Planned overnight maintenance closures coming for State Highway 2, Remutaka Hill

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February 12, 2025

Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

The first planned night closures of State Highway 2 Remutaka Hill for 2025 are coming up.

The route is set to be closed to traffic for five nights, 9 pm to 4 am, from Sunday, 23 February to Friday morning 28 February, says NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).

Mark Owen, Regional Manager Maintenance & Operations Wellington / Top of the South for NZTA, says the route has been kept open since last December to cater for the extra traffic from KiwiRail’s closure of the Wairarapa Line for upgrades and maintenance.

“Now the rail line is open, it’s crucial we make sure the road remains in good shape for the wetter winter months ahead.

“Our road crews will be hard at work carrying out resurfacing, sign replacement, clearing drainage, maintaining barriers and line marking as well as the remedial work to the slip on the Featherston side of the hill, where the Slow Vehicle Lane is currently closed,” Mr Owen says.

He says it is essential drivers are aware of the closures and are ready for them. As well as the closures in February, more are planned overnight in March, April, May and June.

Pahiatua Track, Saddle Road alternative, longer routes, or book to be escorted

“We do not want people to be caught out by these overnight closures, as the only alternative detours are via the Pahiatua Track or Saddle Road to the north – a much longer trip.

“Escorted crossings for drivers of light vehicles are available during closure nights but must be booked in advance and can be made on the NZTA website,” Mr Owen says.

“During this closure we are only able to accommodate one escorted crossing per direction each night due to significant resurfacing works.”

Mr Owen says full closures mean maintenance works can be finished faster and they are safer for road crews.

“A critical factor is far fewer vehicles use the route at night. Around 7,000 vehicles on average travel over the hill daily, but of this 300 or fewer travel at night.

“Night closures have a far lower impact on drivers than if the work was done under stop/go during the day. They really are the best option for this work,” he says.

Important information for Remutaka Hill closures

Escorted crossings for light vehicles are available during closure nights but must be booked in advance. We always communicate well before planned closures and provide contact details so bookings can be made.
Bookings can be made online on the NZTA website – Remutaka Hill Closure Escort Booking Form(external link)
Bookings are essential – drivers who turn up without one risk being turned away. If you have a genuine emergency on the night, the hill manager will decide how best to help you.
The escorted crossings are for light vehicles only. To keep our contractors safe, heavy vehicles cannot be accommodated.
Full access is always available for emergency services.

More information about planned maintenance closures for Remutaka Hill can be found here:

State Highway 2, Remutaka Hill, planned night closures. February – June 2025:

Nights Closed	Start 9 pm	Finish 4 am
5	23 February	28 February
1	9 March	10 March
5	6 April	11 April
1	18 May	19 May
1	15 June	16 June

MIL OSI

Getting ACC back on track

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February 12, 2025

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Source: New Zealand Government

Two independent reviews are being undertaken to boost ACC’s performance and ensure it continues to deliver for New Zealanders, ACC Minister Andrew Bayly says.
“ACC provides crucial support to injured Kiwis. It is the only no-fault accident compensation scheme like it in the world, and Kiwis should feel immensely proud of it,” Mr Bayly says.
“But ACC faces challenges on multiple fronts and action is required to ensure its sustainability and longevity.
“Over the last 10 years, ACC’s performance has steadily decreased. Costs are up, with levies struggling to keep up. Meanwhile, rehabilitation rates are down, slowing down people’s return to independence following an accident.
“Clearly if this trend is left unabated, the viability of the scheme is at risk, saddling future generations with immense costs. A robust plan is required to improve ACC’s long-term financial sustainability without having to make large increases to levies.
“That’s why the Government has commissioned two independent reviews to assess ACC’s performance and effectiveness:

A review of ACC’s operational performance, with a focus on case management. This is being led by actuarial firm Finity, who have significant experience with both accident compensation and private insurance schemes.
A review of ACC’s investment strategy and how it manages the nearly $50 billion it invests. This is being led by investment consulting firm Willis Towers Watson, who have considerable global asset management experience.

“This will be the first external assurance review of ACC’s investment function. Reviewing ACC’s investment performance now ensures we are getting the best returns from the fund and that it can support ACC’s sustainability.
“I have met with both review teams and have been clear about my expectation that they deliver actionable recommendations to improve ACC’s performance.
“I will be holding ACC accountable to its fundamental purpose, which is to prevent injuries and get Kiwis back to independence as quickly as possible after an accident.”
Notes to editors:

The terms of reference for the two reviews are attached.
Progress reports on both reviews are expected by April 2025, with final reports expected to be delivered by June 2025.

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Release: More Kiwis are hungry, homeless and out of work

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February 12, 2025

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Source: New Zealand Labour Party

Half of Pacific children sometimes going without food is just one of many heartbreaking lowlights in the Salvation Army’s annual State of the Nation report.

“This devastating report shows just how far this country has gone backwards under this coalition of chaos,” Labour’s social development spokesperson Carmel Sepuloni said.

“While Government parties scrap with each other, our kids are going hungry, more people are living in cars and our best and brightest are leaving for Australia.

“Across most of the report’s indicators in the past year, outcomes have either worsened or not changed for children and youth.

“Homelessness is on the rise as the Government kicks families out of emergency housing without knowing where they all go, and next year the number of Kainga Ora homes in Auckland will go backwards.

“Unemployment is on the rise, with about 1 in 10 Māori and Pacific people unemployed while the Government chooses to give billions to landlords and tobacco companies, instead of helping struggling families.

“The Government is shamelessly boasting about growth, but the only growth we’re seeing is in the numbers of hungry, homeless and unemployed New Zealanders,” Carmel Sepuloni said.

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Fisheries consultation must put sustainability before profit

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February 12, 2025

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Source: Green Party

The Green Party is urgently calling on the Government to prioritise long-term prosperity of our oceans in its consultation on the Fisheries Act.

“Our oceans are in a state of decline, continuing to put short-term profit before long-term sustainability will see the health of our ocean life wash away,” says Green Party’s Oceans and Fisheries spokesperson Teanau Tuiono.

“Minister Jones has stated ‘sustainability will always be the bottom line for fisheries management,’ but we have seen decisions from the Government completely contradict and undermine this. Today’s proposed changes seem to reward industry for overfishing, posing a significant threat to the sustainability and longevity of our oceans.

“If the Minister truly cared about sustainability he would ban bottom trawling and champion sustainable, adaptive fishing practices, which will increasingly be required in the context of climate change.

“If we want our oceans to thrive for generations to come we must commit to protecting more of our waters. We campaigned on doing exactly this by establishing a Healthy Oceans Act that would create a legally binding framework to protect at least 30 per cent of Aotearoa’s ocean by 2030.

“The crisis facing our ocean is growing more urgent by the day – and it is communities who depend on the moana for their livelihoods, including Māori and Pasifika communities, who will be impacted most of all. This Government needs to prioritise the sustainability of our oceans, which in turn prioritises long-term wellbeing of tangata whenua and tagata moana.

“It is high time the Government turned the tide on the exploitative and extractive fishing practices that have seen our ocean environment’s health decline and our fisheries be depleted.

“Our oceans are the lifeblood of Aotearoa. It is incumbent upon us to protect them, not only for their beauty, but for their essential role in sustaining life on our planet,” says Teanau Tuiono.

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Serious crash, State Highway 6, Nelson

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February 12, 2025

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Source: New Zealand Police (District News)

State Highway 6 near Atawhai Drive, Nelson is currently closed following a crash.

The two-vehicle crash involving a car and a motorbike was reported just before 11:30am.

One person has been seriously injured.

Diversions are in place and motorists are advised to expect delays.

ENDS

Issued by Police Media Centre

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X0PA AI Launches Revolutionary Agentic AI Suite for Talent Acquisition

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February 12, 2025

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Source: Media Outreach

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 12 February 2025 – X0PA AI, a leading innovator in AI-powered talent acquisition, today announced the launch of its groundbreaking Agentic AI Suite, featuring advanced AI-driven agents designed to transform the hiring landscape. The initial release introduces two powerful AI agents, Alex and Kate, marking a significant milestone in recruitment automation and intelligence.

Meet the Agents:

Alex – An AI-powered screening expert agent, revolutionizing candidate evaluation with unprecedented precision. Alex automates and streamlines the screening process by analysing multiple data points to evaluate skills, experience, and cultural fit, ensuring only the best-matched candidates move forward in the hiring pipeline.

Kate – A recruitment analytics specialist agent, delivering real-time, data-driven insights for strategic hiring decisions. Kate transforms complex recruitment data into actionable intelligence, enabling HR teams to optimize their recruitment strategies and enhance hiring outcomes through predictive analytics and trend analysis.

“As hiring the best suited talent for the company becomes increasingly critical, AI-driven bias free and precision hiring is the key to staying ahead,” said Nina Alag Suri, Founder and CEO, X0PA AI. “Our Agentic AI Suite revolutionizes the recruitment journey, empowering businesses to find, engage, and secure top talent effortlessly while ensuring data-backed decision-making.”

X0PA AI’s position as an industry leader is firmly established through:

Multiple patents and trademarks in AI technology
Achievement of AI VERIFY certification, the gold standard for ethical, responsible, and explainable AI
Proven track record of successful implementations across enterprise, academia, and government organizations
Consistent innovation in AI-driven recruitment solutions

The Agentic AI Suite is built on responsible, explainable AI principles, ensuring fairness and transparency throughout the hiring process. This commitment to ethical AI practices is validated by X0PA AI’s AI VERIFY certification, demonstrating the company’s dedication to responsible innovation.

“We at X0PA are always in the lookout for any technology that can augment recruiters in talent acquisition process and the launch of our Agentic AI Suite delivers that balance perfectly.,” explained Sri Harsha Allamraju, CTO of X0PA AI. “Over the next coming weeks, we plan to put in front of our customers a system of AI experts that can work alongside recruiters from job requisition, screening, sourcing to hiring and onboarding. This marks the transition of our AI Recruiter platform to a system-of-experts platform ideology. Additionally, this framework allows us to move towards minimalistic user experience thereby contributing to reduced cognitive load for our end users. We are excited for this launch and can’t await to see the potential upside it provides to our customers across Enterprise and other segments. “

Future Expansion: This launch marks just the beginning of X0PA AI’s vision for intelligent recruitment. The company is developing additional specialized agents focused on:

Candidate engagement optimization
Talent pipeline management
Interview intelligence
Strategic workforce planning

Each new agent will be designed to enhance specific aspects of talent acquisition, making hiring faster, smarter, and more strategic than ever before.

Hashtag: #x0paai

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

Media Funding Reforms – Joint statement from NZ On Air and NZ Film Commission on media reform consultation

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February 12, 2025

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Source: NZ On Air and the NZ Film Commission (NZFC)

NZ On Air and the NZ Film Commission (NZFC) acknowledge the importance of ensuring public funding delivers the best possible outcomes for audiences and the wider sector.

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage has today released a Media Reform consultation document that includes a number of proposals, one of which is the streamlining of Crown content funders. (ref. https://govt.us7.list-manage.com/track/click?u=defea490d12b73c4ed8504b5b&id=e08a05fe0f&e=84ce785bf3 )

The agencies welcome the opportunity for widespread consultation on potential changes to the funding support provided across a range of media. In a challenging environment for the media sector, it is crucial that every dollar invested has the greatest possible impact. If change can enhance this, it is in the public interest to explore those options.

NZ On Air and NZFC look forward to working closely with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage to flesh out the opportunities and risks of the options proposed.

We acknowledge that during this consultation period there will be many questions and some uncertainty for both stakeholders and agency staff. We encourage all who have an interest in this mahi to engage with the consultation process so that your views, concerns or support for different options are heard.

While the consultation process and policy considerations continue, both agencies remain committed to delivering the best outcomes for audiences and the sector, and continuing to collaborate where it makes sense to do so.

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Pharmac funding decision will increase medicines access

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February 12, 2025

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Source: New Zealand Government

Associate Health Minister with responsibility for Pharmac David Seymour, and Health Minister Simeon Brown welcome Pharmac’s decision to fund medicines for a further five health conditions, including cancers, from 1 March 2025.

“Pharmac operates independently, but it must work within the budget constraints set by the government,” Mr Seymour says.

“Today represents another step forward for cancer patients as the $604 million uplift from the government continues to facilitate access to new treatments. 

“Pharmac continues to show what it is capable of when given the support it needs.

Pharmac has today announced their decision to fund medicines for a further five health conditions, including cancers, from 1 March 2025.

The funding will:

Widen access to atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and bevacizumab (Vegzelma) for liver cancer that can’t be removed by surgery
Widen access to bevacizumab (Vegzelma) for advanced ovarian cancer
Fund a new brand of bevacizumab (Vegzelma)
Fund lanreotide for neuroendocrine cancers, bowel blockages caused by cancer, and for a growth disorder called acromegaly.

“The early signs of Pharmac’s redirection remain positive, as expanding opportunities and access for patients and their families continue to be prioritised,” Mr Seymour says.

“I’m pleased to see Pharmac’s responsiveness to the voices of patients and their families by expanding access to more medicines for more groups. This decision reflects our commitment to a more adaptable and patient-centered approach.”

Mr Brown says delivering better and faster access to cancer care in New Zealand has been a focus of this Government, which is why it is one of our five key health targets, and is able to deliver because of the Government’s $604 million investment in new cancer medicines.

“As Minister of Health, I am focused on ensuring all New Zealanders have access to timely, quality healthcare. That means ensuring better access to more cancer medicines, better cancer management driven by our faster cancer treatment target, and earlier detection of cancers through screening programmes,” Mr Brown says.

“It is encouraging to see improvement in our efforts to provide faster cancer treatment, with more patients receiving their first treatment within 31 days in the first financial quarter than in the previous quarter and more cancer treatments available.”

“We want to build a world-class health system, and that requires world-class medicines,” Mr Seymour says.

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Minister to attend international security conference

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February 12, 2025

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Source: New Zealand Government

Defence Minister Judith Collins leaves today for Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference and hold a range of bilateral meetings.
“In these times of rising geopolitical tension, open dialogue and defence diplomacy are more important than ever,” Ms Collins says.
“I am looking forward to attending this annual conference, to meet face-to-face with my counterparts and to share New Zealand’s views on important security issues when I speak at it.”
During the three-day conference Ms Collins will take part in a panel discussion on Connected Theatres: Europe and Asia Security Spheres<, and hold a number of bilateral meetings with some key counterparts. “We are an island nation that relies on a safe and interconnected world in order to prosper. The ongoing war in Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East and rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific are all matters which impact New Zealand,” Ms Collins says. “We are committed to reinvigorating our security relationships, to playing our part, and working with like-minded partners to uphold the international rules-based system and democratic values that are fundamental to our security and prosperity.” Ms Collins returns to New Zealand on 18 February.

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Southern Lakes Sanctuary – Extensive predator trapping leads to 18 takahē released in the Rees Valley

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February 12, 2025

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Source: Southern Lakes Sanctuary

The 18 takahē released on to 18,000ha of leasehold land in the Rees Valley near Queenstown was made possible thanks to a major predator control effort three years in the making.

Yesterday’s release of the 18 endangered flightless birds marked a major milestone for Southern Lakes Sanctuary, which led the land preparation in partnership with the custodians of the Rees Valley Station, Temple Peak Station and Mt Earnslaw Station, and supported by the Department of Conservation (DOC), Fulton Hogan and Ngāi Tahu.

The land area – the largest leasehold site (not public conservation land) in NZ to accommodate wild takahē – has seen a huge number of pests removed since Southern Lakes Sanctuary (SLS) began working on this project in 2022. Prior to the environmental consortium’s arrival, there were just 139 traps in the valley. Since 2022, a total of 596 traps have removed 1947 predators, including feral cats, stoats and rats, and the traps have been checked 5722 times.

Southern Lakes Sanctuary project director Paul Kavanagh says preparing the site for takahē has been a core focus for his team, but it requires ongoing resources to ensure the land is protected.

“It’s deeply rewarding to see what these proactive measures can lead to, and we’re grateful to the Scott Family, who are excellent custodians of the land,” he says. “The upper Whakatipu catchment area has the potential to sustain a population of up to 500 birds, which could see more than double the national number in the Rees Valley alone within the next 10 years. However, to achieve this, we need to give these taonga the best fighting chance by continually decreasing predator numbers.”

Rees Valley Station owner Iris Scott says it is truly magnificent to have takahē wandering the hills now.

“We already have some great species here, but to re-introduce wildlife is an excellent goal,” she says. “In a way, it’s quite validating to know that we have maintained this environment in a state that it is still a habitat, which species from the past, can return to.”

The Rees Valley is a mix of alpine tussock grassland, which is the optimal landscape for the endemic species. Takahē forage on starchy leaf bases of tussock and tussock seeds. When snow is heavy during the winter months, the bird moves into forests and will feed on the underground rhizomes of the summer green fern.

It is estimated between 70 – 80 takahē will inhabit the Rees Valley by the end of 2025, with two future takahē releases scheduled for March and September.

DOC takahē recovery senior ranger Glen Greaves says the robust pest control in the Rees is reassuring.

“Southern Lakes Sanctuary’s work to reduce predator numbers is a significant factor behind why we chose the Rees,” he says. “Without SLS’ proactive work, we wouldn’t have takahē in the area.”

There are currently 528 takahē in New Zealand, with half of the population in the wild.

To sustain the low predator numbers, ongoing funding is required to ensure takahē are protected from the future threat of mammalian predators. SLS’ work in the Rees Valley has been supported by RealNZ, Impact100, Lotteries, Stout Trust, Patagonia, QLDC, CLT, AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand and Heli Glenorchy.

“The Rees Valley, which borders Mt Aspiring National Park and UNESCO World Heritage Area, is a strategically important site with the potential for total predator elimination. By removing pests in this area, we’re not only protecting takahē, but more than 15 threatened species including kea, pīwauwau/rock wren, pekapeka/bat and braided river birds,” Kavanagh adds.

About Southern Lakes Sanctuary
The Southern Lakes Sanctuary Trust that oversees this project is a consortium of six local groups that collectively represent 84 community groups, landowners, and businesses, who in turn have been working for many years to protect and restore the declining biodiversity of the Southern Lakes region. The consortium relies on the mahi of hundreds of committed and dedicated volunteers, throughout the district. Their tireless work, which has been quietly ploughing on for many years, is the foundation upon which the Southern Lakes Sanctuary is built. Donations to the Trust can be made at https://southernlakessanctuary.org.nz/get-involved/

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