How to pick the best summer fruit

Source: Radio New Zealand To pick the best, juiciest summer fruit you need to learn to rely on your senses and knowledge of the varieties and seasons, experts say. We visited Auckland’s wholesale fruit markets to get the intel on how to make sure you get the pick of the bunch. .1em]:grid-cols-[calc(14rem*var(–base-multiplier))_1fr] @[28.1em]:p-16 @[28.1em]:gap-16 @[18.75em]:grid-cols-[2fr_3fr] … Read more

GST used to be 10%, is it going to rise again?

Source: Radio New Zealand RNZ Happy birthday, GST. You probably pay it every day – 70c or so on a bottle of milk, $150 on an airfare. But did you know the tax, which is applied to almost everything you buy, has turned 40? This December marks 40 years since the law changed to allow … Read more

Why does New Zealand take such a long summer holiday break?

Source: Radio New Zealand The summer break is a Kiwi institution. But has it always been that way? 123rf Explainer – It’s been a long year, but the end is in sight. Most Kiwis are counting down the days until their summer holiday – whether they’re heading off camping, heading to the bach or just … Read more

Overwhelming support for employers to publish pay gaps, survey shows

Source: Radio New Zealand Many businesses were falling behind, with 40 percent never having analysed their gender pay gaps. 123rf A new survey shows overwhelming support from New Zealanders for mandatory pay gap reporting. The survey from STILLMindingTheGap.nz, an organisation campaigning for gender pay equality, spoke to more than 1,000 people, and found 74 percent … Read more

Racial Discrimination 2023/24: New Zealand Health Survey

Source: New Zealand Ministry of Health Publication date: 9 December 2025 This page summarises information on adults’ self-reported experiences of racial discrimination in New Zealand. This includes ethnically motivated personal attack (verbal or physical), and unfair treatment in health care, employment or housing. Data was collected in the racial discrimination module included in the 2011/12, … Read more

Search ongoing for missing swimmer, Lake Wainamu

Source: New Zealand Police Searching efforts will continue today for a missing swimmer at Lake Wainamu, Bethells Beach. Police were contacted at 6.10pm on Monday night, after the swimmer got into difficulty and did not resurface. “The 23-year-old man had been in waist deep water with three friends at the time,” Waitematā West Area Response … Read more

The Golden Globe nominations are here: What you need to know

Source: Radio New Zealand This morning, the Golden Globes nominations were unveiled. Were there big surprises? The snub of Wicked: For Good in the best picture category, for one. There was also a very gratifying nomination of Amy Madigan for her turn as the villain in Weapons. Overall, most of the nominations closely tracked awards … Read more

F1: Advisor Helmut Marko to leave Red Bull

Source: Radio New Zealand Dr. Helmut Marko, Director of Red Bull F1 and head of Red Bull’s driver development programme. PETERSON Mark / PHOTOSPORT Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko is to leave the Formula 1 team. The 82 year old has been with the outfit since they joined Formula 1 in 2005. The Telegraph is … Read more

Homicide investigation underway in east Auckland

Source: New Zealand Police A homicide investigation is underway following two assaults aboard a bus in east Auckland on Monday evening. One man has died with a second man receiving serious injuries after they were attacked in two separate incidents aboard the number 76 bus travelling from Glen Innes towards Ōrakei. A team of investigators … Read more

New report backs NZ’s sustainable fisheries

Source: New Zealand Government A new scientific report shows New Zealand’s fish stocks are in good shape overall, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. “Fisheries New Zealand’s Status of the Stocks report shows 87.2 percent of the country’s 149 scientifically evaluated stocks are sustainable. There are plans in place to get the 19 fish … Read more

Two people missing after fire at Foxton Beach home

Source: Radio New Zealand The blaze has been extinguished. Jimmy Ellingham / RNZ Two people are missing after a fire completely engulfed a home in Foxton Beach. Five fire crews, police and St John were called to the blaze on Queen Street just after 5am on Tuesday. The blaze had been extinguished, but two people … Read more

The safest way to get up close with sharks

Source: Radio New Zealand The Helicoprion, nicknamed the Buzzshaw shark, has been extinct for 270 million years Davina Zimmer From a shark the size of a cigar to the long-extinct 400-kilo ‘buzzsaw’ to those that glow in the dark, sharks are an incredibly diverse species – and according to the exhibition’s curator, ‘the most misunderstood … Read more

Person found dead after Auckland house fire

Source: Radio New Zealand Emergency services were called to the house on Kohekohe Street on Monday afternoon. RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King A person has been found dead following a house fire in New Lynn. Emergency services were called to the house on Kohekohe Street at 1.23pm on Monday. About 20 firefighters fought the blaze, and … Read more

Foxton Beach house fire

Source: New Zealand Police Please attribute the following to Manawatu Area Commander Ross Grantham: Emergency services are attending a house fire on Queen Street in Foxton Beach this morning. Just after 5am, reports were made that a house was completely on fire. Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand are at the scene and will … Read more

Affordable homes for families in Porirua

Source: New Zealand Government The first stage of the Our Whare Our Fale housing programme in Eastern Porirua has been completed, supporting local jobs and delivering new affordable homes for families, say Pacific Peoples Minister Dr Shane Reti and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. Eighteen warm, energy-efficient homes and a communal fale (gathering place) have … Read more

Fatal house fire, New Lynn

Source: New Zealand Police Police enquiries underway after a person was located deceased following a house fire in New Lynn. Emergency services were called to a house on Kohekohe Street in New Lynn at 1.23pm on 8 December. Detective Senior Sergeant Megan Goldie, Waitematā CIB, says a scene guard was put in place at the … Read more

Live: Firefighters battle to contain large blaze at Tongariro National Park

Source: Radio New Zealand Firefighters are battling to contain a large fire at the Tongariro National Park. Fire and Emergency (FENZ) fears a wind change forecast for Tuesday at Tongariro National Park could cause flare-ups. The fire started on Monday, one month after a blaze covering almost 3000 hectares ripped through the park. Firefighters are … Read more

Crews battling Foxton Beach house fire

Source: Radio New Zealand The blaze has been extinguished. RNZ / Rob Dixon Fire crews have been battling a house fire in Foxton Beach . Five fire trucks and a support vehicle were called to the scene just after 5am on Tuesday. St John told RNZ an operations manager and a rapid response unit were … Read more

All Blacks to start 2026 in Christchurch as test venues confirmed

Source: Radio New Zealand The All Blacks perform the haka against France. ActionPress The All Blacks will kick off the 2026 test season against France at Christchurch’s new Te Kaha Stadium. The All Blacks will play 17 matches and 13 tests next year with the first test at the 30,000-seat roofed ground, at 7.10pm on … Read more

Man dumps home insurance over Tower’s sea surge assessment

Source: Radio New Zealand Tower Insurance says the high sea surge risk rating reflected the likelihood of flooding through nearby water systems. File photo. RNZ / Nate McKinnon A Christchurch man has ditched his home insurance after his premiums went up by more than 30 percent a year – or by $1000 – based on … Read more

New Black Cap thought the chance of playing Test cricket may have gone

Source: Radio New Zealand Canterbury’s Michael Rae appeals Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz Canterbury bowler Michael Rae admits he thought the opportunity to play for the Black Caps may have passed him by. Rae found out at the weekend that the Black Caps selectors needed him to join the test squad which had been depleted by … Read more

ACC’s financial squeeze: The human toll

Source: Radio New Zealand Unsplash / RNZ composite Each day, Jacob Hamlin measures his life in four-hour windows – the amount of time he can manage before his brain “stops working”. It has been this way since the 40-year-old father slipped on an icy path five years ago, hitting his head on the corner of … Read more

Tourists stunned at speed of Tongariro fire

Source: Radio New Zealand The Tongariro blaze on Monday, 8 December 2025. Supplied / Volker and Jan Seipel Two German tourists who were camping at Whakapapa were stunned how quickly a blaze at Tongariro National Park grew between the time they left their campsite and tried to return. Volker and Jan Seipel are from Heilbronn … Read more

The long and many trials of the cycle trail builders

Source: Radio New Zealand Vaughn Filmer, president of Teanau Cycling Incorporated, PE teacher at Fiordland College. Supplied Bike trail builders in central Otago are talking about an end to the “dark days” when they ran into a mess of conservation rules, stopping many tracks being built for years. But just south of them, it’s a … Read more

DOC asks people to stay away from seals after pup forms ‘unhealthy bond’ with humans

Source: Radio New Zealand A kekeno / New Zealand fur seal pup. Supplied / Department of Conservation It may not be the ‘silly season‘, but that has not put a stop to naughty New Zealand fur seals causing mischief. The Department of Conservation (DoC) is reminding the public that kekeno are not pets, as more … Read more

Northland hit harder than most by climate change, report finds

Source: Radio New Zealand Kimberlee and Gary Whitehead at their home in Pupuke Valley, north of Kāeo. RNZ/Peter de Graaf Gary and Kimberlee Whitehead have lost count of the number of times their Far North property has flooded. Water has come up through the floorboards, pets have been swept away, cars written off, and foundations … Read more

Light-fingered army corporal Jackie Te Weehi to be sentenced after guilty plea at court martial

Source: Radio New Zealand who stole off her fellow soldiers and the Defence Force (NZDF) during a touch rugby tournament is waiting to find out her fate. Corporal Jackie Te Weehi at her Court Martial at Whenuapai Air Base on Monday, 8 December 2025. RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson A light-fingered army corporal who stole … Read more