What makes Dudley Benson’s The Awakening an essential album

December 26, 2025

Some time in the mid-2000s, a singular piece of music found its way onto student radio and other playlists.

Consisting only of multi-tracked voices – like a one-person choir – The Awakening was a spooky song-poem: “a canon set in purgatory” as its author would later describe it.

The subject of the song ‘The Awakening’ was the 19th-century murderess Minnie Dean, known for transporting dead babies in hatboxes on trains and the only woman to have been hanged in New Zealand.

Dudley Benson – The Awakening

Essential New Zealand AlbumsSeason 5 / Episode 5

Dudley Benson in 2008

Karen Inderbitzen Waller

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The subject of the song ‘The Awakening’ was the 19th-century murderess Minnie Dean, known for transporting dead babies in hatboxes on trains and the only woman to have been hanged in New Zealand.

This somewhat gothic track was my introduction to Dudley Benson, but it’s only part of a wide artistic vision which was revealed in full with the release of his debut album of the same name.

Benson is an anomalous figure in the pop landscape of Aotearoa. The music he makes is a kind of pop, with hooks, choruses, generous melodies and intricately woven textures.

This video is hosted on Youtube.

He grew up a pop fan – weaned on an older sister’s collection of Kylie Minogue, Michael Jackson and Madonna records – but was also a choirboy, singing from age ten with the Christchurch Cathedral Choir, who would go on to study composition.

When it came time to make his first album, Benson drew on his classical training for what he says were essentially pragmatic reasons.

“In my head, I was making pop music, but I didn’t have the experience or the tools of big synths and drum machines.

“Instead, it was about working with chamber instruments, piano, harpsichord, organ, celeste, and fleshing it out with choir and strings. I arrived at that sound world because that was what I knew, but it was pop music that I loved.”

Dudley Benson in 2007.

Peter Stichbury

Dudley would also work extensively with composer Richard Nunns, who, along with Hirini Melbourne, was central to the revival in the 1980s of the long-dormant tradition of taonga pūoro (Māori instruments).

In The Awakening‘s introduction song ‘Asthma’, Benson uses these to evoke the birdlife and other natural sounds of a rural Canterbury childhood.

But The Awakening is an album of two distinct halves.

The first half is sunny and bucolic and strewn with images of a childhood that is Arcadian and near-idyllic, roaming “the golden hills that cradle Canterbury”.

The sense of place in these songs is very strong.

Dudley grew up in the Port Hills of Christchurch, and the images of the boy singing to himself and communing with his friends – “white quadrupeds eating lucerne leaves” – are full of charm.

But the album looks back even further, to his ancestral heritage.

This video is hosted on Youtube.

In ‘Willow’, he sings of his great-great-great-grandfather, a celebrated colonial settler who travelled from Normandy to Akaroa on Banks Peninsula in 1836, bringing with him cuttings of willow trees from Napoleon’s grave.

“I think that if the land is a reflection or a symbol of the experience of our lives, then it’s going to be both nurturing and hostile.

“The land in The Awakening is symbolic of my upbringing and my close familial connections, and the deep sense of gratefulness to have a childhood that was semi-rural and allowed me to be really young but alone and connecting with hills and trees and a wide-open sky.

“Yet that was severed terribly by the suicide of my mother when I was 15, and life did become extremely hostile and difficult.

“Really, it’s not just the land and how it is described on the record that represents what I was going through as a young person, but it’s the whole record itself. I think every song on The Awakening in some way is trying to turn this torch on to understand the darkness of my life.”

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Scrapped light rail must become Auckland’s long-term transport plan, advocate says

By Evening Report -

December 26, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

An artists’ visualisation for Auckland Transport of light rail in Mt Roskill. Supplied / Auckland Transport

A public transport advocate, whose Auckland Light Rail submission made it onto the NZ Infrastructure Commission’s list of priorities, said light rail and mass transit needs to be brought back and become part of the supercity’s long-term transport plan.

The multibillion-dollar project was scrapped by the coalition in early 2024, which argued over $200 million had been spent on planning and investigating options, without having achieved any real results.

Connor Sharp, a contributor to the transport advocacy blog Greater Auckland, is the only one to have made a proposal for light rail to the commission’s invitation for its Infrastructure Priorities Programme (IPP).

The commission said while endorsement did not guarantee funding, it did send a strong signal to decision makers about infrastructure priorities.

Sharp’s proposal for ‘mass rapid transit in the city centre to Mangere corridor’ was endorsed at stage 1 of the IPP in December 2025, which meant it’s had been identified as a nationally significant issue.

“I think it’s pretty significant that they’ve endorsed it, especially because I made this as an individual, pretty much every other proposal put forward, endorsed, were done by organisations … I’m pretty stoked they endorsed it.”

Sharp said it was unfortunate the project had become a “hot potato” and over-politicised over the years, particularly at a national level, and he hoped Auckland Council could take up the reigns to advocate for it.

“If we have a lot of councillors and the mayor maybe pick this back up, it would be a lot more productive, and you’re probably trying to avoid a lot of that politicisation issues,”

Advocate Connor Sharp: Build surface rail from City Centre to Mount Roskill first

Meanwhile, Sharp’s proposal for a surface light rail to run from the city centre to Mount Roskill via Dominion Road was declined for stage 2 of the IPP – which called for specific solutions.

Sharp said he still felt this section of light rail needed to be built first, to fill the void of rapid transit connections through the central isthmus, which is leading to congestion.

Sharp said regardless of what the extension to Mangere and the Airport looked like, he hoped this section could be built first.

He said he felt the project fell through previously as decision-makers were trying to do something really big within a limited time they had in government, rather than work through it incrementally.

Sharp said the upcoming transport reforms in 2026 and the development of a 30-year Integrated Transport Plan were opportunties to progress work on light rail.

The opening of the City Rail Link (CRL) in 2026 would also spur people’s expectations of more transit options, he said.

“I think people, once they experience what CRL is going to do, I think they’ll naturally start thinking of what are we going to do next, and there’ll be a few big projects that will come into conversation, and light rail should be one of them from my perspective.”

Mayor has no comment; Councillor delighted with endorsement

Meanwhile, Auckland mayor Wayne Brown declined RNZ’s request for an interview to discuss possibilities for the future of light rail in Auckland.

He also declined to comment on his thoughts on the submission being endorsed by the IPP at stage 1, and whether he would consider renewing discussions around light rail options for Auckland as part of the city’s 30-year ITP.

His office said in a statement: “The mayor has nothing further to add, at this time, in relation to your request.”

Councillor Shane Henderson said he was delighted.

“The message is really clear that there is a huge issue here and we need to move people along this corridor, it’s good to have that recognition from the infrastructure commission.”

Henderson said the council should be keeping light rail in the front of their minds as they worked through the city’s long-term transport plans.

He said it had not been discussed much at the council table since it was canned by the government.

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Rare Hector’s or Māui dolphin spotted in Northland prompts questions

By Evening Report -

December 26, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

By Penny Smith

Scientists are asking people to watch out for any Māui or Hector’s dolphins spotted in North Island waters, and report them. Māui dolphin are critically endangered, while Hector’s dolphins are vulnerable. Earthrace Conservation/Liz Slooten (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Sightings of a rare dolphin in the Bay of Islands in Northland have delighted marine scientists.

Dolphin researcher Jochen Zaeschmar spotted the solitary sea creature last weekend, and it has since been observed in English Bay in the Opua channel.

He said genetic testing would determine if it was a Hector’s or Māui dolphin.

“We would like to know how rare this is. Is there a small population around here, or are they recolonising the North? Genetics will be able to tell a great deal about that.”

Department of Conservation marine species advisor Kristina Hillock said sightings of Hector’s or Māui dolphins in the Bay of Islands were rare.

“This would be just the second confirmed sighting of a Hector’s in Northland in 100 years,” she said,

Hector’s dolphins were once found along the coast of most of the South Island as well as parts of the North Island.

A Hector’s dolphin at the surface, in Akaroa Harbour. RNZ / Alison Ballance

Today, Hector’s dolphins are classified as nationally vulnerable and live in different sub-populations around the South Island. They are only occasionally seen around the North Island.

The Māui dolphin is a nationally critical subspecies of the Hector’s dolphin, which is found on the west coast of the North Island, mainly between Taranaki and Kaipara Harbour. It is estimated just 54 adult Māui dolphins remain.

The two species were not easily distinguished from each other without DNA testing, but were readily identifiable from other dolphins.

Both Hector’s and Māui dolphins were grey and white, with black markings and a distinctive black rounded fin, shaped like Mickey Mouse’s ear.

People who saw the dolphin should call the Department of Conservation (0800 DOC HOT – 0800 362 468).

Zaeschmar said Hector’s and Māui dolphins were known to be friendly.

“They are social and they will come and interact with boats and people, so there is a good chance that somebody will come across it,” he said.

But he said people who spot the dolphin should try to keep their distance.

“It is really exciting to have this animal here and we encourage the public to report sightings, but please stick to the rules. They are prone to get hit by propellers and boats, sadly all around the country. Just be boat-wise when you are around the animal and give it plenty of space. Please respect its habitat.”

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Hundreds lose power in Dunedin thunderstorms

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

(File photo) 123RF

Hundreds of households in the lower South Island are still without electricity after severe thunderstorms damaged powerlines.

Power has been restored to many homes in Mosgiel near Dunedin, but at 10pm provider Aurora still listed around 300 customers impacted by outages.

Dozens of rural areas in Southland are also affected by blackouts.

Photos posted on social media captured lightning strikes hitting power poles.

Aurora’s website estimated a restoration time of 10.30pm Thursday.

In Southland, dozens of smaller scale outages have cut power to rural areas east of Invercargill and north of Gore.

MetService earlier issued a severe thunderstorm warning over Dunedin and Clutha which has since been lifted.

Warning Update

Severe Thunderstorm Warning – Clutha and Dunedin City

Severe Thunderstorm Watch – North Otago, Dunedin, Clutha

More information: https://t.co/VDYb51QBlL @OtagoCDEM @nztaos @OtagoRC @DnCityCouncil pic.twitter.com/2wpRkW3wKT

— MetService NZ (@MetService) December 25, 2025

Lightning strikes a power pole in Mosgiel on Thursday night. Supplied

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What happens to people who die without any relatives to bury them?

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Nate McKinnon

The number of people in the Auckland region who died without any family or friends to handle funeral arrangements leapt in the last year.

If someone dies and no family or friends come forward to claim the body, some councils cover the cost of a burial or cremation.

In the last year Auckland Council covered the cost of cremation for 15 people, up from only five cremations and one burial in the previous year.

The last spike was in 2022 when the council paid for the cremations of 11 people.

Auckland Council’s Manager of Cemetery Services, Nikki Nelson, said in specific circumstances Auckland Council provides end-of-life services for people with no known relatives.

“These are people who have passed away in hospices or hospital and referred to us from Health New Zealand. The council has completed one burial and 43 cremations of this nature in the past five years.”

By November, Christchurch City Council had covered the cost of eight burials, in what the council officially calls a Poor Person burial.

Simplicity Funerals in Christchurch manages the burials.

Manager of Simplicity Funerals Christchurch Jamie Harvey said they are usually contacted by the hospital’s Mortuary Service to say a person has died and not been claimed.

He said they will then try to make contact with anyone known to the person such as a GP or friends, and get in touch with the Public Trust, Perpetual Guardian and police.

If they can’t find any next of kin or anyone able to take on the burial, Simplicity then contacts a JP to authorise the burial.

Harvey said the process can be labour intensive, but they see it as a community service they are able to supply.

A funeral service by Simplicity Funerals Christchurch for a person with no known relatives. Photo permission of Simplicity Funerals. Supplied

At the burial a Simplicity staff member will say a few words, and usually the council sextons attend as well.

“As human beings we are not immune to any of the emotions, so it can be a little bit trying. But equally it’s really rewarding that this person, who may not have anyone in their world, we are able to look after them with respect and dignity.”

Any friends of the person are able to attend the burial, but under the council rules no headstone or memorial can be put up until cemetery fees and charges are paid.

Harvey said Simplicity have been managing such burials for about the last seven years in Christchurch, and numbers have steadily risen.

“Sadly there has been an increase year on year. Historically there would be potentially be two or three people each year, but so far this year we are into the double digits.”

In Christchurch people can also apply to the council’s Mayoral Welfare Fund for assistance with funeral costs.

Between October 2024 and October 2025 two application for funerals were approved by the fund to the total cost of $2400.

Wellington City Council covered six indigent services since 2020, made up of one burial and five cremations. A spokesperson said some local funeral homes also assist with costs from time to time.

In Dunedin the council has carried out four indigent burials and 34 indigent cremations since 2020. The last one occurred in 2023.

The council said that since then costs of any indigent burials or cremations have been covered by WINZ funeral grants.

An Auckland Council spokesperson said that in situations where families are likely to struggle to cover the cost of funeral expenses for a relative or loved one, Work and Income may also be able to provide support in the way of a funeral grant.

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What to remember before your Boxing Day shopping spree

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

Consumer NZ is urging people to do their homework ahead of the Boxing Day sale frenzy. RNZ

Consumer NZ is urging people to do their homework, double check gift cards and know their rights ahead of Boxing Day sale frenzy.

Electronic transaction figures showed pre-Christmas spending was slightly down on last year, but many may be waiting for the post-Christmas sales to nab a bargain.

Last year New Zealanders spent almost $68 million on Boxing Day.

Consumer campaign manager Jessica Walker said shoppers should separate their wants from their needs and set a budget before hitting the shops to avoid a “buy-now-regret-later” situation.

She advised researching prospective purchases, as constantly fluctuating prices made it hard to know whether discounts were genuine or just a variation on the usual price, and check the item was not cheaper elsewhere.

It was a breach of the Fair Trading Act to mislead customers about the regular price, she said.

Consumer Guarantees Act will ‘see you right’

Walker urged shoppers to resist the pressure to purchase extended warranties – you’re already covered under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

“Sometimes retailers will give you a really hard sell, especially if you buy a product on sale it might be a even more enticing opportunity for retailers to try and make some money from an extended warranty.”

Walker recommended people ask what an extended warranty would provide that the Consumer Guarantees Act would not.

“Most of the time I think you’ll find its very little. The Consumer Guarantees Act doesn’t just cover you for the period of the manufacturer’s warranty, it covers reasonable use over a reasonable length of time. The vast majority of the time, that’s going to see you right – if a product’s failed you do have the right to ask for a refund or an exchange depending on what’s gone wrong.”

Consumer campaign manager Jessica Walker. Supplied / Consumer NZ

Protections under the Consumer Guarantees Act applied whether people purchased sale goods or full priced ones, and signs warning of no refunds or exchanges on sale items were misleading, Walker said.

“Just because you bought something on sale does not mean you’re forgoing your consumer rights.”

Retailers did not have to refund for a change of mind, but if something was faulty or did not last as long as it should, “the retailer needs to put you right”.

“If one of your Boxing Day purchases is faulty, the retailer must put things right. You don’t need the original packaging to return the product.”

If shoppers did get into difficulty and could not get redress at the store, they could take a complaint to the Commerce Commission, or take the matter to the disputes tribunal, at a cost of $61.

The filing fee was non-refundable, even if the tribunal found in the customer’s favour, and could be a barrier, Walker said.

Beware dark designs that fuel FOMO

Walker also warned of “dark patterns” while online shopping – digital methods designed to encourage people to spend more than they intended, like countdown timers or warnings of low or rapidly diminshing stock.

“These tactics play on our FOMO [fear of missing out] and effectively encourage us to spend more, and quickly.”

The deepest discount or top of the range product did not necessarily mean a good deal, with Consumer product tests often finding the most expensive product was not necessarily the best.

“A big discount doesn’t necessarily mean a good deal.”

Be sure to spend gift cards

From March next year, gift cards would be required to have an expiry date at least three years from the date the card was sold.

Until then, Walker recommended keeping on top of expiry dates, which varied.

“Gift cards can come with really short expiry times, and people also put them in a drawer and lose them – our research has shown there’s about $10 million dollars goes on unspent gift cards every year.

“If you’re hitting the shops and think you’ve got a gift card lurking we would encourage people to hunt it out and find it so they don’t end up giving a gift to the retailer – if you’ve got money there you can spend, we encourage people to use it before they lose it.

“Our advice is don’t buy something unless you really need or want it. While the pull of the last sale of 2025 could be strong, the first sale of 2026 is probably less than a week away,” Walker said.

Shoppers at Queensgate Mall in Lower Hutt on Boxing Day, 2024. RNZ / Mary Argue

Cost of living pressures squeezing many at Christmas

Worldine transaction figures showed Christmas spending was down on 2024, with consumer spending for the first three weeks of December hitting just over $3 billion.

A survey of nearly 1100 Westpac customers earlier this month showed nearly three-quarters (73 percent) were either extremely or moderately concerned about the cost of living, little changed from last year, while a survey conducted by accounting software company MYOB found the ongoing pressures of the cost of living squeeze were pushing respondents to seek additional income sources or take on debt to pay for presents.

A third said their financial position was the same as it was this time last year, while 42 percent felt worse off, and a quarter felt better off.

More than half expected to spend about the same on gifts last year, and 15 percent set to spend more, while more than a quarter planned to cut back.

To help cover costs, people were turning to side hustles or additional income sources, credit or buy-now-pay-later options.

While the latest StatsNZ figures showed a small drop in food prices prompted by a fall in the cost of fruit and vegetables, overall food was 4.4 percent more expensive than this time last year.

Meanwhile, 18,000 jobs had been lost in the past year, and unemployment was sitting at 5.3 percent, a nine-year high.

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Person critically injured after vehicle rollover

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson

A person has been airlifted to Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital in critical condition after a vehicle rolled over in Northland.

St John were called to Pouto Point at around 2.30pm.

One person with moderate injuries was treated at the scene and a second person with critical injuries was taken by helicopter to Auckland.

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Tucking in the Christmas spirit in Upper Hutt

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

Christmas lunch diners John Kiegan and Thelma Balthiejus. RNZ / Ellen O’Dwyer

Since early Christmas morning, volunteers, chefs and do-gooders have been busy cooking up Christmas Spirit in Upper Hutt.

The Rimutaka Lions Club held its annual Christmas lunch today, a tradition running for nearly four decades.

Known as Room at the Inn, the club has been providing free meals on Christmas day for 38 years.

Lions member Antoinette van Riel said about seven volunteers help to put on the lunch as well as others who deliver Meals on Wheels to people’s houses.

Volunteers helping to dish out the Christmas lunch. RNZ / Ellen O’Dwyer

Diners tucked into a full spread of ham, chicken, steak, vegetables, pavlova and pudding, dished out between 11.30am and 2pm.

Van Riel said the meal is available for all sorts – the lonely, those struggling to afford Christmas lunch, visitors to the region, or those who want to socialise with the community.

“There was one lovely lady who was waiting for her friend, her friend hadn’t arrived and she was going to go home.

“And I said ‘no come and sit with me’, and she came and sat with us to have a meal, and she was as happy as larry,” van Riel said.

She said the event caters for up to 70 people, and if there are leftovers punters can take them home for Boxing Day.

Lions members and volunteers enjoying the Christmas lunch. From left: Gurbakhash Bussan, Janet Burgess, Vicki Waiwai and Antoinette van Riel. RNZ / Ellen O’Dwyer

Euan Andrews, owner of Blend Bar and Bistro, which hosts the event, said a team of chefs were up at 8am cooking the meal.

He said it’s the second year he’s hosted the event, a way to “give back to the community”, and join in the Christmas spirit.

“It’s about helping people. These are tough financial times, and there’s no doubt the cost of goods so have the cost of meals inside of restaurants, not everyone can afford to go out.

“It’s just nice when people can get out, they can have a nice day, nice food, with a bunch of friends – and really enjoy themselves.”

He said the first guest arrived an hour and a half early, but they made sure she had a good meal and some company.

Some diners had adorned themselves in santa and elf hats, others like Selena Pirika had dressed in their Christmas best.

Selena Pirika says the community Christmas lunch feels like home for her. RNZ / Ellen O’Dwyer

Pirika said she comes to socialise with the community.

“It’s home…this type of event is home, and it’s full of aroha, kindness, and for some people who don’t have whānau, I think this is a really good space to come to have that, and get that.

Rafael Reyes was visiting his friend Monique’s house, but he wanted some vegetables, so he decided to tuck into the lunch too.

Reyes, originally from Peru, said he was astounded the meal was free.

“The generosity is amazing.”

That’s a sentiment Upper Hutt resident John Keigan agreed with.

“The chicken was so tender, the steak was tender, and nice vegetables, lovely gravy, so much food…put as much in as you can,” he said, chuckling.

“I just so appreciate the effort and sacrifice that’s gone into this.”

Meanwhile Bretto, from Trikn Tours, was taking diners out for free motor-trike rides through Upper Hutt for the afternoon – up Fergusson Drive, and then on the motorway, to “give folks a bit of 80 or 90km airflow”.

“It gets the adrenaline going,” he said.

“Previous lady we’ve just taken out, she was in her 80s, when we dropped her she said it made her feel like a teenager again.

“That’s just cool right – you’re spreading a bit of fun, joy.”

Bretto from Trikn Tours taking Vicki Waiwai and another friend for a tour around Upper Hutt. RNZ / Ellen O’Dwyer

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India free trade agreement excludes dairy, but that could change – minister

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Trade Minister Todd McClay announce the free trade agreement with India. RNZ / Mark Papalii

New Zealand could continue to see improvements for the dairy industry under its Free Trade Agreement with India, the trade minister says.

The government announced the deal with India on Monday, which removes or reduces tariffs for 95 percent of exports.

But products like butter and cheese aren’t included.

Read more: Free trade agreement with India confirmed

Trade Minister Todd McClay however says there will be an opportunity to enhance the agreement, a year after it comes into force.

And if any similar dairy exporting country gets better access, another part of the deal comes into play.

“We will continue to talk to them about how we can get barriers down for dairy. And of course we have a commitment in the Free Agreement, that says that if they give better access to dairy to a similar dairy exporting country, then we have a right to negotiate to ask for the same treatment for New Zealanders.”

McClay says India has not opened up dairy imports to any country.

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Severe thunderstorm warning for Dunedin region

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

(File photo) 123RF

MetService has issued a severe thunderstorm warning over Dunedin and Clutha.

It said thunderstorms are moving east/northeast and are expected over Dunedin at around 6pm.

MetService said thunder will be accompanied by very heavy rain and large hail and warns it may make driving conditions dangerous.

A broader thunderstorm watch is in place over north Otago lasting until 9pm tonight with the chance some may become severe, MetService said.

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Auckland business owner isn’t dreaming of a light Christmas

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

Suhail Mohammed says last Christmas was busy at his shop. Ke-Xin Li

On Christmas Day, tourists are getting the rare chance to enjoy a quiet Auckland city centre.

Most restaurants have shut their doors, but some business owners like Suhail Mohammed, who runs a burger eatery, hope the reduced competition means better business.

“I want everyone whoever is passing by and is hungry can just come to my shop.”

But business has not been going so well since he opened up six hours ago.

“So far, I got nearly 20 customers this morning, which is OK. I thought maybe people are still sleeping and enjoying their day off. But maybe there will be more people in the evening time.”

He was also open last Christmas Day, and said business was better back then.

Christmas Day is one of four restricted trading days in New Zealand, meaning almost all retail shops will be closed.

Restaurants, dairies and fruit stores are allowed to stay open, but some may apply a 15 percent public holiday surcharge to cover extra cost.

Mohammed said he chose not to charge a holiday surcharge.

“If you look at the situation now, the economy, everything is already expensive for the customer.”

Last-minute shoppers are not enjoying the limited options.

Mohammad Uddin, business owner at a backpacker hostel, was planning something nice for his staff.

Mohammad Uddin is out on some last minute shopping, but he didn’t find all the drinks he wanted. Ke-Xin Li

“Today my staff are working, so I want to give them a quick dinner, but I forgot some drinks, so I went to get some drinks.”

Uddin bought some drinks from a nearby convenience store, but they were three times more expensive than the supermarket and Uddin couldn’t get everything he wanted.

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Celebrating Christmas with Indian culinary favourites

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

Appam is a rice pancake – a favourite within the Malayali community. 123rf

The aroma of spices instead of mint sauce signals the arrival of Christmas Day in kitchens across the country, as Indian New Zealanders celebrate with dishes shaped by region, faith and migration.

While many households across New Zealand will serve roast ham and pavlova, Indian families are gathering around tables laden with rice and meat dishes, rich curries and sweets infused with cardamom and ghee.

From Kerala and Goa in the southwest to India’s northeastern hills, Christmas food traditions are being re-created in Aotearoa, adapted to local ingredients but rooted firmly in memory, community and faith.

In one South Auckland household, the aroma of coconut, curry leaves and roasted spices fills the air – signalling a festive season straight from Kerala rather than a traditional Kiwi roast.

For many in New Zealand’s Malayali community, Christmas typically includes elaborate spreads of beef fry, appam (rice pancakes), stew and cardamom-scented cakes known as plum cake.

“Christmas is huge for Kerala’s Christian community,” Philips Augustine said.

Augustine moved to New Zealand in 2017, now living in the South Auckland suburb of Favona with his family.

“Food is really important and one of the main attractions for our family,” he said.

Preparations usually begin on Christmas Eve, winding up before the midnight church service.

Some families also observe a strict 25-day Christmas Lent, which makes the festive meal all the more significant.

He said his family members typically gathered at the family home, along with friends and people of other religions, to enjoy the feast at lunchtime on Christmas Day.

“There will be a lot of meat like beef, chicken, pork and duck along with homemade wine,” he said.

“We also make appams in the morning with a chicken or beef stew to begin with, and lunch will be a feast of many meat curries, cutlets (deep-fried meat patties), rose cookies and rice or biriyani.”

In Kerala’s Malabar region, some households also make neychoru, a rice dish cooked with ghee.

Many families in New Zealand are adapting these recipes to local ingredients while keeping the flavours of Kerala alive.

“After lunch, some households also visit other families and friends but also go out to the beach or for a movie as well,” Augustine said.

Goan dodol (top left), doce de grao (top right) and bolinhas are Christmas favorites. Supplied

On Auckland’s North Shore, Sofia Furtado is busy finishing her Goan Christmas sweets orders.

Originally from Goa, Furtado moved to New Zealand nine years ago.

“Food is something very close to my heart,” she said.

“I was looked after by my granny and she always cooked with our own produce and curry paste, and the freshness of that stayed with me.”

Her parents lived in Dubai, and she later moved to the Middle East, where she first began cooking more seriously.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Furtado set up a Facebook page and started a small cooking business.

With the support of Auckland Council’s Kitchen Project, an initiative supporting local food and beverage start-ups with a focus on culture, health and sustainability, she launched Sofie’s Goan Delicacies, an online restaurant offering Portuguese-influenced Goan food alongside her full-time corporate job in the dairy industry.

Goa, on India’s southwestern coast, was a Portuguese colony from 1510 to 1961.

“Christmas is one of the biggest celebrations for the Christian community in Goa, starting with Advent, going to church every day, and then making a lot of sweets,” she said. “When I was growing up, we made at least seven varieties of sweets.”

Popular Goan Christmas treats include nueries (deep-fried pastries filled with coconut, raisins, nuts and sesame seeds), doce de grao sweets made from coconut and dal cooked on firewood, dodol toffee made with coconut milk, jaggery and nuts, bolinhas baked with coconut and semolina, and bebinca – a layer cake that is considered the queen of Goan desserts.

“[Bebinca is] a labour of love and takes four hours to bake,” Furtado said.

Bebincas are layer cakes that are considered the queen of sweets in Goa. Supplied

She continues the Goan tradition of sending platters of sweets to neighbours in New Zealand.

In Paekākāriki on the Kāpiti Coast, Helen Ruolsingpui Keivom recalls Christmas in her home state of Manipur, northeastern India – a region that is home to more than 166 tribes.

“There’s a significant number of Christians in that part of the country, and Christmas is particularly huge – very much a community event,” she said.

Keivom moved to New Zealand in 1984 as a teenager after her father’s posting as an Indian diplomat.

“Unlike New Zealand, where it’s families that celebrate Christmas together, it is the church community in the northeast,” she said. “It’s followed by a big community feast.”

Cooking is done outdoors in giant pots, with the community contributing money towards the meal.

Chartang (a very spicy stew made with beef or pork and tribal herbs) is typically served as a main dish alongside hmepok, a porridge-like dish cooked with rice, meat and dried herbs.

Fermented pork fat is a key flavouring ingredient.

Chartang is a very spicy stew made with beef or pork and tribal herbs in northeastern India. Supplied

Other dishes include hmarchadeng, a side dish made with roasted green chillies, garlic, ginger and onions, sometimes including fermented pork fat or soybeans.

Keivom said the festive feast included plenty of meat and fat-rich dishes, as many people in the region could not afford meat every day.

She said she missed these delicacies during the holiday season, with only a small community around her in Wellington.

Across regions and generations, families agreed that Christmas remained a time for togetherness – and that food sits at its heart.

“Christmas is that time of the year where you eat delicious food, meet your loved ones and forget about your problems,” Augustine said.

Hmepok is a porridge-like dish cooked with rice, meat and dried herbs. Supplied

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

Man wanted for questioning in Ruatiti homicide turns himself in

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

Sheep farmer husband and wife, Brendon, 56, and Trina Cole, 54, were found dead at their Murumuru Road property in the farming community of Ruatiti on 13 December. Google Maps / Screenshot

A man wanted for questioning after a double homicide in the central North Island has handed himself over to police.

It has been almost two weeks since 56-year-old Brendon Leigh Cole and 54-year-old Trina Michelle Cole were found dead at a rural property in Ruatiti, west of Ruapehu on 13 December.

Police have been searching the nearby bush for a 29-year-old man.

Central District Commander Superintendent Dion Bennett said the man had given himself up.

“He has presented himself to Whanganui Police Station today about 1.30pm and was arrested on an active warrant, due to appear in the Whanganui District Court tomorrow,” he said in a statement.

“Police on ground in the area will now be making further enquiries in the investigation.”

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

What it’s like learning to swim as an adult

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

When I went to swimming classes as most kids do in New Zealand it did not stick.

I am not sure whether it was the dozens of kids running around while one teacher shows them how to make windmills with their arms or just a complete lack of an ability to follow instructions, but at the time it just did not work.

As I reached teenagerhood my lack of swimming skills dawned on me. When I would head to Himatangi Beach, west of Palmerston North, with my friends to jump in the waves, I realised how much confidence I lacked.

.

My lack of confidence was embarrassing, and while I liked the water throughout the rest of my teens and my early 20s, I would do my best to avoid experiences with my friends that involved swimming in deep water.

In February, I went on a trip with my girlfriend to Kaiteriteri where I somewhat embarrassingly doggy paddled a little bit away from the golden sands in the sheltered calm bay.

When I made it back to the picturesque beachfront which mirrored something you would see on a tourism website for New Zealand, a thought came across my mind.

How good would it be if I could swim with some confidence at most beaches? Pretty good, I thought.

So as February turned into March and Wellington’s coast became too cold (for me) to swim in, I looked at what options were out there to get some swimming lessons.

Learning to swim as an adult is important to keep yourself safe in the NZ environment, experts say.

RNZ / Mark Papalii

I landed on the local Wellington council lessons and about a week later I was at Kilbirnie Pool.

The first lesson showed me how little I knew. Sure, I could doggy paddle, but floating was weirdly hard. I would find myself needing to tap the bottom of the pool every now and then to keep my body from sinking.

Once I got the technique right which involved stopping the arching of my back, it made all the other strokes such as backstroke and freestyle easier.

Eventually I started to swim with some confidence, and it genuinely gave me a sense of achievement that I could learn a completely new skill.

Since that first lesson, I have moved up two classes in my chosen swim school and rather than learning survival skills, I am now swimming as an exercise most weeks (and to practice my technique).

Why is it essential to know how to swim as an adult?

Wellington City Council aquatics manager Matt Kilgour told RNZ learning to swim as an adult is important, particularly for those wanting to feel comfortable in the water during summer.

“There’s different water environments in New Zealand. You’ve got the lakes, the rivers, the sea, the pool environment, and they are all different with their own different challenges.”

For example, Kilgour said people in the ocean face rips and depth drop-offs, whereas in the river, swimmers meet fast flowing water.

Water Safety NZ interventions manager Esther Hone told RNZ New Zealand was a country full of aquatic environments, so it was important to get lessons, particularly for those with a family.

“It is just so important for you to be able to feel confident for when things go wrong.”

Learning to swim never worked for Nick James as a child.

RNZ / Mark Papalii

Hone said if someone was to fall into the water suddenly, they needed to know how to keep themselves safe which included learning to float for an extended period.

She said it was never too late for people to learn to swim.

“The best thing you can do for yourself is to practice floating and, you know, investigating into your communities where you could go to be able to learn to swim etc.

“In the end I think it is more important [to think] about what you need to do for yourself rather than worry about what other people are thinking.”

What are the barriers to learning to swim as an adult?

Hone said it was often harder for adults to learn to swim than kids.

“You have had a longer length of time learning what fear is, being hesitant to do anything, so you sort of have to get through those barriers to make you feel confident and comfortable in the water.”

Kilgour said one of the things which stop people from taking lessons was embarrassment of skills and body image concerns people have for themselves.

“In reality, nobody judges, nobody cares. We are here to learn to swim, and we are here to coach and teach and that’s all that matters.”

He said a lot of the council pools where lessons occur were separate from the main pools to combat those concerns people have.

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

ER Report: A Roundup of Significant Articles on EveningReport.nz for December 25, 2025

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

ER Report: Here is a summary of significant articles published on EveningReport.nz on December 25, 2025.

What was the ‘Christmas Star’? Astronomy might hold the answer
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland In the run up to Christmas, carols fill the air. Many have an astronomical twist, singing of the “Christmas Star” from the story of the nativity. Described in the Gospel of Matthew, the star guided the three wise men

It’s hard to describe what it feels like to become a mum, but it has a name: matrescence
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Belinda Eslick, Honorary Research Fellow, The University of Queensland Dylan Nolte/Unsplash “Completely life-changing”. “Nothing could have fully prepared me”. These are the sorts of phrases you often hear from women when they become a mother. These descriptions can point to the complexity and depth of the experience.

Why do we blush? Turning red may have surprising social benefits
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Meyer, Senior Lecturer, Anatomy and Pathology in the College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University We’ve all had the feeling. You’re embarrassed and then there it is: a warm flush creeping up your neck and across your cheeks. The more you think about it, the

What’s the difference between Christmas cake and Christmas pudding? One has more sugar and fat
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Margaret Murray, Senior Lecturer, Nutrition, Swinburne University of Technology GettyImages RTimages/Getty For well over 100 years, Australians have been able to buy Christmas pudding and Christmas cake as part of their festive celebrations. You might have some vague idea both originated in the northern hemisphere, but aren’t

Can you ‘live long and prosper’ by learning economics from Star Trek? Or is that ‘highly illogical’?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra It might seem worlds away from the Earth we know. But can Star Trek teach us anything about the economics of our own society? Set in the mid-23rd century, the original Star Trek series told the story

In review: New Zealand sporting highs and lows in 2025

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

All Blacks Damian McKenzie and Beauden Barrett, showing the strain, at the disastrous game against South Africa, at Wellington’s Sky Stadium, on 13 September. Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz

Nothing incapsulates the joy and agony sport had to offer for New Zealand in 2025 more than what the All Blacks experienced in just the span of a week.

From keeping their 31-year Eden Park record intact, to suffering their biggest-ever defeat just seven days later, Kiwi sports had plenty of highs, but unfortunately, just as many lows over the last 12 months.

Here is a look back at the roller coaster that was 2025 in New Zealand sport.

All Blacks Eden Park record intact

It’s hard to ignore the All Blacks extending their unbeaten streak at Eden Park with victory over their biggest foes, the Springboks, in their Rugby Championship clash in September.

While the following week’s horror result in the rematch at Wellington undercuts this performance – and we’ll get to that – it was still more than worthy of a mention.

New Zealand kept their 31-year record intact at the Auckland venue with a gutsy 24-17 win over South Africa.

The All Blacks led throughout the fixture but had to fight off a determined comeback in the second half.

An Ardie Savea penalty – in his 100th test – near the tryline secured New Zealand the win and perhaps more importantly, kept the record at Eden Park alive.

Aridie Savea wins a penalty and celebrates with Quinn Tupaea and Fabian Holland. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

Kiwi teen Sam Ruthe breaks record sub-four-minute mile

Kiwi teenager Sam Ruthe became the youngest runner to break four minutes for the mile, with sensational performance in unfavourable conditions at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium in March.

Ruthe crossed the finish at 3m 58.35s with the help of training partner and two-time Olympian Sam Tanner pacing him.

Track athlete Sam Ruthe, at Mt Smart Stadium on 19 March. Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

The Tauranga teen was 24 days short of his 16th birthday and beat his own previous age best of 4m 01.72s, set at Whanganui in January.

Ruthe teen became the first 15-year-old to duck under the mythical benchmark for middle-distance running – and did it in the wet and cold.

High-jumper Hamish Kerr soars to gold

In front of an enthralled 37,000 Tokyo crowd, high-jumper Hamish Kerr soared to gold at the world championships in September.

The Olympic champion posted a best of 2.36 metres to pick up New Zealand’s second top gong after Geordie Beamish’s shock victory in the men’s 3000m steeplechase.

It also equalled his New Zealand and Oceania record, which followed his Diamond League title win in August.

Hamish Kerr celebrates after winning the men’s high jump final during the World Athletics Championships, in Tokyo, on 16 September. ANDREJ ISAKOVIC / AFP

Kerr capped off a memorable 2025 with the New Zealand Olympic Committee’s highest honour – the Lonsdale Cup.

Wellington woes return with record-defeat

I said we’d get to that disaster night in Wellington and unfortunately, it’s impossible not to include it as a sporting low in 2025.

Just a week on from the fortress-solidifying result at Eden Park, the All Blacks fell to their heaviest defeat in history.

South Africa overcame a slow start riddled with injuries to put New Zealand to the sword in the last 20 minutes, winning 43-10 to retain the Freedom Cup.

The Springboks were the ones celebrating, on 13 September, in Wellington. Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz

The loss was one thing – which has become all too familiar at Sky Stadium – but the nature of the second-half capitulation is what particularly stung.

New Zealand led 10-7 at halftime, only to concede 36 unanswered points after the break for their biggest defeat, home or away, in history.

Parker’s battle in and out of the ring

It wasn’t supposed to be this way.

Kiwi heavyweight boxer Joseph Parker went into his bout with Brit Fabio Wardley riding a six-fight win streak and with a squeaky clean record.

But after 11 rounds, that all came crashing down as Wardley stopped Parker in front of a packed O2 Arena in London in October.

Parker was up on the scorecards and looked to be closing in on a victory that would have all but guaranteed his shot at the undisputed championship.

Fabio Wardley TKOs Joseph Parker. Richard Pelham/Getty Images

But a ‘Hail Mary’ right hook sent Parker rocking and forced the referee to step in and call the bout off.

To make matters worse, just over two weeks later, it was revealed the Kiwi heavyweight failed a dope test on the day of the fight.

He tested positive for traces of cocaine – which Parker has outright refuted – and could face a lengthy ban from the sport.

Kiwi sailing star Peter Burling announces move to Luna Rossa

It would be too easy to include the entirety of the NZ Netball saga which saw coach Dame Noeline Taurua stood down and then reinstated, and has been covered at length.

Instead, Kiwi sailing star Peter Burling announcing his intentions to join Italians Luna Rossa for the 38th America’s Cup in June makes the list.

Burling is one New Zealand’s greatest sailors, with nine world championship crowns and Olympic medals – one gold and two silver – to his name, usually in tandem with Blair Tuke in the 49er class.

Peter Burling, co-CEO and driver of Black Foils SailGP Team looks on after sustaining a finger injury, Abu Dhabi, 2025. Christopher Pike for SailGP / Supplied

Losing him to a rival hurts enough, but Burling revealing that Team New Zealand’s control over him forced him out after 12 years with the syndicate stings even more.

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

Churches open doors for Christmas celebrations and thanks

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

Princy Christian (third from left) joined the morning service straight after her night shift. She’s at the service with her family. Ke-Xin Li

After spending Christmas Eve working a long night shift at the Waitakere Hospital, healthcare assistant Princy Christian drove 30 minutes to attend a 9am Christmas service at her local church.

“I was so excited to come to church. Because I know there will be a beautiful service, with Christmas carols and beautiful sermons.”

She said the morning service is an important ritual that helps her connect with her faith and community.

Nearly 200 people attended the service at Auckland’s Gracecity Church in Greenlane. The church is one of many that hosted a Christmas event.

Chris Porteous has been attending services at the church for almost 42 years. This is his first year as the lead pastor, and he was pleased to see the occasion bringing the wider church network together.

Chris Porteous is the lead pastor of Gracecity at Greenlane. He says the service saw a good turn out. Ke-Xin Li

“As a church we are united by the origin of Christmas. It’s the story of how we know God came to save us.

“We have heaps of people [today], we have people from other locations, which is great. The thing I love Gracecity as a church, is it’s so diverse.

“We just have people from all walks of life, from so many nationalities and ethnicities.”

Joining the service from East Auckland is Tsitsi Kavumbura and her daughter Sam. Tsitsi looked forward to meeting some of her church friends at the service.

“It’s such a wonderful thing to see people on Christmas day, just the joy and peace it all brings and helps us to refocus again and celebrate together.”

Tsitsi Kavumbura (right) is attending Christmas service with her daughter Sam. Ke-Xin Li

Half of their family have to stay at home and prepare Christmas lunch, but the mother and daughter are glad they represented them at the service.

“My husband is making a smoked brisket that takes eight hours to cook. So that’s something we look forward to now.”

Akinola Dairo is dressed in his Christmas outfit – a neatly tailored red checkered suit.

Akinola Dairo, a churchgoer at Auckland’s Gracecity Church, says it’s heart-warming to see the community coming together. Ke-Xin Li

He has been attending the church for four years, and this year, he was on a nativity float during Auckland’s biggest Santa Parade, as was one of the three wise men.

It’s the first time in years that the parade had a nativity float, and Dairo said the community made it possible.

“This church particularly is a multi-national church, about 50 nationalities are here. Jesus bands us together.

“Singing together, rejoicing together, sharing together, before the service, during the service and even after the service.

“People are now in the foyer sharing time together, giving gifts. It’s good to have a community where you can belong and where you can share with people of common faith.”

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

Storm warnings for Boxing Day, wet front still over South Island

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

MetService said a front was moving north over the South Island into Christmas Day, and was expected to affect areas from Waikato and Bay of Plenty north on Boxing Day. Supplied/ MetService

People in the Bay of Plenty and from Waikato northwards are being warned to batten down the hatches for a wild Boxing Day, with a slow moving storm front expected to shift north from the South Island.

Thunderstorms could be on the way for those regions, with localised downpours and gusts up to 90 km/h from the afternoon of 26 December, MetService said.

A yellow heavy rain watch was also issued by forecasters for the Bay of Plenty east of Whakatane, through to Saturday 27 December. People in those areas should expect periods of heavy rain, with downpours, and rainfall that could approach warning criteria, especially about the ranges.

The top half of the North Island is in for a bit of a wild Boxing Day

Regions Waikato northwards may see thunderstorms, with localised downpours and gusts up to 90 km/h from tomorrow afternoon.

Keep an eye on the forecasts at https://t.co/Yjbq0jgaoz @AklCouncil pic.twitter.com/neuy4xBftm

— MetService NZ (@MetService) December 24, 2025

Wet Christmas Day continues, as front lingers in some parts of the South Island

As expected, it has turned into a wet and windy Christmas Day for some parts of the South Island, with forecasters keeping heavy rain warnings and watches fixed for the West Coast and inland, as the front stays overhead for now.

For Christmas Day, MetService forecasters warned a front could move northwards over the South Island into early Christmas morning, but would then become slow moving around the northern parts of the island.

Orange heavy rain warnings issued late Wednesday for the ranges in Buller, Westland and Grey districts (from Arthur’s Pass northwards) and the Canterbury Headwaters (also from Arthur’s Pass northwards) remained in place through Thursday, with cautions thunderstorms were possible, and up to 120-130mm of rain could fall on top of what had already fallen.

These conditions that could still be in effect until 6am Friday for some areas, forecasters said.

Warnings Update

The weather doesn’t stop over the Christmas holidays!

Our Severe Weather Forecasters on duty have issued Heavy Rain Warnings; Heavy Rain Watches and a Strong Wind Watch for the South Island.

Please take care and keep up to date with our latest… pic.twitter.com/QJgDE7l9fQ

— MetService NZ (@MetService) December 24, 2025

Yellow heavy rain watches issued earlier for the Tasman District, the ranges of the Westland District (from Mount Cook to Arthur’s Pass), and the Canterbury Headwaters (also from Mount Cook to Arthur’s Pass) were also kept in place through Thursday. With the expectation of a moderate chance these watches could be be upgraded to warnings.

A strong wind watch for winds approaching gales in exposed parts of the Canterbury High Country and near the foothills expired during the morning of Christmas Day.

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

Gull, NPD merger will drive down gas prices, companies say

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

The 240 Gull and NPD sites throughout the country would maintain their original distinctive brand if the merger goes ahead. Supplied/ NPD

Fuel companies NPD and Gull have announced plans to merge national operations.

While still subject to Commerce Commission approval, the move would combine NPD and Gull sites, teams and supply chains to form the largest independent, majority Kiwi-owned fuel company.

Each of their combined 240 sites would maintain it’s distinctive brand – Gull sites are most common in the North Island, and NPD in the South, the companies said in a statement released on Christmas Day.

The South Island-based Sheridan family would own fifty percent, with Barry Sheridan, the current NPD owner and chief executive, to become the head of the new company.

Australasian private equity firm Allegro Funds, which owns Gull, would hold the other half.

The Gull station in New Lynn, West Auckland Google Maps

The companies said the move should drive down pump prices, with Sheridan saying both companies were focused on making it easy for customers to pay less.

“NPD started doing so more than 55 years ago and Gull started shaking up the market 25 years ago,” he said. “Together, we’ll do even more, so motorists pay less.”

The companies had a combined staff of 130, and a combined buying power of one billion litres of fuel a year.

Gull chief executive Dan Gilbert said: “Joining forces means we’ll be everywhere, accelerating what we can do for more customers in more places.”

Duplicating systems and sharing services would help the new company continue to deliver market leading competitive pricing to motorists, the statement said.

The parties said they had already engaged with the Commerce Commission, and an application for clearance would be registered in January.

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

New Zealand fuel companies Gull and NPD to merge

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

The 240 Gull and NPD sites throughout the country would maintain their original distinctive brand if the merger goes ahead. Supplied/ NPD

Fuel companies NPD and Gull have announced plans to merge national operations.

While still subject to Commerce Commission approval, the move would combine NPD and Gull sites, teams and supply chains to form the largest independent, majority Kiwi-owned fuel company.

The South Island-based Sheridan family would own fifty percent, with Barry Sheridan, the current NPD owner and chief executive, to become the head of the new company.

Australasian private equity firm Allegro Funds, which owns Gull, would hold the other half.

The Gull station in New Lynn, West Auckland Google Maps

The companies said the move should drive down pump prices, with Sheridan saying both companies were focused on making it easy for customers to pay less.

“NPD started doing so more than 55 years ago and Gull started shaking up the market 25 years ago,” he said. “Together, we’ll do even more, so motorists pay less.”

The companies had a combined staff of 130, and a combined buying power of one billion litres of fuel a year.

Gull chief executive Dan Gilbert said: “Joining forces means we’ll be everywhere, accelerating what we can do for more customers in more places.”

Duplicating systems and sharing services would help the new company continue to deliver market leading competitive pricing to motorists, the statement said.

The parties said they had already engaged with the Commerce Commission, and an application for clearance would be registered in January.

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

Christmas Day marked with reflection, fun and shared lunch

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealanders are celebrating Christmas Day throughout the country, with traditional family get togethers, shared meals, gift giving and Christmas trees.

Here’s some of what Christmas looks like this year.

Auckland’s Catholic bishop Steve Lowe says Christians at home and around the world have been gathering in places of worship to remember the meaning of Christmas.

Christmas Day marks the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ in the Christian calendar.

“It’s a day for us which holds great hope, and I think at the moment our world needs a lot of that – and the Prince of Peace can bring that,” Lowe says.

It’s an important and hopeful time for everyone, not just Christians.

“Whether you’re a Christian, or whatever other faith – or no faith at all, it’s a great day to think about peace and the desire for peace, in our world and in our homes.”

Read more Christmas stories: Anchors, camels and kayaks – a less traditional Christmas for Kiwi travellers

Sharing the Christmas love

Auckland’s City Mission is providing Christmas Day lunch to scores more people than last year.

It will host hundreds of rough sleepers, City Mission residents, and people who would otherwise be alone.

The dining area was set up yesterday and the chef has been carving ham this morning.

Head of fundraising Joe Rich says there were about 450 people last year but the Mission is prepared for 600 later today.

It will be a traditional big Christmas meal of ham, vegetables, pavlova and treats, he says.

Servers dishing up lunch, at Auckland City Mission’s Christmas in 2023. RNZ / Felix Walton

Subdued pre-Christmas spending

Today, New Zealand houses are filled with the sounds of presents being unwrapped, Christmas meals being prepared and enjoyed, and toasts to the day. But yesterday, the ching ching of cash registers resounded everywhere.

Christmas Eve was the busiest shopping day of the year, with just under 10,000 sales a minute at its peak.

Payments company Worldline says the peak was midday to 1pm, when more than 563,000 sales were recorded on its network.

The company does not have a value for the spending, but says the peak number of transactions was the lowest in the past six years and well shy of the record 679,000 in 2019.

Worldline noted sales picked up last week, but overall pre-Christmas shopping was lower than a year ago.

Read more: ‘Easier to get growth out of an economic hole’ – Did we survive 2025?

Christmas Day power cut

More than 1000 Christchurch residents awoke to no power on Christmas morning.

Power company Orion said 1400 properties in the suburbs of Beckenham, Cashmere, Huntsbury, St Martins, and Sydenham were affected. But the lights and power were back on by about 9am.

Santa fun run

Supplied / Ryan Watts Photo

Earlier in December, a sea of red flooded Hobsonville on 18 December, as hundreds of Santas in sneakers dashed for cash, for a good cause.

The inaugural 5 kilometre fun run and walk was organised by the Early Bird Run Crew and raised funds for West Auckland Hospice.

Nearly 600 runners showed up.

Club founder Duncan Oswald said themed runs and dressing up for events made it a lot of fun and the cause they had chosen to support touched a personal note with many of the crew who were involved.

Supplied / Ryan Watts Photo

Teo enjoying retirement and Christmas at home

Teo under the Christmas tree, back home. Supplied / NZ Police

Teo the police dog has worked to fight crime for seven years, but was retired after being injured in early October from falling into hot geothermal water during a search operation in Rotorua.

She has been nursed back to health by a team of vets and nurses, and her handler Constable Adam Johannsen.

Johannsen says Teo’s just about back to full health now, and is home for Christmas.

“She’s quite a remarkable dog and just doesn’t give up,” he said.

Christmas trees decorating city centres

Auckland’s Te Manaaki Christmas tree, has been lit up since early December. Supplied / Sacha Stejko

Auckland’s Britomart is home to the 18.5m Te Manaaki Christmas tree. This year it is bedecked with 10,000 LEDs, 200 stainless steel baubles, and thousands of flowers.

Reactions to it have been mixed, with some loving the decorations jollying up the city centre, and others not convinced.

People RNZ spoke to in Dunedin were also unconvinced by their city’s tree, in The Octagon.

While a tree constructed by volunteers in Featherston was destroyed by vandals.

The handmade, sustainable Christmas tree in Featherston, before it was damaged. Supplied

The tree display in The Octagon, Dunedin. RNZ / Tess Brunton

In Wellington, the city council has put up three large Christmas trees in different spots, including a film-themed tree in Courtenay Place, a sea-themed tree on Queen’s Wharf, and a more traditional tree in the city centre’s Midland Park. The city’s well-loved Bucket Fountain was also decorated for Christmas.

The Queen’s Wharf tree was decorated with seagull and sailboat ornaments. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

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

Aeroplane crashes into house in Pauanui

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

Supplied/ Paul Baker

A small plane has crashed into a house in the holiday hotspot of Pauanui, on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Police said about 9:10am on Christmas day they received reports of a small plane crashing into an unoccupied house on Harvard Court, next to Pauanui Airfield.

Two people are being treated for moderate injuries.

Fire and Emergency shift manager Lauren Sika says a crew is in attendance and all people involved are accounted for.

Supplied/ Paul Baker

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

What was the ‘Christmas Star’? Astronomy might hold the answer

By The Conversation -

December 25, 2025

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jonti Horner, Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland

In the run up to Christmas, carols fill the air. Many have an astronomical twist, singing of the “Christmas Star” from the story of the nativity. Described in the Gospel of Matthew, the star guided the three wise men to the cradle of the young baby Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem.

Most Biblical scholars agree Jesus was born between 6 and 4 BCE. It’s not known what time of year he was born, but those scholars suggest it was most likely in April or May.

The choice of December 25 to celebrate Jesus’ birth came centuries later, and is tied to the date of the winter solstice in the Roman calendar, when the northern hemisphere experiences its shortest day.

Many Biblical scholars also view the Christmas Star, which is also known as the Star of Bethlehem, as pious fiction – a symbolic story meant to establish the messianic status of Jesus, rather than a real event. But what if it was some sort of astronomical phenomenon?

Astronomers have long pondered this question and proffered some potential explanations. Perhaps historical records from across the globe might reveal what the Magi saw, and help to work out exactly when the events in the story happened.

If so, what could the Christmas Star have been?

A bright comet?

The idea that the Christmas Star might have been a bright comet has a long history. The Adoration of the Magi, painted in 1305 by Giotto di Bondonne, featured a comet in pride of place as the Christmas Star.

Giotto’s cometary Christmas Star was inspired by the bright apparition of comet 1P/Halley, which the artist observed in 1301. So could 1P/Halley, or another bright comet, have been the Star of Bethlehem?

Comet Halley orbits the Sun every 74 to 79 years, so it has made regular spectacular appearances throughout human history. It was widely observed across the planet in the year 12 BCE – too early to be the star of the Christmas Story.

What about other comets? Well, astronomers and historians have dug through the records of comets seen by cultures across the globe, and only one comet stands out as a potential candidate for the story.

A comet is recorded in ancient Chinese records, seen in 5 BCE. That comet was flagged as a potential Star of Bethlehem in the late 1990s, with the Chinese observations noting the comet was visible for more than 70 days.

Recently, the idea that the comet of 5 BCE could have been the Christmas Star has leapt back into focus, thanks to research that suggests the comet of 5 BCE followed an unusual path through the inner Solar System, and made a remarkably close approach to Earth. In that scenario, the comet would have appeared almost stationary in the sky for a lengthy period of time – all the hallmarks of the star from the Nativity.

A supernova?

Some astronomers have argued a supernova would be an ideal candidate for the Christmas Star. Supernovae are immense explosions caused either by massive stars reaching the end of their lives, or white dwarfs (the remains of a star like the Sun) suffering a terminal case of stellar indigestion as they devour a companion.

Both types of supernova are a spectacular sight – outshining the combined light of all other stars in their host galaxies for a period of several weeks. As a result, supernovae that explode within our own galaxy, the Milky Way, can become highly prominent – sometimes even becoming bright enough to be visible in daylight.

A supernova captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in January 2018.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Riess and the SH0ES team. Acknowledgment: Mahdi Zamani, CC BY-NC-ND

Once again, astronomers pored over ancient records, looking to find potential observations of a bright supernova that would fit with the nativity story.

Reports from Korea to Palestine described a new star in the night sky – an object that was most likely a supernova. It is estimated to have peaked in brightness around February 23 in 4 BCE, in the constellation of Aquila, the Eagle.

This could be a good fit. In February, Aquila rises in the east in the early morning, a few hours before sunrise. As such, a bright supernova in that part of the sky would be a spectacular morning star high in the eastern sky – remaining bright for several weeks before fading away, never to be seen again.

A planetary conjunction?

In recent years, the most common claim for the Christmas Star is that it was actually a planetary conjunction. This is when planets get very close to one another in the sky, as happened back in December 2020 with the “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn.

This idea has been raised, on and off, for more than four centuries, since the great scientist Johannes Kepler suggested in 1614 that the triple conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn in 7 BCE could have triggered a nova that became the star in question.

The 7 BCE conjunction was far from spectacular, with Jupiter and Saturn separated by more than a degree. But just a few years later, in 2 BCE, there were a striking series of conjunctions between the brightest planets in the sky: Jupiter and Venus.

Could one of those conjunctions have been the Christmas Star? It seems unlikely. The Venus–Jupiter conjunctions would have been seen in the evening sky, low in the west – making them a poor fit to the nativity story.

A conjunction of Jupiter and Venus in the evening sky of August 28 2016.
Peter Lieverdink, CC BY-NC-ND

Or perhaps, there was no star?

None of the explanations put forward to date seem to perfectly match the story passed down through the centuries.

So it might just be the case that there simply was no Christmas Star – that the story truly is a pious fiction.

But it is still worth considering what it might have been; at the very least, it can teach us about some of the many wonders of the universe. And who knows what more we will discover in the years to come – we certainly haven’t heard the last speculation about the true nature of the “Star of Wonder”.

Duane Hamacher received funding from the Australian Research Council and the University of Melbourne. He is also President of the International Society for Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture, and the Australian Association for Astronomy in Culture.

Jonti Horner does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What was the ‘Christmas Star’? Astronomy might hold the answer – https://theconversation.com/what-was-the-christmas-star-astronomy-might-hold-the-answer-270358

It’s hard to describe what it feels like to become a mum, but it has a name: matrescence

By The Conversation -

December 25, 2025

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Belinda Eslick, Honorary Research Fellow, The University of Queensland

“Completely life-changing”. “Nothing could have fully prepared me”. These are the sorts of phrases you often hear from women when they become a mother.

These descriptions can point to the complexity and depth of the experience. It can be joyous and stressful, exhausting and euphoric, profound and mundane. It’s unlike any other life transition, and – try as we might – hard to capture in words or short phrases.

It turns out, though, there is a word for this process of becoming a mother: matrescence.

It’s a simple but powerful concept that’s changing the way we think about mothering. Here’s what matrescence means and how the concept can help mothers and those supporting them to navigate and understand this time of life.

Where did the term come from?

The term matrescence was coined in a 1973 essay by medical anthropologist Dana Raphael to describe the transition to motherhood. Raphael found most cultures had rites of passage that recognised “the time of mother-becoming”. However, Western countries such as the United States and Australia tended not to.

These practices, which vary depending on the cultural setting, have something in common. They acknowledge that, like adolescence, becoming a mother is a complex experience that brings a period of learning and transformation.

Raphael also coined the term “patrescence”, which, while not the focus of her study, recognised that fathers and other parents also go through a period of transition.

It would take decades, but matrescence made it into the public consciousness in 2017 in an article and widely-viewed TED Talk by reproductive psychiatrist Alexandra Sacks. Books, podcasts and media coverage have abounded since.

What changes during matrescence?

Most public discussion of matrescence still tends to centre the challenges of mothering, for example postpartum depression and anxiety.

But there is increasing interest in the many kinds of changes experienced in matrescence, such as dramatic brain changes or the phenomenon of microchimerism, where foetal cells from pregnancy can remain in the mother’s body, and vice versa.

Research on these phenomena matter not just scientifically, but philosophically.

Other body changes include powerful hormonal changes in pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. There’s also research looking at how having children and breastfeeding can reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Much of this research is emerging, which is unsurprising given historical and ongoing medical misogyny.

More than physical changes

Mothers can also experience significant shifts in identity, including changes in personal values, new priorities, or a sense of loss for other parts of themselves.

Mothers encounter new social dynamics and peer groups, too. The new social identities of “mother” or “mum” (or the markers “working mum” or “stay-at-home mum”) introduce new expectations, norms and ideals.

Relationship dynamics with partners, friends and family can shift significantly.

Mothers can also experience an expansive new relationship with their baby, though this might be sentimentalised or downplayed by others.

Other new emotional experiences, ranging from intense love and gratitude to “mum guilt” and “mum rage”, can arise, too, sometimes leading to maternal ambivalence.

New sensory experiences such as breastfeeding and physical contact can lead mothers to feeling overstimulated or “touched out”, but can also bring joy.

Women also take on a new political and economic identity when becoming mothers. In 2025, mothers are often expected to remain ideal workers in the paid workforce, sometimes navigating a return to paid work while caring for an infant and performing the bulk of crucial unpaid reproductive household labour and care.

This juggle can lead to maternal burnout and negative impacts on mothers’ wellbeing.

This all contributes to the “motherhood penalty” – the well-documented, entrenched and persistent economic injustice experienced by mothers.

Matrescence is a term that helps to capture the breadth of these experiences in all their enormity and complexity.

The oppression of ‘motherhood’

Matrescence doesn’t happen in a vacuum. As Raphael’s original essay showed, it’s shaped by many cultural, economic, and political factors. It’s not the same for every mother.

In her 1976 landmark feminist study on mothering, North American writer and poet Adrienne Rich made the useful distinction between the experience of mothering and what she described as the patriarchal institution of motherhood.

It was the institution of motherhood, Rich argued, that oppressed mothers, not mothering itself. The flipside of this argument was that a liberating motherhood was possible under different conditions.

A black and white image of a woman with short hair looking down and smiling. — Feminist scholar Adrienne Rich distinguished between mothering and the institution of motherhood.
Colleen McKay/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA

When it comes to matrescence, the institution of motherhood in Western societies like Australia tends to sideline the experience of mothers, and the transition to motherhood is still largely experienced in isolation and silence.

Often, a focus on the baby overshadows the maternal-infant relationship or the needs of the mother, with many new mothers feeling unsupported or invisible.

New mothers are also often expected to live up to the “good mother” ideal by being totally self-sacrificing or naturally competent at mothering.

Societal norms can overlook the transitional and transformative period of matrescence, with mothers urged to “bounce back” – either by returning to a “pre-baby” body shape or by promptly getting back to paid work in the same capacity as before giving birth.

These experiences are exacerbated by a range of factors, including class, race, partnered status, sexual orientation and life stage, among others.

How does matrescence help?

While the concept of matrescence has become popular among some mothers and those working in maternal wellbeing, wider awareness of the term and the many changes new mothers experience is important.

For mothers, just knowing the concept can help by normalising what they might be experiencing. It can also help those who are pregnant or considering having a baby to prepare for motherhood.

But it can also help us to recognise that becoming a mother is not just a matter of flicking a switch, but a long and profound process of change that requires supportive conditions.

For individual mothers and families, this might mean friends and family offering to provide food or household help (rather than visiting just to hold the new baby).

Collectively, it means broader social changes, including changing cultural attitudes and better social, economic, and health policies to support mothers and families. These should recognise that when a baby is born, so is a mother.

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. It’s hard to describe what it feels like to become a mum, but it has a name: matrescence – https://theconversation.com/its-hard-to-describe-what-it-feels-like-to-become-a-mum-but-it-has-a-name-matrescence-267108

Why do we blush? Turning red may have surprising social benefits

By The Conversation -

December 25, 2025

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Amanda Meyer, Senior Lecturer, Anatomy and Pathology in the College of Medicine and Dentistry, James Cook University

We’ve all had the feeling. You’re embarrassed and then there it is: a warm flush creeping up your neck and across your cheeks. The more you think about it, the hotter and redder you get. If someone asks “are you blushing?” it only makes you blush more.

So, why do we do it? When we’re already self-conscious, this involuntary response can feel like an added punishment. But evolutionary science suggests blushing may actually have social advantages. Let’s take a look.

What is blushing?

Blushing is our body’s visible reaction when we feel emotions such as embarrassment, shyness or self-consciousness.

It’s caused by a short burst of increased blood flow to the skin of the ears, face, neck or chest.

When an emotion triggers blushing, the sympathetic nervous system – which controls automatic body functions – becomes active and releases adrenaline (epinephrine). This makes the tiny muscles in blood vessels relax.

In the body, adrenaline tightens blood vessels, but in the face it does the opposite – they dilate. This means more blood flows through to the skin and makes the face feel hot.

We turn red because of this sudden rush of blood close to the surface of the skin.

People with lighter skin tones show this redness more clearly. In darker skin tones, the change may be less visible or not visible at all –
but the same physiological process still happens.

No matter whether others can see it, you’ll still feel warmth or tingling in your face.

A black woman with braids looks embarrassed as she smiles with eyes closed. — People of any skin tone can blush – it might just be less visible to others.
Stephen Okonkwo/Unsplash

The social role of blushing

People blush when they are feeling highly self-conscious, which is generally brought on by unwanted social attention.

So even though the “fight-or-flight” system is involved, blushing isn’t about preparing for danger. Instead, scientists think it evolved as a social signal, a way of showing others that we recognise a mistake or feel embarrassed.

This can actually help build trust, because people often see blushing as a sign of honesty or sincerity – especially as it’s involuntary. Blushing can signal a non-verbal apology for a social misstep that can help to maintain social bonds after a transgression.

Different emotions can make us blush – but the mechanism is the same: increasing blood flow to the face and making us feel hot.

The difference is that blushing in anger, for example, comes from arousal and frustration, while blushing from embarrassment comes from self-awareness and social emotion.

People will blush for different reasons. For example, one study found children with social anxiety blushed from embarrassment when given exaggerated praise, compared to moderate praise or none.

In a follow-up study, the researchers found kids found who scored highly for narcissism – meaning they had an exaggerated sense of self-importance, wanted admiration and lacked empathy – blushed only when given moderate praise. Researchers suggested this was because the praise given didn’t match how well the child believed they performed.

Who’s most likely to blush?

Women and younger people blush more. This may explain why it is often associated with youth, vitality and fertility.

People with social anxiety are also more likely to blush.

But as we age and have more life experience, we tend to blush less. This may indicate we are more familiar with social norms – or less bothered if we transgress them.

People with facial erythema (persistent facial redness) are often mistakenly seen as blushing. But this condition can have a variety of causes, including rosacea, allergic contact dermatitis, reactions to medication and lupus erythematosus (a chronic autoimmune disease).

Animals can blush too

Some primates have pale facial skin that can blush, such as Japanese macaques and bald uakaris.

For mandrills, another kind of primate, blushing plays an important role in fertility. Females have a dark face when young and after giving birth. But their faces become bright red during the follicular phase of their menstrual cycle, advertising their fertility.

When male mandrills are in the presence of fertile females, their faces become redder as they produce more testosterone.

Human make-up trends may be evoking similar fertility and attraction rituals, whether consciously or unconsciously.

For example, TikTok and Instagram are awash with people “addicted” to blush using hashtags such as #Blushaholics and #BlushBlindness. Heavy blush is also popularly worn by K-Pop bands – and not only female groups.

When to get help for blushing

Because blushing is an involuntary reaction, you can’t stop a blush once it’s coming on.

However, if you have a blush that lasts more than a few days, is accompanied by pain, or is distressing to you due to cosmetic concerns, talk to your GP or health professional.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (a kind of talk therapy that helps reframe unhelpful thoughts and behaviours) may benefit people who blush because of social anxiety.

In rare cases where the cause is an overactive sympathetic nervous system, surgery may be recommended. There are two kinds: a sympathectomy removes a piece of the sympathetic chain – a long chain of nerve fibres running beside the spine; while a sympathicotomy cuts this chain near the second rib, where it joins this spine.

Evidence suggests these procedures are effective and can improve quality of life for people with severe symptoms.

But for most people, blushing won’t require medical intervention. If you can get through the embarrassment, this involuntary response can be a chance to reflect on your body’s signals, and what they reveal about yourself and how you connect with the world.

Amanda Meyer is affiliated with the Australian and New Zealand Association of Clinical Anatomists, the American Association for Anatomy and the Global Neuroanatomy Network.

Monika Zimanyi is affiliated with the Global Neuroanatomy Network.

– ref. Why do we blush? Turning red may have surprising social benefits – https://theconversation.com/why-do-we-blush-turning-red-may-have-surprising-social-benefits-267012

What’s the difference between Christmas cake and Christmas pudding? One has more sugar and fat

By The Conversation -

December 25, 2025

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Margaret Murray, Senior Lecturer, Nutrition, Swinburne University of Technology

For well over 100 years, Australians have been able to buy Christmas pudding and Christmas cake as part of their festive celebrations.

You might have some vague idea both originated in the northern hemisphere, but aren’t quite sure which one’s which.

Which is the one that’s boiled for hours? Is it the pudding or the cake you set alight? Do they both contain dried fruit? And which one’s healthier?

Let’s start with Christmas pudding

Christmas pudding originates from medieval England. It started as a savoury dish made with meat, root vegetables and dried fruit.

Over time, the meat was replaced with sugar and more dried fruits (known as “plum”). The dish became a sweeter, dense dessert, similar to the version we know today.

It was this plum pudding version that became associated with Christmas. During the 19th and 20th centuries, it became known as Christmas pudding.

Serving and preparing Christmas pudding includes various religious and superstitious rituals. These include setting the pudding on fire, and hiding a coin in the pudding to symbolise good fortune and wealth.

Making the Empire Christmas pudding — This artwork by F.C. Harrison for the UK’s Empire Marketing Board was used to promote Christmas pudding internationally (1926-39).
The National Archives UK/Wikimedia Commons

A recipe from 1861 describes the ingredients of Christmas pudding as suet (beef kidney fat), breadcrumbs, raisins, currants, fruit peel, sugar, spices, flour, eggs, salt, milk and brandy (if alcohol was included).

The pudding was wrapped in cloth and cooked by boiling for about six hours. It was then decorated with a sprig of holly and served with brandy sauce. The most theatrical element of the Christmas pudding is bringing it to the table amid flames of burning brandy.

Australia’s Country Women’s Association shared a more modern recipe for Christmas pudding in 2020. This uses butter instead of suet, and has added chopped figs, almonds and baking powder, but otherwise remains much the same.

Of course, you can buy Christmas pudding at the supermarket, which you generally have to boil or steam for a far shorter time than the homemade version, or you can heat it in the microwave.

What’s Christmas cake, then?

Christmas cake can also trace its origins back to medieval England and the enriched fruit breads of the period.

But it wasn’t until the second half of the 19th century until the Christmas cake, as we know it, appeared. It likely evolved from twelfth cake (also called twelfth night cake), traditionally served on January 6.

The first recipe called “Christmas cake” appeared in a book published in 1861.

The many ingredients of the Christmas cake have been adapted over the years, according to changes in price and availability, and the changing role of women in the household.

What has remained consistent is the idea of the rich, fruity cake as a special dish to be enjoyed at Christmas, as well as at weddings and birthdays.

Slice of iced Christmas cake — Christmas cake has evolved in both its ingredients and how it’s decorated.
flowcomm/Flickr, CC BY-SA

An analysis of Christmas cake recipes over the years found most cakes were made by creaming butter and sugar, beating in eggs, then adding flour, spices, fruits, nuts and any other flavourings (such as essences or spirits).

Unlike Christmas pudding, which is boiled, Christmas cake is baked in the oven.

Christmas cakes were traditionally decorated with a layer of marzipan (almond paste) and icing, followed by other Christmassy elements such as sprigs of holly or decorative paper.

However, the tradition of decorating with icing has mostly disappeared from Australian versions. The rest of the recipe remains much the same.

Which one’s healthier?

Let’s compare the nutrient composition of Christmas pudding with un-iced fruit cake, similar to Christmas cake.

You can see from the table below that Christmas pudding is a slightly more indulgent option. It’s marginally higher in energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugar and sodium (salt).

However, if a Christmas cake is iced, this will add to the amount of its sugar and total energy. And if you eat your cake or pudding with cream, ice cream or brandy butter, this will also add to the energy and nutrients consumed.

What’s the take-home message?

Both Christmas cake and Christmas pudding are important dishes that contribute to celebrations at this time of year. Whichever you choose as part of your celebrations, you are taking part in a long-running tradition.

Try not to focus too much on which one’s healthier, unless you have a medical reason to avoid any of the ingredients.

Instead, take a moment to enjoy and reflect on the cultural significance of these celebratory dishes and how the tradition of Christmas cake or Christmas pudding made its way into your life.

Margaret Murray does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. What’s the difference between Christmas cake and Christmas pudding? One has more sugar and fat – https://theconversation.com/whats-the-difference-between-christmas-cake-and-christmas-pudding-one-has-more-sugar-and-fat-267985

Can you ‘live long and prosper’ by learning economics from Star Trek? Or is that ‘highly illogical’?

By The Conversation -

December 25, 2025

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Hawkins, Head, Canberra School of Government, University of Canberra

It might seem worlds away from the Earth we know. But can Star Trek teach us anything about the economics of our own society?

Set in the mid-23rd century, the original Star Trek series told the story of the starship Enterprise. Its crew were led by the human Captain James Kirk and the half-Vulcan Mr Spock.

From post-scarcity societies to hyper-capitalist alien cultures, the now legendary sci-fi franchise the show spawned offers surprisingly rich material for economists and curious minds alike.

As we wind down for the holiday season, let’s take a light-hearted journey into one of pop culture’s most enduring sci-fi universes.

A society without money?

There is macroeconomics in Star Trek, but not as we know it. Scarcity seems much less of an issue in the Star Trek world.

That’s because, within the interstellar government known as The Federation, machines called replicators generate food and other objects. Money is claimed to be no longer used.

Some scholars interpret Star Trek’s relative absence of money in Marxian terms as a step towards a classless society.

There are, however, passing references to “credits”. In one episode, a villain is accused of having used counterfeit currency to purchase a ship.

In another, Kirk describes a pile of diamonds as an “incredible fortune in stones”. It seems even in the 23rd century, money still has some uses.

Logic and emotions

In one early episode, the engineer Montgomery “Scotty” Scott famously tells Captain Kirk he “can’t change the laws of physics”.

But the laws of economics also still operate. Despite material wealth, everyone still only has 24 hours in their day and has to make choices.

There are still what economists call “opportunity costs”: doing one thing means having less time for another. So, we can learn about economics from Star Trek, just as we can from Star Wars.

Underpinning many classical economic theories was the concept of “homo economicus” or the “economic man”. This is the idea that humans are rational and self-interested and will always make decisions that maximise their personal benefit.

Spock seems to fit this description. He is unemotional, or at least suppresses his emotions. He prides himself on always making logical decisions.

The character Spock became famous for his logical approach to almost everything.

More recently, however, the field of behavioural economics has challenged this view of human beings as perfectly rational.

It argues human beings are more like Kirk – we try to make good decisions but are sometimes swayed by impatience or influenced by a wide range of emotions. Behavioural economists are trying to predict what Kirk would do, rather than Spock.

Hyper-capitalist aliens

Across the entire franchise, viewers are introduced to a variety of alien races. They are at different levels of technological progress – but not that different.

One of the most vivid illustrations of economic behaviour comes from the Ferengi, who feature prominently in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine series.

The Ferengi are a mercantile alien race whose culture revolves around the accumulation of wealth and profit. They aren’t members of the “post-money” Federation.

They live by a codified set of business maxims, the “Rules of Acquisition”. These rules reflect their deeply ingrained profit-seeking ethos. Some of the more memorable include:

Rule 10: greed is eternal

Rule 21: never place friendship above profit

Rule 33: it never hurts to suck up to the boss

Rule 62: the riskier the road, the greater the profit.

These rules encapsulate the Ferengi’s relentless pursuit of profit, and their efforts to increase economic rent through various means including manipulation of market and institutional structures.

The Ferengi are depicted as hyper-capitalist, profiteering aliens.

An unscrupulous boss

A prime example is Quark, the archetypal Ferengi who owns a popular bar and restaurant. Quark exploits his monopsony power – being the sole employer in a niche market – to underpay staff and impose harsh working conditions.

This is a practical demonstration of Rule 211:

Employees are the rungs on the ladder of success. Don’t hesitate to step on them.

But in one episode, Quark’s employees go on strike, prompting him to use underhanded tactics to suppress collective bargaining and maintain control.

This storyline mirrors real-world labour market dynamics and the tension between capital and labour.

Quark’s brother Rom encourages employees to form a union.

Monopoly power

In the series Star Trek: Voyager, we see how access to key technology and asymmetric information can lead to monopoly power and exploitation.

In the episode “False Profits”, two Ferengi stranded on a primitive planet use replicator technology to produce goods, presenting themselves as divine sages.

Their technological advantage allows them to extract maximum rent from the unsuspecting locals.

One possible future?

Star Trek has also become a shorthand for one possible impact of innovation. Futurist and tech entrepreneur Jerry Kaplan has contrasted two futures for humanity.

One is a Star Trek world where technology’s benefits are widely shared. The other is a Terminator-style future where self-aware artificial intelligence (AI) tries to wipe out humanity.

Where exactly we’re headed remains the subject of debate. But from Spock’s logic to Quark’s scheming, Star Trek reminds us that even in the far reaches of space, economics still matters.

– ref. Can you ‘live long and prosper’ by learning economics from Star Trek? Or is that ‘highly illogical’? – https://theconversation.com/can-you-live-long-and-prosper-by-learning-economics-from-star-trek-or-is-that-highly-illogical-246988

Two injured in stabbing, police say

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

(File photo) RNZ

Two people are injured following a stabbing in Ngaruawahia, north of Hamilton, late on Christmas Eve, police say.

Emergency services were called to a commercial premises on Market Street, about 11 pm on Wednesday.

Two people were taken to hospital in moderate condition.

Police are investigating.

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

Christmas Day brings wet and windy weather for some

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

MetService said a front was moving northwards over the South Island into early Christmas morning. Screenshot / MetService

It’s set to be a wet and windy Christmas Day for parts of the South Island, with heavy rain forecast for the west coast, and gales expected in Canterbury.

MetService said a front was moving northwards over the South Island into early Christmas morning, but would then become slow moving around the northern parts of the island.

Orange heavy rain warnings are in place for the ranges in Buller, Westland and Grey districts (from Arthurs Pass northwards) and the Canterbury Headwaters (also from Arthurs Pass northwards) from early Thursday morning, with thunderstorms possible.

Heavy rain watches have been issued for the Tasman District, the ranges of the Westland District (from Mount Cook to Arthurs Pass), and the Canterbury Headwaters (also from Mount Cook to Arthurs Pass). There is a moderate chance these watches will be upgraded to warnings.

A strong wind watch is also in place for the Canterbury High Country and near the foothills until 9am, with MetService warning that the northwest winds may approach severe gale in exposed places.

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

All alight: Final train departs Melling Station ahead of RiverLink upgrades

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

Melling Station. Supplied / Metlink

A Lower Hutt train station has seen its last service for about three years ahead of major infrastructure works.

The final service between Wellington and Melling train stations ran at 6.37pm on Wednesday.

Greater Wellington Regional Council said the infrastructure project, Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi RiverLink – which included flood protection, river restoration, and public transport upgrades – would also see the Melling station building relocated.

It said while the Melling Line would remain open during construction, trains would stop at the Western Hutt Station, where the 370 or so weekday Melling passengers would be met by public transport alternatives.

The council said the closure would result in short term disruption for passengers but would help revitalise the city.

It said the reopening of the new Melling Station was planned to coincide with a new City Link pedestrian and cycling bridge, to create a direct connection between Lower Hutt city centre and the station.

Greater Wellington chair Daran Ponter, who was on board for the final journey alongside several of the region’s politicians, said it was a bittersweet moment.

“Melling Station has served the Hutt Valley community for decades, and while we farewell its current location, we look forward to a future where the station is part of a modern, resilient transport network.”

The council’s public transport committee chair, Ros Connelly, said the regional council had anticipated increased bus and train use during construction, due to increased road congestion.

“Additional Park and Ride spaces will be available at Petone Station, and bus routes 145 and 149 will be rerouted to connect with Waterloo Station, where fares to Wellington remain the same.

“We’re also adding bike racks at key stations to support active travel,” she said.

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

Why it’s rare to give birth on Christmas

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

On Christmas morning in 1975, 20-year-old Lee Scanlon was partially sedated, in labour with twins, and flying in a light aircraft through a thunderstorm over the West Coast.

“I can remember a big bump at one stage and thinking, ‘oh, the plane’s crashed. Good’,” she says, laughing now.

After being in labour since the afternoon on Christmas Eve with no progress, she had to be airlifted to Greymouth Hospital, but helicopters weren’t an option then.

Lee Scanlon says she made sure Glen and Sean were at no disadvantage for having a Christmas birthday.

Supplied / Lee Scanlon

. Inside the hospital, they found a scene that feels unthinkable now.

“There was wine bottles and festive fare all around,” her husband told her. “I think they had to pull some of the staff out of the Christmas party for the delivery.”

That evening, twins Sean and Glen were born. Their birthday is one of the least common in New Zealand, second only to 29 February in leap years. Stats NZ insights analyst Rebekah Hennessey says about 11,000 New Zealanders celebrate such a birthday, compared with just under 15,000 on an average day.

Do you have a Christmas birthday? Share your story with us at life.ent@rnz.co.nz

Over the past decade, about 110 babies have been born each Christmas Day on average, compared with about 160 on a typical date. Last year, that figure for 25 December sat at 103. It’s a similar story for other public holidays that don’t shift (Anzac Day and Waitangi). Boxing Day ranks in third place for least popular, while New Year’s Day and early January are also quieter.

By contrast, the most common day to give birth was 27 March last year, when 213 babies were born. (Although, the most popular birthdays are usually clustered between late September and early October.)

Throw in the mix that twins make up a small percentage of pregnancies in New Zealand. There were just 561 sets of twins born in 1974 compared with 771 in 2024 – a 37 percent increase, according to Stats NZ.

Why are Christmas birthdays not common?

Auckland obstetrician Kathleen Antony says planned inductions and caesarean sections are often scheduled to avoid public holidays. C-sections alone made up about a third of births last year. But parents’ preferences may also play a part, she says.

“I’ve had a lot of patients or parents express to me that … they don’t wish for their child to have that particular birthday, because they don’t get as much attention or individual attention on their birthday, because it is a major public holiday.”

There’s also a more speculative theory: that large family gatherings over the holidays may affect hormone levels and the likelihood of spontaneous labour, Antony says, but this hasn’t been well studied.

How do you celebrate a birth-mas?

For those born on 25 December, the bigger question is often how the day is celebrated. Getting just one present and family or friends forgetting it’s your special day or away on holidays can be among the points of contention. But Scanlon, Westport News co-owner and chief reporter, says she was determined her twins wouldn’t miss out.

Glen and Sean Scanlon celebrating their seventh birthday on Christmas.

Supplied / Lee Scanlon

“They used to joke when they were getting older, they’d say, ‘Oh, we always missed out. We never got proper presents because our birthday was at Christmas’. That was rubbish. They always had their separate birthday, their separate birthday cake and their friends [invited] to that birthday…

“I made their birthday cakes, and they got exactly what any other kid would get.”

But as they got older, there was less of a fanfare, she says.

“Now the joke is in our family that, occasionally, people forget on Christmas Day and say, ‘oh, Merry Christmas’ and then they remember a couple of hours later, ‘oh, happy birthday!’”

Hennessey, from Stats NZ, has a friend whose son turns 12 this Christmas. They start the “birth-mas” with cake for breakfast before the day turns into a festive celebration for the family.

Antony, the Auckland obstetrician, has a cousin born on Christmas Day who loves it.

“He sees the celebration as a kind of extension of his birthday. He likes having everyone come around and that we gather together and we sing and we have a feast,” she says. “But I can see other people not wanting to share the birthday. I can see the different points of view.”

Even being born near Christmas can be tricky. Antony says one of her own children, born in late December, struggles to plan parties because friends are often away on holiday.

Christmas birthdays can certainly bring a unique set of challenges to an expectant mother and the child as they grow. But despite the chaos of that day in 1975, and having to spend a festive period in labour, Scanlon wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I think I was really lucky to have them on a special day,” she says. “Their brother was born on Labour Weekend. We only have babies on special days in our family,” she jokes.

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

What makes Chris Knox’s Seizure an essential album

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

Before suffering a serious stroke in 2009, Chris Knox was one of our most prolific and provocative music-makers.

It might say something about the nature of New Zealand that a person can go from being an iconoclast to a household name without having fundamentally changed anything about who they are or what they do.

Or does that just say something about the artist that is Chris Knox?

Chris Knox – Seizure

Essential New Zealand AlbumsSeason 5 / Episode 3

Chris Knox in 1996.

Barbara Ward (private collection)

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Knox had spent more than a decade alternately entertaining and terrorising his audiences when his song ‘Not Given Lightly’ first appeared in 1989.

It was a track on his album Seizure and went on to become one of this country’s favourite wedding songs, as well as the soundtrack to a long-running television ad for a well-known brand of bread.

But while ‘Not Given Lightly’ represents just one facet of his work, Seizure isn’t a bad place to start for a broader appreciation of this unique New Zealand voice.

This video is hosted on Youtube.

On the 1989 album, you’ll find all the elements that characterised Knox’s music throughout his career.

There’s lots of blaring barre chords and fuzz tone guitar, and songs that speak plainly, sometimes humorously, other times shockingly, about the human condition, all wrapped in the lo-tech DIY production that Knox favoured as a matter of principle.

But there’s also a strong melodic element to his music which harks back to the ’60s pop he grew up with, especially that of The Beatles, as you can hear in ‘Face Of Fashion’, the album’s opening track.

Chris Knox in the original album cover of ‘Seizure’.

Flying Nun

Interestingly, while Knox is regarded as the pioneer of home-recording, much of Seizurewas, in fact, made in conventional studios – though not necessarily in a conventional way.

With a busy tape loop and barre chords played on a fuzz-tone guitar, ’Statement Of Intent’ articulates his position in terms of the music business.

‘The New Zealand music industry just don’t have a clue/they have a low (or no) opinion of poor geeks like me and you…‘ the song begins, while in the chorus he sings: ‘I won’t be led astray/I won’t be damned/I won’t be held in thrall by your multi-national hand’.

In the song he calls ‘Voyeur’, Knox gestures towards a full-scale pop production with little more than his own multi-tracked voice. At times, he seems to be suggesting parts with his vocals that one can imagine played by a whole range of other instruments.

Chris Knox in a promo shot for the Beat album, 2000.

AudioCulture

For Knox, making music was always more than just entertainment. It was personal expression and a platform for his own obsessions and fascinations, which weren’t the typical stuff of songs.

One of his recurring fascinations is with body parts and bodily functions. You could call it grotesque realism. It’s as though he’s holding a mirror up to humanity and saying, ignore the images you see on television, billboards or magazine covers: this is what we really look like, how we think, and who we really are.

Chris Knox with his Bolex camera filming ‘Turning Brown and Torn in Two’ in Auckland, 1983.

Alec Bathgate (private collection)

Yet more often, he turns the mirror on himself.

Knox is epileptic, a fact he references in the album’s title. And he evokes the experience of a seizure, and more broadly discusses his feelings about his own epilepsy, in ‘Grand Mal’.

But his concern with bodies and their functions also leads him to thoughts about gender and the roles that conventions around gender impose on us.

In 1989, there weren’t many people writing songs like ‘The Woman Inside of Me’, or the starkly titled ‘Rapist’. If he is essentially declaring himself a born-again feminist here, he is also acknowledging the potential predator within.

Chris Knox performing at the Mainstreet Cabaret on Auckland’s Queen Street.

Murray Cammick

The other side of these dark ruminations is ‘Not Given Lightly’, not only his best-known song but surely up there with ‘Pōkarekare Ana’ as one of Aotearoa’s greatest love songs.

Never one to settle for glib sentiment, in the song’s closing verse, he memorably sings that writing a love song wasn’t easy and that he may never write another one.

But in fact, Seizure does have other love songs. And through the wall of looped percussion and fuzzed guitar of ‘Filling Me’ you will hear him declare that the changes romantic and domestic partnership have imposed on him have ultimately made him a better person.

This video is hosted on Youtube.

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

What to watch on Christmas Day

By Evening Report -

December 25, 2025

Source: Radio New Zealand

The house is covered in torn wrapping paper, you’ve been eating and drinking since the moment you woke up, the family bickering has begun and you forgot to buy spare batteries for the kids’ toys.

Honestly, the wind down from Christmas day is both exhausting and a little dull. So before anyone hits play on that Bublé Christmas album for the fifth time, I’ve scoured the TV guides to curate a (very much non-exhaustive) list of Christmas day viewing, from the classics to the creepy and slightly bonkers.

You’re convinced Christmas viewing peaked in the 1980s

Gremlins (1984)

supplied

. Stream it on DisneyPlus.

While we’re on the topic of the greatest films ever made, the 1984 horror comedy, Gremlins, is streaming on Prime. Fall in love with Gizmo and get that ridiculously catchy theme song stuck in your head until New Years.

You want a classic without the holiday vibe

Wikimedia Commons

It’s been a month of dodging Mariah and Band Aid, so as the big day finally starts winding down often the last thing you want to see is more festive cheer and a running theme of big city girl meets small town boy and finds the magic of the season.

That’s where E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial can save Christmas. The 1982 Steven Spielberg heartwarming story about a loveable alien and its protective buddies airs on TVNZ 2 at 4pm.

This year’s wind-down could also be the perfect time to watch and reminisce over the many influential and brilliant films the late Roy Reiner made.

There’s The Princess Bride on TVNZ 2 at 2:10pm, Misery on Prime for starters. Stand By Me and A Few Good Men are also available to rent on various streaming services.

You’re down for festive, but you want familiar

Miracle on 34th Street.

Supplied

The turkey coma has hit and you want something to doze in and out of without losing track of the plot?

Enjoy the somewhat problematic romantic Love Actually subplots of Prime Ministers falling for junior employees, husbands cheating with their secretaries and guys creeping on their best friends’ wives. ‘Tis the season, after all. Stream on Netflix.

It’s also hard to go past the much-loved Miracle on 34th Street. Choose from the 1947 original or the 1994 remake, both on DisneyPlus.

Prefer all the Home Alones? You can find them on DisneyPlus, too.

You just want to keep the young kids entertained

This video is hosted on Youtube.

Jump on Neon for a couple of Christmas-themed hits for the younger kids, with The Wiggles Sound of Christmas and a Paw Patrol Christmas.

For family time with the older kids

7pm on Whakataukī Maōri is where you’ll find the 2021 fantasy film, A Boy Called Christmas. A young boy called Nikolas sets out with a loyal mouse and a reindeer called Blitzen to find Elfhelm.

Prefer laughs, familiarity and Will Ferrell? Stream the 2003 hit Elf on Netflix.

We’re finally allowed to stop avoiding Wham!

George Michael with Andrew Ridgeley performing as Wham in 1984.

YouTube

Managed to survive Whamageddon and avoid hearing ‘Last Christmas’ throughout December? Celebrate with Wham! Last Christmas Unwrapped, a documentary chronicling the meteoric rise of the song so quintessentially Christmas that people globally compete to try to avoid it. Airing on TVNZ 2 at 9:20pm.

You want Christmas, but in bite-sized form

DisneyPlus has pulled the holiday episodes of all your favourites, from Ally McBeal to Family Guy, The Bear and Bob’s Burgers. Watch as many or as few as your heart desires.

You’re the kind of family that turns everything into a competition

Friendly competition on Christmas Day? How about The Chase special?

Hear me out. His Majesty’s The King’s Christmas Message is the perfect opportunity to take friendly wagers on what colour tie or handkerchief Charles’ will don before his annual message airs. Entry is mandatory. Winner gets the last unopened box of scorched almonds. Watch it on TVNZ 1 at 6.50pm.

The Chase Christmas Special on TVNZ 1 at 5pm is also the perfect opportunity to prove you’re smarter, shoutier and faster than any of your family members.

If it’s just not Christmas without the royals

If tradition and pomp is your thing, 1 Royal Special: Together at Christmas may be up your alley. A carol service in Westminster Abbey, hosted by the Princess of Wales at 8pm on TVNZ 1.

Down for some bonkers Christmas behaviour?

‘Twas The Fight Before Christmas is streaming on Apple+ and will make you grateful that your own neighbour only has a mildly excessive amount of Christmas house lights. A doco about a Christmas-obsessed American who enters a legal battle with his neighbours to have a Christmas light show that brings in hoards of strangers and noise to the street.

Because, you know … Freedom.

Christmas but with serial killer vibes

Check out the 1974 slasher flick Black Christmas, about a serial killer stalking sorority girls on Christmas. Find it, and a handful of other festive horrors on Shudder.

It’s far too hot for a real fireplace

It’s the middle of summer and you’re spending Christmas by (and in) the pool, but you, too, can spend your Christmas watching logs burn for an hour on the telly. Netflix has a range of settings, from traditional winter fireplaces to Stranger Things, Wednesday and K-Pop Demon Hunters vibes.

It’s still Christmas somewhere…

Technically the latest installment of Stranger Things Season 5 episodes doesn’t drop on Netflix in New Zealand until 2pm on Boxing Day, but that’s Christmas somewhere, so it makes the list.

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

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

All alight: Final train departs from Melling Station ahead of RiverLink upgrades