National’s conservation spokesperson Tama Potaka says the party will campaign on further restricting commercial fishing in the Hauraki Gulf.

Legislation brought by the coalition government last year, established 12 high protection areas (HPAs) where a range of activities, including most commercial and recreational fishing, are prohibited, and five sea floor protection areas.

At the time, the opposition criticised the government for a late-stage amendment allowing commercial ring-net fishing operators exclusive access to two of the HPAs.

In a statement on Saturday, Potaka acknowledged that had “caused widespread concern from the hundreds of thousands of users of Auckland’s key recreational waterway”.

Maungakiekie-based Labour MP Priyanca Radhakrishnan said at the law’s introduction that Labour would reverse the carve-out, if elected.

“Despite the environment select committee unanimously recommending to this house that the bill be passed with no substantive change, at the 11th hour, because of some active lobbying of the minister of oceans and fisheries, we saw this government cave to that pressure and they have chosen to water down the protections in the original bill.

“Labour, in government, will reverse the change that allows ring-net fishing in those HPAs.”

Now, Potaka said National would also look to reinstate a total ban on fishing in the HPAs if re-elected.

“A further decision, to allow bottom trawling in some designated trawl corridors in the Gulf has also been controversial, so we will review that also.”

He wanted a consistent approach to the protection of the gulf, that struck a balance between serving the needs of recreational users as well as commercial.

“At the heart must be the health of the Hauraki Gulf. It is Auckland’s playground and the centrepiece of some of New Zealand’s most iconic aquatic events.”

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

A Taranaki exhibition is giving a voice to native species including tuna (eels), iinanga and kooaro (whitebait), and piharau (lamprey), revealing the rhythms of life beneath the surface of New Zealand’s freshwater streams and rivers.

Whiria ko te iwi tuna opens on 28 February at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in New Plymouth.

A four-year collaboration by artist collective Toiaa Taiao – Tihikura Hohaia, Alex Monteith and Maree Sheehan immerse audiences in the world of Te Whanganui, a central Taranaki stream, through evocative underwater footage and delicately recorded soundscapes, inviting audiences to experience the waterway as a living, communicating presence.

The project aimed to bring attention to ongoing legislative failures that enabled the exploitation of waterways and undermine hapū authority in enacting kaitiakitanga.

“This project marks the first time the voices of tuna from Te Whanganui have been recorded and made audible as voices in their own right,” said Maree Sheehan, a composer and sound artist recognised by the Royal Society of New Zealand as Māori researcher of the year in 2024.

“By amplifying these submerged communications, Whiria ko te iwi tuna positions tuna not as passive indicators, but as active agents speaking for their own sovereignty.”

A newly published essay by Rachel Buchanan (Taranaki iwi, Te Ātiawa, Taranaki Whānui ki Te Upoko o Te Ika), supported and extended the exhibition.

The essay situated the work within “a whakapapa of care and protest” in Taranaki, honouring generations of hapū and community-led efforts to protect waters from industrial ruin, and affirming the inseparable relations between Taranaki’s waters and its people.

Also opening on 28 February is Pause, act, void, event, a dynamic exhibition of beloved and newly acquired works from the Govett-Brewster collection.

Anchored by a spectacular room-spanning work by Debra Bustin, last seen at the gallery in 1982, the exhibition also featured works by Billy Apple, D Harding, Ralph Hotere, Corita Kent, Tom Kreisler, Ziggy Lever & Lucy Meyle, Peter Peryer and Pauline Rhodes.

Both exhibitions were on until 19 July 2026.

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A brand of salami is being recalled after being produced without the required food safety control and oversight.

The three Zaroa NZ-branded products being recalled are Pure, Delicaté Salami Pohutukawa Smoked, and Hawke’s Bay Black Angus Beef Chorizo Salami.

Food Safety’s Vincent Arbuckle said dried and cured products must be carefully controlled as the manufacturing process does not involve a high-temperature cooking step that kills bacteria like salmonella and E.coli.

Where the products were sold:

• Hesari Supermarket Great North Road: 344 Great North Road, Henderson
• Hesari Supermarket Wairau Valley: Unit 15, 170 Wairau Road, Wairau Valley
• Keri Berries: 484 Kerikeri Road, Kerikeri
• Pegasus Bay Winery: 263 Stockgrove Road, Waipara, RD 2 Amberley
• Zaroa NZ stall: Parnell Farmers’ Market, 545 Parnell Road, Parnell
• Zaroa NZ online store

Arbuckle urged people to return the products to the place of purchase for a refund.

The products have been removed from store shelves.

There have been no reports of associated illness.

If anyone has consumed any of these products and have any concerns about their health, they should seek medical advice.

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The New Zealand Breakers players won’t pocket all of the prize money from the Ignite Cup final.

Sunday’s finale of the inaugural in-season tournament between the Breakers and Adelaide 36ers ensures nobody leaves the Gold Coast empty-handed with the champions taking home A$300,000 and the runners-up A$100,000.

Prize money in the Australian NBL is unique to the Ignite Cup, and while pundits have debated how the prize money should be split, with suggestions it should all go to the players, the official line from the NBL is that 60 percent goes to the players directly and the remainder to the club.

Breakers president of basketball Dillon Boucher said the club would not be giving all the money to the players.

“Unfortunately anything that goes more than 60 percent to the players goes on your salary cap, so I think teams making smart decisions would probably not give it all to the players rather than incur some luxury tax by giving the players extra money.

“I think 60 percent is a fair amount to go to the players and obviously there is a lot of factors and a lot of people that are involved in making the team successful, so it’s only fair that they share in the success of the Ignite Cup profits.”

Not every player was focused on the cash.

Centre Sam Mennenga made an unexpected comeback from what was described as a season-ending wrist injury against the Cairns Taipans on Thursday night and will be available to play the 36ers in a boost for the Breakers and for the Tall Black who is looking off-season playing opportunities overseas.

“There is money on the line – I don’t really care about the money, but I’d rather us have the money than Adelaide have the money.”

The Breakers will tip off their final game of the season as underdogs.

After failing to make the post-season, by finishing seventh, the Breakers can still end an injury-hit rollercoaster of a season with a valuable victory but it will be against the odds.

For the majority of the Ignite Cup, played mid-week and with competition points for every quarter won, the Breakers were dominant. The Auckland-based club won the first three of their Cup games while losing games not played on Wednesdays with regularity.

The Breakers lost their fourth game of the Cup competition to finish second on the ladder behind the 36ers who also won three out of four games but edged the Breakers by winning an extra quarter for an additional competition point to qualify in top spot for the final.

While the Ignite Cup was where the Breakers shone, the 36ers are also sitting in second on the regular season table with a chance of winning a Championship and Cup double.

Adelaide beat the Breakers every time they met this season. Three wins, one in overtime, all by fewer than five points.

The Breakers and 36ers did not play against each other during the Ignite Cup. The two sides last met a week ago with the 36ers putting together a fourth-quarter comeback to win 92-89 on their home court in the regular season. The Breakers had the lead for 36 minutes of the 40 minute game and had an 18 point advantage at one stage before Adelaide got the win.

Mennenga missed that game as did Next StarKarim Lopez, who will both be back from injury for the crucial clash. Breakers coach Petteri Koponen also managed minutes in the Breakers’ last regular season game on Thursday to give the roster the best shot of being the first Ignite Cup winners.

Tai Webster and Izaiah Brockington will be game time decisions for Sunday after missing the Taipans game.

The final will be played in neutral territory, at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, in a region that does not have an NBL team at the moment.

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

• Ben Harrington has qualified for the men’s freeski halfpipe final.
• Fin Melville Ives is in a stable condition after a fall left him unconscious and saw him stretchered off the snow.
• The finals are set down for 7.30am Saturday 21 February (NZ time).

Ben Harrington has qualified for the men’s freeski halfpipe final after a tense finish to the second run at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

A tough competition saw three out of the four New Zealand athletes lose a ski in at least one of their two runs. Each competitor is ranked by their best run, with only the top 12 of 25 progressing to the final.

Harrington led the Kiwi contingent after a clean first run saw him sitting at ninth. The 24-year-old dropped to 12th place during the second run, making for a nail-biting wait while all the other athletes finished competing.

Making it to the finals was “an insane feeling”, he said.

“My biggest goal was just to come out and land some runs. I had knee surgery just over a year ago, so it was a mission to get back here but we did it.”

Speaking into the cameras on the slopes, Harrington dedicated his second run to teammate Fin Melville Ives, who had his own final hopes dashed after a fall saw him stretchered off the snow.

“Hey Finski, this one’s for you, brother. Love you, let’s go skiing,” Harrington said.

Melville Ives was the first competitor to drop into the halfpipe but lost a ski in both runs, putting him at 24th. He was assessed by medics following the second, more serious fall and stretchered off the snow.

Following the event, the New Zealand Olympic Team provided an update on his condition on social media, saying he was “stable and positive”.

Head coach Tom Willmott said “he took a big hit”, revealing the 19-year-old had been knocked unconscious.

“He’s in great care, our team doctor’s with him, his mum’s with him, and he’s doing okay. He was knocked out, but he’s conscious right now, he’s talking and he’s doing okay. He’s getting full checks, scans, x-rays, all the rest of it, just to fully rule anything out,” Willmott said.

“We had qualifying postponed due to the snow yesterday [Friday NZT] so today was the day, it was big Friday. He was using qualies as a warm up to the main event tonight [the finals, Saturday morning NZT] and he was all in, going real big.

“Fine margins, he was pushing his limits. He’s going to be devastated, he’s going to be gutted, you know. But he will pick himself up and he’ll come back from this because he’s a bit of a warrior.”

Fellow Kiwis Gustav Legnavsky and Luke Harrold also failed to qualify, ranking 14th and 15th respectively.

Harrold’s first run saw him in contention for the finals after he placed 11th, but run two saw the 17-year-old lose a ski.

“It was a tough day out there,” he said. “Training went well but, unfortunately, I couldn’t put down the run I wanted to in the two runs. I just want to say thanks to everyone who supported me through my whole journey, it’s been pretty incredible. I couldn’t put it down today for you guys but I know I will eventually.”

Legnavsky, 20, also lost a ski on his first run, and a clean second run was not enough to lift him into the top 12.

“I’m pretty bummed … I have more, I know I have more.”

The event involves competitors performing a series of tricks while skiing down a semi-cylindrical slope.

The final was set down for 7.30am Saturday, 21 February (NZT).

Kiwi Nico Porteous won gold in the event at the last Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022.

New Zealand has so far secured three medals in this year’s games.

On Thursday, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott became the world’s most decorated Olympic snowboarder with her silver-medal run in the women’s snowboard slopestyle event.

Luca Harrington brought home bronze at the men’s freestyle skiing slopestyle last week, after Sadowski-Synnott also claimed New Zealand’s first medal of the games, taking silver in the big air event.

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

“Opportunistic” gulls are flocking near Wellington Airport’s runway, picking off easy prey that are surfacing in the water nearby to munch on sewage.

The airport is taking extra precautions to avoid planes hitting birds, but says it hasn’t been a problem in the two weeks since the Moa Point wastewater treatment plant meltdown.

Raw sewage has been spewing into the South coast and further out to the Cook Strait since the plant’s massive failure two weeks ago.

Department of Conservation principal science advisor Graeme Taylor said black-backed gulls were “opportunistic” birds making the most of the sewage flow.

“They’ll be coming around in sort of flocks, when they might otherwise go to a tip site or something like that,” he said.

“They wouldn’t be eating the raw sewage itself, but there will be other species of marine organisms that will be into that… zooplankton and small fish.”

Those species were coming up to the surface where sewage was floating, making them accessible for the gulls, Taylor said.

The birds would probably not get sick, he said.

“They’ve got very strong digestive juices in their stomach and they can eat food that you and I would find disgusting,” he said.

“But having said that, if there is, various viruses or bugs in there that’s not going to be good for them.”

Taylor was concerned about the birds roosting on the rocks near the airport runway.

He said New Zealand’s gull numbers were “huge” so bird strike was not a conservation problem – rather, a problem for those sitting on a plane that hits a bird.

A Wellington Airport spokesperson said there had been more birds gathering around the runway since the sewage plant failure.

Staff were monitoring them and taking precautionary measures to avoid them hitting planes, including using loud noises to scare them away, they said.

Airports are required to report instances of bird strike to the Civil Aviation Authority, which said there was no sign of an increase in bird strike activity in the capital this month.

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

• Ben Harrington has qualified for the men’s freeski halfpipe final
• Fin Melville Ives is in a stable condition after a fall left him unconscious and saw him stretchered off the snow
• The finals are set down for 7.30am Saturday 21 February (NZ time)

Ben Harrington has qualified for the men’s freeski halfpipe final after a tense finish to the second run at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

A tough competition saw three out of the four New Zealand athletes lose a ski in at least one of their two runs. Each competitor is ranked by their best run, with only the top 12 of 25 progressing to the final.

Harrington led the Kiwi contingent after a clean first run saw him sitting at 9th. The 24-year-old dropped to 12th place during the second run, making for a nail-biting wait while all the other athletes finished competing.

Making it to the finals was “an insane feeling”, he said.

“My biggest goal was just to come out and land some runs. I had knee surgery just over a year ago, so it was a mission to get back here but we did it.”

Speaking into the cameras on the slopes, Harrington dedicated his second run to teammate Fin Melville Ives, who had his own final hopes dashed after a fall saw him stretchered off the snow.

“Hey Finski, this one’s for you, brother. Love you, let’s go skiing,” Harrington said.

Melville Ives was the first competitor to drop into the halfpipe but lost a ski in both runs, putting him at 24th. He was assessed by medics following the second, more serious fall and stretchered off the snow.

Following the event, the New Zealand Olympic Team provided an update on his condition on social media, saying he was “stable and positive”.

Head coach Tom Willmott said “he took a big hit”, revealing the 19-year-old had been knocked unconscious.

“He’s in great care, our team doctor’s with him, his mum’s with him, and he’s doing okay. He was knocked out, but he’s conscious right now, he’s talking and he’s doing okay. He’s getting full checks, scans, x-rays, all the rest of it, just to fully rule anything out,” Willmott said.

“We had qualifying postponed due to the snow yesterday [Friday NZT] so today was the day, it was big Friday. He was using qualies as a warm up to the main event tonight [the finals, Saturday morning NZT] and he was all in, going real big.

“Fine margins, he was pushing his limits. He’s going to be devastated, he’s going to be gutted, you know. But he will pick himself up and he’ll come back from this because he’s a bit of a warrior.”

Fellow Kiwis Gustav Legnavsky and Luke Harrold also failed to qualify, ranking 14th and 15th respectively.

Harrold’s first run saw him in contention for the finals after he placed 11th, but run two saw the 17-year-old lose a ski.

“It was a tough day out there,” he said. “Training went well but, unfortunately, I couldn’t put down the run I wanted to in the two runs. I just want to say thanks to everyone who supported me through my whole journey, it’s been pretty incredible. I couldn’t put it down today for you guys but I know I will eventually.”

Legnavsky, 20, also lost a ski on his first run, and a clean second run was not enough to lift him into the top 12.

“I’m pretty bummed … I have more, I know I have more.”

The event involves competitors performing a series of tricks while skiing down a semi-cylindrical slope.

The final was set down for 7.30am Saturday, 21 February (NZT).

Kiwi Nico Porteous won gold in the event at the last Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022.

New Zealand has so far secured three medals in this year’s games.

On Thursday, Zoi Sadowski-Synnott became the world’s most decorated Olympic snowboarder with her silver-medal run in the women’s snowboard slopestyle event.

Luca Harrington brought home bronze at the men’s freestyle skiing slopestyle last week, after Sadowski-Synnott also claimed New Zealand’s first medal of the games, taking silver in the big air event.

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

Ben Harrington has qualified for the Men’s Freeski Halfpipe final after a tense finish to the second run at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.

Harrington led the Kiwi contingent after a clean first run saw him sitting at 9th. He dropped to 12th place during the second run, meaning a nervous wait for all the other athletes to finish competing, with only the top 12 progressing to the final.

Knowing he had made the finals was “an insane feeling”, he said.

“My biggest goal was just to come out and land some runs. I had knee surgery just over a year ago, so it was a mission to get back here but we did it.”

Speaking into the cameras, Harrington dedicated his second run to teammate, Fin Melville Ives, who had his own final hopes dashed after a fall saw him stretchered off the snow.

“Finski, that was for you, brother,” Harrington said.

Melville Ives was the first competitor to drop into the halfpipe but lost a ski in both runs, putting him at 24th.

The New Zealand Olympic Team provided an update on his condition in a social media post shortly after the event.

“Fin is with his family and being assessed by medical professionals. He is stable and positive.”

Fellow Kiwis Gustav Legnavsky and Luke Harrold also failed to qualify, ranking 14th and 15th respectively.

Harrold’s first run saw him in contention for the finals after he placed 11th, but run two saw him lose a ski.

“It was a tough day out there,” he said. “Training went well but, unfortunately, I couldn’t put down the run I wanted to in the two runs. I just want to say thanks to everyone who supported me through my whole journey, it’s been pretty incredible. I couldn’t put it down today for you guys but I know I will eventually.”

Legnavsky lost a ski on his first run, and a clean second run was not enough to lift him into the top 12.

“I’m pretty bummed … I have more, I know I have more.”

The event involves competitors performing a series of tricks while skiing down a semi-cylindrical slope.

New Zealand’s Nico Porteous won gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

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– 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

A prolific burglar allegedly targeting a west Auckland retirement village is facing numerous charges in court.

The arrest comes as Police investigate other burglaries at villages across the Auckland region.

Detective Senior Sergeant Ryan Bunting, Waitematā West Area Investigations Manager, says five charges have been laid so far.

“We have been investigating a spree of offending on one day in late January, where five residents were allegedly targeted in their residences,” he says.

“Three residents have been the victims of burglaries with expensive jewellery and cash allegedly stolen.”

Police estimate the offending to be valued at nearly $8,000.

The 60-year-old has been charged with three counts of burglary and two counts of being unlawfully in a building.

She will appear in the Waitākere District Court today.

Detective Senior Sergeant Bunting says following Thursday’s arrest, enquiries are ongoing into recent burglaries reported at other Auckland retirement villages.

Further charges cannot be ruled out, he says.

“It’s unfortunate when vulnerable members of the community are targeted in this matter, and we will oppose the woman’s bail at her court appearance.”

• Remain vigilant:

Recent burglaries are a reminder for residents at retirement villages to be cautious.

“It’s important that residents be mindful of people who might be out of place in these villages, and keep an eye out for your neighbours,” Detective Senior Sergeant Bunting says.

“Never let someone inside your unit unless you know who they are or have confirmed their identity with management.

“I’m encouraging families to check in on their loved ones and reiterate this advice.”

Always keep your valuables hidden and secure wherever possible.

ENDS.

Jarred Williamson/NZ Police

MIL OSI

There are major injury concerns for both the women’s and men’s Wellington Phoenix sides.

They have lost two New Zealand internationals to serious injuries ahead of their respective round 18 A-League matches.

Football Ferns fullback Lara Wall and All Whites attacking midfielder Sarpreet Singh will both be sidelined for up to eight weeks.

The Phoenix women have had more than their fair share of injuries this season.

Wall tore her left calf in the defeat to Central Coast Mariners at Porirua Park on Sunday, while Singh injured the medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his left knee in his much-anticipated Phoenix return against Western Sydney last Friday night.

As well as potentially sidelining her for the remainder of the Ninja A-League regular season, the calf injury unfortunately rules Wall out of the Ferns’ upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 qualifiers in the Solomon Islands.

Singh is likely to miss the All Whites matches against Finland and Chile at Eden Park at the end of next month, on top of the Phoenix men’s next five Isuzu UTE A-League matches.

All Whites fullback Tim Payne has also been ruled out of Saturday’s derby against Auckland FC with a hamstring injury.

The second-placed Phoenix women play at Melbourne Victory on Friday night.

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

Please attribute the following to Sergeant Mike Palmer, Waikato Police:

A man’s been arrested in Hamilton in relation to a series of burglaries of tools worth more than $40,000.

The 36-year-old is due in Hamilton District Court today on three charges of burglary. Additional charges are being considered.

The burglaries, targeting tools in the industrial Te Rapa area of Hamilton, were reported on 2, 4, and 13 February.

The arrest follows investigation by the Waikato Tactical Crime Unit. The tools were valued at more than $44,000. Some of the tools were on-sold, and Police are working to recover them so we can get them back to their rightful owner.

Police recommend businesses consider crime prevention methods to reduce the risk of burglary.

Quality CCTV, alarm systems, engraving tools and accurately recording serial numbers helps Police in investigating burglaries in the unfortunate event they occur.

Tools can be expensive and hard to replace. To reunite stolen tools with their rightful owner we need to identify unique features, so we encourage businesses and tradies to take the time engraving their tools and recording serial numbers.

If you are aware of, or come across, tools that may have been stolen please let Police know via our 105 service.  Alternatively, information can be passed anonymously to Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 or https://crimestoppers-nz.org/

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

MIL OSI

Parliament’s last order of the week was to debate something the minister in charge of the bill has admitted is not really a priority.

The government has introduced a bill to make English an official language, to ridicule from the opposition, and a fierce defence from Winston Peters.

The legislation would see English be recognised as an official language alongside Te Reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language.

It would not affect the status or use of Te Reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language as official languages.

Just two pages long, the legislation states that English has long been a de facto official language, but not set out in legislation.

The bill is in the name of the Justice Minister, Paul Goldsmith, who was reluctant to sing its praises.

“It’s something that was in the coalition. It wouldn’t be the top priority for us, absolutely not. But it’s something in the coalition and it’s getting done.”

Goldsmith did not speak at the first reading.

Instead, Winston Peters led the speeches on Thursday.

Peters said other jurisdictions such as Canada, Ireland, and Wales had English language legislation of their own, which indicated the “importance” of putting it into legislation.

“This bill won’t solve the push of this virtue signalling narrative completely. But it is the first step towards ensuring logic and common sense prevails when the vast majority of New Zealanders communicate in English, and understand English, in a country that should use English as its primary and official language,” he said.

The New Zealand First leader, who was made to wait nearly an hour and a half to deliver his speech, argued the proliferation of te reo Māori in health and transport services meant people were getting confused.

In other cases, they were being put in danger, claiming first responders did not know where they were going, and boaties were unable to interpret charts.

“With the increase in recent years of te reo to be used in place of English, even when less than five percent of the New Zealand population can read, write, or speak it, it has created situations that encourage misunderstand and confusion for all. And all for the purpose to push a narrative.”

Peters’ speech drifted into a lengthy historical anecdote, with an example of “out of touch bureaucrats” in the Soviet Union building, costing, and installing chandeliers based on weight “for production bonuses, rather than shape and design”, which was leading to ceilings being ripped out.

“And the then-President Khrushchev, upon finding this out, asked this question: For whom is this illuminating? As for whom, are the circumstances we now finding ourselves in with the use of te reo as a means of important communication now, illuminating what?”

Opposition MPs ridicule bill

Opposition MPs questioned the government’s priorities, expressing ridicule, exasperation and concern at the bill.

Beginning his contribution with, “Ngā mihi, great to be here in Aotearoa today,” Labour MP Duncan Webb said only the “wandering mind” of Peters could explain what Russian chandeliers had to do with the English language.

Webb said language was a “moving thing”, with New Zealand English containing words from across the Pacific.

“A silly piece of legislation, that Winston Peters, in his jurassic thinking, wants to put before his sub-sub-sub-section of voters, because they get a little bit anxious because the library in Christchurch is called Tūranga. A big building full of books, with big signs to it, but because it doesn’t say ‘library’ they don’t know it’s the library if they’re New Zealand First voters.”

Webb said when the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, all the laws of England applied, of which an English language law was not one.

“What’s the official language of the United Kingdom? Well, it doesn’t say, it is not set out there in legislation. There is no English Act or United Kingdom Act which sets out English as an official language, but I’m pretty sure they’re comfortable with the fact that it’s an official language of England and the United Kingdom.”

Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said the government “wants us distracted” while the country experienced severe weather events, and unemployment was as high as it had been in a decade.

“They want us divided, and they want regular people exhausted, fighting amongst themselves. Some out there say that this government is stupid. Unfortunately, Madam Speaker, I think that they know exactly what they are doing,” she said.

“The English language is not under threat. We are literally speaking it and debating in it right now. This is a bill which is an answer to a problem that does not exist, a problem which this government is trying to create in the minds of people across this country, in place of the very real problems of the climate crisis, record homelessness, inequality and infrastructural decay.”

Swarbrick said Te Reo Māori and New Zealand Sign Language had been “fought for”, while English was “literally beaten” into people.

“In plain English, for all members of this government, this bill is bullshit, and you know it.”

Te Pāti Māori MP Oriini Kaipara delivered her contribution entirely in te reo Māori.

“This bill is a waste of time, and a waste of breath,” she said.

Labour MP Dr Ayesha Verrall spoke of her mother’s upbringing in the Maldives, where she worked hard to learn English, arrived in New Zealand on a Colombo Plan scholarship, and went on to become an English teacher.

“That’s pretty special, kind of ironic, to think that someone who, for whom English wasn’t their first language, gave so much in terms of enjoyment of English and English literature to her students.”

She said she sat in her mother’s classes in the 1990s when politicians were “race baiting”, warning of an ‘Asian invasion’, and using English in a “very powerful and destructive” way.

“When we speak in the English language, we have impact beyond our words. As politicians, we create permission for people to do things outside this House. So that’s what happens when politicians indulge in racism. The English language can be used as a weapon, and that can lead to people having violent acts committed against them,” she said.

Verall then referred to the 1990s politician directly – Peters.

First reading on hold

Peters had promoted his contribution, set to begin at 4pm, on social media.

But an opposition filibuster on the previous bill on the order paper meant his speech did not begin until 5:25pm.

With Parliament needing to break for the week at 6pm, government MPs did their best to hurry the bill along, with ACT’s Simon Court, and National MPs Tom Rutherford and Carl Bates rising for very short contributions to commend the bill to the House.

“It’s simply practical, constructive common sense,” Court said.

National’s Rima Nakhle took issue with Swarbrick’s use of the word “bullshit”, and accused the opposition of theatrics.

“How about we just calm it down a little, and stop the theatrics, and talk about what this is. And it’s OK. We’re only making English official. It’s not the end of the world.”

The House adjourned with two speeches still to go.

With Parliament in recess next week, it meant MPs would have to wait until 3 March for the debate to pick up again.

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

The New Zealand Defence Force has combined its maritime and air assets to conduct a search and rescue operation for two men drifting in a wooden boat 105 nautical miles south of Tonga.

The two men were located by a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P-8A Poseidon yesterday morning and were then recovered on board the Royal New Zealand Navy’s HMNZS Canterbury last night.

The P-8A had been en route to conduct maritime surveillance operations for illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the South West Pacific when it was diverted to conduct the search for the missing boat.

Maritime New Zealand’s Rescue Coordination Centre requested the aircraft crew search for the boat after it was reported overdue.

The crew on board the 11.5-metre wooden boat named Mysterious Wonder were reported to have left Tongatapu, Tonga on 8 February. Authorities were notified on Tuesday that the vessel was missing.

The P-8A crew flew to Fiji to base overnight before starting the search Wednesday morning. They found the boat at 10.15am. The call then went out to HMNZS Canterbury to rescue the men and bring them to safety.

Commander Wayne Andrew, the Commanding Officer of HMNZS Canterbury, said the ship launched a sea boat, rescuing the two men late yesterday evening.

“This was an excellent combined effort to locate and rescue the crew members,” he said.

“The P-8A crew did a fantastic job locating the vessel in a large search area about 105 nautical miles south of Tonga. We were fortunate to be in a position to be able to assist the two men.”

HMNZS Canterbury recently completed a successful trip to Tokelau supporting Governor-General of New Zealand Dame Cindy Kiro to mark the centenary of New Zealand administration of Tokelau. The ship was en route to the Kermadec Islands before it turned around to assist with the rescue.

The two men were flown to Tonga this morning on a RNZAF NH90 helicopter embarked on HMNZS Canterbury.

The ship will today resume passage to Raoul Island, to assist MetService and Earth Sciences New Zealand personnel to carry out upgrade and maintenance tasks of critical weather, tsunami and volcano monitoring equipment and facilities.

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MIL OSI

Being prepared almost certainly saved a rock fisherman’s life at Piha.

Police were contacted at 7.43am on Wednesday by a fisherman advising one of his companions had fallen into water at The Gap.

Acting Senior Sergeant Mark Jamieson says the Police Maritime Unit took over incident control of the water rescue.

“The Police Eagle helicopter deployed over South Piha, and soon caught sight of the fisherman, and the crew could see he was well prepared,” he says.

“He had been fishing with a lifejacket on, and another fisherman had thrown an emergency life ring out to him.”

Meanwhile, Police Maritime Unit had called out Surf Life Saving NZ at Piha.

Acting Senior Sergeant Jamieson says Eagle kept watch from above while an IRB was heading to the location.

“Although he was struggling in the current, the devices were doing a good job at keeping him afloat while help was on the way.”

The man was soon uplifted and brought back to shore.

First responders are praising the event, as the fisherman walked away safe and well.

“Time and time again we have seen these stories end in a tragedy, and these rescue responses turn into recovery missions,” acting Senior Sergeant Jamieson says.

“This is a story where things were done correctly; the man was prepared and wearing a lifejacket and there were people equipped with a phone so that they could call for help.”

Acting Senior Sergeant Jamieson acknowledges the various resources involved.

“There was good collaboration between Northern Emergency Communication and Dispatch, Police Maritime Unit, the Police Eagle helicopter and Surf Life Saving NZ which brought about a prompt rescue.”

Surf Life Saving New Zealand GM – Northern Region, Zac Franich says the outcome highlights the importance of wearing the appropriate safety equipment when rock fishing, particularly a life jacket.

“This is a really positive outcome, and the fact the fisherman was wearing a lifejacket made a critical difference,” he says.

“When people are swept into the water while rock fishing, conditions can change very quickly. A lifejacket helps keep you afloat, conserves energy and buys crucial time for rescuers to reach you. Were it not for the lifejacket, we could very easily have been reporting on a fatal drowning.”

ENDS.

Jarred Williamson/NZ Police

A video of the rescue has been posted to the North Shore, Rodney & West Auckland Police Facebook page.

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Further calls have been made for more to be done about dangerous dogs, in the wake of Tuesday’s fatal dog attack in Northland.

Mihiata Te Rore, 62, was killed by a pack of three dogs at a property in the small town of Kaihu on Tuesday. She was the third person to be killed by dogs in the region in four years, and fourth nationwide.

It has prompted calls for change from as high up as the prime minister, meanwhile RNZ has been contacted by multiple dog attack victims who have shared their frustration at what they say is a lack of action by authorities.

Local Government Minister Simon Watts said he had been exploring non-legislative options to help councils deal with the issue.

But multiple organisations have been calling for a change at a policy level, including the SPCA, which said the Dog Control Act was “hopelessly out of date”.

Whangārei man Jade Campbell was among the dog attack victims calling for more to be done.

“They stick their head through the hedge and bark at us, and they’ve frightened the missus off the bottom of the section with the boy, the boy’s only two years old,” he said.

“They’re aggressive, they’ve come over and killed our cat.”

He said the council hadn’t done anything in response.

Campbell believed owners should have the legal right to destroy a dog if it roamed onto their property.

“A bite and a couple of shakes will kill a young child easily, so the law basically says I have to wait until the dog kills my son before I can kill the dog.”

Under New Zealand law, it was only legal to kill a dog if it was actively attacking a person or animals.

Whangārei District Council’s manager of health and bylaws Reiner Mussle said they investigated every complaint they received, including Campbell’s case.

“Unfortunately, the cat was found in a decomposed state and there was insufficient evidence available to determine how it died or to establish that a dog was responsible,” he said.

“While historic dog footprints were identified on the complainant’s property, these indicated that dogs had been present in the area at some point in the past, but there was nothing directly linking those footprints to the death of the cat.”

Mussle said they were actively monitoring the issue of non-secured dogs in the wider area, and taking action where required.

But the issue is not just in Northland.

More than 200 children aged under 15 and nearly 3000 adults were attacked by dogs in Auckland between July 2024 and June 2025.

Papatoetoe resident Krish had been chased through the street by roaming dogs. His cat had also been killed.

He said more needed to be done.

“It’s been a pretty devastating loss for our family, so I’m trying to make it my mission over the next few weeks to actually get something done about it,” he said.

Krish had engaged lawyers about his case, and wanted to speak to his local MP about boosting enforcement for unruly dogs.

“If you have an off-leash dog, there needs to be more punishment for it, almost like an instant impound or severe fines, or just no off-leash dogs almost,” he said.

“And then possibly looking into banning dangerous dog breeds or unleashed dogs.”

Police said the dogs involved in the Kaihu attack were with Animal Control and would be destroyed.

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The larva of a stripey fish could be the key to preventing a chronic and painful swelling condition that’s a common side effect of some breast cancer treatment.

Lymphoedema usually affected the arms or legs and could be caused by cancer treatments that remove or damage the lymph nodes. There was currently no cure.

The condition could be congenital or caused by an injury, but it mostly occurred as an unintended consequence following breast-cancer treatment.

Auckland University scientists discovered a molecule in zebrafish larva that offered hope of eventually treating or preventing the condition.

Lead researcher Dr Jonathan Astin, told Checkpoint, the larva of zebrafish were often used to answer scientific questions as the larva was almost completely transparent, making it easy to fluorescently label any organ system.

Astin said the way a human embryo developed was initially almost identical to a fish embryo – so the hope was what was discovered using zebrafish could be directly translated into understanding human development and disease.

In Astin’s lab, the lympahtics of the fish were tagged to help understand how lymphatics form and how lymphatic diseases could be treated.

The scientists discovered a growth-promoting molecule, known as ‘insulin-like growth factor’, or IGF, accelerated the growth of lymphatic vessels in zebrafish, so it had the potential to repair damaged vessels.

“What we’ve done subsequently is grown human lymphatics in a dish and put this human IGF on and that has been able to stimulate human lymphatic growth,” Astin said.

“Finding the molecule in fish allowed us to identify it might be therapeutic and find the human version.”

Astin said lymphoedema was often seen in breast cancer patients, with some estimates that around 20 percent of patients who had lymph nodes removed as part of breast cancer treatment having lymphoedema develop in one of their arms.

The condition was very difficult to cure once a person had it, Aston said, because the fluid build up caused tissue damage which could be hard to reverse, but the hope was it could be prevented.

“The plan would really be prevent it form occurring in the first place, so we hope by identifying this new IGF, it may be part of a treatment cocktail where we might be able to provide these lymphatic stimulating growth factors to patients who have lymph nodes removed in order to prevent the onset or the incidents of lymphoedema.”

Any possible treatment would still be many years off, Astin said, as work was still being done to understand whether it could stimulate repair and the it would need to be tested for safety.

“But this is the first new lymphatic growth factor we’ve identified in many years.”

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

Thames Coromandel District Council says a sinkhole has formed near the Onemana Wastewater Treatment Plant.

In a post online the council says it suspects treated wastewater may have entered a local wetland, potentially entering a stream that flows to the beach.

It says the sinkhole is on private property near the wastewater treatment plant’s subsurface irrigation field.

Onemana is a coastal community on the Coromandel Peninsula, north of Whangamata.

“As a proactive step, we are erecting signage by the Onemana Drive Carpark advising people not to swim, fish or collect shellfish in the area around where the stream discharges until further notice,” it said.

The council said it was turning off the irrigation disposal that is closest to the sinkhole, carrying out water sampling and would monitor the site to ensure no further deterioration or land movement.

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It’s not “panic, panic” yet, but Ngawi crayfishers are keeping their fingers crossed that a failed bridge reopens soon on Wairarapa’s south coast.

While the bridge at the Turanganui River on Lake Ferry Road reopened on Wednesday, the bridge over Hurupi Stream on Cape Palliser Road remains shut.

The bridge, known as the ‘Banana Bridge’, has been deemed structurally unsafe after severe flooding earlier this week.

The road is the only route in and out for the more than 100 people trapped on the south coast, prompting food and medicine to be delivered by helicopter on Wednesday evening.

An update on the status of the bridge is expected on Thursday, following an urgent notice from the South Wairarapa District Council and subsequent assessment by a civil engineer.

“The bridge, often referred to as the Banana bridge, could pose a serious safety risk,” a council spokesperson said.

“The bridge must not be used under any circumstances until it has been inspected and formally cleared by a qualified engineer.”

Ngawi fisherman Andrew Sim told RNZ in his 40 years on the coast, the Banana Bridge had never gone down, and crayfishers and their stock were currently stuck.

“I think there’s nine of us here, six of us are finished [the season’s fishing], three still going to mop up the little bit they’ve got left,” Sim said.

“They’re probably a little bit left in the lurch to get their product out.”

He said the live lobsters were usually transported by truck out of the fishing settlement.

“I’ve got a big boat if worst comes to worst, I can transport it to Wellington.

“It’s not panic, panic at this stage, but it’d be nice to know where it’s heading.”

Crayfisher Lance Maindonald was also eagerly awaiting an update on the bridge.

Maindonald, who has been unable to get into Ngawi due to the bridge closures, said he was hoping to board a boat from Wellington to take him there.

Sim said his stepson was among those who needed to collect the last of his catch but was also trapped on the wrong side of the bridge.

“We’ll know a bit more later on.”

RNZ has contacted the council for an update.

Sim said he was almost out of medication when the helicopter arrived on Wednesday with supplies.

“The chopper’s come in… and my goodness, what a haul of food that got delivered out to here.

“That went beyond all expectations, that was fantastic. Everything from fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, toilet paper, dog rolls, cat food. Basically, everything you needed to keep you alive for several days, that’s for sure.

“It was unbelievable.”

Sim didn’t expect there would be traffic “will-nilly” on the road any time soon, but hoped it would at least reopen to residents and those who needed to get in and out.

However, he said there were “certainly a lot worse places” to be stuck.

“We’re pretty blessed out here.”

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New Zealand’s unemployment rate is the highest in a decade, but a leading economist is cautiously optimistic about the country’s economic outlook

There was a feeling of “cautious optimism” at a business breakfast in Auckland this week, after warning signs began flashing in the jobs market.

The latest figures, from Stats NZ, have revealed unemployment has risen to its highest level in more than a decade – 5.4 percent – with more people chasing work than jobs being created.

A total of 165,000 people are now unemployed – that’s a rise of 4000 on the previous quarter and 10,000 on a year ago.

When looking to the country’s future economic and employment outlook, Westpac chief economist Kelly Eckhold, the guest speaker at the breakfast, tells The Detail that he’s “cautiously optimistic” – a phrase he had on repeat.

“You know, in the last couple of years it’s been tough, hasn’t it?” he says. “We had a couple of years where things looked quite good as we went through the summer period in the early part of the year, only to find the economy sag in the middle of the year.

“And even though we have good reasons to be optimistic about this year, you have to be conscious that that could happen again, particularly given it’s an election year.”

He says the recent spike to 5.4 percent in unemployment is a complicated number. Yes, it’s higher than expected, but he says there’s also been a bump in the number of people wanting jobs.

“They survey New Zealanders to try to ascertain how many of us are actually looking for work, because not all of us are for various reasons. And the surprise last time was that jobs grew, but actually the number of New Zealanders thinking they wanted to be in the workforce grew as well.”

He believes this could be “early evidence of economic strength”.

“Often this relationship works in reverse – when the economy is weak, then people drop out of the labour force, they go ‘well, there’s not very many opportunities anyway, or the pay’s not going to be any good’, so they think about other alternatives, study or training for example.

“And when the economy picks up, people think ‘there are options out there now, I can actually go out there and get an interesting opportunity, I can get more income,’ and you tend to see people attracted into the workforce during these periods.”

He says hiring remains strong in government-related sectors, such as health and police, but construction is hurting.

“But we are starting to see some better signs … as lower interest rates filter through, although it is early days.”

Peak point

He believes the unemployment rate has peaked – “it should fall next quarter, modestly” – which is a sentiment echoed by Shay Peters, CEO of the Australia and New Zealand umbrella of Robert Walters, a recruitment firm. He hosted the business breakfast.

“I think what we will be seeing and what everyone will be forecasting over the next 12 months is for that unemployment rate to drop,” Peters tells The Detail.

He points to the 76 percent of businesses surveyed for the company’s latest Salary Guide who say they are planning to hire this year, up from 66 percent last year.

“Our labour market is showing a renewed sense of optimism, but caution remains.”

He says, “unfortunately”, New Zealand continues to be a victim of the brain drain to Australia.

“That is probably my biggest concern, around the level of individual that’s gone to Australia … they are the productive ones. They are there, they are productive, they are doing the job.

“They are the ones who we see leave New Zealand with their families and buy houses in Australia.

“Will these people come back? It’s highly unlikely. Will we be able to import talent from other offshore resources? I don’t know, it’s a tough one.”

When asked about the role of AI in New Zealand’s job market, he says, “I think there is a nervousness about AI taking people’s jobs, but we aren’t seeing it play out en masse yet”.

But, he says, AI is working overtime for those chasing a job.

“A great example is one of our clients, who said to us [that] when AI was just starting to be implemented by job seekers … they received 12 cover letters that were exactly the same from 12 different people. Clearly, they put it into the same bot, they put in the same job description in and it spat out the same cover letter.

He says “authenticity” is what sets candidates apart. And in a tough market, anything and everything helps.

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Residents on Auckland’s west coast fear their beloved beaches will become the next hotspot for rock pool harvesting.

The government has imposed a two-year ban on taking shellfish and seaweed from rockpools along the Whangaparāoa Peninsula, and further north at Kawau Bay and Ōmaha Bay on Auckland’s east coast, from 12 March 2026.

The Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust applied for the ban under section 186A of the Fisheries Act, which all iwi could do for their rohe.

The iwi’s chief executive, Nicola MacDonald, earlier told RNZ that as the population had grown, the amount of harvesting being done had become unsustainable, and the coastline desperately needed a break.

Luella Bartlett from the community group Protect Piha Rockpools said that rockpools in Piha, as well as Muriwai, Te Henga, and Whatipu, would be stripped bare if more people started combing those beaches due to the East Coast ban.

“I’m so happy for them [Ngāti Manuhiri and the Whangaparāoa community] because they’ve worked hard for it, they desperately needed it, but unfortunately, it hasn’t gone far enough, and the biggest issue is seeing movement into other areas.”

Bartlett, who had lived in Piha for 20 years, said locals had been concerned about the amount of marine life being taken there for decades.

“This has been a long-term problem. The difference now is back then it was green-limped mussels, now it’s anemones, starfish, crabs, seaweed, absolutely everything being yanked off the rocks,” Bartlett said.

“It’s 100 percent legal right now. You can take up to 50 things per person.”

Currently, recreational harvesters can collect up to 50 cockles, 150 sea urchins, 25 green-lipped mussels, 50 pipi, and 50 of any other shellfish a day.

Bartlett wanted the government to make all intertidal zones, the area between high and low tide, a “no-take zone”.

She recently met with two NZ First MPs, Under Secretary for Oceans and Fisheries Jenny Marcroft and David Wilson, and Fisheries Officials at Maukatia Bay to discuss her concerns.

“They are actively wanting to make sure that displacement from one beach to another does not happen.”

Bartlet said people harvesting at West Coast beaches was also a safety risk for those unfamiliar with the notoriously dangerous surf.

“On the West Coast, it’s a lot rougher. We’re going to see a lot more rescues and potentially, a lot more deaths as well as major damage to our ecosystem, which we’re already seeing damage to.”

While speaking about rockpool harvesting during question time this week, Fisheries Minister Shane Jones’ comments about Asian Communities resulted in boos from other MPs in the House.

Bartlett did not think the minister’s approach was helpful.

“We’re [Protect Piha Rockpools] focused on the legislation, not race or culture, because this is happening across cultures and it has been happening for a long time, 40-odd years. It’s not helpful when we’re trying to get legislation changed when it keeps being diverted back to race.”

University of Auckland marine scientist Professor Andrew Jeffs said it was great that the government had recognised there was a problem with the amount of harvesting around Whangaparāoa.

But he agreed the activity would be displaced to other vulnerable areas.

“I was out on the West Coast in Auckland last weekend, and on a reef which I previously haven’t seen many people collecting shellfish off, I counted about 30 people there with buckets and tools taking stuff off the rocks.”

He said he had observed an increase in people beach-combing at one popular West Coast spot in recent years. He did not want to name the beach for fear it would encourage more gathering there.

“I suspect it’s because people have discovered that there’s good stuff to be had there, and word is getting around, and so people are taking it.

“I’ve seen that happen in other areas. There was an area of sea cucumbers, what we call a hotspot of sea cucumbers, in the harbour that we were studying and over the period of about two and a half years. Initially, one person started harvesting, and then we gradually saw more people coming, and there’s now no sea cucumbers in that place anymore, they’re all gone.”

In 1993, a rāhui was placed on Karekare beach by the local iwi Te Kawerau ā Maki, with support from the community as a method of protecting dwindling shellfish stock and the marine ecology of the area.

Te Kawerau ā Maki, has been contacted by RNZ for comment and is yet to confirm whether they plan to apply for a temporary ban.

Shane Jones and Jenny Marcroft have been contacted for comment.

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

The details of the government’s election year U-turn on housing plans in Auckland are expected to be announced shortly.

The Housing Minister has had to grapple with potentially legislating over a plan change that is already underway – a process which he says is “legally complicated”.

“Rarely if ever does it happen,” said Chris Bishop.

But, government ministers say it is “democracy”, and the Prime Minister says he is listening to feedback.

Others are concerned it is slowing the delivery of housing in Auckland.

The change comes after various iterations of plans to allow for more housing in Auckland.

In 2021, National and Labour agreed to allow three homes of up to three storeys tall on most properties in New Zealand.

Auckland Council then had to grapple with the effects of the Anniversary Weekend floods in 2023 and decisions around where – and where not to – build new homes in the future.

Bishop said the council could opt out of the medium-density rules that applied to most cities, as long as it delivered the same number of homes overall.

That was enough for at least the next 30 years of projected growth, a requirement under the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPSUD) from 2020.

Auckland Council proposed enabling up to two million new homes through a new plan, called Plan Change 120.

This, in part, proposed a change to district plan rules to enable intensification mainly around rapid transit stops and went out for consultation late last year.

In January this year the coalition confirmed it was taking another look at the housing intensification plans after pushback from critics.

“Ultimately, the feedback is saying things are going to need to change, and there will need to be some changes,” said Christopher Luxon in January.

Bishop echoed this the same week, “We needed to make some changes there to make it more sustainable politically.”

He said the 2 million number took on “a life of its own”.

It was not entirely clear what official feedback the government was talking about, given Auckland Council had not yet seen the public submissions at that time.

Chair of the Policy, Planning and Development Committee Richard Hills told RNZ in January staff were still going through the submissions as part of the $3m consultation process.

“The only frustration from council’s point of view, is that all of these requirements on us were passed through cabinet and there are people clearly in cabinet who have acted like they didn’t know about it.”

Bishop shared that frustration, speaking to RNZ this week.

“I’m as frustrated as everybody else,” pointing to the NPSUD which came into effect multiple years ago.

He said Auckland was the last remaining city to implement its rules and regulations around land for housing.

Infrastructure NZ’s Nick Leggett thought central government and Auckland Council had been on the same page.

“I’m never surprised when politics gets in the way of infrastructure.

“Unfortunately, political intervention causes lots of problems and costs more money for New Zealanders when it comes to infrastructure.”

He was waiting to see the details, but was concerned about any weakening of planning allowances that meant “Auckland couldn’t grow up as well as growing out”.

Chief executive of the Property Council of New Zealand, Leonie Freeman, said the development community needed certainty around what you could build and where.

“We had changes with the medium density, we had Plan change 78 now Plan change 120 – any calibration of figures or numbers or where houses are going to go need to be targeted and need to be evidence based.

“We need to take the personal opinions out of it.”

She said when there were continuous changes, it was hard to plan, and if you did start planning then the rules changed, “you’ve wasted a whole lot of time, money and energy”.

“It’s probably unintentionally slowing the delivery of houses in some places in Auckland, or it’s limiting intensification in areas where it does make sense.”

RNZ asked multiple cabinet ministers about making a change despite the formal consultation process still being underway. Bishop, Paul Goldsmith and David Seymour indicated they were listening to constituents and it was “democracy”.

Seymour, who is also the MP for Epsom, told the NZ Herald in January the issue of intensification in Auckland had been “highly politicised” and “symobolic” rather than a practical one about how to make it easier to build more houses faster and cheaper.

He said residents in his Epsom electorate were not “anti-intensification”, but if they were told towering buildings would be constructed “looking into everyone’s backyards and their swing sets and their pools”, they would ask, “Why would you do that?”

Speaking to RNZ he said the number of houses stipulated by Parliament was simply too high. He said Auckland Council had not been transparent about where exactly those houses would go.

“If the council had been transparent about what two million actually looked like, we probably would have got a different result in Parliament – we ain’t gonna make that mistake again.”

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Businesses on Wellington’s South Coast are doing it tough since the failure of the Moa Point wastewater plant forced the closure of some of the capital’s most popular beaches.

An association of local businesses, Destination KRL, said hospitality and other water-dependent employers had lost – on average – more than half their customers in the last two weeks.

They have called for support from Wellington City Council.

Worst timing possible

On a warm, still summer evening at Wellington’s Lyall Bay, the usually bustling beach is deserted.

Co-owner of nearby Botanist cafe Maria Boyle said the sunny weather – especially following a storm in the capital – would usually see her cafe packed with customers.

“With this weather everybody gets out, they’re excited, the weather’s nice. We would be completely full right now and we’ve got, maybe, a quarter of the amount of tables we’d normally have.”

She said daytime customers had nearly halved since the plant failed.

Boyle said – for her business – the closure of the beaches could not have come at a worse time.

“We essentially rely on this busy summer trade to get us through winter. Last winter was the worst winter we’ve ever had. For this to happen – after the last two years of terrible hospitality – it’s a disaster.”

Further down the beach, local fish and chip shop Seaview Takeaways had been feeding beachgoers for nearly 34 years. Owner Vicky Shen said in the last two weeks they had lost nearly 70 percent of their business.

She had planned to cut staff hours to stay afloat.

“I have to deal with it. So I will cut down some hours of my labour. I will do it myself. So I will work longer myself – so that’s very difficult – but otherwise I can’t afford it.”

Surfboard maker Jack Candlish of Verdure Surf builds his boards within sight of the city’s most popular surf break – right next to Wellington Airport and Moa Point.

He usually sold just over a third of his boards to locals, but said he had not received a single local inquiry since news of the contamination of the surf spot broke.

“If it drags on much longer we’ll probably look at relocating. It’s something that we’ve already thought about doing but this has been a bit of a kick to, kind of, fast-track that process.

“We might as well be in Palmerston North as far as I’m concerned, when the beach isn’t even accessible.”

Another massive mountain to climb

Steve Walters of Destination KRL said he had heard from about 30 businesses in the area reporting dramatic losses over the last fortnight.

He said people in the beachside suburb paid some of the highest rates in the country, and if a solution could not be put in place quickly the council should step in to help.

“We’ve got government workers being reduced in this town and people being pretty tight with their money. Now on top of that a combination of entities have failed in providing a service which these businesses have paid for, so they’re feeling ‘we’ve just suddenly got another massive mountain to climb’ and they need support to get over that.”

A spokesperson for Wellington City Council said they had been in touch with business leaders in the area and were looking at how best to support affected businesses. But the council could not provide details of any plans at this stage.

“We appreciate the Moa Point plant failure will be having an impact on the South Coast, in particular some of the businesses in Lyall Bay,” a spokesperson said.

“We want to encourage Wellingtonians to get down to Lyall Bay, especially on a good day, and pay the cafes and other businesses a visit and spend some money.”

Wellington Water said it could be months before the plant was back in operation.

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