In pictures: The damage caused by flooding across the lower North Island

Source: Radio New Zealand Flooding in Stokes Valley on Saturday. Mark Papalii/RNZ Torrential rain over the weekend caused flooding and damage to parts of the lower North Island including Wellington, Ōhura and Porirua. A Orange Heavy Rain Warning remained in place for The Tararua Range, Wairarapa and Tararua District south of Woodville, along with Wellington … Read more

Aviation Appointments – CAA appoints new Chief Digital Officer

Source: Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) After a thorough recruitment process, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Aaron Toatelegese as Chief Digital Officer to its Executive Leadership Team. Aaron will lead the Digital Transformation & Technology group. Aaron is an experienced senior technology and operations leader with over 30 years’ … Read more

Health and Legislation – Mental Health Bill debate stalled

Source: Te Hiringa Mahara – Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission It is one year since the Mental Health Bill was returned to Parliament for its second reading, and Te Hiringa Mahara is calling on the Government to ensure this is passed into law this year. On 17 April 2025, the Health Select Committee handed the Bill … Read more

Storm News – Fire and Emergency responds to flooding across Wellington

Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand Fire and Emergency New Zealand has been alerted to more than 150 weather-related events in Wellington this morning. The callouts relate to flooding, flooding into properties and landslides across Vogeltown, Mornington, Newtown, Berhampore, Kingston, Island Bay and surrounding areas. Fire and Emergency’s Regional Coordination Centre has also been stood up … Read more

Agenda for May 2026 Pharmacology and Therapeutics advisory committee (PTAC) meeting

Source: PHARMAC Information on what the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee (PTAC) will be considering at its upcoming meeting in 14 and 15 May 2026. Applications Duloxetine hydrochloride for various conditions The Committee will discuss an application for duloxetine hydrochloride  to be funded with no restrictions, to use for a range of conditions including in … Read more

‘Water everywhere’: Dozens of cars seen floating in floodwaters in Mount Cook

Source: Radio New Zealand Resident Jane Loughnan said she woke to “water everywhere”. Supplied A woman on Wright Street in the Wellington suburb of Mount Cook saw half a dozen cars floating when she looked outside her window. Jane Loughnan said she woke up around 4.30am, and saw “water everywhere”. “There was water down the … Read more

Woman and children killed in Hastings incident

Source: Radio New Zealand Police outside the Avenue Road East property in Hastings, on Sunday. RNZ / Anusha Bradley Two children and a woman have died following an incident at a property in Hastings, RNZ understands. A man is in hospital in relation to the incident. A homicide investigation was launched after emergency services were … Read more

Could Northland be NZ’s coffee-growing capital?

Source: Radio New Zealand 123RF Commercial coffee growing in Aotearoa is still an emerging industry, but work is underway to expand in Northland. In 2020, RNZ spoke to New Zealand’s only commercial coffee plantation, Ikraus Coffee. Fast forward to late last year, the New Zealand Coffee Producers Association has held its first inaugural conference and … Read more

Action on Bromley sewage stench should have been taken sooner, Christchurch residents say

Source: Radio New Zealand Diggers working at the burnt-out Bromley wastewater treatment plant. Christchurch City Council Christchurch’s mayor is rejecting locals’ claims his council only acted on the stench from the fire-damaged Bromley wastewater treatment plant after it affected the whole city. The pong had plagued eastern suburbs since a fire at the plant in … Read more

Work underw ay to store additional diesel at Marsden Point

Source: Radio New Zealand Marsden Point. RNZ / Peter de Graaf The government has made a deal to store additional diesel at Marsden Point. Channel Infrastructure was contracted to increase diesel storage capacity by 93 million litres, which was the equivalent of about nine additional days of diesel demand. Chief executive Rob Buchanan said work … Read more

Update: Hastings homicide investigation

Source: New Zealand Police To be attributed to Detective Inspector Martin James: A homicide investigation is ongoing following the deaths of three people in Hastings yesterday. Emergency services were called to a residential property on Avenue Road East at around 6am yesterday. One person was located deceased and two people subsequently passed away after being … Read more

Police, Fire aviation coordination trial sped up rescue resources – but still years away from roll-out

Source: Radio New Zealand The Life Flight Westpac Rescue Helicopter searching in the Paekākāriki Hill area on 28 January 2026. Samuel Rillstone A new system to fix gaps and get search-and-rescue helicopters and planes to emergencies faster was tested late last year and sped up rescues. This is revealed in newly released papers, which also … Read more

New Wakefield Street bridge for Whanganui

Source: New Zealand Government The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has approved funding for a new railway overbridge in Whanganui East, with the project expected to cost $2.7 million, Transport Minister Chris Bishop says. “A replacement Wakefield Street bridge in Whanganui will be built to modern standards, restoring a key local connection and allowing heavier vehicles … Read more

New Zealander Everlee Wihongi detained by ICE in California after three-week trip home

Source: Radio New Zealand Everlee Wihongi was detained by ICE officers without any explanation (file image) DANIELLE VILLASANA Kiwi Everlee Wihongi has lived in the United States for more than 25 years and is now in an ICE detention centre in California, after a three week visit back to New Zealand. She lives in Wisconsin, … Read more

Kiwi 15-year-old to take on world’s best surfers

Source: Radio New Zealand Alani Morse during the 2026 New Zealand National Surfing Championships in Gisborne. © Surfing New Zealand / PhotoCPL 2026 / PHOTOSPORT Taranaki’s Tom Butland and local Raglan surfer Alani Morse have secured wildcards for the Raglan leg of the WSL World Tour next month. The two surfers won their respective divisions … Read more

Bula FC stun Auckland FC to make OFC Pro League top four

Source: Radio New Zealand Bula FC’s Roy Krishna scores and celebrates his goal. OFC Pro League 2026, Bula FC v Auckland FC, 4R Electrical Govind Park, Ba, Saturday 18 April 2026. Shane Wenzlick / www.phototek.nz Shane Wenzlick / Phototek.nz Fiji’s Bula FC upset OFC Pro League leaders Auckland FC 2-1 in Ba and made it … Read more

Energy challenges hold back Kiwi firms’ expansion plans

Source: Radio New Zealand The survey showed businesses wanted to invest more and at a faster rate, but energy worries were holding them back. RNZ / Nate McKinnon More than one in three firms have delayed expansion plans or lost contracts due to energy costs and supply issues in the past year. The findings are … Read more

‘Our tīpuna have a funny way of making us remember’: missing taonga found in Germany

Source: Radio New Zealand Tāwhaki is an ancestor, a demigod, and a tōhunga, famed for his search for divine knowledge. There’s a poutokomanawa of him that’s about five feet tall, carved from dark wood, with an oval head and close crop of hair. His limbs are angled and rigid, while his torso sweeps in a … Read more

Fiji fifth and seventh in first Sevens World Championship round

Source: Radio New Zealand Fiji’s Douglas Daveta (R) scores a try against Australia’s Aden Ekanayake (L) during their 5th place play-off match. PETER PARKS It wasn’t the results Fiji would have wanted in the first of three rounds of the Sevens World Championship held in Hong Kong. The Fiji men’s team finished fifth, and the … Read more

Solution sought for ‘ghost’ trees of Castlecliff

Source: Radio New Zealand Lynne Douglas is unhappy that while a handful of plants have survived they’ve by and large been neglected. Robin Martin/RNZ Whanganui residents are on a mission to find a solution for the caged ‘ghost’ trees of Castlecliff. In the early 2000s council planted dozens of griselinia in galvanised steel cages as … Read more

New AI screening tool for telehealth to help deal with rise in calls

Source: Radio New Zealand A telehealth service says AI will help reassure people while they wait to speak to a counsellor. 123rf.com A telehealth service is bringing in an artificial intelligence screening tool for some of its chat responses, to help deal with an increasing volume and severity of mental health calls. The new tool, … Read more

No queens – we may have won the yellow-legged hornet battle

Source: Radio New Zealand MPI officers removing a yellow-legged hornets nest from a property in Glenfield. Supplied / Niki Sherriff A massive eradication effort to get rid of what could have been a disastrous insect invasion is showing encouraging signs Six months ago, fear flew through the bee industry with the discovery of a yellow-legged … Read more

Live: Politicians react as latest poll shows National unable to govern if election held today

Source: Radio New Zealand A new poll showing National sitting on just 30 percent, and the coalition unable to govern, has set the stage for a crucial week in Christopher Luxon’s primeministership. This result is National’s worst in the 1News-Verian poll since Luxon became leader in November 2021. Labour is up five points on 37 … Read more

Rising takeaway coffee prices pull food costs higher

Source: Radio New Zealand Takeaway coffee one of the biggest contributors to the annual increase. 123rf An increase in the price of takeaway coffee in March helped pull food prices up 3.4 percent higher than a year earlier. It follows a 4.5 percent rise in the 12 months to February. Stats NZ said higher prices … Read more

Time running out to protect Bitcoin from quantum computers, Google says

Source: Radio New Zealand A quantum computer on display at the World Manufacturing Convention in Heifei, China, in September 2025. AFP/ Fang Dongxu Google has issued a wake-up call to the Bitcoin community to take urgent action to upgrade blockchain security as advances in quantum technology increase the risk of fraudulent transactions and theft. Google … Read more

Under the pump: How tanker drivers are hustling to get fuel to where we need it

Source: Radio New Zealand Fuel tanker driver Cody Munro took RNZ’s Charlotte Cook along on his deliveries, to see how Aotearoa’s fuel gets distributed out to communities. RNZ / Charlotte Cook A Wellington fuel tanker could carry enough 91 petrol to run my Hybrid Rav 4 for nearly 30 years, but it might only cover … Read more

Night-time escapes from floodwaters: Mayor says better warnings needed

Source: Radio New Zealand Flooding at the old garage in Ōhura’s town centre on Sunday. A local resident said by the time this photo was taken, the water had gone down about half a metre or more. Supplied/ Ross Perry The mayor of one town hit by floods in the weekend says there could have … Read more