appeal and to the Law Courts in Christchurch for victims and their families to view the hearing via a delayed broadcast.

The terrorist is also expected to give evidence to the Coroners Court after the High Court cleared the way for him to be called as a witness, despite objections from survivors and victims’ families.

He was previously interviewed by a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the terror attack.

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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 priest admitted sexual abuse to leaders of his religious order nearly 20 years before he would be convicted of sexually abusing four boys, RNZ can reveal.

However, at the time in 2007, he was unable to identify the anonymous complainant and instead of notifying police, the order sent him to Australia for a six-month programme that provided “professional risk assessment and therapy” for people accused of sexual abuse.

RNZ earlier revealed Fr Rowan Donoghue had admitted six charges including indecent assault on a boy aged 12-16, indecent assault on a boy 16 and over and sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection.

The offending related to four boys who were boarding at St Bede’s College in Christchurch between 1996 and 2000.

RNZ also revealed that the Society of Mary was made aware of allegations against the priest nearly 20 years ago. The religious order was unable to verify the allegations from the anonymous complainant, but removed Donoghue from public ministry and enacted a “safety plan”.

Do you know more? Email sam.sherwood@rnz.co.nz

In response to further questions by RNZ a Society of Mary spokesperson said a complaint alleging offending by Fr Donoghue was received by the priest via an anonymous Hotmail account in October 2007.

“He advised Society of Mary administration and in a conversation with leaders of the Society of Mary, Donoghue admitted that he was guilty of abuse but could not identify the complainant.

“He was removed from his ministry as a priest immediately. This permanent removal from ministry and subsequent ongoing monitoring has continued to the present day.”

The spokesperson said the society reached out to the anonymous emailer “encouraging him to identify himself” and make a complaint to the police so the matter might be properly investigated, and so that he might receive appropriate support.

“Those attempts to connect with and support the victim, made over many months, were unsuccessful and so no complaint could be made by the Society to the police.

“Donoghue was sent for a six-month programme to Encompass, an institute in Australia that provided professional risk assessment and therapy for those accused of sexual abuse.”

Detective Senior Sergeant Karen Simmons told RNZ police were unable to comment on processes of other organisations and their decision making and whether they decide to call the police but that police encouraged people to do so if they have information they believe could be relevant to any investigation or suspected offending.

In response to earlier questions from RNZ, a Teaching Council spokesperson said in general, the council did not comment on complaints or mandatory reports to the council.

“However, given the level of public interest, we can confirm that we have been working closely with New Zealand Police since early 2025 in support of their investigation into offending by Mr Donoghue.

“The legal requirement for mandatory reporting to the New Zealand Teachers Council (now the Teaching Council) relating to the dismissal, resignation under investigation, serious misconduct, competence concerns, or specified convictions of teachers was first inserted into the Education Act 1989 by the Education Standards Act 2001 to protect the safety of children and young people in our education system.”

Now the criminal process had concluded, the council’s professional disciplinary process would resume.

“This process will include consideration of whether obligations have been met to report conduct or competence concerns to the council that were known at the time, and appropriate action depending on the findings.”

Asked who the disciplinary process would look at, the spokesperson said the council would “into the actions of everyone involved“.

“We are committed to ensuring the safety of children and young people and the quality of teaching in our education system, and we encourage anyone who has concerns about the conduct or competence of a formally registered teacher to reach out to us.”

St Bede’s College rector Jon McDowall earlier told RNZ the details outlined through the court process were “deeply disturbing”.

“As rector, it makes me feel sick to think that young people entrusted to an adult’s care were abused in this way. I am deeply sorry that this happened to them, and my thoughts are with the victims and survivors who continue to live with the impact of that harm.”

McDowall said the school had worked openly with police throughout the process.

“We will continue to cooperate fully with the authorities should any further information come to light.

“Abuse has no place at St Bede’s – past, present, or future. The College has an established policy in place to respond and support victims of historical abuse, alongside safeguarding policies and practices to protect the wellbeing and safety of students today. Our focus remains on providing a safe and supportive environment for all members of our community.”

McDowall extended an open invitation for victims in the case, and others who may have been impacted, or anyone with concerns to contact him directly.

In early 2023, police were contacted about the allegations of sexual abuse by Donoghue in relation to his time at St Bede’s College.

St Patrick’s Silverstream rector Rob Ferreira told RNZ the school had not been made aware of any allegations of abuse in care while Fr Donoghue worked at the school between 1982 to 1992.

“We have not had any inquiries from the police either.

“We operate according to clearly set out guidelines and best practice and you should note that our primary concern is the wellbeing of our students. Given that – our protection of the privacy and any other rights of survivors of abuse and other individuals would be paramount.”

He said the school had informed the community that Donoghue’s name suppression had lifted.

St Patrick’s College Wellington rector Mike Savali confirmed to RNZ that Donoghue was on the college staff from 2003 to 2007.

Where to get help:

• If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
• If you’ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone call the confidential crisis helpline Safe to Talk on 0800 044 334 or text 4334. (available 24/7)
• Male Survivors Aotearoa offers a range of confidential support at centres across New Zealand – find your closest one here.
• Men and Trauma New Zealand: 0800 636 263
• Alternatively contact your local police station

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The cancellation of water-based activities at this year’s Island Bay Festival didn’t put too much of a dampener on the day.

Thousands of people congregated at the festival which had to cancel one of its headline events, the Blessing of the Boats, earlier this week.

The festival said the decision was made in line with public health advice after thousands of litres of untreated sewage spilled into the sea around the southern coast after the long outfall pipe backed up at the Moa Point Wastewater Plant.

A rāhui remains in effect from Ōwhiro Bay to Breaker Bay, and advice to the public continues to be to stay off south coast beaches, not to collect or eat shellfish from the affected coastal waters, avoid the area around Tarakena Bay altogether, and avoid contact with sea water or spray.

Down at the festival Rosie said they came to the festival every year and made time for the Blessing of the Boats and the Tangata Manu Birdman Beach Party.

The Beach Party had avoided cancellation but had been relocated to Shorland Park and moved to Friday 13 February.

She said it was a shame the events had been affected by the wastewater discharge.

“It doesn’t feel like the normal Island Bay festival.”

Sam said she was very disappointed Blessing of the Boats had been cancelled. She said it was what many people came to the festival for.

“It’s a big Catholic community so I think it’s really important for them to see that and obviously the Italian side.”

Kate said the real disappointment was Wellington’s infrastructure.

“This is not the first time we’ve had sewerage going into the sea,” she said. “We’ve just got to stop making these mistakes.”

She had brought her stepson and his partner who were visiting from overseas to support the local event and they had enjoyed the variety of street food available.

Leanne said the kids were “bummed” they couldn’t go swimming and the sewage situation needed to get sorted.

Anika hoped not being able to go in the ocean wouldn’t deter people from coming to the festival, but she said what was going on in the ocean was really sad.

“I’ve talked to quite a few people who are really grieving what this means for the creatures that live here for the marine life, for the diversity that we have, that has taken so long to protect,” she said.

For many the water events however weren’t why they came to the festival.

“We live locally, so it’s nice to come down and support and come check it out,” said Dave.

William said he and his family lived just up the street and came down to the festival for something to do.

He said with a young baby they wouldn’t have gone to the beach anyway.

Lin from Christchurch and Jan from Melbourne saw the festival advertised and decided to come along.

The pair had come for a pickleball tournament, which they ended up pulling out of due to injuries.

Lin said the pair had seen some signs about the wastewater, but it hadn’t impacted their trip at all.

“We’ve just been having an amazing time because Wellington weather’s been great and we’ve just been doing a lot of sightseeing,” said Jan.

Newest water samples show wastewater had not reached inner harbour

Wellington Water says the latest results show there is no indication that untreated wastewater has reached the inner harbour.

The latest water quality tests taken on Friday show wastewater is still discharging into the ocean and people should stay off south coast beaches.

But it shows there is no sign the polluted wastewater has reached Eastbourne, Petone the CBD or Kilbirnie.

Some areas where there had been higher readings also looked to be lower than in previous days.

Wellington Water chair Nick Leggett today’s results were positive news, but for now the advice is still to stay out of the water.

“What we will be doing is building up a pattern and a trend from the testing in the days ahead,” he said

“By the end of the week we might be in a better position to sort of say with some confidence and provide some clarity, whether or not that can change.”

Leggett said the clean up of the Moa Point plant would also continue over the next week.

“Our hope is that by this time next week, we will have a much cleaner plant which will allow the assessments to start taking place so we can understand what it’s going to take to rehabilitate the plant and get it back operating.”

People get in touch with marine life at the Bait House

While people weren’t able to dip a toe in the sea water at Island Bay, also open during the festival was the Marine Education Centre Bait House.

Visitors were told as they entered that the facility had stopped its seawater intake the night before the wastewater spillage due to the predicted heavy rain.

“All our marine life is healthy and happy,” the Marine Education Centre said on its Facebook page earlier this week.

“We dodged a bullet. Many years of operating a tiny aquarium on the South Coast and being in tune with nature as much as possible paid off.”

One of the biggest attractions of the bait house is its touch pool where people could pick up starfish and other critters, and while people were given the option to ditch the hands-on experience if they were concerned about the water, most were still quick to dive in despite the water issues nearby.

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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 clinician says dengue fever vaccines should be made available in New Zealand as the Cook Islands reports a death from their current outbreak – an outbreak that has seen cases of the disease in Aotearoa grow too.

The country’s health ministry said an elderly patient with underlying conditions had arrived to hospital late in the disease’s progression, and died on 2 February.

Authorities have now announced Operation Namu-26 to raise awareness and promote prevention, including reminding tourists to stay safe.

Dengue is a virus passed between people by mosquitos, and Operation Namu-26 will include an increase in insecticide spraying work on the affected islands, as well as a nation-wide clean up to reduce places where water could pool and mosquito eggs could be.

The Cook Islands declared a dengue outbreak in May 2025, and more than 500 cases have been recorded there since.

In New Zealand, 86 people had been reported to have contracted dengue, with 75 of those cases connected to travel to the Cook Islands.

There had been “a significant increase in dengue cases on Rarotonga at the end of December 2025, and again at the end of January 2026”, the Cook Islands health ministry said. Cases had also been found on the islands of Aitutaki, Atiu, Mauke and Mangaia.

Clinician calls for travellers to take precautions, and vaccine to be made available in New Zealand

A vaccine against dengue is essential for New Zealanders to avoid potentially life-threatening bouts of the disease, and should also be made available here too, Auckland doctor Marc Shaw told RNZ.

There is currently no vaccine against dengue currently available in New Zealand, Health New Zealand said.

Shaw is the founder and medical director of Worldwise Travellers Health, and said a dengue vaccine is available in Australia, and has been trailed and tested across most of the world, including in Europe, the US, and South America.

There was strong demand for it in New Zealand, but it needs to be registered by Medsafe in order to be offered here, he said.

Children and older people are more susceptible to dengue fever, Shaw said. And while a first infection is usually not too serious for a healthy adult, the disease is also dangerous for anyone who catches it a second time.

Everyone headed to the Pacific should use the insect repellent permethrin, including spraying their clothes with it, and should wear light coloured clothing, Shaw said.

“The second attack can be a lot more sinister, in that it can cause a lot more potential for death or more serious disease requiring hospitalisation.

“So to this end, it is very important, that if people have had dengue fever in the past, that they take extra precautions for prevention of the disease on the second, third or fourth attack.”

Most types of mosquito are more active at dawn and dusk, but the mosquito species that transmits dengue is active for many hours during the day. It can also transmit other harmful viruses, including Zika and Chikungunya.

“It’s a daytime biting mosquito, and because of that, mosquito repellant is going to be essential for the prevention of diseases at that time,” Shaw said.

“I don’t recommend that people need to necessarily stop going to these wonderful areas that we have on our back doorstep, but to take good precautions – just to be aware of having some good mosquito repellant.

“I and my group are trying to make [a vaccine against dengue] more readily available, because we have a lot of demand for it – and it is this demand I think which is particularly significant at the moment, where the potential of the disease becomes a lot more likely given that people going into a dengue-ridden area can be attacked very easily by mosquito bites.”

Cook Islands tourism spots to take prevention measures

Tourist companies would be providing dengue prevention items to visitors and spraying on their properties following the ministry’s guidelines, the Cook Islands ministry of health said.

Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms, headache, joint or muscle pain, or rash should “seek urgent medical attention immediately …so that timely care can be provided”.

New Zealand clinician and University of Auckland lecturer Dr Maryann Heather recently told RNZ that one in four people infected with dengue get sick.

Symptoms include headaches, pain behind the eyes, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, joint pain, skin rash, lethargy, tiredness, and high fever, and can be severe. The disease can be more dangerous for young children and elderly people.

“If you aren’t improving or concerned, you should seek medical attention, especially if you think you have dengue fever after returning from the islands,” Heather said.

“It’s crucial to educate and warn people travelling back to the islands so they are aware that dengue fever is present, especially since it is seasonal.”

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Taupō firefighters are responding to a large fire at Taupo Nui-a-Tia Tia College.

Fire and Emergency NZ said it was called to the already large fire about 2:10pm on Sunday.

Nearby residents were advised to close their doors and windows.

Photos and videos posted on social media showed an enormous plume of black smoke visible from across the lake.

A deluge of posts to an online community page said they could see flames or smoke coming from the school, on Sunday afternoon, while photos showed a large black plume of smoke rising from the town.

“N block fully ablazed ash is coming down all over Motutahae Street,” one person said.

“A significant amount of the school has already burned down,” another said.

Local MP Louise Upston said in a Facebook post the news was “devastating”.

The school is on Spa Road, at the north east end of the town.

Firefighting crews from the Lake Taupō, Taupo, Kinloch, Rotorua, Tokoroa, Greerton, Tauranga and Kaingaroa stations were responding.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Cook Islands has reported its first dengue-related death of the current outbreak, amid a significant increase in cases, and reminders to tourists to stay safe.

The country’s health ministry said an elderly patient with underlying conditions had arrived to hospital late in the disease’s progression, and died on 2 February.

Authorities have now announced Operation Namu-26 to raise awareness and promote prevention.

Dengue is a virus passed between people by mosquitos, and Operation Namu-26 will include an increase in insecticide spraying work on the affected islands, as well as a nation-wide clean up to reduce places where water could pool and mosquito eggs could be.

The Cook Islands declared a dengue outbreak in May 2025, and more than 500 cases have been recorded there since.

In New Zealand, 86 people had been reported to have contracted dengue, with 75 of those cases connected to travel to the Cook Islands.

There had been “a significant increase in dengue cases on Rarotonga at the end of December 2025, and again at the end of January 2026”, the Cook Islands health ministry said.

Cases had been found on the islands of Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Atiu, Mauke and Mangaia.

Tourist companies would be providing dengue prevention items to visitors, and spraying on their properties following the ministry’s guidelines, it said.

Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms, headache, joint or muscle pain, or rash should “seek urgent medical attention immediately …so that timely care can be provided”.

New Zealand clinician and University of Auckland lecturer Dr Maryann Heather recently told RNZ that one in four people infected with dengue get sick.

Symptoms include headaches, pain behind the eyes, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, joint pain, skin rash, lethargy, tiredness, and high fever, and can be severe. The disease can be more dangerous for young children and elderly people.

“If you aren’t improving or concerned, you should seek medical attention, especially if you think you have dengue fever after returning from the islands,” Heather said.

“It’s crucial to educate and warn people travelling back to the islands so they are aware that dengue fever is present, especially since it is seasonal.”

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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 car fire has closed the State Highway 1 Khyber Pass off-ramp in central Auckland.

Just after 2pm on Sunday an RNZ staff member at the scene said the fire appeared to have been put out.

But traffic had backed up, and was crawling from the Ellerslie-Panmure Highway heading toward the city.

Just before 2pm on Sunday the New Zealand Transport Agency published a warning online that the off-ramp was closed due to the car fire. It said drivers should use avoid the area, and use the Symonds Street off-ramp.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Cook Islands has reported its first dengue-related death, amid a significant increase in cases, and reminders to tourists to stay safe.

The country’s health ministry said an elderly patient with underlying conditions had arrived to hospital late in the disease’s progression, and died on 2 February.

Authorities have now announced Operation Namu-26 to raise awareness and promote prevention.

Dengue is a virus passed between people by mosquitos, and Operation Namu-26 will include an increase in insecticide spraying work on the affected islands, as well as a nation-wide clean up to reduce places where water could pool and mosquitos could breed.

The Cook Islands declared a dengue outbreak in May 2025, and more than 500 cases have been recorded there since.

In New Zealand, 86 people had been reported to have contracted dengue, with 75 of those cases connected to travel to the Cook Islands.

A senior health protection officer told RNZ Pacific that New Zealand had also reported 40 suspected cases of dengue since May, in visitors returning from the Cook Islands.

There had been “a significant increase in dengue cases on Rarotonga at the end of December 2025, and again at the end of January 2026”, the Cook Islands health ministry said.

Cases had been found on the islands of Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Atiu, Mauke and Mangaia.

Tourist companies would be providing dengue prevention items to visitors, and spraying on their properties following the ministry’s guidelines, it said.

Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms, headache, joint or muscle pain, or rash should “seek urgent medical attention immediately …so that timely care can be provided”.

New Zealand clinician and University of Auckland lecturer Dr Maryann Heather recently told RNZ that one in four people infected with dengue get sick.

Symptoms include headaches, pain behind the eyes, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain, joint pain, skin rash, lethargy, tiredness, and high fever, and can be severe. The disease can be more dangerous for young children and elderly people.

“If you aren’t improving or concerned, you should seek medical attention, especially if you think you have dengue fever after returning from the islands,” Heather said.

“It’s crucial to educate and warn people travelling back to the islands so they are aware that dengue fever is present, especially since it is seasonal.”

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