Category: Public Media

Posted on

Christchurch City Council issues boil water notice for eastern suburbs

Source: Radio New Zealand

All water, including filtered water, needs to be continuously boiled for at least one minute, although jugs with an automatic cut-off switch can be used, as long as they are full. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Christchurch residents in eastern suburbs are being warned to boil their water because of bacteria contamination.

A public health alert was issued for people living in New Brighton, Burwood, Wainoni, Aranui and Southshore.

It said all water, including filtered water, needs to be continuously boiled for at least one minute, although jugs with an automatic cut-off switch can be used, as long as they are full.

Residents and people travelling into the areas will receive text alerts about the problem.

Supplied

More to come…

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/2026/02/14/christchurch-city-council-issues-boil-water-notice-for-eastern-suburbs/

Posted on

Is a Valentine’s Day wedding a good idea?

Source: Radio New Zealand

For many couples, February is peak wedding season – and Auckland celebrant Nate Dunn is feeling it. With 12 ceremonies booked this month alone, he says it’s the busiest time of year for him and many of his colleagues.

While Valentine’s Day occasionally becomes the big day – by design or by chance – Dunn isn’t convinced it’s always the best choice. One major factor is cost, especially for flowers.

“For myself, I’m booked for the next two to three years for February and I know couples who are looking at some of the more popular vendors – like photographers and venues – they really need to be thinking two years out if they’re getting married in February, because all the good venues and good vendors book out really fast,” Dunn told Morning Report.

Nate Dunn says February is the busiest month of the season.

Supplied / Rebecca Bradley Photography

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/14/is-a-valentines-day-wedding-a-good-idea/

Posted on

Why being hopeful is more radical than ever now

Source: Radio New Zealand

The most radical thing that you can do right now is hope, according to acclaimed British playwright Simon Stephens.

Best known for his Tony and Olivier award-winning adaption of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Stephens says sharing an experience with people who you might disagree with politically, ideologically or culturally has never been more radical than now.

“It’s an increasingly rare thing nowadays to go and sit in a room with people you don’t know and share an experience, to look in the same direction and engage in the same story together … to turn your phone off and look in the same direction with people who you not only might not know, but if you did know them, you might not agree with them about some things,” Stephens told Saturday Morning.

Playwright Simon Stephens accepts the award for Best Play for “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” onstage at the Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on 7 June, 2015 in New York City.

Theo Wargo / Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions / AFP

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/14/why-being-hopeful-is-more-radical-than-ever-now/

Posted on

‘It’s hard to get healthy kai when you don’t have healthy whenua’

Source: Radio New Zealand

Dr Madeline Shelling (Ngāti Porou) from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland. Supplied/Madeline Shelling

A new study has linked food insecurity experienced by Māori to the ongoing consequence of colonisation rather than the result of individual choice or lifestyle.

The study, led by postdoctoral health researcher Dr Madeline Shelling (Ngāti Porou) from the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at the University of Auckland draws on in-depth interviews with Māori kai experts.

It documents how land loss, environmental degradation, restrictive laws and the marginalisation of mātauranga Māori have dismantled Māori food systems across generations.

Shelling said the research began with a visit to her whānau in Te Araroa, where despite the community taking pride in the food they could source from the land they were still counted as being food insecure.

“It came out quite clearly in my PhD that the way that we assess kai security or food security in Aotearoa is not representing Māori values, traditions or knowledge because it’s a questionnaire made up of eight questions that are all related to how we access food by having money and obviously in te ao Māori and many indigenous cultures around the world, having money is not the only way that you access kai, and it never has been.”

The outcomes of food insecurity in Aotearoa, as a wealthy, settler colonial nation, are expressed in obesity, diabetes and non-communicable and diet-related diseases which come with stigma, she said.

“Having great access to bad food is a problem that is faced by indigenous people in settler colonised countries all over the world it’s a very common pattern and yet individual choice is still blamed and so I’m just really passionate about moving away from that stigma that there is a choice because there often is very little choice.

“What if fish and chips is the only option in your area that you can access? What if you work two jobs and you don’t have transport and the only place you can walk to is McDonald’s?

“People who have the privilege of choice don’t understand what it’s like to not have that choice.”

Shelling said reducing food insecurity to individual choice ignores systemic issues faced by people in lower socio-economic areas and it excludes people who have experienced colonisation.

“Colonisation is such an important determinant of food insecurity and it has to be acknowledged so that we can remove some of these stigmas about individuals having choice over their food, when really their environment, their intergenerational trauma, their lack of intergenerational wealth through colonisation has all contributed to their inability to choose certain types of food and particularly healthy foods.”

The study identified four key impacts of colonisation, loss of land, erosion of rangatiratanga, marginalisation of Māori knowledge and impacts on health.

“It’s hard to get healthy kai when you don’t have healthy whenua that you can access,” Shelling said.

To solve the problems of food insecurity there is a responsibility from the top down to implement policy and there’s also from the bottom up, what whānau decide to do day to day and what they are able to do, because for a lot of whānau choosing where to buy food is not an option, she said.

“I want to make it really clear that Māori are trying to do something about it and Māori don’t want to be reliant on fast foods and takeaways.

“If we truly understood how colonisation impacted our food systems, we would not call it playing the victim it’s about understanding truly the effects of colonisation on every aspect of our life and for my research in particular on food systems and then where do we go from there and that’s a responsibility that we have for tangata tiriti and tangata whenua for doing it from the top down and the bottom up.”

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/2026/02/14/its-hard-to-get-healthy-kai-when-you-dont-have-healthy-whenua/

Posted on

Country Life: Growing a farmer on Pāmu’s apprentice scheme

Source: Radio New Zealand

Pāmu apprentice Archie Davidson and Te Wharua farm manager Alan Micky MacDonald RNZ/Sally Round

Apprentice farmer Archie Davidson is learning a thing or two from his dogs.

“That heading dog, he knows everything.

“You send him one way; he goes the other way.

“He’s like, uh-uh, and I’m like, ‘Oh, should have sent you that way’.”

Seventeen-year-old Archie is in his second year on the three-year Pāmu apprenticeship scheme finding his feet at Te Wharua Station, a 1900-hectare sheep and beef farm in central King Country.

Sky, his heading dog, and Grace, his huntaway, are invaluable tools for mustering sheep on the steep hill country.

“[They] teach me patience, teach me how sheep move, sheep flow.”

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

Archie with two of his dogs RNZ/Sally Round

He jumps in the side-by-side and heads off up a steep track with me alongside.

The sheep are due for dagging the next day and Archie needs to bring them down from the tops to a paddock closer to the yards.

He’s on a shepherd’s wage now, after learning the basics – on training pay – with the other apprentices at the scheme’s headquarters in Taupo.

Archie got a place on the first intake of the scheme which started in January 2025. Up to nine school leavers earn while they learn and don’t need any prior experience farming.

In their first year, as well as learning the basics of dairying and livestock farming, they do some academic study with the aim of gaining Level 3 and 4 agricultural papers.

Apprentices on Pāmu’s apprenticeship scheme Abby Dance-The Photographer

In the second year they move into an apprentice’s job at one of Pāmu’s farms around the country while they continue their studies.

The son of dairy farmers, Archie decided to move onto Te Wharua, under the wing of farm manager Alan “Micky” MacDonald.

The teen did OK at school but loves the “hands on” nature of on-farm learning.

“I like being out in the hills and there’s hunting on your doorstep.”

Archie watches the muster from a hiiltop RNZ/Sally Round

He’s in and out of the side-by-side, his whistle clenched between his lips, practising the signals which direct the dogs to bring the sheep out of some tricky gullies.

Micky, waiting down below, says it’s important to have the apprentices do valuable jobs on the farm.

“It’s trying to keep it interesting, but it does take time, and sometimes you could do it faster, but then you think, well, these are the future, so give them the space and the time.”

Te Wharua, with its hilly back country and more forgiving finishing paddocks, covers a fair bit for an apprentice, Micky told Country Life.

“If someone does a good stint here and picks up a school level and all those aspects of it, they’re ready to go farming anywhere, really.”

His biggest concern with the cadets is on-farm safety, particularly with Te Wharua’s terrain.

“I sort of try and work them into it, you know, without putting them in a situation where they’re scared or out of their depth.

“We keep them pretty close to one of the team for a bit to see where their skill level’s at, and then we try and build on that while they’re here.”

Archie’s dogs ready for action RNZ/Sally Round

Pastoral care is part of his job too, encouraging the apprentices to get off farm during their time off, and keeping them focused.

“I just straighten them up if they need it, or just talk to them, as I would expect from anyone else.

“They accept it and learn from it and go forward.”

The sheep are safely mustered and in the paddock, ready for dagging tomorrow.

Archie’s looking forward to shearing time and learning more from Micky, a champion in his day.

While the dogs take a break, Micky gives Archie some final instructions, with a bit of banter thrown in.

The partnership is one of the reasons Archie chose this farm for his placement.

“Me and Micky got along well.”

“I liked him from the from the word go,” Micky says about Archie.

“He came here with a good attitude, and he had all the things I like, in a young person, cheeky smile, and, you know, very good work ethic and respectful.

“And there’s some poor old bugger that did that for me once, so it’s my turn now to give it back.”

Learn more:

  • Learn more about Pāmu’s apprenticeship scheme here (PDF)

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/2026/02/14/country-life-growing-a-farmer-on-pamus-apprentice-scheme/

Posted on

Country Life: Behind the scenes of Central Otago’s cherry harvest

Source: Radio New Zealand

Clyde Orchards has been owned and operated by the Paulin family since 1921. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

In the weeks before Chinese New Year, Clyde Orchard’s packhouse is a hive of activity as rich, red cherries freshly picked from surrounding Central Otago orchards are brought in to be washed, packed and prepped – ready for export.

The auspicious colouring of the sweet stone fruits – shades of deep plum and ruby jewels – makes it a sought after treat to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

“We’re now packing fruit today that was picked this morning,” explained Kris Robb, the manager of Clyde Orchards headquartered in Earnscleugh.

“We want to keep the cherries fresh, we want to keep the stalks fresh, and we want to really maintain that crispness of the fruit before it gets into the cool store.”

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

Clyde Orchards is a family business, started by the Paulin family in 1921.

Today it’s run by third-generation brothers Kevin and Raymond “Musso”, with the next generation also starting to come on board.

The orchards total over 105-hectares on three different sites throughout Central Otago – the Earnscleugh blocks, some in Bannockburn near Cromwell and another in Bendigo.

Robb explained the orchard is “reasonably unique” in that it grows, packs, exports and markets all its own fruit.

“That vertical integration for us is probably a real driver of the success of the business, and the viability of it going forward. It really means that we’re in charge of our own destiny.

“We’re focusing on high-end niche products [so] that we are able to control how it’s grown and when it’s packed, how it’s packed, and how it’s sold.”

Clyde Orchards general manager Kris Robb. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

Clyde Orchards has a number of different orchards throughout Central Otago. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

Clyde Orchards also grows a range of flat peaches known as flattos. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

With hot, dry summers and cold winters, Central Otago is a region of extremes. It also makes it ideal for growing summer fruit varities.

“The trees need those cooler temperatures in the winter – it’s called winter chilling – and they need a certain amount of hours, the lowest degrees for them to know that it’s time to wake up again when the spring comes,” Robb told Country Life.

“Then that hot, dry summer helps us with pest and disease control, but it also assists with those flavours of the fruit that everyone loves, you know, those juicy, sweet flavours come out with the heat.”

The “core business” is cherries and flat peaches, he says.

Clyde Orchards grows about 10 different types of cherries across half its orchards, which means the harvest period runs for about 8 weeks starting in mid-December. These are largely destined for export, markets such as Taiwan, China, Malaysia and Singapore.

Clyde Orchards is also the only commercial grower, packer and distributor of flat peaches, or flattos, in New Zealand.

Many of the cherries will be destine for export markets ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year period. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

At the peak harvest period, Clyde Orchards has about 150 staff working – picking and packing. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

Technology helps ensure the quality of the fruit being picked. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

Central Otago’s wet summer has made for a challenging growing season this year and delayed the cherry harvest by a week or so.

Robb says it’s more important to allow the fruit to mature properly and pick when it’s at it’s best rather than rush the process.

It’s not quite been the harvest they hoped for, with volumes down, but it’s far from a disaster and they are now turning their attention to bringing in the peaches.

Key to the harvest is the more than 150 staff who help pick and pack the produce.

The team uses Hydralada Platforms to pick cherries. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

The team comprises locals ranging in age from high schoolers to retirees, backpackers from around the globe, and 20 ni-Vanuatu, who are part of the Recognised Seasonal Employer, or RSE, programme.

Clyde Orchards has been involved with the programme since its inception in 2007.

It is a grower-initiated scheme to fill the shortfall of available labour in the horticulture and viticulture sectors and is also aimed at supporting economic development in the Pacific region.

Many of the workers at Clyde Orchards have been coming for almost 20 years.

Robb says they’re “very, very efficient”, averaging about 50-odd buckets a day. The team of five picking cherries in the orchard today, harvest as much as 15 or even 20 new pickers, he told Country Life.

“It’s great to have them here.”

Clyde Orchards has opened its new 10-room accommodation for the RSE team, inspired by a traditional Vanuatuan meeting house. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

Mike, a ni-Van RSE worker, has been coming to Clyde Orchards from Vanuatu for almost 20 years. Gianina Schwanecke / Country Life

This season Clyde Orchards opened a new 10-room accommodation unit for the RSE team, inspired by a traditional Vanuatuan meeting house.

For RSE workers like Mike Mangau it is an opportunity to support those on his home island of Tanna.

“When we earn money here, it’s good to take something back home.”

Mike has invested the money earned in a coffee plantation and beekeeping business, as well as building a local kindergarten.

It can be hard being away from home for so long though – he arrived in October and will stay through the harvest period until May.

“It’s good to come over here and help somebody to help our communities and some other things.”

Learn more:

  • Find out more about Clyde Orchards and what they’re growing here

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/2026/02/14/country-life-behind-the-scenes-of-central-otagos-cherry-harvest/

Posted on

New Zealand SailGP: What you need to know

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand SailGP

4pm Saturday, 14 February

11.30am Sunday, 15 February*

Wynyard Point, Auckland

Live updates on RNZ

*Start time has been change for the weather

Amid considerable fanfare, SailGP has returned to Auckland, building on a wildly successful – not for the home team though – debut in 2025.

The wait for availability of the Wynyard Point site proved well worthwhile, when spectators crammed the giant grandstand on the waterfront to watch Australia claim honours last year – and organisers promise bigger and better this time round.

Here’s what you should know about the professional sailing event.

History

Sail Grand Prix was created in 2018 by billionaire Larry Ellison and Kiwi sailing legend Sir Russell Coutts, loosely based on the America’s Cup, where both its founders originated from.

Unlike the ‘Auld Mug’, this format was designed for high-speed racing in identical F50 catamarans around spectator-friendly courses near the shoreline.

Black Foils win a race at 2025 New Zealand SailGP on the Waitematā Harbour. Felix Diemer for SailGP

Many of the crews are also involved in the America’s Cup, so this event enables them to remain fully professional sailors between four-year cycles, albeit in a different class of boat.

The fleet began with just six teams, but has since doubled in size, with the addition of Brazil and Italy last year, before adding Sweden as the 13th entry for 2026.

Guided by Tom Slingsby, Australia have dominated the league, winning the first three editions and finishing runners-up in the last two. Spain were 2023/24 champions, while Great Britain triumphed in 2024/25.

Another feature of the competition is known as the ‘Impact League’, which rewards teams for promoting sustainability and inclusivity within their organisations. Winning teams receive prizemoney to donate to charities and New Zealand took 2021/22 honours.

Format

Each regatta takes place over a series of tightly contested fleet races (up to seven) across two days, with teams gaining points based on their placings and the top three qualifying for the final at the end of the weekend.

Overall results from each stopover count towards season rankings, with the top three again qualifying for the series final.

Black Foils

New Zealand did not contest the inaugural SailGP series, but joined the fleet in 2020, under the leadership of America’s Cup supremo Peter Burling and sidekick Blair Tuke.

New Zealand celebrate victory at Portsmouth 2025. Kieran Cleeves for SailGP

Their distinctive boat Amokura was launched the following year and has suffered several accidents since.

In 2023, its mast was struck by lightning in Singapore, as it was being towed back to base, frying its electrical systems. The NZ crew were already ashore, collecting their winners’ prize, but Danish grinder Martin Kirketerp – who was helping return the boat to port – was taken to hospital with an electric shock.

Later that same season, Amokura’s wing collapsed while racing at Saint-Tropez. No-one was hurt, but the damage was too serious to continue racing and repairs could not be carried out before the next round at Taranto, Italy.

In March 2024, the NZ team announced their ‘Black Foils’ nickname, aligning with other famous Kiwi sporting outfits.

Burling and Tuke have won Olympic and world championship gold, won and defended the America’s Cup and sailed around the world (separately), but SailGP success has eluded them. They finished second in 2022/23 and third the last two years.

Form

The 2026 series has had only one stop so far, at Perth, with the defending champion British team picking up where they left off last year, heading off Australia and France in the event final.

Sweden won two of the seven preliminary races, but finished last in the seventh to place fourth, while Canada also showed their ability with victory in the last race.

New Zealand were off to the worst-possible start to their campaign, damaging their stern in a collision with Switzerland during the opening race and, while the Swiss were able to return to the water on the second day, the Kiwis were shorebound for the rest of the weekend and faced some time pressure to repair their board for the Auckland leg.

They are now at the bottom of the table with no points, alongside Switzerland and Spain, who also suffered malfunctions off Perth.

Great Britain claim victory off Perth in January. James Gourley for SailGP

New Zealand SailGP

New Zealand was originally included on the 2021/22 championship schedule, with Lyttelton Harbour, Christchurch, as the venue on an alternating arrangement with Auckland’s Wynyard Point.

Covid-19 delayed the NZ stopover until 2023, with Christchurch hosting the very successful event, and it returned there the following year, when the Auckland waterfront site was unavailable.

This time, racing was not possible on the opening day, due to dolphins on the course, and Coutts vowed not to use the venue again.

Instead, Auckland staged the 2025 event, fully justifying the decision to develop Wynyard Point, with a grandstand that is expected to hold more than 10,000 spectators and break the SailGP attendance record, along with unticketed viewing along the shoreline.

Kiwi Phil Robertson skippered Canada to victory at the inaugural 2023 NZ SailGP, Burling steered the Kiwis home in 2024, but the Black Foils struck electrical problems at Auckland, with the Aussies dominating the weekend.

Sir Russell Coutts makes the decision to cancel racing at Lyttelton 2024, as dolphins invade the racecourse. Chloe Knott for SailGP

Teams

Australia: Tom Slingsby (driver), Tash Bryant (strategist), Nina Curtis (strategist), Iain Jensen (wing trimmer), Kinley Fowler (flight controller/grinder), Sam Newton (grinder), Jason Waterhouse (flight controller/tactician), Tom Needham (reserve)

Brazil: Martine Grael (driver), Marco Grael (grinder), Mateus Isaac (grinder), Rasmus Kostner (flight controller), Pietro Sibello (wing trimmer), Paul Goodison (strategist), Richard Mason (reserve), Breno Kneipp (grinder)

Canada: Giles Scott (driver), Billy Gooderham (flight controller), Paul Campbell-James (wing trimmer), Annie Haeger (strategist), Georgia Lewin-LaFrance (strategist), Tom Ramshaw (grinder), Tim Hornsby (grinder/technical director), Alex Sinclair (grinder)

Denmark: Nicolai Sehested (driver), Tom Johnson (wing trimmer), Ed Powys (flight controller), Anee-Marie Rindom (strategist), Hans-Christian Rosendahl (grinder), Luke Payne (grinder), Kahena Kunze (strategist)

France: Quentin Delapierre (driver), Manon Audinet (strategist), Leigh McMillan (wing trimmer), Jason Saunders (flight controller), Olivier Herledant (grinder), Bruno Mourniac (grinder), Timothy Lapauw (grinder), Enzo Balanger (reserve), Amelie Riou (reserve)

Germany: Erik Kosegarten-Heil (driver), Kevin Peponnet (wing trimmer), James Wierzbowski (flight controller), Anna Barth (strategist), Will Tiller (grinder), Linov Scheel (grinder)

Great Britain: Dylan Fletcher (driver), Hannah Mills (strategist), Stuart Bithell (wing trimmer), Luke Parkinson (flight controller),, Nick Hutton (trimmer/grinder), Neil Hunter (grinder), Kai Hockley (development), Ben Cornish (reserve), Ellie Aldridge (development)

Italy: Phil Robertson (driver), Ruggero Tita (alternate driver), Kyle Langford (wing trimmer), Andrea Tesei (flight controller), Will Ryan (grinder), Enrico Voltolini (grinder), Jana Germani (strategist), Maelle Frascari (strategist), Jimmy Spithill (reserve driver)

Australia celebrate their 2025 victory at New Zealand SailGP. Brett Phibbs for SailGP

New Zealand: Peter Burling (driver), Blair Tuke (wing trimmer), Leo Takahashi (flight controller), Liv Mackay (strategist), Louis Sinclair (grinder), Marcus Hansen (grinder)

Spain: Diego Botin (driver), Florian Trittel (wing trimmer), Joel Rodriguez (flight controller), Nicolle van der Velden (strategist), Joan Cardona (tactician/grinder), Bernard Freitas (grinder), Matthew Barber (grinder)

Sweden: Nathan Outteridge (driver), Julia Gross (strategist), Chris Draper (wing trimmer), Any Maloney (flight controller), Brad Farrand (wing trimmer), Julius Hallstrom (grinder)

Switzerland: Sebastian Schneiter (driver), Arnaud Psarofaghis (wing trimmer), Bryan Mattraux (flight controller), Stewart Dodson (grinder), Arno de Planta (reserve), Maud Jayet (strategist), Matt Gotrel (grinder)

USA: Taylor Canfield (driver), Michael Menninger (wing trimmer), Hans Henken (flight controller), Andrew Campbell (strategist), Anna Weis (grinder), Peter Kinney (grinder), Mac Agnese (grinder), Harry Melges IV (reserve)

Weather

In a case of imperfect timing, New Zealand’s North Island – including Auckland – is under storm warning this weekend, which has already forced a couple of changes to event scheduling.

Friday practice racing was cancelled, with only New Zealand, Spain and Germany allowed out on the water to test their recent modifications before racing begins in earnest.

In anticipation of worsening conditions on Sunday afternoon, the second day’s racing has been brought forward to 11.30am.

Everyone is talking glowingly of great sailing conditions, but maybe not so great for spectators.

Asked about the expected big winds, Auckland-born Italy driver Phil Robertson replied: “You wet your pants a little and you move on.”

Where to watch

Organisers have increased the size of the already impressive Wynyard Point grandstand by 30 percent to more than 10,000 seats. Boats will whistle past so close, you can almost reach out and touch them.

Other vantage points around the harbour include any of the wharves as far as Bledisloe Wharf on the city side, Westhaven Marina and Stanley Point on the North Shore.

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/2026/02/14/new-zealand-sailgp-what-you-need-to-know/

Posted on

Wellington Phoenix fight back on and off the field

Source: Radio New Zealand

Ifeanyi Eze of the Phoenix AAP / Photosport

The Wellington Phoenix have questions.

The Phoenix came back from 2-0 down at halftime to draw 2-2 with Western Sydney Wanderers in Sydney, thanks to a maiden A-League goal from All Whites defender Bill Tuiloma and an eighth of the season from golden boot leader Ifeanyi Eze.

However, after the final whistle the Phoenix were still perplexed by a decision head coach Giancarlo Italiano believed could have influenced the outcome.

The Phoenix feel they should have been awarded a penalty early in the second half when defender Matt Sheridan was brought down in the Wanderers box.

Despite the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) instructing referee Adam Kersey to take a closer look at his decision not to give a penalty, Kersey upheld his decision.

Italiano was left confused by the officials’ decision making.

“The fourth [official] said there was no contact so then they’re reviewing the process so there is contact, but then they said there wasn’t a foul or intention,” Italiano said post-match.

“I’m not really sure what was seen or said and that’s the frustrating part.

“If there’s no contact then obviously VAR doesn’t review but they must have seen contact. And then for me if there’s contact then it’s a foul.”

Italiano was happy with the team’s “bounce back” in the second half.

“I’m not sure how many teams are coming back from 2-nil down away from home and they’re (Wanderers) are playing for their season.

“We made some changes at halftime… and I thought the players that came on gave us the difference.

“I feel like we probably could have won that in the end.”

Italiano made three changes to the side from the Waitangi Day defeat to Melbourne Victory, with Sarpreet Singh making his first appearance for the club in the best part of seven years.

However, he was forced from the field just after halftime with a knee injury.

Fit-again club captain Alex Rufer and Sheridan also returned to the starting side.

The draw lifts Wellington up one spot on the ladder to 10th, three points outside the top six.

The Phoenix’s next game is against Auckland FC in the sixth New Zealand derby.

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/2026/02/14/wellington-phoenix-fight-back-on-and-off-the-field/

Posted on

Weather live: State of Emergency declared in Ōtorohanga

Source: Radio New Zealand

Flooding at Ōtorohanga Museum. Supplied / Amanda Kiddie

Ōtorohanga is under a State of Emergency after it was hit by widespread flooding and heavy rain.

Mayor Rodney Dow made the declaration at 12:57am on Saturday. It expires in seven days.

He said there had been reports of flooding, slips and inundation.

“The situation in Ōtorohanga is serious, and with nightfall upon us, it’s important we are prepared and have the right controls in place to provide help and support, including required evacuations if needed.”

Heavy rain warnings and watches are in place for much of the North Island, with downpours likely to continue throughout the day.

Orange heavy rain warnings are in place for Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne. Gisborne/Tai Rāwhiti, in particular, is expected to see a more sustained period of heavy rain.

There are also a heavy rain watches for Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay.

Multiple roads remain closed after significant flooding and slips.

Flooding in Waikato has closed State Highway 39 between Pirongia and Ōtorohanga. A detour is available via State Highway 3.

Whirinaki Valley Road in Horohoro is open under stop/go traffic management following a slip, but the Transport Agency warns the State Highway 30 road could close at short notice if weather conditions changed.

Towards Tai Rāwhiti, other roads remained closed following earlier storms.

State Highway 2 Waioweka Gorge is closed between Ōpōtiki to Mātāwai because of slips and flooding.

State Highway 35 is shut between Pōtaka and Te Araroa while it’s being repaired, while the stretch between Whakaangiangi Road and Te Araroa is also closed for the weekend, because of the adverse weather forecast.

See our live blog above for the latest updates.

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/2026/02/14/weather-live-state-of-emergency-declared-in-otorohanga/

Posted on

What makes a good break-up song?

Source: Radio New Zealand

It’s a situation that will be familiar to many of us: you’re hurting after the demise of a romantic relationship, and you hear a song, with its key, rhythm and lyrics, perfectly putting sound and words to the feeling in your heart.

You put it on high rotation, drawing out the pain and drip feeding your soul.

“It’s the emotion around that that a break-up song can help shift,” says Chris O’Connor, a music therapist at Auckland’s Raukatauri Music Therapy Trust.

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/14/what-makes-a-good-break-up-song/

Posted on

Love, lies, and prime-time pressure

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Detail’s Amanda Gillies sat down with MAFS expert John Aiken for insight into this season’s highs and lows. RNZ

Former New Zealand cricket star turned Australian love expert John Aiken talks love, scandals and the show that changed reality TV

John Aiken was 15 minutes late for our 15-minute interview to talk about desperate Australian singles chasing their 15 minutes of fame.

A text message from his publicity team explained the problem: he loves to chat, especially about Married at First Sight. And, as a result, he was behind schedule.

Sydney-based Aiken is a relationship expert on the show and is in New Zealand on the publicity trail for the latest season, number 13. But there’s nothing unlucky about this season (unless you are an awkward couple looking for love).

One week in, and the show is already number one in Australia. It now airs in 120 countries, including New Zealand. And here, it’s a ratings hit for Three.

Aiken finally arrived at The Detail studio armed with a chocolate brownie, iced with “I can’t marry you”. He roars with laughter before quickly offering another brownie, this time emblazoned with “Love You”. He has a box of the treats, for each of his interviewers.

A relationship specialist and long-time husband to former New Zealand presenter Kelly Swanson Roe, Aiken loves love.

And that makes him a perfect fit for MAFS, a job he secured after responding to a “random email” that arrived in his inbox at his relationship psychologist practice in 2014, before the start of season one.

Back then, he thought it would be a one-season wonder – four couples took part in the social experiment where they met for the first time at the altar. Just six episodes aired.

“Everybody thought it would be one and done,” Aiken tells The Detail. “I was excited by it, scared by it. But also thinking in the back of my mind, this will be six episodes, and I’ll never see it again.”

But “the show exploded” with audiences quickly falling in love with the unpredictable tears, tantrums, and love drama.

And the now 40-episode show with 12 couples has made Aiken a star in his own right and one of the most recognisable faces in Australia.

But that comes at a cost – last year, he was cornered outside a cafe, filmed, and followed by a podcaster, who told him that the MAFS experts are the “real villains of this show”.

“It’s confronting, because your mind goes into this state of ‘how does someone know where you are?’, and ‘am I being followed?’, you sort of get paranoid, really,” Aiken says.

“And it rattles you a little bit because you are in a state where you feel like you could say something wrong, and you get a ‘gotcha moment’ that could hurt the show or could hurt you. And you are on edge.”

On the show, he’s also had plenty of “moments” with lovelorn contestants who take exception to his straightforward, no-nonsense advice. He’s not afraid to call out toxic behaviour and hold couples accountable for their often-outlandish behaviour.

“During the show, yes, they have had me on, used some colourful language.”

He says this year, audiences have to “brace themselves for a hectic and confronting season”.

“Because we have a group dynamic of very overpowering, domineering women who are going to come for everybody.”

They call themselves the boss babes.

“They band together at the hens’ night, and then they go forth, and they look to conquer anyone and anything during the experiment.

“It makes it very difficult for love to come through in such a toxic environment.”

About 12,000 Aussies now put their hands up to appear on the show every year. But this is then whittled down to the “top 30 or 40” for Aiken and the team to match up.

He appreciates that many are chasing their 15 minutes of fame, but contrary to popular belief, he insists nothing is scripted, singles aren’t plied with alcohol to create drama, and there isn’t a “villain edit … what you see on camera is exactly what you see off camera”.

“People will cross the road to abuse me, but they will also cross the road to thank me because it’s polarising, people will either love it or hate it. They don’t sit in the middle.

“But there are many myths.

“It is totally unscripted and unpredictable, that’s why I watch it like everyone else … even though I have lived it, I don’t know what’s going to make it to air.”

He says couples are told they will be constantly filmed, and it’s up to them how they act and what they say.

But he adds, the show does have “a system [and] a duty of care” to ensure contestants are well supported.

“They meet psychologists before going on the show, and they get fully assessed. They have social media training before they go on the show, and then they have psychologists on set and available to them throughout the show and then after the show indefinitely … so they can really access that support all the time.”

Over the past 12 seasons, just six couples have truly fallen in love and stayed together. But they are crucial to the show’s success.

“We need this – the show has to work, otherwise people aren’t going to watch it, if it was just chaos,” says Aiken, who admitted he wouldn’t be a contestant on the show.

There’s no sign of MAFS losing momentum; if anything, it’s getting bigger and more explosive.

“The show appeals to both singles and couples, so I think it has longevity to it. How long that will be, I’m not sure, but I certainly would love to see it out if I could.”

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

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/14/love-lies-and-prime-time-pressure/

Posted on

Ōtorohanga Museum’s precious taonga wrecked by floodwaters

Source: Radio New Zealand

Volunteers try to protect what they can from the rising floodwaters. Supplied / Amanda Kiddie

Several precious taonga from Ōtorohanga Museum will not be able to be saved after floodwaters rushed inside it.

Almost two dozen members of the community rallied to save what they could.

But it would not be until Saturday that the full extent of the damage could be gauged.

“So by the time we got inside we had called the fire brigade,” museum treasurer Amanda Kiddie said.

“There was nothing they could do of course because it was beyond sandbagging.

“We went inside, there were taonga floating around.”

Kiddie said about 20 people turned up to help, and she was immensely grateful to the community for doing so.

“All nationalities, all cultures, everybody just wanting to save our taonga, just amazing,” Kiddie said.

When she arrived water was above the bottom of the waka whare’s door, the museum’s biggest taonga.

They had to cut power because the power outlets were under water, but managed to save some delicate items.

Some whānau took items home for safety.

But the “beautiful” display boards could not be saved.

Damage to the waka would be looked at in the light of day.

Flooding at Ōtorohanga Museum. Supplied / Amanda Kiddie

“But the flood waters have actually touched our waka … we’re not quite sure how much there is to assess,” she said.

“Definitely I had some tears.”

As treasurer, Kiddie said she knew all the hard work, money and grants that had gone into the museum.

“And I looked at it and thought, wow, how much of that is now gone in the space of a few hours?”

She spoke to RNZ after she left the museum and was trying to get home to Maihiihi.

“There’s a few cars now stuck but thankfully some of the young local boys are standing there waving people back,” she said.

“The road is a mess, there’s lots of slips, lots of floodwater … there’s floods on roads we didn’t even know would flood.

“I mean, I can’t remember even reading the museum ever flooding,” Kiddie said.

Waikato Regional Council, just before 11pm on Friday, said 165.5mm of rain had fallen on the Pūniu River at Ngaroma in 12 hours.

The town has been flooded after 100mm of rain fell in 8hrs on Friday. Supplied / Amanda Kiddie

Church, marae stood up for people unable to get home

Ōtorohanga District Council said on Friday night that St David’s Church on Ranfurly Street was open to anyone who could not make it home.

“If you need somewhere warm and dry, please come by for a hot cup of tea and stay out of the rain,” it said.

The town’s wastewater system was overwhelmed and stretched to capacity, and the council urged people not to flush toilets or use unnecessary water.

“Reducing water use will help ease pressure on the network and minimise the risk of overflows,” it said.

“If you are experiencing flooding, please stay safe and avoid driving through floodwaters. If possible, stay home until conditions improve.”

Hauraki-Waikato MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi Clarke last night posted an update from Civil Defence.

It said Police and FENZ had arrived in Ōtorohanga and were meeting with the Civil Defence controller to get a full picture.

“There are multiple slips on state highway and local roads,” it said.

Waikato Tainui said Te Kotahitanga Marae was also open “for whanau to come to get warm and dry”.

Some roads in the Waipā district are closed due to severe flooding. Waipā District Council

The Waipā district

Waipā District Council last night said it was fielding multiple calls of flooding across the district.

This was particularly around Pirongia and Te Pahu, it said.

Flooding on Friday night closed Kakepuku Road, Corcoran Road, Grey Road and Waite Road in Te Pahu.

“Our teams are on the ground, and we’ll provide updates as soon as we can,” the council said.

Debris and boulders were being pushed onto roads.

Liz Parker, who lived on Corcoran Road, said things got bad quickly.

“There has been huge flooding all the way down our little tiny stream, ripping out a lot of plants and trees and bringing boulders down the river.

“I believe that there’s a big boulder or something that’s blocking the bridge.”

Parker said she had never seen it so bad in her five years living in the area.

Waipā Networks said last night it was responding to power outages caused by the severe weather and flooding, with several areas across its network affected.

“Flooded roads and challenging conditions are limiting crew access, and some customers will remain without power overnight,” it said.

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/2026/02/14/otorohanga-museums-precious-taonga-wrecked-by-floodwaters/

Posted on

Blues v Chiefs: What you need to know

Source: Radio New Zealand

Blues v Chiefs

Kick-off: 7:05pm Saturday 14 February

Eden Park, Auckland

Live updates on RNZ

Can the Chiefs overcome three straight years of heartbreak and finally win a Super Rugby Pacific title? Their quest starts tonight at Eden Park, where they face another team with redemption on their minds in the Blues.

New Chiefs coach Jonno Gibbes inherited a very strong squad from Clayton McMillan, one that most people tipped to win the competition last year. They made it all the way to the final, before losing to the Crusaders in Christchurch. The reason they had given up home ground advantage for that final was because of a loss to the Blues in the first round of the playoffs, so there’s definitely still some feeling over that one you’d think.

Jono Gibbes PHOTOSPORT

Team lists

Blues: 1 Joshua Fusitu’a, 2 Bradley Slater, 3 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 4 Sam Darry, 5 Josh Beehre, 6 Torian Barnes, 7 Dalton Papali’I (c), 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 9 Finlay Christie, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 11 Caleb Clarke, 12 Pita Ahki, 13 AJ Lam, 14 Cole Forbes, 15 Zarn Sullivan

Bench: 16 James Mullan, 17 Mason Tupaea, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Laghlan McWhannell, 20 Anton Segner, 21 Sam Nock, 22 Xavi Taele, 23 Codemeru Vai

Chiefs: 1 Jared Proffit, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 3 George Dyer, 4 Josh Lord, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 6 Kaylum Bosher, 7 Jahrome Brown, 8 Luke Jacobson, 9 Xavier Roe, 10 Josh Jacomb, 11 Liam Coombes-Fabling, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 13 Daniel Rona, 14 Kyren Taumoefolau, 15 Etene Nanai-Seturo

Bench: 16 Tyrone Thompson, 17 Benet Kumeroa, 18 Reuben O’Neill, 19 Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 20 Samipeni Finau, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Tepaea Cook-Savage, 23 Kyle Brown

Blues team news

Tonga’s inside centre Pita Ahki dives across the line to score a try during the France 2023 Rugby World Cup Pool B match between Tonga and Romania at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d’Ascq, near Lille. AFP

Vern Cotter has sprung a bit of a surprise by selecting Torian Barnes at blindside, the Christchurch product set to make his Super Rugby Pacific debut. That moves Anton Segner to the bench, but Cotter explained that was part of a plan to negate the Chiefs’ ruck speed at the back end of the game. New signing Pita Ahki starts at second five, while Stephen Perofeta gets the first five spot for at least a month or so before Beauden Barrett becomes available.

Chiefs team news

Josh Jacomb of the Chiefs, Chiefs v Brumbies Super Rugby Pacific semi final rugby union match at FMG Stadium, Hamilton, New Zealand on Saturday 14 June 2025. Jeremy Ward / www.photosport.nz

No Damian McKenzie, so Josh Jacomb steps up for a good chance at 10. Xavier Roe is inside him as Gibbes continues McMillan’s policy of bringing All Black halfback Cortez Ratima off the bench. Kyren Taumoefolau debuts on the right wing after his shift from Moana Pasifika, Quinn Tupaea and Daniel Rona will be looking to continue their excellent form from last season too.

Key stats

Dalton Papali’i of the Blues. Blues v Western Force, round 7 of the Super Rugby Pacific competition at Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand on Friday 5 March 2024. Photo by Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz Andrew Cornaga/www.photosport.nz

The Chiefs will be aiming for consecutive wins against the Blues at Eden Park for the first time since July 2014.

This is set to be the fifth meeting between the Blues and Chiefs in round one of a Super Rugby season, the Chiefs have won the last three encounters.

Dalton Papali’i was the player to make first contact on 132 tackles in the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season, the most of any player in the competition. His 212 tackles completed were the third most of any player across the campaign.

What they’re saying

“We’re very conscious of the Chiefs’ ability to go 60 minutes and apply pressure to have a very good 20 minutes at the end. I think the bench represents what they intend to do. So locking in for 60 and having players with experience and energy is going to be important to finish this game.” – Vern Cotter.

“I think one of the really pleasing parts is our utility factor in our backline. So we have a number of players who can play a number of positions, so that helps later on down the line, and squad health has a massive impact, there’s a lot of competition for the back three, and Kyren’s right in the middle of that.” – Jono Gibbes.

The last time they met

Blues 20 – 19 Chiefs

[embedded content]

A try after the hooter by Josh Beehre sealed an upset win in Hamilton for the Blues, after an incredibly physical and tense match. The result meant that the Chiefs lost home ground advantage for the eventual final but also made up for the very poor start the Blues had to the 2025 season.

What’s going to happen

The Blues basically need to not be beaten at their own game like they were last season here at Eden Park. That night, the Chiefs simply rolled up their sleeves and did the dirty work, so this time around the Blues should show a bit more in the first half rather than simply relying on their heavy ball carriers. The Chiefs do have a great ability to switch up on the fly, if Jacomb can get front foot ball that will make that option far easier.

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/2026/02/14/blues-v-chiefs-what-you-need-to-know/

Posted on

Ōtorohanga under week-long state of emergency, more rain on the way

Source: Radio New Zealand

A slip on State Highway 39, Ōtorohanga. Supplied / Otorohanga Volunteer Fire Brigade

A local state of emergency has been declared in Ōtorohanga, Waikato, after the district was lashed by heavy rains.

The declaration was made at 12:57am on Saturday and will stay in effect for seven days.

Mayor Rodney Dow said the district had experienced widespread flooding, slips and inundation.

“The situation in Ōtorohanga is serious … it’s important we are prepared and have the right controls in place to provide help and support, including required evacuations if needed,” he said.

“I urge you to stay safe and do not venture out into floodwater.”

Ōtorohanga District Council said an emergency operations centre had been stood up in its chambers after the initial deluge.

Duty controller Dave Simes formally advised the council to declare the state of emergency to allow response agencies to draw on additional resources and powers, it said.

Infrastructure and emergency services have worked through the night to assess damage caused by the weather, including on water infrastructure and roading, the council said.

The Lines Company website showed some households have been without power overnight, with further outages reported in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Heavy rain warnings and watches remain in place for much of the North Island, with downpours likely to continue throughout the day.

MetService has issued orange heavy rain warnings for Coromandel, Bay of Plenty and Gisborne. Gisborne/Tai Rāwhiti, in particular, is expected to see a more sustained period of heavy rain.

There are also a heavy rain watches in place for Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Hawke’s Bay.

Multiple roads remain closed after significant flooding and slips.

A slip on State Highway 39, Ōtorohanga. Supplied / Otorohanga Volunteer Fire Brigade

Flooding in Waikato has closed State Highway 39 between Pirongia and Ōtorohanga. A detour is available via State Highway 3.

Whirinaki Valley Road in Horohoro is open under stop/go traffic management following a slip, but the Transport Agency warns the State Highway 30 road could close at short notice if weather conditions chang.

Towards Tai Rāwhiti, other roads remain blocked following recent storms.

State Highway 2 Waioweka Gorge is closed between Ōpōtiki to Mātāwai because of slips and flooding.

State Highway 35 is shut between Pōtaka and Te Araroa while it’s being repaired. The stretch between Whakaangiangi Road and Te Araroa is closed until Monday, because of the adverse weather forecast.

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/2026/02/14/otorohanga-under-week-long-state-of-emergency-more-rain-on-the-way/

Posted on

As it happened: Warnings across North Island

Source: Radio New Zealand

A State of Emergency has been declared in Ōtorohanga, after the district was hit by widespread flooding and heavy rain.

The declaration took effect immediately when it was signed at 12:57am and expires in seven days.

Mayor Rodney Dow said there had been reports of flooding, slips and inundation.

“The situation in Ōtorohanga is serious, and with nightfall upon us, it’s important we are prepared and have the right controls in place to provide help and support, including required evacuations if needed.”

Significant flooding and slips have closed highways in Ōtorohanga, Waikato, as heavy rain hits the region.

Heavy rain warnings and watches are in place for much of the North Island, with downpours likely to continue into Saturday morning.

An orange heavy rain warning is in place for Coromandel Peninsula, Bay of Plenty including Rotorua and Gisborne/Tai Rāwhiti.

Meanwhile, Northland, Auckland, Great Barrier Island, Waikato and Waitomo as well as Hawke’s Bay and Manawatū are all under a heavy rain watch.

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/2026/02/14/as-it-happened-warnings-across-north-island/

Posted on

Super Rugby Pacific: Highlanders v Crusaders

Source: Radio New Zealand

Caleb Tangitau scores a try during the Super Rugby Pacific – Highlanders v Crusaders at Forsyth Barr Stadium. Marty Melville/Photosport

Jamie Joseph may well have a new job next by weekend, but he can enjoy a brilliant start to his unfancied Highlanders side’s season for now. They scored a thoroughly deserved 25-23 win over the defending champion Crusaders at Forsyth Barr Stadium, first five Cam Millar ice cold when he knocked over a 50m penalty goal in the 78th minute.

It was sweet redemption for Millar, who missed a similar shot the last time these sides met that would’ve sent the game to extra time. He wasn’t alone in his heroics, with the entire Highlanders squad playing their part in an outstanding defensive effort.

The first half featured some big plays from the home side, who effected crucial turnovers through Jack Taylor, Lucas Casey and Timoci Tavatavanawai to snuff out some excellent Crusaders’ chances close to the tryline.

Down the other end, the one real chance the Highlanders had was taken when Caleb Tangitau showed his pace to burn around two defenders, after a messy move in midfield saw space open up out wide.

The Crusaders’ only first half try came off a fair bit of luck, after Millar spilled the ball only for it to fall for Sevu Reece. One good pass and a quick ruck later Noah Hotham saw an empty blindside to scoot away and score in the corner.

A Rivez Reihana penalty goal on the stroke of halftime gave the Crusaders the lead, but that only lasted a few minutes after the break when the Highlanders scored back to back tries. Angus Ta’avao first found himself far too much space after a Jonah Lowe break, then Lowe got in on the act himself when he finished off a sweeping move from inside their own half.

The Crusaders hit back with a try to Will Jordan after Rob Penney elected to make six substitutions at once, but even the injections of key All Blacks couldn’t crack the resolute Highlanders defence again.

The defending champs had to settle for a Taha Kemara penalty to edge out in front, which only set up Millar’s big kick at the end to give the Highlanders a morale-boosting win. They came in with a cloud over Joseph’s future, plus the loss of All Black lock Fabian Holland for the season. It will still be an uphill battle for the traditional strugglers, but they certainly showed what they’re capable of when in the mood.

It won’t get any easier next weekend, when the Highlanders host the Chiefs. Meanwhile, the Crusaders will be licking their wounds before a meeting with the Brumbies in Christchurch.

Read how the game unfolded here:

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/2026/02/13/super-rugby-pacific-highlanders-v-crusaders/

Posted on

Super Rugby Pacific: Highlanders v Crusaders live updates

Source: Radio New Zealand

Timoci Tavatavanawai. © Photosport Ltd 2025 www.photosport.nz

Super Rugby Pacific opens with a southern clash under the roof, with the banged up Highlanders taking on the defending champion Crusaders. Kick-off is at 7:05pm NZT.

Follow all the action with RNZ’s live blog:

Team lists

Highlanders: 1 Ethan de Groot, 2 Jack Taylor, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 4 Oliver Haig, 5 Mitch Dunshea, 6 Te Kamaka Howden, 7 Sean Withy, 8 Lucas Casey, 9 Folau Fakatava, 10 Cameron Millar, 11 Jona Nareki, 12 Timoci Tavatavanawai, 13 Jonah Lowe, 14 Caleb Tangitau, 15 Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens

Bench: 16 Henry Bell, 17 Josh Bartlett, 18 Rohan Wingham, 19 Will Stodart, 20 Veveni Lasaqa, 21 Adam Lennox, 22 Reesjan Pasitoa, 23 Tanielu Tele’a

Crusaders: 1 Finlay Brewis, 2 George Bell, 3 Seb Calder, 4 Antonio Shalfoon, 5 Jamie Hannah, 6 Dom Gardiner, 7 Ethan Blackadder, 8 Christian Lio-Willie, 9 Noah Hotham, 10 Rivez Reihana, 11 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 12 David Havili (c), 13 Braydon Ennor, 14 Sevu Reece, 15 Chay Fihaki

Bench: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 George Bower, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Tahlor Cahill, 20 Corey Kellow, 21 Kyle Preston, 22 Taha Kemara, 23 Will Jordan

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

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/02/13/super-rugby-pacific-highlanders-v-crusaders-live-updates/

Posted on

Businesses face hard times in months following Tongariro fire

Source: Radio New Zealand

A fire in November burnt through almost 3000 hectares of the Tongariro National Park Kristina Montgomerie / @kristinamonts

  • Waimarino business owners work through tough summer after November fire
  • Many hope for decent winter snow dump to boost coffers
  • DOC says burned area rejuvenating.

In early November, a wall of smoke loomed large over the tourism-dependent, central North Island town of Waimarino.

After a couple of days wet weather and the round-the-clock efforts of firefighters put out the blaze, which had burned through almost 3000 hectares of the Tongariro National Park.

But Waimarino continues to feels its effects. The fire closed the popular Tongariro Crossing walking track for more than a week – meaning the peak season started slowly.

And there were further blows when a smaller fire ignited in December, while wet weather has hit the region too.

All this has left business owners in the town hoping for a good dumping of winter snow on Mt Ruapehu to get the area and its tills humming again.

Worst summer in a decade: motel owner

Adventure Lodge and Motels was fully booked when RNZ visited this week, but owner Gillian Visser said until now the usual summer peak season had not taken off.

“I’ve been here 10 years and, I have to say, this is probably the worst summer we’ve had, income wise.

“This makes us a little bit worried for winter because normally we can be like little squirrels and squirrel away the money.”

Adventure Lodge and Motels owner Gillian Visser says this summer is the worst in her 10 years in the town. RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham

Without that to see them through winter, Visser was among those hoping for lots of snow.

“We made no money in three quarters of November because people stayed away because of the fire. Then, everything was delayed.

“There was a trickle-over effect of people putting off their trip and now we’re really busy. February is fabulous.”

Chrissi Phillips-Ryburn at her food truck Tātahi – The Beach. RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham

On State Highway 4, Chrissi Phillips-Ryburn’s food truck Tātahi – The Beach faced the wall of smoke shrouding the central plateau when the 8 November fire spread.

“It was quite catastrophic for the area to watch, as all events like that are,” she said.

“They take a personal toll on people.”

She said people were asking what was going to happen and how would it affect them.

And it has had an effect – this week Phillips-Ryburn had to let go an employee.

“The following weeks beyond that fire were quite catastrophic. Customers didn’t come. There was no tourism.

“It’s been really difficult for all the businesses locally because the numbers just haven’t been there.”

Poor summer weather a battle

Sam Wilson opened The Station cafe at Waimarino’s railway station last year and so far has traded through a tough winter and then the fire.

“The effect was short term and we got back up to pace pretty quickly,” he said.

The Station Cafe owner Sam Wilson says bad weather has affected trade more than the fire. RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham

“Where we’ve seen a potential slowdown in trade is where they’ve put restrictions on the start of the crossing, whereby no private vehicles are allowed up there and it’s only accessed via commercial operators.”

The cost of about $70 for that could put off some travellers, he said.

RNZ visited the cafe during a busy weekday early afternoon with the sun shining.

But, for Wilson, the weather’s the biggest battle.

“This summer’s been horrendous, so that’s had a big effect.

“When the crossing is not doable due to wind and low visibility, that’s had a big effect on trade.

“Talking to other operators in the area, they say it’s down considerably and you wouldn’t put that down to the fires. I’d put that down to the atrocious weather.”

Enjoying the sun outside while his friends waited for a train was Adrian Boden, who spends summer in Waimarino – formerly known as National Park.

While he said the town had returned to normal, the nearby landscape was still scarred.

“When you drive along the main road of that area you do see it from a distance and it’s so different,” he said.

“You actually can see, wow, that was some fire. I think it was 3000ha and you can see the destruction that it wreaked.”

From left, English tourists Eva Eustace, Izzie Robertson and Lara Berzins say they didn’t see much fire damage from the Tongariro Crossing, which they walked this week. RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham

English tourist Izzie Robertson also saw some fire damage when doing the Tongariro Crossing.

She said she and her friends did not consider cancelling after they had checked the walk was still possible.

“When we were driving up towards the site of the trail there was a lot of burnt vegetation and stuff like that.

“But, after we started doing the trail we didn’t notice much damage.”

Short-term effect

Tongariro Crossing Lodge owner Louis van Wyk said the fire’s effects didn’t last, but the region was owed a decent winter.

“We had quite a few cancellations because people couldn’t do the crossing for at least a week and there was uncertainty about how long that would last.

“We did definitely have an impact for those first few days and couple of weeks. Since then it’s almost like it didn’t happen.”

Van Wyk is a volunteer firefighter. He helped with efforts battling the November blaze and was one of the first on the scene for the smaller December fire.

“Just seeing it go was very sobering and sad. I was thinking, ‘is this going to be the same again?’ – but fortunately that one went on to be a bit smaller.”

Ruapehu mayor Weston Kirton said the region was busy now, as plenty of groups of visiting walkers and cyclists took advantage of the more settled weather.

He expected electronic figures reported by council-controlled organisation Visit Ruapehu would show the effects of the fire.

Department of Conservation technical adviser, flora and ecosystems Paul Cashmore said the fire destroyed vegetation, and killed native birds, lizards and insects.

No critically endangered species were known to live in the burned area.

“Anyone who has visited the area recently can attest to the regrowth of plants and presence of birds in the burned zone,” he said.

“This regeneration began within the first couple of weeks post fire and shows the resilience of this landscape. While the system will naturally recover, pressures like invasive weeds threaten this process.

“Maunga Ora, the recovery plan led by Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro with DOC, will largely be focused on weed control.”

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/2026/02/13/businesses-face-hard-times-in-months-following-tongariro-fire/

Posted on

More than 30 kittens available for adoption at south Auckland animal shelter

Source: Radio New Zealand

Senior feline attendant Michaela Foggin’s job involves caring, feeding, cleaning, medicating and giving love and attention to the cats during the day. RNZ / Amy Williams

Saturday is Caturday at a south Auckland animal shelter, where a bumper crop of kittens are in desperate need of forever homes.

The SPCA has more than 30 kittens available for adoption at its Māngere Centre, where it says the 40-year-old building is crumbling and part of the cattery floods when it rains.

The organisation has seen a surge in cats needing to be adopted across the country, and it hopes its Caturday events will see people heading home with a new family member in tow.

At the Māngere shelter, Michaela Foggin has a cat-lover’s dream job.

“I am a senior feline attendant so my job during the day is caring for the cats, feeding them, cleaning them, medicating them, making sure they get all the love and attention possible.”

The part of the Māngere animal shelter that does not flood. RNZ / Amy Williams

She will be helping to adopt out the bumper crop of kittens.

“We’ll do walk-ins and they can come through, look at all the kittens we have available for adoption, meet some, cuddle some and they usually pick you so it can be pretty easy when you’re coming in to meet and adopt a kitten.”

More than 30 kittens are available for adoption at the Māngere shelter, where vet Nathan Wong has worked for five years.

“We’re inundated with cats and kittens at this time. The reason for that is with the warmer weather they always want to have babies at this time of year which is really cute,” he said.

“There’s more cats than we’ve got cages to deal with so Caturdays is one of those things where we try to adopt out as many cats as we can because the more cats we adopt out, the more we can take in.”

The SPCA has more than 30 kittens available for adoption at its Māngere Centre. RNZ / Amy Williams

The decades-old shelter is falling apart, riddled with asbestos and rust.

The SPCA said the buildings would need to be vacated this year – a new purpose-built centre is being built in Wiri, due to be finished in November.

Graeme Ford manages the Māngere shelter and said the run-down buildings were risky for both staff and the animals.

He said a worker recently tripped and broke their wrist and thumb – and part of the cattery flooded when it rained.

“We’ve got 18 pens here and nine of them flood, every time we’ve got rain and it’s not heavy rain anymore now it’s just any rain.”

Graeme Ford says the run-down buildings are risky for both staff and the animals. RNZ / Amy Williams

The pens flood deep enough to fill the cats’ water bowls – there are platforms in each pen the cats can safely jump to.

“It’s not ideal for the animals and it’s not ideal for the staff who’ve got to come in the next morning and think this is what they’ve got to take an hour or two out of their day to clean up the mess from the flood.”

A rusty dog kennel at the shelter. RNZ / Amy Williams

Ford said some of the dog kennels were rusting and asbestos had been found in parts of the buildings.

“There’s a lot of asbestos on site. It is stable and it is marked where it is but it’s not ideal especially as the building starts to show some deterioration, we wouldn’t want the deterioration to be shown around the asbestos and put anyone at risk.”

The SPCA’s new shelter in Wiri is due for completion in November and will be a much larger hub, it’s still fundraising for $10 million.

“We need someone with some deep pockets to try and help out and get us there and get these cats and dogs into a better space,” Ford said.

The Māngere centre cared for more than 5500 animals last year and bigger buildings at Wiri will allow an additional 2000 animals to be helped.

Roma Timpson is a vet nurse and seasoned animal foster parent. RNZ / Amy Williams

Meanwhile, Ford said they also needed more foster parents to take animals home for short stays and relieve pressure on their kennels and pens – animal food and any medications are provided.

Roma Timpson is a vet nurse and seasoned foster parent, the day RNZ visited she was taking home two kittens, one had an eye removed, the other a leg amputated.

“It doesn’t have to be forever, it is really hard giving them back but knowing that you’ve done your part to help, you can send them off just knowing they’re ready to go to homes.”

The SPCA said anyone ready to give some T-L-C to some four legged friends can check online when Caturdays are held in their region.

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/2026/02/13/more-than-30-kittens-available-for-adoption-at-south-auckland-animal-shelter/

Posted on

Super Rugby Pacific: Cody Vai set to fly for the Blues

Source: Radio New Zealand

Cody Vai was signed straight out of school to travel the World Sevens circuit as an 18-year-old. PhotoSport NZ

Blues v Chiefs

Kick-off: 7:05pm Saturday 14 February

Eden Park, Auckland

Live blog updates on RNZ

Cody Vai doesn’t take the slow road.

The Auckland flyer was signed straight out of school to travel the World Sevens circuit as an 18-year-old.

His rapid ascent continued at his first event in Hong Kong, opening the scoring for New Zealand in the final after just 25 seconds.

The teenager was suddenly surrounded by his idols, including one who had been on the circuit since Vai was a toddler.

“I can’t really put it into words just how amazing it was. I watched those guys as a kid and to get to play with the likes of Joe Webber, Regan Ware, Scott Curry, Tim Mikkelson, it was pretty unreal. Tim started he debuted in 2007 or something like that, and I was only three years old, which is pretty funny.”

After three years ripping it up on the sevens scene, Codemeru ‘Cody’ Vai is back in Tamaki Makaurau, and has been quickly thrust into the 23 for the Blues as they open their season against the Chiefs at Eden Park tomorrow night.

“The end goal is to be in that All Blacks jersey.”

Vai never had to look outside his family for inspiration, with his brother Kitona also an All Black Sevens member, sister Corina Nanai-Vai a former Auckland Storm player, and father Kitiona Nanai Vai, a Samoan international who played at the 1991 World Cup.

However, the biggest influence came via former Blues star Melani Nanai, who played 64 times for the franchise between 2015-19.

“My older brother came through here as well. So it’s always been a dream of mine to be here and I watched some of these guys as well. And then getting the chance to put the jersey with them is obviously going to be special as well.”

Vai recalls playing in the backyard as a teenager with Nanai and his Blues teammates such as AJ Lam, whom Vai will line up alongside this weekend.

“I always grew up watching them and they used to come over to the house and play a bit of games as well. So yeah, it was pretty cool that now that I’m getting to play with them, it’s a crazy full circle moment.”

Vai said Nanai instilled a strong work ethic in him.

“He always told me to train hard, learn as much as you can. I take a lot of things as a joke and I like to have fun, but he told me you can have fun as long as you’re still 100 percent in the mind.”

Vai celebrates his try against South Africa and New Zealand in the Hong Kong Sevens in 2025. PhotoSport NZ

Vai admits the shoulders are still getting used to the transition.

Getting back into 15s, in preseason, that’s where you find your true self with the hard fitness and all the contact with the boys as well. The difference is the contact with tackling the big boys, but that’s another part of rugby and my favourite part of rugby is the contact part as well. So I enjoy getting some shoulders into the props, even if they can’t feel it.”

Named to wear the 23 jersey on Saturday night, Vai said his ultimate ambition is number 13.

“My end goal is probably around centre this year, but right now, I’m still learning the game.”

The Blues will be plugging a hole at centre in 2026 in the wake of Reiko Ioane’s sabbatical in ireland.

“Reiko was probably some of the players that I loved watching most, Beauden Barrett as well, so it’s actually an unreal experience coming in and just they’re really down to earth people and just so easy to talk to as well.”

Upon Ioane’s return however, Vai is excited to tussle for the start with his idol.

“This part of rugby is just that competitive side. And I love it. Obviously that’s their goal but I want to be there as well. “

Vai puts in a bit fend against Spain in the HSBC Hong Kong Sevens at Kai Tak Stadium on March 28, 2025. PhotoSport NZ

Teams

Blues: 1 Joshua Fusitu’a, 2 Bradley Slater, 3 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 4 Sam Darry, 5 Josh Beehre, 6 Torian Barnes, 7 Dalton Papali’I (c), 8 Hoskins Sotutu, 9 Finlay Christie, 10 Stephen Perofeta, 11 Caleb Clarke, 12 Pita Ahki, 13 AJ Lam, 14 Cole Forbes, 15 Zarn Sullivan

Bench: 16 James Mullan, 17 Mason Tupaea, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Laghlan McWhannell, 20 Anton Segner, 21 Sam Nock, 22 Xavi Taele, 23 Codemeru Vai

Chiefs: 1 Jared Proffit, 2 Samisoni Taukei’aho, 3 George Dyer, 4 Josh Lord, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 6 Kaylum Bosher, 7 Jahrome Brown, 8 Luke Jacobson, 9 Xavier Roe, 10 Josh Jacomb, 11 Liam Coombes-Fabling, 12 Quinn Tupaea, 13 Daniel Rona, 14 Kyren Taumoefolau, 15 Etene Nanai-Seturo

Bench: 16 Tyrone Thompson, 17 Benet Kumeroa, 18 Reuben O’Neill, 19 Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 20 Samipeni Finau, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Tepaea Cook-Savage, 23 Kyle Brown

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/2026/02/13/super-rugby-pacific-cody-vai-set-to-fly-for-the-blues/