Category: CTF

Source: Radio New Zealand

Northland’s four councils are presenting a shared vision, following the proposal for local government reform.

Submissions on the Bills to replace the Resource Management Act close on Parliament’s website on 13 February. A consultation on the plan to replace regional councils with ‘combined territories boards’ is open until 20 February, through the Department of Internal Affairs website.

Consultation on whether the government should force them to cap rates increases to within a range of 2-4 percent a year will also end soon.

Local Democracy Reporting said the proposed changes could affect councils’ ability to increase rates above a defined threshold, local authorities’ planning remit, and the structure and function of all the regional councils.

Kaipara, Far North and Whangārei, along with the Northland Regional Council, are backing a ‘by Northland, for Northland’ approach.

They said the local government minister heard Northland councils were eager to engage early with the government and held a meeting with Simon Watts on Thursday, before Waitangi Day.

They aimed to demonstrate that, as local leaders, they could be trusted to deliver solutions that work on the ground.

“We support change, but we believe this must reflect Northland’s geography, our unique communities and iwi relationships,” Northland Mayoral Forum chair Moko Tepania said. “The focus must be on outcomes, rather than structure.”

Far North Mayor Tepania said Northland wanted to avoid a “one-size-fits-all” approach to local government reform.

“We are keen to start working with the government now on a collective response that works for our communities.”

Whangārei Mayor Ken Couper said Watts was encouraged by a united Northland.

“We believe that we have a moment in time now where, if we act with a common goal, we can make a real difference,” he said.

Watts said the meeting provided him with valuable insights and context on the challenges facing the region.

“I am encouraged by their recognition that we need to work differently to meet today’s challenges and their commitment to work together with the government on finding solutions that work.”

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/07/northland-councils-team-up-on-local-government-reform/

Source: Radio New Zealand

The navy vessel Canterbury will stop off in Tokelau to mark the centenary of New Zealand administration of the territory on 11 February.

The multi-role ship is currently on a fuel stop in Samoa, as it begins ‘Operation Calypso’, focused on illegal fishing in the southwest Pacific.

Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro, staff from various government agencies and an officer from the Tokelauan National Disaster Management Office are on board, and will visit the atolls of Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo.

Weather agency MetService received a request from Tokelau government agencies for observer training and will conduct a needs assessment, as well as servicing the Automatic Weather Station on Nukunonu.

A New Zealand police officer on board will take the opportunity to meet with their Tokelau counterparts during the trip.

After visiting the atolls, HMNZS Canterbury will return to Apia, where some passengers will disembark.

It will then sail to Raoul Island, where Air Force NH90 helicopters and flight crew and army personnel will help MetService and Earth Sciences New Zealand staff with upgrade and maintenance work on critical weather, tsunami and volcano monitoring equipment and facilities.

“Tokelau and Raoul Island are two examples of hard-to-reach places in our region, where carrying out tasks can be very logistically challenging” said Commander Joint Forces New Zealand Major General Rob Krushk.

“We’re pleased to be able to support the visit of Her Excellency the Rt Hon Dame Cindy Kiro and New Zealand Government agencies to deliver services and equipment to these areas through one of our regular South West Pacific deployments.”

The Canterbury will then return to New Zealand.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/07/navy-vessel-canterbury-stops-in-tokelau-to-mark-centenary/

Source: Radio New Zealand

Questions are being raised over delays in communication to passengers, after a tourist ferry ran aground in Akaroa Harbour last weekend.

More than 40 people were rescued from the Black Cat Cruises catamaran, when it ran into difficulty at Nikau Palm Valley Bay.

Passenger Chris Friedman wondered why little information was given to passengers immediately after the catamaran struck the seabed.

“Once the crew knew that there was an issue, when the boat started to lift and smoke was coming into the galley, and water was coming in as well, that’s when we put on our life preservers and they did handle it properly,” Freidman said.

“Other than being a little shaken and an adrenaline rush, nobody was injured and, thankfully so, everybody was able to safely evacuate.”

Friedman said he has been told standard maritime practice was to limit communication until the situation was clear to avoid causing panic.

After the incident, passengers were taken to the main wharf at Akaroa.

The Canterbury Regional Council said the wrecked catamaran has split, with its hulls on the seabed and the superstructure on the beach.

The catamaran was also carrying 2240 litres of marine diesel fuel, and about 120 litres of other oils in sealed containers and engines combined when it ran aground.

Friedman said he received a full refund for last week’s trip on Wednesday – which was reasonable.

Meanwhile, Black Cat Cruises announced its tours had resumed normal schedules.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/07/questions-raised-over-communication-delay-during-black-cat-ferry-grounding/

Source: Radio New Zealand

More than 1700 pet bonds have been lodged with Tenancy Services since a new system allowing landlords to charge an additional bond for pets came into force late last year.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop and Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka said 1708 pet bonds had been lodged since the changes took effect on 1 December, describing it as an early sign the policy was working.

“It’s great to see such a pawsitive (sic) response,” Bishop said. “It’s a reform that is working as intended, without any ruff (sic) edges.”

The pet bond system allows landlords to charge tenants up to two weeks’ rent as a separate bond, when they agree to a tenant keeping a pet, on top of the standard tenancy bond.

The bonds are lodged, managed and refunded through Tenancy Services in the same way as general bonds.

The changes marked a significant shift in tenancy rules, with landlords now unable to refuse a tenant’s request to keep a pet, unless they have reasonable grounds. Before the reforms, Bishop said many landlords were unwilling to consider tenants with animals at all.

“The reality at the moment is it’s a hard ‘no’ for almost everyone and what we’re doing is shifting that to ‘yes’, unless there are good reasons not to,” he said, when the rules were launched in December.

What constitutes “reasonable grounds” for refusing a pet will ultimately be determined by the Tenancy Tribunal, with tenants still liable for any pet-related damage beyond fair wear and tear.

Potaka said the milestone showed the changes struck the right balance between tenants and landlords.

“This is about giving renters a fair shot at keeping a pet, while making sure landlords have a clear and reliable process,” he said.

The reforms were marked with a pet-themed event at Parliament on the day the rules were launched.

ACT leader David Seymour said the changes were backed by groups such as Pet Refuge, which had highlighted cases where people delayed leaving dangerous situations, because they feared leaving pets behind.

“It’s worth it for that, if nothing else,” Seymour said at the time.

Tenancy Services has updated its guidance and forms to reflect the changes, and allows pet bonds to be lodged, topped up and refunded, alongside general tenancy bonds.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/07/pet-bonds-pass-1700-mark-in-first-months-of-new-system/

Source: Radio New Zealand

For as long as I’ve been around, the township of Burkes Pass has had a prominent place in my life.

With a population of less than 100, it is the gateway to the Southern Lakes and Mackenzie Country.

It is not as grand as the Lindis, Haast, Lewis or Arthur’s Passes but tens of thousands of tourists have passed through there.

The pass, on SH8 and named after Irish bullock driver Michael Burke, rises to 709 metres and opens up the whole of the Mackenzie Basin.

My father Dave Leishman grew up there as his parents were publicans at the Burkes Pass Hotel.

When his father died tragically, in 1932, in a drowning accident on Lake Alexandrina, Dave was shuffled off to boarding school in Timaru. He was nine years old.

His mother, Myrtle, was 29 when she became sole publican of the hotel for the next thirty years.

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I remember hearing stories about grandmother Myrtle being quite a force.

The pub was a very popular place for the local young farmers to come in after a hard day on the land.

Apparently she would always insist there was a designated driver, who’d be on free raspberry-and-lemonade all night, so all his mates could drink while that one guy remained sober.

She’d keep an eye on him and make sure he was fit to drive his mates home – forward thinking for the 1950s.

The hotel is no longer there at Burkes Pass. It burned down in the mid ’90s and the owner at the time, Dave Taylor, still lives on the property having built a house on the site using part of the hotel ruins.

Taylor decided if he couldn’t rebuild the hotel he would build a mini village instead.

He has done just that and named it Three Creeks, the original European name for Burkes Pass. The village area is at the confluence of Burgess Creek, the source of the Opihi River and Paddy’s Market Creek.

“I started to rebuild it, and yeah, [it] ended up turning into a shop instead,” he said.

“The original accommodation wing is our accommodation now, so we just added on to that and carried on.”

As you drive towards the southern lakes of Tekapo and Pukaki, you can’t miss Three Creeks at Burkes Pass.

It’s part museum, part store with a coffee cart perfectly positioned with the weary traveller in mind.

Three Creeks village has a 1950s Americana theme. It’s very eye catching and has become a rest stop for tourists and locals alike on the road to the southern lakes.

It feels like a section of the United States’ famous Route 66 has been transported here to South Canterbury.

Taylor confesses he has always been a hoarder.

“I had a museum when I was a kid. I was 10 years old and had a tree hut, and it was full of all the old stuff.

“I used to find everybody would give me stuff and so I’ve been collecting old stuff since then.”

He has also been making wooden outdoor furniture there for 20 years.

“We mill our own macrocarpa and make all our own furniture. It’s good, heavy stuff that doesn’t blow away in the wind.”

He has a workshop on site, with five workers creating outdoor furniture, tiny houses and traditional shepherd’s huts on wheels, complete with kitchenettes, bathrooms and solar power.

Arguably Three Creeks’ most glamourous personage is Taylor’s partner, Kirsty Burrows, who has immersed herself in the world of vintage dress.

Burrows is a vision of colour, with flaming orange hair and vibrant dresses and, like her partner, she has been an inveterate collector of all things vintage from a young age.

“I did rock and roll dancing and swing dancing for years, and grew up with my grandparents, so the vintage culture was always there, and the music.”

Her artful dressing and posing in front of the replica Texaco gas station at Three Creeks recently won her an international pin-up title.

“It’s sort of like that classic era that is kind of timeless, when you think of post World War Two, Betty Grable and Betty Boop.

“The fashion is really quite, quite timeless, we think, anyway, so you could wear it till you’re 80. Doesn’t matter what your age or body shape is.”

Burrows says there is quite a market for the dresses and it gets quite addictive.

“I’ve probably got 70 dresses, but then you’ve got your hats, your gloves, your handbags, your jewellery, make-up for Africa, it’s a lot of fun,” she told Country Life.

“We all just like playing dress up, and have never really grown out of it.

“My hair usually gets the most attention, but people just just like it and say you’ve brightened up my day with your colour and and they love it.”

For Burrows, being immersed in a bygone age with others means collective self esteem.

“These women really empower each other, and they lift each other up.

“They go out there full of confidence, especially the young girls, and learn that you don’t have to be a size eight to be beautiful.

“And these girls go out there and they shake their stuff and they just look amazing, and they own it, and that’s what it’s all about.”

West of Burkes Pass you’ll find the bullock wagon trail heading up the pass, and the cemetery.

It is rich in history, too, and graves include those of CWF Hamilton, the local farmer who invented the jet boat.

Many of the gravestones are made out of local boulders and mark the burial sites of international climbers who died on our mountains.

“The mountains are here calling and I must go,” one plaque reads.

Another grave belongs to Kenneth Payne, an Australian geologist who loved the New Zealand mountains, and who tragically died in 1986 trying to arrest his companion’s fall on Mount Cook.

His gravestone includes a brass-mounted ice pick, some rope and rosary beads.

“He came to New Zealand for the love of the mountains, and he will remain here forever,” his plaque reads.

And on a personal note, my dear grandfather who I never met, is buried there.

David Mowat McGregor Leishman, the local publican, died in 1932, aged 41.

He had a heart attack while fishing one day at Lake Alexandrina and fell in the very, very cold waters of the lake and drowned.

He has been resting in the Burkes Pass cemetery ever since and our extended family all love to pay him a visit whenever we are passing this beautiful part of the world.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/07/country-life-a-bit-of-route-66-on-state-highway-8/

Source: Radio New Zealand

• Teen murderer remains behind bars after parole hearing
• Ashley Arnopp said to be struggling with his attitude and relationships with others
• Parole Board says questions about grisly 2006 murder remain.

Warning: This story contains details some readers may find upsetting.

A man who has spent almost two decades in prison for a gruesome murder that was likely a homophobic attack is struggling with a poor attitude behind bars.

Ashley Arnopp, along with Andre Gilling, beat Stanley Waipouri to death in his Palmerston North flat in December 2006.

Arnopp was 19 at the time and Gilling 17.

Arnopp was released from prison in June 2023, but was back behind bars six months later.

“His relationship with Corrections fell apart and he used drugs,” said a Parole Board progress report, released to RNZ.

Arnopp last appeared before the board in November, but he did not apply for release.

He was on the waiting list for a prison programme – exact details of this were withheld from the report – and his prison security classification was low.

However, the board was told he was no longer in Whanganui Prison’s inner self-care unit and he continued to have “issues in his relationship with others”.

When board members discussed this with Arnopp he admitted to, in the past, being sensitive to criticism.

“He said that this had led to him getting upset, angry and yelling,” the report said.

“He knows what physical signs to look out for when this is building up. He said inner self care became a high-risk situation for him.”

The week before the parole hearing Arnopp had an altercation with another prisoner, which Arnopp said was a miscommunication involving banter.

“He said that the banter related to comments made about the other prisoner’s eating habits, which may have upset him.

“The other prisoner claims to have been intimidated…

“[Arnopp] accepted that his attitude has been poor lately, and that is something he wants to work on.”

Arnopp had a history of poor behaviour in prison. In 2011, he was convicted of assaulting a fellow inmate.

The board also discussed Waipouri’s murder.

“There do seem to be still elements of that offending that nobody seems to understand,” the board report said.

“This may be something that Mr Arnopp still needs to work on with a psychologist.”

Despite being told psychological work with Arnopp was considered finished, the board thought more would be useful, especially given he was considered high risk of reoffending.

After the November hearing it was likely Arnopp would apply to transfer prisons so he could be close to the property he would be released to if granted parole. A transfer would allow him to have guided releases in the meantime.

Arnopp would next meet with the Parole Board in November.

Gilling was released on parole in 2024 and last year was making good progress, according to a report from a progress hearing with the board.

He was working, where he was well regarded, was taking driving lessons, and was enjoying outdoor activities such as tramping.

But, he had faced challenges. In January last year he drank alcohol, in breach of his release conditions.

Gilling told the board it was his first drink in 17 years, but he was again committed to stay away from alcohol.

On 23 December 2006, Gilling and Arnopp were found at the blood-spattered scene of Waipouri’s murder. They had drugs and alcohol in their systems.

Waipouri suffered head, neck and chest injuries, having been beaten for more than an hour in an attack likely motivated by homophobia.

The tip of his penis was missing, an ear was mutilated and there were bite marks on his nipples, although in court the question of cannibalism remained unresolved.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/07/stanley-waipouris-murderer-ashley-arnopp-remains-behind-bars-after-parole-hearing/