Source: Radio New Zealand

In Northland, rough sleepers typically wait more than 800 days for a home through the Housing First. The nationwide programme helps chronically homeless people into housing. It’s effective, and successive governments of both stripes support it. But a Northland provider says “horrendous” wait times are driven by a lack of funding, and a lack of homes. Lauren Crimp reports.

Casey Tangira, her husband, four kids and niece spent four months living in a car in 2024.

They had been in the same rental in the Northland town of Opua for eight years – but their landlord needed the house back, and they had nowhere else to go.

They parked up at a local rugby clubrooms, and showered at a freedom camping facility nearby.

But winter hit, and it got too cold, so they sought shelter with their in-laws.

Ten people crammed into a two-bedroom converted shed in Northland, sleeping on couches and mattresses on the floor.

“It was hectic, very stressful, just on edge all the time,” Tangira said.

Finally, after just over a year registered with Housing First through Ngāti Hine Health Trust, they were placed into a home near Moerewa, in the trust’s housing development.

“Were just so over the moon, that we could have a house of our own … and we could just be settled.”

The kids were not themselves when they were homeless, Tangira said. In their new home, they have their sparkle back.

“Just seeing my children waking up every morning and smiling and having their own beds… it’s my kids that I worry about the most,” she said.

“We’re just so grateful to Ngāti Hine every day.”

Northland, Bay of Plenty rough sleepers face longest wait

Tangira’s story is not unusual in Northland. In fact, a year-long wait is shorter than what’s typical: 826 days, from being accepted into Housing First, to being housed.

Bay of Plenty has the next longest median wait time of 566 days.

In other regions it’s between 100 and 300 days, aside from Waikato, where it’s 70 days.

The housing ministry allocates Housing First “places” – that is, funding for a person to be housed – to providers like Ngāti Hine Health Trust, who find homes for rough sleepers, often leasing them through the private market.

The ministry said at the end of January there were 3613 households in the programme, of which 2596 had been housed.

That leaves more than 1000 people who have sought help – and been told they could get it – still waiting.

Ngāti Hine Health Trust chief executive Tamati Shepherd-Wipiiti said its allocation of 60 places is full, and up to 100 people are on the wait-list.

Single men, often just released from prison, usually wait the longest, he said.

That’s because “in these constrained times” the Trust is forced to make tough choices, and prioritise.

“You have to draw a line about what you find unacceptable. And for us, that’s families in cars,” Shepherd-Wipiiti said.

“We won’t have families in cars.”

He said the problem was twofold: housing supply, and funding.

In Moerewa and Kawakawa, there aren’t enough homes to lease from the private market, so Ngāti Hine is building some.

In Whangārei, the Trust could house 10 whānau immediately – if it had sufficient Housing First places, Shepherd-Wipiiti said.

He’s asked the housing ministry to consider upping its allocation.

The government funded an extra 300 Housing First places last year for Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch.

Tamati Shepherd-Wipiiti wants the government to think smarter about the distribution.

“It was a bit sad to hear that some providers aren’t actually reaching their cap because, if we run this sort of as a national network, we could easily fill that gap for people who are actually struggling to fill their cap,” he said.

However, the shortage isn’t just felt in Northland – Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson has said her city alone needed 1000 more places.

National, Labour won’t commit to more funding

Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka said since September nearly 500 rough sleepers had been housed through Housing First, and the government was spending “hundreds of millions, billions of dollars into supporting people who have been doing it tough in this space”.

He said households and providers must navigate “challenging social circumstances and local housing market conditions” to secure appropriate housing.

RNZ asked whether an 800-day wait time was acceptable.

“I don’t think anyone is happy to see people doing it tough on the street or living in a rough space,” Potaka said.

“No one wants to see Kiwis living under a bush, in a car, in a cowshed.

“And that’s why we’ve been really clear, we want the funds that we have applied to this space to be used efficiently and effectively.”

Labour’s housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said the need for Housing First jumped after the [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/525607/government-was-warned-emergency-housing-crackdown-could-increase-homelessness

government made it tougher to access emergency housing] nearly two years ago.

“When you consider that they’ve saved a billion dollars by keeping people on the street … the amount that they’ve put into Housing First is an absolute fraction of that,” he said.

“It is a drop of water into an empty bucket.”

But he would not commit a potential Labour government to boosting Housing First support.

McAnulty said that call would be made after it considered this year’s budget, so it knows what money it had to work with.

While politicians battle over budgets, Casey Tangira thinks about other vulnerable people in her community, who she noticed when she was living in her car.

“Down the park and behind the library and that there was a lot of other homeless people too,” she said.

“I just want to bring them all home.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A weather alert has been issued as a tropical storm nears the north of the country.

A tropical low is expected to lie north of New Zealand on Wednesday afternoon, bringing southeast gales and heavy rain to the north.

MetService has issued a strong wind watch for the Far North District from 1pm to 11pm on Wednesday. There was a moderate chance the watch could be upgraded to a warning.

Civil Defence Northland is advising people to take extra care on the roads and check they are prepared for any potential power outages caused by strong winds

From Thursday, the forecasting agency said the system is expected to move and reach Auckland.

Meanwhile, another front moves onto Fiordland, bringing strong northwesterlies and heavy rain.

MetService said there is low confidence that warning amounts of rain will accumulate in Northland, northern Auckland and Coromandel Peninsula, but moderate confidence that warning amounts of rain will accumulate in Fiordland.

Come Friday, the remnants of the low and the associated front are expected to move across the northern half of the North Island, while the front over Fiordland moves northeast over the remainder of the South Island.

“There is low confidence that warning amounts of rain will accumulate from Northland through to Taupō, also northern Gisborne/Tairawhiti, and from northwest Tasman to Westland, but moderate confidence that warning amounts of rain will accumulate in Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and Fiordland,” MetService said.

The rain is expected to ease by Saturday morning.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The government is seeking advice from police about how rescue helicopters are being deployed.

RNZ has reported on Fire and Emergency lines rescue teams who do cliff rescues, who are upset they must go through police to get a chopper and are sometimes being turned down.

“Confirming the minister has sought advice from police and expects to receive that soon,” said Mark Mitchell’s office.

RNZ has also heard of frustrations among lifeguards and helicopter crew themselves about police gatekeeping of choppers.

An agreement in 2022 in rescue circles reiterated police were the lead agency on most search-and-rescue callouts.

Health NZ and St John in the last two years had reminded FENZ that its teams were not allowed to call out an air ambulance chopper off their own bat but must go through police.

FENZ told RNZ recently there had been “some discussion amongst our people” about the impact of the 2022 change to chopper callout procedures.

“We sought to discuss and confirm [with HNZ] our understanding of the details of the change to procedure, namely that requests for contracted air ambulance helicopters to transport Fire and Emergency lines rescue teams to incidents must come from a search and rescue coordination agency which is either Police or the Rescue Coordination Centre,” said national manager of response capability Ken Cooper.

The centre handles major rescues, while police handle most other rescues.

Cooper was part of an email chain among lines rescue personnel and managers alarmed after being turned down by police for a chopper to go to a cliff rescue in January 2025, and who said this type of thing was happening repeatedly.

Police admitted they made a wrong decision at the cliff rescue at Hahei.

“We have now clarified the procedures, and our people clearly understand them,” Cooper told RNZ.

“Fire and Emergency personnel take their responsibility for serving and keeping their communities safe in a timely way very seriously.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Immigration New Zealand says 47 staff members have faced disciplinary action in the last five years for breaching its integrity standards.

It has investigated 146 allegations over the same period.

INZ would not go into details, but said integrity matters could range from dishonesty and not declaring conflicts of interest, to inappropriate access of systems and fraud.

Its head, Alison McDonald, said there has been no staff member dismissed recently because of corruption.

Staff disciplined over the 47 allegations, which were substantiated, or partially substantiated, since 2021, were dealt with by dismissals, warnings, training or letter of expectations.

“The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) does not tolerate instances of fraud, corruption, dishonesty or harassment,” she said. “Any such allegations are taken extremely seriously. When we are made aware of any issues we act promptly, and any allegations are investigated.

“MBIE, of which INZ is part, sets clear and reasonable expectations of conduct and behaviour for all employees. All INZ staff are expected to act with the highest level of integrity and make fair decisions without bias.”

Staff and managers complete modules on MBIE’s fraud, corruption and dishonesty policy as part of their induction, and employees have training sessions on integrity, she added.

“Additionally, staff receive regular communication from their managers, which includes reminders about our policy, the process for raising integrity concerns, as well as specific security threats.

“Any member of staff who has concerns about the integrity of the Immigration system is encouraged to raise the issue, either with their manager or through MBIE’s integrity line, so it can be investigated. Any member of the public is also encouraged to use this integrity line.”

They can call 0800 33 77 33, email integrity@mbie.govt.nz or contact Crime Stoppers.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Otago Peninsula has been officially declared possum-free after years of hard mahi.

The milestone was officially marked on Tuesday with more than 24,000 possums removed from about 10,000 hectares.

For more than 15 years, the community has led the charge to eliminate possums on the Otago Peninsula.

Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group chairperson Hoani Langsbury said they would not have reached possum free without the community and many volunteers.

“Being community driven has enabled us to get onto nearly all of the properties. There’s virtually no one on the Otago Peninsula now that probably even realises that we still had possums up until recently because roadkill is something that the generations coming through now have never seen,” he said.

They have been waiting to mark this milestone for close to a year, and he was thrilled the community could finally celebrate the years of mahi.

It was far from easy terrain, covering steep cliff faces, farmland, gullies and bush to the backyards, villages and popular tourist trails.

Having new technology meant they could ramp up their efforts, he said.

“We have live capture traps in people’s backyards because they don’t want their pets getting caught up, through to cliff faces where it’s impossible for our volunteers or staff to get down, where drones and helicopters had to be used, Langsbury said.

Tūī, pīwakawaka and bellbird had all returned to the Peninsula and they were spreading the seeds that were now able to survive on trees, he said.

“It’s almost like a human-induced mast event where we have so much seed out there that, as long as we have plenty of birds to distribute it, we will see the peninsula come back naturally, and if we can augment that by the community helping with regenerational rewilding, the future can only be positive for the Otago Peninsula.”

Predator Free Dunedin – a collaboration of more than 20 organisations – took over the final push to eliminate possums in 2024.

It has received funding as part of the government’s goal to eliminate stoats, rats, possums and feral cats by 2050.

Project lead Rhys Millar said the project was existing on the smell of an oily rag in the early days and he did not think elimination was possible on such a limited budget despite the hard mahi.

It was a breakthrough moment when the Predator Free 2050 funding kicked in, he said.

Becoming possum free was a massive accomplishment, Millar said.

But it had been a challenge tracking down the last possums.

“Possums inhabit every little nook and cranny that they can so we would see a south facing, cold damp cliff as being inhospitable and not a place possums would live. They do,” he said.

“They will inhabit backyards and live in a tiny little heap next to a compost bin.”

They have been using a mix of technology to hunt them down including AI traps, thermal drones and even man’s best friend.

“The dog, probably not such modern technology, but having a focused scat dog in the team … has been the biggest detection device, the most useful detection device because it’s in real time.

“Scout can detect the scat and then we can allocate resource to that immediately.”

Department of Conservation strategic projects manager Brent Beaven said it was a great win.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it? The community’s been working a long time toward getting a possum free peninsula and that extra investment and focus associated with Predator Free achieved an eradication or an elimination of possums,” he said.

The community had been championing this project for years, Beaven said.

“Predator Free’s one of those goals across the country that can only succeed if communities buy into it and contribute to it so this is everyone’s business.

“We won’t achieve it unless we’ve got communities onboard.”

The country was doing really well towards its Predator Free 2050 goal, he said.

But the mahi was not over now the Otago Peninsula was possum free.

Hoani Langsbury said the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group had been talking with Ōtākou Runaka and the Otago Peninsula Trust about what was next.

“We’re already starting to talk about what next species look like, which ones we might need to suppress, which ones we may be able to eliminate and we’re not put off by the fact that it’s going to be another intergenerational project like the 17 years it took us to remove the possum,” Langsbury said.

For Predator Free Dunedin, its efforts would be shifting across the harbour to support The Halo Project and implement a pilot programme to eliminate possums, stoats, other mustelids and feral cats around Orokonui Ecosanctuary – about 2000 hectares.

Native birds were flourishing behind the pest proof fence, but once they left the safety of the ecosanctuary, he said they could become easy prey.

They also wanted to hold onto their community’s possum free win with an extensive AI live trapping network in the buffer zone and a request to residents to report any signs of possums.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Regional airline Air Chathams has announced it is introducing a $20 fuel surcharge on all flights due to increased aviation fuel prices.

The announcement came a few hours after Air New Zealand raised its fare prices on Tuesday, adding it could be forced to raise them again and review routes.

In its statement, Air Chathams said aviation fuel prices in New Zealand “have risen significantly” due to the war in the Middle East.

The critical Hormuz Strait, a shipping route for up to 20 percent of the world oil is essentially closed due to the conflict in the region.

The price of jet fuel has been fluctuating wildly since the conflict broke out, and has at times gone up more than 120 percent.

Air Chathams’ $20 charge will be added to ticket prices at the time of booking but will not apply to existing fares.

“This surcharge will be reviewed regularly and will be removed once fuel prices return to more normal levels,” the airline said.

Air New Zealand was raising one-way economy fares by $10 on domestic routes, $20 on short-haul international services and $90 on long-haul flights, with further price, network and schedule changes possible if jet fuel costs remain elevated, according to a Reuters report.

The national carrier has suspended the earnings guidance it issued less than two weeks ago because of what it said was unprecedented volatility in jet fuel markets.

The airline expects a meaningful impact on its seccond-half earnings.

Reuters also reported that Qantas was increasing international fares, and was exploring options to redeploy capacity to Europe as airlines seek to evade disruptions in the Middle East.

Singapore Airlines has raised fares to Europe by $140 for a return ticket.

Travel agent Vincent George told Checkpoint the price increase was not only to do with fuel costs, but also supply and demand.

“With the demise of some of the airlines travelling through the Middle East, which were some of the hugest carriers out of New Zealand, Qatar and Emirates, then we’re looking at people travelling on other routes.

“As these routes get taken up and the capacity gets lower not only is the airfare going to increase a little because of aviation fuel, but also because of supply and demand.”

George said travellers hoping to visit the Northern Hemisphere should book their flights as soon as possible to avoid any further price increases.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Sunita Torrance grew up in the rural Taranaki town of Stratford feeling largely distant from her Indian heritage.

The 46-year-old was born into one of the oldest Indian families in the country, but her parents didn’t seem to cling to their South Asian heritage.

“My family … were the only Indian family in Taranaki through most of my life up until I was about 20,” Torrance said.

“My mum and I didn’t necessarily embrace our Indian heritage all that much and we were very Western.”

Torrance’s family originally hails from the Indian state of Gujarat, and she spoke Gujarati as a child.

However, Torrance found identity to be confusing growing up in a place where differences stood out.

“I thought I was Māori [when I was a young child] but [I had] a weird name, and [later] found out that I was Indian,” she said.

“It took a little bit of time to figure out my identity a little bit.”

There were few Indian families in Taranaki when she was growing up, she said, and even fewer Indian restaurants.

As a child, she changed her name to Sunny, thinking it would be easier for people to pronounce and remember.

“But, also, I wasn’t really all that proud of being Indian back then,” she said.

“I didn’t understand it then but I’m now proud of my heritage and probably identify a lot more with that side than anything.”

Her first trip to India at 15 did little to spark that pride.

“I was 15 years old, you know, hormonal teenage girl,” she said.

“I had left my boyfriend in New Plymouth – and he was my life – and I was stuck in this awful village with a long trip for a toilet.”

Her relationship with her culture began to shift around the age of 18, when Indian influences appeared more prominently in mainstream pop culture.

“There were touches of Indian culture in mainstream pop culture like the Pussycat Dolls having Indian themes to their music and wearing saris and it was just, like, okay, so being Indian is quite cool [and] that’s when I kind of figured out maybe I should actually get into this,” she said.

Over time, Torrance said she came to see her culture as something to celebrate rather than hide.

She travelled to India again last year with her mother and said she now loved visiting the country.

Torrance said she began performing drag to support one of her best friends, who wanted to try it but did not want to attempt it alone.

She later began performing alongside Daniel Lockett, also known as Erica Flash.

What started as support for a friend grew into something much bigger, with Torrance eventually adopting the stage name Coco Flash.

“[And] it just developed into something bigger and then my allyship and activism in regard to the rainbow community really grew from that as well,” she said.

Torrance went on to host the first Pride festival in Taranaki and helped establish initiatives such as Taranaki Pride, Outfest and Out and Proud Taranaki to support rainbow communities.

Encountering threats of violence

Inspired by Drag Queen Story Hour in the United States, a South Taranaki librarian approached Torrance and Lockett about launching a similar children’s event in New Zealand.

This eventually became Rainbow Storytime.

The duo toured the country twice, performing at about 130 libraries and holding roughly 250 sessions before protests by Destiny Church halted shows in 2024.

In April 2024, Torrance and Lockett cancelled a nationwide Rainbow Storytime tour due to threats of violence.

Around the same time, two rainbow pedestrian crossings in Auckland and Hastings were vandalised, and multiple Rainbow Storytime events were cancelled in Hastings and Rotorua.

In February 2025, about 30 adults and children were barricaded into a room at a West Auckland library after a group linked to Destiny Church attempted to disrupt a Pride Festival event in Te Atatū.

Torrance said the fallout had taken a heavy personal toll.

“We were on the rise, we were getting keynote speaker invites and we felt it was super positive and then it’s all come crashing down and I can’t even do any of my shows that have a drag twist to it just because of safety and even the Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I’ve been touring for nine years, I haven’t been able to do that.”

In 2024, Haus of Flash, one of Torrance’s companies, filed defamation proceedings against Brian Tamaki and Destiny Church in the Auckland High Court, seeking just over $2 million in damages over alleged attacks on their Rainbow Storytime events.

Torrance said the case carried wider significance beyond the rainbow community, particularly as other groups faced backlash.

In January, Sikh community leaders called for calm and dialogue after two Nagar Kirtan religious processions were disrupted in Auckland and Tauranga.

Videos later posted by Brian Tamaki showed protesters approaching members of the Sikh community wearing shirts with slogans such as “Kiwis first”, “Keep NZ, NZ” and “True patriot”, alongside a banner reading: “This is New Zealand, not India”.

In February, hundreds of people gathered at separate protests, prompting police cordons and some road closures.

Destiny Church-affiliated Freedom and Rights Coalition protesters assembled at Victoria Park before attempting to cross the Harbour Bridge only to be stopped by a police cordon.

A second protest on the same day, led by Toitū te Aroha, called for solidarity among diverse communities.

“It sickens me, it honestly does,” Torrance said.

“It was already personal with the rainbow community, even though I’m not a part of that community, but now he’s attacking hardworking Indians, people who have really built the foundation of our country along with other cultures.”

Despite the turmoil, Torrance tried to remain hopeful.

“I also think that the Indian community, or all communities really, they just need to show strength in numbers,” she said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Christchurch Hospital is working on ways to manage an expected influx of patients sick with winter illnesses like Covid-19 and the flu, as the nurses’ union warns the emergency department is already bursting at the seams and understaffed.

The Nurses Organisation said the hospital hit 108 percent capacity on Monday morning, with ED a pinch point.

Union delegate and Christchurch Hospital healthcare assistant Al Dietschin said the ED was seeing more than 400 patients per day, some of whom had to wait in corridors.

“It’s been chronic for some time the busyness. We haven’t seen numbers drop over summer it’s been kind of relentless. That just puts so much pressure on the workforce and obviously affects patient care,” he said.

“It’s horrendous but unfortunately it seems to be the new normal.

“On the ground what it looks like in ED is an overwhelmed department where patients are waiting in corridors. We get a situation when the wards are all so full you can have a bed lock occur.”

Otago University Professor Michael Baker said New Zealand was in its ninth Covid-19 wave, with hospitalisations and deaths climbing.

Wastewater analysis from PHF Science showed the number of cases was at its highest rate for more than six months and the latest Health New Zealand figures showed there had been 50 hospitalisations and 19 deaths with the virus in the past week.

Covid-19 was filling up hospitals, and everyone needed to “act to reduce impact”, Baker said.

Dietschin there were too few staff at Christchurch Hospital for the number of patients and the situation would only get worse over winter.

“It’s quite scary because staff get sick as well and that just increases the short staffing. It just causes sort of a rationing of care which then contributes to the moral injury and burnout of staff,” he said.

He said staff were being regularly redeployed from one area of the hospital to another to meet the shortage.

“It’s kind of a bit like moving the deck chairs around on the Titanic,” he said.

“We’re short of RNs [registered nurses], we’re short of healthcare assistants, we’re short of doctors, we’re short of midwives and Te Whatu Ora and this government don’t seem to be addressing it. We need a massive increase in funding in public healthcare.”

The union had been in bargaining with health authorities over safe staffing levels for 18 months, Dietschin said.

“The increase in presentations within the ED department, that’s partly a result of primary healthcare that’s failing, where people aren’t being caught early so they become more acutely unwell and present in ED,” he said.

Health New Zealand Canterbury operations group director Hamish Brown said Christchurch’s ED was busier than usual at the end of the weekend.

“Our team saw an average 423 patients over the weekend (394 on Saturday and 451 on Sunday), which is 22 patients more compared with the previous weekend and 35 more compared to the same time last March,” he said.

“This pressure was primarily related to acute trauma demand affecting the emergency department and wards rather than staffing shortages.

“We had, and continue to have, staff to cover to meet demand, and our teams actively managed the situation to minimise any impact on care. At very busy times there may be some waits for a bed space to become available, however patients are only discharged when they are well enough.”

Brown said anyone who needed urgent or emergency care should come to ED without delay or call 111.

“We encourage those with non-urgent concerns to consider other options for access to acute care, including the free Healthline (0800 611 116) to speak to a registered nurse, or local GPs, healthcare providers and community pharmacies,” he said.

Initiatives had been put in place or were being worked on at the hospital to help manage the anticipated high winter demand for illnesses like Covid-19, flu, and other respiratory conditions, Brown said.

Kidney patients in Christchurch were also being warned dialysis treatment may have to be rationed because of staffing shortages and a lack of space at the hospital.

In a letter to patients and seen by RNZ, the hospital’s kidney department said some patients might be asked to change treatment days, times or locations to manage the pressure.

Dr Curtis Walker from the Board of Kidney Health New Zealand told Morning Report it was a difficult situation.

“It’s incredibly disruptive for patients. I’ve got patients on dialysis who are trying to run a business, who are trying to get kids to school, trying to look after elderly parents and the last thing they need is even more uncertainty in what’s already a pretty challenging treatment,” he said.

“Most patients need three dialysis sessions a week and if they don’t they start to feel unwell or even worse they can get fluid build up or potassium build up and that can have fatal consequences.”

Walker says dialysis demand was placing stress across the country and was projected to get worse.

“There are 12 main dialysis units in New Zealand and all of them are under stress and strain,” he said.

“All of them say they can’t dialyse all their patients according to the patient’s preference, all of them report a lack of physical capacity and funding and over half have said we’ve had to reduce hours or delay dialysis when patients start dialysis.”

Brown said Health New Zealand was considering options for addressing the problems at the Christchurch unit.

“In 2024, an existing inpatient room was repurposed to add four further dialysis chairs. Longer term options include building a new unit, or re-purposing an existing larger space as well as exploring chairs in more remote sites such as Ashburton, so dialysis care can be provided closer to home for those patients,” he said.

“Advertising for a senior medical officer and approximately six FTE nurses is already underway to meet the immediate need for extra sessions for dialysis in Canterbury.”

Heath New Zealand acknowledged kidney disease was a growing challenge nationally and said it was working to strengthen renal care, increase capacity and improve early detection.

Over the past year it had increased dialysis shifts in several high-demand regions and invested in new and upgraded dialysis units, including the new $40 million Waikato Renal Centre.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A South Auckland man who was hit by a car while cycling believes drivers illegally parking on cycle lanes is a safety issue in the area.

He said during busy periods some cycle lanes were clogged up with cars, forcing cyclists onto the road or footpath.

A cycling advocacy group said it was an issue right across Auckland.

Māngere man Selwyn Lilley knows the danger cars pose to cyclists – he was hit by one while coming around a roundabout near Māngere town centre on his bike.

“This car came up from Bader Drive and collected me. So I was lucky… got out of it with just with a couple of cracked ribs and a chipped pelvis. But I spent three weeks on crutches.”

Lilley no longer cycled for fear of being hit again.

There were now several cycleways covering the area around Māngere town centre, but Lilley said drivers parking over the lanes were causing problems for cyclists.

Some days it might be one or two cars, he said, but on busy weekends or when there was an event on nearby, whole streets could be clogged up.

“If you have car after car after car where the road is pretty busy. They don’t take any notification. Then they honk at you and say ‘use the cycle lane that’s what it’s been built for’.

“Most people would turn around and say ‘hey, we’ll use the cycle lane but you cars are in the way’.”

Manukau councillor Alf Filipaina said part of the problem was that there were not enough carparks for families living in new apartments in the area.

“You’ll see a lot of the cars parking on the verge, because they don’t have sufficient car parks … especially when you’ve got multiple families in there.”

“Hopefully we’ll have an alternative – I know they want to get people out of their cars but when you’ve got the car that’s for all the family members, there’s no option.”

Filipaina wanted a community campaign to encourage people to make use of the cycle lanes in the area.

“Let’s use some of our community people to sort of let them know the benefits. But also realise that sometimes we just can’t get the bikes for the kids for them to use the cycle lanes.”

Co-chair of Bike Auckland Karen Hormann said people parking on bike lanes was a problem right across the city.

“It’s forcing people riding bikes, expecting the protection of a cycleway, to be forced out into the traffic. It’s actually really unsafe.”

It was important to keep on top of the issue because getting people onto different modes of transport was the only way to improve congestion in Auckland, she said.

“Auckland is very congested. And drivers are getting frustrated. They’re also parking on footpaths and berms and blocking people’s access. We really need to allow for all of these different mobility modes.”

Auckland Transport (AT) head of transport and parking compliance, Rick Bidgood, said enforcement with consequences was the only real way to deal with the problem. The fine for parking on a cycle lane was $70.

As cycling was relatively new to Auckland compared to European cities, it would take time for people to recognise it as a real form of transport, Bidgood said.

AT head of active modes Tania Loveridge said when the new stretches of cycleway were being built in Mangere, it ran a targeted communications campaign edcuating people about changes to parking.

There had been an average five percent growth per year in cycling across Auckland over the past three years, Loveridge said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Counsellors say long wait lists and not enough publicly funded services are preventing people seeking the help they need.

The Association of Counsellors said its Counselling Workforce Report 2025 found growing demand for counselling – alongside a shrinking workforce and funding pressures.

President Huhana Pene said the lack of public funding for sessions was putting the handbrake on help.

“New Zealand has a qualified counselling workforce that wants to help,” Pene said, “But system barriers mean many people who need counselling are waiting too long or missing out altogether.”

Pene said there were also concerns about the workforce – with more than half working part-time with low or insecure incomes.

Many planned to reduce their practice, retire or leave the profession within two years.

“Without changes to funding and employment conditions, we risk losing experienced counsellors at a time when demand for support continues to grow,” Pene said.

Schools were under particular pressure, with counsellors reporting a steady flow of students seeking support and increasingly complex needs.

Many said they were forced to prioritise students in crisis, leaving limited time for preventative support.

Pene said practical solutions were available – improving funding stability for non-government organisations, increasing the ratio of counsellors to students in schools to 1:400, and strengthening recognition of the profession would all improve access to counselling.

“Counselling is a vital part of New Zealand’s mental health support, and if we address some of these barriers, counsellors would be better able to help many more people when they need it.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

A weather alert has been issued as a tropical storm nears the north of the country.

A tropical low is expected to lie north of New Zealand on Wednesday afternoon, bringing southeast gales and heavy rain to the north.

MetService has issued a strong wind watch for the Far North District from 1pm to 11pm on Wednesday. There was a moderate chance the watch could be upgraded to a warning.

Civil Defence Northland is advising people to take extra care on the roads and check they are prepared for any potential power outages caused by strong winds

From Thursday, the forecasting agency said the system is expected to move and reach Auckland.

Meanwhile, another front moves onto Fiordland, bringing strong northwesterlies and heavy rain.

MetService said there is low confidence that warning amounts of rain will accumulate in Northland, northern Auckland and Coromandel Peninsula, but moderate confidence that warning amounts of rain will accumulate in Fiordland.

Come Friday, the remnants of the low and the associated front are expected to move across the northern half of the North Island, while the front over Fiordland moves northeast over the remainder of the South Island.

“There is low confidence that warning amounts of rain will accumulate from Northland through to Taupō, also northern Gisborne/Tairawhiti, and from northwest Tasman to Westland, but moderate confidence that warning amounts of rain will accumulate in Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty and Fiordland,” MetService said.

The rain is expected to ease by Saturday morning.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Five years after Who’s Eating NZ, this series revisits where our food goes – but this time through the lens of Kiwi breakfast, lunch and dinner staples. We track how much of what we produce is eaten here, and who has a seat at our global table during meal times. Today, it’s lunch time.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon memorably advised parents unhappy with supplied school lunches to “make a Marmite sandwich and put an apple in a bag”.

New Zealand certainly does enjoy an abundance of apples.

We grow so many that almost nine out of 10 are sold overseas, fresh and processed.

The bumper crop is no accident. There has been a concerted push to grow the apple export industry with the development and marketing of new varieties. Royal gala and Braeburn apples have been joined by Jazz, Envy and Rockit.

Back in 2012, the industry set a goal of reaching $1 billion in exports by 2022. At that time, exports were sitting at $340 million. The target was missed in 2022, but exceeded in 2025 when exports of $1.26b were achieved.

New challenges come with that success though. Horticulture company T&G won a court order in China, forcing orchards in China to rip out illegally grown knock-offs of its Envy variety.

China clearly has developed a taste for our apples – it was our biggest apple buyer in 2025, followed by Taiwan, Vietnam and India.

For local apple buyers, prices fluctuate through the year, with the highest prices occurring in January. In 2007, 1kg of apples cost $3.89. In January 2025 a kilogram of apples cost $6.15.

The humble avocado might be one of the most controversial foods around. Along with being blamed for creating a generation of renters, its notoriously slippery stone has meant millions in ACC payouts for ‘avocado hand’ injuries, and telling someone they “have the avocados” can spark a language debate.

As well as being keen consumers, New Zealand makes a solid contribution to the global supply of avocados. More than 4700 hectares of the country is planted in avocados, with most concentrated in the Far North and Bay of Plenty.

About 50 percent of what was grown locally last year remained in the country, the rest heading offshore.

Australia is the biggest buyer, purchasing about a third of our exports in 2025, down from a peak of 90 percent in 2020. Far smaller quantities are bought by South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Export earnings have fallen from a 2020 high of $177m to $102m, as New Zealand competes with other global growers, such as Peru, which had a bumper crop in 2025.

New Zealand Avocado chief executive Brad Siebert said countries such as Mexico, Peru, Columbia and South Africa are producing more avocados, which leads to volatile prices. Demand globally is increasing, but at a slow, sometimes uneven pace.

Domestic prices rise and fall annually, often peaking in May. The highest price per kg of $28.67 was in May 2019.

Seafood might be hard to miss in an office lunchroom, but in the data it disappears. It is incredibly hard to put a figure on how much commercially caught seafood ends up in our lunchboxes compared to what’s exported.

The industry body Seafood NZ said there’s been no need to collect domestic information and this position hasn’t changed since RNZ examined seafood exports in 2020.

It is possible to take some stabs at the number. Previously published figures include 90 percent, 77 percent, and numbers previously on Seafood New Zealand’s website say approximately 450,000 tonnes of seafood is caught each year, with 276,901 tonnes exported.

This comes out at about 63 percent – but working on caught weight versus exported weight is not accurate. Fish is gutted and often filleted before export, so it is impossible to match the caught weight up with export data. Sanford’s 2025 annual report says about 82 percent of its sale value is from exports.

Where our seafood goes has shifted over time. In the 1990s, Japan, Australia and the United States were the biggest buyers of our seafood, but by 2011 China emerged as the top buyer. Its spending peaked in 2022 at $709m but by 2025 dropped to $594m.

Seafood exports earned $2b in 2024 and 2025. The biggest single export earner was live rock lobster – China bought $290m worth of them.

Crayfish might not be on everyone’s lunch menu, but rock lobster has been New Zealand seafood’s biggest export earner since 2017 with around 2500 tonnes exported each year, earning between $266m and $392m. Export volumes hit a record 2700 tonnes in 2025.

The demand has put pressure on crayfish populations. In December it was announced that commercial and recreational fishing for rock lobster will be banned from April 2026 off Northland’s east coast in an effort to halt the species rapid decline in the area.

Despite high-profile controversy about global beverage giants bottling our water, exported New Zealand water actually represents a small proportion compared to what’s sold locally.

An exact figure for local sales is hard to come by, but 2018 information published on the Ministry for the Environment’s website suggests only 17 percent is exported.

Bottling companies pay resource consent fees, but do not pay for the water itself. This can mean they pay less for water than residential rate payers.

In 2020 China was the biggest buyer, but since 2022 the US has taken top position.

Despite abundant water here, Kiwis still pay for water from other countries. In 2025 more than 3 million litres was imported, including 1m litres from Italy and nearly 300,000 litres from Fiji.

Stay tuned for Friday’s story, where we take a look at who we’re sharing our dinner with and dive into beef, sheep, onion and wine exports.

Where the data came from

Apples: New Zealand Apple and Pears and StatsNZ trade data items with a harmonised system description containing “Fruit, edible; apples”.

Avocados: New Zealand Avocado and StatsNZ trade data items with a harmonised system description containing “Fruit, edible; avocados, fresh”.

Seafood: Various sources and StatsNZ trade data for items with a harmonised system code between 301910000 to 308909000.

Water: Ministry for the Environment and StatsNZ trade data items with the following harmonised system descriptions: “Waters; mineral and aerated, including natural or artificial, (not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter nor flavoured), other than in metal containers”, Waters; other than mineral and aerated, (not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter nor flavoured), ice and snow, other than in metal containers” , “Waters; mineral and aerated, including natural or artificial, (not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter nor flavoured), in metal containers”, “Waters; other than mineral and aerated, (not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter nor flavoured), ice and snow, in metal aerosol containers, not containing chlorofluorocarbons” , “Waters; other than mineral and aerated, (not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter nor flavoured), ice and snow, in metal containers, not aerosol”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Immigration New Zealand says it is trying to contact nearly a dozen cultural performers from India who are believed to have remained in the country after their visas expired.

The performers travelled to New Zealand last month as part of a group accompanying Bollywood singer Shibani Kashyap for Holi celebrations around the country.

Jeannie Melville, deputy chief operating officer at Immigration New Zealand, said the agency assessed visa applications for a group of 27 Indian nationals travelling under the banner “Community Holi Celebration with Shibani Kashyap”.

“The Indian Consulate in Auckland was the point of contact for the group,” Melville said.

“INZ verified that the event was genuine, including consultation with the Indian Consul General in Auckland who confirmed they were supporting the event,” she said.

“A robust and fair assessment process was applied to the individuals making up this group, including collaboration with our Risk and Verification teams in India.”

Eighteen people from the group arrived in New Zealand. Of those, three have since left the country and 15 remained in the country, according to Immigration New Zealand.

“Four hold valid visitor visas,” Melville said.

Melville said seven applications were initially approved while four were declined due to concerns, including suspected fraudulent documents.

Immigration New Zealand later approved 13 short-term limited visas for the specific purpose of attending the event.

The agency said it had been in contact with the Indian High Commission about the situation and was prioritising efforts to contact those who may now be in the country unlawfully on a case-by-case basis.

The group travelled from India to perform at Holi events around the country, including one held in Pukekohe in February.

Kashyap also visited New Zealand last year and performed at Independence Day events organised by Delhi-based CD Foundation.

Melville said Immigration New Zealand was not aware of similar past cases involving cultural performers from India overstaying their visas, though she noted the agency’s reporting did not record that level of detail.

RNZ has approached the Indian High Commission and the Indian Consulate for comment.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The government has warned the country’s oil deliveries are in doubt if the conflict in the Middle East rages on.

The closure of the Straits of Hormuz and damage to infrastructure has triggered volatility, fuelling record oil prices.

Prices hikes have stretched beyond the petrol pump, with Air New Zealand raising fares, suspending its earning guidance and warning it may have to cut flights if oil prices continued to increase.

Air Chathams said the rising cost of oil was costing the small airline about $140,000 extra a month in fuel, and could see it cut flights.

Associate Energy Minister and Regional Development Minister Shane Jones told Checkpoint the government was not considering rationing, despite the Australian government looking at contingency plans that included fuel rationing.

He said the government had been assured the physical arrival of the fuel was not under threat in coming months.

“But get to May we’re told by the industry unless things change there’ll be big challenges.”

A newly created ministerial oversight group, announced by PM Luxon late yesterday, will meet for the first time on Wednesday, Jones said.

The group is led by Finance Minister Nicola Willis and included Jones, Minister of Agriculture and Trade Todd McLay, Minister of Energy Simon Watts and Minister of Commerce Scott Simpson.

Key inputs for New Zealand’s fertiliser industry such as urea come out of the Middle East, including from Iran, and the government also wanted to keep an eye on any price gouging, Jones said.

The group would discuss options for relief from spiking energy costs.

The minister would not outline what measures were being considering, and warned such actions always had consequences.

The government was already supporting regional airlines through loans from the Regional Infrastructure Fund, Jones said.

The minister said it was a “great worry” a number of countries with refineries were significantly reducing supply.

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) data showed the country had 27 days of petrol in the country, and 22 days worth shipped but yet to arrive, 24 days of diesel, with 29 days on the water, and 28 days worth of jet fuel, with 22 days shipped.

Some oil companies had already declared force majeure – a clause that freed companies from contractual obligations due to extraordinary circumstances, such as natural disasters or wars.

Wise Response Society chair Nathan Surendran said levels of damage across multiple countries meant delays could last weeks or months even if the conflict ended quickly, but the threat went beyond delays.

“The force majeure declarations cascading across Gulf and Asian suppliers did not just mean delays to oil supplies, they void contracts, and could see fuel currently headed to New Zealand diverted to nations willing to pay more,” Surendran said.

There were signs this was already happening, with reports of cargoes being diverted from Europe and Africa to Asia.

The government should take a precautionary approach, signalling possible rationing now, before shortages forced it, Surendran said.

“Australian fuel wholesalers were already rationing supplies to retailers despite Australia holding 36 days of reserves and two domestic refineries – New Zealand has neither,” he said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The diesel-reliant Chatham Islands are bracing for an energy shock as petrol hits $4.50 per litre and may continue to rise.

The Chatham’s relies heavily on diesel to power the island. Although the Point Durham wind farm that opened in November is now carrying a chunk of that load.

Petrol was also shipped to the island, about 800km from the mainland.

The price of Brent crude was fluctuating off the back of war in the Middle East, at one point hitting almost US$120 a barrel.

The approximately 650 residents on the Chathams are bracing for pain at the pump.

Chatham Islands Enterprise Trust chief executive and council interim CEO Bob Penter said residents are a bit nervous.

“We are watching closely at what’s happening in the Middle East… We are certainly starting to see the effects come through to the Chathams,” he told RNZ’s Checkpoint.

Fuel arrives at the Chatham Islands by ship from New Zealand, around 120,000 litres at a time.

Penter said the island’s latest weekly fuel price has jumped about 73 cents, or 57 percent, when compared to the last three weeks.

It puts diesel at $2.29 per litre and petrol at $4.50 per litre, he said.

“We have got a bit of resilience because we’ve got a tank farm that allows us to store approximately 400,000 litres on the island… But not a lot of breathing space and eventually, if the Middle East events continue, we are going to be forced to revisit our pricing.”

Penter hopes petrol doesn’t crack $5 per litre.

“The island depends on fuel for pretty much everything we do here. It’s our flights, it’s our shipping, it’s electricity [and] it’s how we get our food here. If we are looking at price increases, it’s really going to dramatically impact the cost of living for Chatham Islanders, which is going to be a major concern.”

On Monday, the chief executive of Air Chathams said the rising cost of oil is costing the small airlinesome $140,000 extra a month in fuel.

Air Chathams chief executive Duane Emeny told Checkpoint the airline may have to cut the number of flights should the price of jet fuel remain so high.

“If you can’t afford to put aeroplanes in the air, then you’ve got to look at that and say ‘do I cut back my schedule, do I provide less connectivity because of this cost and then wait until it comes right and eases?’.”

Penter said the island hopes the conflict in the Middle East settles down sooner rather than later.

“Chatham Islanders are probably more resilient than the global fuel supply at the moment,” he said.

“They’re pretty stoic in terms of events like this, but really, the fuel, we are essentially a diesel economy.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The price of flying has already gone up – and could take off again if the conflict in the Middle East continues.

Air New Zealand raised its fares this morning, and said it could be forced to raise them again and review routes.

It is all connected to the price of aviation fuel and the critical Hormuz Strait, a shipping route for up to 20 percent of the world oil which is essentially closed due to the conflict in the area.

The price of jet fuel has been fluctuating wildly since the conflict broke out, and has at times gone up more than 120 percent.

Regional carrier Chathams Air said the war in the Middle East could add more than $1.6 million to its annual fuel bill if it continues.

It said the airline could also be forced to look at prices and schedule cuts.

Travel agent Vincent George told Checkpoint the price increase was not only to do with fuel costs, but also supply and demand.

“With the demise of some of the airlines travelling through the Middle East, which were some of the hugest carriers out of New Zealand, Qatar and Emirates, then we’re looking at people travelling on other routes.

“As these routes get taken up and the capacity gets lower not only is the airfare going to increase a little because of aviation fuel, but also because of supply and demand.”

George said travellers hoping to visit the Northern Hemisphere should book their flights as soon as possible to avoid any further price increases.

While many of Emirates flights were now travelling through the Middle East, he said flights stopping over in China and other Asian countries had seen increased demand.

The other option for travellers leaving New Zealand and heading to the Northern Hemisphere is stopping over the US.

“I think that people are maybe looking at going, those who want to travel, those who need to travel, will be looking at different options for a while yet.”

Various airlines have raised their prices due the rising cost of fuel.

Singapore Airlines raised fares to Europe by $140 for a return ticket this morning.

George said while booking with a client today, he noticed a flight to the Cook Islands from New Zealand had also risen by $200.

“Things are certainly looking as though they may be creeping up… $200 on a South Pacific airfare is significant.”

But George said a key concern was how domestic flights would be impacted by the fallout of rising costs.

“I’m worried about connectivity from the smaller outlying destinations.

“I can see that domestic travel is going to be really pricing itself out of the market for the leisure traveller.”

He said the best way to guarantee an affordable domestic flight was to book as far in advance as possible.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the pandemic on Tuesday afternoon released its second report, sparked by public disquiet that its first report did not dig deep enough.

The 500-plus-page report looks at what it calls some of the “most difficult and divisive responses around vaccines and mandates”.

“The adequacy of the processes used to assess and monitor the safety of vaccines” was one of those.

It eked out a pass mark, but with a very big but for the previous government’s efforts to shift the “team of five million” from an early, pretty effective elimination strategy to suppression and minimisation in 2021 and 2022.

“Many of the people we heard from expressed pain and anger about the impacts of the pandemic and response. Some of these impacts on people’s lives continue to this day,” the report said.

“It is clear, however, that ministers and officials were facing a series of complex, high-stakes decisions in a rapidly changing environment and were doing the best they could at the time. Evidence shows New Zealand had among one of the best pandemic responses in the world.”

‘Very bumpy ride’

It was, however, “far from smooth”.

A “very bumpy ride” was how Labour itself summed it up earlier in the day. Though its former top two, Dame Jacinda Ardern and Grant Robertson, also defended it: “We got a lot right. More than most.”

National immediately used the phase two report to pound Labour.

Asked if his predecessors were just being cautious – it was an unprecedented global crisis, as Labour pointed out – Health Minister Simeon Brown told reporters:

“I think they were putting options to Cabinet, which were not backed up by advice,” Brown said.

“And the reality is Chris Hipkins stood up every single day and he said to New Zealanders that he was making decisions based on advice by health officials… The reality is, in a number of these instances, he was not.”

They did not heed warnings from Treasury about inflation-stoking Covid-19 spending that half the time went on non-Covid things, Brown added.

“We are feeling those consequences today,” Brown said.

In a half-hour stand-up, Brown said “ultimately” 13 times.

“Ultimately, some of those decisions, you will have to put those questions to the ministers who made those decisions at the time as to why they made them,” he said.

Hipkins put their approach at the time entirely opposite: “considered, appropriate and guided by the best evidence available at the time”.

The decisions saved lives, though the responses caused hardship, he said.

NZ has so far reported 4500 deaths due to Covid-19 to the World Health Organisation. That is slightly fewer per capita than Australia, well below Canada’s and about four times less than the US and UK.

What are the lessons for Next Time?

While everyone disagreed on what 20/20 hindsight has shown from the inquiry, everyone agrees on the need to do better now to prepare for next time.

So what are the lessons from phase two for Covid 2.0?

Two words: Be prepared.

“The stakes were immense. Each choice carried the weight and quality of lives in the balance. Yet policy-makers could not delay some hard choices,” the report said.

But the “lack of planning for alternative future strategies” that applied to PCR testing was a common shortcoming elsewhere, too.

Going in next time armed already with better research on pandemics and impacts, better strategies for getting the best advice, and some basic pandemic legislation are among the 24 recommendations.

Two more words: Be smarter.

“Decision-makers told us they learned the importance of giving people an end date, or some indication of ‘light at the end of the tunnel’,” the report said.

Without that, people resisted more and more.

Now we know for next time. But the country had to get a better grip on social impacts ahead of next time, by finding ways to build trust and social cohesion, and ways to demonstrate to people the hard science behind “hard choices”, the report said.

In addition to the main report, an extra 300 pages laid out what people who submitted to the inquiry said.

“People frequently told us that the vaccine mandates caused division in society that lingers to this day,” said this last report.

Things got out of balance. “Wobbles” was how it was put after the first phase report.

Cutting the ‘wobbles’

It needn’t have got that bad is one conclusion that can be drawn from the second phase report.

Lockdown decisions, for one, required weighing up health versus bank balances, from Gore to Papakura.

Decision-makers had to weigh up many more factors than public health goals and social disruption, and think about tomorrow, not just today and impacts on this group, versus that group, and eroding.

“Based on the evidence we have heard, that is exactly what they tried to do,” said the main report.

Trying came up short, though, when painful and untested initiatives created pressures, or helped birth mis-and-disinformation, that upset forecasts and analyses or exploited gaps in them, among a public increasingly prone to doubting the experts.

The officials doing the trying lacked enough analysis of lockdown’s impacts on education, for instance (page 270).

They lacked enough evidence fullstop.

“Ideally, though, decision-makers would have been better supported with clearer, more specific evidence about the effects of public health measures.”

That cut down the options to choose from.

“More comprehensive and robust response strategies should have been in preparation much earlier.”

Being smart required being prepared.

The first phase report ran to 716 pages; some of its lessons were discussed two years ago at the Science Media Centre.

There will not be a part three. The commission received more than 31,000 submissions from individuals and organisations, and obtained 8000 documents from government agencies.

“We are satisfied that we were thoroughly well-informed.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Freedom campers are falling foul of new Queenstown Lakes District Council rules, with about 18 people per day stung with $400 fines.

Campers in self-contained vehicles were restricted to 141 designated spaces across 15 sites in the district over summer, plus a handful of rural roadside spots and a free campground in Luggate

Between 1 December and 2 March, Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) issued 1514 Freedom Camping Act infringements, largely for people parking in the wrong spot or overstaying time limits, and 108 Reserves Act infringements for parking on reserve land.

Freedom Camping Act infringements carried $400 fines, while Reserves Act breaches carried $800 fines, the council said.

QLDC responsible camping programme manager Amy Galloway said it was the highest number of infringements the council had issued since about 2019, but it had also been a bumper summer for freedom camping.

She said more than 7000 freedom campers used a new check-in feature on the QLDC website throughout summer, although the true number of campers was likely much higher.

“Observationally, we see those 15 restricted sites plus the Luggate Red Bridge pretty much full every single day. Campers are using our sites extensively,” she said.

She said the system was working well overall and people were pleased to have a regulated freedom camping system again.

“Generally speaking, campers are going to where we want them to go. Amongst that, there is some behaviour we need to correct, but like everything we’re constantly reviewing and trying to improve operations,” she said.

Campers say demand outstrips supply

Camper Fynn Stolz from Germany said there were not enough spaces to cater to the number of freedom campers visiting the district.

He said he had struggled to find a park for his van each night.

“We go from one to another and see if any of the spots are free. Usually, at 4pm all the spots are taken, so you have to be really fast, one of the first. It’s kind of a race,” he said.

He was fined $400 this week after arriving at the Queenstown Events Centre late at night, when he missed out on one of the nine designated spaces and instead stayed overnight in a regular carpark several metres away.

“It wasn’t a good idea,” he said.

Another camper, Svenja Steger from Switzerland, said Queenstown’s rules were much “more difficult” than other places in New Zealand.

“It’s not as easy as other places to find a park,” she said.

When asked if the QLDC would consider adding more spaces to meet the demand, Galloway said the council encouraged campers to look at other options.

“I think if we provided more spaces, they would be full, but we would also like campers to consider using one of our great commercial campsites that we have in the district and also the many Department of Conservation campsites across the district as well. There are a variety of options for campers, ranging from free up to your more luxurious campsites,” she said.

She said freedom campers had flooded parking areas across the district last summer after the council’s previous bylaw was quashed by the High Court.

“I think sometimes when campers turn up, and they see a site is full, and they think, ‘oh well, I can just park here’. If everybody did that, then the carpark would soon become full, which is what we saw last summer as well – just the insatiable demand for free camping,” she said.

Fines in the Freedom Camping Act 2011 rose from $200 to $400 in 2023.

“I think word is spreading amongst campers that these are the rules and we take them seriously and they will be enforced,” she said.

‘Shitting in the bushes’

In Wānaka, the council temporarily closed a freedom-camping site at Allenby Place because of traffic-related safety concerns.

A group called Save Clean New Zealand has also been petitioning for the removal of three freedom camping spaces at Beacon Point.

Spokesperson Andrea Beryl said it was a pristine stretch of shoreline not fit for freedom camping, or at least the type of behaviour she had seen and photographed.

Freedom campers at the site were “clearly not using their onboard facilities,” she said.

“They’re shitting in the bushes. They’re meant to be self-contained and they’re not. It’s just being abused,” she said.

“We want responsible campers to go to responsible places where there are toilets and places to clean up.”

Data from the QLDC showed that of the 1514 Freedom Camping Act infringements this summer, 71 people were fined for being in a vehicle that was not self-contained.

One person was fined for depositing waste.

Beryl said damage was often done by the time the council issued an infringement notice.

“I don’t know how we change their attitude or how we educate the campers better, but it’s just not working. Then the council fine people after the fact that these problems have already occurred. It’s not preventative,” she said.

In a statement, a QLDC spokesperson said the council was watching to see whether the bylaw needed refinements and valued community feedback.

“Council fully acknowledges ongoing concerns within our community relating to freedom camping, including at Beacon Point,” the spokesperson said.

“It’s important to emphasise that the Freedom Camping Act applies nationally and permits this activity by default on most council land. Local bylaws are limited in both what they can address and the specific area to which they can apply. By balancing community concerns with what the Act requires us to do, the new bylaw is designed to ensure visitors continue to enjoy the experience of freedom camping here while addressing the concerns of residents,” they said.

“Councils, especially those with high volumes of visitors and low resident populations like QLDC, do not have sufficient tools to regulate freedom camping or fund visitor-related infrastructure to support this increasingly popular activity.”

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Source: Radio New Zealand

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says MetService will step beyond weather services to keep the public informed during times of Tsunami risk.

MetService would now include NEMA tsunami warning banners on its website.

NEMA director Civil Defence Emergency Management, John Price said the move would help to ensure New Zealanders got the emergency information they needed.

“Tsunami warnings only work if people see them and act on them, and we’re pleased to be working with MetService to keep people safe.

“This will bring together NEMA and MetService’s large audiences, so New Zealanders are more likely to get the information they need, when they need it,” Price said.

A NEMA spokesperson said the banners would link to the Civil Defence website for advice and information on how to keep safe.

They said the banners would not appear on the MetService app or push service notifications.

They spokesperson said NEMA was also exploring how automated tsunami messaging could be shared to other government websites to quickly get important information to as many people as possible.

The spokesperson encouraged people – in times of tsunami danger – to listen to their radio for updates and advice on what to do.

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