Category: DJF

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Soaring bills put households’ spending on ice

Source: Radio New Zealand

File photo. 123RF

Households spending more than a third more on utility bills than they did a year ago do not have much money left for fun stuff, Kiwibank economists say.

They have released new spending data, which shows a tough end to the year for shops, particularly fashion retail.

“We typically see spending ramp up into the summer holidays,” economist Sabrina Delgado said.

“But our Kiwibank electronic card data showed this effect was less pronounced this time around. The silly season kicked off on a good note with the number of transactions in December up 0.4 percent on last year’s levels. But it seems consumer spending got hit with a bad new year’s hangover in January. The number of transactions in January dropped 2.7 percent below the overall 2025 monthly average. And compared to last January, transaction volumes were down 2.3 percent.”

The total amount spent was up 8.6 percent in December and 3.7 percent in January, which indicated people were shopping less but spending more.

The January data in particular showed that was because of higher prices, she said.

“Inflation has picked up over the past year, and many households are still feeling the squeeze after several years of tight budgets, elevated consumer prices, and expensive credit. So it’s no surprise we’re still seeing fewer shopping trips with more spent per trip.”

She said although interest rates were “significantly lower” than the year before, household budgets were still under pressure because the cost of essentials was rising.

They were spending 36 percent more on utilities across December and January than a year earlier.

“That’s taking a big chunk out of disposable incomes. It means that we have less to spend in other areas because utilities are essentials. We have to pay them.”

She said it was hitting clothing shops particularly hard, and spending on apparel seemed to be in persistent decline.

The data indicated that more of the same was happening in February, she said.

“Looking at the early data we have for February, which runs to just after Waitangi weekend, transaction volumes are currently tracking about 4.3 percent lower than this time last year. That suggests that the same kind of soft consumption we saw through January may be lingering into February. While this may be the case, we’ll flag that it may be too soon to draw firm conclusions for February. There’s still plenty of the month left, and a late-month pickup could shift the final outcome significantly.”

People seemed to be going out to dinner more but spending less at cafes, she said.

“We frequented our local coffee and brunch spots less than last year. And higher food prices seem to be hitting here the most. Because while the number of café visits has dropped, the dollars spent have instead risen. Compared with last summer, café spending is up almost 9 percent, meaning each visit is costing noticeably more. So for now it seems were gritting our teeth through our homemade instant coffees instead.”

Takeaway spending was also on a steady slide.

Demand for housing-related goods was strengthening. Trips to hardware stores were up 6 percent year-on-year in December and dollars spent were up just over 30 percent.

“Overall the lift in housing-related spend offers an encouraging sign for the housing market. The need for a fresh lick of paint or new furniture is often suggestive of increased housing market turnover. To us, the data signals that households are getting ready for a better year for the housing market. And we expect it will be with interest rates in their low ranges. “

Delgado said households were still worried about the labour market, which made people nervous about spending.

“Unemployment is at 5.4 percent. Even though we’ve seen the underlying details in the labour market showing some signs of strengthening, the average household only looks at that headline unemployment rate.

“If they see that that’s rising, that job insecurity weighs on that confidence to be splurging a bit more right now.”

She said it was also significant that the housing market was still soft because a lot of wealth was tied up in it.

“In our view, though, we do still see the rest of this year to be a recovery for consumption because as the broader economy is recovering, things like the labour market will improve. The housing market also is going to improve. And that should give a bit more confidence to households and their spending this year.”

She said any interest rate rises should still be left for 2027.

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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/2026/02/21/soaring-bills-put-households-spending-on-ice/

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‘Opportunistic’ seagulls making the most of Wellington sewage spill

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Mark Papalii

“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.

RNZ / Mark Papalii

“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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‘It’s a strange place’ – The Beths’ singer Liz Stokes on US tour

Source: Radio New Zealand

Lead singer Liz Stokes tells RNZ’s Afternoons, she’s pleased to be back in Aotearoa, and excited to perform their fourth album Straight Line Was A Lie, to family and friends.

The band recently wrapped up an epic 70-show run which saw them travelling around the United States in a bus with 12 “coffin-sized beds” to enjoy, Stokes says.

“[The US] it’s a strange place… it’s a hard place at the moment… we’re seeing it as tourists where we go from music venue to music venue which are spaces where you know, it’s lovely people who are just wanting to support the culture…

“But obviously there is a lot of ugliness there, but we don’t see it…”

“When it got taken off the air we were like ‘never mind’, but when it was brought back it came through too.”

Stokes says it was cool being able to see the “movie magic” behind the scenes.

Actress Tessa Thompson was on the show the same night, Stokes says, but the band was shot earlier in the day before her or the audience came in.

The band performed the title track from their latest album Straight Line Was A Lie, an album Stokes says encapsulated a lot of her life over the last few years.

“I’ve been going through some big emotional and health journeys over the last few years and it’s really put all of that into the music that I’ve made… a lot of my life encapsulated in this album, like a horcrux or something.”

“I have a tendency to overshare, but it feels better to talk about it than be vague about it.”

She says she’s looking forward to finally doing a New Zealand tour.

“We’ve played this album now so much, but haven’t played it to New Zealand yet.”

But first, The Beths will be heading off to Japan on Monday, playing a sold-out show in Tokyo and another in Osaka.

“There’s definitely a big guitar music and alternative music scene in Japan.

“People there still buy CDs which is really lovely. “

The Beths will be playing shows throughout Aotearoa from 13-28 March.

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/21/its-a-strange-place-the-beths-singer-liz-stokes-on-us-tour/

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Talking to kids about dog attacks – without scaring them

Source: Radio New Zealand

After the recent tragic fatal dog attack in Northland, it’s understandable that parents, caregivers and dog owners may feel shaken.

The latest incident marks the fourth fatal dog attack in four years — three of those in Northland. Data analysed from the Department of Internal Affairs by MoneyHub shows ACC claims for dog bites have risen 20 percent since 2020, reaching more than 15,000 claims in a year. Nationwide, more than 9000 dogs are classified as menacing and 573 as dangerous, the financial hub said.

Those numbers can sound alarming. But animal behaviourist Mark Vette, who has worked with dogs for 50 years, says it’s important to keep perspective.

Animal behaviourist, trainer, educator and author Mark Vette.

Supplied

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/21/talking-to-kids-about-dog-attacks-without-scaring-them/

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Ben Harrington heads to freeski halfpipe final, Fin Melville Ives takes brutal fall

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand’s Finley Melville Ives is evacuated by a medical team in the freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe qualification run 2 during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

  • 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.

New Zealand’s Ben Harrington reacts after competing in the freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe qualification during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Livigno, Italy. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

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.”

Finley Melville Ives lies on the snow after crashing in the freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe qualification run 2. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/21/ben-harrington-heads-to-freeski-halfpipe-final-fin-melville-ives-takes-brutal-fall/

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Service held for Northland woman Mihiata Te Rore, killed by a pack of dogs in Kaihu

Source: Radio New Zealand

Mihiata Te Rore, 62, was killed by dogs at a Kaihu property. Supplied

A service for the women killed by a pack of dogs in Northland is being held on Saturday.

Mihiata Te Rore, 62, was killed while visiting a property in the rural town of Kaihu, north of Dargaville.

Police said the three dogs involved lived at the property.

She was the third person to be killed by dogs in Northland in the past four years, sparking calls for more to be done by local and central government to deal with the growing problem.

In a post on social media, Te Rore was described as someone who lived with courage and conviction, and stood up for those she loved.

“Her presence will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her,” the post said.

“A fierce and loving woman, she was the unwavering strength of our whānau and the steady light in our lives. Her love was powerful, protective, and unconditional.”

Meanwhile, police said were continuing to investigate, but no charges had been laid.

Council visited property before fatal attack

In a statement, Kaipara District Council said there had been four complaints about the dogs in November, December and last week, and had responded to each request on the same day.

Staff visited the property to uplift the dogs the day prior to the attack, but were unsuccessful.

“Staff visited the property on multiple occasions to attempt to speak to the owner, including reaching out to family and iwi liaison. When the dogs were seen they were on the property.

“In December staff managed to speak with the owner about compliance and keeping the dogs secure, including consequences if this did not occur. In February they visited the property twice, including the day before, but were unable to talk to the owner or uplift the dogs.”

The council said there had also been “multiple” proactive patrols in the area, looking for any loose dogs, including a door knock of every property along Kaihu Wood Rd (no loose dogs were sighted during these patrols).

“Dog owners are responsible for their dogs – they have a legal responsibility to look after and control their animals but we also acknowledge that council’s animal control plays an important role in managing risks in the community.

“Our staff work with dog owners across the district every single day and are devastated that any such incident, in this case on private property, has occurred in Kaipara.”

It said its animal management team was investigating the incident.

“The three dogs were secured after the event and have been impounded, and will be destroyed as soon as police have finished their investigation.”

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The great Australian rivalry, in New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Blues’ Zac Lomax (R) and Maroons’ Kalyn Ponga contest a high-ball during game two of the men’s State of Origin series between the Queensland Maroons and New South Wales Blues at Optus Stadium in Perth on June 18, 2025. COLIN MURTY / AFP

Mate against mate, state against state – but exported. Why Auckland will host Australian rugby league’s premier event next year.

After months of speculation, the government has confirmed a State of Origin match will make its way across the ditch to Eden Park in 2027.

Tāmaki Makaurau will be considered neutral ground in 2027 as the Maroons take on the Blues at Eden Park for what is widely acknowledged to be rugby league’s most exciting fixture.

Today on The Detail, NZ Herald journalist and host of The Big League podcast, Nathan Limm talks about the motivation behind the NRL’s move to host an Australian regional game in another country.

“There’s obviously a little bit of ‘why is New Zealand getting it?’ [coming from Australians], which is actually similar to the kind of response that it had on this side of the Tasman as well.”

But he says despite all the commentary, the announcement shouldn’t come as a surprise.

“The NRL has made it clear for a number of years that they want to expand the game.”

The match is expected to be a sellout, with officials estimating that the event will inject $17.4 million into the economy. It was announced by the Prime Minister, who said the government had reached into its major events fund to secure the match. That amount is thought to range between $2.5 million and $5m.

New Zealand fans have long been engaged in the State of Origin, but kiwis have more of a reason to cheer their side on with the recent change in eligibility rules.

“We should have more kiwis, more New Zealand players, who have that affiliation with New South Wales or Queensland playing in State of Origin,” says Limm.

Previously players could be ruled out if they used their New Zealand connections to play at an international level for the Kiwis, but that’s been changed, so our players with childhood links to either of the states can play.

For example former national rep Addin Fonua-Blake, who has played for New Zealand and Tonga, is now eligible for New South Wales as well.

The NRL is also making concentrated efforts to grow the game internationally, and is staging part of the first round of this year’s NRL in Las Vegas.

Limm also talks on the podcast about those moves to expand the game, with new teams entering the NRL from Perth (from next year) and Papua New Guinea (2028), as well as the prospect of a South Island team signing up.

Part of the decision to come to Auckland was fed by support for the Warriors, the only team in the NRL currently to have an entire nation behind it.

And the podcast asks the age-old Warriors question – “is it our year?”

Well … maybe.

Coach Andrew Webster “has been able to completely… overhaul and reset the culture of the team, which is ultimately where it all starts, and that has impacted their on-field performances,” says Limm.

Despite the Warriors and rugby league as a sport becoming more popular in New Zealand, there is still one team they can’t compete with.

“There’s one thing that rugby has that no other sport in New Zealand will ever quite get, and that’s the All Blacks and the pull that the All Blacks hold.

“Regardless of what’s going on in domestic rugby or super rugby, when the All Blacks play, we as a nation get around them and really identify with that team,” says Limm.

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

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Olympics: Ben Harrington qualifies for freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe final

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand’s Ben Harrington reacts after competing in the freestyle skiing men’s freeski halfpipe qualification during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games, in Livigno, Italy. KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP

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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Electrical and mechanical machinery lead imports for year ended January 2026 – Overseas merchandise trade: January 2026 – Stats NZ news story and information release

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As it happened: NZ Warriors v Dolphins NRL pre-season trial

Source: Radio New Zealand

Dallin Watene-Zelzniak scores an acrobatic try for the Warriors against the Dolphins. David Neilson/Photosport

Winger Dallin Watene-Zelezniak has scored two tries, as NZ Warriors let a pre-season win over Dolphins slip through their fingers in the dying moments.

Ahead 34-20 midway through the second half, coach Andrew Webster elected to rest his stars and give his young reserves an opportunity to impress.

Ultimately, the Dolphins youth finished strong, running in three converted tries over the last 10 minutes to take 38-34 honours on the scoreboard.

Front-rower Jackson Ford opened the scoring for the Warriors in the fourth minute, but the Dolphins took an early advantage, when Ford was guilty of a hipdrop tackle that saw him serve 10 minutes in the sin bin.

In his absence, hooker Brad Schneider put the Brisbane side ahead, but restored to full strength, hooker Wayde Egan and Watene-Zelezniak gave the Warriors an 18-10 halftime lead, with halfback Tanah Boyd on target from the tee.

The Dolphins seemed to take control after the break, when they ran in back-to-back tries for fullback Trai Fuller and winger Jamayne Isaako, but they handed momentum back, when prop Frank Molo was sin-binned for a high shoulder to Ford’s head.

Centre Ali Leiataua and Watene-Zelezniak grabbed the lead back for the Warriors, before Webster inserted his young reserves.

The newbies showed one last flourish, with half Jack Thompson bombing towards the Dolphins posts and second-rower Eddie Ieremia-Toeava claiming the ball to score, as the Warriors went 38-20 up, but that was their last scoring action.

Instead, Tevita Naufahu, John Fineanganofo and Brian Pouniu – all born in Auckland – rattled off tries for the Dolphins to take scoreboard honours, with Schneider converting all three.

Webster will now hold his breath over Ford’s judicial fate, while acting skipper Kurt Capewell ended the first half holding his ribs, after falling awkwardly making a tackle.

Follow the live action here:

Squads

Warriors: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3. Ali Leiataua, 4. Adam Pompey, 5. Haizyn Mellars, 6. Luke Hanson, 7. Tanah Boyd, 8. Tanner Stowers-Smith, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Jackson Ford, 11. Kurt Capewell (c), 12. Jacob Laban, 13. Erin Clark

Interchange: 14. Sam Healey, 15. Morgan Gannon, 16. Leka Halasima, 17. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava

Reserves: 18. Taine Tuaupiki, 21. Kayliss Fatialofa, 22. Jack Thompson, 23. Makaia Tafua, 24. Motu Pasikala, 25. Sio Kali, 26. Caelys-Paul Putoko, 27. Geronimo Doyle, 28. Rodney Tuipuiotu-Vea, 29. Paea Sikuvea

Meanwhile, the Dolphins have added several frontliners, including former Warriors Kodi Nikorima at five-eighth, after suffering a 24-12 loss to Gold Coast Titans last week,

Dolphins: 1. Trai Fuller, 2. Jamayne Isaako, 3. Jake Averillo, 4. Herbie Farnworth, 5. Selwyn Cobbo, 6. Kodi Nikorima, 7. Isaiya Katoa (c), 8. Francis Molo, 9. Bradley Schneider, 10. Tom Gilbert, 11. Connelly Lemuelu, 12. Oryn Keeley, 13. Morgan Knowles

Interchange: 14. Tevita Naufahu, 15. Thomas Flegler, 16. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, 17. John Fineanganofo

Reserves: 18. Sebastian Su’a, 19. Elijah Rasmussen, 20. Brian Pouniu, 21. Zac Garton, 22. Brent Woolf, 23. Adquix-Jeramiah Watts-Luke, 24. Sangstar Figota, 25. Noah Fien, 26. Elijah McKay

Warriors take on Dolphins in an NRL pre-season trial. Liam Swiggs / RNZ

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Hurricanes v Moana Pasifika – Super Rugby Pacific

Source: Radio New Zealand

Hurricanes Brayden Iose and Josh Moorby celebrate a try during their match against Moana Pasifika. Kerry Marshall / www.photosport.nz

After sitting out round one with the bye, the Hurricanes ran rampant against Moana Pasifika in their Super Rugby Pacific opener to secure a 52-10 win, earning a bonus.

Winger Josh Moorby scored three out of the home sides five tries in the drubbing.

To add to Moana Pasifika’s woes, they lost Israel Leota and William Havili to injury, with Havili being stretcher off in the 63rd minute with a head or neck injury.

Here’s how the match unfolded

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Family’s chance for a fresh start thanks to new social housing

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Tuiletufuga family. Amy Williams / RNZ

A father of four says words cannot describe the relief he felt having a stable roof for his family after they spent a month living in a van before moving to emergency housing.

The Salvation Army has added another 41 homes to a social housing development in Flat Bush, South Auckland, ranging from one bedroom apartments to five bedroom houses.

It is where Jonathan Tuiletufuga, his wife Tauline and their four sons have a place to call their own at long last.

They moved here from Samoa a year ago, living with friends and family while trying to secure housing.

Tuiletufuga said for a month they lived in a van to ease pressure on those they had been staying with – two of their four sons are autistic, one of whom has high needs.

“He’s very vocal, he makes a lot of noise at night, so all of us cramping into the van and maybe parking in a playground somewhere and crashing out for the night. For about a month we had that period until we got into a transitional home.”

Jonathan Tuiletufuga. Amy Williams / RNZ

He said the temporary housing was small and the Salvation Army had been working with them for a few months when the opportunity arose to move to Flat Bush.

“We were in a transitional house at the time, it was emergency, I’m so glad we said yes because massive space. I’ve got room enough to spare for my boys – they’re all growing, ages one to 15, so we’ve got room to put down roots and try to start from the bottom again.”

The family moved into the new four-bedroom home three weeks ago.

Tuiletufuga said it had been hard to find work and he had gone back to school to get qualifications.

“It’s difficult right now but if we keep tackling, if we keep putting one foot forward it’s upwards and onwards.”

The Salvation Army had 18 social housing developments underway throughout the country, with 400 homes funded in the 2025 Budget.

The new units in Flat Bush add to the 46 homes that were built on the same site five years ago, and it was now home to more than 200 people, more than half of them children.

At Friday’s opening, property director Greg Foster said they could build more if funding was available.

Salvation Army territorial director of social housing and property Greg Foster. RNZ / Natalie Akoorie

“We can always do more, not only the Salvation Army we can do a lot more but also a lot of community housing providers can do more. Amongst the community housing providers last year there was funding for 2000 so [together] we’ve taken up all that.”

Foster said the current funding round was for fewer homes, close to 800. Meanwhile, there were 19,500 people waiting for state housing.

Jasmine Herewini. Amy Williams / RNZ

Jasmine Herewini oversaw the Salvation Army’s national tenancies, and said their social housing came with wraparound support for tenants who came from homelessness or transitional housing.

“It is hard because we sit there and we listen to every story that they’re telling us, and it is coming from transitional housing or from their vehicles,” she said.

“We can’t save everyone, but what we can do is provide whare in a community where they can build on that.”

This latest development was just one step towards reducing housing insecurity. Tuiletufuga said his family was settling in very well.

“One hundred on everything, the location of the house that they picked for us, the amount of rooms that are set aside for my boys and I and the Mrs, she’s happy – she can’t stop inviting people over.”

Christopher Luxon. Ida White Lynx Photography

Prime Minister Christopher attended the opening, saying the government was backing community housing providers with funding to build more homes.

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Country Life: Turning brewery gunk and forest junk into something good for the soil

Source: Radio New Zealand

Matt’s kiln is fuelled with organic waste for biochar production RNZ/Sally Round

Just as he turns industrial waste back into good stuff for the earth, Matt Welton himself has come full circle.

The former prison officer and cartographer spent his first years out of school working in the scrap metal trade in London’s East End.

“Quite a lot of pressure on a young fella, going out knocking on doors to all these little scrap dealers and rag and bone men and whatever, with names like Jimmy Jighand and Pete Sparrowhawk.

“A good grounding, anyway, in how they sort of made a living out of nothing.”

Decades on from the early ’80s, he spends much of his time recycling waste and feeding it into a kiln in the heart of the rugged Akatarawa Valley, north of Wellington city.

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Welton collects the hops sludge left over from beer-making at Panhead Brewery in Upper Hutt, used wood pallets and forestry slash from his property to use as feedstock for the kiln, producing biochar.

Biochar is not unlike charcoal and is made from any sort of organic waste, and proponents say it improves the soil by helping it retain water and nutrients, sequestering carbon at the same time.

Matt on his weekly pick-up at Brewtown in Upper Hutt RNZ/Sally Round

Hops waste ready for fuelling the kiln RNZ/Sally Round

Welton has also partnered with the sustainability-focused fashion brand Kowtow, turning fabric from the cutting room floor into biochar, dubbed “black gold” by its devotees.

“[Kowtow] were looking at an alternative way of using their cutting room offcuts, rather than sending it to landfill, and so I said, ‘yeah, I’ll give it a go, we’ll try and make some biochar out of it’. It’s pure cotton. As long as it’s pure we should be able to turn it into char.”

He tests the char – produced via a technique known as pyrolysis – for impurities. Anything synthetic like elastic waistbands are a “no-no”, he said, as it can lead to higher readings of toxic elements like arsenic.

Welton took Country Life on a tour of his “biochar central”, a yard tucked into the side of a hill on his land, once covered in pine trees, which he is regenerating with wife Debbie into tracks and paddocks.

The couple has also placed 30 hectares of their block under a QEII Trust Covenant to protect the remaining native forest which escaped logging last century.

The Akatarawa Valley was a hive of sawmills and logging tracks up until the 1960s and remnants of the industry can be seen on Welton’s property.

They harvested the last of the pines when they arrived but mountains of slash were left behind by the foresters.

“They’ve taken the lengths they want, and then they just biff the rest over the side.”

A digger at work clearing slash from a former skid site on Matt and Debbie Welton’s Akatarawa Valley property RNZ/Sally Round

The forest waste sowed an idea to turn it into something useful, and Welton’s venture Biochar Carbon Options developed from there. He now sells the crumbly mix, charged with brews of seaweed and horse manure, and sells it to growers and farmers.

Welton said he’s had several “Heath Robinson” moments developing the process, including happening on the idea of petanque balls – their heaviness good for pulverising the lumpy pyrolised waste in an old concrete mixer – so that the biochar is the right consistency for sprinkling on the earth.

“It’s a bit of a number 8 wire system, but it works.”

Matt opens the door of the kiln to check the biochar production process RNZ/Sally Round

Matt found some petanque balls do a good job of crushing the biochar RNZ/Sally Round

Matt holds a bucket of biochar, ready for “charging” after it’s been sieved and crushed in an old cement mixer RNZ/Sally Round

Welton can see the potential for such a system at landfill sites, taking all the green waste, as well as at forestry blocks.

Forestry slash left over from the pine harvest which will be turned into biochar RNZ/Sally Round

“You could have mobile plants going up to forestry sites and converting [slash] into char, following the crews around. If you could talk to the crews and say, rather than throwing the waste to the left, can you throw it to the right, and then we can deal with it there.

“There’s so many different ways of utilising the product and utilising the waste, and, you know, getting involved with those communities that I just think it’s a no brainer, really.”

Learn more:

  • Discover scientific research on biochar here

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/20/country-life-turning-brewery-gunk-and-forest-junk-into-something-good-for-the-soil/

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Country Life: Southland’s history of Scottish whisky

Source: Radio New Zealand

Stills from up in the Hokonui Hills have been recreated. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

From the highlands of Scotland to the hills surrounding Gore in Southland, Mary McRae’s legacy of distilling lives on at the Hokonui Moonshine Museum and Distillery.

Arriving on New Zealand shores in the 1870s, along with her seven children, the widowed McRae brought with her a beautiful little petite whisky still which had been passed down to her.

And so, trained in the art of distilling by her mother and grandmother before her, the healer and midwife brought the tradition of Highland Scottish whisky making to rural Southland.

“She also continued in the tradition of not paying excise on the sale of any of that product,” explained the museum’s curator Jim Geddes, adding that the McRae family refused to pay excise tax in Scotland on moral and political grounds.

Making the spirit was part of their culture, they believed, and used for medicinal purposes and family celebrations.

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The McRae’s whisky, distilled in the rugged Hokonui hills was considered a “very high-quality spirit”, Geddes told Country Life on a tour of the museum.

Hers was in “stark contrast to the adulterated spirit” that importers were sending to Southland – this was the “real deal”.

Townsfolk had grown tired of the poor behaviour stemming from local imbibers, who Geddes described as “hard-working” and “hard-drinking”.

But the McCraes had a more measured approach.

“The McCraes had always had a policy of not putting their product into a home where it would do any harm. So they pretty much minded their own business and they were able to do that in the shadow of the Hokonui Hills.”

Museum curator Jim Geddes alongside a portrait of Mary McRae, the ‘moonshine matriarch’. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

But like other whisky makers and producers of “moonshine” – a lesser quality spirit – the McRaes would be caught up in the temperance movement which swept through much of the region and eventually saw Gore become a ‘dry’ district where the sale of alcohol was prohibited.

“From the 1st of July 1903, the Mataura licensing district was dry and it stayed dry for 51 years.”

Despite the closure of the 15 hotels in the licensing district, demand for alcohol remained high, giving way to a number of illicit moonshine-makers capitalising on the now lucrative tradition of distilling.

The museum also explores the temperance movement of the last century. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

The skull and cross bones symbol which featured on a moonshine label. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

The booming trade also gave rise to police and customs officials determined to put a stop to it.

“Hokonui was always high quality spirit, strongly connected with the McRae clan. Hokonui moonshine was something else. It was a grain spirit, straight out of the still and gone.”

The Prohibition era led to over 30 prosecutions, the last of which was in 1957.

In nearly all of them there was a McRae link, Geddes said, and often a tenuous one.

The distillery attached to the museum is named for its patron, whose family history is entwined with that of Southland moonshiners. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

Today’s working still. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

The tradition still lives on today – now legally – with a modern distillery built in 2020 alongside the museum.

“Working with Bill “W.D.” Stuart, the great-grandson of Mary McRae, we were able to source a family recipe,” Geddes said.

With guidance from others in New Zealand’s burgeoning spirit industry – now worth $40 to $50 million in exports, the distillery functions in a non-profit capacity.

“The spirit that we make is from grain which is grown in the area. So we have engaged with families who have been farming here for generations. All the ingredients are local. The recipe is local.”

Learn more:

  • Find out more about the Hokonui Moonshine Museum and Distillery in Gore here

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Country Life: Into the weeds and under the soil at the Underground Festival

Source: Radio New Zealand

Anisha Satya for Country Life

Underground Festival organiser Fran Bailey said the festival was about celebrating good produce, and the people behind it. RNZ/Anisha Satya

Follow Country Life on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts.

It’s what’s underneath that matters at the Underground Festival.

The soil, how we treat it, and who it feeds were key focuses at the two-day educational retreat, held in the middle of a vineyard in Waipara.

Fran Bailey is the mind behind New Zealand’s “festival for farmers,” which draws heavy inspiration from her time at the Groundswell Festival in England.

“It’s a regenerative agriculture festival [run] over two days on a no-till arable farm. And, yeah, they get about 8000 farmers there.”

Regenerative agriculture – building resilient farm systems by doing things like restoring nutrient-depleted soil – has gained ground amongst Kiwi farmers in recent years.

So why not bring the Groundswell Festival to New Zealand, too?

Bailey was raised on a Tokoroa dairy farm until the age of six.

“I didn’t have anything to do with farming after that, when mum and dad sold the farm in the late ’80s.”

But she found her way back to farming while working in the UK.

“I ended up working at a regenerative farming podcast, and went to a regenerative farming conference,” she says.

“These farmers stood up and went ‘I’m an environmentalist too!’, and they were so passionate about biodiversity.”

The conference lit a fire under her to share environment-conscious farming stories, which she felt were underrepresented in media.

“I just thought, ‘farmers care about the land, and not enough people know about this’.

“I sort of put a stake in the ground to help tell their stories.”

Bailey spent three years managing public relations for Groundswell, before coming back to New Zealand and trying the concept out locally.

The Underground Festival 2026 is the first official event, and saw hundreds of people make their way to Greystone Wines’ vineyard over the two days.

“The farmers here, they vary from 500 hectare-plus sheep and beef stations, down to small market gardeners.

“We’re all coming together around an interest in soil health, and fertility, and how we can improve our soils to therefore improve the health of our plants.”

Given the success of this year’s event, Bailey’s mind has already turned to next year.

“Farmers are the salt of the earth; they are wonderful people, very practical, and I just want to help them tell their stories, connect, and keep making good progress.”

Learn more:

  • Find out more about the Underground Festival here

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/20/country-life-into-the-weeds-and-under-the-soil-at-the-underground-festival/

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Metlink fares to rise by 3.1 percent, off-peak discount drops again

Source: Radio New Zealand

SUPPLIED / GWRC

It will be more expensive to travel on Wellington’s public transport later this year.

The Greater Wellington Regional Council voted on Thursday to hike Metlink’s base fare by 3.1 percent and slash the off-peak discount from 30 percent to 20 percent but the changes will start only after contactless payments using debit and credit cards are activated on the Snapper system.

Both dates are yet to be confirmed: Metlink officials said at Thursday’s council meeting contactless payments would start “mid to early April” and it would be up to six weeks afterwards when fares would change.

That means for a passenger commuting between suburbs such as Karori, Khandallah, Lyall Bay and the city centre, rush-hour fares are going up from $4.53 to $4.67, but off-peak fares rise from $3.17 to $3.74. Those paying contactless are charged an extra 1.5 percent card fee.

Papers from Thursday’s meeting estimated that as things stands, Metlink’s fare revenue this financial year would be about $3 million lower than budgeted, but officials said that number could still change.

It blamed a combination of factors: the number of train passengers continued to fall, while “socio-economic changes” like flexible work arrangements, slower economic recovery and unemployment contributed to an emerging decline in bus passenger numbers.

Councillors were divided on how much to increase the base fare and the timing of the rise, which was slated originally for July.

Council chairperson Daran Ponter’s amendment brought it forward by a few months to soften any financial difficulty.

“We could exhaust all of our transport reserves as a consequence of stuff that is happening on the network right now,” he said. “It means we’ve got no buffer in the next financial year when many of these things could still continue to play out.”

Ros Connelly, the chairperson of the regional council’s public transport committee, said the 3.1 percent increase was the limit between prudent economic management and what the public could afford. She also wanted any hikes to happen in July.

Councillor Adrienne Staples was in favour of a 4.1 percent base fare increase to take pressure off ratepayers. “While my personal preference in an ideal world would be to have free public transport across our whole region. It’s not where we work at the moment. We cannot afford to keep going out the back door.”

Last year, Metlink increased its fares by 2.2 percent and dropped the off-peak discount from 50 percent to 30 percent.

Thursday’s meeting papers also revealed this financial year’s fares and advertising income would likely make up less than the targeted 25.1 percent of Metlink’s total revenue, with the next year’s target set at 25.7 percent.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) laid new expectations for all public transport providers in 2024 to have fares and advertising income make up a specific proportion of its revenue.

NZTA’s target for Metlink was once at 42 percent, a figure that regional councillors said it would need to hike fares by as much as 70 percent to hit.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/20/metlink-fares-to-rise-by-3-1-percent-off-peak-discount-drops-again/

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Man left a paraplegic after Nelson hit-and-run wants to meet driver 30 years on

Source: Radio New Zealand

Farid Ahmed was hit by a car 30 years ago. (File photo) AFP

Almost three decades ago, Farid Ahmed was hit by a car while he was crossing Main Road Stoke to go to work, in Nelson.

He was in his 30s, newly married and has no memory of the accident.

“Eyewitnesses told me that a driver wanted to overtake a couple of other cars in front of him and I was standing there, so he just hit me, and my body was thrown up, and then it dropped on the windscreen, rolled it front and the car went over me.”

The accident left him a paraplegic and wheelchair bound. He spent 11 days in a coma at Burwood Hospital, his family told he had a seven per cent chance of survival. The driver never faced charges.

Farid Ahmed. (File photo) AFP

Almost 30 years later, Ahmed would still like to meet the person who hit him, to tell them they are forgiven and that he holds no animosity towards them.

“If I was behind the accelerator in his place and I made a mistake, what would I expect other people to think of me?”

Ahmed was speaking at a event held by Restorative Justice Nelson this weekend, to celebrate 25 years of helping thousands of victims and perpetrators of crime process the hurt and harm its caused.

The organisation gives victims the opportunity to express their feelings, while encouraging criminals to acknowledge the impact of their actions and take steps to repair the damage.

Ahmed shared his experience of loss and offering forgiveness. His wife Husna was killed in the 2019 mosque attack in Christchurch and he also wanted to meet the man who murdered his wife, who he had chosen to forgive.

He had taken part in the restorative justice process before, meeting in with the 28-year-old Christchurch man who threatened to attack two Christchurch mosques on the second anniversary of the city’s terror attack.

At the conference, the two hugged each other and the man apologised for his actions. Ahmed said it was wonderful and he felt like he had conquered the world.

“I thought that my approach was correct and this is a restoration, you find a way to bring the hearts together.”

Darkest day

Iafeta Matalasi, who would also speak at the event, said the memory of his darkest day remains clear.

One morning in August 2013, two police officers knocked on his door to tell him his youngest son, Alonsio, had died.

“I don’t know how to describe it, I went numb. I didn’t know what was up and what was down. My whole world just got smashed. He was my baby boy, the fourth of four sons and when I got news, I just fell apart.”

Mongrel Mob members Shane Harrison and Dillin Pakai were later found guilty of killing Alonsio, who had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Matalasi said he was consumed with blind fury for the two men and he wanted revenge.

He wrote a victim impact statement ahead of their sentencing, but it was rejected multiple times for being abusive and threatening.

On the 10th rewrite, Matalasi said he heard his son’s voice telling him that nothing would bring him back, and he needed to focus on raising his two grandsons and an entirely different statement flowed out of him.

“At the end I said, if these guys go to prison, their families are going to suffer, their kids will not have male role models in their homes, they will be locked up and the country will be paying for their upkeep.”

He said he completely forgave his sons killers.

“I would like to ask the court to pardon these two men and let them go free and we will work together to sort out a life after this.”

Matalasi did not get his wish and the pair were sentenced to life imprisonment. But seven years later, after a long wait, he met with Harrison at a restorative justice meeting held in prison.

“I said to him, ‘what you did to Alonsio, it hurt me a lot and it still hurts, but I cannot use that hurt to hate you or anybody. I will use that hurt. I will get over and sort of use it to help other people.”

Matalasi said he had survived the most difficult experience of his life and learnt from it and he wants to see more people go through the restorative justice process

“Instead of punishing people, I want to see the justice system working in a way where people can can mend and help each other, instead of locking people away and being punished, I want the community to work together to sort out the problems and live together in harmony.”

What is restorative justice?

While the court system deals with the punishment of the crime, restorative justice focuses on repairing the hurt and harm caused by a crime.

Changes to the Sentencing Act in 2014 meant all cases that meet certain criteria need to be adjourned for consideration of whether restorative justice is appropriate prior to sentencing.

The process was voluntary and both parties had to agree to it.

Restorative Justice Nelson practice lead Mark Rutledge said thousands of people have used the service over the last 25 years. Around a quarter of referrals made result in a meeting being held.

The situations vary, they might work with someone who has kicked over a letterbox and another person who’s committed murder, with many cases involving domestic violence.

“It gives them a forum that they can say how this has been for them, what’s the journey been like and they can eyeball the person that has caused the harm to them, it’s an incredibly effective process for helping people to reframe the trauma that’s been caused to them.”

Rutledge used a filing cabinet analogy. Unprocessed trauma was like the chaotic drawer that had stuff spilling out of it, while processed trauma was like an ordered, indexed drawer that is easier to sort through.

“Once it’s processed, you’re able to open the drawer and know where things are at, so rather than the trauma dictating people’s ongoing responses, they are in control of what happens and I think that’s the beauty of restorative justice that allows them to journey incredibly well, quickly, to get to a better space.”

He said people often asked, “what’s in it for me?” and it wasn’t uncommon to see them take part and change their view, but it wasn’t for everyone.

“There can be many, many different reasons, sometimes it’s too close to the situation, sometimes it’s too far away.

“People talk about the magic of restorative justice and absolutely, but there’s nothing mystical or magical about the process. It’s just actually allowing people to talk, to sit down, to talk and to be real and to process.”

Restorative Justice Nelson business lead Miranda Warner said in the same way there were ripples of harm from an event, there were ripples of healing too.

“Some meetings you have these huge shifts in people, some meetings, it’s a smaller recalibration, but I think that everyone who sits in that room, certainly including myself, is changed by each encounter.”

She said it was an honour and privilege to do such work.

“I am let into often the very worst and lowest moments of people’s lives, and that’s true whether we’re talking about people who’ve been harmed or people who’ve caused harm. In both cases, people can be really at rock bottom.

“Each person has their part of the story, but that story is unfinished and it’s very hard as humans to sit with an unfinished story and there is something that is deeply transformative about people being able to put that story together.”

There’s no time limit after a crime and Restorative Justice Nelson takes community referrals outside the justice system. The organisation is willing to hear from anyone in the community who wants to discuss what the process might look like for them.

Restorative Justice Nelson’s 25 year event, After The Worst Has Happened; A Celebration of Hope, is being held at the Nelson Centre of Musical Arts on February 21.

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

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Live: NZ Warriors v Dolphins NRL pre-season trial

Source: Radio New Zealand

NZ Warriors take on the Dolphins at Leichhardt Oval for their second NRL pre-season trial.

Join us for live updates at 8pm.

Squads

Warriors: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3. Ali Leiataua, 4. Adam Pompey, 5. Haizyn Mellars, 6. Luke Hanson, 7. Tanah Boyd, 8. Tanner Stowers-Smith, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Jackson Ford, 11. Kurt Capewell (c), 12. Jacob Laban, 13. Erin Clark

Interchange: 14. Sam Healey, 15. Morgan Gannon, 16. Leka Halasima, 17. Eddie Ieremia-Toeava

Reserves: 18. Taine Tuaupiki, 21. Kayliss Fatialofa, 22. Jack Thompson, 23. Makaia Tafua, 24. Motu Pasikala, 25. Sio Kali, 26. Caelys-Paul Putoko, 27. Geronimo Doyle, 28. Rodney Tuipuiotu-Vea, 29. Paea Sikuvea

Meanwhile, the Dolphins have added several frontliners, including former Warriors Kodi Nikorima at five-eighth, after suffering a 24-12 loss to Gold Coast Titans last week,

Dolphins: 1. Trai Fuller, 2. Jamayne Isaako, 3. Jake Averillo, 4. Herbie Farnworth, 5. Selwyn Cobbo, 6. Kodi Nikorima, 7. Isaiya Katoa (c), 8. Francis Molo, 9. Bradley Schneider, 10. Tom Gilbert, 11. Connelly Lemuelu, 12. Oryn Keeley, 13. Morgan Knowles

Interchange: 14. Tevita Naufahu, 15. Thomas Flegler, 16. Kulikefu Finefeuiaki, 17. John Fineanganofo

Reserves: 18. Sebastian Su’a, 19. Elijah Rasmussen, 20. Brian Pouniu, 21. Zac Garton, 22. Brent Woolf, 23. Adquix-Jeramiah Watts-Luke, 24. Sangstar Figota, 25. Noah Fien, 26. Elijah McKay

Warriors take on Dolphins in an NRL pre-season trial. Liam Swiggs / RNZ

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From saving cash to saving goals, Auckland FC’s new keeper ready to step up

Source: Radio New Zealand

Jimmy Hilton is with Auckland FC in his first A-League contract. supplied

Goalkeeper Jimmy Hilton knows the benefit of a win bonus and he is not wasting his first professional contract.

Hilton arrived at Auckland FC this month after an SOS from the A-League club that was running out of fit or available keepers.

The 23-year-old Manchester-born and Australia-raised player has sat on the bench for Auckland’s last two games, behind Michael Woud, but an untimely fumble, a drop in form or fitness could be all that Hilton needs to play his first professional game.

Hilton is signed with Auckland until the end of the season, in a “dream come true” move from NSW National Premier League club Marconi Stallions.

“I’ve been working for a long time to get my opportunity and it kind of came out of the blue,” the reigning National Premier League NSW Goalkeeper of the Year said of the call-up he got while he was working coaching.

“I was playing pretty close to home for a long time. I was really concentrating on my schools and my studies, and as soon as I graduated from high school, I went to Marconi Stallions and was there for five years and once I made the first team, I didn’t come out, so there’s 99 games there that I played in the first team.”

He had trialled and trained with other A-League clubs but the opportunities did not pan out.

Opportunities for goalkeepers were scarce but Hilton always wanted to be playing first team football.

“Growing up, the option was always there to be a third string or to be around an academy. But for me, I wanted to be in men’s football for as long as possible and play games where the win bonus matters.

“It pays your rent, it puts food on the table and petrol in the car. So I think being in that part-time environment and really learning how to win and how important the win bonus is for players has put me in good stead to now make the most of this opportunity.”

The change from a part-time playing role to a full-time gig was eye-opening for Hilton.

“Having better players and better coaches around you, it really makes you lift your game.

“You’ve had the clubs giving all the resources you could possibly need to adapt quickly and to be at the level, so I feel like I’m doing well.”

Working under Auckland FC goalkeeping coach Jonathan Gould was one of the “biggest selling points” to say yes to moving across the ditch.

“To have someone of that stature at the club, he’s a bit of a cult legend, a bit of an icon within the goalkeeping community, so I’m really excited to work with him more and just add to my game.

“He’s already given me one or two things to work on, parts of my game that I thought were up to scratch that he said, ‘oh, maybe give this a little bit of attention’.

“For me, it’s all about becoming as good a footballer, as good a goalkeeper as I can be and he’s pretty detail-oriented and the process has already started.”

Hilton knew he still might have to bide his time in Auckland, but as a goalkeeper that had nearly been in goal for 100 consecutive matches he knew what it took to keep the number one position when the opportunity came.

“Woudy’s doing incredibly well at the moment, he’s been in the Premier League, he knows exactly what he’s doing. Just training with someone like that full-time there’s so much little things that you can see and pick up and add to your game.

“Even the young boys here, the level’s very, very good.

“I think both New Zealand and Australia have been renowned for producing some very good goalkeepers over the years. So I’m hoping to add to that list, follow in some pretty big footsteps. A lot of people who’ve been there and done it and have blueprints there to follow.”

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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/2026/02/20/from-saving-cash-to-saving-goals-auckland-fcs-new-keeper-ready-to-step-up/

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Several injured in crash near Feilding

Source: Radio New Zealand

File photo. Pretoria Gordon / RNZ

Four people are seriously injured after a two-vehicle crash near Feilding.

Police said emergency services were notified of the crash on Sandon Road, west of the Manawatū town, at around 6.10pm.

The road has been closed, diversions are in place and the Serious Crash Unit has been advised.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/20/several-injured-in-crash-near-feilding/