Black Ferns selectors have made four changes to the side that beat Canada in Kansas City last weekend, for Saturday’s historic clash against Australia.

The Black Ferns face the Wallaroos on Anzac Day for the first time ever and a win will see them retain the Pacific Four Series and O’Reilly Cup trophies.

Mo’omo’oga Palu is in line to make her Black Ferns debut as starting tighthead prop along with Chryss Viliko and Georgia Ponsonby in the front row.

Palu signed with the Hurricanes Poua squad for the 2026 Aupiki season, after four seasons with South Island team Matatū.

Black Ferns head coach Whitney Hansen celebrated Palu’s milestone.

“From Hawke’s Bay to high performance environments, I’ve witnessed Mo’omo’oga chase greatness,” Hansen said.

“Her achievement hasn’t come quickly, she’s worked hard, and her rugby journey is a genuine reflection of the women’s rugby pathway at work in New Zealand. I hope she enjoys every moment come this Saturday.”

Justine McGregor earns a starting spot on the wings alongside Ayesha Leti-I’iga, while hooker Atlanta Lolohea features in her first Test of 2026 off the bench.

Maiakawanakaulani Roos and Laura Bayfield have been named as the starting locks, as well as Liana Mikaele-Tu’u and co-captain Kennedy Tukuafu in the loose forwards. Kaipo Olsen-Baker, who scored a double against Canada, remains in the No 8 jersey.

The backline will see Maia Joseph at halfback and co-captain Ruahei Demant in first five-eighth, with Logo-I-Pulotu Lemapu-Atai’i and Amy Du Plessis in the midfield. Leti-I’iga and McGregor start out wide, with Renee Holmes in fullback.

Maddison Robinson, Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu, Maama Mo’onia Vaipulu, Mia Anderson, Tara Turner, Hannah King and Mererangi Paul will join Lolohea in bringing impact off the bench.

The Black Ferns last met the Wallaroos in July in Wellington and won 37-12.

Hansen said the Anzac Day clash will be an honourable moment for both teams.

“The significance of this weekend has been at the forefront for us as we prepare to take the field. This game is an opportunity for us to celebrate two nations coming together to commemorate the sacrifices made by members who served. This weekend we play for them,” Hansen said.

“The Black Ferns and Wallaroos trans-Tasman rivalry already carries significance. We know Australia are a strong team and will match the physicality that we bring, they have nothing to lose and everything to play for.”

Kick-off on Saturday is 9.45pm at Sunshine Coast Stadium.

Black Ferns v USA (Test caps bracketed, *denotes debut)

1. Chryss Viliko (20)

2. Georgia Ponsonby (39)

3. Mo’omo’oga Palu*

4. Maiakawanakaulani Roos (40)

5. Laura Bayfield (8)

6. Liana Mikaele-Tu’u (37)

7. Kennedy Tukuafu (36) – co-captain

8. Kaipo Olsen-Baker (18)

9. Maia Joseph (18)

10. Ruahei Demant (53) – co-captain

11. Ayesha Leti-I’iga (32)

12. Logo-I-Pulotu Lemapu-Atai’i Sylvia Brunt (31)

13. Amy Du’Plessis (24)

14. Justine McGregor (2)

15. Renee Holmes (31)

16. Atlanta Lolohea (10)

17. Maddison Robinson (2)

18. Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu (5)

19. Maama Mo’onia Vaipulu (9)

20. Mia Anderson (2)

21. Tara Turner (2)

22. Hannah King (12)

23. Mererangi Paul (16)

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

A Wellington train line has been blocked by a landslip.

Johnsonville Line tracks near Wadestown have been covered over, and all Johnsonville Line services have been cancelled as a result until further notice.

Metlink is providing bus replacement services, but advised people to use local services if possible as there are limited buses available.

Metlink said a shuttle service is available between Crofton Downs and Ngaio.

KiwiRail, who owns the corridor, has sent out crews to assess the damage and said the slip “is not significant”.

KiwiRail said it is likely the line will reopen by Friday, but would open sooner if possible.

Additionally, Johnsonville Lines will be closed on Sunday and Monday for planned maintenance.

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

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

A Christchurch massage business has been fined $210,000 for exploiting migrant workers.

Mother’s Thai, operating as Diamond Thai, and its owner Janya Duangjai had already agreed to pay the workers $230,000.

But authority member Peter van Keulen said there was no evidence the workers had been paid and Mother’s Thai was no longer operating.

He ordered Duangjai be ordered to pay $70,000 of the penalties.

Labour Inspectorate Migrant Exploitation Manager Natalie Gardiner said the ERA decision showed that despite structural changes occurring with the company ownership and shareholdings, enforcement action “can still be taken and that directors can be held personally accountable for serious breaches of employment law.”

“This was a particularly egregious example of migrant exploitation and the significant penalties imposed by the Authority reflect the seriousness of the harm caused to these workers.

“This outcome follows a detailed and lengthy investigation by the Senior Labour Inspector, made more complex by the employer’s failure to maintain accurate records and the workers’ understandable fear about speaking up.”

The investigation, completed in September 2024, found 55 breaches of minimum employment standards between November 2020 and 2023, including failing to pay the minimum wage, making unlawful deductions and charging employees a premium for their jobs.

Van Keuken said the workers had limited knowledge about their employment rights and little support in terms of questioning their pay and other entitlements.

“It appears that Mother’s Thai, through Ms Duangjai, took advantage of the employee’s vulnerability,” he said.

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

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

The Labour Party has confirmed it will support the India-NZ free trade deal, giving National and ACT the required numbers to pass it through Parliament.

But Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he remained concerned about a commitment in the agreement to promote up to $20 billion (USD) of New Zealand private sector investment over 15 years.

In a media conference at Parliament on Thursday, Hipkins said that target was “very unrealistic” and Labour would not have agreed to that in negotiations.

“It is almost impossible for New Zealand to ever meet that target, and that is one of the things our exporters will need to be aware of,” he said.

“We’re not going to stop the agreement proceeding because of it, but businesses need to be aware that that is a risk to them.”

Trade minister Todd McClay is set to fly to New Delhi over the long weekend to sign the agreement on Monday.

However, New Zealand First’s firm opposition to the deal meant National and ACT required Labour’s support in order to pass legislation to enact parts of the agreement.

Labour and National had been at an impasse for months over the extent of advice being shared about the deal.

An array of exporters and business associations last week issued an open letter calling on all parties to support the deal.

At the time, Hipkins said he was still waiting for the government to clarify some “issues and inconsistencies”.

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

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

The Labour Party has confirmed it will support the India-NZ free trade deal, giving National and ACT the required numbers to pass it through Parliament

But Chris Hipkins has warned businesses to proceed at their own risk and do their own due diligence.

“New Zealand businesses need to go into this with their eyes wide open,” the Labour leader said announced support for the deal on Thursday.

“The deal cuts tariffs, and increases market access for New Zealand exporters, and that is very welcome. But the $33 billion investment target is unrealistic and missing it could see benefits clawed back in 15 years.

Trade Minister Todd McClay is set to fly to New Delhi over the long weekend to sign the agreement on Monday.

However, New Zealand First’s firm opposition to the deal means National and ACT require Labour’s support in order to pass legislation to enact parts of the agreement.

Labour and National have been at an impasse for months over the extent of advice being shared about the deal.

An array of exporters and business associations last week issued an open letter calling on all parties to support the deal.

Earlier, Hipkins said he was still waiting for the government to clarify some “issues and inconsistencies”.

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

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

Hop farmers who have wrapped up this season’s harvest are flying the flag in the United States, despite is being a complex time for trading with that key market.

Thirsty Americans enjoy New Zealand hops in their tap and bottled beers, and the country has been through a craft beer boom in recent years.

But the market once considered a home-run is now much more difficult and expensive for hop exporters to access, due to increased import tariffs, production costs and shipping challenges in the global supply chain.

Hop Revolution grows hops key to beer brewing on 325 hectares across two farms in Tapawera in the Tasman district at the top of the South Island.

The company supplies its hops to local Stoke beers, one of the many ventures of late craft beer legend Terry McCashin, an angel investor in Hop Revolution in its earlier years.

The exports are also now on board ships to the US, into Europe but also into newer markets like Mexico.

Tariffs, global uncertainties prompt diversification

Company co-founder and plant scientist, Dr Susan Wheeler said the US remained its dominant market, but import tariffs enforced last year and extra costs forced some diversification.

“The US has remained a major customer for us, but obviously in the last year with certain tariffs and uncertainties, we’ve really been expanding out into other countries,” she said.

“So now I would say we’re pretty well diversified, so about 25 percent goes to the US, about 25 [percent] to Europe, we’ve now got South America and Asia.

“China in the last six months has become a focal point for us because of the [US] tariffs.”

Wheeler said war in the Persian Gulf added to uncertainties around shipping and production costs, worsened by tariff cost increases.

“We had containers on the water, then we had tariffs imposed, so we had to in some cases renegotiate with customers. In some cases, we had to wear those tariff increases ourselves.

“The Americans themselves, I mean, a lot of them are very understanding about us having to increase pricing in some cases.

“New Zealand exporters, you know, we’re all facing those same issues.”

She said New Zealand having free trade agreements with so many other countries allowed it to compete against American hops to other parts of the world.

Hop Revolution was one of several local firms that travelled to Philadelphia this week for the three-day Craft Brewers and BrewExpo America Conference, that started on Monday.

Wheeler said it would be a good chance to promote the brand and get face-to-face with existing and new clients.

Meanwhile, other New Zealanders in the hop sector were set to speak at the event, including Jos Ruffell the co-founder of Hāpi Research and Freestyle Hops, and Dr Peter Birchamm of Garage Project.

A ‘tricky’ harvest following floods

Wheeler said this year’s harvest was later and smaller than usual, because of floods that struck the top of the South Island in July.

“I think we’d all agree that it was a tricky harvest… we kind of hit it pretty hard, pretty late.”

She said the upside was that while plant stress affected yields, the hop quality was fantastic.

“The yields were definitely down, so talking to other growers in the Nelson region, we all had lower than average yields, but the flip side was the quality was exceptional.”

She said one farm came away unscathed, but the other sustained damage from the winter storms.

“We had a lot of fence damages, we had a lot of stilt on some blocks, we lost some river edging, we almost lost the pump house, but because of that heavier soil, that’s almost what we think has impacted the plants the most during harvest.

“An event that happened nine months beforehand has that flow-on effect to what the plants produced at harvest time.”

It marked the company’s seventh harvest, after being first founded in 2014.

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

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

Police say there have been 100 extra fuel thefts per week since the price of filling up spiked earlier this year.

Global fuel insecurity due to America’s war on Iran has spiked the price of petrol and diesel. According to price tracking website Gaspy, the average price of 91 petrol is $3.31 a litre and the average price of diesel is $3.50.

Assistant commissioner Tusha Penny told Morning Report police had a zero-tolerance approach to fuel theft, and had laid more than 370 charges related to fuel thefts since 2 March.

Penny wanted all petrol stations to move to being pre-pay only, and said many were already doing so.

“We’re seeing smaller stations taking action because they’re just seeing too much of this theft.”

Tips from the public were helpful to catch the thieves, she said.

“We have had people ring us pretty early, and we’ve had CCTV cameras put in so that we can make sure we respond quickly and we can investigate and catch who’s doing this.”

There had been an increase both in diesel burglaries and petrol drive-offs, she said.

“We’re seeing thefts from families who need to get their kids to school, thefts from businesses who are doing their best to survive and thefts from farmers who some would say are the backbone for what we do in this country. “

This week an [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-and-justice/592968/invercargill-man-accused-of-stealing-more-than-800-litres-of-petrol Invercargill man was arrested after 855 litres of petrol was stole from a contractor’s yard in a series of burglaries.

Police said when they searched the man’s address they found 11 20-litre jerry cans.

Earlier this month, police arrested two men in Christchurch after a person reported seeing someone trying to siphon petrol from their vehicle.

“A search of the vehicle saw it contained five 60 litre containers, a battery-operated siphoning pump, and a small amount of methamphetamine.”

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

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

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

All Blacks back Leicester Fainga’anuku has been given a shock start at flanker for the Crusaders.

Typically a centre or wing, Fainga’anuku has been named in the loose forwards for Friday night’s Super Rugby clash with the Waratahs.

Coach Rob Penney said the 26-year-old has been asking to have a crack at openside.

“Leicester’s been keen to explore that opportunity,” Penney said.

“This stadium felt like the right place to do it. He loves big environments, loves pressure moments, and we feel he’ll add real value against this opposition.”

Friday’s sold-out match against the Waratahs will kick off this weekend’s Super Round in Christchurch and will be the Crusaders first game at the city’s new Te Kaha Stadium after 14 years at their “temporary” home in Addington.

“It’s been worth the wait,” Penney said.

“The boys have already sort of produced the level of emotion out on the field. They are excited. You can see there’s a lot of bubble and squeak about so that’s an indicator that the boys are really looking forward to unleashing out there.

“I think for the public it’s such a special place already and once it’s full of people and they get a real feel for the experience within a fantastic stadium, it’ll just grow with momentum as the games unfold I’m sure.”

Fainga’anuku said it will be a special moment running out onto the turf at Te Kaha for the first time.

‘The heart of the city’

“It’s real beautiful and a great representation of our region,” Fainga’anuku said.

“This place has become the heart of the city, and it’s something our people deserve.”

The Crusaders are sixth in the standings following back to back losses in Australia, to the Reds and Force, and Penney said the clash with the Waratahs has a do or die feeling about it.

“Probably two weeks ago started to feel like must wins. So we’ve struggled a little bit,” Penney said.

“We’re leaking too many points…Our balance in our game is not quite right, but we’ve got a great group and they’re working hard, coaches working hard, trying to rectify it and you know this could just be what is needed to tip us in the right direction to get us some momentum.”

Penney said defence has been an issue for his side all season.

“Our defence is just not as solid as it needs to be and if you’re not dominating in those areas it’s much harder to get turnovers and reward for your effort. We seem to put little phases together of really good work and then let ourselves down with a bit of sloppiness.

“It’s a bit of a disease we’ve had all year and Toddy’s (assistant coach Todd Blackadder) working really hard and the defence group are very mindful of it and the messaging’s been great and boys just have to apply now.”

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

The small Waikato town of Mōkau on the west coast of the North Island is being described by locals as a “ghost town” and “dead as a doornail” due to the closure of the Awakino Gorge on State Highway 3.

Local butcher Bryan Lester told Morning Report he only served three customers on Wednesday between 7am and 3.30pm.

Fellow local and owner of Nic’s Latte and Grill, Nic Phillips, echoed Lester’s sentiments.

“There’s nobody on the road”, Phillips told Morning Report, “it’s a terrible situation that we’re in.”

With no traffic and no customers, Phillips decided to close her caravan on Thursday.

“Unfortunately for us, the Awakino Gorge is the choke point for this. You know, when those rocks come down, that’s it, we’re done, and there’s no way north for any traffic, you know.

“We are fighting Mother Nature. So what do you do, you know?

“We have these statistics there from the New Plymouth District Council that show that we have anywhere between 2000 to 2300 vehicles per hour, per day, you know, and it just stops.”

Phillips said people from all over the world stop in at the small town, and described it as the “gateway to the King Country, we’re the gateway to Taranaki, and we’re the only place when you come out of the Gorge that you get to see our Maunga [Taranaki Maunga] and the ocean.”

There are seven businesses in the town, and Phillips said they all struggle when the Gorge is closed, and the impacts spread deeper into the community, impacting everyone in the town.

Phillips said going back to July 2025, there have been 11 road closures, which was frustrating for the businesses, but also for people using the highway.

“Do we try and do a bypass? Do we spend billions of dollars on doing something like that? I don’t know the answer.

“But, you know, putting a band-aid on the gorge for decades, like they’ve been doing, isn’t working, and now look what’s happened, it’s massive.”

Gorge to open next week

In a statement, NZTA said State Highway 3 through Awakino Gorge will reopen late next week.

“Further assessments are underway following heavy rainfall over the weekend, which caused slips along this stretch of highway in north Taranaki.

“The road between Mōkau and Piopio has been closed since the weekend.

“Crews have been working to safely clear material from the road – the significant slip has seen roughly 12-16 thousand cubic metres of material come down the hill – the equivalent of almost 1400 standard rubbish trucks.

“Complicating the recovery is the fact the hillside is incredibly sodden and it’s still moving,” said Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations Rua Earle.

“This is an incredibly challenging time for communities who are restricted by the closure and today’s news will be frustrating. We wish we had better news, the safety of the workers is paramount as well as ensuring the road is opened as quickly as possible,” said Earle.

NZTA said while this section of SH3 is closed, State Highway 4 can be used as an alternative route.

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

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

BNZ is the latest major bank to raise interest rates.

It has put its one-year rate up by six basis points, to 4.59 percent, its 18-month rate up by the same margin to 4.79 percent and its two-year rate by 20 basis points, to 5.09 percent.

Two-year rates have had some of the larger increases in recent weeks, as banks have pushed rates up.

From a low of 4.5 percent in November, according to Reserve Bank stats, all the main banks are now advertising rates of more than 5 percent.

The move is driven in part by wholesale markets, where banks get some of their funding, increasing their expectation that central banks will have to raise rates to combat inflation caused by the Middle East conflict.

In November last year, the two-year swap rate was about 2.4 percent but that has risen to more than 3.1 percent.

Economists have forecast that the Reserve Bank may need to raise rates from the middle of the year.

ASB said this week it expects a July increase is possible but that a 25bp hike in May could not be ruled out.

Infometrics chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan earlier said the central bank would not be able to wait until inflation was clearly a problem before acting.

Sign up for Money with Susan Edmunds, a weekly newsletter covering all the things that affect how we make, spend and invest money

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

Jetstar check-ins at Auckland have been halted and some of its departures delayed by a technical issue.

“Technical teams are onsite working to resolve the issue, and Jetstar has currently paused check-in, with some delays to departing flights today,” Auckland Airport said.

“No other domestic flights are affected.”

Auckland Airport is asking Jetstar passengers to stay across updates from the airline.

“We appreciate any travel delays can be frustrating and thank travellers for their patience,” the airport said.

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

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

One of the country’s biggest banks is calling on social media giant Meta – owner of Facebook and Instagram – to do more to protect New Zealanders from fraud and scams on its platforms.

An AI-generated ‘deepfake’ image portraying Westpac chief executive Catherine McGrath clashing with NZ First leader Winston Peters has been circulating on social media in recent weeks.

Earlier this month the Financial Markets Authority warned consumers about scammers using deepfake news articles to lure consumers onto fake trading platforms.

“I got an e-mail from one of the team that said it’s been used, and then I started to get inbound traffic from others saying ‘it looks like you’ve been the victim of some AI deepfake’,” McGrath told Morning Report on Thursday.

“I thought that they’d done a good job of making me look angry in a way that I’ve never seen myself.. if you knew me, you knew that would never happen. If you didn’t know me, though, it’s easy clickbait.

“And the thing that was really concerning is that it was clicking through to an investment scam, and it’s the investment scam that does the damage to many New Zealanders. And we want to see more from Meta to protect New Zealanders from scams.”

In 2024, a Taranaki grandmother lost $224,000 to scammers after being duped by an AI-generated deepfake video of Christopher Luxon on Facebook encouraging superannuitants to invest in cryptocurrency. Last year a pharmacist found herself appearing in Facebook ads selling fake weight-loss meds.

Sometimes fake ads are taken down after being reported to Meta, only to reappear, slightly altered, the next day.

McGrath said Westpac tried contacting Meta via four different routes, and never got a response. The scam advert was eventually pulled, possibly due to the involvement of the Financial Markets Authority, McGrath said – but without any response she could not be sure.

“What we’d really like them to do is to verify that when they’re taking money from advertisers for financial services, that they need to actually confirm that it’s a financial services firm that they’re taking the advertising revenue from. And we’d love them to act faster when they’re notified.”

She said a direct channel from banks’ financial crimes teams to Meta would be ideal.

“Their own reports talk about how much money that they make. And I think it’s a lot easier for them to verify that when they’re taking money from an advertiser they actually do sell the services that they provide, than it is for me to identify that when you’re making a payment that you genuinely think is to the right person that you want to make…

“We’d like to see Meta step up and do more.”

She said it was surprising that Meta ghosted Westpac’s attempts to notify them of a scam running on their platforms.

“When I get emails from customers, they tend to go to the top of my list – so not having any confirmation that says ‘we’ve actually taken action’ I think is unhelpful. And you feel like, you want to hear that somebody’s taken action.”

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

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

One person has died following a serious crash in Temuka in South Canterbury on Wednesday night.

Emergency services were alerted to the single motorcycle crash on Factory Road at around 7.50pm.

The rider died at the scene.

The Serious Crash Unit has conducted a scene examination and the road has reopened.

Inquiries into the circumstances of the crash are continuing.

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

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

State Highway 29 is closed following a serious crash in Lower Kaimai on Thursday morning.

Emergency services were called to a two-vehicle crash near the intersection with Valley View Road at around 5.50am.

Initial indications suggest there are serious injuries, police said in a statement.

The road is closed while emergency services are at the scene.

Motorists are advised to follow diversions and expect delays.

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

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