Source: Radio New Zealand

Frustrated healthworkers are questioning why hospitals and health services are being asked to find another $510 million in “efficiency savings” out of this year’s budget, while $538 million earmarked for salaries went unspent last year.

The “underspend” was due in part to unfilled vacancies, slower than expected Holidays Act remediation, and the fact that Health NZ has yet to settle collective contract disputes with senior doctors or nurses.

Health NZ said “performance efficiencies” did not impact on the funding available for settlement.

However, the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists (which has been locked in a pay dispute for over a year) said it was galling that personnel costs in the most recent financial year were $538 million less than budgeted.

Last month, the Employment Relations Authority threw out Health NZ’s unprecedented request for it to set aside the bargaining process and “fix” terms and conditions for about 6600 senior doctors and dentists.

The union’s executive director Sarah Dalton said scarce health dollars were going to the wrong places.

“Money is going to locums, to outsourcing to private. There is still a significant number of contracts going to consultancy firms and staff who come from those firms to do work that could and should be done by salaried staff.”

Outsourced personnel costs, including to fill roster gaps, were $162m dollars over budget in 2024/2025.

Health NZ’s annual report shows of the $538 million underspend in wages, $204 million came from delays to Collective Agreements and lower internal personnel costs.

Dalton said cuts to so-called “back office” functions were making it harder for clinical staff to do their jobs.

“We discovered recently that the restructuring in Data and Digital meant they ended up with 200 fewer staff than they actually need, and they’re still trying to catch up with that.”

Recruitment freeze is real – Labour

While Health NZ was already on track for a $200 million deficit this year, it has been asked to find a further $510 million from its operational budget to “re-invest” in patient care.

Health Minister Simeon Brown said the efficiency targets – which represented between 2-just under 5 percent of the operational budgets of the four regions – would free up cash to meet the government health targets without reducing clinical staff.

However, Labour’s health spokesperson Dr Ayesha Verrall said it was hard to see how cutting resources for already stretched services would help patients.

“New Zealanders are struggling to get healthcare. It would be unbelievable if the government had underspent on health staffing and New Zealanders didn’t get care as a result.”

Verrall said while the Minister and Health NZ continued to deny there was a hiring freeze, frontline workers were saying the opposite.

“Every doctor and nurse I talk to says they can’t recruit to roles in their department, or if they do, they face massive delays, and the delays are designed to save costs.”

The Nurses’ Organisation, which represents about 60,000 nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants, is also going into the new year without a settlement.

A briefing to the minister in April – released under the Official Information Act – shows each 1 percent increase for senior doctors would cost between $20 million and $30 million.

However, due to the higher numbers of nurses, each additional 1 percent increase for them would cost taxpayers more than $100 million.

Health NZ responds

Health New Zealand said the funding available to settle these collective agreements had not changed in either the 24/25 or 25/26 financial years.

“We remain committed to settling.

“Performance efficiencies do not impact on the funding available for settlement.”

The agency continued to “actively recruit” to reduce its reliance on outsourced personnel.

In the most recent financial year, Health New Zealand increased its clinical workforce by approximately 750 full-time workers.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Break downs in courier services has meant more unnecessary delays in vital lab testing for Gisborne patients as samples are being sent hundreds of kilometres across the country.

Apex represents MedLab workers who are currently locked in a pay dispute.

It says patient samples are being sent to Palmerston North for testing, resulting in days long delays for some cases.

National Secretary for Apex, Deborah Powell told Checkpoint it is not uncommon for samples to get stuck somewhere that they shouldn’t.

“We’ve had a couple of breakdowns of courier recently.

“In late November one of them broke down in Taupo a courier had to be sent up from Palmerston to pick both samples up but they stayed overnight in the van.

“We’re not quite sure whether they were refrigerated or not.”

Apex says delays to key diagnostic tests for life threatening conditions like meningitis, leukaemia and antibiotic resistance are because the medical lab at Gisborne is 50 percent owned by a private company that is profit driven.

Powell said samples are being taken to Palmerston North which is the head lab for that particular outfit of MedLab.

“They’re not even taking them to Tauranga or to Hawke’s Bay, or if they land in Auckland, to one of the Auckland labs, because they would have to pay those labs to have the tests done.”

Powell said there needed to be a proper lab up and running in Gisborne.

“This company has just issued a five million dollar profit and we believe that they’re you know saving money to make a profit over actually delivering a proper lab in this remote area of New Zealand.”

She said even on a good day when the labs are working there is a 24-hour delay and if it is a weekend a three-hour delay could be expected.

This impacted patients as it made it harder for doctors to quickly identify issues and administer the right medication.

“The doctors do their best, if it is an infection they will try different anti-biotics.”

Powell said if the first anti biotic didn’t work doctors would try different anti-biotics to try and kill the bug while they wait for results.

“For the patient that means they’re getting an awful lot of different anti-biotics while the doctors try and treat them.

“Whereas if they were in another hospital laboratory the bug would be identified quicker and the right anti-biotic would be moved in there.”

She said they had raised the issue with Te Whatu Ora repeatedly over the last six months are yet to get a response.

Health New Zealand Midland regional executive director Cath Cronin says they are aware of the delays and had been working with the lab provider to resolve the issues.

Cronin said microbiology tests have been sent to Palmerston North twice a day for the past nine years.

She said initial sample analysis is performed by MedLab at Gisborne Hospital, with further processing in Palmerston North using sophisticated technology.

She added that microbiology testing was shifted to ensure a reliable and safe service as recruitment and retention of scarce laboratory staff in Tairāwhiti was not assured.

She said the contract for the lab, known as TLAB, sets clear service delivery requirements to ensure timeliness and appropriate quality and safety of delivery.

And she said Tairāwhiti Hospital is satisfied with the services provided by TLAB, including microbiology.

Health NZ contracts three private providers to deliver community and hospital-referred diagnostic testing around New Zealand.

Payment of dividends to shareholders by private providers, such as providers of laboratory services or other healthcare providers, is common.

Medlab Central has three centres in its group including Gisborne, Palmerston North, and Whanganui, based in the local public hospitals.

The dividend paid by Medlab Central is from its consolidated entity for all services it provides, including privately funded testing.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

• Former Health NZ staff frustrated at pushed-back deadlines to receive holiday pay owed to them.
• Most current staff owed money have received it.
• Health NZ says process is complex and involves many payroll systems.

A retired Waikato couple who worked at Hamilton’s hospital for more than six decades between them are facing a lengthy wait for tens of thousands of dollars of holiday pay.

Errors in calculating holiday pay date back more than 15 years and will cost Health NZ about $1.8 billion in payouts.

Most current employees have been repaid, but Health NZ has only recently started paying former staff, and many won’t see a cent for another year.

It said the process is a complex piece of work, requiring constant checks and accessing different payroll systems.

Frustration at constant delays

Nick Barnes was an intensive care specialist at Waikato Hospital for 30 years and his wife Kathy Barnes, a nurse there for almost 40 years.

They’ve both recently retired and Nick said the deadline for when former Waikato employees were paid kept getting pushed back, with no reasons given.

“It was meant to start about April 2024, but it was pushed back to November 2025 and most recently we noted through other sources that for Waikato it had been pushed back to November 2026.”

Kathy said they had not received direct communication about the delays, and found out about them through external parties such as nurses’ union Facebook posts.

“I can’t imagine that if anybody else in my life owed me money and it was repeatedly deferring the payment that I wouldn’t receive direct communication about the reason why, an apology for that, and a direct commitment to pay the money on a definite date,” she said.

Kathy, 62, and Nick, 62, each expect they could get about $20,000.

“The thing that really irks us is that during our service occasionally payroll would have overpaid us accidentally and we’d get very stern communicating saying, ‘You owe us back this money and it must be paid within the next two pay periods’,” Kathy said.

“There’s been a lot of pay periods come and gone since they owed us this money back to 2010.”

Worked the most, owed the most – former nurse

A former nurse, who asked not to be named, was also unhappy at the wait and delayed deadlines for payment.

“These people that are owed the most amount of money are actually the people who worked the most amount of anti-social hours – 12-hour shifts or longer,” she said.

“I’m talking about on-call work, working on Saturdays or Sundays, working overnight and working double shifts.”

She said she only received updates when she wrote to politicians, who would then refer her questions to Health NZ, which would answer.

She thinks she’ll receive about $20,000, money she said her family needed.

“Originally we were told 2025. It was going to be mid-2025, then it was going to be September.

“More recently when I questioned it they are now saying March, April 2026.”

Repayment process complex – Health NZ

Health NZ executive national director, people and culture and health and safety, Robyn Shearer said as at 12 December, more than 83,000 current employees had received more than $657 million.

Staff from most regions had been fully paid what was owed to them.

Former employee payments began in October, but some won’t be made until later next year or even 2027.

“Payments to former employees started this year in Taranaki and then Auckland,” Shearer said.

“This month Southern District paid over $6m to over 1300 former employees and Tairāwhiti District paid $3.6m to over 450 former employees.

“To date this means over $54m has been paid to over 13,000 former employees. Payments will continue in the New Year with a second tranche set to be paid in February 2026.”

Shearer said the repayment process was complex, involving historical data and numerous payroll platforms.

“It is important to note, that not everyone is due to receive a payment – some people have been paid correctly for their leave.

“Each payroll project is remediating current employees first, then former employees.”

The total budget was $1.8b.

Call for easier process

New Zealand Nurses Organisation president Kerri Nuku said the repayment process had been appalling for current staff, too.

“These monies have been owed to nurses since 2016. Payments have been budgeted for by the government.

“There have been payments schedules put in place, which have changed. The goal posts keep changing. It’s not fair that these [union] members have had to wait for what is legitimately their money.”

Given the pressure the health system was under, the slow repayments were another blow, Nuku said.

“When you see some big areas that have managed to go through and settle these payments and receive backpay, and some of the less bigger areas still waiting, that’s where I think the frustration is – that there isn’t a single process that has guaranteed settlement at the same sorts of times.”

The repayments are run by a contracted company and Checkpoint earlier this year revealed that process had already cost well over $100m.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

As Kiwi’s flock to the beaches in the summer heat, the need for surf lifeguards couldn’t be greater.

But Surf Life Saving New Zealand says with the growing population, they’ll need 1000 volunteers and supporters over the next three years, especially at Auckland’s wild west coast beaches.

One of those popular black-sand beaches, Bethell’s, has been identified by Water Safety New Zealand as one of the country’s drowning blackspots.

But with its club house still yellow-stickered after Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, they’re struggling to retain the number of volunteers needed to keep people safe in the water.

Checkpoint visits Bethell’s Beach Surf Lifesaving Club

At Bethell’s Beach Surf Lifesaving Club in Auckland, lifeguards were setting up for the day ahead, towing out the rescue boat and pulling out warning signs and first aid gear.

Patrol Captain Finn Stevenson was called out from Omaha’s Surf Lifesaving Club to work part of the season during his university holidays.

“The mornings are pretty cruisy, because on the west coast we start at 11. We usually do a team training or at least get out for a surf, or a quick workout.

“Then we set up around about 10:30am, get down to the beach, assess the conditions and go from there.”

But it’s not all smooth sailing.

The night before Checkpoint visited, the team carried out a multi-person rescue that could have ended in tragedy.

“Pretty much it was just a bunch of seven teenagers just got caught in a rip and even though there wasn’t a lot of surf… there’s still a good undertow.”

“They just couldn’t get back in and a few people were struggling, so we put a boat in the water and picked them up.”

Stevenson said a large percentage of rescues occurred after patrol hours.

Battered by years of ocean spray, wind and rain, the Bethells Beach Surf Lifesaving Club is still standing, despite half of it being washed away during Cyclone Gabrielle.

State of club house far from ideal

Northern regional manager and local clubbie Lauren Parnell said while they were still able to operate, it was far from ideal.

“When the storms came, it took half of the club away, now we’re left with where we are now, luckily we saved our first aid room, our bathrooms and our gear shed.

“But it was a big impact for us, we’ve learnt how to function, I think we can function really well with what we’ve got, but the new club coming in a couple of years is going to be a lifesaving thing for us.”

Parnell said the club house was a community hub that attracted volunteers, but now it was a shell of its former self.

“The thing with having a great big club house is it’s an attractive thing for young guards and older guards.

“We’re quite rural, so it means we don’t have that ability for the kids to stay out and the patrols to stay out.”

“Trying to retain the membership without having that club house is hard.”

Parnell said they received $5 million to go towards the the club’s rebuild from the government’s cyclone rebuild fund.

But they still needed to fundraise an additional one million dollars in order to restore the building to its former glory.

“We have had to adjust with the resources that we’ve had and pull on extra things that we can to meet the demand.

“[Universities] are out, high schools are out, the heats up, the water’s warm, we’re seeing a lot more activity after hours when the sun goes down.”

Bethells Beach lifeguard Haytham Aumua said with the recent hot weather, people had been coming to the beach for a dip after work.

“Since the weathers getting a lot nicer, people start coming to the beach a lot later in the day and we’re off the beach Monday to Friday at 7pm.

“We’re seeing a lot more rescues happen after 7pm.”

Aumua said the conditions on Auckland’s west coast aren’t like some beaches. The raging surf could sweep people off their feet before inescapable rips dragged them out to sea, she said.

After Cyclone Gabrielle, more underwater holes and troughs appeared along the black sand coastline creating new, often stronger currents.

Haytham Aumua gave Checkpoint a tour on one of the club’s beach buggies.

“So there’s always a nice little rip right by this island.

“Because the tide is going out, it isn’t much of a concern but the tide does fill in quite a bit and comes all the way up through the rocks,” Aumua said.

People underestimate power of the sea

The Bethell’s lifeguards are also kept busy by people who go fishing off the jagged rocks that jut out into the Tasman sea. They often underestimate the size of the swell or are hit by freak waves.

“That’s where Cable Bay is, so there’s a cable that runs around and there’s actually a lifesaver out there,” Aumua said.

“We get lots of fishermen out there, they walk out and then when the tide changes and starts coming in, it fills in a lot more and they get stuck out on that rock.”

Lifeguard from North Piha Kate Adolph said lifeguards could prevent rescues while on duty, but after hours they could only respond.

“If the lifeguards aren’t on duty, just don’t get in the water, it’s not worth the risk and if you were to get into trouble, no one might be there to help you.”

According to Water Safety New Zealand, 74 people drowned in New Zealand last year. There have already been 70 drowning this year as we head into peak summer.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A 54-year-old Auckland man will spend two years in prison after running an illegal immigration scheme for six years.

Vincent Ding Peng Hii created fake job offers and business records to enable 24 foreign workers to come to New Zealand.

Hii pleaded guilty to 24 charges of supplying false or misleading information to immigration authorities.

The scheme spanned multiple companies, and Hii rented office spaces to pretend he was hiring migrants for skilled jobs between 2015 and 2021.

“Hii went to great lengths to create the illusion of legitimate employment, including arranging for applicants to attend rented offices in Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch in case of verification visits by immigration officers,” MBIE investigations manager Jason Perry said.

Hii was sentenced at the Auckland District Court to two years and two months’ imprisonment.

Immigration NZ is reassessing the immigration status of the 24 workers affected by the scheme.

“We take this type of offending extremely seriously,” Perry said.

“This was a deliberate and calculated attempt to undermine the integrity of New Zealand’s immigration system.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Police say they still have not found 29-year-old Mitchell Cole, who has been missing since his father and stepmother were killed in a double homicide.

Friends of sheep farmer husband and wife Brendon and Trina Cole said they were found dead at their Murumuru Road property on Saturday.

Their son, Mitchell Cole, has been named as a person of interest by police.

Police have also issued a warrant against him for the unlawful possession of firearms.

Police said enquiries to locate Mitchell Cole were ongoing.

They earlier said they were focusing their search efforts on a remote area.

Police have advised the public not to approach Cole and to call 111 if they see him.

They said they would not name the victims who were killed until they had been formally identified by the coroner.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

A sexual abuse support foundation says survivors are at risk as it braces for funding cuts in the new year.

HELP Auckland will have $380,000 less to work with in 2026, after the government announced it would redirect $1.7 million from the sector.

Sylvia Yandall, HELP’s Pasifika Services Manager, told RNZ the funding cut would force them to turn survivors away.

“If they don’t come under ACC, which is now the only pathway, there is no other source of funding that we have … So we will have to turn people away,” she said.

“It’s hard to put into words, really, because I know people this is impacting and this is really difficult for. The thought that people don’t get the help they need at a time when they’re brave enough to come forward to get that help is devastating.”

HELP Auckland director Kathryn McPhillips said the cuts came at a time when the number of sexual violence cases was breaking records.

“Sexual violence reporting has quadrupled since 2018, the circulation of child sexual abuse images is rapidly increasing, and prevention services are under threat,” she said in a statement.

“At the same time, funding is being pulled from the very services designed to protect children and support recovery. Community support has never been more critical.”

Yandall said a lack of access to support had ripple effects.

“It can impact their own children, and it has a massive impact on families because they don’t get the help or the healing they need to handle life.”

She said digital violence was another blind spot.

“[There’s an] increasing need for treatment for digital sexual violence, there’s so much online harm but unfortunately at this stage this doesn’t come under ACC,” Yandall said.

“So, again, people are not going to be able to get that help unless there’s some other funding that people can find to cover it.”

Sexual Violence

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A “technical issue” with police’s incident management tool may have led to sensitive information that was supposed to be redacted during disclosure being made visible.

An investigation is under way into the extent of the issue and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner has been notified.

RNZ understands police have recently contacted lawyers of defendants advising them of the issue.

An email, seen by RNZ, says that a technical issue with police’s Incident Management Tool (IMT) had been discovered that resulted in a proportion of redacted documents produced from the investigation software since 4 December that had redactions that were not applied correctly by the system.

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

This meant that information that was supposed to be redacted could become visible.

The lawyers were advised to retrieve the disclosure packages from their clients or request deletion of the email.

They were also told to advise them that they must comply with the Lawyers and Conveyances Act which included not disclosing information that would be likely to place a person’s health or safety at risk.

In response to questions from RNZ Acting Assistant Commissioner Investigations, Serious and Organised Crime Keith Borrell said that on 15 December the disclosure functionality of Police’s IMT was placed on hold after a “technical issue” was identified.

“Information that had been redacted could potentially be made visible to justice sector partners.

“Police’s ICT department tested and applied a fix, enabling functionality to resume yesterday.

“Emails are being sent directly to officers and file managers in charge of cases affected by the issue, with clear instructions on action that needs to be taken.”

Police had notified the Office of the Privacy Commissioner and continued to investigate the extent of the issue, Borrell said.

Chief Victims Advisor Ruth Money told RNZ she had contacted police asking for information on what had happened and what actions police were taking regarding both at risk victims and victims and witnesses in general who have been affected.

A spokesperson for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner confirmed to RNZ police notified them of a privacy breach on 16 December 2025.

“The Privacy Act sets out that agencies are required to notify the Office of the Privacy Commissioner as soon as they are aware of breaches that they have assessed as ‘serious harm.’

“As with any breach, Police will need to investigate so they can fully understand the size and scope of the breach and its impact on New Zealanders. It’s possible that further investigation of a breach could result in an initial assessment of serious harm being downgraded.”

The commissioner’s initial focus was to “support agencies who have experienced a breach with advice on how to minimise the harm to any people affected.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A number of urgent care clinics will extend their opening hours in the new year.

Minister of Health Simeon Brown said Local Doctors Ōtara in south Auckland had already extended its hours until midnight this week, and would shift to full 24/7 care from the 19th of January.

He said Eastcare in east Auckland would also push its closing time from 11pm to 1am in March.

“These changes mean people can get help for urgent health issues any time of the day or night, without going to hospital unless it is a genuine emergency,” Brown said in a statement.

Brown said the changes were a result of the government’s national “Urgent Care and After Hours Framework”, which was pushing for all New Zealanders to have a clinic within an hour’s drive.

He noted that recent progress under the framework included a new 24/7 urgent care service in Dunedin, which also opened this week.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Police have charged two men after a shooting in Gore that left two people injured.

The men, aged 36 and 54, were due to appear in court in Invercargill on Friday after being arrested on Thursday afternoon.

They have been charged with burglary with a weapon and two counts each of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Two people were flown to hospital, one with serious injuries and another with moderate injuries, after the shooting in Aparima Street on Wednesday night.

Police said one of the victims was still recovering in hospital, while the other had been discharged.

Southland area commander inspector Mike Bowman said investigators were following a number of lines of enquiry but information from the public had proved invaluable.

“We want to thank the community for their help so far, the support we’ve had from the public shows people aren’t willing to tolerate violence like this,” he said.

“The arrests are the result of excellent work across the team involved and help from the public.”

Bowman said investigators were still keen to speak with anyone with information.

He said police officers would have a visible presence in Gore as they carried out reassurance patrols.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Police are examining a toilet block at a yacht club as they investigate a homicide in Hamilton.

Police were called to a home in Lake Crescent at around 6.15pm on Thursday, where they found two people seriously injured.

One of the victims died at the scene and the other was taken to Waikato Hospital.

Officers are conducting scene examinations at the home and also at a toilet block at a yacht club several hundred metres away.

Police believe the people involved travelled on foot between both locations and are asking anyone who may have seen them to contact police.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Whether it’s Christmas with family, or a New Year’s Eve event with friends Air New Zealand figures show 2.7 million New Zealanders and international visitors will be flying this summer.

The busiest days for domestic air travel in Aotearoa are Friday 19 December with up to 32,000 travellers flying, followed by Sunday 21, Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 December, with around 31,000 customers taking to the skies on each of those days.

Air New Zealand’s domestic network will transport around 1.6 million passengers. Three of its most popular destinations are located in the South Island.

“Queenstown will see 260,000 customers travel to and from the region while Nelson is gearing up for 150,000 customers, and Dunedin 110,000. Napier and the Bay of Plenty are also in hot demand this summer,” Air New Zealand general manager airports Kate Boyer said.

Internationally, around 1.1m passengers will be flying in or out of New Zealand.

A passenger at Auckland Airport today said it was already busy.

Dan Yee who was on his way to Napier had had some interruptions.

“Our flight got cancelled, so that’s why it’s been a lot busier… Engine failure, I hear,” he said.

“Definitely today has been a lot busier than usual. I was surprised to be caught up in a very long queue.”

“Yeah, it’s probably a good idea to get here early.”

Michael Gallagher was waiting for his flight to Tauranga, but said he felt well looked after.

“Don’t stress, the staff are always really good and they’ll always get you where you need to go,” he said.

“We’ve had a few issues over the journey with flights delayed, etcetera, but everyone looks after you and everyone’s trying to get you home safely so just relax, you’ll get there.”

Corina Warren, on her way to Nelson, remarked that the airport felt busy but “quite organised”.

Air New Zealand’s most popular regional destinations from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2026 are Queenstown Lakes District with 260,000 travellers, Nelson at 150,000, Bay of Plenty at 120,000, Dunedin at 110,000 and Napier at 100,000.

While internationally the top contenders are Sydney with 195,000 travellers, Melbourne at 185,000, Brisbane at 120,000, Pacific Islands countries at 170,000 and Los Angeles at 56,000.

“Three Australian cities are firm favourites with 195,000 customers travelling to and from Sydney, 185,000 to and from Melbourne, and 120,000 to and from Brisbane.

“Around 170,000 customers will be crossing the Pacific with Tahiti and Fiji clear go to getaways,” Boyer said.

There will be 56,000 passengers flying to or from Los Angeles from New Zealand on the airline.

Saturday 20 December and Saturday 3 January are the busiest international travel days with up to 20,000 passengers travelling each day.

Auckland Airport

An estimated 2.5 million travellers are expected to pass through Auckland Airport between 8 December 2025 and 18 January 2026.

Unlike other New Zealand airports, the majority of its travellers will be international with 1.5m international travellers arriving or departing, an increase of 7.5 percent on last year.

“We’ve been working closely with border agencies, airlines and their ground handlers to make sure travellers get away smoothly. It will be busy, so our advice is simple: plan ahead, arrive with plenty of time and pack smart,” Auckland Airport chief customer officer Scott Tasker said.

There’s capacity for as many as 5.8m travellers to arrive or depart in Auckland, from 43 destinations.

Domestic and international travel numbers will peak at different points through the Christmas and New Year period.

The busiest day for international departures from Auckland is expected to be 4 January, while 15 January is forecast to be its busiest day for international arrivals.

In terms of domestic departures from Auckland 19 December is tipped to be the busiest day, while 16 January is the busiest for domestic arrivals.

Wellington Airport

Nearly half a million travellers are expected to pass through Wellington Airport over the Christmas and New Year period.

The busiest single day being Thursday 18 December with around 18,000 travellers.

Flights in and out of Wellington between 15 December and 11 January have the capacity to fly 350,000 domestic passengers and 90,000 international.

Wellington Airport’s head of operations Matthew Palliser said as well as the possibility of seeing Air New Zealand’s first ever electric aircraft on the tarmac, it also claimed to be the country’s most festive.

“We’re proud to be the most Christmassy airport in the country with over 65 individually decorated Christmas trees raising funds for cystic fibrosis. We’ve also got live music and Christmas carol singing,” Palliser said.

Christchurch Airport

Christchurch Airport’s capacity between 25 November and 26 March has increased 11 percent compared to last year, with an additional 236,000 domestic seats and 139,000 international seats in and out of Christchurch will be available during that period.

Popular destinations out of Christchurch include Adelaide, Cairns, Gold Coast and Fiji.

Dunedin Airport

Close to 150,000 passengers will be travelling on flights in and out of Dunedin over the December and January period.

As many locals head off for a break over summer, the airport’s chief executive Daniel De Bono is also ready for some downtime.

“It’s been a big year for Dunedin Airport with the Gold Coast direct service starting and winning Medium Airport of the Year being big highlights amongst many. While the airport never closes, many of our people will now get some well deserved time with their families,” De Bono said.

Queenstown Airport

New Zealand’s tourism capital will see around 150,000 passengers passing through its airport between 20 December and 4 January, with nearly 57,000 of those heading to or from Australia.

Around 10,000 passengers a day will be flying in or out on 20, 27 and 28 December, and 2, 3, and 4 January.

“Summer is always a special time in Queenstown. We love the excitement in the terminal as people fly in to spend Christmas with whānau or head off on adventures,” head of operations, compliance and safety Juliet Breen said.

Advice for flyers

RNZ spoke to a number of airlines and airports in the lead up to the holiday season to find out what tips they had for people travelling over the summer period. Almost all of them listed ensuring items with batteries were dealt with correctly as their number one piece of advice.

Before you pack your luggage, make sure any item that may have a battery in it is packed in your carry on luggage, that includes anything powered by lithium batteries such as hearing aids, vapes or headphones. Anything that is checked in will be removed and cannot be returned. Aviation Security has extensive information on its website.

Arriving at the airport with plenty of time and ensuring you’re at your gate in time will also help ensure a less stressful trip.

While some airports no longer need laptops and liquids to be removed at security, for most this is still the norm. So pack accordingly and be ready to remove these items when you get to security. This includes liquids, aerosols and gels such as perfume.

Make sure you drink plenty of water before and during your flight, and remember alcohol can hit you harder in the air than it does on the ground.

Check in online, and use the time that saves you to get through security earlier so you’re at your gate with plenty of time to spare should there be any issues.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The future of the Hamilton to Auckland train, Te Huia, looks set to be decided in the first half of next year.

The Waikato regional council voted on Thursday to ask the New Zealand Transport Agency board in February to keep funding steady at a 60 percent funding assistance rate for a one-year extension.

If NZTA would not keep funding steady for an extra year, council asked for a formal decision on what permanent support the agency will give the service by April.

Te Huia was launched in April 2021 for a five-year trial ending in June 2026. It provides an interregional passenger rail service between the regions of Waikato and Auckland.

It had faced several issues, including covid delays, being temporarily banned from operating in Auckland, and being impacted by repeated line closures on the Auckland network.

The coalition government had a history of negativity about Te Huia, and last year NZTA decided to progressively reduce its contribution to the funding assistance rate from 75.5 in 2024 to 51 percent by 2026.

Councillor Chris Hughes said there was no point in the council continuing its plans to run the train until it knew it had NZTA support.

“Once we’ve got it, we’ve got a commitment, and we can move forward. At the moment there’s too much uncertainty and I don’t believe our ratepayers should be wearing the cost,” he said.

Other councillors echoed this need for certainty from NZTA.

However, councillor Jennifer Nickel pointed out that NZTA had put more money into Te Huia than anyone, and although the council should be strong in its request for certainty it should also be flexible to allow NZTA to “say what it wants to say.”

“We are a partner with them,” she said.

Councillor Tipa Mahuta also said council had a long relationship with NZTA and should be thinking in terms of a partnership.

“It’s not in our role to tell NZTA what their job is, we can express a preference and our key timelines, but I’m pretty sure they know their remit… it’s not our jurisdiction to direct them to do anything,” she said.

Hamilton city council, Waipa district council and Waikato district council told the regional council they supported their request for an extra year of steady funding.

Hamilton city councillor Sarah Thomson spoke at today’s meeting and said the city had been a very supportive partner of Te Huia.

She said the city had brought forward public transport investment to support the train, particularly around the Rotokauri transport hub where most passengers get on and off the train.

“That transport hub was in a master plan, but it would still not be built to this day, most likely, if it was not for the need to support the Te Huia service,” Thomson said.

Hamilton councillor Sue Moroney also spoke and said the city had “significant skin in the game”.

“The city council has seen the importance of having a really fit-for-purpose transport network between the largest city in the country and the fourth largest – but the fastest growing city – in the country,” Moroney said.

She said she regularly used the service for meetings in Auckland.

“Importantly I use it because I can get a lot of work done on the way up and the way back, I can get all my emails done, it’s great for productivity, I can’t do that in a car, I can’t do that in a bus, I can only do that in the train,” she said.

After discussions, the letter tabled in the council’s agenda and the final letter being sent to NZTA were slightly different.

Regional councillor Liz Stolwyk said it was important that the surrounding district and city councils were fully aware of what was being asked for and were taken along on the journey.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The man who murdered five people by lighting the Loafers Lodge blaze has been sentenced to life in prison, with no chance of release for at least 22 years.

Esarona David Lologa, 50, set the Wellington boarding house alight in May 2023.

He was sentenced in the High Court in Wellington on Friday, to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 22 years.

He will be detained as a special patient in a hospital, and will need to be assessed before he can be moved a prison.

Michael Wahrlich, Melvin Parun, Peter O’Sullivan, Kenneth Barnard and Liam Hockings died in the fire.

In September, a jury found Lologa guilty of five counts of murder, and guilty of one count of arson.

His defence argued he was insane when he lit the fire.

The Crown called around 100 witnesses over its four weeks of evidence.

They included Loafers Lodge residents who described their harrowing escapes from the blaze, firefighters who fought tears recounting their experiences, and crucially, five mental health professionals who believed Lologa was not insane when he lit the fire.

The experts said Lologa did know his actions were morally wrong.

They pointed to Lologa’s own comments to police and psychiatrists, including that he had “done nothing wrong”, as evidence he understood the difference between right and wrong.

During the trial psychiatrist Dr Krishna Pillai, testifying for the defence, believed the man was insane when he lit the fire, and was experiencing a serious psychotic relapse.

Pillai told the court the man’s hallucinations – hearing voices telling him to light the fire – rendered him incapable of knowing lighting the fire was morally wrong, which is a threshold required for an insanity defence.

Esarona Lologa – also known as Esa – was born in Wellington in 1975, but was raised by his grandmother and uncle in a small village near Apia, Samoa.

He was initially educated in Samoa but moved to Wellington when he was about 13, where he lived with his uncle. He attended high school in Lower Hutt.

As a young man, Lologa had a relationship with a woman almost 20 years his senior, who had a teenage son.

In 2009 Lologa was convicted of attempting to murder the son with a machete, after he believed his partner was cheating on him.

Lologa had 50 previous convictions – including the attempted murder and an attempted arson in 1996, after he broke into a butcher and tried to burn it down.

He had also been found guilty of common assault and fraud.

He first came to the attention of mental health services in 1999, when he was 24. He was hearing voices in his head that were swearing at him.

Lologa was diagnosed as having schizophrenia, and was first admitted to a mental health facility in 2000.

The court heard details about Lologa’s clinical history spanning more than two decades, including nine hospital admissions.

During adulthood, Lologa lived in Wellington and Auckland. He stayed in social housing and boarding houses, as well as his car and the street, psychiatrists told the court.

Lologa absconded from a mental health facility on 21 April, 2023, three weeks before the fires, and there was a warrant out for his arrest.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The country’s highest court has found that governments must consider climate change when deciding whether to offer oil and gas blocks for tender.

The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal on Friday that former Energy and Resources Minister Megan Woods was required to take climate change into account when she granted on-shore exploration permits to two companies in 2021.

However, the court found that climate change is a mandatory consideration at the earlier stage of offering blocks for tender.

Climate change was “so obviously relevant” to a decision that could lead to the extraction and consumption of fossil fuels that it must be considered, the panel of five Supreme Court justices ruled.

“Climate change is a matter of pressing concern for New Zealand and its well-being both in the near and long term,” the justices wrote in their decision.

“Moreover, the Crown has entered into binding obligations on New Zealand’s behalf in connection with reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“Petroleum extraction and consumption are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in New Zealand and internationally.”

The Crown Minerals Act’s aim was to “promote” prospecting, exploration and mining “for the benefit of New Zealand”.

The court found that ‘benefit’ was “not simply a recognition of the benefits that flow from mining”.

“Climate change is therefore a mandatory relevant consideration … when deciding whether to offer petroleum exploration permits for tender,” the decision said.

“This is because climate change is so obviously relevant to a decision to commence a process which is intended, if successful, to progress through to extraction of petroleum.”

Student group first took case in 2021

The case against the Energy and Resources minister was taken all the way to the Supreme Court by a group of Victoria University law students.

Students for Climate Solutions, now called Climate Clinic Aotearoa, first took the case in 2021.

The group argued that when then-Energy Minister Megan Woods made her decision to grant the permits, she did not properly consider the impacts of climate change, despite advice from the Climate Change Commission that the government should avoid locking in new fossil fuel assets.

The students argued that climate change should be considered at the point when a minister is deciding whether to grant a permit.

Friday’s judgement dismissed the students’ case, but on the basis that once a tender process had already been completed, going on to refuse a permit would undermine the intent of offering a block for tender.

The proper place to consider climate change and other mandatory considerations was at the earlier stage to offer blocks for tender in the first place, the court ruled.

Friday’s judgement found that even though she was not required to consider climate change at the permitting stage, Woods had adequately done so anyway.

She had received detailed advice from officials and was aware of other relevant matters, including policy work on a National Energy Strategy and a broader climate change work programme.

Supreme Court decision at odds with earlier rulings

The High Court earlier found against the students’ case, ruling that while no one could doubt the importance of climate change issues, the purpose of the Crown Minerals Act was to promote mining for fossil fuels.

“Such activity may be at the expense of climate change, but that is what the Act seeks to advance,” Justice Francis Cooke found.

On that account, the Energy Minister had acted in line with the law, he said.

The Court of Appeal also dismissed the students’ appeal, with a panel of three judges finding that there was no requirement for the minister to consider climate change when making permitting decisions.

However, one of the three appeal judges, Justice Jillian Mallon, found that climate change was a ‘permissive’ consideration – in other words, that the minister could factor it into her decision if she chose to.

That was because the Climate Change Response Act, more widely known as the Zero Carbon Act, allows ministers and public agencies to take New Zealand’s emissions targets and budgets into account when carrying out their duties.

Justice Mallon said in her judgement: “Given the accepted climate emergency, and that the combustion of fossil fuels is the main cause of climate change, it would be odd if the Minister responsible for petroleum exploration was precluded from taking into account these key components of New Zealand’s response to climate change, when Parliament has said in the Climate Change Response Act that those exercising powers may do so.”

As an example, she said if the country was on course to exceed one of its emissions budgets, “it would be odd (and potentially contrary to the benefit of New Zealand) if the Minister was precluded from taking into account any published advice from the Climate Change Commission about this in determining whether to grant a permit in furtherance of the purpose of the Act to promote further exploration or prospecting of petroleum ‘for the benefit of NZ”.

At the time Woods granted the two permits, the Climate Change Commission had advised the government it was not on track to meet its emissions targets.

Current projections show New Zealand is on track to meet it emissions budgets for 2022-25 and 2026-2030, but not the budget for 2031-35.

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

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

Source: Radio New Zealand

The government is proposing to amend alcohol legislation so restaurants with on-site retail spaces can sell take-home booze.

The amendment to the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act would mean restaurants can apply for an off-licence, if they also sell takeaway food or non-alcoholic beverages prepared by the business.

The bill was originally a National Party member’s bill lodged by Hutt South MP Chris Bishop in 2018, and then transferred to Wairarapa MP Mike Butterick in 2023 once Bishop became a minister.

The bill was pulled from the ballot in April, but has now been picked up by Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee as government legislation.

McKee said restaurants were already trusted to supply alcohol through an on-licence, and the law change would mean they can apply for permission to sell it for off-site consumption as well.

“Right now, restaurants that prepare and sell food products like sauces, pastries or desserts for consumption off site are effectively barred from selling customers a bottle of wine to take home,” she said.

“These rigid rules have created absurd barriers to responsible businesses providing a unique experience their customers want.”

McKee said the current law was “nonsensical.” She gave the example of La Bella Italia in Petone, which has both a restaurant and an on-site shop under the same roof.

She said the restaurant had had to jump through “all sorts of hoops” to sell wine for customers to take home with their meal.

“When the rules can’t adapt, they block good ideas and kill the spirit and ambition of the people behind them.”

Restaurants would continue to be required to hold an on-licence to sell alcohol for consumption on the premises.

Alcohol legislation flows through Parliament

This would not be the only legislation liberalising alcohol sales to be considered by Parliament this term.

In August, McKee announced she would loosen the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act to make it harder for people to block liquor licences, and easier for ministers to declare one-off special trading hours for venues screening major sporting or cultural events.

Labour’s Kieran McAnulty has a member’s bill to allow businesses that are already allowed to open on Anzac Day morning, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas Day to sell alcohol.

That bill is up for second reading, and is set to be debated at the first ‘member’s day’ session next year.

In October, the Justice Committee recommended the bill be passed, but proposed retaining restrictions for off-licence premises.

A bill from ACT’s Cameron Luxton to repeal alcohol restrictions on Good Friday and Easter Sunday was voted down at first reading in 2024.

National MP Stuart Smith’s bill allowing winery cellar doors to charge visitors for samples and add off-licence categories for wineries holding an on-licence passed successfully through the House in 2024.

Parliament treats alcohol legislation as a conscience matter, meaning MPs vote according to their personal view instead of as a party bloc.

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